165 lines
6.9 KiB
Plaintext
165 lines
6.9 KiB
Plaintext
page.title=Pure Android
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@jd:body
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<p>Most developers want to distribute their apps on multiple platforms. As you plan your app for
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Android, keep in mind that different platforms play by different rules and conventions. Design
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decisions that make perfect sense on one platform will look and feel misplaced in the context of a
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different platform. While a "design once, ship anywhere" approach might save you time up-front, you
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run the very real risk of creating inconsistent apps that alienate users. Consider the following
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guidelines to avoid the most common traps and pitfalls.</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-5">
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<h4>Don't mimic UI elements from other platforms</h4>
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<p>Platforms typically provide a carefully designed set of UI elements that are themed in a very
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distinctive fashion. For example, some platforms advocate rounded corners for their buttons, others
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use gradients in their title bars. In some cases, elements may have the same purpose, but are
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designed to work a bit differently.</p>
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<p>As you build your app for Android, don't carry over themed UI elements from other platforms and
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don't mimic their specific behaviors. Review the
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<a href="{@docRoot}design/building-blocks/index.html">Building Blocks</a>
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section in this styleguide to learn about Android's most important UI elements
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and the way they look in the system default themes. Also examine Android's platform apps to get a
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sense of how elements are applied in the context of an app. If you want to customize the theme of UI
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elements, customize carefully according to your specific branding - and not according to the
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conventions of a different platform.</p>
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</div>
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<div class="layout-content-col span-8">
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<img src="{@docRoot}design/media/migrating_ui_elements.png">
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<div class="figure-caption">
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Sampling of UI elements from Android, iOS and Windows Phone 7.
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</div>
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</div>
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</div>
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<div class="vspace size-2"> </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>Don't carry over platform-specific icons</h4>
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<p>Platforms typically provide sets of icons for common functionality, such as sharing, creating a new
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document or deleting.</p>
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<p>As you are migrating your app to Android, please swap out platform-specific icons with their Android
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counterparts.</p>
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<p>You can find a wide variety of icons for use in your app on the
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<a href="{@docRoot}design/downloads/index.html">Downloads</a> page.</p>
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</div>
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<div class="layout-content-col span-8">
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<img src="{@docRoot}design/media/migrating_icons.png">
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<div class="figure-caption">
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Sampling of icons from Android, iOS and Windows Phone 7.
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</div>
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</div>
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</div>
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<div class="vspace size-2"> </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>Don't use bottom tab bars</h4>
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<p>Other platforms use the bottom tab bar to switch between the app's views. Per platform convention,
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Android's tabs for view control are shown in action bars at the top of the screen instead. In
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addition, Android apps may use a bottom bar to display actions on a split action bar.</p>
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<p>You should follow this guideline to create a consistent experience with other apps on the Android
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platform and to avoid confusion between actions and view switching on Android.</p>
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<p>For more information on how to properly use action bars for view control, see
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<a href="{@docRoot}design/patterns/actionbar.html">Action Bars</a>.</p>
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</div>
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<div class="layout-content-col span-8">
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<img src="{@docRoot}design/media/migrating_ios_dialers.png">
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<div class="figure-caption">
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Android dialer with tabs in an action bar vs. bottom tabs in iOS.
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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>Don't hardcode links to other apps</h4>
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<p>In some cases you might want your app to take advantage of another app's feature set. For
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example, you may want to share the content that your app created via a social network or messaging
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app, or view the content of a weblink in a browser. Don't use hard-coded, explicit links to
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particular apps to achieve this. Instead, use Android's intent API to launch an activity chooser
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which lists all applications that are set up to handle the particular request. This lets the user
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complete the task with their preferred app. For sharing in particular, consider using the <em>Share
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Action Provider</em> in your action bar to provide faster access to the user's most recently used
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sharing target.</p>
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</div>
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<div class="layout-content-col span-8">
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<img src="{@docRoot}design/media/migrating_intents.png">
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<div class="figure-caption">
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Link to other apps with the activity chooser or use the <em>Share Action Provider</em> in the
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action bar.
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</div>
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</div>
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</div>
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<div class="vspace size-2"> </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>Don't use labeled back buttons on action bars</h4>
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<p>Other platforms use an explicit back button with label to allow the user to navigate up the
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application's hierarchy. Instead, Android uses the main action bar's app icon for hierarchical
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navigation and the navigation bar's back button for temporal navigation. For more information,
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please review the <a href="{@docRoot}design/patterns/navigation.html">Navigation</a> pattern.</p>
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<p>Follow this guideline to provide a consistent navigation experience across the platform.</p>
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</div>
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<div class="layout-content-col span-8">
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<img src="{@docRoot}design/media/migrating_ios_galleries.png">
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<div class="figure-caption">
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Android action bar with up caret vs. iOS labeled "Back" button.
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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>Don't use right-pointing carets on line items</h4>
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<p>A common pattern on other platforms is the display of right-pointing carets on line items that allow
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the user to drill deeper into additional content.</p>
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<p>Android does not use such indicators on drill-down line items. Avoid them to stay consistent with
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the platform and in order to not have the user guess as to what the meaning of those carets may be.</p>
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</div>
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<div class="layout-content-col span-8">
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<img src="{@docRoot}design/media/migrating_ios_settings.png">
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<div class="figure-caption">
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Android settings without right-pointing carets in line items vs. iOS settings.
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</div>
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</div>
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</div>
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<h2 id="device-independence">Device Independence</h2>
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<p>Remember that your app will run on a wide variety of different screen sizes. Create visual assets
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for different screen sizes and densities and make use of concepts such as multi-pane layouts to
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appropriately scale your UI on different device form factors.</p>
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<p>For more information, read <a href="{@docRoot}design/style/devices-displays.html">Devices and Displays</a> as
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well as <a href="{@docRoot}design/patterns/multi-pane-layouts.html">Multi-pane Layouts</a> in this design guide.</p>
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