Reveal the message view's menu button?

[PeterS]

While using Samsung phones a few years long, I was viewing messages in Full screen mode and "heavily" used the hardware menu button. After switching to another phone, I realized that although having HW buttons, no one of them has the Menu functionality. The beloved Full screen mode had to go away (except that the "exit full screen" icon would be accompanied by a triple-dot menu button ). But then I've also realized, that my bottom menu is missing the triple-dot menu icon at bottom right, although I can see it at others' screenshots.

Is there any setting I've overlooked to switch it on? Or is it off because of the existence of the HW buttons?

Sent from a touch display, which took care of perfectly scrambling my thoughts.

[mikeone]

While using Samsung phones a few years long, I was viewing messages in Full screen mode and "heavily" used the hardware menu button. After switching to another phone, I realized that although having HW buttons, no one of them has the Menu functionality. The beloved Full screen mode had to go away (except that the "exit full screen" icon would be accompanied by a triple-dot menu button ). But then I've also realized, that my bottom menu is missing the triple-dot menu icon at bottom right, although I can see it at others' screenshots.

Is there any setting I've overlooked to switch it on? Or is it off because of the existence of the HW buttons?

Sent from a touch display, which took care of perfectly scrambling my thoughts.

Hi Peter,

AquaMail should show the Menu  button as a "3-dot icon" on the upper right corner in

a) Account list view (the app's main window)
b) Message list view
     > when selecting at least one message the Menu icon will change to the "Overflow" icon of the Action bar on the top of the screen.

However, the overflow icon only appears on phones that have no menu hardware keys. Phones with menu keys display the action overflow when the user presses the (hardware) key.

In Message view you will find also a "3-dot icon". This one is not the "Menu", but the "Overflow" icon from the Action bar.

[PeterS]

I fail to see anything menu-related in my screenshot


I was thinking of the menu triple-dot button seen in this screenshot:

No,  no idea.  Since in my opinion there is no waste of space in message view.
> see screenshot

Sent from a touch display, which took care of perfectly scrambling my thoughts.

[mikeone]

I fail to see anything menu-related in my screenshot


I was thinking of the menu triple-dot button seen in this screenshot:

No,  no idea.  Since in my opinion there is no waste of space in message view.
> see screenshot

Sent from a touch display, which took care of perfectly scrambling my thoughts.

Hi Peter,
This screenshot [above] is from message view (when you are in an already opened message). In this screen there is no Menu icon available.

But what you are missing here [in the screenshot below] is the Overflow icon from the action bar:
... and that's what I tried to explain in my previuos post:

However, the overflow icon only appears on phones that have no menu hardware keys. Phones with menu keys display the action overflow when the user presses the (hardware) key[/b].

[PeterS]

OK, then I have no idea how does it (the overflow icon) look like what I'm missing.

Anyway, any idea how could I open a message's menu?

The settings for message view has a subsequent with long list of buttons, which can be optionally displayed on the bottom "button" bar. Could this list contain also the triple-dot menu button?

Sent from a touch display, which took care of perfectly scrambling my thoughts.

[mikeone]

OK, then I have no idea how does it (the overflow icon) look like what I'm missing.

The action overflow icon usualy looks like the Menu icon ("three dots").

Anyway, any idea how could I open a message's menu?

As mentioned in my previous posts:

"However, the overflow icon only appears on phones that have no menu hardware keys. Phones with menu keys display the action overflow when the user presses the (hardware) key."

> please have a lock into your device's manual or ask your dealer / the manfucturer how to get access to the overflow icon.

The settings for message view has a subsequent with long list of buttons, which can be optionally displayed on the bottom "button" bar. Could this list contain also the triple-dot menu button?

No, the triple-dot overflow icon is not a "real" action icon, it's just an icon to get access to any other action commands that didn't make it as icons in the action bar itself.

[Kostya Vasilyev]

@PeterS

Did you have to be so vague?

After switching to another phone

If this is not classified information, it would help everyone to know:

- The make / model / Android version of this "another" phone

- The exact AquaMail version you're running (system settings app -> apps or apps management)

[PeterS]

No, not classified at all, I've just thought it is an arbitrary common issue bound to the HW buttons.

AquaMail ist the recent 1.6.0.5, phone is OnePlus X, systém update 2.1.3-X, Android 5.1.1.

Sent from a touch display, which took care of perfectly scrambling my thoughts.

[Kostya Vasilyev]

Google can be a friend:

https://www.google.com/search?q=OnePlus+X+menu+button

And this may be especially relevant:

https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/menu-button-issues-when-using-capacitive-buttons.370421/

Like I said, the way this is *supposed to* work is:

- Android "knows" that there is a way to bring up a menu using a hardware button or some other way *provided by the system*

OR

- Android "knows" that there is no way to do this, and "tells" app that "this device has no menu button", in which case apps "know" to display the three dots menu.

The exact code is (on the application side):

   final ViewConfiguration config = ViewConfiguration.get(context);
   return config.hasPermanentMenuKey();

The system function "hasPermanentMenuKey" is what "tells" the app if there is a menu button.

Given that OnePlus's devices 1) run heavily customized Android and 2) are buggier than Samsung and Lenovo combined, I suspect this is where things go wrong.

I recommend reporting this to OnePlus support.

[PeterS]

I'm aware of the threads on OnePlus site, requesting the option to bind the Menu to a key. I suspect it is a long run battle

There is an option to display the software keys. Some apps will blend the Menu button afterwards,  but AquaMail does not (for message view only). I understand that the reason can be, that the OS still tells there IS a menu button...

Sent from a touch display, which took care of perfectly scrambling my thoughts.

[PeterS]

OK, got a workaround. Similarly to what I've read about Firefox, I was trying to blend the SW keys and then to close and reopen AquaMail. But it was possibly still running on the background (and I don't know yet how to really kill an app here). A reboot did it (while the SW keys have been displayed).  Now I can see the semi-transparent menu button even in the full-screen message view.

(Until the next boot. I have to remember switching the SW keys on.)

Nevertheless, I still wonder why AquaMail displays the menu button on all screen types except the message view?

Sent from a touch display, which took care of perfectly scrambling my thoughts.

[mikeone]

Nevertheless, I still wonder why AquaMail displays the menu button on all screen types except the message view?

That's by design.
In Message view you don't need the 'menu' button as much as the specific action icons of the action bar (incl. the 'Overflow' icon) .

[mikeone]

Nevertheless, I still wonder why AquaMail displays the menu button on all screen types except the message view?

That's by design.
In Message view you don't need the 'menu' button as much as the specific action icons of the action bar (incl. the 'Overflow' icon) .

... and the menu items are different in the various screens (of course) as shown in the screenshots below:

#1 - Account list view (the app's main window)
#2 - Message list view (within a folder)
#3 - Search result window (after using swipe action "Search by sender)
#4 - Message view (action bar: overflow icon)

Accordingly, nothing is missing in the  message view.

[Kostya Vasilyev]

The icon bars in account list and message list are provided by the system.

The icon bar in message view is my own code.

Still -- it calls the official documented system function asking "does the system provide a way for the user to bring up a menu == if not, I will display my own three dots".

I suspect that OnePlus don't apply their customization settings at the right level -- they changed their "system provided icon bars" code, and not the standard lower-level "is there a menu button" function.

Oh, and a reboot should not have been necessary -- my code calls this "is there a menu button" function every time you open a message view. Guess the value is cached somewhere by OnePlus' software...

[PeterS]

Possibly should not have been, but unfortunately was.

I understand that the best solution will be to fix the OS. I'll wait...

Sent from a touch display, which took care of perfectly scrambling my thoughts.