Related
Hi!
Was wondering if we could somehow override the home button long press to run a custom application instead of showing the recent apps list? This way, we could develop a custom application which shows more stuff rather than just 6 recent apps.
Some ideas are - integrating a task manager which shows running apps, favorite apps shortcuts, shortcut to app drawer etc.
I could develop the application but I wouldn't know how to override the home button long press! Any ideas anyone?
Cheers,
San
Well, there is at least one (paid) app that already does this (could be more but i don't know of them) - "MultiTasking Pro" http://www.cyrket.com/p/android/com.tkdtnek23.app.multitaskingpro
It would be nice to have extra functionality though, such as a clock (say, if you're in the middle of a game and want to check the time).
As for how it works, just from testing it out, it appears to act as a launcher (given that single home button press takes you to home launcher). I gather this as I had to set it as the default app when i pressed home button for the first time, aswell asthe fact that you have to select the home launcher in the app settings.
The way the app works is, press home button once brings up the menu (overlaying existing app). press it a second time and it takes you to the "default" home launcher as selected in settings. If you hold down home, the original app menu pops up, reinforcing the fact that this isn't a replacement per se.
Of course, overriding the original home button hold function menu would appear to be a much cleaner solution, and I welcome any info on that... whether its integrated into touchwiz or what not... One things for sure, is that samsung modified it to include a link to their "task manager" app.
TaskSwitcher is better, faster, uses less memory and it's completely free.
However no app can replace the long press. It needs kernel/system file modding.
Bec07 said:
TaskSwitcher is better, faster, uses less memory and it's completely free.
However no app can replace the long press. It needs kernel/system file modding.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed, not possible. Does anyone know if it was implemented in other android phones?
PS. Power strip is better =) Very very fast and you can see 12 recent apps + widgets. Itching thumb is very promising, but its a plain beta for now.
Yeah but itching thumb uses a LOT of memory.
Bec07 said:
Yeah but itching thumb uses a LOT of memory.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For me Itching Thumb is currently the only task switcher style thing I find good enough (interface, functionality) to run next to Launcher Pro... I uninstalled all others I tried before.
But if I could have Launcher Pro on short press home, and Itching Thumb on long press home, that would be exactly how I would want that . Because I think optimizations such as memory use will come in time anyway.
I hope for the visual style to be integrated in android and have a real preview, live of the app.
Bec07 said:
However no app can replace the long press. It needs kernel/system file modding.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any idea on what would need to be modified?
Looking at the softkeys, where is the Menu key? I see Home, Back, and the new Multitasking key, but no Menu. How can this be? The iOS method of integrating all menu options into the application UI is terrible, and what about apps made before ICS? Lack of a Menu key would make them unusable. I must be missing something here, but I can't see what it might be.
A virtual menu button appears in the form of 3 dots. It can be seen in this photo.
Tung_meister said:
A virtual menu button appears in the form of 3 dots. It can be seen in this photo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice catch. Was wondering about that.
Menu items are represented by the 3 vertical dots at the top right corner of apps.
The indication is that new apps should no longer hide their menus, but rather make them intuitive to access in the app's UI.
For legacy apps, we'll probably see a menu button of some type appear along with the 3 softkeys at the bottom.
On my Honeycomb tablet either a button is in the top right corner or another is added to the bottom when menu is needed... I'm guessing HC is a good example of what we'll be getting, and if so I look forward to it
Thanks so much for a useful thread. I was actually wondering about that myself. Glad to know its non-obtrusive and clean
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
You have lost the search button though. Not all apps will handle this well... I had to tweak an app I was writing because of this (luckily found fairly early during testing on Honeycomb).
Of course for most apps search isn't useful - probably why they removed the dedicated key.
TonyHoyle said:
You have lost the search button though. Not all apps will handle this well... I had to tweak an app I was writing because of this (luckily found fairly early during testing on Honeycomb).
Of course for most apps search isn't useful - probably why they removed the dedicated key.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The idea is if the app needs search in order to function properly, you just put the search button up in the menu bar, just like they're doing with settings buttons.
Otherwise, the google search button is at the top of every homescreen now.
martonikaj said:
The idea is if the app needs search in order to function properly, you just put the search button up in the menu bar, just like they're doing with settings buttons.
Otherwise, the google search button is at the top of every homescreen now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The menu button happens automatically (technically, since 2.3 android has called onCreateOptionsMenu at activity startup so it knows you need it already).
There simply is no search button in Honeycomb/ICS - you have to stick it on the options menu, the action bar*.. somewhere the user can reach it. That needs code (not much.. respond to 'search' in the options menu by calling onSearchRequested()).. existing apps will simply lose that function if they run on ICS assuming a button exists.
We're not talking about a lot of apps here.. Not much point in a search function in 'Angry Birds' for example. Just something to bear in mind when developing a new app or trying to work out if your favourite app will work without issue on ICS.
Home screen search is totally different.. that searches the global search (emails, contacts, etc.). Different class of app entirely.
* The honeycomb search widgets are really flexible, but of course not available unless you break compatibility with <3.0.
TonyHoyle said:
You have lost the search button though. Not all apps will handle this well... I had to tweak an app I was writing because of this (luckily found fairly early during testing on Honeycomb).
Of course for most apps search isn't useful - probably why they removed the dedicated key.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are already quite a few phones out there without a search button. My almost 2 years old X10 doesn't have a dedicated search button and i never missed it. The search function is bound to long-press menu at the x10. Given the fact that ICS has a dedicated task switcher button, they could bind the search to long-press home for example. Just an idea though
Sent from my X10i using XDA App
qwer23 said:
There are already quite a few phones out there without a search button. My almost 2 years old X10 doesn't have a dedicated search button and i never missed it. The search function is bound to long-press menu at the x10. Given the fact that ICS has a dedicated task switcher button, they could bind the search to long-press home for example.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm.. news to me - I've never seen an android phone without one. Lucky I was doing tablet compatibility testing then
There will probably also be custom roms that put it back (since a custom rom can do anything it likes with the buttons.. change their apparence, colour, hide them completely, make them dance up and down..).
TonyHoyle said:
Hmm.. news to me - I've never seen an android phone without one. Lucky I was doing tablet compatibility testing then
There will probably also be custom roms that put it back (since a custom rom can do anything it likes with the buttons.. change their apparence, colour, hide them completely, make them dance up and down..).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Galaxy series in general (SGS1, SGS2) do not have a dedicated search button. They have just the menu, home and back buttons. However search is bound as a long press to the menu button which I guess won't be possible anymore. Haven't really found search to be that vital (maybe because I don't want to long press the menu button just to bring it up when I can search in other ways)
Since it's purely software, I know for a fact someone will mod in a search key.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S3 using XDA Ultimate App
That would be pointless. When search is available, the search box will appear in the menu bar of the app.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
If you look at the screenshot of Dolphin browser there is a black bar with 3 dots on it.
I'm not sure what made it appear, but its functionality is:
1) open settings for some applications (dolphin, golauncher).
2) not do anything for some applications even though it shows up.
3) annoys the crap out of me because I want it gone. It blocks a big amount of screen.
I don't know what caused it to appear, I've never seen it before. I was updating my phone and installing some applications when I suddenly noticed it.
Edit:
Attachment is not showing up for me so here's an upload on tinypic: http://i50.tinypic.com/equt75.png
That's the 3-dot menu button.
Go to Settings - Display, gestures & buttons - Recent apps button
and pick either Press for menu, press and hold for recent apps
or Press for recent apps, press and hold for menu
I personally use the second one, long press the recent apps button will bring up the menu
Nebell said:
I don't know what caused it to appear, I've never seen it before. I was updating my phone and installing some applications when I suddenly noticed it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'll see it in apps that haven't been optimised for ICS (or higher) yet. On phones without a hardware menu key, correctly coded apps will display an overflow button somewhere on their action bar to access the menu. Apps which haven't been coded in this way need some other method of accessing the menu - phones with on-screen buttons (like the nexus range) display a menu button beside the other buttons, we obviously can't do that so HTC chose to stick a massive menu bar across the bottom of the screen. As already pointed out you can reassign the menu function to the 'recent apps' key which will hide the menu bar, or you can pester the devs of those apps to do things properly in future.
Oh my god. Thanks guys!
I looked everywhere but couldn't fix it!
Got my G3 today and have been spending a good amount of time setting it up.
I am rooted and have Xposed w/G3 Tweaksbox.
I have a couple of things that still annoy me.
Is there a way to swap the behavior of the recent apps button? I want short press to be menu and long press to be recent apps. I figured out I can add a menu button using G3 Tweaksbox that does exactly that, but I can't remove the stock recent apps button, so I have 4 buttons there and I don't really like that.
When I drag up the recent apps button, I get a little semi circle selector with voicemate, search and quickmemo+ options. I have no intention of ever using voicemail or quickmemo+. Is there a place to change the 3 things that come up there?
lexluthor said:
Got my G3 today and have been spending a good amount of time setting it up.
I am rooted and have Xposed w/G3 Tweaksbox.
I have a couple of things that still annoy me.
Is there a way to swap the behavior of the recent apps button? I want short press to be menu and long press to be recent apps. I figured out I can add a menu button using G3 Tweaksbox that does exactly that, but I can't remove the stock recent apps button, so I have 4 buttons there and I don't really like that.
When I drag up the recent apps button, I get a little semi circle selector with voicemate, search and quickmemo+ options. I have no intention of ever using voicemail or quickmemo+. Is there a place to change the 3 things that come up there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most modern apps use the 3 dot menu button in the app interface and that is why most modern phones tablets do away with dedicated menu button so why would you want to do this?
rkirmeier said:
Most modern apps use the 3 dot menu button in the app interface and that is why most modern phones tablets do away with dedicated menu button so why would you want to do this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably because I'm used to it coming from the Galaxy S3.
lexluthor said:
Probably because I'm used to it coming from the Galaxy S3.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'll get used to the new buttons in no time. Just give it a little time and you'll look back at the S3 thinking the button layout was dumb.i had an S3 and S4. Love the G3 and the on screen buttons!
rkirmeier said:
You'll get used to the new buttons in no time. Just give it a little time and you'll look back at the S3 thinking the button layout was dumb.i had an S3 and S4. Love the G3 and the on screen buttons!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We'll see.
Anyone have a solution to my other issue?
When I drag up the recent apps button, I get a little semi circle selector with voicemate, search and quickmemo+ options. I have no intention of ever using voicemail or quickmemo+. Is there a place to change the 3 things that come up there?
I have the exact thing you want; but I don't want it. I'm rooted with Xposed framework and I randomly rebooted my phone earlier to have it turn back on with a functioning menu button. I looked through all the modules I had downloaded and even booted into safe mode but to no avail. I desperately need help with this.
Sorry that's not what you want, but if anyone knows how to get that, that's why I want.
I'm rooted with Xposed framework and I randomly rebooted my phone earlier to have it turn back on with a functioning menu button. I looked through all the modules I had downloaded and even booted into safe mode but to no avail. I desperately need help with this.
Sorry for reposting this... Thought I posted in a different thread but I guess I'm wrong. Please don't crucify me
As a long time samsung user, I'd say try without the menu button and see how you get on first.
But you can change the swipe up (and thats a swipe up from anywhere on the navigation bar btw, try it out), using tweaksbo, it's under:
theme > ring pad
And you can either turn it off, or add up to 5 custom apps.
The recent apps button is kinda key to android, it's like asking to remove the home button. Maybe instead of adding a menu button, make double tap on home be the menu button instead? Then you'd still have your three icons, and wouldn't lost out on recent apps, which you should end up using more now it's easier to reach (as opposed to a long press on the home button on samsung).
As noted most apps should use the 3 dot menu button so unless you have an outdated app you use regularly you really shouldn't even want a dedicated menu button. Ask the developer to update the app. It's the way forward and most all modern phones don't have a dedicated menu button, even the S5 replaced the menu button with the multitask button. It you really can't adapt ask the G3 Tweaks xposed developer if he can add a menu button option as the G3 already has the framework to change nav buttons.
How can you change them?
steviewunderr said:
How can you change them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just use the LG Display menu in settings to remove that button and xposed to add other button options. I'd like to know what people use, I'm on a 4 button system. I'll post pics when I get a chance
I somehow managed to change them on a system level if that's even possible. I disabled all modules and even booted into safe mode and they were still there. I'd like to change it back on whatever level it got modified. And the settings app crashes when I try to change the button combination.
The OP did not want to replace the resents button with menu, but only change its behavior: short press - menu, long press- resents. I am very interested in the same setup.
lexluthor said:
When I drag up the recent apps button, I get a little semi circle selector with voicemate, search and quickmemo+ options. I have no intention of ever using voicemail or quickmemo+. Is there a place to change the 3 things that come up there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In TweaksBox under theme tweaks, then ring pad. It let's you select one in the free version. In the donate version you can select up to 5 shortcuts in the ring pad or disable it altogether.
settings / display / home touch buttons / button combination
I think they are standard options and not something I've added in. let's you add/remove a button such as the menu button or recent apps. screen is wide so I use 5 buttons.
Sent from my LG-D855 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
personally don't use program #1 the ring selector as it is accidentally opening all the time with use of the back button.
Sent from my LG-D855 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Hold the recents and thats your menu button. Thats a default setting i believe. No need for g3 tweakbox unless a longpress isnt what you want. Idk which model you have but the tmobile version doesnt let you add the menu button on the nav bar.
Sent from my LG-D851 using XDA Free mobile app
lexluthor said:
We'll see.
Anyone have a solution to my other issue?
When I drag up the recent apps button, I get a little semi circle selector with voicemate, search and quickmemo+ options. I have no intention of ever using voicemail or quickmemo+. Is there a place to change the 3 things that come up there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you ever find an answer that I'd love to able stick a few more bits on there seems like the only thing lg have forgotten let customise! Lol
jonny_blagwind said:
Did you ever find an answer that I'd love to able stick a few more bits on there seems like the only thing lg have forgotten let customise! Lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
G3 Tweaksbox,theme, ring pad, disable ring pad.
I know there is the "buttons" menu in settings and it gives some options for which button does what and button swap but I want more!
Like, long press the back button to kill an app (useful for closing the web browser, for instance, instead of hitting back a billion times or menu - close)
Or adding a menu button since many older apps don't always have a menu option on them anywhere and rely on that button.
I would love to swap the recents button with menu since I generally long press the home button for recents anyways but so far I can't seem to find an option to do so.
Can someone please help point me in the right direction? Thanks!
I just found this thread in search of the same solution. It seems like it's an Android level feature developers choose to include or not. My OnePlus one on 5.1 was the last time I've seen that menu, and I really want it back. It's so annoying to not be able to customize my buttons exactly how I like them, especially since that menu is something that's been in Android for so long. Feels like a step back.
Install All in one gestures app.
Don't be fooled by app's name, it does exactly what you ask and something more.