Rearrange buttons

[new-sprint-nexus-s]

Is there a way to rearrange the 'Back', 'Menu', 'Search' and 'Home' soft buttons at the bottom of the phone?

I want them in a different order.

Search, Menu, Back, Home instead of Back, Menu, Search, Home.

Thanks.

 

[byeblackberry]

Is there a way to rearrange the 'Back', 'Menu', 'Search' and 'Home' soft buttons at the bottom of the phone?

I want them in a different order.

Search, Menu, Back, Home instead of Back, Menu, Search, Home.

Thanks.

Are you being serious?

 

[IIJBII]

Is there a way to rearrange the 'Back', 'Menu', 'Search' and 'Home' soft buttons at the bottom of the phone?

I want them in a different order.

Search, Menu, Back, Home instead of Back, Menu, Search, Home.

Thanks.

Yes, turn it upside down. You can also change the location of the camera this way...

Those buttons aren't just software so no, they can't be changed.

 

[drewsonian]

Are you being serious?

I know that sounds crazy, but I actually wondered the same thing. My wife has an EVO, and I've gotten used to her button layout when I use her phone. While I don't believe that I'll have a problem using the Nexus layout myself, I'm sure she'll get annoyed if she uses my phone with the different button placement.

Or maybe it's a good thing and it'll keep her from ever using my Nexus (haven't gotten one yet, saving up for it)

 

[KSmithInNY]

yeah, you can change their mapping absolutely but thats not going to change the physical image on the bottom of the phone. What i mean is, you can map the back button to perform the search function but when the LED behind the button lights up, it's still going to be a backwards arrow.

You'll need to be rooted so you can mount /system as r/w but what your looking for is in /system/usr/keylayout.

 

[AndroidOne]

My opinion here but I would be hard pressed to recommend rooting to anyone that has little or no experience with Android OS. Rooting is a very useful tool to get complete control of your handset by allowing access to otherwise restricted areas of the OS. With greater access comes the opportunity to change things that can cause adverse behaviors - hence the reason access to those program areas is restricted to the user by default.

My recommendation to new users of the Android OS is to refrain from rooting just yet, spend some time learning how Android works and researching on this and other sites about root access and the ins-out of the Android OS. I suspect too many people here, lured by how easy is to root the Nexus, will attempt to "customize" the OS to make it work as their prior phone used to and may end up causing more problems than they anticipated.

Just a thought.

 

[drewsonian]

My opinion here but I would be hard pressed to recommend rooting to anyone that has little or no experience with Android OS. Rooting is a very useful tool to get complete control of your handset by allowing access to otherwise restricted areas of the OS. With greater access comes the opportunity to change things that can cause adverse behaviors - hence the reason access to those program areas is restricted to the user by default.

My recommendation to new users of the Android OS is to refrain from rooting just yet, spend some time learning how Android works and researching on this and other sites about root access and the ins-out of the Android OS. I suspect too many people here, lured by how easy is to root the Nexus, will attempt to "customize" the OS to make it work as their prior phone used to and may end up causing more problems than they anticipated.

Just a thought.

Appreciate your sentiment and I echo it, especially if you don't have background and experience in programming / scripting. I haven't bought my Nexus yet; I'm watching the reviews to see what issues people are having before jumping in, and I'll be doing the same thing when it comes to rooting (waiting to see how it works out for others).

 

[drewsonian]

yeah, you can change their mapping absolutely but thats not going to change the physical image on the bottom of the phone. What i mean is, you can map the back button to perform the search function but when the LED behind the button lights up, it's still going to be a backwards arrow.

You'll need to be rooted so you can mount /system as r/w but what your looking for is in /system/usr/keylayout.

I figured that'd be the case on the mapping of the buttons and the icons (I think I'll just tape new icons over the old ones... j/k) . I probably won't remap the buttons, but it's good to know it's possible.

 

[AndroidOne]

While is very anoying that button placement is still not standard on Android headsets, remapping is likely a bad idea as the silkscreen on the button itself - as previously stated - will continue to show the original function.

Is better, in my opinion, to accept the layout as is and allow yourself time to get used to it... it will happen, believe me... I have used the Evo > Epic > Evo Shift > LG Optimus and now Nexus S and countless others before Android. You will get used to it in time.

 

[jimmycinla]

yeah, you can change their mapping absolutely but thats not going to change the physical image on the bottom of the phone.

I guess considering you cant see them 95% of the time this wont really matter, lol.

 

[OldCoastie]

I guess considering you cant see them 95% of the time this wont really matter, lol.

What's up with the almost invisible buttons. I can barely see mine in good light. Outside or in the car, they are invisible.

Does anyone have any suggestions or solutions?