They do not write anything about licenses at http://developer.android.com/guide/practices/ui_guidelines/icon_design.html#menuapx (Menu Icons)
I guess they want to have standard icons look the same in all apps, so users dont get confused. Right?
Now I would love to use the Menu-Icon "see map" (a folded map) from the Google Places App. Where can I get it for a commercial project? (Its not in here)
Places is a proprietary app by Google, just like Gmail, Maps, or Voice. These apps are not open-source, so you won't be able to go and find their icons in the git hub.
BAD IDEA:
You could always take a screen shot of the app using DDMS and create your own icon from that, but you might be running some legal risks (since the app isn't open-source). It'd be like using the Photoshop icon for your app.
Related
I need a home screen clone app that uses apps, folders, swipable screens of more apps and so on.
So far, I have looked into custom launchers like this one here: https://www.androidauthority.com/make-a-custom-android-launcher-837342-837342/
But to achieve what I need will require a lot of extra additions (the icons are easy enough, but I'll need folders and swiping as well).
Another approach I wondered about is Kiosk mode/Lock-Task-Mode and multi-app kiosk mode. I've looked at the docs and wondered if this could be used to harness the actual homescreen, while still executing code in the background based on what apps the user selects (ultimately acheiving the same desired effect of my project).
I've spent a full day looking at this but I want to know if I'm on the right path. Obviously, I could create an app that contains all of this, but I do think I want it to be a launcher app that's locked in place so that users can't operate the actual home screen and its apps. No malicious intent here, it's just for a closed-off research project.
Any insight is greatly appreciated.
I try to explain better:
I want to put some tablets in my shop for my customers. I want them to use only a few apps that I've created.
So I need an Android version (or a launcher version, maybe?) where you can only choose between some apps to be played. All the settings, all the other apps and everything else must be unreachable (or, better, only reachable if you know the password).
Anyone has any suggestion on how to do it or where do I start?
Thanks a lot.
One Google search led me to the following:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.teslacoilsw.launcher&hl=en
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.teslacoilsw.launcher&hl=en
Just whichever one you want and and hide the apps you don't want. It will hide them in the drawer as well. Nova Launcher already looks like stock Android, or close enough if you want that. In fact they both do.
Are there any OSS libraries/collections that provide some of the look and feel of iPhone apps (i.e. bg colors, button, drop down list shape/colors, etc) for Android.
I've seen a few apps like that on the Google Market.
BTW I'm not talking about skinning the Android Home screen to make it look like iPhone.
The way to i did that is with Images, and adjust it. But i prefer a original UI, not a copy from iOS.
What is the best way to show help (or user guidelines) to the user when application is launched for the first time. Some applications show overlay text and arrows to inform about the various features available in the application. What is the best way to implement it ? Do I need separate activity or do I modify my homescreen xml or something else ?
Please suggest some good approch as well as specific query to search on google (I couldn't find any specific result on Google)
You can try this lib and have a look at how it's done: https://github.com/Espiandev/ShowcaseView
The ShowcaseView library is designed to highlight and showcase
specific parts of apps to the user with a distinctive and attractive
overlay. This library is great for pointing out points of interest for
users, gestures, or obscure but useful items.
The library is based on the "Cling" view found in the Launcher on Ice-Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean, but extended to be easier to use.
Does Android support visually impaired users in the same way as HTML alt tags are used to provide input for screen readers on the web?
If so, what is the best practice to code Buttons and ImageViews etc so they can be read by a screen reader?
I'm not quite clear on your question. The internet browser, or any applications that rely heavily on HTML rendering are not accessible This quote is taken from this blog post.
You can turn on the accessibility features by going to Settings --> Accessibility and checking the box "Accessibility". While the web browser and browser-based
applications do not yet "talk" using these enhancements, we're working on them for upcoming releases.
Android does provide screen reader support for a lot of applications, see this wiki page for a list of applications known to work well with Android using a free and open source screen reader.
I can't find any general guidelines for creating accessible apps but this LinkedIn group may be helpful. I don't have a LinkedIn account though so don't know how active the group is.
The best resource I've found on the Android Accessibility API is this code walk through: https://sites.google.com/site/gdevelopercodelabs/android/accessibility
See http://developer.android.com/guide/practices/design/accessibility.html for plenty of details on writing an accessible app.
The nearest equivalent to HTML's ALT is the contentDescription property - set in code or in XML.
If you are creating you own custom control, you'll need to do a bit more work to specify other details too; more details at the link above.
Most important thing: when you're done, test with TalkBack, the free Android screenreader from Google. (It's pre-installed on some Android models, but you can download from Android Market if you don't already have it.) You should be able to navigate to all the interactive elements in your app using the directional pad alone, and TalkBack should read out appropriate values for all elements as it does so. (It should pick up the contentDescription and read it out here.)
One thing to watch for is that from what I remember, the screenreader only reads out things that you can navigate to, so if you have instructional text on the page, it may not read out, so you may need to ensure that the contentDescription for other controls is suitably descriptive. To be sure, test with TalkBack, and see for you self (er, hear for yourself!) if what is read out makes sense.
(As noted in one of the other replies, although Android has an accessibility API, the Android browser doesn't actually support it (yet), so HTML pages - even properly marked up HTML code - isn't accessible on Android using the default browser. There are a couple of 3rd party browsers that add accessibility to HTML, though, such as the free IDEAL Web Reader app, which appears to wrap the Android HTML control and then add voicing on top of it. Hopefully Android will make their default browser fully accessible in some later release...)