Icon Pack - Overlay Support

November 14, 2012

The GSam Battery Monitor Icon Pack contains support for overlaying your default battery icon. Take a look at the top right of the screenshot below. You see the 12? That's the overlay icon, replacing the normal drab battery icon that doesn't show you any details.

Why Overlay?

Some devices don't show the icon in the normal notification bar, so you have to drag down the notification to see the % of your battery.
A lot of custom ROMs for your phone/tablet support a 'mod' that allows you to control the battery icon itself. Great for those who have it - but this brings you similar function without rooting your device!
The overlay shows up on your lock screen - so no more unlocking your phone just to see your battery %. Some phones already show the battery % in the lock screen, but a lot don't.

Enabling the Overlay:

Launch GSam Battery Monitor (any edition)
Open up the Preferences (Menu -> Preferences)
Choose one of the icon pack themes via the Battery Icon Theme preference
Select Overlay Standard Battery Icon. You should now see the icon in the top right corner if your screen.
Select Configure Overlay Icon to further configure the size and location of the icon.

Overlay Configuration:

Unfortunately, every android device is different, so some customization will be required to get the icon in JUST the right place. There are a lot of configuration options that can be somewhat complicated, so bear with me:

Icon Size: This controls the size of the icon itself. Move the slider around to see the size change and get it just right.
Background Color: This controls the background of the icon. Some of the icons are transparent, so setting the background color to Black will ensure the background battery doesn't show through. Move the 'Alpha' slider all the way down to gain full transparency.
Additional Background Size: This is similar to icon size, except it adds a padding to the icon using the background color. This allows you to have a smaller icon, but still cover a larger background.
Align: Generally Top Right is the correct location, however every device is different, so place it where you want.
Horizontal Padding: This controls how far away the icon is from the edge of the screen
Vertical Padding: This controls how far away the icon is from the top (or bottom) of the screen.
Pad For 2-Digit Hour: Most devices have the clock all the way on the right, so when the time changes from 9:00 to 10:00, the battery icon moves to the left. This lets you control how much padding that extra digit requires, and the icon will automatically move depending on the time of day.
Include Clock Pad On Lock Screen: For devices that show the clock on the lock screen in the same way as when unlocked, this lets you enable the Pad For 2-Digit Hour on the lockscreen as well. Most devices don't do this, so this is disabled by default.
Icon Brightness: You can dim the icon if it's too bright to better match the colors elsewhere on the status bar.
Show only when status bar is visible: When apps go into Full Screen mode, the icon will disappear by default. This is typically what you want, however toggle this to make sure the icon never gets hidden. NOTE: Some devices (Nook Tablet & Color) where the status bar is not at the top of the screen don't support auto-hiding, and so this MUST be checked on these devices. Hopefully there aren't may such devices.

Suggestions? Feel free to email me with any additional features, or let me know (with a screenshot) if things don't work. You can find my contact info in the About section on the blog.