Develop Bugs

[Q] Soft Key Mod to make them disappear completely?

its a shame to have the soft keys display while youre playing a game or watching a video. Any way to make them disappear completely and get a true full screen experience?
i was thinking maybe configuring it so that you gently tap the power button to make them go away(come back) & for normal power button use do a long press instead.

Probably a pointless bump/post from me, but this is something that I'd really like to have too.
Soft buttons sounded cool, but after getting the phone, they seem to be somewhat permanent and not particularly customisable either.
Videos seem to be the only application where they hide, but even then, simply tapping the screen _anywhere_ brings them back up again (even with screen control lock enabled).
I watch videos with subtitles and being a slow reader, tend to pause videos fairly regularly. It's annoying to have the video bounce around when I do so because of the soft buttons popping up.
Really would appreciate if anyone knows of a method to kill these soft buttons!

Yep I would love this as well, an option to enable this feature.
It would auto hide the soft keys, then a swipe up from the bottom will overlay the keys on top of the existing screen (so the app isn't resizing itself - like HD videos do when the keys come back).
Then we can use the full smexy 4.65" screen and real 720p.

it is up to the developer of the app to add the full screen code.
Dice Player was the first to add this and when you play videos, it automatically goes fullscreen and then a tap brings the buttons back.
i don't think that any mod or app could do it. You could probably make a mod that forces them to always hide in landscape, but the problem would be that they're always gone, even when you want them there.

neok44 said:
it is up to the developer of the app to add the full screen code.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I presume that an app can only indicate that the buttons should be hidden, and really doesn't have much more control than that?
So basically, unusable in games.
neok44 said:
i don't think that any mod or app could do it. You could probably make a mod that forces them to always hide in landscape, but the problem would be that they're always gone, even when you want them there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Surely there must be some sort of modification (even if it needs to go back to the kernel (forgive my ignorance if I'm totally off)) to allow us to do it?
I can understand that an app is restricted to the API provided to it, which is why I think an OS level mod needs to be done here.
I get it that this could be less convenient / more confusing, so believe that this shouldn't be in a stock ROM, but if I want to mod my phone this way, I should be able to, right?

i would love a rom that has a setting where i can choose certain apps that can hide the buttons on whatever apps i want. that would be awesome. dont know if its possible. especially on slingplayer. its a $30 app which rarely gets updated. who knows when they will update it. its a good thing i sideloaded it and didnt pay for it. i dont see how it can work on games though because tapping the screen is the way to get the buttons there. unless there is some sort of gesture to bring em back. i do think we will see a lot more out of soft buttons but it will take a while.

youtube seemingly does this for me....

I too think its a total waste having the buttons never move or disappear. Its a great concept, but google didnt take advantage of it at all. I just find it wasting space. Would love if they could be hidden.

／人◕‿‿ ◕人＼ said:
I presume that an app can only indicate that the buttons should be hidden, and really doesn't have much more control than that?
So basically, unusable in games.
Surely there must be some sort of modification (even if it needs to go back to the kernel (forgive my ignorance if I'm totally off)) to allow us to do it?
I can understand that an app is restricted to the API provided to it, which is why I think an OS level mod needs to be done here.
I get it that this could be less convenient / more confusing, so believe that this shouldn't be in a stock ROM, but if I want to mod my phone this way, I should be able to, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i don't think so. the code is there to hide them, but in video apps they show back up on simply a touch. The game developers could add code to say that they only come up when you press pause. I don't see why that wouldn't be possible.
on a system level i'm sure it could be done, but as we've both said. it'll be much less convenient and more confusing.
heres an example, what happens if you enable that to play a game full screen, but that game has no exit option. You now have no way out of the game. The only way to get back to your homescreen is to shut off the phone.
so then, another mod would be required, you'd need a link to the home screen from the powermenu.
so your already up to two mods to do something that most people would not want.
The better thing is to just have the keys dim when playing a game like they do in honeycomb, and not just disappear.

i would also like a ability to hide them!

I think it would be cool if the soft keys had a transparent backround maybe the buttons could fade to dots like I have seen them do.

neok44 said:
i don't think so. the code is there to hide them, but in video apps they show back up on simply a touch. The game developers could add code to say that they only come up when you press pause. I don't see why that wouldn't be possible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't looked at the API, I'm just going on a hunch from what I've seen how apps react.
For example, if apps had such control over the buttons, why would they still show on touch even if screen control locking is enabled? Just a bug in the application, or perhaps just cannot be done?
neok44 said:
on a system level i'm sure it could be done, but as we've both said. it'll be much less convenient and more confusing.
heres an example, what happens if you enable that to play a game full screen, but that game has no exit option. You now have no way out of the game. The only way to get back to your homescreen is to shut off the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Take the example in the first post - erhaps an option to toggle the buttons in the power menu.
One would presume that if you're playing a game, you're not looking to exit it every minute, so it's not like you exactly need a convenient exit button. If the toggle is done through the power menu, then it makes logical sense to go back there if you with to show the buttons again.
Of course, there'll probably be people who forget about where they turned off the buttons, so yes, slightly more confusing to newbies, but if there's a custom mod which allows this type of functionality, it would be really helpful to those who do understand. (after all, if you've gone to the effort to enable such a mod, you're sure to know about it)
neok44 said:
so then, another mod would be required, you'd need a link to the home screen from the powermenu.
so your already up to two mods to do something that most people would not want.
The better thing is to just have the keys dim when playing a game like they do in honeycomb, and not just disappear.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure about the "two mods" proposition - you can't really have one without the other so I'd think it would be classed as one, but I don't really want to debate about semantics here (neither can I really say anything about low level requirements to perform this mod).
As for most people not wanting it, perhaps, though I think the responses in this thread shows that there are people out there interested in this, and it's not only me. The value proposition is up to someone else to decide though.
Dimming the keys does not enable more screen space, which is the whole point of completely hiding them.

i dont have a problem with them, they hide automatically on things like netflix and need for speed shift...
Galaxy Nexus Stock

／人◕‿‿ ◕人＼ said:
I haven't looked at the API, I'm just going on a hunch from what I've seen how apps react.
For example, if apps had such control over the buttons, why would they still show on touch even if screen control locking is enabled? Just a bug in the application, or perhaps just cannot be done?
Take the example in the first post - erhaps an option to toggle the buttons in the power menu.
One would presume that if you're playing a game, you're not looking to exit it every minute, so it's not like you exactly need a convenient exit button. If the toggle is done through the power menu, then it makes logical sense to go back there if you with to show the buttons again.
Of course, there'll probably be people who forget about where they turned off the buttons, so yes, slightly more confusing to newbies, but if there's a custom mod which allows this type of functionality, it would be really helpful to those who do understand. (after all, if you've gone to the effort to enable such a mod, you're sure to know about it)
I'm not sure about the "two mods" proposition - you can't really have one without the other so I'd think it would be classed as one, but I don't really want to debate about semantics here (neither can I really say anything about low level requirements to perform this mod).
As for most people not wanting it, perhaps, though I think the responses in this thread shows that there are people out there interested in this, and it's not only me. The value proposition is up to someone else to decide though.
Dimming the keys does not enable more screen space, which is the whole point of completely hiding them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
honestly not sure. could be a bug or how it'd designed. since the galaxy nexus has no other way of letting you control it, most likely it's designed so that theres no way to perminately hide them.
If you added an option in the power menu to show/hide them, then that would make it just one mod. The two mods idea was just one to make them always hide in fullscreen apps, and then another one that would give you a home link in the power menu.
but having a link in the power menu to show/hide the buttons is actually a better idea. assuming it would work. And doing it this way would allow you an easy way to turn them on and off.

Might be NSFW for wallpaper.
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This is the closes I can get it to hide, but it's still not full screen on games. Changed the color to black. It blends in with the background, but the highlighted button press is still there. Like hidden buttons.
Using Codename Android 1.0.1 ROM, it has the option to change the color built in, as does AOKP ROM.

RogerPodacter said:
I too think its a total waste having the buttons never move or disappear. Its a great concept, but google didnt take advantage of it at all. I just find it wasting space. Would love if they could be hidden.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
actually google did take advantage of it. they added it to their own apps like youtube and gallery during video. and on other apps like phone during a call and gallery viewing pictures they hide.

[APP][LAUNCHER] TasKarou Launcher Overlay

Tired of moving your fingers up/down your tablet to switch applications? Try out TasKarou!
TasKarou is a multitasking launcher overlay.
Taking inspiration from the 'Quick Controls' feature in the android browser, TasKarou provides a multitasking layer on top of a launcher on tablets.
By swiping anywhere on the left or right edge of your tablet screen, you can activate TasKarou's UI.
It gives you access to a quick, smooth, and intuitive interface to facilitate app launch, transition, and management for the user
The user interface brings a more responsive, and enjoyable level of interaction to your tablet.
Notes:
To use TasKarou, set it as the default home launcher, and from TasKarou's settings, select the actual home launcher you want to overlay.
TasKarou user interface is then triggered by swiping from either the left of right edge of your tablet screen, while still allowing access to the overlaid home launcher through the home button.
The app is also available in the android market.

nice app, but how do i use the browser controls? when im in the browser and put my finger to the side the taskarou menu opens...

kendong2 said:
nice app, but how do i use the browser controls? when im in the browser and put my finger to the side the taskarou menu opens...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not possible to use both at the same time, since both controls rely on the user touching the edge of the screen.
If you have an idea on how I could get around that issue, I'm all ear.

ne0fhyk said:
It's not possible to use both at the same time, since both controls rely on the user touching the edge of the screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that sucks, because it basically makes the browser unusable.
ne0fhyk said:
If you have an idea on how I could get around that issue, I'm all ear.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
some ideas from the top of my head:
- disable taskarou menu completely when in browser
- disable one side of the screen (permanently or when in browser)
- disable the upper/lower/middle half of the screen (permanently or when in browser)
on another note, the notification HAS to go. at least make it optional.
that being said, i really do like the concept of the app :good: i found myself regularly swiping in from the screen edges when not in browser, and then being disappointed that nothing happened.

kendong2 said:
that sucks, because it basically makes the browser unusable.
some ideas from the top of my head:
- disable taskarou menu completely when in browser
- disable one side of the screen (permanently or when in browser)
- disable the upper/lower/middle half of the screen (permanently or when in browser)
on another note, the notification HAS to go. at least make it optional.
that being said, i really do like the concept of the app :good: i found myself regularly swiping in from the screen edges when not in browser, and then being disappointed that nothing happened.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your suggestions. I have a few other ideas along with the ones you suggest that I will try to integrate, and test in the following days.
In the meantime, I updated TasKarou to also support android phones. I duplicated this thread in the 'Android Apps and Games' section to make it more visible: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1984010

I like this. Definitely a nice addition to my current launcher.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

Definitely slick in some aspects. Can't say I really like it as it messes with my LMT set up and takes up more RAM on top of it.
There's a lot to be done like distinguishing different "hotspots" and designating right side only or left side only. Overall though I really enjoy the transitions and how the menu auto-switches based on which choices you're hovering over. Very intuitive choices too that I agree with about which things go where.
Looking forward to the potential this holds in the future. I may just abandon my LMT setup if done right.
Edit: And of course the ability for users to add/edit the options, potentially switch the color for mere superficial reasons. Something like my screenshot.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Xparent Cyan Tapatalk 2

ne0fhyk said:
It's not possible to use both at the same time, since both controls rely on the user touching the edge of the screen.
If you have an idea on how I could get around that issue, I'm all ear.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe ask SwipePad's developer.
(I'm not being sarcastic)

Really useful. Love the idea, but it does cause a few conflicts with apps that rely on swiping from the sides of the screen. Having said that, when I set the margin to 13 pixels I can use the Dolphin browser (for example) without too many issues by not swiping from the outer edge, but by placing the finger a little more away from the edge and then swiping inwards. Other apps are less forgiving.
What about a button in the notification area, which is visible at all times anyways?
EDIT:
If swiping has the preference, then it would be more logical to align the available programs/tasks to the side from which was swiped. Swiping and selecting can be done with one hand then, regardless of which hand was used to swipe with.

The recents button is useless, I never use it, ever.
I'd like the option to use this instead and just disable the side activation altogether.

Nice idea. However on TF101 after getting the quick control moving the finger to one of the options too fast causes the quick controls to disappear. I have to move the thumb really slow in order to select any option. Hopefully, this will be fixed soon:fingers-crossed:.

ppl get over it, the man is trying to make ur life simpler, so if u don't like some stuff about the app then tell him your opinions in a decent way so he can make a proper development for the app instead of trashing it, otherwise f*** off

I like this!
1. I only see it from the right edge in portrait.
2. Might have a user selected area(s) for its swipe. This would allow those with conflicts to fix them. There is a similar app on Play which just gives a row running/recent apps icons which is not a bad interface. I found its use of the bottom obtrusive.
3. The home key does not go home in the base browser (I am using Trebuchet on a CM10).
4. There is a difference between "running" and "recent" (exited, cached, and still available.) !!
Long press of home gives a vertically tiled thumbnail view of both.
Taskarou shows only icons of running apps, not recent.
Taskarou should show both, either in two panes or in one with some distinction?, i.e. frame around one or the other. I sort of like having the thumbnails and they could be tiled or cascaded. If cascaded, should be focus-able, if tiled, scroll larger view like the app list. Best eliminated the number of apps option or make that for the pane (but that would be scroll-able for more). Cascading the main webOS motif. Flick down to kill?

mosta_9741 said:
ppl get over it, the man is trying to make ur life simpler, so if u don't like some stuff about the app then tell him your opinions in a decent way so he can make a proper development for the app instead of trashing it, otherwise f*** off
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all, as far as I can see, no one is trashing his app. So maybe lower your tone a bit and at least pretend to be able to communicate in a proper way.instead of telling people to "F-off".
The developer probably appreciates the feedback as he responds to it. Feedback (be it positive or negative) is valuable for both him and the app he works on. The end product can benefit from any kind of feedback as it points out flaws and strong points, and it can give the developer some different perspectives and experiences from different users and from different devices.
The day a developer stops listening to his/her targeted market is the day the product will begin its downfall.

Hey man, I just noticed that you dont have a video demo on google play... would you like one? I can do some switches with a background music... may I do it and you decide after if use it or not?

360porcento said:
Hey man, I just noticed that you dont have a video demo on google play... would you like one? I can do some switches with a background music... may I do it and you decide after if use it or not?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That'd be cool, thanks.

Was having issues on my Nexus 7 running SmoothRom 4.1.2. Updated to 4.2 and no more disappearing quick controls as soon as my finger leaves the border. To get them to stay I had to leave my finger there for at least 1.5 seconds. Now all is well. Really liking it. I look forward to extended and customizable menus
Update:
Scratch that. Conflict was gesture control. Had it set to consume events in starting zone. So a touch on the edge first went to gesture control. Just an iD10t error.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium

ddlooping said:
That'd be cool, thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you the the same guy as the OP?

360porcento said:
Are you the the same guy as the OP?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No but it'd cool regardless as I'd be interested in seeing it in action.
(the app that is)

360porcento said:
Hey man, I just noticed that you dont have a video demo on google play... would you like one? I can do some switches with a background music... may I do it and you decide after if use it or not?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would loved one, that'd be greatly appreciated... thanks! (i am the op)

can we talk touchwiz for a minute?

I think touchwiz has come a long way. It really adds alot to stock android in my opinion, and im not just talking about the s pen additions.
The dialer, the whole phone app in general, all the motion settings...
What I want to talk about are issues that people have with touchwiz in general, meaning, reasons that you would jump ship to a custom rom, and I'd like to see if anyone would have solutions to these issues.
Ill give you a few examples of my own experiences.
1) I need to have a battery percentage in the status bar. So when youre running any rom worth its salt, there's an option for that. I was going through the settings on the note 2 and there it was, built into the touchwiz settings... im curious to know when this was added because im pretty sure it wasnt there in gingerbread.
2) I like the additions to the stock player but to me, its still not functional enough, I at least need a screen lock. When I mentioned this in a post, someone pointed out that screen lock is built in now, all you need to do is press the power key when playing a video and it locks the screen.
3) I remember someone posting about how on this phone, the calls and messages show up in the call log and how annoying that is. I just looked for a second and realized that theres a way to change that. When youre in the call log, you hit menu then view by.
I think we could all benefit from learning about the other "hidden features and functionality" in touchwiz. For example, I still have an issue with the stock video player that you cant easily fast forward by dragging like other players and there doesnt seem to be any options or preferences built it...

What I want from Touchwiz is wallpaper scrolling and the option to change the screen grid. Other than that, it has really improved a lot and I'm pretty much comfortable using it now.

most touchwiz doesn't work for me because I work in a 240dpi environment and touchwiz doesn't scale well in it. not even the Samsung keyboard loads, it just FCs. I use different launcher, different dialer. stock kernel is not too battery friendly...I got almost 2 days usage with jedi master 2 rom with normal usage (yes, it's touchwiz based but wherever I can change it I do).
why would I jump ship?
- better environment scaling in 240dpi
- better/longer battery life
- faster operations

lennie said:
most touchwiz doesn't work for me because I work in a 240dpi environment and touchwiz doesn't scale well in it. not even the Samsung keyboard loads, it just FCs. I use different launcher, different dialer. stock kernel is not too battery friendly...I got almost 2 days usage with jedi master 2 rom with normal usage (yes, it's touchwiz based but wherever I can change it I do).
why would I jump ship?
- better environment scaling in 240dpi
- better/longer battery life
- faster operations
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 on Jedi... I consider myself an "advanced" user and stock touchwiz is not quite there yet but if you add Jedi's rom and Nova launcher then it makes the experience much better imo... I don't mess around with dpi settings as I will just wait for a rom that will customize that to my liking. We are lacking in the development department right now but as soon as it picks up there should be lots of great options for us...:fingers-crossed: And as far as scrollable wallpapers... I just download Zedge & an app called wallpaper changer and I have on demand scrollable wallpapers in Nova!

mottyengel said:
I think touchwiz has come a long way. It really adds alot to stock android in my opinion, and im not just talking about the s pen additions.
The dialer, the whole phone app in general, all the motion settings...
What I want to talk about are issues that people have with touchwiz in general, meaning, reasons that you would jump ship to a custom rom, and I'd like to see if anyone would have solutions to these issues.
Ill give you a few examples of my own experiences.
1) I need to have a battery percentage in the status bar. So when youre running any rom worth its salt, there's an option for that. I was going through the settings on the note 2 and there it was, built into the touchwiz settings... im curious to know when this was added because im pretty sure it wasnt there in gingerbread.
2) I like the additions to the stock player but to me, its still not functional enough, I at least need a screen lock. When I mentioned this in a post, someone pointed out that screen lock is built in now, all you need to do is press the power key when playing a video and it locks the screen.
3) I remember someone posting about how on this phone, the calls and messages show up in the call log and how annoying that is. I just looked for a second and realized that theres a way to change that. When youre in the call log, you hit menu then view by.
I think we could all benefit from learning about the other "hidden features and functionality" in touchwiz. For example, I still have an issue with the stock video player that you cant easily fast forward by dragging like other players and there doesnt seem to be any options or preferences built it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi OP,
If u go to Settings -> Display and if you select Display Battery Percentage, it'll show you the battery percentage in the notification bar.
I'd like a better home screen layout. 5x4 is a GINORMOUS waste of space.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app

achusaysblessyou said:
Hi OP,
If u go to Settings -> Display and if you select Display Battery Percentage, it'll show you the battery percentage in the notification bar.
I'd like a better home screen layout. 5x4 is a GINORMOUS waste of space.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i guess i wasnt clear, i found it, but i never knew it was there... and the homescreen layout... use a different launcher..

The only thing I missed from a custom launcher are:
1) can't change the icon grid, would like a 5x5 at least.
2) can't lock the home screen. Hate it when I accidentally moved stuff after having it setup perfectly the way I want it.
Also it would be great if we can select which app the page buddy brings up.

The only thing that really pushed me away from TouchWiz is that you can’t move the “Apps” button in the dock. I can’t reach the button when holding the phone in my left hand, one handed.

I really hate the lock screen. I was running a ROM with AOSP JB lock screen on my previous phone. I use the lock screen music controls all the time.
On Touchwiz lock screen if you use the basic swipe lock, you get the quick apps at the bottom, but the music controls don't show up at the top (at least not for Spotify or DoggCatcher). I can turn on pattern unlock, then it will show the lock screen music controls, but I lose the quick apps (I find it useful to access Google Search or Camera from lock screen).
The only solution to get both is to use pattern unlock with swipe gesture. This gives me the swipe lock screen with quick apps at the bottom, then when I swipe it gives me the pattern unlock with music controls at the top. WAY too many steps to access these two features that apparently can't be on the lock screen at the same time.

Can't say I often log in just to reply to a thread here, I'm more of a lurker. But I definitely feel the need to contribute to this.
I actually just returned my Note 2 (with the intention of getting an unlocked Nexus 4 in a couple days) and one of the major reasons was TouchWiz.
I hate it. Hate hate hate it. I hate the notification bar customizations. I hate that they've taken something as wonderful as power toggles in the notification bar and so badly butchered them. The entire notification pulldown is a crowded clusterfk compared to vanilla Android (full disclosure: I'm a long time vanilla Android user through Nexus devices/AOSP ROMs). The low DPI for a phone with such a big screen is damn absurd. I feel like I'm using my 37" computer monitor at 1280*1024. The TouchWiz customizations to the settings UI is just as bad or worse than Sense. If anything the Note 2 should be using the default Android tablet settings UI. The TouchWiz lock screen is a step up in customization from vanilla Android, but I still think it's ugly as all hell. Most of it is fluff that doesn't add any function or aesthetics. Not specifically TouchWiz related, but I loathe that they moved the back button from the left side of the screen as in vanilla JB to the left side via a capacitive hardware button.
I don't hate ALL of Samsung's tinkering. S-Voice was actually a phenomenal surprise and I'm going to dearly miss it. I could actually reliably send text messages with it without ever so much as glancing at the phone. Voice recognition was fantastic and it covered basic phone features better than vanilla Android's default abilities.
What I would really LOVE to have is a Note 2 without the hardware buttons, running AOSP with S-Voice and the S-Pen apps. Perhaps one day if there's a stable CM release where I can install extracted APKs for the Samsung apps I may get another one. Until then I'm going to stick with the Nexus line. TouchWiz really is that bad IMO.

... at least TouchWiz is a lot better than one of the first versions of it with the Behold II *shudders* I used one of those for a week.

hittingsmoke said:
Can't say I often log in just to reply to a thread here, I'm more of a lurker. But I definitely feel the need to contribute to this.
I actually just returned my Note 2 (with the intention of getting an unlocked Nexus 4 in a couple days) and one of the major reasons was TouchWiz.
I hate it. Hate hate hate it. I hate the notification bar customizations. I hate that they've taken something as wonderful as power toggles in the notification bar and so badly butchered them. The entire notification pulldown is a crowded clusterfk compared to vanilla Android (full disclosure: I'm a long time vanilla Android user through Nexus devices/AOSP ROMs). The low DPI for a phone with such a big screen is damn absurd. I feel like I'm using my 37" computer monitor at 1280*1024. The TouchWiz customizations to the settings UI is just as bad or worse than Sense. If anything the Note 2 should be using the default Android tablet settings UI. The TouchWiz lock screen is a step up in customization from vanilla Android, but I still think it's ugly as all hell. Most of it is fluff that doesn't add any function or aesthetics. Not specifically TouchWiz related, but I loathe that they moved the back button from the left side of the screen as in vanilla JB to the left side via a capacitive hardware button.
I don't hate ALL of Samsung's tinkering. S-Voice was actually a phenomenal surprise and I'm going to dearly miss it. I could actually reliably send text messages with it without ever so much as glancing at the phone. Voice recognition was fantastic and it covered basic phone features better than vanilla Android's default abilities.
What I would really LOVE to have is a Note 2 without the hardware buttons, running AOSP with S-Voice and the S-Pen apps. Perhaps one day if there's a stable CM release where I can install extracted APKs for the Samsung apps I may get another one. Until then I'm going to stick with the Nexus line. TouchWiz really is that bad IMO.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I find it entertaining that you mentioned you are an avid vanilla android user, then explain how you run custom roms. *boggle* Enjoy the on screen buttons taking up real estate, 16gb of total memory, and yearning for the s-pen. Btw, something as simple as go launcher could allow you to set up plenty of things you want, to include a 5x5 icon set.
I could go on and on, but to be honest, I don't think it will be long for you to realize you are making a mistake. *cough* battery

mdt73 said:
I find it entertaining that you mentioned you are an avid vanilla android user, then explain how you run custom roms. *boggle* Enjoy the on screen buttons taking up real estate, 16gb of total memory, and yearning for the s-pen. Btw, something as simple as go launcher could allow you to set up plenty of things you want, to include a 5x5 icon set.
I could go on and on, but to be honest, I don't think it will be long for you to realize you are making a mistake. *cough* battery
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He does have a point with a lot of that stuff, particularly the lock screen music control. I just don't understand why it's so hard to add it just under the weather, or as a small bar just above the other lockscreen targets at the bottom of the screen. That's the most frustrating thing for me, as most the the other stuff he mentioned can be changed, and if it can't I'm willing to overlook it for a while because of all the added features this phone brings.

I have been using power amp for music since my DroidX2 back when we yearned for an eq... so its always been there for me (the lock screen music control).
Everything mentioned can be addressed. That's the beauty of android; customizing your android experience. What people have become is lazy because roms do it for you.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium

mdt73 said:
I find it entertaining that you mentioned you are an avid vanilla android user, then explain how you run custom roms. *boggle*
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How so? AOSP ROMS are pretty well vanilla with very minor tweaks. Nothing like horribly reskinned menus at every turn. *yahtzee*
I use ADW EX to do a hell of a lot more than add icons to my home screen. Changing the launcher can only do so much to fix a horrible complete OS reskin.

hittingsmoke said:
How so? AOSP ROMS are pretty well vanilla with very minor tweaks. Nothing like horribly reskinned menus at every turn. *yahtzee*
I use ADW EX to do a hell of a lot more than add icons to my home screen. Changing the launcher can only do so much to fix a horrible complete OS reskin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only thing that looks skined on my phobe now isctge lockscreen, and im sure I can fix that with a lock screen app. Otherwise my launcher is now ADW, my notification bar is themed blue with circle battery and stock JB settings/clear all buttons. No brightness bar in notification window either. In all honesty there is not much mire I was able to change on my Galaxy Nexus that I cant on here, visually. In the options department Samsung has done a wonderful job and I currently dont miss anything from AOKP other then the widget popups on nav bar (would love to hold say menu button to get that on here)
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2

[APP][TRIAL] DeskBar Launcher will replace your soft buttons and more!

Hello!
I'm an Android developer and I almost finished a new app called Deskbar Launcher.
I created it for many reasons. First I was fed up by the look of the system bar with Home/Back/Recent Apps and the huge waste of space it makes. Like many others I tried alternative solutions like HideBar and the likes but then I looked at my laptop and at its ribbon bar which I use all the time and I thought it would be a good idea to have something similar on Android.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Download links are now in the new thread here. If you have any comments, suggestions or problems, please report there. Thanks
Features :
-can replace your soft buttons (sadly Back button needs root, after lots of search I don't think it is possible otherwise)
-add shortcuts to your favorite apps on the bar
-music controllers to go to pause/go to next/previous song in any apps
-volume controllers
-lock button to minimize accidental input of your bar and soft buttons
-access all your apps in StartMenu as well as categories such as Pictures, Music, Settings, etc.
-(experimental)(ROOT)fullscreen mode.
Future features:
-Folders
-Themes
-Reboot button for root users
-etc
I developed it mainly on Nexus7, that's why I post here before releasing it on the Play Store. It is a Trial version of 10days and when you launch it you need internet access for verification, after it's not necessary except if you reload it. A licence key will soon be available.
There might be some bugs!
Questions
Q:I don't have Root and not having a back button is not possible for me, it seems I can't use your app.
Q:I already got rid of my system bar, it will cover screen content so it's not usable for me too.
A: You can! Deskbar Launcher has an autohide feature so you can still access your back button. Bring it up only when it's needed!
Q: I have one bar for soft buttons and notifications (no status bar on top) . Your app will cover the notification part and I won't be able to access my notifications
A. There is a setting especially for that so the Deskbar takes only half your device's width, in the future the width of Deskbar might be more customizable.
Q : Can I use it on my other tablet/phone ?
A. Yes! It is theoretically compatible with all 2.2 or + Android devices! There might be some problems on specific rom or with some manufacturers. Please report to me in this case.

i'll try and report,i haven't mean exactly what does (using it is more intuitive!)
thanks for now mate!

Will be testing this for sure!
Edit
Light usage so far
Pros:
- Quick easy access to your music, photos, and documents
- Completely changes look and feel of the bottom nav bar without need for root or new ROM
- can view and switch to apps of your choice quickly with out exiting current app
- in-depth settings with good amount of customization
- work around for non-rooted users
Cons:
- visual appeal isn't appealing( to me at least)
- nav buttons feel a little too close together
- cannot change the color of the bar
- auto hide feature needs work as it seems finicky
What I would like to see:
- short cuts to user defined app in menu
- options to change colors
- quick toggles in menu (WiFi, Bluetooth, etc...)
Other then that I really like it and its a good change. Will love to see the advancement of this project later down the road! Great work indeed!
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

Thanks for your feedback!
About suggestions and bad points:
-Yeah visual appeal is kind of generic, I'm not the best at design/art . Themes should give a workaround for those who don't like it in one of the next updates. (By the way there was a bug with the start button not showing the glowing icon when start menu was displaying . It's fixed in the new version, it's the same download link, uninstall is needed if you have the previous version.
-I plan on adding a setting to have custom distance between buttons because on some device space is precious and on others there's plenty of it.
-Themes should also address this issue
-Not sure what you mean by this, I admit it's not ideal because there's no animation, it just goes down after a 3seconds delay. I will add a smooth movement option in the future.
-user-defined shortcuts in menu is planned, as well as folders containing app shortcuts
-I'll try to add Theming fast
-Quick Toggles is indeed interesting, I'll think of ways to add it in the Menu.

Awesome! I see this as being a good hit
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

This damn thing is INTUITIVE. Seriously, I love the feel of it and it really looks quite nice on my N7. Cheers for letting us try this, I think its a really good fit and shows promise of something in the future. Killjoy question: what will the licensing price new?

Im really loving this! I do have have more thing that I would like to see added and that would be having resizeable options for the menu its self. More so users can choose exactly how many pixels the pull up menu actually takes up. I'm also picky like that though.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

Very minor complaint: after about an hour of use, it starts to feel a bit sluggish. That is, I'll tap on home, back it recent and it'll take about a second to respond. I rebooted my tablet and suddenly I got my groove back. Maybe it's a memory issue? Just thought I'd chime in, I'm really enjoying this mod!

Love it so far!
Two little things:
-ability to change icons/icon sets of shortcuts
-expanded version of the menu to see more apps at once
Thanks

Sharpen3d said:
Killjoy question: what will the licensing price new?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol. 2.49 probably.
Sharpen3d said:
Very minor complaint: after about an hour of use, it starts to feel a bit sluggish. That is, I'll tap on home, back it recent and it'll take about a second to respond. I rebooted my tablet and suddenly I got my groove back. Maybe it's a memory issue? Just thought I'd chime in, I'm really enjoying this mod!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll need more info on this one, I did not encounter this problem. Was it only the soft buttons ? Did the other buttons (shortcuts, music, startbutton) worked correctly ? Did you add a lot of shortcuts ?
soloman56 said:
Love it so far!
Two little things:
-ability to change icons/icon sets of shortcuts
-expanded version of the menu to see more apps at once
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First is already in the works. For the second one maybe the default size is not big enough ?

Lots of force close on my device, Samsung Showcase. Like the idea though.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2

PenguinxEnjoi said:
Lots of force close on my device, Samsung Showcase. Like the idea though.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello!
Can you tell me when it's happening and if it's after a precise action ? Could you use the CatLog app (or any similar one) to get me a crash report ? Thanks!
You might be low on memory and the system decide to stop the app to free some.

srelyt said:
I'll need more info on this one, I did not encounter this problem. Was it only the soft buttons ? Did the other buttons (shortcuts, music, startbutton) worked correctly ? Did you add a lot of shortcuts ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Music buttons worked great, as did the launcher button. No shortcuts added. I'm wondering if the error came from my rom or what, I'm running slim bean beta 2 with faux beta 14b01. Haven't had any issues since restarting, maybe it was a fluke?

New version uploaded which uses less memory and has a new welcome screen ( not so well done but I wanted one to have a link to the video tutorial I finished ).
Link updated in OP

Sharpen3d said:
Music buttons worked great, as did the launcher button. No shortcuts added. I'm wondering if the error came from my rom or what, I'm running slim bean beta 2 with faux beta 14b01. Haven't had any issues since restarting, maybe it was a fluke?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe, or it's the way to simulate virtual buttons that can sometimes go wrong, it's kind of a hack but there isn't really any alternative. It should work most of the time and as well as similar apps offering virtual buttons alternative.
I have to go, I'll be back tomorrow.
EDIT:I forgot to add if you already installed it, erase app data before uninstalling and installing the new one because the way data was saved as changed.

Greats Job, Please add volume button up/down on navigation bar, thanks

PenguinxEnjoi said:
Lots of force close on my device, Samsung Showcase. Like the idea though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I found what it was, it concerned all devices with Android version under 3.0. It's fixed (new version in OP) except maybe for the "Switch App" button.
Could you test for me or someone else with a device on 2.2/2.3 ? Thanks
brium13 said:
Greats Job, Please add volume button up/down on navigation bar, thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Added to the todo-list, I'll do it soon I think.

Re: [APP][BETA][TRIAL] DeskBar Launcher will replace your soft buttons and more!
As soon as I noticed the trail 10 days crap I uninstalled it. Sigh. Why can't people do things without money motivating them?
I can see if it was finished but its not even close.

Re: [APP][BETA][TRIAL] DeskBar Launcher will replace your soft buttons and more!
What a great idea. Please keep the 10 day trial available once its more refined, I will definitely try and probably buy.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

Re: [APP][BETA][TRIAL] DeskBar Launcher will replace your soft buttons and more!
So far so good. I really like the idea and the way it works. I'll report back if I have any problems.
Sent from under your bed...

No navbar gestures only N4 LMT config - copy it or help improve it if you want to

So, the nav-bar eating a portion of my screen was bothering me for a while and I wanted my device to rely on gestures only, so I decided to search for the most suitable way for me to solve this problem... LMT of course, but first I got rid of the nav-bar using FullScreen Toggle.
Big thanks to the creators of both those apps
LMT can be found here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1330150
FullScreen Toggle can be found here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1497558
Now, as the title says, I'd like to share with you my LMT configuration. There are many things that I'm currently unable to understand about how LMT should actually be configurated, I just used a trial&error approach, but the result I got is more then decent and worthy of being shared IMO. If I'll get some suggestion on how to improve what I did I hope to turn this post in a clean LMT ISAS guide for the Nexus 4.
PLEASE NOTICE that I didn't want to use the pie and I (almost*) didn't use LMT's gestures. The following configuration is for ISAS only.
That's because I wanted to get rid of softkeys and still have an easy to use and reliable N4. Complicated gestures tend to be hard to use and to reproduce consistently, they will give you an hard learning curve and will slow down every operation. Here I'm trying to get the benefits of gestures without making everything overcomplicated.
Now... let's get into it, I'm gonna use pictures to make everything easier to understand
This is what I ideally wanted to get:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Each colored part corresponds to a ISA on LMT
YELLOW is ISA 1 (bottom left), assigned to BACK
RED is ISA 2 (bottom center), assigned to HOME
BLUE is ISA 3 (bottom right), assigned to RECENT APPS
GREEN is ISA 9 (left bottom), assigned to OPTIONS
ORANGE is ISA 6 (top right)
this is an optional one that I wanted to add. It's assigned to search longpress, wich triggers an activity of the app "Screen Off and Lock". Basically it locks the screen with a swipe.
Sadly, if you assign the ISAS as shown without changing any value within LMT your ISAS will look nothing like the picture, you'd get something like this:
Why? I promise I don't know. I read the posts about how to use LMT, but I couldn't really understand how the 4 settings for ISAS work. So as I said, I went for trial&error. At first I thought that "Activation area thickness" was the setting I had to modify to get what I wanted, but it didn't help in any way, and the same happened with "Min bbox size", so I left those two as they were by default.
Then I found out that increasing the value for "Touchscreen to screen factor Y" reduces the colored rectangles areas. I found the value 209 to be ideal. The rectangles were now more like lines closed to the frame, but many things were still off. Here's how it looked like:
The home button is far too small, everithing is too much to the left and I don't really know what the heck orange is doing down there.
Finally, I changed the "Touchscreen to screen factor X" value to 250, and it got me to my final result
It's not perfect, but it's pretty close. I would like yellow red and blue to be better centered, but this configuration is really reliable and easy to use. It actually took me some time to realize that it's not exactly as I wanted it, the only thing that you have to remember if you you're gonna use this, is to stay well to the right when you want to swipe into recent apps.
If you apply this settings you will be able to use easy gestures that can't be activated by mistake while you are using other apps or games and you'll gain precious space on your screen.
My final LMT values are:
Min bbox size: 1 (default)
Activation area thickness: 80 (default)
Touchscreen to screen factor X: 250
Touchscreen to screen factor Y: 209
*I also enabled the X shaped gesture on LMT and associated it with FullScreen Toggle. If anything goes wrong while you are using your phone and you can't open the app drawer to get to FullScreen Toggle and enable the navbar, just perform the gesture, toggle the navbar back and reboot your phone.
Known issues with this configuration.
There are two of them.
First, since you have an ISA for options, you will be able to use the options in any app that has an option menu. The problem is that for some reason when FullScreen Toggle is activated you will not be able to see the 3-dots on-screen icon that opens the menu on any apps. That icon disappears from the top right corner or wherever it's supposed to be. That means that you will have to remember which apps have an option menu or just try to swipe and open it in case there is one.
Second, with LMT ISAS change positon properly when you go from portrait to panorama mode only if you rotate your device 90° to the left. If you rotate your device to the right ISAS from the bottom go to the top and ISAS on the right side go to the left side and viceversa.
However this is not a big problem to me and maybe it will be fixed by LMT's developer anyway.
Sorry for the long post and for any grammatical error (probably a lot). Hope someone finds this intresting and helpful

Cool guide thanks.
Did you try GMD gesture control? Seems like it would be easier to setup how you like. Complex or simple. I guess if you got LMT working fine then its all good.

jarayn said:
Cool guide thanks.
Did you try GMD gesture control? Seems like it would be easier to setup how you like. Complex or simple. I guess if you got LMT working fine then its all good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried it but I was not satisfied with it. It's really great and extremely customizable, but in my expirience it's a bit buggy, it gave me problems right after the boot, can't remember if the auto-start was too slow or if there was actually something worse then that.
Also, it doesn't allow you to hide the navbar only, if you want to hide the navbar you have to hide the status bar too.

Marlon90 said:
I tried it but I was not satisfied with it. It's really great and extremely customizable, but in my expirience it's a bit buggy, it gave me problems right after the boot, can't remember if the auto-start was too slow or if there was actually something worse then that.
Also, it doesn't allow you to hide the navbar only, if you want to hide the navbar you have to hide the status bar too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah ok. I dont use the hiding functions at all just use the Rom for that. The gestures aren't buggy at all and are a lot easier to set up than lmt. Also you get the launch pads.
Anyway it doesn't matter. It's a good guide and lmt is free so that's something.

Awesome post, thanks!
2 Questions...
Is there any way I can swipe back with the keyboard up without typing anything? I end up with a million drafts using LMT.
Also, is there a setting to actually see the areas like you show them for the touch locations?

ace7196 said:
Awesome post, thanks!
2 Questions...
Is there any way I can swipe back with the keyboard up without typing anything? I end up with a million drafts using LMT.
Also, is there a setting to actually see the areas like you show them for the touch locations?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First answer... this kind of things are the ones that bother me too with gestures, and doing what I showed in the OP I specifically tried to eliminate or reduce them. My answer to that problem was having a little line instead of a rectangle, and not so tiny that it's hard to trigger the gesture. It works well for me, and I think it requires very little getting use to.
Try it yourself if you want and maybe accomodate it to yur preference. Maybe you will type something from time to time but I hope the guide makes it so that it happens rarely.
Also, I never tried this on another N4... I don't see why it shouldn't work the same way for others, but a little feedback would be a very good thing.
As for the second question, there's no such setting that I know of, you should ask to the develoer of LMT. If there was such an option it would be so much easier to configure the app perfectly.

Fyi: touchscreen to screen factors for the nexus 4 are 200/200. It's written in the OP.
Hth!
Sent from my Nexus 4

noname81 said:
Fyi: touchscreen to screen factors for the nexus 4 are 200/200. It's written in the OP.
Hth!
Sent from my Nexus 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know that, but does it work for you? On my device it does not, if I don't mess around with X and Y I always get rectangles

Marlon90 said:
I know that, but does it work for you? On my device it does not, if I don't mess around with X and Y I always get rectangles
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
200 by 200 work best for me. OP: Are you able to simple press those hidden areas, or do you have to do a small swipe? I have to do the latter.

Yes these are the correct values to divide each side of the screen into 3 areas with equal size.
Sent from my Nexus 4

noname81 said:
Yes these are the correct values to divide each side of the screen into 3 areas with equal size.
Sent from my Nexus 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, then I guess I'm left with a big pile of nothing... What happens to me is I have big areas in wich a swipe triggers the action. At 200 they take a big part of the sceen and if I increase Y even slightly they become lines, but some other things are off as I said. I've read around about people not being able to get ISAS to work and I thoght I was into something, but if that's just me then I'm at a loss... I guess I'll do a nanobkp and wipe and see if everything start working with 200/200

Great!, thanks for the guide.

tyraelasd said:
Great!, thanks for the guide.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, you are welcome... read the rest of the thread, chances are this guide is useless for most people

jarayn said:
Cool guide thanks.
Did you try GMD gesture control? Seems like it would be easier to setup how you like. Complex or simple. I guess if you got LMT working fine then its all good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use both LMT and GMD for different gestures and I'm pretty satisfied, I also use glovebox for frequently used apps.
My setup is a little different, when I'm from the pc (and hopefully I'll remember XD) I'll share also my setup with you
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

I personally use the Extend Desktop feature easily accessible from the power button on CM. Probably the way to go if you already have a custom ROM.

my gestures setup
I use, as I said, both LMT and GMD for my gestures setup. I tried a bit to emulate ubuntu for phones. (I also use glovebox as you see)
(In the image, the rectangles are actually the area you have to swipe to activate the gesture)
GMD custom gestures:
with a swipe from the left center you go home
with a wipe from the right center you go to the previous app
LMT ISAS:
swipe form the bottom center to go home
swipe from the bottom left to go back
swipe from the bottom right to recent apps
swipe from the top right to go back (useful when you have the keyboard open and you don't want to accidentally type)
the settings for the apps are the following
LMT
min bbox (how much do you have to swipe to activate the gesture: 5
activation area thickness: 25
touchscreen factor x,y: 200
GMD
gesture size (under "advanced"): 492
home and prevapp gesture may have to be disabled when keyboard is on depending on your keyboard
I'm pretty satisfied with this setup, only little thing that bothers me is that sometimes when I type a bottom gesture is activated, but it happens very few times

Im testing this Now, thanks

I like it. I had to use 100 instead of 80 but works mint.

issues with typing is messing with this. Also its hard to swipe up to go back on some apps. It keeps opening the keyboard.

I just wanna thank the OP and everyone on this thread. I read all the responses and was able to get it working perfectly for me. I like this setup way more than using PIE.