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Custom Navigation button settings, GravityBox - Android customization
August 17, 2025
Are you having fun with GravityBox yet? We’re rounding things out for a while with this lastAndroid customizationproject on the subject, join us for a quick once over to see how GravityBox can create custom button actions for your normal Navigation bar.
Android N may have introduced an Alt + Tab type app switching, but GravityBox is packed full of normal, double tap and long press functions for each of the buttons on your Navigation bar.
Related Reading:All Android N coverage
Before we begin
This should be the last time you have to read this paragraph, at least for a while. You’ll need a fairly modern Android device in hand to follow along today, it will need to be rooted, you’ll have to flash a custom recovery and the Xposed Framework. Then, obviously, you’ll need the Xposed installer and to use it to install the GravityBox module for your version of Android.
If that does not immediately make sense to you, check this out:
Rooting your device, a few things to think aboutShould you rootXposed framework and installer basicsInstall GravityBox and get started
Custom Navigation button settings with GravityBox
Keeping this short, the idea for today is to add extra functionality to your Navigation bar. For example, maybe you want to have make it so that long pressing your Recent apps button opens the Apps section of the system Settings.
Fire up GravityBoxand scroll down to tap intoNavigation keys actions.
The process from here is pretty straightforward,choose a button and the action you want to control, then simplyassign an actionto it.
For today, let’s play with that Recents button, as in our example above.
Tap theLong-press actionbutton in the Recents key section.
Scroll to the bottom and selectCustom action.
Use the drop down toswitch from Applications to Shortcuts.
SelectSettings shortcut.
SelectApps.
That is all there is to it, go ahead and give it a try.
What’s next
Did you notice the other options available to you? you’re able to change things up for physical and on-screen buttons, use your volume rocker to wake the device from sleep and more.
Another little thing, if you needed to flash back to previous projects, or tackle something that isn’t being offered as is, you can use the Navigation bar tweaks here to fire off Tasker Tasks. We have not looked yet at what root can do for Tasker, but we can certainly look at what Tasker can do for root. That didn’t really make sense, but it was fun to say, don’t worry, we’ll explore this more later.
As mentioned, I hope this last GravityBox project will keep you busy and happily customizing away. Next week on ourAndroid customizationseries, we are finally getting into Wearables. We would like to take a look at Android Wear and a few fun things you’re able to do with it and a popular customization app and service.
What is your favorite feature of GravityBox?
More Android customization projects:
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