Android : activity/widget always on top - android

this time on android market there are many application that have as a feature to be always on top even if you use your browser or see the phone's menus, you know how to do this thing?
Thanks

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Running two applications simultaneously

I'm working on an application which contains a transparent screen and I need other applications such as Google Maps to run behind it, is there a way to run 2 apps simultaneously ?
Currently when I open my app all I see behind it is the menu displaying all opened apps, but can't figure out how to keep apps running behind mine.
I'm working on an application which contains a transparent screen and I need other applications such as Google Maps to run behind it
Given the fact that other developers write those other applications, you have no reliable way to knowing exactly what the user can see through the transparent portion of your UI. That will vary based on device, version of the other app, etc.
Currently when I open my app all I see behind it is the menu displaying all opened apps
What is visible through your transparent portion of your UI is whatever activity happens to be behind it.
can't figure out how to keep apps running behind mine
The decision of what other apps do is up to the developers of those other apps, not you.
is there a way to run 2 apps simultaneously ?
You are certainly welcome to start some activity (e.g., a map), and then some time later start some other activity (e.g., the one of yours with the transparent pane). What the other app does, when you do this, is up to the developers of the other app, not you.

Android app on Chrome using ARC, keep back button on top enabled

developer.chrome.com/apps/getstarted_arc#bestpractices
The ARC allows you to execute native android apps through the chrome browser by wrapping a chrome app around it.(As far as I can tell)
I am re-factoring an Android app to work well on Chrome. The first thing I need to do is to make the back arrow enabled at all times on the top left as shown below.
This is the program that allows Native android apps to run through chrome. I think the answer to my question lies somewhere in "Additional Metadata", or in the source code?
Add {"disableAutoBackButton": "true"} to the metadata. That will enable the back button within an activity. I've found that with my app that has multiple activities, though, it doesn't work to return to my main activity from my settings activity. It could be that I'm doing something wrong with the way I'm handling activities, I guess, but it works on all physical devices.
{"sleepOnBlur":false,"disableAutoBackButton":true}
please supply the above metadata before you download the zip or launch app from the arc welder
the first param prevents excessive pause/resume and also supposed to fix short black screen flash occurring occassionally in some of the apps.
the second params adds persistance back button on top left hence helping to avoid extra code required because of absence of back button in some screens(mostly the first screen)

How can I remove the new do-nothing "settings" control from my Marmalade Android app on HTC One (Credo only?)?

I'm working on my first (C++/IwNUI) Marmalade app, which so far works fine, but on Monday one of my devices (an HTC One Android phone, Credo Mobile) had a system update, after which my app, and only my app, now shows what seems to be a "settings" control on top of my app, which can be moved around, but does nothing but clock taps to the app where it is. It's a grey circle with three dots in it, which appears immediately when my app starts to load. Another Android test machine (Samsung Galaxy) does not show this control on my app.
Has anyone else seen this? How might I get it not to appear?
I have asked on the Marmalade forums with no response, and searched here and on the web but I haven't seen any reference to it, so I assume it may be limited to some combination of Marmalade apps, HTC One, and/or Credo Mobile Android phones.
Update: This control appears (on this phone only) on all of the Marmalade example apps I have built too, including IwUI, IwNUI, and plain demos like IwHTTPExample.
Even though this is very specific, I wonder if anyone knows a programmatic way in Marmalade C++ for me to at least get such a settings control to hide or go away?
I found a way to make it go away: "Add android:targetSdkVersion="11" (or higher) to your element." in the settings file which in my Marmalade project is called AndroidManifest.xml.
It seems like this may be a bug where it thinks there is an "overflow" of a title/menu-bar which isn't even there in these apps. By targeting a later version, it uses a newer "holo" menu, which doesn't do this.
If someone has a better explanation, I'll wait to mark that as the accepted answer.
In case it may help future people confused by all this, here's how I found this. Jared's answer led me to study my Marmalade config files, and the Android developer site where I found some general somewhat relevant info about what this is, and to search some different terms on the Marmalade forums, which got me to a relevant question I had missed on the Marmalade community answer pages, which led me to this page which had the suggestion which has the desired effect.
I am guessing you created a new project. Are you seeing this "settings"?
This is automatically added in every new app. Check your res -> menu folder. You can remove the "fake" options menu if you like.
Samsung will show this menu if you hit the menu button on the bottom left of the device.
HTC devices will show the options menu in the ActionBar/ToolBar.

Part screen Android application, always on top

Hello fellow programers!
I'm trying to figur out if it is possible to develop an application that:
Does not cover the whole screen, and hence, can interact with the application or OS behind.
Always is on top of the other application.
I'm thinking something along the windows-forms on a PC, that can be resized and moved around.
Also, I'm using API 15, but could if necessary change to API 17.
Thanks!
Sony use something called small apps https://play.google.com/store/search?q=small+apps&c=apps, try researching this? http://cdn7.staztic.com/app/a/1240/1240459/small-app-tutorial-184485-0-s-307x512.jpg

Using an Android tablet as "input device"

I'm looking for some help from developers who are know android development. We have a client who wants to use an Android tablet as a means of collecting data when someone walks into their office. The problem is that they don't want any of the background functions or access to the net on the device (it's there to log people in so it should not move from that function with out some other credentials to "unlock" the device.)
With apple I know you can lock the screen on to a page/app but not sure about android? Can't find any thing online that would tell me it can be done on android.
With Android you can replace the launcher (home screen) app, and if that app doesn't give you access to launching other things, then you cannot do other things. The first time you press the home key after installing another launcher candidate, Android asks you which home screen application to run (the original or your new one) and allows you to set your answer as the default, eliminating the question in the future.

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