Related
I wanted the greatest amount of usable screen "real estate" on my Nexus 7 so I looked for ways to hide the black Navigation Bar that spans the bottom of the display. My launcher of choice, GO Launcher EX, has an option to hide it but that didn't work. There are apps that supposedly hide it but either they only hide it until you return to your home screen or they hide it but leave thick unusable black gaps at the bottom and the top of the display. I use Button Savior for my navigation so I just wanted the Navigation Bar GONE.
I read that, on other devices, adding the line "qemu.hw.mainkeys=1" to the build.prop file under /system would do it but I added the line and it did nothing. Then -- since I was just beginning to customize a newly rooted Nexus 7 (32GB, in case that matters) I scrubbed EVERYTHING and took it back to stock, then rooted it with WugFresh's Nexus Root Toolkit (Version 1.5.5). Next I entered my sign-in data and installed Root Explorer from Google Play (so I could edit system files). Then -- before I did anything else to the tablet, I again added "qemu.hw.mainkeys=1" to the end of build.prop in /system. It worked! The Navigation Bar disappeared and has not reappeared no matter what I've done (reboot, add apps, customize, etc). Better yet, my wallpaper image instantly resized to fill the screen space I'd recaptured. My rows of icons adjust to fill and use the space and no black bars are left anywhere on screen.
It seems unlikely that I'm the first to discover that this works with the Nexus 7 since I'm not a very sophisticated user but in case this adds value to the XDA forum, which I use and very much appreciate, here it is.
Good find. First I heard of this.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app
So how do you navigate without the on-screen buttons?
Frostfree said:
So how do you navigate without the on-screen buttons?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same question.
I use Button Savior. There are other "soft key" solutions as well. I have Button Savior set to never "auto hide" so it's always available (it can always be manually popped in and out). I've got it placed just above the keyboard so it's never in my way when typing. I have it set to semi-transparent so I can always see it but also always see through it. The beauty of soft key solutions is that they take up NO screen real estate and, at least in the case of Button Savior, you can place them exactly where you want them so that you never have to move your hand to navigate your screen. Button Savior needs to be on a rooted device to work properly but you have to be rooted to do this procedure anyway.
deleted
Nexus 7 screen with no Nav Bar with Button Savior
I'm sure there's better ways to illustrate this but here's a blank home page with a bland wallpaper to illustrate what the space on my screen looks like. No Navigation Bar. No Dock either (I use a few icons and a few folders of icons). I like the Status Bar across the top although I could eliminate that too. That's Button Savior on the left-hand side (I'm left-handed). Soft key solutions were popularized in the CM7/Nook Color days since the Nook only had one hard button, a home key.
+1 on GMD Gesture Control. Not cheap ($5), but worth every penny.
This is a pretty interesting idea. I might do this with my N7 or Gnexus also
Let us know if it causes any problems with installing Gameloft, EA, or any other games
might give gmd gesture a try. running pa in tablet ui. cant imagine how nicely it will run in full screen
Gmd is a great proggy. I use it to hide the navigation buttons amongst a ton of other things.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
GMD Gesture looks awkward (I watched some YouTube videos of it in use) but I'm sure it'd become second nature in time. Can you hide the Navigation Bar but still show the Status Bar?
Yep, just tried this neat little mod. Hides the nav bar but not the status bar. Running stock rom/kernel rooted/unlocked. Edited the build.prop rebooted, worked. Re-edited, rebooted went back to normal.
Excellent find!
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
I'd use lmt launcher if you're interested in hiding the navigation bar. It worked well when I was hiding the navigation bar on my gnex.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1330150
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
lesdense said:
I wanted the greatest amount of usable screen "real estate" on my Nexus 7 so I looked for ways to hide the black Navigation Bar that spans the bottom of the display. My launcher of choice, GO Launcher EX, has an option to hide it but that didn't work. There are apps that supposedly hide it but either they only hide it until you return to your home screen or they hide it but leave thick unusable black gaps at the bottom and the top of the display. I use Button Savior for my navigation so I just wanted the Navigation Bar GONE.
I read that, on other devices, adding the line "qemu.hw.mainkeys=1" to the build.prop file under /system would do it but I added the line and it did nothing. Then -- since I was just beginning to customize a newly rooted Nexus 7 (32GB, in case that matters) I scrubbed EVERYTHING and took it back to stock, then rooted it with WugFresh's Nexus Root Toolkit (Version 1.5.5). Next I entered my sign-in data and installed Root Explorer from Google Play (so I could edit system files). Then -- before I did anything else to the tablet, I again added "qemu.hw.mainkeys=1" to the end of build.prop in /system. It worked! The Navigation Bar disappeared and has not reappeared no matter what I've done (reboot, add apps, customize, etc). Better yet, my wallpaper image instantly resized to fill the screen space I'd recaptured. My rows of icons adjust to fill and use the space and no black bars are left anywhere on screen.
It seems unlikely that I'm the first to discover that this works with the Nexus 7 since I'm not a very sophisticated user but in case this adds value to the XDA forum, which I use and very much appreciate, here it is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Paranoid android+ expanded desktop and problem solved
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
You could also use a custom rom such as CM10.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
Team EOS Rom has an option in the power menu to hide the bar.
But beware, hide the bar before you start a game, otherwise no problems.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
I use AOKP, so I already have the function to hide nav bar, but didn't know about Button Savior...
Nice little and powerful app.
Cheers!
Does anybody know how to permamently hide top status bar?
I've been happily using a Nook Color for over two years running CM7.
But when B&N reduced the price of a new 16GB Nook HD to $150, I couldn't resist.... I grabbed one.
Haven't even had it for 18hrs and its running CM10.1 in EMMC (thanks to verygreen's fantastic skills and files)
Now I'm trying to get moved in and get it configured like CM7 was in the Nook Color.
1: In the CM7 system tweaks, there was a setting to allow apps to run full screen on request. I can't find anything like that in CM10. I tried the FullScreen app from the Play Store, but all it does is run full screen all the time or not at all. I want the status and navigation bars to show when not in a full screen app. Any suggestions???
2. Having a problem with wallpapers.... I can choose and set to any preloaded wallpaper that came with CM10. But when I try to use a downloaded wallpaper JPG from the Gallery, the wallpaper setup goes normally, but won't change the wallpaper after tapping Set Wallpaper. ???????
3. I managed to get a Power Control widget stuck in the upper left corner of the screen. Press and hold to move or remove it doesn't work. Help!!
4. Navigation Bar: This thing is a total mess compared to CM7. I had full control over which buttons showed in CM7. Now it appears I can't do anything with it. The home button is a useless duplicate of the Nook button. And personally I have never had any use for the Recent Apps button. But in CM10, I can't turn them off!!! All I really need in the navigation bar is Menu and Back (which is all I used for two years in my Nook Color). And I don't even need them. There's a navigation app called Button Savior that I absolutely love. When not in use, its just a little tab on the side of the screen... tap the tab and a full navigation menu shows in its place. And its totally customizable. What can I do to get rid of the Home and Recent buttons in the navigation bar.... or barring that, how do I turn off the navigation bar??????
I really liked CM7 because of all the nifty tweaks it had.... where did they all go????????????
Forget about number three... the widget went away on its own somehow.
macevanscb said:
1: In the CM7 system tweaks, there was a setting to allow apps to run full screen on request. I can't find anything like that in CM10. I tried the FullScreen app from the Play Store, but all it does is run full screen all the time or not at all. I want the status and navigation bars to show when not in a full screen app. Any suggestions???
4. Navigation Bar: This thing is a total mess compared to CM7. I had full control over which buttons showed in CM7. Now it appears I can't do anything with it. The home button is a useless duplicate of the Nook button. And personally I have never had any use for the Recent Apps button. But in CM10, I can't turn them off!!! All I really need in the navigation bar is Menu and Back (which is all I used for two years in my Nook Color). And I don't even need them. There's a navigation app called Button Savior that I absolutely love. When not in use, its just a little tab on the side of the screen... tap the tab and a full navigation menu shows in its place. And its totally customizable. What can I do to get rid of the Home and Recent buttons in the navigation bar.... or barring that, how do I turn off the navigation bar??????
I really liked CM7 because of all the nifty tweaks it had.... where did they all go????????????
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried using expanded desktop and pie controls? If not, you may find it does pretty much what you're looking for with both #1 and 4.
Go to settings --> system and tap on "expanded desktop." When enabled, you can hold in the power button, and one of the options will let you toggle expanded desktop on and off, which allows you to get rid of the navigation bar entirely whenever you want.
Also in settings --> system at the very bottom, you can enable Pie controls. When enabled, you can tap the bottom of the screen to bring up the navigation bar controls.
I don't know if there's a way to enable or disable expanded desktop automatically depending on the app in CM 10.1. I don't use the option myself, so I'm just not aware. Maybe with Tasker or something?
If you just want to get rid of buttons in the navigation bar, that's also under settings-->system. Tap "buttons and layout," and you can add or remove whatever buttons you want, including a menu button.
Hopefully that answers at least some of your issues, and I wasn't just telling you stuff you already know.
About #2 (setting wallpaper):
I found that changing wallpaper in landscape mode --> it won't stay.
But doing the same thing in portrait mode --> working fine.
I think this is a small bug in verygreen's CM10.1 (don't see this in other devices running CM10.1).
Hiding the Navigation Bar
Thanks for your help Dan...
I looked up both "expanded desktop" and "pie controls" and then played with them.
The expanded desktop only deals with the status bar and that's not a problem in the apps I want to use full screen.
Those apps do hide the status bar but not the navigation bar.
I don't need the pie controls because the Button Savior app does the same thing... and is much easier to use IMHO.
I finally figured out the interface for Buttons and Layout.... I don't find that setup intuitive at all... but I did manage to beat it into displaying just the Menu and Back buttons, the way I like it.
So I still need to find some way for full screen apps to hide the navigation bar.
I really liked the old way it was done in CM7: There was no separate navigation bar. Navigation buttons were in the status bar. And the status bar could be placed either at the top or bottom of the screen. I had the status bar at the bottom with just the Back and Menu buttons in it. I'd love to find some way to make CM10.1 work that way.
After living with the Nook HD for another day, I see that some apps do go full screen and hide the Navigation bar... both YouTube and MX Video Player do this. But the one app I use for reading PDF eBooks, RepliGo Reader, won't go full screen and hide the Navigation bar. My secondary reader app, Aldiko, hides the navigation buttons, but not the navigation bar.... strange. I guess I'll talk to Cerience about RepliGo Reader under Jelly Bean.
hyperxguy... re: wallpapers: I've been doing all my attempts to change wallpaper in portrait mode... sigh
Had anyone out there set wallpaper from a Gallery file successfully???
Is there some special place I need to put my wallpaper JPGs in???
Right now they're just sitting in /mnt/sdcard/download/
macevanscb said:
I looked up both "expanded desktop" and "pie controls" and then played with them.
The expanded desktop only deals with the status bar and that's not a problem in the apps I want to use full screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Expanded desktop definitely gets rid of the navigation bar. If you choose to enable it, it will give you options that say "status bar visible" or "status bar hidden." But with either of those options, it will get rid of the navigation bar.
I agree that these functions are implemented in a non-intuitive way. It seems like there should be easier ways of configuring it.
I'm not aware of any ways to do the more involved things you're talking about, like moving the status bar down with the nav bar. There are other ROMs out there that allow more fine grained control (Paranoid Android is especially popular), but I don't think they're available for the Nook. If you want more customizability, you might be better off with a tablet like the Nexus 7, which is not much more expensive and has more development support.
I'm sorry Dan, but I can only go by what I see.
With expanded desktop set to either hide or show the status bar, the navigation bar will not go away when running either RepliGo Reader or Aldiko Reader.
I would be totally happy if it did.
I'm running CyangenMod v10.1-20130615-UNOFFICAL-hummingbird
That's what was in the EMMC instructions I used.
Is there a more stable version I can load up????
Maybe backing down a build or two would get rid of all my problems.
I think this goes back to the user-unfriendliness of the way CyanogenMod implements certain things. To get rid of the nav bar, there are two steps involved. First, you have to go to settings-->system, and choose Expanded Desktop, either with status bar visible or hidden.
But all that does is enable the option to turn the nav bar on and off. To actually turn it on and off, you have to hold down the power button to bring up the power menu. If Expanded Desktop is enabled, you should see an option for "Expanded desktop." Tapping on it turns the nav bar on and off.
I tried to say that in my first post, but it's a complicated process, and it's not easy to describe.
Also, in an earlier post you mentioned something about wanting the status bar at the bottom of the screen. I didn't really understand what you were talking about with that, but it may be TabletUI, which Google used to put on large tablets but then discontinued. There's a mod where you can install it for the Nook: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2275939
I haven't tried it, so I don't know how stable it is. But it may be worth trying if you like the look of the screenshot on the page I just linked to.
IT WORKS!!!!!!
Thanks, Dan!!!!!
I never noticed the Expanded Desktop option in the Power Menu... in the week I've had the HD I've almost never used it.
My apps are now running full screen and I don't miss the navigation bar at all... Button Savior takes its place.
Status bar on top or bottom was in the CyanogenMod Tweaks settings in CM7 as was adding navigation buttons to the status bar.
I don't really need it here at all as all my navigation is handled by Button Savior.
I have a new question about pixel density... for you or for anyone out there.
I learned in CM7 that pixel density had to be set to either 420 or 69 for Google Play Store compatibility.
Use any other pixel density, and it was very difficult to get new apps or app updates.
And a setting of 420 was perfect for my Nook Color with its 1024x600 screen.
Now, on the Nook HD, the default setting is 420 for the 1440x900 screen.
This leaves a number of things a little too small for me... especially the status bar and other text.
Does anyone know a larger density number I can use that is compatible with the Play Store????
density
Wow... I sure didn't remember this correctly.
160 was the original setting on my Nook Color and 240 was what I used to make things the correct size on screen.
Now 240 is the original setting on my Nook HD and I've found that 320 is the Play Store compatible setting to make things larger on screen.
I am not totally happy with my CyanogenMod Nook HD... everything is working perfectly!!
I'm glad the full screen is working for you. I don't know anything about the pixel density, unfortunately. I've only had the Nook for about a week myself, and I haven't run into any app compatibility issues that would make me start messing around with that.
macevanscb said:
I am not totally happy with my CyanogenMod Nook HD... everything is working perfectly!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How are you now not happy with perfection?
Stupid fingers
Damn dyslexic fingers.... NOW.... I am NOW totally happy with my Nook.
pixel density
The reason I had to mess with pixel density is because I don't like the stock Trebuchet launcher app.
I started out almost three years ago with the Zeam launcher app and I got used to its simplicity and gestures.
But Zeam adheres to the pixel density in build.prop and the icons are too small.
When running Trebuchet, the icons are ok, but widgets and things in the status bar are too tiny at stock density of 240.
Then, running Zeam, everything is too small at stock density.
But with the density set to 320, everything is just right.
You might try Nova or Apex launchers. Both have lots of customizability with gestures, though you may have to pay for the full version to get all the options. I'm not sure if they deal with the dpi issue.
It's too bad there's not a Nook HD port for the Paranoid Android ROM, which allows you to customize the dpi separately for every app you have. If it ever becomes available, you might want to try it out.
Hello!
I know there are some Threads about it already.
I've been searching the web (and xda) about hiding those Nexus navigation buttons in apps but with no success of what I want.
I have already posted this in Q&A but with no success.
REQUEST:
I want my navigation buttons to be ACTIVE on some apps, while I want those button to hide on the other apps with !!POSSIBILITY!! to activate them (indefinite, not only for some seconds) and deactivate when needed.
I don't want them to appear "above" everything like some apps and ways to do this offer. I want it stock, the way android 4.4 does this (eg. http://www.androidpolice.com/2013/1...go-truly-full-screen-hide-the-navigation-bar/)
With the latter I meant when on Home Screen - there should be transparent Button Bar (like stock 4.4) Not like apps that only offer full black
Do you think it is possible? Or maybe modified ROM could offer tweaked and improved android 4.4 "Full-screen Immersive mode" HERE.
miHah said:
Hello!
I know there are some Threads about it already.
I've been searching the web (and xda) about hiding those Nexus navigation buttons in apps but with no success of what I want.
I have already posted this in Q&A but with no success.
REQUEST:
I want my navigation buttons to be ACTIVE on some apps, while I want those button to hide on the other apps with !!POSSIBILITY!! to activate them (indefinite, not only for some seconds) and deactivate when needed.
I don't want them to appear "above" everything like some apps and ways to do this offer. I want it stock, the way android 4.4 does this (eg. http://www.androidpolice.com/2013/1...go-truly-full-screen-hide-the-navigation-bar/)
With the latter I meant when on Home Screen - there should be transparent Button Bar (like stock 4.4) Not like apps that only offer full black
Do you think it is possible? Or maybe modified ROM could offer tweaked and improved android 4.4 "Full-screen Immersive mode" HERE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well considering the rom scene has yet to start up for cm or any other rom for that matter, I wouldn't hold your breath. I am sure it is possible, but I don't know if someone will make it, seeing as there isn't a huge demand for this. Roms like AOKP have features like autohide nav bar and swipe up to reveal but nobody has what you want (that I know of) and I don't think it will happen.
aeppacher said:
Well considering the rom scene has yet to start up for cm or any other rom for that matter, I wouldn't hold your breath. I am sure it is possible, but I don't know if someone will make it, seeing as there isn't a huge demand for this. Roms like AOKP have features like autohide nav bar and swipe up to reveal but nobody has what you want (that I know of) and I don't think it will happen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe you are right, but still I hope for a solution that would extend that Immersive mode to all apps.
I already found a similar solution app called Full!Screen. It does almost what I want with one exception - I want it to activate with a Gesture - Like swipe down with 2 fingers? and deactivate with swipe up from the bottom
I don't like any notification bar toggles
Maybe I can get it to work
Some of you may have a problem with your navigation bar after upgrading to Nougat. Some of you may be bored with boring default navigation bar. So, you can try Navigation Gesture (NG) that developed by XDA. This app is quite good for free version ($1 to unlock all feature).
How does the navigation gesture works? Many may know, many may not know. Simplicity: a virtual-float-bar (button) appears on the screen. You can touch, swipe to do actions like default navigation bar (such as tap to return to Home screen, swipe left for Back, swipe right for Recent Apps, etc.). It's the way common navigation gesture apps work. And so does NG. I've tried many apps like NG, they all use a small bar for gestures. Some can easily change the bar-form to circle or rectangle-form, some can only make a little change to the form, and some cannot. With NG, you can change the bar form easily. So what's new? In all app that I've tried, only NG allows the bar moving coresponding to the direction you swipe. This lets me know what I have done. I love this! NG also allows me to hide the default navigation bar with only one simple adb command (it is: adb shell pm ....... I'm sorry, i forgot this command. You can see it when using the app. Just connect the phone to computer, open adb, type the command and hit Enter. There's no notification after it's done).
So, how to install? Of course, Google Play. Look for XDA navigation gesture app and install. Run the app with its instruction. You can choose the actions when you touch, you can change the size or the shape of the bar.... You can discover the app yourself.
I don't have any relation to this app. I just express my opinion. I did it on my rooted X Style and non-rooted Verizon X 1st gen.
I'm sorry for my bad English. Do it at your own risk.
Images go here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/13PCz9miBuVcL4fDbFdsJ0g3GaZG92PVI/view?usp=drivesdk
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aTCQVE_im8arjzBOaZqCHhgGi77gbWAd/view?usp=drivesdk
Tried it, bought it, deleted it. It overlays my Nova Dock contributing to input errors. Maybe if it had dedicated piece of real estate it would be useful.
schneid said:
Tried it, bought it, deleted it. It overlays my Nova Dock contributing to input errors. Maybe if it had dedicated piece of real estate it would be useful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm so sorry to hear that.
I didnt use any dock before. And it works like charm.
I installed some mod that made my navbar look and act weird. Basically, after installing a certain mod (can't tell which one actually), the navbar looks like this:
I wouldn't mind it too much but the fact the home softkey is not perfectly centered annoys me. Also, on this navbar, clicking the home softkey plays the little animation with the four google dots, another thing that I don't really like.
If I go to Settings, Apps & Notifications, Default Apps, Assist & Voice Input, and change it say to Firefox, and then back to None, the navbar becomes normal again.
But at reboot I get the crappy misaligned one again. I don't use any Assist&Voice Input app, so I set it to none. I also deleted the Google App and Assistant and everything else related to it, because I don't use that stuff.
Like I said, I think a mod that I installed caused this issue. It could have been Pix3lify or the modded Xperia Home with the pill navbar. I removed both mods but the navbar goes back to the weird one after any reboot, so maybe a leftover from one of these mods is still in my system, but I can't find it. How can I restore the default navbar without doing a factory reset? Unfortunately I don't have a backup and I would rather avoid the factory reset. Again it's not a big deal, but I would like to fix it.
While this might not be a perfect solution, you can modify the looks of the navbar with a substratum theme.
Such as this one:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rc.navigate
This is the substratum theme engine, and it requires root on android 9 and up:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=projekt.substratum
If you need more info about substratum look in the app's description or just ask here.
Ephesus said:
While this might not be a perfect solution, you can modify the looks of the navbar with a substratum theme.
Such as this one:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rc.navigate
This is the substratum theme engine, and it requires root on android 9 and up:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=projekt.substratum
If you need more info about substratum look in the app's description or just ask here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could be a solution, but I don't feel like installing more stuff on my phone. Do you know which file is responsible for the navbar's appearance?
MarkMRL said:
Could be a solution, but I don't feel like installing more stuff on my phone. Do you know which file is responsible for the navbar's appearance?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, I don't know that.
Maybe this article about modifying the stock navbar can be useful?
https://www.xda-developers.com/add-custom-buttons-to-nav-bar-on-samsung-galaxy-s8-galaxy-s8/
Or this one:
https://www.xda-developers.com/how-...icons-or-re-arrange-the-buttons-without-root/
They might mention it somewhere.
Weirdly enough, if I use Substratum, the theme I set appears on top of the crappy navbar, and by that I mean that I see both at once once. Guess I'll have to factory reset huh
I was bored today so I came back to this issue. I reflashed System with flashtool, which brought back all the bloatware obviously, but the navbar stays in its weird mode. If I create a new user, the new user gets a normal navbar. If I enable Google and the search assistant, the navbar stays weird on reboot but as soon as I start Google, the navbar becomes normal again.
Anyone know a possible solution to this puzzle?
MarkMRL said:
Anyone know a possible solution to this puzzle?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just do a full reset and start from scratch. No one likes doing them, but sometimes it's the only option.