Question

I’m trying to build the sample project “Action Bar Styled” using the Action Bar Sherlock.

I download the .zip file containing ABS here http://actionbarsherlock.com/ but I can’t figure out where to unzip so that it will appear on Project>Properties>Add library.

Can someone give me an hand?

Also, I read somewhere (can’t find it now, sorry) that the current Android Compatibility library supports the Action Bar in pre 3.0 versions, so it has basically the same “effect” as Action Bar Sherlock – can someone confirm this? Which library should I install?

Answer 1

Didn’t heard about Compatibility library that contains action bars, I’ve downloaded the last one few days ago.
Anyway, it’s very simple, unzip the file IN(!!) your workspace, then create new android project, and choose “Create project from existing source”, then choose the “library” folder in the folders you’ve just unzipped.

Right click on the action bar sherlock project, properties > android > check “Is Library”.
Then right click on your project, properties > android > change the target SDK to 3.2 (API 13), and press add library and choose the sherlock library.

You change your project to 3.2 so the sherlock can work, but you can still use it down to 1.6, just write in your manifest this line:

<uses-sdk android:minSdkVersion="4"
              android:targetSdkVersion="13" />

And be careful not to use API 13 code in your app.

I wrote this really fast so if you don’t understand me feel free to ask, and if you still don’t understand you can look at their web in FAQ there’s a video that explains how to use it, step by step.

Good luck!