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How to Hide Your Nexus 7's Soft Keys to Maximize Usable Screen Space

Jan 12, 2014 06:18 PM
Jan 31, 2014 04:58 PM
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I know all of you softModders love these little modifications, like enabling the hidden battery percentage on the Nexus 7 or getting the exclusive Google Launcher on your Nexus, so here's an easy one that lets you hide the soft-keys from your tablet, which will actually expand your screen to look a little bit longer.

You will need to be rooted, so check out the guide to rooting your Nexus 7 if you're not rooted already. Besides that, it is real easy and it looks deceptive. This will definitely set your tablet apart from others.

Download GMD Auto Hide Soft Keys

Go into Google Play, search, download, and install GMD Auto Hide Soft Keys, which is free, I'll explain the perks of the pro version in a bit. Remember, you must be rooted.

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It works with any launcher, so don't become concerned.

Going Through the Main Options

Installing is easy, but the options are a little extensive, so let me highlight the ones you need to know.

Settings

Under the Settings options, you can easily enable the application, enable controls through the notification bar, and start on boot — pretty straight forward.

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The notification option is real convenient, because it lets you disable the hidden soft-keys from your notification bar so it's quick and easy.

Trigger Options

The soft-keys are replaced by a inconspicuous, thin, red bar. The color can only be changed or made invisible only with the pro version, which is lame, but it's not the end of the world. Since the soft-keys are gone, tapping the bar will enable the soft-key options.

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You can't make the trigger invisible or a different color, but you can adjust the width, its position on your screen, and how sensitive it is. These are the main options you should note. I set my own to be as small as possible and centered.

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Quickbar

When you tap the trigger it brings up the quickbar with the soft-keys. Under the quickbar settings, you can do some cool things, the first of which is changing the theme. Select from a wide-range of different soft-key themes when ever you want.

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Other great options include changing the Quickbar size...

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the button spacing,

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and transparency.

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Personally, I like having it as translucent and hidden as possible.

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Depending on your launcher, I had the basic stock launcher for the Nexus 7 Android 4.4, it expands the look of the screen. Enjoy it, and let us know how you like it.

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