Problem:
I am testing my app using the Eclipse/ADT bundle. On an AVD created to emulate the Galaxy S4 (a device defined as being "normal" in size) the OS is selecting the XML files from the values-large folder.
The Android operating system is ignoring all other values folders I have defined in an attempt to differentiate the S4 from tablets.
Given the following folders, it selects the values-large folder for the S4:
values-large
values-sw720dp
values
values-normal-hdpi
values-normal-mdpi
values-normal-xhdpi
values-normal-xxhdpi
values-normal
The problem is that I have Master/Detail (ListFragment/Detail-Fragment) two-fragment display that only displays correctly on large screens (tablets). It does not display correctly on the S4, because of the device's size. On a device smaller than 6" wide, the icons end up getting displayed on top of the text, instead of to the right of the text. The only difference is with the S4 in landscape orientation.
The S4 is the ONLY normal sized device that can show the two-pane layout in landscape orientation. The Nexus 4 and others cannot. In landscape the extra density of the S4 is what makes it work.
I also don't want the S4 to use the dimens.xml file that is in the values-large directory.
Questions:
Is this normal/expected behavior? Does the OS classify the S4 as a "large" device? The OS has ignored every other folder name I have tried to use to target the S4. So, it prefers the pre 3.2 names over the newer ones.
In other words, when I attempt to use the newer folder names, like values-sw720dp, the OS still chooses the large folder.
I have two AVDs. One I created to match the specs of the S4. The other is the Sony Xperia Z1, that has the same specs and is available when you install the Sony SDK. Both AVDs are setup with size=normal. I have checked each to makes certain there is no mistake in their setup.
Thanks.
EDIT
I have a new LG G2, which is similar to the S4 in size and density. It does NOT use the values-large directory. I think it is using values-normal-xxhdpi, but need to run more tests (changing dimension values in the dimens.xml) to see what directory it is choosing.
values-large etc are deprecated with android 3.2 (?). It was replaced with things like values-sw720dp and there is basically not a single device out there running android 3.0 or 3.1. Any device running android 2.x is most likely a medium sized phone.
This means, there is no need of using this old qualifiers.
values-sw720dp means, smallest width = 720dp I doubt, your S4 is that wide.
You should use a qualifier like values-w720dp, which means width = 720dp where width depends on your current orientation.
It's way better than relaying on port or land combination because it shows the two pane layout for large displays having 720dp width in portrait orientation too.
Master/Detail two-pane layout for large screens (any orientation)
That seems fine. The implication is that you will use this for -xlarge as well as -large.
and medium screens with high dpi in landscape orientation
First, I do not know what "medium screens" are, as that term is not used in Android development.
Second, I have no idea why you think this would be appropriate. Screen density should not impact the decision of whether to show one or two panes. I would be interested to know applications, written by experts, you see taking this approach.
At first I thought it was the second folder (sw720dp) causing the problem
Note that you have not stated what the problem is.
The Sony Xperia Z1 AVD
I am not aware that SONY distributes emulator images for their devices.
does the same thing as the S4 AVD
I am not aware that Samsung distributes emulator images for their devices.
Is there a values folder I can use to make the Galaxy S4 not choose Master/Detail at all, but still allow tablets to use it?
Ignoring your "medium screens with high dpi in landscape orientation", use -large or -xlarge for tablets. The Samsung Galaxy S4 will not use -large or -xlarge resources, as it is a -normal device. This was confirmed using both the GT-I9500 and the SGH-I337 versions of this particular model.
Is there a way I can make it use Master/Detail for the S4 only when in landscape?
You can use -normal-land to identify -normal devices in the -land orientation. Note that screen size (-normal) is a bit of a fuzzy match, in that Android considers that valid for devices in that size class or larger. Hence, -normal-land would be used by -large-land and -xlarge-land devices as well, in the absence of better matches.
(Note that density qualifiers are even fuzzier -- -mdpi will be used for any device density, in the absence of a better match, as density qualifiers are designed to be used only on drawable directories, where Android can apply resampling algorithms. Using density qualifiers on anything other than drawables and maybe dimension resources is a code smell.)
Personally, I would not use a dual-pane strategy for -normal-land devices, as -normal goes all the way down to 3" diagonal.
This is all in the Eclipse/ADT bundle using the emulator.
My guess is that this is where your problems are coming in.
Unless you downloaded something from a device manufacturer (e.g., Amazon with their emulator images for the Kindle Fire series), NEVER say that you have a "Sony Xperia Z1 AVD" or a "S4 AVD". You are lying to us and, worse, you are lying to yourself. At best, you have an emulator image that you think that you have configured to match the specifications of those devices. However:
That assumes you got the configuration correct
That assumes that the device manufacturer has not changed the behavior of their device at the firmware level
That assumes there are no emulator bugs
You are certainly welcome to say that you are testing things on -normal -hdpi emulators, or the like, as those are things that you directly control via the Device Definitions tab of the AVD Manager.
After reading your comments, I noticed you said you said the Galaxy S4 screen size you defined was 4.9"? All the specs I've seen say it's 5" which will actually change the size in Device definitions from "normal" to "large" once you correctly set the S4 and Nexus 5 to 5".
Edit the Galaxy S4 emulator's definitions to 5" so you have the right screen size, it will auto-change the size to large, so you will need to decide if you need to switch it to normal then go from there. Also, for those wondering, once that avd starts, it does say that it's pulling from the sw480dp folder, so in your case, you would need a new folder:
values-sw480dp or to eliminate large devices in this bucket, values-normal-sw480dp
Related
I am developing an Android application intended for high end handset devices like Galaxy S3, Galaxy Nexus, Xperia V etc. Now I want to know which layout is suitable for devices with resolution 720x1280, density xhdpi and size normal.
I already tried layout-xhdpi-1280x720 and Galaxy S3 device is loading screens from here, but not Galaxy Nexus.
I have tried layout-sw260dp but Galaxy Nexus emulator do not loading screens. Also Nexus7 is emulator is loading from here. I don't want any tablet to run my app.
What can be the problem ? Does Device definition of Galaxy Nexus causes the problem ?
I am using Android SDK 4.2.
Now I want to know which layout is suitable for devices with resolution 720x1280, density xhdpi and size normal.
res/layout/ works nicely. If you are also supporting -small screen devices, have an additional res/layout-small/ for those. You may or may not also wish -land variants (e.g., res/layout-land/) if you want different layouts for different screen orientations.
I already tried layout-xhdpi-1280x720 and Galaxy S3 device is loading screens from here, but not Galaxy Nexus.
That approach has been deprecated for years.
I don't want any tablet to run my app.
Then specify the appropriate <compatible-screens> element in your manifest, to state that you only support small and normal screens, not large and xlarge. This has nothing to do with your choice of layout resource directory.
I have an app, it runs on both handsets & tablets, and I support a wide array of screensizes.
Certain devices, like the Motorola XOOM and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, have screen sizes best supported by drawables under configurations like:
drawable-large-mdpi
drawable-large-hdpi
The devices will automatically pick up portrait drawables in those folders when in portrait mode.
However, if I try to create a folder such as:
drawable-land-large-mdpi
Eclipse will error out with an Invalid resource directory name error. Furthermore, despite having a landscape-specific layout that works perfectly on other devices, on these devices when you enter landscape mode it uses the portrait image instead, since (I'm guessing) it can't find an equivalent landscape image.
So what am I supposed to do here to properly support these devices in landscape mode? They look terrible right now.
I think the correct order for the suffixes is:
drawable-large-land-mdpi
Some of users downloading my apps complain that they were unable to install the app as it exited with MainActivity.class layout not being found. After investigating, I realized that those mobile phones have unusual screens.
For example, one of those phones is HTC ChaCha which screen is 480 x 320 pixels, 2.6 inches (~222 ppi pixel density). According to these specifications, it is a Normal screen, MDPI.
However, as its screen is set in the landscape mode (wide mobile screen), Android does not recognize it as Normal MDPI, but as something else and then it tries to pull XML layout from /layout dir. The Main.xml layout in this directory does not envisage such unusual screens and the layout gets broken (layout icons too big and probably pulled from HDPI drawable directory).
How to make the XML layout for such unusual phones?
PS. One more Question. When I create an emulator for this phone via Android SDK Manager, should I set "Abstracted LCD density" to 222 or keep it to 160???
The problem of the HTC Chacha is in fact it's screen aspect.
It's a "notlong" screen (like the HTC Wildfire if I'm correct).
To make a specific layout for this phone (and all screens with a 4/3 ratio), just make a layout in layout-notlong directory.
res
|---layout-notlong
|----mylayout.xml
Are you sure that the error is that the activity's class can't be found?
Several device vendors will incorrectly describe the density of their screens. The density is not derived from the physical size and pixel count. Some have done this for compatibility reasons; for instance, the original Samsung Galaxy Tab (released before Honeycomb, therefore not technically "tablet ready") reports itself as HDPI so that graphics and layouts are selected to make it use the screen more like a phone.
In regards to your layouts, if you have a decent default (in res/layout/) this will be chosen if no more specific layouts are available (e.g. res/layout-land/ or res/layout-large/). Keep in mind that each of the view ids that you reference in code must be available in all layouts. Keep them all up to date with each other or you will end up with inconsistent behaviour.
If you're diligent about making graphics for at least the main three densities (ldpi, mdpi, and hdpi) then you should not see over-large icons except where the screen is physically smaller than your layout expects it. Also, use dp in your layouts instead of px.
Perhaps the good start to identify the problem is to check the Application Error Reports
in your android market publisher account.
Click on Erros(2) just next your app in the apps listing.
I'm testing my app at Galaxy Tab and Motorola XOOM emulator skins, and I can't understand, why the drawables are taken from the wrong folders. I have drawable-xhdpi folder, where I store big size pictures. However, Tab takes drawables from drawable-hdpi, and XOOM uses the drawable-mdpi folder. So, how do I manage my resources? Thanks in advance.
In addition, it feels like view sizes defined in sp are not ported properly. I have some views which need to be 80sp x 80sp, on phones with mdpi and hdpi screens they look right, but on tablets they look too small. Why can this be?
However, Tab takes drawables from drawable-hdpi, and XOOM uses the drawable-mdpi folder. So, how do I manage my resources?
There is no single "Galaxy Tab" device, so I have no idea which one you are referring to there. The XOOM is an -mdpi device. I would expect that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 would be -mdpi as well. However, in the end, device manufacturers will choose values that they feel deliver the best results for existing applications.
GalaxyTab 7" use "-large-hdpi"; XOOM 10.1" use "-xlarge-mdpi".
check this post for details:
GalaxyTab, Motorola Xoom Screen Desity and Size
I have test with multiple screen resolutions and find out Android use the following qualifier for different screen resolutions:
240x320: -ldpi
320x480: -mdpi
480x800: -hdpi
GalaxyTab7.1 inches: -large
GalaxyTab10.1 inches: -xlarge
Hope this information is useful for you.
Galaxy tab (the old one, running Android 2.x) is indeed not xhdpi. I had success by using the "large" qualifier to identify tablets. Else you can always use an API qualifier such as v11 for Honeycomb only resources.
Rather than using the dpi qualifiers you can use screen size qualifiers instead, theres info here on exactly what tags you can use when selecting which resources to use,
http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/resources/providing-resources.html
It's important to understand the difference between dpi and screen size, dpi tends to be high on phones, like a samsung galaxy s2, but on the big 10 inch tablets it tends to be low(which makes sense if you think about it, the phones squeeze more pixels into a smaller space).
I want to make sure that devices with 10,1" and 1024x600 under 2.1/2.2(e.g. Archos 101) are using the correct layout.
Are they large and ldpi?
Also, how can I simulate them using the android emulator?
In the end, the choices of screen size and screen density are up to the manufacturer. Hence, nobody here can answer you definitively.
A 10.1" diagonal screen should be large and probably should be ldpi, though it is possible it will be declared mdpi based upon the apparent density given the distance one would typically hold a 10.1" tablet from one's face.
Bear in mind that ARCHOS' devices do not ship with the Android Market AFAIK, and hence do not necessarily pass the various compatibility tests. As a result, ARCHOS could do all sorts of stuff that would be unexpected.
Also, how can I simulate them using the android emulator?
The Android SDK is not well-suited for testing a 10.1" LCD at this time. I would expect better instructions and support for such sizes in Android 3.0.
For now, set the resolution and density for the AVD when you create it. In this case, you would want to specify 120dpi (ldpi) for the density. Android should put it in the large screen size bucket for you, given those values. Leastways, that basic approach works for getting large WVGA devices.