Monday, March 07, 2011

Modder’s Column: How To Remap Your Android Phone’s Hardware Buttons Without Touching A Single Line Of Code

So maybe you’ve recently upgraded your Android phone and haven’t gotten used to the new device’s button alignment yet… or maybe you never use that pesky Search key and want to turn it into the camera key your EVO 4G has always wanted… or maybe you just enjoy tinkering with your phone. If you’re in one of those situations, what you may be lusting after is a way to remap your phone’s hardware buttons (i.e. making the Search key take on the duties of the Home key, or vise versa).

Up until now, there haven’t been any user-friendly methods of doing this, at least not any that can be so greatly customized. Well, the deprivation is over – Beansoft (also known as appelflap around the XDA-Developers forums) has developed the handy ButtonRemapper app, which provides users a simple-as-can-be way of remapping the staple Android buttons (Home, Menu, Back, and Search). The app does more than that, however – read on for the full story.

snap20101218_184050_wm_thumb1.png

Read more: Android police