Chapter 21. Android 3.0 action bar

 

This chapter covers

  • Overview of the ActionBar classes
  • Action bar display options
  • The elements of the action bar
  • Removing, showing and hiding the action bar
  • Styling the bar

Android 3.0 introduced the action and system bars. The action bar is found at the top of the screen and replaces the traditional (pre–Android 3.0) application title. The always-visible system bar is found at the bottom of the screen and provides access to system-level information. By default, applications that target Android 3.0 are automatically assigned the new action bar and the new holographic theme. The content of the action bar is application-defined, meaning it’s contextual, and consists of tabs, actions, and menus, providing users of tablet applications with greater visibility and access to the application controls than on previous versions of Android. The combined bars give users quicker and easier access to application actions, controls, and system-wide notifications.

21.1. Introducing the action bar

21.2. Overview of the ActionBar classes

21.3. Action bar display options

21.4. Action items

21.5. Removing, showing, and hiding the action bar

21.6. Action bar styling

21.7. Summary