Android ActionBar hide/show when scrolling list view

Question

I want to hide/show the compatibility action bar as the user scrolls up/down a listview. When the action bar disappears the list will occupy also the action bar's space.

I've followed an approach but it generates an ugly flickering. Does anyone have a proper solution for this problem? The desired behaviour is like the hide/show mechanism in the Google+ app (I'm not interested about the footer).

What I've tried is presented below:

boolean tabletSize = getResources().getBoolean(R.bool.isTablet);
    if (!tabletSize) {
        final ActionBar actionBar = ((ActionBarActivity) getActivity()).getSupportActionBar();
        lvNews.setOnScrollListener(new AbsListView.OnScrollListener() {
            private int mLastFirstVisibleItem;

            @Override
            public void onScrollStateChanged(AbsListView view, int scrollState) {
            }

            @Override
            public void onScroll(AbsListView view, int firstVisibleItem,
                                 int visibleItemCount, int totalItemCount) {

                if (mLastFirstVisibleItem < firstVisibleItem) {
                    if (actionBar.isShowing()) {
                        actionBar.hide();
                    }
                }

                if (mLastFirstVisibleItem > firstVisibleItem) {
                    if (!actionBar.isShowing()) {
                        actionBar.show();
                    }
                }
                mLastFirstVisibleItem = firstVisibleItem;
            }
        });
    }

Answer 1

To avoid the flickering caused by the readjustment of the layout you can use the overlaying property in the action bar.

https://developer.android.com/training/basics/actionbar/overlaying.html

But this solution causes that the action bar overlays your listview, so you need to add a header with this size:

"?android:attr/actionBarSize"

for example :

mVideosListView = (ListView) getActivity().findViewById(android.R.id.list);
mVideosListView.addHeaderView(getActivity().getLayoutInflater().inflate(R.layout.listview_header,null));

Be careful with other elements like navigation drawer which is also affected by this.

Answer 2

You need to make the action bar overlays the listview. By doing this you have the responsibility to manage of hiding and showing the action bar when necessary.

There is an example at the following page: http://www.techrepublic.com/article/pro-tip-maximize-android-screen-real-estate-by-showing-and-hiding-the-action-bar/