[Q] More real screen estate by virtual navigation bar customization...?

golemus · Jan 11, 2014

Is there some way (Cyanogenmod or other CustomROM...?) to modify Nexus7 to get more real screen estate (especially in landscape mode) in modern android versions (Jelly Bean, Kitkat)?

I think that the best way to do this would be

1. in portrait mode combine virtual navigation buttons and status bar into one bar that is in lower edge of the screen (Honeycomb style).

2. in landscape mode have a vertical navigation bar (Nexus4, Nexus5, Xperia Z style) in right edge of the screen

3. for even more estate in landscape mode integrate status bar into the vertical navigation bar (modded Honeycomb style. Otherwise pretty simle but displaying time numbers vertically might seem and odd solution but in the long run it is the most efficient solution).

I did even a feature request of this to Android in code.google.com:

"More real screen estate for android tablets by virtual navigation button / status bar customizations"

It is just such a pity. Nexus7, a tablet with so much potential becomes so much an unfinished product when turning it into landscape. Even this tablet (Procaster Mid 007) that costs only 70eur utilizes space better than Nexus7:

And Galaxy Tab3 7.0 is way ahead in real screen estate/usability.

Darth · Jan 11, 2014

Just get xposed with gravity box and LMT. Done. If you're rooted anyway.

Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk

golemus · Feb 6, 2014

kj2112 said:
Just get xposed with gravity box and LMT. Done. If you're rooted anyway.

Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk

This seems to be far too complicated "hacker's solution" (and does not officially work with 4.4. kitkat). Is there any simpler way to prevent navigation bar from rotating?

Darth · Feb 6, 2014

golemus said:
This seems to be far too complicated "hacker's solution" (and does not officially work with 4.4. kitkat). Is there any simpler way to prevent navigation bar from rotating?

I'm not sure what you mean by rotating?

And no....if you're rooted...installing xposed and gravity box is simple. Installing lmt is simple....hide navigation bar with gravity box....gain real estate at bottom of screen (as OP was asking about) and lmt is like pie. And its nice once you get used to it.

Whole process (assuming you're rooted) takes about 7 minutes.

Sent from my Moto X cellular telephone...

GedBlake · Feb 6, 2014

kj2112 said:
I'm not sure what you mean by rotating?

And no....if you're rooted...installing xposed and gravity box is simple. Installing lmt is simple....hide navigation bar with gravity box....gain real estate at bottom of screen (as OP was asking about) and lmt is like pie. And its nice once you get used to it.

Whole process (assuming you're rooted) takes about 7 minutes.

Sent from my Moto X cellular telephone...

Yep. Agreed.

@golemus...
Xposed is really simple to install (see link in my sig)... assuming your rooted of course. GravityBox is then installed via the Xposed app itself... and future updates are maintained accordingly. Think of the Xposed app as a sort of repository of all Xposed modules, of which GravityBox is just one. Easy to install, and easy to maintain... and it does work on KitKat 4.4.2... I have it running on my Nexus 7.

IMHO, Xposed framework is the best thing to happen to Android... and GravityBox is just terrific. It offers a whole plethora of great tweaks.

I'm not familiar with LMT though... definitely going to have to have a tinker with that

.

Rgrds,
Ged.

golemus · Feb 6, 2014

GedBlake said:
Yep. Agreed.

@golemus...
Xposed is really simple to install (see link in my sig)... assuming your rooted of course. GravityBox is then installed via the Xposed app itself... and future updates are maintained accordingly. Think of the Xposed app as a sort of repository of all Xposed modules, of which GravityBox is just one. Easy to install, and easy to maintain... and it does work on KitKat 4.4.2... I have it running on my Nexus 7.

IMHO, Xposed framework is the best thing to happen to Android... and GravityBox is just terrific. It offers a whole plethora of great tweaks.

I'm not familiar with LMT though... definitely going to have to have a tinker with that.

Rgrds,
Ged.

I don't like installing anything that you can't get from Google Play store, and I didn't find gravitybox or lmt from there (although I did find some xposed thing from there).

And also I found another (partial) solution, I installed a program called "Auto Hide Soft Keys". Although it was not exactly the solution I wanted, now I have virtual navigation bar in right side of the screen but it is invisible by default and when you swipe it to be visible it will cover something else from the right edge of the screen. You can choose it to be all the time visible but then it will all the time cover content from the right edge. So I have to hide it, which causes that for me to press home, back or multitask buttons I need to acts (first swipe from right edge to get the bar to appear and then press a button in the bar).

A bit offtopic but every time I post something i need to fill a captcha, it is very annoying. Is there any way to get rid of them?

Erovia · Feb 6, 2014

Try it the 4.3 roms. Most of them supports full screen mode with PIE.

Wolfensteinjd · Feb 7, 2014

Go xposed. You won't go back.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

GedBlake · Feb 7, 2014

Wolfensteinjd said:
Go xposed. You won't go back.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

Absolutely

. Never was a truer phrase written.

Rgrds,
Ged.

issak42 · Feb 8, 2014

I found gravity box, and installed id successfully. However, the only option is to force navbar into tablet like mode, so horizontal when landscape, there is no inverse option to keep it vertical when landscape. How can I approach this?
Also, what is LMT and where to find it? I didn't find it in xposed repository.

Darth · Feb 8, 2014

Type "LMT xda" in Google. Boom.

Sent from my Moto X cellular telephone...

golemus · Feb 8, 2014

issak42 said:
I found gravity box, and installed id successfully. However, the only option is to force navbar into tablet like mode, so horizontal when landscape, there is no inverse option to keep it vertical when landscape. How can I approach this?
Also, what is LMT and where to find it? I didn't find it in xposed repository.

kj2112 said:
Just get xposed with gravity box and LMT. Done. If you're rooted anyway.

Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk

I also put gravity box but cannot get a vertical navbar in landscape. Somebody claims in topic below that it is not possible. Can somebody confirm if it is possible or not?

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2316070&page=537

ClassySandwiches7 · Feb 24, 2014

issak42 said:
I found gravity box, and installed id successfully. However, the only option is to force navbar into tablet like mode, so horizontal when landscape, there is no inverse option to keep it vertical when landscape. How can I approach this?
Also, what is LMT and where to find it? I didn't find it in xposed repository.

i would like the same thing, have the navigation bar be on the side of the screen when in landscape mode, already using LMT and all the other things mentioned in the thread, i still prefer a navigation bar

Poke_N_PDA · Jul 21, 2014

bumping this. has a solution been found yet?

galaxys · Aug 13, 2014

Another bump...really would like navbar on the side in landscape! GB does not do it for me...

Darth · Aug 14, 2014

galaxys said:
Another bump...really would like navbar on the side in landscape! GB does not do it for me...

For stock... GB is the only way.

But many Roms will have options for this, or by default even. ?

galaxys · Aug 14, 2014

KJ said:
For stock... GB is the only way.

But many Roms will have options for this, or by default even. ?

I'm on stock 4.4.4 and the GB op said yesterday GB is not designed to put the navbar on the right side in landscape...

Darth · Aug 14, 2014

galaxys said:
I'm on stock 4.4.4 and the GB op said yesterday GB is not designed to put the navbar on the right side in landscape...

That pretty much means you'll need a custom Rom that supports it.

Not sure which do though... I run stock 4.2.2

[Q] More real screen estate by virtual navigation bar customization...?

Member

Darth

Guest

Member

Darth

Guest

Senior Member

Member

Senior Member

Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Darth

Guest

Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Recognized Contributor

Darth

Guest

Recognized Contributor

Darth

Guest

Similar threads

Top Liked Posts