Menus vs Tabs - Choosing an approach

[MikeG]

I'm new to android development. Having come from a VB.NET background I was delighted to find Basic4Android. With that said, I realize that I don't fully grasp the android platform which influences design choices that are made for a new application.

Why would you choose Tabs for an application, or why would you choose Menu buttons instead?

My application is a tool for my service technicians. At the office they will load their service list onto the tablet. The application will have tabs/menus to show things like Truck Inventory, Route List, Cust Info, Cust Hist, Navigation, Service Details. Half of the options are display only and the other half he/she will enter information about their service activity. At the end of the day they will 'sync' their activity to the server (and load the next day of work).

Does it matter whether I use Tabs or Menu buttons? If so, what are the factors that I need to consider??

Thanks!

 

[NJDude]

If you have a lot of options then use BUTTONS to open the different activities, it will be easier and cleaner to maintain.

By buttons I mean, a screen with all the buttons sort of like a Main Menu screen.

 

[MikeG]

Thanks for the tip. And I suppose that I could have secondary button menus as needed to. I think I see how I can arrange the application that way. I'm glad I asked now.

Of course you can expect future questions related to button now!!

 

[NJDude]

Bring them on.

 

[klaus]

Me too, I prefer Buttons rather than Menus or Tabs.
The advantage with Buttons is that you have full control on those which is not the case with Menus nor with Tabs.
Have a look at the GPSExample in the User's Guide where you can see what I mean with Buttons. Some people like Menus because they don't 'consume' screen space. I prefer having direct access to the main functions of a program having in mind the less clicks to access a function the better, so Buttons.

Best regards.

 

[tremara1]

Another thought

I tend to use buttons for the main functions and menus for settings and maintenance items. I have also used the quickaction lib, again for the settings and maint features. I quite like idea of having more than one way to access options in that I have put options in a quickaction menu accessed from a "settings" button and also in the menu system in the same app. I assume people have different skill levels with some long time users automatically reaching for the menu button when looking for options.
Just a thought.

 

[MikeG]

From all of the helpful replies I have realized better what a 'menu' item is and that I do not want that as part of my overall design. Trevor explained it well - menus for settings and maint items. I want the user to 'see' on the screen what his options are.

 

[admac231]

Just to add another point, I personally prefer listviews. They offer a nice, clean interface with minimal amounts of coding on your part as well as fitting perfectly to any resolution (due to being able to scroll).

 

[COBRASoft]

I have a similar approach... I 'trap' the menu button in Activity_Keypress and slide a panel from the bottom to the top very fast. This panel contains a scrollview with all the available options for the specific state of the app. I place a nice icon in front of the labels. This way, I can place a lot of options and still keep it nice looking. Make sure the labels and icons are at least 48dip, so the user can easily click them. A fast anim from top to bottom to hide the panel and process the 'LastPressedMenuItem' .

 

[frapel]

I have a similar approach... I 'trap' the menu button in Activity_Keypress and slide a panel from the bottom to the top very fast. This panel contains a scrollview with all the available options for the specific state of the app. I place a nice icon in front of the labels. This way, I can place a lot of options and still keep it nice looking. Make sure the labels and icons are at least 48dip, so the user can easily click them. A fast anim from top to bottom to hide the panel and process the 'LastPressedMenuItem' .

Great idea, thanx a lot :sign0087:

 

[imbault]

Yes, pretty good idea Cobrasoft, do you have any sample to see that?

Thanks

 

[COBRASoft]

Not an 'ready' example, but take a look at my grid sample module, it clearly shows how it can be done.

Basic steps:
- Add a 'Menu' panel to your activity
- Define a grid with columns and data in Activity_Create
- Make the panel invisible
- In Activity_Keypress, trap the menu key and show the 'menu' panel. Use the Grid's filter capabilities to filter the 'menu' data to show only those records you want.

Another way is to build the data on the moment the user presses the menu key. Android and B4A are more than fast enough to do this and it works like a charm.