2011-12-22 16:18:19 -08:00
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Android Design - Application Structure
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2012-02-29 11:59:32 -08:00
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2011-12-22 16:18:19 -08:00
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2012-01-10 23:59:20 -08:00
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<div id="back-dac-section"><a href="../../index.html">Developers</a></div>
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2011-12-22 16:18:19 -08:00
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<div class="layout-content-row content-header">
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<div class="layout-content-col span-9">
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<h2>Application Structure</h2>
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</div>
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<div class="paging-links layout-content-col span-4">
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<p>Apps come in many varieties that address very different needs. For example:</p>
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<ul>
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<li>Apps such as Calculator or Camera that are built around a single focused activity handled from a
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single screen</li>
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<li>Apps such as Phone whose main purpose is to switch between different activities without deeper
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navigation</li>
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<li>Apps such as Gmail or Market that combine a broad set of data views with deep navigation</li>
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</ul>
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<p>Your app's structure depends largely on the content and tasks you want to surface for your users.</p>
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2012-02-29 11:59:32 -08:00
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<h2 id="general-structure">General Structure</h2>
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2011-12-22 16:18:19 -08:00
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<p>A typical Android app consists of top level and detail/edit views. If the navigation hierarchy is
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deep and complex, category views connect top level and detail views.</p>
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<div class="layout-content-row">
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<div class="layout-content-col span-9">
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<img src="../static/content/app_structure_overview.png">
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</div>
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<div class="layout-content-col span-4">
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<h4>Top level views</h4>
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<p>The top level of the app typically consists of the different views that your app supports. The views
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either show different representations of the same data or expose an altogether different functional
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facet of your app.</p>
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<div class="vspace size-3"> </div>
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<h4>Category views</h4>
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<p>Category views allow you to drill deeper into your data.</p>
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<div class="vspace size-11"> </div>
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<h4>Detail/edit view</h4>
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<p>The detail/edit view is where you consume or create data.</p>
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</div>
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</div>
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2012-02-29 11:59:32 -08:00
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<h2 id="top-level">Top Level</h2>
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2011-12-22 16:18:19 -08:00
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<p>The layout of your start screen requires special attention. This is the first screen people see
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after launching your app, so it should be an equally rewarding experience for new and frequent
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visitors alike.</p>
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<p>Ask yourself: "What are my typical users most likely going to want to do in my app?", and structure
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your start screen experience accordingly.</p>
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<div class="layout-content-row">
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<div class="layout-content-col span-5">
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<h4>Put content forward</h4>
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<p>Many apps focus on the content display. Avoid navigation-only screens and instead let people get to
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the meat of your app right away by making content the centerpiece of your start screen. Choose
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layouts that are visually engaging and appropriate for the data type and screen size.</p>
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</div>
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<div class="layout-content-col span-8">
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<img src="../static/content/app_structure_market.png">
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<div class="figure-caption">
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2012-01-23 11:23:46 -08:00
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Market's start screen primarily allows navigation into the stores for Apps, Music, Books,
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Movies and Games. It is also enriched with tailored recommendations and promotions that
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surface content of interest to the user. Search is readily available from the action bar.
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2011-12-22 16:18:19 -08:00
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</div>
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</div>
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</div>
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<div class="layout-content-row">
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<div class="layout-content-col span-5">
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<h4>Set up action bars for navigation and actions</h4>
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<p>All screens in your app should display action bars to provide consistent navigation and surface
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important actions.</p>
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<p>At the top level, special considerations apply to the action bar:</p>
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<ul>
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<li>Use the action bar to display your app's icon or title.</li>
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<li>If your top level consists of multiple views, or if switching between data from different user
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accounts is a significant use case, make sure that it's easy for the user to navigate between them
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by adding view controls to your action bar.</li>
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<li>If your app allows people to create content, consider making the content accessible right from the
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top level.</li>
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<li>If your content is searchable, include the Search action in the action bar so people can cut
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through the navigation hierarchy.</li>
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</ul>
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</div>
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<div class="layout-content-col span-8">
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<img src="../static/content/app_structure_gmail.png">
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<div class="figure-caption">
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Email is about productivity, so an efficient, easy-to-skim list with higher data density works
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well. Navigation supports switching between accounts and recent labels. Icons for creating a
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new message or searching are prominent in the split action bar at the bottom.
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</div>
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</div>
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</div>
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<div class="layout-content-row">
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<div class="layout-content-col span-5">
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<h4>Create an identity for your app</h4>
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<p>Creating an identity for your app goes beyond the action bar. Your app communicates its identity
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through its data, the way that data is arranged, and how people interact with it. Especially for
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media-rich applications, try to create unique layouts that showcase your data and go beyond the
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monotony of simple list views.</p>
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</div>
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<div class="layout-content-col span-8">
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<img src="../static/content/app_structure_music_lndscp.png">
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<div class="figure-caption">
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The 3D carousel celebrates cover art and establishes a unique identity for the Music app.
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Defaulting to the Recent view keeps the focus on music the user has been listening to lately.
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</div>
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</div>
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</div>
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2012-02-29 11:59:32 -08:00
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<h2 id="categories">Categories</h2>
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2011-12-22 16:18:19 -08:00
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<p>Generally, the purpose of a deep, data-driven app is to navigate through organizational categories
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to the detail level, where data can be viewed and managed. Minimize perceived navigation effort by
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keeping your apps shallow.</p>
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<p>Even though the number of vertical navigation steps from the top level down to the detail views is
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typically dictated by the structure of your app's content, there are several ways you can cut down
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on the perception of onerous navigation.</p>
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<h4>Use tabs to combine category selection and data display</h4>
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<p>This can be successful if the categories are familiar or the number of categories is small. It has
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the advantage that a level of hierarchy is removed and data remains at the center of the user's
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attention. Navigating laterally between data-rich categories is more akin to a casual browsing
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experience than to an explicit navigation step.</p>
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<div class="vspace size-1"> </div>
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<div class="layout-content-row">
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<div class="layout-content-col span-8">
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<p>If the categories are familiar, predictable, or closely related, use scrolling tabs (where not all
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items are in view simultaneously). Keep the number of scrolling tabs at a manageable level to
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minimize navigational effort. Rule of thumb: no more than 5–7 tabs.</p>
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<img src="../static/content/app_structure_scrolltabs.png">
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<div class="figure-caption">
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Market uses tabs to simultaneously show category choice and content. To navigate between
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categories, users can swipe left/right on the content.
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</div>
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</div>
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<div class="layout-content-col span-5">
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<p>If the categories in the tabs are not closely related, favor fixed tabs, so that all categories are
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in view at the same time.</p>
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<img src="../static/content/app_structure_fixedtabs.png">
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<div class="figure-caption">
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YouTube uses fixed tabs to switch between different, relatively unrelated functional areas.
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</div>
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</div>
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</div>
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<h4>Allow cutting through hierarchies</h4>
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<p>Take advantage of shortcuts that allow people to reach their goals quicker. To allow top-level
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invocation of actions for a data item from within list or grid views, display prominent actions
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directly on list view items using drop-downs or split list items. This lets people invoke actions on
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data without having to navigate all the way down the hierarchy.</p>
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<img src="../static/content/app_structure_shortcut_on_item.png">
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<div class="figure-caption">
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Music allows the user to act upon a data item (song) from within the category view (album),
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thereby removing the need to navigate all the way down to the song's detail view.
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</div>
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<h4>Acting upon multiple data items</h4>
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<p>Even though category views mostly serve to guide people to content detail, keep in mind that there
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are often good reasons to act on collections of data as well.</p>
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<p>For example, if you allow people to delete an item in a detail view, you should also allow them to
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delete multiple items in the category view. Analyze which detail view actions are applicable to
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collections of items. Then use multi-select to allow application of those actions to multiple items
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in a category view.</p>
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2012-02-29 11:59:32 -08:00
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<h2 id="details">Details</h2>
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2011-12-22 16:18:19 -08:00
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<p>The detail view allows you to view and act on your data. The layout of the detail view depends on
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the data type being displayed, and therefore differs widely among apps.</p>
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<div class="layout-content-row">
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<div class="layout-content-col span-4">
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<h4>Layout</h4>
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<p>Consider the activities people will perform in the detail view and arrange the layout accordingly.
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For immersive content, make use of the lights-out mode to allow for distraction-free viewing of
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full-screen content.</p>
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<img src="../static/content/app_structure_people_detail.png">
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</div>
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<div class="layout-content-col span-9">
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<img src="../static/content/app_structure_book_detail_page_flip.png">
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<div class="figure-caption">
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Google Books' detail view is all about replicating the experience of reading an actual book.
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The page-flip animation reinforces that notion. To create an immersive experience the app
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enters lights-out mode, which hides all system UI affordances.
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</div>
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<div class="figure-caption">
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The purpose of the People app's detail view is to surface communication options. The list view
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allows for efficient scanning and quick access of phone numbers, email addresses and other
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information items. Split items are used to combine calling and messaging into one compact line
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item.
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</div>
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</div>
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</div>
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<h4>Make navigation between detail views efficient</h4>
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<p>If your users are likely to want to look at multiple items in sequence, allow them to navigate
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between items from within the detail view. Use swipe views or other techniques, such as filmstrips,
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to achieve this.</p>
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<img src="../static/content/app_structure_gmail_swipe.png">
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<div class="figure-caption">
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Gmail using swipe views to navigate from detail view to detail view.
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</div>
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<img src="../static/content/app_structure_gallery_filmstrip.png">
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<div class="figure-caption">
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In addition to supporting swipe gestures to move left or right through images, Gallery provides a
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filmstrip control that lets people quickly jump to specific images.
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</div>
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2012-02-29 11:59:32 -08:00
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<h2 id="checklist">Checklist</h2>
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2011-12-22 16:18:19 -08:00
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<ul>
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<li>
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<p>Find ways to display useful content on your start screen.</p>
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</li>
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<li>
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<p>Use action bars to provide consistent navigation.</p>
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</li>
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<li>
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<p>Keep your hierarchies shallow by using horizontal navigation and shortcuts.</p>
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</li>
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<li>
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<p>Use multi-select to allow the user to act on collections of data.</p>
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</li>
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<li>
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<p>Allow for quick navigation between detail items with swipe views.</p>
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</li>
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</ul>
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<div class="layout-content-row content-footer">
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<div class="paging-links layout-content-col span-9"> </div>
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<div class="paging-links layout-content-col span-4">
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<a href="#" class="prev-page-link">Previous</a>
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<a href="#" class="next-page-link">Next</a>
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</div>
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</div>
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</div>
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</div>
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<div id="page-footer">
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<p id="copyright">
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Except as noted, this content is licensed under
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2012-01-10 23:59:20 -08:00
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<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/">
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2011-12-22 16:18:19 -08:00
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Creative Commons Attribution 2.5</a>.<br>
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For details and restrictions, see the
|
2012-01-10 23:59:20 -08:00
|
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|
<a href="http://developer.android.com/license.html">Content License</a>.
|
2011-12-22 16:18:19 -08:00
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|
</p>
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|
<p>
|
2012-01-10 23:59:20 -08:00
|
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|
<a href="http://www.android.com/terms.html">Site Terms of Service</a> –
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<a href="http://www.android.com/privacy.html">Privacy Policy</a> –
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|
<a href="http://www.android.com/branding.html">Brand Guidelines</a>
|
2011-12-22 16:18:19 -08:00
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</p>
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</div>
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<script src="../static/jquery-1.6.2.min.js"></script>
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<script>
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</script>
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<script src="../static/default.js"></script>
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