Call method when home button pressed

Question

I have this method in one of my Android Activities:

@Override
public boolean onKeyDown(int keyCode, KeyEvent event)
{
    if(keyCode == KeyEvent.KEYCODE_BACK)
    {
        Log.d("Test", "Back button pressed!");
    }
    else if(keyCode == KeyEvent.KEYCODE_HOME)
    {
        Log.d("Test", "Home button pressed!");
    }
    return super.onKeyDown(keyCode, event);
}

But, even though the KEYCODE_HOME is valid, the log method never fires. This works for the back button though. Does anyone know why this is and how to get this to work?

Answer 1

The Home button is a very dangerous button to override and, because of that, Android will not let you override its behavior the same way you do the BACK button.

Take a look at this discussion.

You will notice that the home button seems to be implemented as a intent invocation, so you'll end up having to add an intent category to your activity. Then, any time the user hits home, your app will show up as an option. You should consider what it is you are looking to accomplish with the home button. If its not to replace the default home screen of the device, I would be wary of overloading the HOME button, but it is possible (per discussion in above thread.)