It really depends on the application. Personally, I prefer on screen buttons to menu buttons in almost all cases when the screen real estate isn't at a severe premium due to the difficulty of using a button then using the touch screen. So as long as you have space, I say put it on the screen. Games and stuff this is obviously impossible for, so go ahead and put them in the menu in that situation. Just remember, 1 tap is better than 1 button and 1 tap.
Now, there are a few exceptions I follow. Anything that is the same in any activity I put in the menu so that it's consistent across the UI. In fact, that's the most important rule I can think of: Be consistent! Don't put save in the menu sometimes and on the screen sometimes. Try to think of common tasks and minimize the difficulty in going about them. Sometimes it's easier in general to put everything in the menu. I seriously doubt this is the case for almost all apps as the menu seems to get cluttered very easily. If you do use the menu, PLEASE use common icons so that a user can navigate it at a glance. Don't use a magnifying glass for file open that's just going to confuse people and make your app slower and harder to use. On Oct 3, 1:12 pm, Charlie Collins <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Every time I make a new screen I find myself debating which buttons > should be on screen buttons, and which should be menu items, and or > which should be both. I was wondering what others thing about this. > Are there general guidelines or logical approaches that people are > using? I apologize up front if this is a silly question, but it comes > up again and again in my own head, and I haven't found any > documentation or direction on it really. > > I notice that the built in contacts app, for example, has the sort of > "main" actions like "new contact," "edit contact," "save," "discard," > etc, as menu items. But it also has "Add Icon" as both a menu item > and as an on screen button. > > I personally think it makes the most sense to use the menu for high > level "actions," so "save" and "add" and so on make sense in the menu. > But maybe that is subjective? Is it just whatever works best with the > screen real estate and layout, etc. > > Seems like the menu is faster/more intuitive if you can use it, but > with the d-pad all the on screen buttons work too whether or not the > device is touch capable, and being on screen makes the choices more > obvious. > What to the UI gurus and Android devs think are some best practices in > terms of making button/menu choices? --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Android Developers" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
