Related
SoftKeys provides on screen keys for menu/home/back/search for devices that don't have those keys in hardware.
SoftKeys is also available in the Android Market
If you want to make themes for SoftKeys you will need the tools to build apks (eclipse/android sdk/etc) and the template from the git repository.
http://git.hoopajoo.net
Changelog:
2011/01/11 - 3.06 - Fix notification keys, boot straight to launcher on system startup
2011/01/11 - 3.05 - Fix notification softkeys <b>broken release</b>
2011/01/10 - 3.04 - Adds dpad and up to 6 custom keys, ability to put device
to sleep, improved performance for key injection, built in documentation, bugfixes
2010/12/23 - 3.00 - Most of the layout code has been rewritten to allow for theming, couple of bug fixes, SoftKeys is now gpl3
-----
Old Changelog (I'm too lazy to reorder this newest to oldest):
2010/12/04 - 1.01 - added launcher selector and remembers last launcher
2010/12/04 - 1.02 - added themes layouts from nemith, looks more like his screenshots but the spinner text is still black so the launcher chooser is hard to read, hopefully I'll have some time to fiddle with that soon
2010/12/04 - 1.03 - My fingers are too fat, I made everything in to image buttons and moved the launcher config to a prefs screen, if anyone has nicer icons let me know these are repurposed from generic android icons
2010/12/05 - 1.04 - Added alternate long-press soft home key for secondary launcher like if you want to use the built-in nook home, added configurable options for what to do if you tap or double tap the nook button while in the softkeys screen, long press on menu/back sends an extra back to the app before sending the requested button for apps that bring up pause screens or something when you move them to the background (angry birds, etc)
2010/12/05 - 1.05 - Integrated the dark theme from nemith, you can choose it in prefs now. Added options to disable the "exit" and "configure" buttons. If you disable "configure" you can still get to the preferences using the "menu" button in the notification bar (e.g. the normal menu button)
2010/12/05 - 1.06 - fix broken key handling, menu and back didn't work, don't use 1.05
2010/12/06 - 1.07 - add recent applications to top of the screen since we don't have a long-press-home recent apps dialog, looking in to re-ordering the buttons next
2010/12/07 - 1.08 - This release adds options to re-order the softkeys, insert soft keys in to the notification area, disable the recent apps list, long press the background to configure if you lost the configure button, and some options for changing the background to dim/blurred/none (note: the notification soft keys show up in the notification area, not in the main status bar like the nook menu/back, I can't put things there as an application you would need to modify system jars to get this effect)
2010/12/07 - v1.09 - Default to non-blurred background and added note about slowness, added option to return to softkeys after pressing back button
2010/12/08 - v1.10 - Selecting "SoftKeys" for your single-press home action will make it so if you launch softkeys, it will go to the launcher unless you hit home again, e.g. single-press home to go to launcher anywhere, double-press home to go to softkeys
2010/12/13 - v2.00 - This adds a new service overlay that is displayed above all apps allowing softkeys to be sent without having to mess with the home button. Default home key behavior has changed to be single click home from anywhere goes to your default launcher, double click home to get to the old softkeys interface. I'm still fiddling with service panel layouts and ideas so things will probably change, I just wanted to get some testing with something simple.
2010/12/17 - v2.01 - The service panel can now be dragged around the screen, you can change it from horizontal to vertial by long pressing it, you can adjust the transparency of the panel and the icon size, and also control if it closes after sending key events. If you don't want the dialog background on the panel you can disable it to just have floating buttons. NOTE: the signing certificate has changed to a release cert, you will need to uninstall the old softkeys before installing this one
2010/12/17 - v2.02 - Now you can move the button that brings up softkeys service, slightly better handling for switching horizontal/vertical layout by long press
veeerrry nice man!
Thanks! I agree with you - I didn't want to permanently re-assign the volume buttons, as I use them in some apps.
One request, if possible ) - Is there any way to make it go to launcher pro (or whatever you want as default) when pressing "Home" in the app? Right now, it asks me to "Pick Home" every time.
ddenson said:
Thanks! I agree with you - I didn't want to permanently re-assign the volume buttons, as I use them in some apps.
One request, if possible ) - Is there any way to make it go to launcher pro (or whatever you want as default) when pressing "Home" in the app? Right now, it asks me to "Pick Home" every time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never personally use the "home" button, I use the quick drawer thing in the notification bar, so I don't really use a launcher. I could probably quickly add a button just for an alternate home or use last home I guess/choose new home I guess. I'll see what I can do. I've also though about adding arrow soft keys, for using in like connectbot, is there any interest in that?
There are also other minor irritating things, like apps that exit when they are not in focus will not work with this hack. For example, monkey kick (a game my son loves to play) will exit if it's not in focus so it never receives the soft keys. I suppose it doesn't matter though since it doesn't use the screen completely anyway, so he just gets to play on my old g1
bpk said:
I never personally use the "home" button, I use the quick drawer thing in the notification bar, so I don't really use a launcher. I could probably quickly add a button just for an alternate home or use last home I guess/choose new home I guess. I'll see what I can do. I've also though about adding arrow soft keys, for using in like connectbot, is there any interest in that?
There are also other minor irritating things, like apps that exit when they are not in focus will not work with this hack. For example, monkey kick (a game my son loves to play) will exit if it's not in focus so it never receives the soft keys. I suppose it doesn't matter though since it doesn't use the screen completely anyway, so he just gets to play on my old g1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks again. Using the last home would be great, if that's possible. I don't personally have any use for additional buttons, but maybe someone else can comment? Rgds.
Awesome.
Code would be cool it would be nice to have them popup at the bottom of the screen like when you press the menu button in an app.
Also to take a screen shot you hold the 'n' button and tap the Vol - button. If you have as much trouble as I did with this method, you can also install drocap2 (root required) which does nice job.
awesome app. its perfect! great replacement until someone does the sidebar buttons like the ones available for the archos
nice work... now if you can make this pop up on the bottom of the screen with a black background like the archos tablets it would be awesome...
thank you, this is a great work around
I put the source up at
http: // git.hoopajoo.net
(take out the spaces I can't post links apparently)
That page has a list of my public git urls available, the last one is SoftKeys
if anyone wants to check it out, I'm currently looking at remembering the last launcher picked and defaulting to that for people that use launchers.
-- the rest of this is just for people looking in to the source, to provide some background to why I did it this way and alternate ideas I had --
If any devs look at it I thought I'd post some of my reasons for doing it this way:
1) I looked at creating a custom init service bound to a keycode at first, this would have made it so you didn't need superuser but would have required modifying your ramdisk. Even just making a daemon and communicating through some kind of pipe would require modifying the ramdisk to get it in init. In the end I abandoned the idea because it seemed easier for most normal people to just install an apk.
2) I looked at binding this to the camera button and remapping it in the keylayout, that would preserve the default home screen selections, but would require modifying a file in your /system/ so people would need to adb their stuff. Again I thought an apk would be easier and adding in shell commands would just complicate things for people and I'm not very good at support
3) I spent a LOT of time looking through git repos from aosp to find out if there was some way to bind to the long-press home and take over the recent apps list, since it doesn't even work. This would preserve your home settings and not even remove an existing function. After several hours grepping through the core.git stuff I decided this was just easier to do. If figured good enough is usually good enough. Though if someone can figure this out it would be sweet.
4) I really was hoping that we could just pull whatever archos is doing since that seems ideal, completely soft buttons. However after downloading the aos firmware I found it was encrypted and apparently currently can only be decrypted by the devices using the public key stored on them somewhere and I'm not aware of anyone having dumped their system images yet.
Also I've been looking through the superuser source to see how they handle the popups, they do a good job of not killing the running app and being all around unobtrusive, doing it their way for the popup buttons would be really sweet since it never seems to break the currently running app.
Great except one thing!
I have LauncherPro so when I click the home button, it always gives me a choice between LauncherPro and the original home. Can you make it so I can set a default? I want to just go straight to launcher pro then I select home.
Pinesal said:
Great except one thing!
I have LauncherPro so when I click the home button, it always gives me a choice between LauncherPro and the original home. Can you make it so I can set a default? I want to just go straight to launcher pro then I select home.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The thread is one page long and your question was already discussed.
One page was too much reading?
How about double click home button for menu and hold the button for back? Just my 2 cents.
I have taken the source code and modified it to a be a row across the bottom of the screen, I think this looks a little bit better
Note the bar at the bottom of both. Ignore that ghosting on the second image.
If anyone is good at graphics I can use some images to create a fancier looking bottom bar.
kabi said:
How about double click home button for menu and hold the button for back? Just my 2 cents.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am going to play to play with doing stuff like this. For example. Press Home for the menu. Press Home again to make the meny disappear. Double tap home for menu. Long Press for back.
I think next on my plate is setting a default launcher application to use when you hit the soft Home button.
Here is the github respository for anyone interested: https://github.com/bennetb01/SoftKeys
I can't get this to install. The first one instaled fine but when I kick this off it says it will replace the first version then "application not installed" should I remove the first one manually?
Great work BTW. Thanks
lovelacer said:
I can't get this to install. The first one instaled fine but when I kick this off it says it will replace the first version then "application not installed" should I remove the first one manually?
Great work BTW. Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can uninstall the first one via the following:
Code:
adb uninstall net.hoopajoo.android.SoftKeys
Install the second one normally via:
Code:
adb install SoftKeys.apk
Interestingly enough the adb uninstall command resulted in a failure as well. I just uninstalled via long press at my app screen and was able to install via root explorer on the nook.
Thanks for the help though.
I do like those buttons, I'm not much for making things look nice, typically I just do back end stuff. If you want to rebase against head and post your git repo I'll merge those changes in to main.
I started using launcher pro and realized it does suck way too much to have to select your launcher every time. It's just 1 button press but I'm too lazy.
And for people re-installing, from adb you have to do:
adb install -r <APK>
Also to remove packages I use appremover, or you can use astro file manager with the package manager under the menu.
nemith said:
I have taken the source code and modified it to a be a row across the bottom of the screen, I think this looks a little bit better
Note the bar at the bottom of both. Ignore that ghosting on the second image.
If anyone is good at graphics I can use some images to create a fancier looking bottom bar.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks very much for this, sir.
About those images: what size do ya need? i can do them right now.
-K
I didn't want to start a new thread for this piece of information, so this looks like a good place to discuss it. My wife noticed that you can always access the back button by swiping from right to left across the notification toolbar. This worked on her non-root NC as well as my rooted one. Pretty cool!
There are some interesting tips and tricks for this phone, and some observations I've made. This is definitely not a complete list, I just wanted to put some things that keep popping up in various threads into one central place.
TIPS:
Buy a screen protector and case! You will significantly increase the longevity of your phone.
When you're not using it, turn off Wi-Fi, 4G, and GPS. It will improve your battery life significantly.
If using the stock messaging app, you can improve load time and performance by limiting the number of messages saved in Messages -> Settings -> General -> Delete old messages.
Under Settings -> Developer options, there are several options which can improve performance on your phone, such as reducing transition time, enabling GPU rendering, and destroying background activities.
For those of you who came from Sense 1.0, you can now backup and restore your dictionary and messages to the SD card.
Messages: Messages -> 3 Dot -> Back up SMS
Dictionary: Settings -> Language and keyboard -> HTC Sense Input -> Personal dictionary -> Sync personal dictionary
TRICKS:
Disable bloatware while on stock: To disable any apps which you are forced to have on your phone but you don't use, go to Settings -> Apps, and go to each app you don't want, uninstall updates if it has any, then click Disable.
Safe mode: Restart your phone, hold volume down starting from when the screen first goes dark until the OS is loaded. If done successfully, you will see the words 'Safe mode' in the bottom of your screen.
EPST: Dial ##778 on your phone and edit developer options and programming codes. You can seriously screw up your phone if you don't know what you're doing, so proceed with caution.
Change number of home screens: Touch your home button twice. A display of all your home screens at the same time will appear.
To remove screens, long-press any screens you no longer want (you have to leave your primary screen with the small picture of the house on it), and drag it to the top to 'Remove'.
To add more panels when you have less than 7, which is the maximum, touch 'Add Panel' at the top. You can rearrange these to any order you wish.
HBOOT: To access HBOOT, turn off Fast boot in Settings -> Power, hold your power button, hit 'Restart', and when the capacitive buttons at the bottom turn off, hold the Volume Down button until it loads HBOOT.
Quickly change all sounds: You can quickly change all ringtones, notifications, and alarms by going to Settings -> Personalize -> Sound tab at the bottom.
Global phone: To enable Global phone mode, go to Settings -> Call, and change Preferred Network to Global.
OBSERVATIONS:
As with every phone model, every individual unit is not created equal. You will encounter a problem with your phone, most likely one easily rectified once we get root. You might have slow Wi-Fi, an imperfectly-fitting case, or any number of things. If it's a hardware issue, you will likely discover it before your 14 day exchange period is up. Don't be afraid to exchange it! If it's software-related, wait for root and we'll see what can be done.
Some things that were handled by the OS in previous iterations has to be done manually now, such as automatically deleting blank pictures from the Gallery app that were deleted with a file explorer or on the computer. It can be a nuisance, but without root, we can't change anything right now.
Suggestions to this list are welcome. Some things some of us take for granted are great additions to this list for the uninitiated.
Stupid question but how to turn off 4g?
Sent from my ADR6410LVW using Tapatalk 2
devinhfox said:
Stupid question but how to turn off 4g?
Sent from my ADR6410LVW using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are multiple ways. I prefer adding the one-click Widget to my farthest right home screen (I reduced mine down to 3 screens, which I'm going to add to the main post how to do), accessed by long-pressing an empty location on a home screen, Widgets tab -> Settings (HTC) -> Mobile Network. You can also access the on/off switch via the pull-down tab (or via the app drawer) -> Settings -> Mobile Network on/off.
If you want to only turn off 4G and leave 3G on, you can download 4G Toggle and change the setting to 'CDMA only'. This still saves battery while allowing you access to the mobile network at slower speeds.
I updated the list again. How did these two posts get to page 4? Ridiculous.
One thing I noticed as I used the DNA for quite a while is that most apps use only about 90% of the screen (Excluding the reserved space for the status bar), and the remaining 10% is only featuring the settings button on nothing more but just a black bar at the bottom of the screen.
I do not know if the third party applications are not optimized for the narrow 5 inch display of the DNA, or simply forcefully done so by Sense UI, but dedicating 10% of the screen just for the settings button seems...stupid and wasteful.
It would be more practical to reassign the settings button to the physical task viewer button(Either hold to open settings or click for settings and hold for task viewer) and let the apps take over that wasted space...
It's already being worked on
Sent from my Droid DNA. 1080p never looked so sweet.
I believe this was an option on the One X, but for some reason not on the DNA. Hopefully HTC will send out an update, or if not hopefully devs can work it into custom ROM's.
It's not really a fault of the DNA or it's HD screen. Blame the devs of the apps you're using for not conforming to the new holo standard which gets rid of the menu button. Any phone that only has the 3 buttons (whether physical soft-touch or on screen) (aka all JB phones) will have this problem. It's Jellybean doing it, not Sense.
I do like the idea of modifying the ROM to give alternate access to the menu button, but as widespread JB adoption happens, apps will be updated and these black bars will be gone.
drumz0rz said:
It's not really a fault of the DNA or it's HD screen. Blame the devs of the apps you're using for not conforming to the new holo standard which gets rid of the menu button. Any phone that only has the 3 buttons (whether physical soft-touch or on screen) (aka all JB phones) will have this problem. It's Jellybean doing it, not Sense.
I do like the idea of modifying the ROM to give alternate access to the menu button, but as widespread JB adoption happens, apps will be updated and these black bars will be gone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually there is more to it than that. My Galaxy Nexus never had these bars, and it has no menu key. So really, it is the doing of HTC in the build.prop most likely. I've been using it since ICS, so...
Its not like I jumped to new apps when the DNA came out. I am using the same apps as before.
If you have no menu button, and the app itself doesn't provide you a way to access the menu, how do you get to it? I was under the impression that that bar is put there whenever there is no way to access the menu due to app non-compliance with new standards. If your phone has some other way to get to the menu, then the bar shouldn't show.
drumz0rz said:
If you have no menu button, and the app itself doesn't provide you a way to access the menu, how do you get to it? I was under the impression that that bar is put there whenever there is no way to access the menu due to app non-compliance with new standards. If your phone has some other way to get to the menu, then the bar shouldn't show.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The apps use new menus in the top right of three vertical dots, unless they have not been updated (those use the legacy menu). All of the apps I use are updated. The Galaxy Nexus has no menu button. A lot of these apps showing the legacy menus don't even have working legacy menus. For example, Granny Smith has no legacy bar on the Galaxy Nexus but does on the DNA. It doesn't need it either because it has an icon driven menu. The legacy bar enables the sound menu, which is redundant because there is an icon for it.
That is why this is so annoying. HTC needs to fix this, not just app devs.
drumz0rz said:
If you have no menu button, and the app itself doesn't provide you a way to access the menu, how do you get to it? I was under the impression that that bar is put there whenever there is no way to access the menu due to app non-compliance with new standards. If your phone has some other way to get to the menu, then the bar shouldn't show.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If an app didn't have a menu button it would appear on the far right next to the recent button. And disappear when not needed. The nexus used on screen keys so the black bar was always there
____________________________________________________
"I used to do drugs. I still do, but I used to, too."
Hi there,
actually almost since the beginning with Viper 2.1.1 I have a few very strange annoyances:
1) when I hide a few apps inside the app-drawer they seem to be hidden first ... but after a while (not even a reboot needed) a couple of those randomly reappear in the app-drawer instead of staying hidden. the reappearing apps not even needed to be started inbetween. some stay hidden, but at least half of them just keep popping back <- i use the "hide app" feature to clean my drawer from those apps that i put on my homescreens separately already.
2) somewhere in the Viper settings there was the option to enable/disable the arrow-keys on the std onscreen keyboard. it just doesn't seem to have any persistant effect for me?! - neither enabled or disabled ... in 90% of all apps (needing keyboard input) the arrow keys are just NOT there even when enabled. only a very few apps like the build-in webbrowser seem to allow the cursor keys to be seen.
thanks for your help :fingers-crossed:
... not even anyone any idea on this?
sry to bump ... but no one any ideas on this? :angel:
I too am wondering about the arrow keys not showing up in anything other than stock apps like Internet, Messaging, etc. I don't remember if they showed up in other apps when I was stock. It would be nice to have since I tend to use them a lot when they are available.
For the un-hiding apps in the app drawer, I don't think I've experienced that. I just hid a few then rebooted, they were all still hidden. I will keep an eye on it to see if they unhide. I am on the latest version, Viper 2.2.0.
Do you ever get random reboots?
thanks for checking ... random reebots? i don't think so ... appart maybe from 2 unexpected ones in 2 months or so
They are all still hidden after a day. You could try flashing 2.2.0.
might depend also on other factors. i have like 100 apps installed xD ... and 60'ish hidden (as they are in folders on the different home-screens) ... so i prefer to have them hidden in the drawer. as for viper2.20 ... it needs a _full wipe_ and that's more hassle then i'm currently intending to spend so i'm gonna wait for the next big update with JB i think (or the Infernal+ maybe, if they get the cam working).
The only reason I want to upgrade from an S3 right now, to either the S4 or the G2, is due to the larger screen size. The N3 is a little big so it seems these two are the only logical options.
I upgraded from the Galaxy nexus to the S3 purely due to the fact that it did not WASTE screen real-estate on black and white static icons. Frankly that is the absolute stupidest use of the screen there is. Samsung has it right by continuing to keep the buttons off screen.
So, the only way the G2 fits the bill (for probably many people) is if one of the following two solutions can exist:
1. The nav bar is totally transparent. The buttons still register when you tap there, but when browsing or watching video, the frame or text completely spills behind the buttons as if they don't actually take up space. Still not ideal.
2. The buttons are taken off screen fully and remapped to the rear HW keys. One volume key can be the back button, and the other can be the home button, etc. To change the volume, you gotta drag the software slider. Not a problem. I believe there are many button remapping apps in the market. Anyone tried this?
Is there an app to do these things? Can this feature be built into a ROM? For solution number 1, the nav bar can be hidden using a feature like PA has, and an app can just have a virtual transparent button floating where the original ones were. This app might also just exist in the android market.
Can we work on getting the entire screen area useful on this large phone?
k00zk0 said:
The only reason I want to upgrade from an S3 right now, to either the S4 or the G2, is due to the larger screen size. The N3 is a little big so it seems these two are the only logical options.
I upgraded from the Galaxy nexus to the S3 purely due to the fact that it did not WASTE screen real-estate on black and white static icons. Frankly that is the absolute stupidest use of the screen there is. Samsung has it right by continuing to keep the buttons off screen.
So, the only way the G2 fits the bill (for probably many people) is if one of the following two solutions can exist:
1. The nav bar is totally transparent. The buttons still register when you tap there, but when browsing or watching video, the frame or text completely spills behind the buttons as if they don't actually take up space. Still not ideal.
2. The buttons are taken off screen fully and remapped to the rear HW keys. One volume key can be the back button, and the other can be the home button, etc. To change the volume, you gotta drag the software slider. Not a problem. I believe there are many button remapping apps in the market. Anyone tried this?
Is there an app to do these things? Can this feature be built into a ROM? For solution number 1, the nav bar can be hidden using a feature like PA has, and an app can just have a virtual transparent button floating where the original ones were. This app might also just exist in the android market.
Can we work on getting the entire screen area useful on this large phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the same mentality as you before deciding on the G2. There is a solution.
You will have to ROOT first.
GMD Auto hide app. This app will completely hide the software keys. They only appear when you swipe up from the very bottom of the screen.. or just tap the very bottom of the screen. You chose that in settings. The software keys can be made transparent as well.
Im currently using the app and love it. Works perfectly.
Without root... i dont think there is a solution.
I just use the navbar mod that shrinks the navbar down to either half or a third of the size. That way they take up hardly any screen at all.
Sent from my LG-D802 using xda app-developers app
o0adam0o said:
I had the same mentality as you before deciding on the G2. There is a solution.
You will have to ROOT first.
GMD Auto hide app. This app will completely hide the software keys. They only appear when you swipe up from the very bottom of the screen.. or just tap the very bottom of the screen. You chose that in settings. The software keys can be made transparent as well.
Im currently using the app and love it. Works perfectly.
Without root... i dont think there is a solution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've used the Xposed Module - Ultimate Dynamic Navbar (available on play store). Looked to have more customization options than GMD (can have up to 7 buttons on the nav bar, for example, and more options for configuring long press of the buttons). But anyway, overall concept is the same as GMD.
And so far, i am loving it. Nice to have the full screen real estate at all times.
And root is so damn easy on this phone.
Big Boy Laroux said:
I've used the Xposed Module - Ultimate Dynamic Navbar (available on play store). Looked to have more customization options than GMD (can have up to 7 buttons on the nav bar, for example, and more options for configuring long press of the buttons). But anyway, overall concept is the same as GMD.
And so far, i am loving it. Nice to have the full screen real estate at all times.
And root is so damn easy on this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I considered Xposed as well... but i thought that method just let you adjust/resize and theme the soft buttons.. but i wanted to completley hide them and have them reappear with a touch/swipe of my finger and then go away again. Xposed can do that as well? I just took a quick glance at the thread and figured it couldnt.
o0adam0o said:
I considered Xposed as well... but i thought that method just let you adjust/resize and theme the soft buttons.. but i wanted to completley hide them and have them reappear with a touch/swipe of my finger and then go away again. Xposed can do that as well? I just took a quick glance at the thread and figured it couldnt.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The xposed module Ultimate Dynamic Navbar can do all that.
it's on play store, but i just found it here on XDA. Note to self - remember to ALWAYS check xda first before you pay! although, i like the app so far, so it's worth the money.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2270198
EDIT : One note - on the G2, I've found you have to use another Xposed module (like g2 xposed or gravity box) to hide the stock nav bar first. At least right now.
I'm already using G2 xposed to remove the volume slider in drop-down, and for transparent status bar, so I already had it to make this change.
I love the software buttons because you can customize them and have various animations and actions. I agree with the wasted space but I root and download "tex_Droider" from the Play Store and change the DPI down from 480 to 400. This will make everything smaller and more roomier... including the Nav Bar.
Then I downloaded Flashify and TWRP Custom recovery. Flashed with Flashify.
I downloaded a Smaller Nav Mod. I used the "Medium" size since I already lowered the DPI. You can use the small size too if you want it really small. Boom.
I've played with hiding the navbar and using gestures and also that PA mod. I dunno just doesn't work for me. I use those buttons a lot and adding a swipe each time is a pain. Personally I wouldn't mind just having a transparent bar across ALL apps.
With ya player911, wound just using small nav bar. Wish I could add a couple more apps to the stock home swipe out.
With the G nexus I've tried making the nav bar about half. It worked except for the occasional mis-tap. Still it was annoying to have it cover up screen - on top of all of these options, can the nav bar be made transparent? I figure apps would have a hard time realizing what's going on so a solution would go something along the lines of first removing the nav bar to make every app draw full screen, and then adding a module that would create false transparent buttons simply overlaying the screen content at all times, rather than having a swipe or some other gesture pull the nav bar up or down. The false buttons could be in the very corners of the screen so as to not likely cover anything up.
The thing I like about the S3/4 is in dark conditions where you are being more tactile with the phone/case (I turn my softkey backlight off totally) your thumb rests on the edge of the case and rolls over to tap the softkey. It wouldn't be an issue to get used to the position of this virtual softkey by adopting the same behavior, it's just a matter of whether an app exists that will draw repositionable virtual transparent mappable "area" on the screen that would correspond to a button.
Don't think you're going to find one. Every app/game is different, so who is to say that where you place your "always there" transparent buttons won't interfere with an actual area you need to tap inside an app, game, etc. Even in the corners.
I would again suggest trying the auto-hide mods mentioned above. They do exactly what you are describing with the overlay, except you have to swipe or tap to bring it up.
Swiping is really not that big a deal. Ultimate dynamic navbar gives you the ability to swipe right to a button, so your finger never has to come off the screen. It's very fluid.
You could also try PIE. But what I like about the auto hide nav bar mods is that you can set the nav bar to toggle, so it stays up if you need to press nav bar buttons a bunch of times in a row. With PIE (at least when I last used it), you have to swipe for every button press.
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