android custom application theme not being applied

Question

I'm trying to copy over an existing Android project to start semi-new. In my old project i was able to apply a custom theme to the application. In my new application, even though i have copied over all of the style.xml files and changed the min and target sdk versions in the manifest i can't get it to build for it's minimum/target sdk. It builds but my application still has the old style notification bar at the top, not the Action bar. I have no idea how to force IntelliJ/Android to build for the new version.

my manifest

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
          package="com.app"
          android:versionCode="1"
          android:versionName="1.0">

    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET"/>
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.CALL_PHONE"/>
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.CAMERA"/>
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE"/>
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION"/>
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION"/>

    <uses-sdk android:minSdkVersion="11"
              android:targetSdkVersion="16"/>
    <application
            android:label="@string/app_name"
            android:theme="@style/AppTheme"
            android:icon="@drawable/app_icon"
            android:name=".injected.C2Application"
            >
        <activity android:name=".HomeActivity">
            <intent-filter>
                <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN"/>
                <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER"/>
            </intent-filter>
        </activity>
    </application>
</manifest>

my style

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>

    <!--
    Base application theme, dependent on API level. This theme is replaced
    by AppBaseTheme from res/values-vXX/styles.xml on newer devices.
-->
    <style name="AppBaseTheme" parent="android:Theme.Light">
        <!--
            Theme customizations available in newer API levels can go in
            res/values-vXX/styles.xml, while customizations related to
            backward-compatibility can go here.
        -->
    </style>

    <!-- Application theme. -->
    <style name="AppTheme" parent="AppBaseTheme">
        <item name="android:actionBarStyle">@style/LoginActionBarStyle</item>
        <item name="android:textColorHint">#D1D1D1</item>
    </style>

    <style name="LoginActionBarStyle" parent="@android:style/Widget.Holo.ActionBar">
        <item name="android:displayOptions">showHome</item>
        <item name="android:background">#333333</item>
    </style>

    <style name="LoginFormContainer">
        <item name="android:layout_width">match_parent</item>
        <item name="android:layout_height">wrap_content</item>
        <item name="android:padding">16dp</item>
    </style>
</resources>

What it looks like now

What it should like

I have no idea what is/isn't being set.

Answer 1

You need a second style file for V11+ that inherits from Holo. The easiest way to see the right way to do this is just make a new hello world project and see how they did it in there.

Also worth mentioning using this technique the actionbar will only be shown on V11+ devices. To show it on all devices you would need to use ActionBarSherlock, but since you have your min version set to 11 maybe you don't plan on supporting 2.3 phones.

Example:

styles.xml

<resources>

<!--
    Base application theme, dependent on API level. This theme is replaced
    by AppBaseTheme from res/values-vXX/styles.xml on newer devices.
-->
<style name="AppBaseTheme" parent="android:Theme.Light">
    <!--
        Theme customizations available in newer API levels can go in
        res/values-vXX/styles.xml, while customizations related to
        backward-compatibility can go here.
    -->
</style>

<!-- Application theme. -->
<style name="AppTheme" parent="AppBaseTheme">
    <!-- All customizations that are NOT specific to a particular API-level can go here. -->
</style>

values-v11 styles.xml

<resources>

<!--
    Base application theme for API 11+. This theme completely replaces
    AppBaseTheme from res/values/styles.xml on API 11+ devices.
-->
<style name="AppBaseTheme" parent="android:Theme.Holo.Light">
    <!-- API 11 theme customizations can go here. -->
</style>

values-v14 styles.xml

<resources>

<!--
    Base application theme for API 14+. This theme completely replaces
    AppBaseTheme from BOTH res/values/styles.xml and
    res/values-v11/styles.xml on API 14+ devices.
-->
<style name="AppBaseTheme" parent="android:Theme.Holo.Light.DarkActionBar">
    <!-- API 14 theme customizations can go here. -->
</style>

manifest.xml

<uses-sdk
    android:minSdkVersion="8"
    android:targetSdkVersion="17" />

<application
    android:allowBackup="true"
    android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
    android:label="@string/app_name"
    android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
    <activity
        android:name="com.example.test.test.com.MainActivity"
        android:label="@string/app_name" >
        <intent-filter>
            <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

            <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
        </intent-filter>
    </activity>
</application>