Allow choosing side of barcode display in fullscreen view

[travelalpaca]

The month-old v2.39.0 release dropped support for the "Screen orientation" feature because of behavior changes when targeting Android 16.

This is a problem for my use-case, where I frequently use a 1D barcode scanner that only reaches the top edge of my phone. Now that I can no longer force card view into a portrait orientation I am forced to be very delicate when presenting my phone so as not to trigger an unwanted screen rotation that would move the barcode from the top edge to one of the phone's side edges.

Can we compromise by adding a user preference that fixes the orientation and location of barcode itself to the user's desired screen edge while all other elements of the view (such as the text, their sliders, and the back arrow) auto-rotate with respect to the new Android 16 requirements?

[TheLastProject]

Can't you just change your Android setting to not auto-rotate? Any semi-modern version lets you make it so that when you disable auto rotate and rotate your device it shows a little "rotation" icon to press to confirm rotation so you can't accidentally rotate.

Settings -> Display -> Other display controls -> Auto rotate (off)

I think an app like https://f-droid.org/packages/com.jarsilio.android.autoautorotate could maybe also help to only apply this to Catima, but I haven't tested it.

You are asking for a lot of Catima code for something where a single already existing OS setting should fix your problem. Enabling that Android setting seems like a better workaround than adding more complexity to the fullscreen activity. But I'm not fully opposed to it, it's just that we are already for behind with the UI in general and the whole fact all UI needs to be rewritten (#2483) so now seems a bad time.

So... Low priority? But I would strongly urge to consider the Android setting or perhaps the Auto Auto Rotate app and see how far you get with that :)

[TheLastProject]

Also consider (temporarily) using an older Catima version as long as the newer ones don't contain any new features you need :) You can export your cards in Import/export, uninstall Catima, install the old version and import them there :) It's fine to use old versions if they fit your use case better for now ^^

[travelalpaca]

That same system-wide auto-rotate setting already existed when Catima created a card-view specific setting. So I'm not suggesting a new feature, as the decision must already have been made that a specific card view rotation setting was needed even despite the existence of a system-wide setting. I was just trying to think of a way to keep that feature while remaining compliant with new Android requirements instead of just losing the feature altogether. Perhaps someone can suggest an easier in-app solution to pin the barcode to the top in a portrait orientation. If not, I agree that holding the phone carefully, disabling system-wider auto-rotate, and 3rd party apps like Auto Rotate Rotate are valid workarounds.

It's crazy that Google didn't carve out an exception for use cases like these.

[TheLastProject]

That same system-wide auto-rotate setting already existed when Catima created a card-view specific setting. So I'm not suggesting a new feature, as the decision must already have been made that a specific card view rotation setting was needed even despite the existence of a system-wide setting

Auto-rotate worked way differently in the Android versions that were in common use when Catima (then Loyalty Card Keychain) was first created. Android introduced a "confirmation icon" when auto-rotate is disabled in Android 9: https://www.androidpolice.com/reasons-android-pie-9-was-a-game-changer-for-productivity/

So, no, back in the day the system-wide setting did not exist in the way it does now :) And beside, the person who added the original feature did it before I ever got involved in the project :)

I was just trying to think of a way to keep that feature while remaining compliant with new Android requirements instead of just losing the feature altogether.

As long as it's done because of an actual use case, instead of trying to keep features around for the sake of keeping them around, that's fine. And in your case you did describe an use case, although I feel the feature is less needed than it is now because auto-rotate is more usable nowadays.

It's crazy that Google didn't carve out an exception for use cases like these.

Yeah, it's frustrating. But well, that's Android development in general. Google literally killed one of my other apps (Raise To Answer) by removing the ability for apps to send the "answer" or "decline" actions for a call unless they're the default caller app, which means you need to suddenly handle everything (including emergency calls!). Google tends to take really wide swings to fix "perceived issues", not really taking into consideration how many legit use cases they break while doing so.

[travelalpaca]

Android introduced a "confirmation icon" when auto-rotate is disabled in Android 9: https://www.androidpolice.com/reasons-android-pie-9-was-a-game-changer-for-productivity/

This is the first time I've heard about that. I'd consider that another valid work around: lock the whole system to portrait and use the confirmation icon to switch orientations when needed. Thanks for letting me know about this!