On-screen menu bar

[unitedflow]

When I play games or use certain apps there's an on-screen menu bar that is very annoying. I like to play my games on a full screen and would like to disable it. Does anyone have any tips or advice to disable it.

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[sabbys]

When I play games or use certain apps there's an on-screen menu bar that is very annoying. I like to play my games on a full screen and would like to disable it. Does anyone have any tips or advice to disable it.

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Send an email (no lots of them) to the developers to update their app to ICS.

sabbys

 

[b1time]

Root.... flash a mod and it's gone

 

[unitedflow]

Are there any ics apps or games that don't use the on-screen menu bar?

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[b1time]

Yes but they're in the minority... it annoyed the hell out of me... and unfortunately since companies like Samsung are still releasing phone with a capacitive menu button.. devs are going to be less intrigued to update their apps unless all of us LTE and one X owners bomb the devs with emails like sabbys suggested..

 

[unitedflow]

They should've re-mapped one of the other buttons as the menu button while in full screen mode. What a waste of space.

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[b1time]

Are there any ics apps or games that don't use the on-screen menu bar?

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Power amp was updated today to support us evo and onex users...

 

[crxssi]

They should've re-mapped one of the other buttons as the menu button while in full screen mode. What a waste of space.

Exactly. And since we seem to need yet another thread on it, I will just copy and paste what I posted there...

I think it was a major screw-up in the ICS Android UI. If there is no menu button, and the app is not ICS friendly, they really should have given the user another optional setting of some sort that did not involve robbing the screen.

The perfect proposed solution: Change the "recently used apps" button into a menu button, and move the recently used function to be long-press on the home button. Choices are good. I am hoping this idea might be possible at some point without totally ripping out the ROM.

Maybe in a few YEARS all the apps will be fixed. But in the meanwhile.... Launch Angry Birds and stare at this crazy chunk of wasted screen the entire game.... yeesh.

 

[Vysse]

Exactly. And since we seem to need yet another thread on it, I will just copy and paste what I posted there...

I think it was a major screw-up in the ICS Android UI. If there is no menu button, and the app is not ICS friendly, they really should have given the user another optional setting of some sort that did not involve robbing the screen.

The perfect proposed solution: Change the "recently used apps" button into a menu button, and move the recently used function to be long-press on the home button. Choices are good. I am hoping this idea might be possible at some point without totally ripping out the ROM.

Maybe in a few YEARS all the apps will be fixed. But in the meanwhile.... Launch Angry Birds and stare at this crazy chunk of wasted screen the entire game.... yeesh.

Your "perfect" solution is missing one thing... we should have the option to choose.

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[crxssi]

Your "perfect" solution is missing one thing... we should have the option to choose.

Really? Let's look again:

I think it was a major screw-up in the ICS Android UI. If there is no menu button, and the app is not ICS friendly, they really should have given the user another optional setting of some sort that did not involve robbing the screen.

The perfect proposed solution: Change the "recently used apps" button into a menu button, and move the recently used function to be long-press on the home button. Choices are good. I am hoping this idea might be possible at some point without totally ripping out the ROM.

 

[Shadnic]

I think it was a major screw-up in the ICS Android UI. If there is no menu button, and the app is not ICS friendly, they really should have given the user another optional setting of some sort that did not involve robbing the screen.

The perfect proposed solution: Change the "recently used apps" button into a menu button, and move the recently used function to be long-press on the home button. Choices are good. I am hoping this idea might be possible at some point without totally ripping out the ROM.
.

I hate the on-screen menu button, but I disagree with most of this. I think android "had" to move away from having a menu button, because an always present physical menu button means that visual menus are not always present until called upon, and this limits usability for users who are not tech-savvy. I think of the physical menu button as being similar to a right click on a computer, and I can't tell you how many people I know never think to right click things when they need more options.

This move was to make android more usable, force apps to be redesigned more for visual cohesion and ease of use, and make the phone appear more user-friendly. Having back, home, and multitask are easily recognizable and not overwhelming. And while multitasking on "this" phone is somewhat broken, I find using multitasking to be waaaaaay more intuitive, fast, and pleasant when it's a simple press away, as opposed to a few second hold and then responding to an on-screen menu. This change helps streamline things for androids future, and helps make it more open to new users. It just will take time to get all developers on board with new apps, but it's for the best once they do. Samsung including the legacy menu button is really not helping things though. The popularity of the GS3 could really push this whole movement back, which is really discouraging.

I would, however, totally be down with having the option to just turn it off completely at the user's request. I have not encountered a single app where the on-screen menu button led to something that you could not access ANYWHERE else within the app. Not to mention in most games, the button does absolutely nothing because options are all handled through the on-screen pause or settings button.

 

[crxssi]

I hate the on-screen menu button, but I disagree with most of this. I think android "had" to move away from having a menu button,

I agree. I am not saying the idea of having an in-line, top-bar, on-screen menu button is a bad move for Android. I am saying that forcing a new "bar" with just a menu button on it, without giving the user any other options to deal with it was a bad idea.

I would, however, totally be down with having the option to just turn it off completely at the user's request.

Exactly- give the user a choice to hide it and a choice to remap buttons- bury it somewhere in settings if necessary. But leaving us stuck with a new bar just for a menu button is incredibly irritating. Even more so when an app ALREADY has a menu button on the application bar! (Rare, but it does happen). EVENTUALLY it will be solved by all apps getting updated (hopefully), but in the meantime, the "solution" they force on us is unacceptable- it is clunky, freaky, and robs valuable screen space unnecessarily.