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Orientation with Kindle Fire

Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2014 4:50 pm
by mhovley
We just downloaded the Gospel Library to a new Kindle Fire. Everything seems normal except it seems locked in landscape orientation. My husband thinks it started happening after touching something in the "Manage Windows" tab but we don't see anything there to unlock. Other programs and downloaded books seem to have normal orientation...in other words, changing according to how you are holding it.

Any idea on how to unlock the orientation?

Re: Orientation with Kindle Fire

Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2014 7:59 pm
by aebrown
mhovley wrote:Any idea on how to unlock the orientation?
In the action bar at the very top, there is a gear icon in the upper right corner. Tap that, and one of the options will be "Locked" (or "Unlocked"). I'm guessing it will say "Locked"; tap it and it will change to "Unlocked" and then the screen will once again rotate as you rotate your Kindle.

Re: Orientation with Kindle Fire

Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2014 8:22 pm
by mhovley
Thank you, but the gear "settings" icon in the upper right corner has to do with general Kindle settings, not just the LDS library ones. The Kindle rotates properly in all the programs except LDS library. Plus, there is no option for Locked or Unlocked in that Settings area. I've looked through all the menus I can find in LDS library and can't find a solution. Maybe I will have to uninstall and reinstall. Hope not!

Re: Orientation with Kindle Fire

Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2014 8:29 pm
by aebrown
mhovley wrote:Thank you, but the gear "settings" icon in the upper right corner has to do with general Kindle settings, not just the LDS library ones. The Kindle rotates properly in all the programs except LDS library. Plus, there is no option for Locked or Unlocked in that Settings area. I've looked through all the menus I can find in LDS library and can't find a solution. Maybe I will have to uninstall and reinstall. Hope not!
I don't know of any setting that controls the orientation in Gospel Library itself. The only setting I could find anywhere on our Kindle was that general device setting I described.

But you're certainly right that it is odd that other apps change orientation when you rotate the device, but Gospel Library does not. I don't have any other ideas.

Re: Orientation with Kindle Fire

Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2014 8:34 pm
by mhovley
Thank you for helping me!

Do you have a Kindle Fire or a different version? I don't even see the Lock or Unlock that you have talked about. I see a gear icon marked Settings. Within that are Sync all content, my account, help, parental controls, device, wireless, applications, notifications, display and sounds, language and keyboard, accessibility, security, legal. I don't see Lock. Does it sound like I am in the same place you are talking about with the gear?

Re: Orientation with Kindle Fire

Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2014 8:35 pm
by russellhltn
Go into the material (not just a menu). Tap the "AA" icon. It will bring up the Reading Options menu. That's where you can find the "View Orientation" controls.

Re: Orientation with Kindle Fire

Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2014 8:41 pm
by mhovley
Ahh! Thank you! Even though it seemed to have "no lock" already chosen, I touched that space and it now seems to work. THANK YOU.

Re: Orientation with Kindle Fire

Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2014 8:47 pm
by aebrown
russellhltn wrote:Go into the material (not just a menu). Tap the "AA" icon. It will bring up the Reading Options menu. That's where you can find the "View Orientation" controls.
Well, that's an exceedingly obscure place to put a setting that affects the menus as well! I was doing my research while still in the menus, so that's why I couldn't find it.

That's clearly an option that wasn't usability tested, but it's good to know where it is. Thanks.

And note that there might not be an "AA" icon, depending on the size of your device. It might just be the "Reading Options" menu on the overflow menu.

Re: Orientation with Kindle Fire

Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2014 8:51 pm
by mhovley
It is indeed a strange place to put it since it was affecting menus and so on, which seem a level higher than being inside the material itself. But I don't know what I'm talking about.

Thanks again.

Re: Orientation with Kindle Fire

Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2014 9:01 pm
by russellhltn
Well, I think the designers are going to get another shot on this. Android is changing - the dedicated "menu" button is going away. So apps will have to provide a GUI method for getting into the settings. The new standard seems to be three horizontal lines in a title bar (you can see this in the current Play Store) or 3 dots stacked on top of each other on the right side. Currently GL is lacking that feature. That may be a problem on newer Android machines. I'll have to try it with my Nexus 7.