Database Develop

WHy I think Dxtop is the best home app.

I'm writing this because I see a lot of people using Home++ or GDE and I admit I have them installed too, even purchased GDE but I find myself always going back to Dxtop. But it seems hardly anyone uses it I think I know why.
Most of the options and cool things the app does are not obvious. I will attempt to explain it's unique features and why I think it's the best.
Ok the first thing you notice when you start it, is the two tab interface, one tab is your "regular" apps tab, the other is a tab of currently open and recently used apps. I find the most useful thing about the second tab is when you try out a newly installed app for the first time, you like it and you want to put the icon on the desktop somewhere. Instead of searching through all your apps to find it, it will be at the top of the recently used apps tap.
A complaint dxtop gets alot is the dual tab system. People just don't like seeing two tabs for some reason. Well you can hide the tabs by sliding them to the left or right, a bonus is this reveals dxtop's app dock. In the place where your tabs used to be, you now have space to put your favorite 5 apps or if you have any 1x1 widgets, they can go into the dock to. You can customize the dock's color and transparency. With the tabs gone you can access them by long pressing the menu key for apps tab and back key for open and recent tab.
The "regular" tab is more than meets the eye as well, when you open the apps tab and press menu, you get some extra sorting option for the tab. You can sort alphabetically, by size, by last installed or by category that you set yourself.
When you long press and icon in the tab and drop it without moving it, a context menu will pop up asking you if you want to change the category with other options to uninstall, locate on market and view app info. This context menu can also be used with icons on the desktop giving you the option to rename the shortcut, change the icon as well as the uninstall and info options.
Sadly, dxtop only has 4 screens. They are laid out in a unique diamond shape. It is laid out like this so that all screens are only one swipe away no matter which screen you are one. A swipe left always takes you to the left screen, a swipe up always takes you to the top screen etc.
Dxtop supports themes and can use themes designed other for dxtop, ahome or open home, giving you lots of options.
My favorite features are the category sorting in the app drawer and the app dock which is persistent on all screens.
I hope this will at least encourage people to try dxtop.
Oh and I don't work for them, I'm just a fan.

Been using it since day 1. Love this thing. The unique diamond 4 screens is what i love the most. It's like a default feature I need in every phone from now on. One swipe to any screen is the feature that puts this home screen on another level.

why I think dxtop now sucks arse...
I used to use dxtop exclusively and recommend ed it to everyone. But since access one have bought out master Baron it has added useless features slowing it down. The lock screen etc. I do not want my android phones to look like an iPhone .
I too have used it since day 1 but the last straw for me was when access one first didn't update the theme template to match the new features and then they pulled the template totally! Supposedly so that no third party themes could compete with their paid themes. As a maker of several free themes for dxtop I think this is so wrong. I now boycott dxtop and recommend gde to all. Gde is better than dxtop in many areas and will eventually have as mant features.
Gde is faster with less lag too.
Corporate greed. Fight the power and all that.

i used it religously untill last week when i discovered that games like i dracula runn full speed on my g1 if i disable it. maybe i shuold just turn off persistant mode, but for the time being im not using it, and enjoying games like i-dracula and raging thunder....

I hate all the home screen replacements. They are damn slow compared to the default. Everyone i've used sucks ass. I haven't tried GDE and i hear people talking about lag from that one too. A home replacement should have NO LAG whatsoever and if it does it's just another app, not a homescreen replacement.

2leaponover1 said:
I hate all the home screen replacements. They are damn slow compared to the default. Everyone i've used sucks ass. I haven't tried GDE and i hear people talking about lag from that one too. A home replacement should have NO LAG whatsoever and if it does it's just another app, not a homescreen replacement.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I saw someone make a similar comment in the market and I was rude to them, so let me be nice to you.
I think you don't know to CLEAR THE STANDARD ANDROID HOME DESKTOP OF ALL IT'S APPLICATIONS AND WIDGETS WHEN REPLACING IT WITH A NEW HOME REPLACEMENT.
If you don't your phone will be running the standard desktop AND! the one you're trying out so of course it runs slow.
However when I did try the demo for Dxtop it force closed like a mug and ran slow and I gave it every inch it could possibly need to work, just didn't want to.
I liked the fact it could force your screen in landscape, that's a feature I definitely miss from my Tmo Wing.
But as soon as you open an app it goes back to portrait which makes me wish there was a root feature that could enable forced portrait when applications have the code to work in portrait.

Icebergxx said:
I saw someone make a similar comment in the market and I was rude to them, so let me be nice to you.
I think you don't know to CLEAR THE STANDARD ANDROID HOME DESKTOP OF ALL IT'S APPLICATIONS AND WIDGETS WHEN REPLACING IT WITH A NEW HOME REPLACEMENT.
If you don't your phone will be running the standard desktop AND! the one you're trying out so of course it runs slow.
However when I did try the demo for Dxtop it force closed like a mug and ran slow and I gave it every inch it could possibly need to work, just didn't want to.
I liked the fact it could force your screen in landscape, that's a feature I definitely miss from my Tmo Wing.
But as soon as you open an app it goes back to portrait which makes me wish there was a root feature that could enable forced portrait when applications have the code to work in portrait.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never considered doing that. I'll give them another try following that advice. Thanks for being nice about it. So which one do you reccommend?

home++ doesn't lag for me and it has some really great new features (incl. a flip clock widget that actually flips!)
but i agree, a "real" home replacement would be better than any app that emulates a second home

2leaponover1 said:
Never considered doing that. I'll give them another try following that advice. Thanks for being nice about it. So which one do you reccommend?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Welcome. I like Sweeter Home, but it's not up to date, or anything and I don't use it anymore, especially since the next update is like 5 months over due.
Currently running Home ++
I was on a 1.5 and heard how some apps will only be in the market for 1.6 and I caught Home++ on the first day it was released tried it liked it. And it was my reason to go to a 1.6 build.
I'd suggest Home++ even though I think I read you might not of liked it, I personally don't like GDE though.
Lol I've tried all the Hr's

My favorite dxTop feature is the LiveFolders that use the custom categories you create. No more tediously adding new apps to folders on the desktop.

curious, you say if u remove the tabs you will have extra space to put up to 5 apps in the dock. does this mean it can run a 4x4 widget plus that extra space for apps, effectively making it 4x4 + 4x1 ? so i can run a full screen widget plus an extra line of apps

NguyenHuu said:
curious, you say if u remove the tabs you will have extra space to put up to 5 apps in the dock. does this mean it can run a 4x4 widget plus that extra space for apps, effectively making it 4x4 + 4x1 ? so i can run a full screen widget plus an extra line of apps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Answer is yes. I have a 4x4 picture frame widget as my top screen with the 5 apps dock underneath it. works great. I'm gonna try home ++ next. Following iceberg's advice the homescreens are running very smoothly. Glad he said something. Can't find much info on home++? What makes it so inviting?

2leaponover1 said:
Answer is yes. I have a 4x4 picture frame widget as my top screen with the 5 apps dock underneath it. works great. I'm gonna try home ++ next. Following iceberg's advice the homescreens are running very smoothly. Glad he said something. Can't find much info on home++? What makes it so inviting?
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Lol there honestly isn't anything that special about it, I can see the way you like Dxtop and I think you'll think Home++ is the same as GDE which is understandable.
It's just a looping home screen with a Mac doc type thing at the bottom.
Obviously that's my home screen, have the notification bar hid which doesn't add any additional space to the screen
And the dock at the bottom can be configured but not so much personalaized, also if I were to move it over you'd see some status bar info like time battery connection etc.

Icebergxx said:
I think you don't know to CLEAR THE STANDARD ANDROID HOME DESKTOP OF ALL IT'S APPLICATIONS AND WIDGETS WHEN REPLACING IT WITH A NEW HOME REPLACEMENT.
If you don't your phone will be running the standard desktop AND! the one you're trying out so of course it runs slow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont think this is technically correct. When i put a widget or shortcut of dxtop, it also puts it on the home app and vice versa. I cant clear either one completely so there is always some doubling of shortcuts and widgets. Only the top and bottom screens of dxtop can be cleared as they dont line up or "sync" with the home app screens.

rivera618 said:
I dont think this is technically correct. When i put a widget or shortcut of dxtop, it also puts it on the home app and vice versa. I cant clear either one completely so there is always some doubling of shortcuts and widgets. Only the top and bottom screens of dxtop can be cleared as they dont line up or "sync" with the home app screens.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't given Dxtop much attention but whenever I used a HR to try it out and i look at my task killer it shows the other widgets running that I don't have set up on the new HR.

[Q] di11igaf's rom v5.2 menu problems

I just flashed di11igaf's rom v5.2 and if you go to the thread (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=897416) and look at the screen shots, there is a five icon home screen menu that's silver. I flashed specifically for that, and as soon as it loaded up after flashing, I got the three icon one. Any ideas on why or how to fix it?

is that launcherpro? i think theres a option to use that or the android launcher as default when you hit the home button

There was launcher, launchpro and twlaunch, and I picked launcher

Dupontrocks11 said:
There was launcher, launchpro and twlaunch, and I picked launcher
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats why... You need to pick launcherpro. If you already set default, then download an app called home switcher or home manager and clear defaults then choose launcherpro. Then go press menu>Preferences and custumize it however you want. Btw launcherpro is just and app and can be downloaded from the market onto any phone and rom. And anyways most roms have it already, just because it isnt on the picture doesn't mean it isnt in the rom. And next time you can just as this in the rom thread and you would have got a faster response.

joeshmoe08 said:
Thats why... You need to pick launcherpro. If you already set default, then download an app called home switcher or home manager and clear defaults then choose launcherpro. Then go press menu>Preferences and custumize it however you want. Btw launcherpro is just and app and can be downloaded from the market onto any phone and rom. And anyways most roms have it already, just because it isnt on the picture doesn't mean it isnt in the rom. And next time you can just as this in the rom thread and you would have got a faster response.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought that could be the problem so i just went into recovery and flashed again and I picked twlauncher and then launcher pro and it gave me the different menu. I then refreshed the window on my laptop and you gave me a confirmation, so thanks. I still dont have the cool sliver mesh menu so if theres any ideas about that, its appreciated but if not, thanks for your help.

go into the prferences and advanced setting then choose dock then custom dock and u should have the custom docks in your album to choose from then use launcherpro icons

Thanks but I recently switched too firefly and the dock its great so I'm gunna stick with that, but thanks anyways.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

{ROM} Eclipse 2.2.2 906 base D3

Ported from nitroglycerin's Eclispe 2.2 stable build 7 for Bionic to Droid 3
this is to carry on where X13thangleX left off........... updated to the official OTA 5.7.906 base. Blur pretty much gone....
OVERCLOCKED to 1.2 (if your phone has constant reboots use 1.1 version, some GB bases do not like the 1.2)
I also rethemed this to an "ICS" stlye, using some AOSP ICS images and a couple from the Mav rom ics theme
Build.prop edits to speed up and for better preformance
DO NOT use v6 or any of the other battery saver scripts.
Gingerbread Moto Blur 906 based cleaned up Moto experience with a few modded goodies.
Deodexed
Zipaligned
Bloat Removed
A lot of blur has been removed
AOSP/CM7 mms
ICS music
AOSP gallery3D
Eclipse Launcher2
CM7 file manager
CM7 Email
CM7 alarm clock/deskclock
AOSP news & weather
AOSP calendar inverted
AOSP Camera
DSP Manager
Accurate Battery
CRT Animation ON and OFF (even with animations set to fast)
Reboot/recovery/screenshot options
Accurate battery - 1%
Misc prop edits
Custom Host File
GPS config changes
Appwidget Picker - boombuler
Download crutch to help with web downloads
Busy Box
init.d support
ICS deskclock widget
ICS Inspired bootanimation
Custom blue theme throughout
Eclipse Wallpapers
Eclipse Parts
Tab lockscreen, rotary lockscreen - thanks to kejar and liberty team for the source!
Lockscreen music controls - thanks to liberty for the source
Inverted Contacts/Dialer - thanks to xkape for the help
Inverted Performance manager - xkape
Native Facebook for android integration
7 pulldown toggles (wireless, bluetooth, gps, sound/vibrate, auto brightness, data, and rotation)
Changelog from stock deodexed:
Appwidgetpicker
Download crutch
Rooted with Superuser preinstalled
Blur components removed
Calculator - themed
AOSP deskclock/alarmclock - themed
AOSP email - themed
AOSP calendar - themed
AOSP Gallery 3D - themed
Camera - with hacked preview gallery - themed (needs tested!)
AOSP Cardock
AOSP MMS - themed
Google Play Music
Custom GPS config
init.d support
Webtop hack (needs tested) - do not test on safestrap
Docking options should only present webtop and clock (other)
Eclipse Launcher2
Eclipse Wallpapers
AOSP news/weather
Backup assistant should be removed from Accounts and Sync (shortcut needs created in settings)
Stable Build07
Removed AOSP lockscreens/music controls (which means these options do nothing in eclipse parts)
Removed CRT ON animation
Removed some leftover Verizon services and their associated jar files
Revert eclipse parts back to build05
Thx and credits .....
sparkyman, check_my_email, nitroglycerin, X13thangleX, guidot
Install Instructions
1... download rom
2... wipe cache/factory reset at least 3 times!
3... wipe dalvick as many times as your wiped
4... falsh rom (saftestrap)
5... reboot
6... enjoy
IF you get constant reboots, your phone will not run the 1.2 overclock and you need to repeat the process with the 1.1 overclocked version

more info can be found here also
questions asked and what not...
MOD EDIT: Links Removed
Battery Percentage mod for status bar......
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install
wipe cache and dalvik
flash mod
reboot
ICS STYLE
ROUND STYLE
FOR ppl already running the 1.1 version this is a fix for the Mms icon ...
wipe cache and dalvik
flash
MMS Icon Fix

Wow, this Rom is SNAPPY! Haven't played around with it much yet (just installed half an hour ago), but so far the 1.1 is stable...had to wipe the cache and dalvik 3 times to get around a frozen phone at the google sign-in during set up, but it's been great since.
Another great Rom Davros!

This rom is amazing. My only issue is that there isn't any built in ad blocker. That's nit picking though! Greatjob!
Sent from my DROID3 using xda premium

I want to try this later. For ad blocking, get "Ad Free" from the market.

redsox985 said:
I want to try this later. For ad blocking, get "Ad Free" from the market.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 for adfree

or Rom ToolBox lite or pro,
blocks ads and controls cpu fuctions and gov's

Is anyone else having issues with not being able to wake their phone? Oddest thing...the LED is blinking indicating I have a message, so I know it's on, but nothing will make the screen turn back on.

weird... are u using setcpu? profiles?

Negative to both. I use an app called 'Screen Off' as a swipe shortcut to shut my screen off. Maybe it's causing some weirdness? This happened both with the lock screen in the rom and Milocker, which I have since uninstalled.
The only other thing I noticed is that I had 'Use Rotary Lockscreen' checked, but it didn't appear to do anything (the same lockscreen appeared).

ya it prolly is...
and rotery lockscreen was removed in build 7 by nitro
Stable Build07
Removed AOSP lockscreens/music controls (which means these options do nothing in eclipse parts)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Wait..you use an app to turn the screen off instead of hitting the pwr button or setting the screen timeout?
And yes rom toolbox is good I have it myself but for add blocking it just isn't updated enuff 4 me..

ovelayer said:
Wait..you use an app to turn the screen off instead of hitting the pwr button or setting the screen timeout?
And yes rom toolbox is good I have it myself but for add blocking it just isn't updated enuff 4 me..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've read on other threads that ppl have had issues with the power button wearing out
Sent from my XT860 using xda premium

Endoroid said:
I've read on other threads that ppl have had issues with the power button wearing out
Sent from my XT860 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really..wow that would suxor..

ovelayer said:
Wait..you use an app to turn the screen off instead of hitting the pwr button or setting the screen timeout?
And yes rom toolbox is good I have it myself but for add blocking it just isn't updated enuff 4 me..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha yes, yes I do. With ADW launcher, I set swipe up to activate this app, so I can easily put my phone to sleep with one hand (thumb swipe) before I throw it in my pocket. The power button isn't convenient for me when one handing.
Anyway, it hasn't reoccurred today since unchecking 'Use Rotary Lock Screen', so hopefully that was the issue.
Still loving this rom by the way.

The power button on one of my d1's wore out there's a button remap app in market. But ya for recovery your screwed and you get lucky some tines and it works really well ir hardly at all
Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk 2

billyhoyle13 said:
Haha yes, yes I do. With ADW launcher, I set swipe up to activate this app, so I can easily put my phone to sleep with one hand (thumb swipe) before I throw it in my pocket. The power button isn't convenient for me when one handing.
Anyway, it hasn't reoccurred today since unchecking 'Use Rotary Lock Screen', so hopefully that was the issue.
Still loving this rom by the way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
whats the app called? I tried screen off but it's a widget and I can only launch apps wit ADWex
Besides the widget doesn't work it just locks the screen and kills my widgetlocker

billyhoyle13 said:
Haha yes, yes I do. With ADW launcher, I set swipe up to activate this app, so I can easily put my phone to sleep with one hand (thumb swipe) before I throw it in my pocket. The power button isn't convenient for me when one handing.
Anyway, it hasn't reoccurred today since unchecking 'Use Rotary Lock Screen', so hopefully that was the issue.
Still loving this rom by the way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is actually a cool idea..wonder if it would work with go launcher..I tried adw but it didn't offer all the choices go does...what's the name of the app u use?

It's called Screen Off Widget (https://play.google.com/store/apps/...EsImNvbS5zZWx0emVyLnNjcmVlbl9vZmZfd2lkZ2V0Il0.) but it launches as an app with ADW. It doesn't actually lock the device, it turns the screen black, then the phone sleeps/locks after about 5 seconds.
When I was on a CM9 rom, I used one simply called 'Lock Screen', which was actually better because it put the phone right to sleep, but doesn't work for me on this Eclipse rom. It should work with GO launcher too...if this one doesn't try a few others. I went through about 5 before settling on this one.

{davros} said:
or Rom ToolBox lite or pro,
blocks ads and controls cpu fuctions and gov's
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought the Pro a long time ago and I never scrolled down. Pfft I'm a numbskull. Now it's perfect!

[MOD][GUIDE] Make The Hottest Android HomeScreens Yourself

Got this post yesterday on Google+. so i thought it'd be great to share with you guys this article gonna blow up your android
How to make the Naturally Android home screen
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With its subdued simplicity, Naturally Android won over plenty of fans -- and won its designer a nice new Nexus 7 tablet. So how's it made?
Creator Joe Rochinski said his main goal was to create something that was both simple and visually striking.
"I've never liked the look of home screens packed full of widgets and mismatched icons," Rochinski says. "There's an app drawer to house all your app shortcuts, so let's leave them in there!"
Rochinski found his background on DeviantArt.com. He then used an app called Wallpaper Wizardii to scale and position it just the way he wanted.
Nova Launcher Prime, a popular custom Android launcher, allowed Rochinski to eliminate extra home screen panels and also remove the separator line between the Favorites Tray and the rest of the screen. Nova also made it easy for him to swap out the icons to his own custom creations.
Speaking of those icons, Rochinski relied on an app called Simple Text to build them along with his custom app drawer button. He used Minimalistic Text, meanwhile, to make the clock and weather widgets.
"You don't need to be an expert programmer to get a similar look on your own phone," Rochinski says. "I hope this theme will inspire others to try their hand at their own home screen and make some more beautiful designs where less is more."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How to make The Explorer home screen
Greg Wright's Explorer home screen got lots of attention, and for good reason. Wright's creation is actually even cooler than you might realize, as many of the visual elements are interactive: Tapping the compass opens Google Now; tapping the caliper toggles the notification bar; tapping the lion at the bottom of the map opens a folder of frequent apps; and tapping the date at the top opens the system clock. The paper scroll at the bottom-left, meanwhile, shows a dynamic representation of the phone's current battery level.
Like the last setup, Wright's home screen uses Nova Launcher Prime to accomplish some of its magic. The wallpaper comes from Wallbase.cc; the widgets for the date, time, and battery level were all made using the Ultimate Custom Widget (UCCW) application along with a font called FoglihtenNo06 (Google it and you'll find several sites offering free downloads.
As for the interactive functions, Wright used Nova Launcher to create shortcuts on the spots he wanted and then set their icons to be blank images. That makes it seem like you're tapping the actual map instead of a regular app shortcut.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How to make the Organizus Optimus home screen
Like Amirul Farhan's eye-catching creation? You aren't alone.
Farhan built the setup using Apex Launcher, an alternative to Nova with many similar features (either app could really work for any of these configurations). Within the launcher's settings, he set the home screen grid to 9x5 and four panels.
He then created a custom set of wallpapers, one for each panel. He uses an app called MultiPicture Live Wallpaper in order to have each panel display a different background.
That's where things get a little more complicated. I'll let Farhan explain it:
Start on the first homescreen. Using Apex action, place an app drawer shortcut on the square icon (at picture's bottom right corner).
Next, using Apex action as well, place the shortcut to screen 2, screen 3, and screen 4 on the star icon, ribbon icon, and the conversation bubble icon, respectively. Repeat this step on screen 2, screen 3, and screen 4.
This is the tricky part: hiding the icon we placed earlier to make it blend with the wallpaper. You need a blank icon, easily downloadable from the Internet. Note that although you cannot see this icon in gallery, it's there. Long-press the shortcuts placed earlier, and replace the icons with the blank icon.
Got all that? Good. From there, Farhan used a series of widgets and icons to accomplish his effects. They include:
• Minimalistic Text Widget with a font called Billabong for the titles at the top of each panel.
• Eye in Sky Weather for the forecast on the "Weather and Status" screen and Widgetsoid for the power bar at the bottom of that panel.
• Icons from Minimal MIUI Go Apex Theme for the shortcuts to the apps on the "Leisure" screen and Minimal Reader for the headlines at the bottom of that panel.
• Brilliant Quotes for the rotating quotes at the bottom of the "Work and Productivity" panel.
• Android Pro Widgets for the social widgets on the "Social Circle" panel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How to make the Ice Cream Dream home screen
Tony Zhang's Ice Cream Dream home screen takes its inspiration from the Android 4.x-level People app interface.
Zhang's made it easy to get the lowdown on his setup: Just check out the page he created at MyColorScreen.com for the full scoop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How to make the Robot Control home screen
Tim Alvarez's Robot Control configuration was the most popular of all the designs featured in this month's challenge. To make it, Alvarez says he started with a background from DeviantArt.com, which he resized and cropped down in Photoshop to fit his device's screen. He also modified the image to add in some elements and erased parts of it to make room for active widgets.
The Calendar, Media, Apps, and Files icons are all built into the wallpaper; Alvarez used transparent icons to add invisible shortcuts on top of those areas.
He used Ultimate Custom Widget (UCCW) to create the clock/date widget, the battery percentage and ring widget, and the bottom widget with the weather, missed calls, missed texts, and current location.
For the music player, Alvarez used a version of Phantom Music Control with his own custom icon modifications. He also made his own custom icons for the dock at the bottom of the screen.
Oh yeah -- and there are some custom animations and sound effects involved, too. You can see 'em in action on Alvarez's YouTube channel.
Lucky for you, Mr. A is willing to share his efforts. You can download a zip file with all the aforementioned elements on Dropbox.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How to make The Heisenberg home screen
If you're a fan of Breaking Bad, there's a good chance you're a fan of Jeff K's Heisenberg home screen. Jeff put together a detailed how-to guide for the home screen with all the settings and info you need to recreate the look; you can find it on Dropbox.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How to make the Game Master home screen
Martin Sector put a lot of thought into his Game Master Android home screen -- and he's happy to share every bit of it with you. Check out Sector's detailed how-to guide on Google+ for every last detail (he's even generously offered to answer any questions that may come up along your journey; just ping him on G+ to get in touch).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How to make the City Slicker home screen
Check out Jonathan Moten's MyColorScreen.com page for all the info on this sweet-looking setup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How to make the Minimalist Magic home screen
Michael Grimsley's minimalist setup uses a DeviantArt.com wallpaper along with Nova Launcher, Zooper Widget, and icons from Manup's Simple Word Icons "Clean 164" set. It also uses an icon from Devine Icons for the app drawer.
Click to expand...
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How to make the Currently Android home screen
Alex Miller's Currently Android home screen creation is a complex and well-thought-out effort, and you're in luck: Miller has put together a huge tutorial and even a video to help you set it up yourself.
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How to make the Paper Screen home screen
To recreate Christopher Ryan's slick paper-centric setup, all you need is a custom launcher to replace icons (Nova, Apex, or most any other will do the trick; Ryan says he uses LauncherPro. The icons come from Blurry Pencil Pack; the clock is made with the Minimalistic Text widget along with a free font called Sketch_Block.
The background, meanwhile, is available here.
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How to make the Android Me home screen
Like what you see in Jordan Hotmann's Android Me home screen? Head over to his blog for a detailed tutorial.
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How to make the Serenity Now home screen
Ben LeFevre says his Serenity Now setup is "deceptively simple."
The clock uses the ever-popular Ultimate Custom Widget (UCCW) app along with a custom skin. The clock has some powerful hidden functionality, too. As LeFevre explains:
It consists of two widgets -- the center one and the left one. An invisible shortcut is placed over the arrows on each widget that swaps to the other home screen. Using Apex Launcher's Accordion transition effect and turning wallpaper scrolling off, this makes the drawer look like it's expanding/closing.
The Search and Play Store icons on the left UCCW widget are UCCW hotspots (shortcuts built into UCCW). The down arrow that brings up further apps is just an image, with a Circle Launcher widget over the top.
You can find the wallpaper here and the icons here and here.
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EnjOy!!!:cyclops:

link to original thread http://blogs.computerworld.com/android/21359/make-hottest-android-home-screens-yourself

[GUIDE] Basic launcher theming

Hi all,
yesterday, I posted my new homescreens and you reacted nicely to it and asked for a tutorial! So here it is!
I will first describe the method to theme your launcher (I used Nova Prime) the more easy way... once I get more skilled I will upload more advanced guides!
Here is a list of the widgets you'll need:
Bobclockd3
minimalistic text
circle battery widget
plug in music widget
beautiful widgets
power toggles
1. Clean your current home screens. I recommend you make a backup via nova settings in case you dislike the new look or something!
2. I used the default HoneyComb wallpaper, just google it and set it as your wallpaper if you like it!
{
"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"
}
3. Now for the first widget to be added, were gonna place the main clock!
BobClockD3 is a nice clock widget, add it on the top right of your homescreen.
You will get a screen like this:
First, select the color of the hours. We'll just use white now, with zero transparency.
Then, you want to choose about this color for the minutes:
And don't forget to make it a bit transparent, that will look nice!
You can confirm that now, it'll look like this:
4. The next widget is going to be the Circle Battery Widget. You wanna choose the 2x2 one. Place it in the top left, next to the clock.
You can configure the colors you want the circle to be at certain battery levels by tapping the widget > colors. I made the normal color white, the warning color more transparent white, the critical color almost invisible white, and the charging color normal white. Other flashy colors can disturb the nice minimalistic look you want! After this, the homescreen will look like this:
5. Now for the last widget on the main screen you need Beautiful Widgets. It unfortunately is a paid app (Arr).
Add the "BW Weather 4x1" widget to your homescreen. A configuration menu will pop up.
Scroll on to the Appearance tab and tap the weather theme. You'll want to download a theme callled "Vos-Flat White", and set it.
You don't need to mess with the background theme for now. Go on to the Background and Colors tab, and enable "Hide Background"
Hit the checkmark in the right top to finish. The widget will be 4x1, however, it looks better if you resize it to 4x2 using the nova thingy.
Your homescreen should now look like this:
6. We are now going to set up all the icons, as the rest of the widgets sort of depend on them.
WARNING: This can be very time consuming. If you do not wish to spend more than an hour theming, stop right here.
First, just put the icons where you wish:
Now, the fun bit is going to start
You will need to download an app called MetroStation Icon Pack.
This app contains (you guessed right) loads of nice icons.
It looks like this:
For example, if you want your Facebook app to have one of these nice icons, you long press the facebook icon in the launcher, tap edit and this will come up:
Tap the icon, and choose "Icon Pack", then "MetroStation"
Now find the icon you like in the database, then choose the color you want. To keep the blue/white theme I have, you want to choose white. You can add a little transparency if you want. Do this with every icon and your screens will look like this:
As you can see I made the App Drawer icon blue. You can choose to do so if you like, I think it looks nice! You might also have noticed that the "Games" folder isn't a preview of the contents, but just one icon. You can do this the same way you chose the icons of seperate apps.
7. Now for the music widget. The widget is called "Plug In Music Widget" and is free to download from the Play Store. Add the 4x2 version where you want it to be. It does not look very nice now, but to change the looks, open plug in music widget from the app drawer, scroll to settings, and first tap "Select Music Player" it will show you a list of supported players, but I can tell the stock HTC music app works well, just like Apollo and Play Music. Next, scroll down to "Set widget Background" and choose "None".
It will now look something like this:
8. We are now going to add the power toggles. You can of course use the stock one, but I found that the free market app "Power Toggles" can be themed so that it fits our theme. Add the power toggles widget and you will be greeted by a menu which explains you the way it works when you open it for the first time. As a style, choose "Indicator". Then, choose the "Tint" background fill, and set white as the color. Scroll up again and give it the amount of transparency you like. Tap done when finished. Your screen should look like this:
9. Next thing is to 'label' the grouped apps. We are going to use the app "Minimalistic Text" for that. Add the widget of the desired size on the desired place and you will be greeted by this menu:
First of all, uncheck "Show Background". You can leave the orientation the way it is, and scroll on to "layout".
Delete the current row, and click the "+" button in the bottom left. Scroll to "Misc" and check "Static Text". Tap OK.
Tap the "Static Text" box, and enter your label, for example "Social". Choose the style "Normal".
Now scroll to the next tab "Text Style", and tap "Normal" The size of the font should be around 40, and set the color to HEX code: FF33B5E5. Tap ok and then new color. Tap the save button top right.
And that's it! You have now succesfully themed your phone like a boss!
I recommend you set up a gesture in nova settings with which you can toggle the status bar, as the homescreens look better without.
This guide was based on Armando Fereirra's YouTube video "How To Theme You Android Phone Like A Boss".
Please hit the thanks button if this helped you get an awesome homescreen or made you understand theming better!
Kudos,
Phenziox

reserved

reserved 2

Thankyou for taking the time to do this. It looks great :good:

Wow thanks mate another great guide added to the forums.
Great work!

Great guide Phenziox, I'm definitely going to try this

Here are the play store links, it's shortened so it doesn't clutter the posts. feel free to add to OP Phenziox
BobclockD3: http://bit.ly/Wf0O5q
Circle Battery Widget: http://bit.ly/YwBkP6
Beautiful Widgets PAID: http://bit.ly/zxTFSq
MetroStation Icon Pack: http://bit.ly/MSECUI
Plug In Music Widget: http://bit.ly/IhIalI
Power Toggle: http://bit.ly/KNaXuz
Minimalistic Text: http://bit.ly/Ig49d3
I am theming right now, and it does take forever! I think Nova should add an option to clear all homescreens
And a question Phenziox, how much home screens do you have?
EDIT: Also how many grid columns you have set? I used to have 5x4 but the BobclockD3 looked weird so I went 4x4.
ANOTHER EDIT: Hex code is invalid ;_;
FINAL EDIT: DONE THEMING MY PHONE!!! It only took 2 and a half hours but it's ok!
The power of Android!

Great guide. some apps that I doesn't know.
I'll try it after work.
Thanks

I have three home screens
Sent from my HTC Desire C using xda app-developers app

Great work
Great work thanks, will definitely give this a go when i get home.

You could add sidebar, with this search playstore "sidebar"
Sent from my HTC Desire C

einstein.frat said:
You could add sidebar with this search playstore "sidebar"
Sent from my HTC Desire C
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't understand what you mean, what sidebar?
Sent from my HTC Desire C using xda app-developers app

sidebar is a hidden dock, when you swipe it, it becomes visible, just like ubuntu phone feature.

Also can't you provide us with your theme backup ? This will help the newbies.

TheRedHunter said:
Also can't you provide us with your theme backup ? This will help the newbies.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A backup won't help because that doesn't install the necessary apps...
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

You could give them the backup, but make sure you tell them they need to install whatever apps, before they restore the backup onto their phone.

U can make a zip which has for the apks of the required apps and the backup
If u liked the idea hit thanks
Sent from my HTC Desire C using xda premium

U can also use Smart Launcher
A good launcher
Has 2 types of screens 1 for app drawer and basic requirements like dialer messages and the other set for Widgets
I will upload the smart launcher pro API in a while
Sent from my HTC Desire C using xda premium

wow it looks great... but still m not able to find MetroStation Icon Pack on market.... not from that link also.....

M[a]sh said:
wow it looks great... but still m not able to find MetroStation Icon Pack on market.... not from that link also.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Link I posted works fine for me!
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.u1aryz.products.metrostation
sent from my HTC Desire C