[java] Under what circumstances can I call findViewById with an Options Menu / Action Bar item?

I am trying to obtain a handle on one of the views in the Action Bar. I have tried calling:

findViewById(R.id.menu_item) 

but this returns null unless I call it in the onOptionsItemSelected method. I have also tried calling it from a different object:

findViewById(android.R.id.content).findViewById(R.id.menu_item) 

but this has not worked. How can I do this?

(I am not using the ActionBarSherlock library, by the way. Also, this is not a custom ActionView.)

I am trying to obtain a handle on one of the views in the Action Bar

I will assume that you mean something established via android:actionLayout in your <item> element of your <menu> resource.

I have tried calling findViewById(R.id.menu_item)

To retrieve the View associated with your android:actionLayout, call findItem() on the Menu to retrieve the MenuItem, then call getActionView() on the MenuItem. This can be done any time after you have inflated the menu resource.