Develop Bugs

[Q] [POLL] Do we need NST specific launcher? (Preview version here)

DISCLAMER and WARNING: I'm not responsible for bricked devices, dead SD cards, thermonuclear war, or the current economic crisis. Please do some research if you have any concerns about this app.
THIS IS PREVIEW!
Distribution policy:
This app provided exclusively on xda-developers, please post link to this thread instead of copying files to other resources, so users will be able to track changes and report bugs in one place.
However, I allow distribution in the rooting/sideloading packages such as MinimalTouch, Nooters, etc..., but only if credit/thanks and link to this thread are given and I'm notified.
Preview version attached.
It's still missing features, but fully functional as my (and few other testers) daily driver.
Known bug (not implemented/fixed yet): Not working in force landscape.
Also, this app is straight from my nook signed with debug keys, once beta will be launched you will have to uninstall and reinstall.
I travel at least every other week, so I have little time to dedicate to the project.
I'm considering to move source to github, so that other developers can contribute in order to speedup development.
Plz PST me if you are android dev and interested.
OLD TOPIC:
subj!
I found myself not liking android type home on my NST, but I do not have good design/look and feel ideas (Of course besides Partial Refresh and gamma friendly functions).
Please drop ideas and if we can come up with something interesting I can implement it.
Update:
Features to consider:
* http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/gadgetlab/2010/01/dsc00387.jpg
Recent added files widget
* High contrast icons and text, e.g. http://www.asus.com/websites/global/products/47XM7SydX7IhkXP3/theme.jpg
* Partial refresh
* Ability to open as dialog (as soft keys) with soft keys?
* app Drawer widget?, similar to https://market.android.com/details?id=com.th.android.widget.SiMiFolder

Yeah that kind of things sounds great.
Personally, I think that a mix between the (stock) nook launcher and a standard android launcher could be interesting.
For example, a screen with the last opened books (if it is possible) + links to favorite apps or something like that
BTW, there is already a Nook specific launcher (Relaunch). It has interesting features but I don't use it as I don't really like how it looks ...

mdall said:
Yeah that kind of things sounds great.
Personally, I think that a mix between the (stock) nook launcher and a standard android launcher could be interesting.
For example, a screen with the last opened books (if it is possible) + links to favorite apps or something like that
BTW, there is already a Nook specific launcher (Relaunch). It has interesting features but I don't use it as I don't really like how it looks ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Relaunch looks terrible.
I'm thinking of partial refresh/color theme friendly aosp launcher with widgets for recently added books and will have to check about last access info.
May be high contrast recent/running apps widget as well.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using xda premium

i have a idea, cause i think some limitation of the eink display
i don't think we need too many scrollable effect, this only have one page at the main screen
it would be simple & high contrast
attached is some demo

chriscsh said:
i have a idea, cause i think some limitation of the eink display
i don't think we need too many scrollable effect, this only have one page at the main screen
it would be simple & high contrast
attached is some demo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome, I like it. Will start tinkering next week.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using xda premium

chriscsh said:
i have a idea, cause i think some limitation of the eink display
i don't think we need too many scrollable effect, this only have one page at the main screen
it would be simple & high contrast
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great demo, I like it too.
I´m using Zeam launcher 2.8.8.

yeah i like the demo of chriscsh too...
(maybe round the corners, the squares are too windows phone like )
and Id like to have a bar or something where you can place books with covers like on stock home or your demo...
the idea with a "native" nook touch launcher is very exciting

rev0l said:
yeah i like the demo of chriscsh too...
(maybe round the corners, the squares are too windows phone like )
and Id like to have a bar or something where you can place books with covers like on stock home or your demo...
the idea with a "native" nook touch launcher is very exciting
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't even remember how the stock home looks like lol!

XorZone said:
I don't even remember how the stock home looks like lol!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know what you mean
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nook/index.asp?PID=35699#productimg

Guys mayby the best idea would be to edit stock home app, in order to look like that image from first post http://www.asus.com/websites/global/products/47XM7SydX7IhkXP3/theme.jpg
I think it is so cute.

I think the idea of a NST specific launcher would be great. I prefer Zeam, but am using Go launcher because of widget management. Go Launcher allows you to resize widget once created AND there is a simple click here to delete. I have always had a problem deleting widgets using Zeam because I can't always tell when the widget is in the trash bin, i.e. 2x4, or 4x3 widgets. If the nook launcher could have go launcher like widget management that would be great OR if you go with the trashcan idea once item is in can have an x or something like that appear on the widget.

Well, i think it would be easier to use a modified version of a popular launcher. The things that would need to be changed are transitions, animations, contrast and colours(nook touch themes i suppose).
To i use to minimize refreshing and ugliness i use Do it theme for go launcher ex, the change the app drawer background to a white one(just a white.png) and a wp wallpaper. The transitions for both the desktop and the app drawer is named shutter(go launcher ex, haven't tried others).It lets me go through the app drawers with out a full refresh. One last thing i did was changed the Icon set to the default.

It would be nice to have a small widget with next calendar envent (taken from google calendar acount) on the launcher

How is called the clock widget in second post before?

IF you are talking about my post, its Wp clock .Not really a widget as it replaces your wallpaper with the clock.

There are a couple of *minor* things wrong with the android standard launcher types;
1) Colors should be inverted. Most are black with colored icons over them. This makes sense on color LCDs, particularly AMOLED displays, because it saves power. Not on eink though.
Instead of colors on black, it should be colors on WHITE.
I am using golauncher, it is ACCEPTIBLE when the proper THEME is applied and background images are changed to plain white backgrounds.
2) Scrolling. Eink displays DO NOT SCROLL. The ideal launcher would get rid of all scrolling/moving/swiping/whatever cuteness effects and just flip from one state to the final without ANY intermediate states.

Features I'm thinking right now:
0. Based on aosp launcher or launcher-plus (at least partially)
1. Ability to set size of the app launch button to 2x1 or 3x1 as in http://www.asus.com/websites/global/products/47XM7SydX7IhkXP3/theme.jpg
2. Option to set higher contrast to the icons as I do in quicknav in my mod now.
3. I plan gestures in addition to arrow buttons, but w/o any animations.
4. Instead of darg'n'drop to uninstall and maybe for homepage cell action selection I plan to show action select popup.
5. Widgets with popups covering part of the screen for all apps, settings, recently added files (selected by the masks, e.g. *epub, *.fb2, *.txt, etc.) if possible with covers
6. Back/Menu/Home/Search buttons will not require root (will not show granted root Toast at top) if launcher running with my mod.

WOW!!! If someone did a launcher that looked like this
with partial refresh for the nook touch, I would pay for it with pleasure, its gorgeous!
Hope this idea dosnt die, and development starts on this.
Mantain us informed XorZone, and thanks!

eded333 said:
Mantain us informed XorZone, and thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In progress. Unfortunately I'm flying a lot this weeks so can not concentrate on this atm.

Looking forward to it, thanks for the update, and keep us informed when you have time to advance on this.
Thanks

Lightning Launcher???

U guys tried out LL yet?? Its pretty impressive as in speed and how different it is..im rockin wit it for now

Was reading this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1523859 and there was a mention of lightning. So I am trying it now. Seems to be a completely different approach to launchers. Kinda liking it. Not sure if it is just the "newness" but i am going to stick with it for a bit and see. Really like the approach except would like to see a horizontal and vertical options for the home screen. I would definitely recommend people to give it a shot.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

Looks interesting, think I'll give it a try.
Edit..Hmmm. this is really different. Can't figure out a way to add any widgets except their own ones, can't figure out a way to add dock items. Not for me. uninstalling

There is no dock.
Have to spend a dollar on the LL widget add on. (There's always a catch)
I still like the creative concept. Been using it for a couple of hours and is taking some time to break the traditional launcher layouts. Still haven't defaulted it though as i do like GO Launchers features. Time will tell.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

I like it. Nice and simple. Thanks for pointing it out.

Yeah thanks for mentioning this, I'm using it now too..
Kinda disappointed at the $.99 cost to use widgets outside of his, but otherwise it's pretty cool, definitely not like the other launchers I've used
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA

I like the concept behind it using next to no RAM. Otherwise though I'm just not feeling it.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

Thanks for everyones feedback..i thought it was different..u know how we are..gotta try to it all to find the best!! Im bout to throw this beta cm9 on so i might come back to it lol...happy rooting!!

OK, my mind is now officially blown. Lightning Launcher has turned my Android world upside-down.
With Froyo and GB, I happily used LauncherPro - Had to have my scrolling dock and nothing else really mattered. On CM9, I experimented with Zeam (my favorite dock--smooth scroll instead of paged) and Nova (really nice-lots of options-but IMHO the dock wasn't as good as Zeam) and Go (blecch-too many links to commercial sites for me). I'm now on CM10 and tried Trebuchet (blah), Apex (really nice-a lot like Nova) and was using Zeam, then Holo HD (nice-a lot like Nova and Apex). I still missed the smooth-scrolling, scaled-down icons in the Zeam dock, though.
Today, I went on a quest for the "perfect" launcher and ran across a really good thread on the Experia S forum that lays-out all the launcher options -->here
For no particular reason, I decided to try Lightning. Holy #@$%! It is sooo different from the rest (and no dock either, but I'll see if I can do without it). It's a whole new way of approaching launchers - no pages, no grid if you don't want it, no sizing limitations, free rotation of elements, just one big zoomable scrolling page. I'm sure there are a lot more options to explore. I just haven't gotten around to it yet. And I CAN put my old favorite widgets on there without an additional paid app. The possibilities are seemingly endless. There's a 10 minute video demonstration of Lightning in the Play Store that sucked me into loading and trying it.
Just wanted to share this with all of you fellow Epic users - I now have a new toy that will keep me occupied for hours and hours :laugh:. Lightning might be cooler than Android, itself.
Al

Clean and simple. I dont like the fact all your apps seem to be right on top of each other though
Figured it out. Make less columns in the app drawer.

I can't seem to find it where do you get it.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium

bigboose1234 said:
I can't seem to find it where do you get it.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its in the play store. Just search "lightning launcher" and it should be the first one.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda app-developers app

I just downloaded this and noticed a few things that others may find useful.
First, the any widget addon is free
Second, a dock effect can be achieved by pinning the items you would otherwise place in a dock bar. First, press the home key to center the screen (or you might pin an item off-screen, making it useless). Then long-press to enter editing mode (or menu->customize). Then position your chosen icon where you would like to stay (relative to the physical screen). Then long-press the icon and select customize. From there, go to common item settings and scroll down to the pinned option. Click the ball to turn it green, then check the box. Now the icon will stay in place as you scroll and zoom, just like a dock. The only problem (or feature, depending on perspective) I've found is that pinning an icon at the bottom of the screen in portrait mode will cause it to be off-screen in landscape mode - it will take some experimentation to get things just right. A similar problem exists for the right side of the screen in landscape, causing the icon to be off-screen in portrait. Basically, the position is based on the top left corner, so you could make a dock along either of those sides without issue, as long as they are not longer than the short side of the screen (you'll see what I mean, if my description isn't clear enough)
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda app-developers app

styles420 said:
I just downloaded this and noticed a few things that others may find useful.
First, the any widget addon is free
Second, a dock effect can be achieved by pinning the items you would otherwise place in a dock bar. First, press the home key to center the screen (or you might pin an item off-screen, making it useless). Then long-press to enter editing mode (or menu->customize). Then position your chosen icon where you would like to stay (relative to the physical screen). Then long-press the icon and select customize. From there, go to common item settings and scroll down to the pinned option. Click the ball to turn it green, then check the box. Now the icon will stay in place as you scroll and zoom, just like a dock. The only problem (or feature, depending on perspective) I've found is that pinning an icon at the bottom of the screen in portrait mode will cause it to be off-screen in landscape mode - it will take some experimentation to get things just right. A similar problem exists for the right side of the screen in landscape, causing the icon to be off-screen in portrait. Basically, the position is based on the top left corner, so you could make a dock along either of those sides without issue, as long as they are not longer than the short side of the screen (you'll see what I mean, if my description isn't clear enough)
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the report, styles. I'll give that method a try.
This Lightning Launcher has some amazing capabilities but is pretty complicated to navigate all the settings and options. Still worth the effort for me, tho -- it's fun to learn new stuff.
Al

arschend said:
Thanks for the report, styles. I'll give that method a try.
This Lightning Launcher has some amazing capabilities but is pretty complicated to navigate all the settings and options. Still worth the effort for me, tho -- it's fun to learn new stuff.
Al
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is an interesting concept with a lot of potential, but there are still some blatant rough edges... for example, using a wallpaper image or any transparency will cause the icons to streak and leave trails while zooming and panning. It can be considered a neat effect, but basically the screen doesn't truly redraw - each frame is just drawn on top of the existing one, so you need to use a solid color bg at with absolutely no transparency to cover the previous frame and eliminate the trails. I'll be keeping my eye on this launcher though
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda app-developers app

Hmmm...I just tried this with one of my standard wallpapers from my gallery and had no issues whatsoever. Everything scrolls and zooms above the wallpaper layer, although scrolling wallpaper would be nice.
FWIW, I'm running stock CM10, 9/26 nightly.

Had it on my nexus s....it was the slim roms base launcher
Sent from my SPH-P100 using Tapatalk 2

OscarTangoMike said:
There is no dock.
Have to spend a dollar on the LL widget add on. (There's always a catch)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can fake a dock:
- Create a folder
- Insert phone, browser etc in it and arrange it
- Keep the center of the screen free from other widgets
- Set folder settings not to close, if an app was startet
Now you have permanently (as long as you don't click on free space of the desktop) a dock in the middle of your screen.

Yes, a dock (even a scrollable one) is very easy to set up = create a panel at the bottom or on the side, add icons (with AllApps icon as menu launcher), pin it. You can have it scrolling sideways like Nova, or up/down, all inside the "dock" panel.

OmniSwitch and Note 4 Screen Resize Features

Is there a Rom or Intl Rom(9005) which have Note 4 features for our beloved Note 3. Any idea OmniSwitch works as intended on TouchWiz? I am sticking with AOSP PAC and missing the S Pen, Camera and One Hand.

jhbalaji said:
Is there a Rom or Intl Rom(9005) which have Note 4 features for our beloved Note 3. Any idea OmniSwitch works as intended on TouchWiz? I am sticking with AOSP PAC and missing the S Pen, Camera and One Hand.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, actually I am using OmniSnitch on my N3 and it works great. I actually found the app as an inclusion (system app) in the ROM that I flashed on the Note 10.1 2014 (p607t). The ROM is xKat, and was actually built for the p605 (international LTE variant), but awesomely, the hardware that T-Mobile sells is simply a re-branded p605 so any development work for the p605 works fine on the Tmo hardware :good:
Anyway, OmniSnitch is a great, super-useful app. I actually froze flashbarservice and replaced the multi window feature on the side of my screen with OmniSnitch, Flippr (another awesome app that allows you to access widgets or shortcuts from any page - even games. Crazy useful for "remote" widgets like Yatse, AnyMote, etc.) and PIE.
I'm not really sure about your first question, as I'm a Tweaked devotee, but can definitely confirm that OmniSnitch works fantastically, I don't see why it couldn't be installed on any phone / ROM. I don't think it even needs root.

@jazzmachine Thats great! Is there a HALO kind of thing available for TouchWIZ Note?

Why yes there is, and I happen to use it since it's much more versatile than split windows or pen windows. I was actually going to mention that in my last post, guess I should have :laugh:
Just installing the XHalo xposed module gets the job done. One example of a nice feature it adds is that if you open up an app via tapping on a notification, no matter if your at your launcher or have any app running, the app will open up in a window on top of whatever app you're using at the time. If you long tap a notification, in addition to being able to open App Info, you now also have the option to "open the app normally", which is self explanatory.You can also select a group of frequently used apps and tick the option to display them in the notification panel, then you can insta-launch them in a halo window from anywhere. After installing the XHalo module, don't reboot yet because there's one more module you need (for full functionality.... Halo works w/o it, but the windows won't be resizeable or movable, like they're supposed to be, if you don't also install the module "FixVisabilityOfMultipleFullScreenActivites". Basically what that one does is it fixes the visibility of multiple full screen activities.
JK, well, that is what it does, but the effect is that Halo works properly. Before installing that my halo windows were always statically positioned in the center of the screen and the didn't have the bar at the top that allows moving or resizing the window. It also allows you to open multiple Halo windows, IOW, it just fixes Halo to act like it's supposed to. If your setup is similar to mine, and you "repurpose" the edges of your screen, and you don't really use native mutliwindow (I have a ton of apps installed, and since certain ROMS (Tweaked) auto-add all apps to the sidebar and penwindow launcher, particularly the latter would take like, a while, to launch. There's no lag whatsoever with this modified (and more functional IMO) setup. Anyway, I was going to recommend freezing flashbarservice (multi window) in Titanium of something. For me, doing that released a good chunk of RAM, so if you don't use, or are trying to replace the multi-window functionality, definitely freeze if you're not using. Additionally, the frees the long press back for reassignment to another function, should you be inclined to do so. I reassign the hell out of my hard keys, even adding an activity to just pulling the S pen out and pushing it back in.
Modified S Pen functionality is the last thing I'll describe about my setup, so that this time I can answer before you ask I REALLY like GMD S Pen Control. I turned off air command, and have been working on and off on configuring that app with the goal of being able to launch anything (even obscure "secret code" menus) just by scribbling something on my screen. It's awesome, you just have to get into the habit of using the paths that you've configured regularly so that you don't forget them. So far I've just configured launching frequently used apps and settings toggles (the app also allows you to create, I think 5 launcher bars w/ 8 items (actions, tasks, shortcuts, toggles, a ton of stuff) each of which you can launch, of course, with a pen path).
So with my setup, I've pretty much taken the "Touch" out of the "Wiz".... wait, no, the "Wiz" ou... err, that's much worse. OK, first and last time using any variation of that description. what I'm saying here is that the TW "features" that I've replaced could be used on any device / ROM... so perhaps I've got my eye on an Nexus 6. Well, it was in my field of vision when I was playing with the N4 in the store yesterday (I can't resist activating dev mode on store demos... I mean I like to take a look at the settings there, but it's a thing.... if I pick up a demo model, I'm in About device tapping on the build #) on the N4 I was surprised to see that one of the first options was toggling the runtime between Dalvik and ART, but I didn't think the N4 was able to use ART yet, so I turned it on and the phone rebooted... I then saw the guy who's helped me out the most there was free so I went over to talk to him and ask a few questions and I forgot to check out the N4 set to ART before I took off. Really wish I did, but whatevers. I'll likely have my very own (hand picked perfection, totally perfect uniform display :victory:
So that was pretty OT, this a little less, but a complaint that I keep seeing about the N4 is lag with the recents panel launched. OmniSnitch seems like the perfect app to avoid that issue. For those unfamiliar, OmniSnitch is launched via a persistent (customizeable) half bubble / handle thing. A bar opens up (on any screen) and first you have a row of recently used apps. You can also assign persistent "favorites" that you can launch by tapping the arrow below the row of app icons, and you can immediately switch to a previous app or launch a favorite instanly - Lag + recent apps + OmniSnitch = complete non-issue. Attached a couple screen of how it looks (I don't think the app icons would be themed if you don't use Unicon, I'm not really sure about the general availability of this app. I actually pulled it off of the ROM that I installed on my Note 10.1 - so system app on tablet, but user app on phone. Works the same either way. I'd be happy to upload it, but don't feel like I should do so without permission from... I have no idea. Searching the Play store, the only result is called Fancy Switcher, which looks like a not so successful attempt to copy the app and (unnecessarily IMO) 'fancy it up'. Meh. So hopefully it's available on xda somewhere, but if anyone happens to know the dev if they could ask if they mind their app being shared in this thread, then write up a statement to that effect, both of you sign it (in blood), and send it to me via certified mail... I don't know. If people want it but can't find it, try to find out if it's FOSS, or GPLed or something, just post in here and if it's cool I'm happy to share

Zero Launcher on Note PRO 12.2

Hello, I like TouchWiz but I want to have some changes. I tried Zero Launcher and kind of like it. The only issue I have is that it does not switch between portrait and landscape modes. Anybody knows how to do it? I have turning on and switching works under apps such as those for pdf viewing. However, on home screen, I cannot get the orientation turning works.
Anybody knows how to set the theme to IOS-like?

Some launchers make it an option to hold portrait or rotate when in the launcher, did you check for that option in your launcher settings?

krabman said:
Some launchers make it an option to hold portrait or rotate when in the launcher, did you check for that option in your launcher settings?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes.

petercohen said:
Yes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
'Yes'...and then what? Now I'm curious too! What did you find on Zero?
I haven't downloaded a single launcher for my Note Pro yet and one of the reasons for that is that as a beginner with those apps, I need better explanations than I see at the app store and the developers' websites offer no additional help. Most of them don't even bother to answer an e-mail. That said, I am grateful to you all here for having taught me so many of the right questions to ask; that's another thing that beginners seldom know.
I hope you'll come back soon and tell us what you found. I almost never use 'portrait' view on my tablet, won't download apps for it that insist on using it and can see no use for a launcher that would give me trouble getting out of it. I'm still shopping for the right launcher and I come to every thread here that mentions one.
Thanks again for a very good question.

The only way you're going to find a Launcher you like is to install them and try them. If you don't like it, uninstall it and you're right back where you started. Installing a launcher isn't going to mess anything up, so just try some. Try all of them. You might like more than one, decide to keep changing them, and you'll never get tired of your tablet.

Rolldog said:
The only way you're going to find a Launcher you like is to install them and try them. If you don't like it, uninstall it and you're right back where you started. Installing a launcher isn't going to mess anything up, so just try some. Try all of them. You might like more than one, decide to keep changing them, and you'll never get tired of your tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well that's reassuring! In fact I was wondering if I would 'mess anything up' if I did that. The Note Pro is not only my first big tablet: it is my first tablet ever. Unless we also call my Galaxy Note 4 phone a tablet as it does function as one and still I got that not long before the Note Pro. I've lived out in the boonies for over 30 years and got used to the bare minimum in 'under-served' parts of the country. I didn't get greedy till last year and Verizon helped me to upgrade my old flip phone and join the 21st century. I've about worn out my laptop and needed to diversify and of course I'm still having to learn a completely different kind of OS and hardware to do that so I can treat my new friends well. That's taking me a while, as you can tell, but it's not for lack of effort.
Is there some app in the playstore that makes switching back and forth between launchers a little more......streamlined? Should I keep my TouchWiz default whilst I'm doing all the experimenting until I find one I want to keep for a while? I got the cautious mindset from older PC's and hangups or blue screens when I tried to run something too big, and too new, for my hardware, especially, in my experience, when it came to graphics so I really have been afraid of getting into trouble. If I tried switching my whole GUI a half dozen times in one night on a Vista laptop, I'd be reinstalling the whole system by morning, lol.
And then there is OP's question: I admit I rather thought that any developers regularly updating their launchers would be adding the 'rotating' flexibility by default, particularly as large-screen tablets have come out. A lot of apps I've tried (and later dumped) haven't caught up with that, of course, but I didn't think a popular launcher, the principle function of which is the display, would be among them. Now I know what to call it, thanks to OP, I'll look for it on the list of 'features' in the playstore.

There's probably launcher managers out there, I recall using one once a few years back but since it's easy enough to dive into Settings-General-Default Applications-Home and change it I prefer not to load yet another application that has the potential to stay cached/memory resident just for that purpose.
Trying out different launchers won't impact the device much, when you switch back to stock Touchwiz based launcher all of your widgets and icon layouts will be there waiting for you. My advice is to just do one launcher at a time, if you don't like it uninstall it rather than collecting several and switching between them . . the more you load the system down the more risk you have should a launcher you decide to not use has services associated with it that still run or cache themselves in the background taking up resources.
As for screen rotation, the rotation of home screens between portrait and landscape is not my cup of tea. Widgets scale when you rotate to try to adjust for the new aspect ratio that rotation forces upon them and this results in stretch/compression that is unappealing to me. What I use is a rotation manager like Ultimate Rotation Control to force "auto landscape" mode such that my tablet can be used in either landscape orientation (home button up or down) while preserving the ability of all other apps to have the freedom to go portrait or landscape.

muzzy996 said:
There's probably launcher managers out there, I recall using one once a few years back but since it's easy enough to dive into Settings-General-Default Applications-Home and change it I prefer not to load yet another application that has the potential to stay cached/memory resident just for that purpose.
Trying out different launchers won't impact the device much, when you switch back to stock Touchwiz based launcher all of your widgets and icon layouts will be there waiting for you. My advice is to just do one launcher at a time, if you don't like it uninstall it rather than collecting several and switching between them . . the more you load the system down the more risk you have should a launcher you decide to not use has services associated with it that still run or cache themselves in the background taking up resources.
As for screen rotation, the rotation of home screens between portrait and landscape is not my cup of tea. Widgets scale when you rotate to try to adjust for the new aspect ratio that rotation forces upon them and this results in stretch/compression that is unappealing to me. What I use is a rotation manager like Ultimate Rotation Control to force "auto landscape" mode such that my tablet can be used in either landscape orientation (home button up or down) while preserving the ability of all other apps to have the freedom to go portrait or landscape.
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OK. I got Nova today and I'll work with it a while before I think of trying another. I might put another one on my phone so I can learn how to use two of them at once. Now I have a couple of 'dumb questions:'
Do you mean locking just the Home screen so when you hit that button it takes you right back to landscape without you having to physically turn the tablet into position and slant it forward in a quick dip (at least I have to do) to make it go back to landscape? Some apps I've downloaded not only insist on going to portrait mode, they hang up my orientation for a few seconds after I've hit that Home button so then I always have to pick the tablet up and do that dip towards me to make it cooperate.
The few that were especially bad about this, I dumped. Clean Master pulled that on me with its battery checker whenever the screen was idle for a while and I got tired of hitting the back button to get my home page back. - especially since I can't see where it is at night and don't always hit it right.
I don't use a lot of lights at night and I know that's the main problem. It's too many years of working by lantern light at night and saving my solar power for the computer and even though I've moved and have grid electricity the last few years now, I'm still way out in the sticks, no 'light pollution,' and can't change the habit of letting it go ahead and be dark at night. Brightly lit rooms when it's 2 in the morning just feel weird and always remind me of my wild youth when night spots would hit the lights at closing time to shoo everybody out. (it worked too, didn't it?)
Now there's a 'widget' I'd like to find, or an app that follows me around: an alternative to that back button. It illuminates only when I hit it right so I'm constantly tapping around the general area trying to find it. I suppose it would drain my battery a little faster if it were lit up all the time but I really do need a way to solve this, since I'm not going to cure myself of all-nighters with my beloved machines. I've been looking at some likely little apps for that today, made for those whose buttons are worn out or not working, but I haven't found one yet that's been updated in the last year. Have you any recommendations? This is just for my tablet. My Note 4 is small enough so it's harder to get it wrong - and I got the white model and a lurid fuschia otter box case so I'm bound to see it easily.
Next dumb question: is there a way to access the Settings faster than apps button and scrolling through the apps in order to get to it? That's as good as saying I've downloaded too many apps if it takes me that long and I fear that's the case. Maybe a launcher will allow me to put a link to it on the Home screen? As you've said, it's a more economical use of resources to go to Settings and do my own errands instead of installing yet another app; I just wish getting there didn't take me so long. TouchWiz isn't going to let me put that icon among the A's.
Samsung (at least according to them when I asked them) won't let me put more than one language on my GUI - well if it's the same alphabet and I give up accents and tone marks, I can be creative in naming my app folders but that's all. They said I had to change the whole interface if I tried to enable another language. (They also offer Thai but discriminate against Lao so I had to go download a whole different application for that keyboard! I had to do the same just to enable one Welsh circumflex. Ridiculous. ) I can't even think in just one language! My dogs and cats are fluent by now in at least 5 of them. Are launchers a bit more open-minded? I understand I can run individual applications in as many languages as they offer, for they are 'self-contained' but sometimes, I like to change names, menus, options or widgets to different things just to keep my mental edge. I can't even display documents I've imported to the tablet that are in languages not available on my Samsung list. I have the Hancom Office and that has the fonts for them but they won't display and I sure can't edit them in those languages. Is there some simple way to manage this dilemma that I'm missing?

Best to not take this thread off topic . . suggest you ask the other questions in a separate thread that you create in the troubleshooting or general forum.
I will say this - the ultimate rotation control application does allow you to force ANY application into an orientation of your chosing which includes the launcher. So yes, if I'm in an app that's portrait and I'm holding the tablet in that portrait orientation when I hit the HOME button my tablet goes into landscape due to the rotation control app overriding the orientation sensors in the tablet.

muzzy996 said:
Best to not take this thread off topic . . suggest you ask the other questions in a separate thread that you create in the troubleshooting or general forum.
I will say this - the ultimate rotation control application does allow you to force ANY application into an orientation of your chosing which includes the launcher. So yes, if I'm in an app that's portrait and I'm holding the tablet in that portrait orientation when I hit the HOME button my tablet goes into landscape due to the rotation control app overriding the orientation sensors in the tablet.
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Good. Thanks. I found that app just now. I will post a thread about the language mix-ups. I just joined here yesterday and don't know my way around yet, but the first thing I noticed is that your membership here covers the globe and I can't possibly be the only one here who's run into this problem.

I have another rotation-related question and it's probably a dumb one too but it occurred to me because my Note 4 and my Note Pro had different rotation issues and I chose different ways of fixing them. For the tablet, I installed Ultimate Rotate Controller because I only wanted to lock my Home sceen in landscape. On the other hand, I didn't want my phone to spontaneously switch to landscape when I was holding it, as it often did, especially if I got a call because the landscape view made those 'accept' and 'reject' buttons harder to see and harder to hit right. So, I went into Settings, Display and unchecked the box for screen rotation to stop that. It worked. So my question is:
Is this kind of thing actually set by the device 'Settings' and not by the Touchwiz launcher? If you've set your device to disallow screen rotation, wouldn't that hold no matter what launcher you used? Or not?

pawpowered said:
I have another rotation-related question and it's probably a dumb one too but it occurred to me because my Note 4 and my Note Pro had different rotation issues and I chose different ways of fixing them. For the tablet, I installed Ultimate Rotate Controller because I only wanted to lock my Home sceen in landscape. On the other hand, I didn't want my phone to spontaneously switch to landscape when I was holding it, as it often did, especially if I got a call because the landscape view made those 'accept' and 'reject' buttons harder to see and harder to hit right. So, I went into Settings, Display and unchecked the box for screen rotation to stop that. It worked. So my question is:
Is this kind of thing actually set by the device 'Settings' and not by the Touchwiz launcher? If you've set your device to disallow screen rotation, wouldn't that hold no matter what launcher you used? Or not?
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Using system settings or the quick settings toggle for rotation in the notification tray is a system wide lock of rotation. If your goal is to lock a launcher to a specific rotation then look within the settings of the launcher itself. Some launchers will have a setting to lock orientation, nova does for example. Doing it within the launchers own settings only affects home screen and application tray, not other screens like the call or dialer screen.
Sent from my SM-P900 using Tapatalk

muzzy996 said:
Using system settings or the quick settings toggle for rotation in the notification tray is a system wide lock of rotation. If your goal is to lock a launcher to a specific rotation then look within the settings of the launcher itself. Some launchers will have a setting to lock orientation, nova does for example. Doing it within the launchers own settings only affects home screen and application tray, not other screens like the call or dialer screen.
Sent from my SM-P900 using Tapatalk
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Thanks for clarifying that! Going to system settings looked like the only option to try, long before I started thinking of launchers - or even thinking of Touchwiz as a separate entity. (the Note 4 was my first Android phone too ) It seemed worth the trouble to go back and allow that rotation again at my leisure, when I wasn't doing something risky like driving down the road. Mother always happens to call me when I'm driving back from town on dark mountain roads, so that was about the first thing I learned to do on my phone. Verizon has recently informed me that I can now make and receive calls on my tablet, which brings me to a question only peripherally related, pun intended:
Would you direct me to a thread here, if you happen to know of one, discussing appropriate headsets, something more up to date, for my phone and tablet? I don't know what to call them or the names of the best brands. I only have a 6-year-old little ear piece that I got for my old flip phone and almost never used and it may not be up to the job for these newer devices.
I saw some games to play with your cats on the playstore last night that you use your phone to control - and then your cats get to jump all over your tablet. If you can do that much, could you also affect the screen orientation of your tablet with your phone?

OP, have you tried this launcher: Live Launcher? I saw it on SlideME tonight and it has the 3D effects. It's free.
http://slideme.org/application/live-launcher

newbe question regarding level of customization with no rooted phone

If i do not root the telephone, can I use personalized widgets and themes?
Sorry for the quite trivial question but I do not have Samsung experience

trocchietto said:
If i do not root the telephone, can I use personalized widgets and themes?
Sorry for the quite trivial question but I do not have Samsung experience
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If partner. goes through my web
www.eladiosthemes.com
Enviado desde mi SM-G935F mediante Tapatalk

trocchietto said:
If i do not root the telephone, can I use personalized widgets and themes?
Sorry for the quite trivial question but I do not have Samsung experience
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Absolutely! That's the great thing about Android. You can even choose to go with something completely different than Samsung's launcher. There's lots of different launchers that support themes. Nova and Apex are two popular options. Themes are also available for Samsung.
Sent from my SM-N930P using Tapatalk

1. Launcher and theme as mention above.
2. Ads free by Adguard on Play Store.
3. Disable almost apps anf module you want by EZ Disable Package or Package Disable Pro
4. Change dpi by Content Scaling or some commands through adb
Sent from my SM-N930F

I prefer not to root or tinker with my primary business phone because I don't want to have something not work as intended and miss a call or appointment.
The level of customization you can do with launchers and themes these days is almost on par with what you can achieve with a rooted device.
In addition to themes you can also download and install custom icon packs to customize the look of all of your icons.
For widgets you can get something like the Beautiful Widgets app that lets you customize various widgets for the device. It is very popular for people who like the HTC type clock widget look on their home screens.
Just do some searches on the play store for themes, icon packs, widgets, keyboards, etc and there are enough customization options to make your head spin.

For Home screens / App drawer / Folder, any Launcher will do. My all time fav, and most reliable recommendation is easily Nova Launcher.
- Nova lets you customize the font size, label colours, icon sizes, icon packs, homescreen grid, app drawer grid, homescreen gestures and so much more.
For custom button remapping, Button Remapper works perfectly without root. It will let you set custom actions for your physical buttons (swap the recent/back if you wish, or add hold functionality)
- The app is a bit limited without root in regards to added functionality, but its something!
- I believe the non-rooted version also allows you to map volume keys to add Music skip / pause functionality. (Correct me if im wrong!)
For global app / service disabling, definitely use Package Disabler Pro. It has a built in list of (currently) 97 apps considered unneeded, and gives you full control of every app.
- This has been proven to save battery btw!
For added Toggles in the Notification panel (not QuickPanel) there are hundreds of working apps that add their own little notification bar, fully interactive, that shows up as a notification card.
- It may seem a bit redundant considering Samsung's built in QuickPanel does mostly everything, but for a few things that may be missing (ie. Hotspot, Mobile Data, or specific functions like opening apps, setting gps/data to specific modes etc).
For ad blocking, you can use AdGuard. I havent personally tried this app, but it is highly recommended by most users in this forum.
For button backlight disabling / modding, you can use Button Backlight 2.
- It allows you to turn off button backlight completely, add a custom time, or have them on all the time
Android is so vastly open, even without root, if you ever feel like you are missing a certain function / feature, theres a very high chance that a solution would have been made long ago.
It never hurts to google what you wish to do. When I first got my Note 5 for example, the first phone with button backlights, I wanted to turn them off completely as well as swap the layout of them from recents home back, to back home recents. A few minutes later and I found myself using the two apps mentioned above, and a happy camper!

well it looks like I am really grateful to samsung to give me the possibilities under the hood. My dev friends scared me in every way saying that touch wiz is bloatware, that people think is really taking the control of the system, instead I found it effective, and most important of all I am happy samsung is not taking coltan from congolese mines.
I am also really grateful to you.
which tutorial do you recommend me to customize my themes? if there is an app, Gui super, otherwise I am also an android developer, so do not mind also to write some java/xml. Also i guess there is some design involved, which software should i use photoshop or gimp? Last but not least, as I use to test my apps, installing a lot of themes will decrease the perform, or the fact that is run one per time will not affect performance? thank you guys. Customization is everything for me, as bosters creativity and make the day more exciting
EDIT: I am wondering if downloading themes is safe in terms of malicious code.