How to add menu and settings option to the customized title bar of android?

Question

My requirement is to increase the height of the title bar, however I am not sure if that is feasible. If it is how can I increase its height so I would have more space. If it is not, I would need to add a menu option (Hamburger Style) to my customized title bar.

custom_title_bar.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:id="@+id/title_bar"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent"
    android:background="#77b48e"
    android:gravity="center_vertical"
    android:orientation="vertical" >

    <LinearLayout
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="match_parent" >

        <ImageView
            android:id="@+id/imageView1"
            android:layout_width="29dp"
            android:layout_height="28dp"
            android:maxWidth="1dp"
            android:src="@drawable/logo" />

        <TextView
            android:id="@+id/title_bar_viewname"
            android:layout_width="wrap_content"
            android:layout_height="16dp"
            android:layout_weight="0.07"
            android:text="@string/app_name"
            android:textColor="@android:color/white"
            android:textSize="10sp" />

    </LinearLayout>

    <LinearLayout
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:orientation="vertical" >
    </LinearLayout>

</LinearLayout>

MainActivity.java

public class MainActivity extends Activity {

    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        requestWindowFeature(Window.FEATURE_CUSTOM_TITLE);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
        getWindow().setFeatureInt(Window.FEATURE_CUSTOM_TITLE, R.layout.custom_title_bar);
    }

Answer 1

1. Change your MainActivity.java like this:

   public class MainActivity extends Activity {
   
       @Override
       protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
           super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
           getWindow().requestFeature(Window.FEATURE_ACTION_BAR); 
           setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
   
          actionBar = getActionBar();
           ColorDrawable colorDrawable = new ColorDrawable(
                   Color.parseColor("#373836"));
           actionBar.setBackgroundDrawable(colorDrawable);
   
       }
   

   For an Eg: now your action bar will be shown like this:

   

2. Then if you need to add the setting menu items in the action bar.

   Add this below code in MainActivity,java:

   @Override
   public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
   
       // Inflate the menu; this adds items to the action bar if it is present.
       getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.main, menu);
       return true;
   }
   @Override
   public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item) 
   {
      switch (item.getItemId()) 
      {
        case R.id.search:
         //your code here
           return true;
        default:
           return super.onOptionsItemSelected(item);
      }
   }   
   

   Then in res/menu/main.xml:

   <menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
       xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
       xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools" >
   
       <item
           android:id="@+id/search"
           android:icon="@drawable/ic_action_settings"
           android:showAsAction="always"
           android:title="text"/>
   
   </menu>
   

   Now you can see the settings icon in the action bar

   

3. Finally if you have to increase the Action bar Height:

   In manifest:

   <application
           android:allowBackup="true"
           android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"
           android:label="@string/app_name"
           android:theme="@style/AppTheme" > --->set a theme 
   
   ...
   </application>
   

   Then in Styles.xml:

   <resources>
   
       <style name="AppBaseTheme" parent="android:Theme.Light"></style>
   
       <style name="AppTheme" parent="AppBaseTheme">
           <item name="android:actionBarSize">80dip</item>
       </style>
   
   </resources>  
   

   Now Action bar size is increased upto the size we given in styles.