Android ActionBar Not Appearing

Question

I know, this sounds dumb, but bear with me.

I use the following

android:minSdkVersion="8"                
android:targetSdkVersion="17"
android:Theme.Holo"

When I run my app on 2.2 emulator, the menu button brings up my menu.

Whhen I run my app on 4.2 emulator, should the action bar not automatically be activated? I can see program icon + title. I have added some menu items like this:

<item android:id="@+id/itemShare" android:title="@string/titleShare"
    android:icon="@android:drawable/ic_menu_share"
    android:showAsAction="ifRoom"></item>

I then have defined

onCreateOptionsMenu

all my activies inherit from.

Yet, I see nothing "action bar" icons when running my app in 4.2 emulator. I must be missing something obvious.

I am very new to Android and Eclipse, but I am slightly confused of above. The way I do it, should that not be the way to get pre/post honeycomb compability assuming one does not want to use ActionbarSherlock?

Answer 1

Whhen I run my app on 4.2 emulator, should the action bar not automatically be activated?

Yes.

I can see program icon + title.

That is the action bar.

Yet, I see nothing "action bar" icons when running my app in 4.2 emulator. I must be missing something obvious.

Your emulator has decided that there is insufficient room to show the icons, so they are in the overflow. Depending on your emulator configuration, you activate the overflow by pressing the MENU button or by pressing the ... affordance in the action bar on the right.

The way I do it, should that not be the way to get pre/post honeycomb compability assuming one does not want to use ActionbarSherlock?

Yes.