CODEWITHSUNDEEP
android
keelerjr12
keelerjr12

Reputation: 1923

Android layout design for many menu options

What is the best way to go about designing an Android application that features quite a bit of formulas and conversions? I was thinking that multiple Activities with ListViews sort of like a tree with the leaves being the actual calculations. However, after reading Android design principles it's better to avoid a pure navigational structure and try to reduce the deepness of the app.

For example:

Main Menu
  Conversions
    Weight
    Distance
  Distance - Speed - Time
    Calculate air speed
    Calculate distance traveled
  Weather
    METAR
    TAF

So by the 3rd or 4th screen we've reached the actual individual calculator. Does this make sense? And if it does, is there a better way of designing this (maybe using action bars or tabs)?

Upvotes: 1

Views: 178

Answers (2)

t0mm13b
t0mm13b

Reputation: 34592

By using a very simple UI concept of Expandable Listviews, in which there is more than one child row for each section of the parent row, by tapping on the "Conversions", could expand into sub-rows, likewise for each section as you see fit, and treat that as a Main Menu in a sense of a word, that is, your main application screen.

The nice advantage is that the nesting of the menus in the Android way, is eliminated and can accomodate as many as you wish.

Upvotes: 2

karllindmark
karllindmark

Reputation: 6071

The third or forth screen sounds like it's too deep down the rabbit hole, how about instead having multiple tabs for each "type"?

For example;

[Conversions][Distances][Weather]

If you add an ActionBar to it, you could have a type of filter as the GMAIL app has (where you select the account) and use it to toggle the different "modes" so to speak.

Another approach would be to have it all in one screen, just that you switch the active layout (or perhaps Fragment) via the filter I mentioned above.

Check out the GMAIL app, and you'll see what I mean in terms of the filter. :-)

Upvotes: 1

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