Develop Reference

Removing the settings menu inflator from Actionbar

I have a action bar set up as this:
When I click on it a settings popup appears like this which when pressed takes me to my apps settings page.
My question is how would I remove the settings popup so that it takes me directly to my settings activity when I press the three dotted button? I tried playing around with code below but it yielded no result.
#Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.menu_main, menu);
return true;
}

Goto the menu folder of your project. res>>menu and find the xml file representing the
You have to add the android:showAsAction="always" like below:
<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item android:id="#+id/menu"
android:title="#string/menu_settings_item"
android:showAsAction="always"
android:icon="#android:drawable/ic_menu_a" />
</menu>

Use the showAsAction parameter.
<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<item android:id="#+id/menu"
android:title="#string/menu_settings_item"
android:showAsAction="always"
android:icon="#android:drawable/ic_menu_a" />
</menu>

You can specify that your settings option always appears as a button on the action bar. You don't need the three dots in this case.
For instance, you can specify your action bar menu item like this (notice the "always" value):
<item android:id="#+id/action_settings"
android:title="#string/action_settings"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_action_settings"
android:showAsAction="always" />

How to display Menu Items overflow android

I want to display my menu items on ActionBar with android
I found some samples but It was not what I wanted
Menu should be similar picture below(Overflow Icon or text)
My menu.xml is :
<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" >
<item
android:id="#+id/action_refresh"
android:orderInCategory="100"
android:showAsAction="always"
android:icon="#drawable/icon"
android:visible="true"
android:title="Refresh"/>
<item
android:id="#+id/action_settings"
android:title="Settings">
<item
android:id="#+id/mapMenu"
android:title="map menu" />
<item
android:id="#+id/favMenu"
android:title="favorite" />
<item
android:id="#+id/listMenu"
android:title="List Menu" />
</item>
and my android code :
#Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
MenuInflater inflater = getMenuInflater();
inflater.inflate(R.menu.menu, menu);
return true;
}
#Override
public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item) {
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), item.getTitle() + " selected", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
switch (item.getItemId()) {
case R.id.mapMenu:
// do something
break;
case R.id.favMenu:
// do something
break;
case R.id.listMenu:
// do something
break;
}
return true;
}

In some Android versions or on some devices, I think, the overflow icon would not be displayed, and you would have to press the menu button on the phone.
With what you have at the moment, the overflow icon would be displayed on some devices and not on some others.
Using the support library
If you really want to have an overflow icon, you could use the appcompat support library for Android 5.0.
To do that, add this into your build.gradle file, under dependencies:
compile 'com.android.support:appcompat-v7:21.0.3'
Also, you need to extend ActionBarActivity in your activity instead of Activity.
And in styles.xml, make sure your parent theme has the prefix Theme.AppCompat.
You can read more about that here.

Try android:showAsAction="never" for item which you want to show in overflow menu . I think this is what you want.

add actions to action bar

So I did exactly what i suppose to do according to the android development training but still i cant see the actions on the action bar, instead they are in the overflow menu.
<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" >
<!-- Search, should appear as action button -->
<item
android:id="#+id/action_search"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_action_search"
android:showAsAction="ifRoom"
android:title="#string/action_search"/>
<!-- Settings, should always be in the overflow -->
<item
android:id="#+id/action_settings"
android:showAsAction="never"
android:title="#string/action_settings"/>
</menu>
public class MainActivity extends ActionBarActivity {
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
}
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
MenuInflater inflater = getMenuInflater();
inflater.inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return true;
}
#Override
public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item) {
// Handle action bar item clicks here. The action bar will
// automatically handle clicks on the Home/Up button, so long
// as you specify a parent activity in AndroidManifest.xml.
int id = item.getItemId();
if (id == R.id.action_settings) {
return true;
}
return super.onOptionsItemSelected(item);
}
}
and also i set that:
<uses-sdk
android:minSdkVersion="11"
android:targetSdkVersion="21" />
what can i do now?

It's kind of a bug. You should apply another namespace:
<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto">
<!-- Search, should appear as action button -->
<item
android:id="#+id/action_search"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_action_search"
app:showAsAction="ifRoom"
android:title="#string/action_search"/>
<!-- Settings, should always be in the overflow -->
<item
android:id="#+id/action_settings"
android:showAsAction="never"
android:title="#string/action_settings"/>
</menu>

You can always force the menu entries to appear by changing myapp:showAsAction="ifRoom" to myapp:showAsAction="always"
Don't forget to define your app namespace before: xmlns:myapp="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
Quoting from docs for the namespace change:
The showAsAction attribute above uses a custom namespace defined in the tag. This is necessary when using any XML attributes defined by the support library, because these attributes do not exist in the Android framework on older devices. So you must use your own namespace as a prefix for all attributes defined by the support library.
Maybe the name of your app is too big and that's why the menu entries don't appear.

Android action button pushed into overflow

I'm following the android developers guide. I have this menu I'm inflating in the action bar:
res/menu/main_activity_actions.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" >
<!--Search, should appear as action button -->
<item android:id="#+id/action_search"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_action_search"
android:title="#string/action_search"
android:showAsAction="always" />
<!-- Settings, should always be in overflow -->
<item android:id="#+id/action_settings"
android:title="#string/action_settings"
android:showAsAction="never"/>
</menu>
I have a corresponding icon in res/drawable, and am inflating like so:
#Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar if it is present.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main_activity_actions, menu);
return true;
}
The problem I'm facing is that the search action gets pushed into the overflow, and I can't figure out how to make it an action button that always shows up in the action bar.
I did not find a duplicate question on this, though there are many related questions.

Android action bar not showing overflow

I have an action bar in my app with 3 items.
Only 2 can be displayed due to space issues, so I'd expect the first to be displayed and the rest to be displayed in the overflow.
However in practice only the first 2 items are shown and there is no overflow detectable.
Here is the relevant code:
list_menu.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" >
<item android:id="#+id/menu_insert"
android:icon="#android:drawable/ic_menu_add"
android:title="#string/menu_insert"
android:showAsAction="ifRoom|withText"/>
<item android:id="#+id/menu_call"
android:icon="#android:drawable/ic_menu_call"
android:title="#string/menu_call"
android:showAsAction="ifRoom|withText"/>
<item android:id="#+id/menu_agenda"
android:icon="#android:drawable/ic_menu_agenda"
android:title="#string/menu_agenda"
android:showAsAction="ifRoom|withText"/>
</menu>
Activity.java
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
MenuInflater mi = getMenuInflater();
mi.inflate(R.menu.list_menu, menu);
return true;
}

If you want to show the three dots, irrespective of device menu button! then you can call this method in your application class' onCreate method-
private void makeActionOverflowMenuShown() {
//devices with hardware menu button (e.g. Samsung Note) don't show action overflow menu
try {
ViewConfiguration config = ViewConfiguration.get(this);
Field menuKeyField = ViewConfiguration.class.getDeclaredField("sHasPermanentMenuKey");
if (menuKeyField != null) {
menuKeyField.setAccessible(true);
menuKeyField.setBoolean(config, false);
}
} catch (Exception e) {
Log.d(TAG, e.getLocalizedMessage());
}
}

Output
res/menu/menu.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" >
<!-- Search / will display always -->
<item
android:id="#+id/action_search"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_action_search"
android:showAsAction="always"
android:title="#string/action_search"/>
<!-- Location Found -->
<item
android:id="#+id/action_location_found"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_action_location_found"
android:showAsAction="always"
android:title="#string/action_location_found"/>
<!-- More -->
<item
android:id="#+id/a_More"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_action_overflow"
android:showAsAction="always"
android:title="More">
<menu>
<!-- Refresh -->
<item
android:id="#+id/action_refresh"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_action_refresh"
android:showAsAction="never"
android:title="#string/action_refresh"/>
<!-- Help -->
<item
android:id="#+id/action_help"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_action_help"
android:showAsAction="never"
android:title="#string/action_help"/>
<!-- Check updates -->
<item
android:id="#+id/action_check_updates"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_action_refresh"
android:showAsAction="never"
android:title="#string/action_check_updates"/>
</menu>
</item>
</menu>
MainActivity.java
public class MainActivity extends Activity {
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
}
#Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar if it is present.
MenuInflater inflater = getMenuInflater();
inflater.inflate(R.menu.menu, menu);
return super.onCreateOptionsMenu(menu);
}
}
Download the Action Bar Icon Set

I realize this is not an overflow menu, but it is similar.
Okay, this is simple but was hard to figure out.
You first need a menu item you want to use as the overflow inflater. Example
<item
android:id="#+id/a_More"
android:icon="#drawable/more"
android:showAsAction="always"
android:title="More">
</item>
Once you have your item, add a sub-menu containing your items you want in the overflow menu. Example:
<item
android:id="#+id/a_More"
android:icon="#drawable/more"
android:showAsAction="always"
android:title="More">
<menu>
<item
android:id="#+id/aM_Home"
android:icon="#drawable/home"
android:title="Home"/>
</menu>
</item>
On click this will inflate other items within. My application is using ActionBarSherlock 4.0 so before this will work for you, you will need to access the "SplitActionBar". (Will still work on default android Actionbar)
Here's how:
In your AndroidManifest.xml file, you need to add this code under the activity you need the overflow menu in.
android:uiOptions="splitActionBarWhenNarrow"
NOTE: Your item that inflates your overflow menu MUST showAsAction="always"
Vwola! you have an overflow menu! Hope I helped you out. :)

On devices with hardware menu buttons (Galaxy S3, stubborn as Samsung is...) the overflow menu behaves as the 'traditional' menu, by using the hardware menu button.

When you say "overflow" menu, do you mean the three dots that show up in the end to indicate that there are more items.... or do you mean the split actionbar that shows up in the bottom for overflow items?
If you mean the split action bar, you should add this to your activity's manifest file
android:uiOptions="splitActionBarWhenNarrow"
By default, the three dots overflow menu should happen automatically, so it's hard to tell what the problem is from the information you provided above.

To alway show action overflow (three dot) on actionbarcompat:
in menu file, example:
main.xml
<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto" >
<item
android:id="#+id/action_settings"
android:title="#string/action_settings"
app:showAsAction="never"/>
<item
android:id="#+id/action_about"
android:title="#string/action_about"
app:showAsAction="never"/>
</menu>
and in activity file:
#Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
return super.onCreateOptionsMenu(menu);
}
It's worked fine for me.
Tested on Google Nexus S, Samsung S3.

It appears that on devices with a menu button the overflow menu does not show in the ActionBar. Also we have no way to know if a device has a hardware menu button before API level 14 (4.0+).
This solution adds a overflow button to a android.support.v7.app.ActionBar that opens the standard options menu on pre-Honeycomb (<3.0) only, otherwise leaving it to the system. In any case you can choose between always or ifRoom for all actions.
Get the overflow icon from the Action Bar Icon Pack.
Add a menu (I'omitting some non-relevant parts as titles, ordering etc.)
<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto">
<item
android:id="#+id/action_overflow"
android:orderInCategory="100"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_action_overflow"
app:showAsAction="always" />
<item
android:id="#+id/action_first"
app:showAsAction="always" />
<item
android:id="#+id/action_second"
app:showAsAction="ifRoom" />
</menu>
Remove our overflow action on 3.0+
#Override
public boolean onPrepareOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.HONEYCOMB) {
menu.removeItem(R.id.action_overflow);
}
return super.onPrepareOptionsMenu(menu);
}
Finally call Activity.openOptionsMenu() from the overflow action.
Er... no. You cannot not call openOptionsMenu() from a menu button... but if you are using AndroidAnnotations you're done easily:
#OptionsItem
void action_overflow() {
openOptionsMenuDeferred();
}
#UiThread
void openOptionsMenuDeferred() {
openOptionsMenu();
}
If not you should do something like this, I suppose
#Override
public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item) {
if (item.getItemId() == id.action_overflow) {
openOptionsMenuDeferred();
return true;
}
}
private Handler handler = new Handler(Looper.getMainLooper());
public void openOptionsMenuDeferred() {
handler.post(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
openOptionsMenu();
}
}
);
}

Try changing the theme of the app from
Theme.AppCompat.Light.DarkActionBar to Theme.AppCompat.Light

Put xmlns:your_app_name="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto" inside menu tag
and instead android:showAsAction="always" use your_app_name:showAsAction="always"
for eg
<item
android:id="#+id/action_search"
android:icon="#drawable/icon_search"
android:title="#string/search"
your_app_name:showAsAction="ifRoom"/>