soft button power? - TouchPad Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Anyone know of a way to get a soft power button on my screen? I have looked in the CM9 command shortcuts and cant find it. Maybe an app that wont break my TP?

just make a script for it.
#!/system/bin/sh
reboot -p
then make a shortcut to it from the launcher home screen and give it a cool looking icon. mine is the reb power button icon near the top
heres how i have it set on one of my touchpads. I like to have mine pull up diffrerent boot options.

haxin said:
just make a script for it.
#!/system/bin/sh
reboot -p
then make a shortcut to it from the launcher home screen and give it a cool looking icon. mine is the reb power button icon near the top
heres how i have it set on one of my touchpads. I like to have mine pull up diffrerent boot options.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats awesome, where would I enter that script exactly?

theres plenty of scripter tools in google play that have widget fucntionality and other features for things liike this. one nice scripter tool that has tons of addon features is called Script-manager or smanager. even the free version is pretty awesome. so basically executing a script like that is the same as if you were to type it into the terminal. so if you have a to bunch of terminal commands that you would like to run to do certian things you can write scripts to simplify the process. i hope this makes sense. im a little buzzed at the momen sorry lol.

I did download it and got to the console but I am not sure how to create the icon linked to the script or have it appear on my HS. Sorry I have no experience scripting.

Related

Remove Calender&Contacts bar

Is it possible to remove to whole bar at the bottom of the home screen? Mine has links to contact & calender, but I just want to remove it since I dont use them at all...
Any ideas?
soft key applet
you can use a program called soft key applet, which is downloadable from the xda ftp site, not sure if you can simply turn these off, but you can assign different programs to them.
I use dcinobar, you can just click the .exe to enable / disable it. I have mine placed in the \windows\startup folder works perfectly.
s4vva said:
I use dcinobar, you can just click the .exe to enable / disable it. I have mine placed in the \windows\startup folder works perfectly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nice post, def. gonna try this one out when I get the chance as I never use the on screen soft keys anyway,(plus I know I ain't the only one who can't stand the fact that the home screen plugin from HTC doesn't allow one to scroll down the today screen in landscape mode)and a little extra room is welcomed with open arms. I'm guessing you can still use the soft keys if you want to by pressing the hw buttons on the device right????
cheers
Heres the trick..
It LOOKS a lot better. It makes more of your image available to use.
But wither or not you use the buttons doesnt even matter, because when at the today screen, even if you press those buttons they still work. I use mine all the time, but I dont like the clutter, but it doesnt matter. I just remember what buttons do what, since they still work.
Im adding this to my newbie thread
Thanks!!
This gives the homescreen just a bit more room.
Another nice mod is to remove the iconset for the unlock/com man/etc located above this bar. I used the regedit method using total commander- simply delete the following from your registry:
\\HKLM\INIT\LAUNCH92
This is the key that launches the tray application at boot (To re-enable create the registry key above with the value TrayAp.exe)
Have fun!
morotorium said:
Another nice mod is to remove the iconset for the unlock/com man/etc located above this bar. I used the regedit method using total commander- simply delete the following from your registry:
\\HKLM\INIT\LAUNCH92
This is the key that launches the tray application at boot (To re-enable create the registry key above with the value TrayAp.exe)
Have fun!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually I found the tray icons very useful and actually added my own tray from batterstatus. One touch activation of any of the radio's and various programs makes using the tray very efficient. Plus you can access the tray without even touching the screen so its a win-win in my eyes.
Regarding Neptunes' first post at the top,
"(plus I know I ain't the only one who can't stand the fact that the home screen plugin from HTC doesn't allow one to scroll down the today screen in landscape mode)"
I have spent days looking for a fix/patch for this. Is not having the scroll feature in landscape mode the final answer on this one?
Thanks guys!
Scroll
Go to HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Today\Items\HTC Home and change the type to 4.
Poweroff and poweron.
Thanks, exactly what i need.

BackLight brightness adjust command line utility for Kaiser aka TYTN II

I dunno if I'm only one who has this problem but when I'm occasionally on sun I can't see nothing on my Kaiser and it's really difficult to setup backlight brightness on touchscreen which u can't see.... So I've been looking alot if there is some utility which I can link with button or gesture and I haven't found anything... So I've wrote my own utility. Feel free to use it as well if u find it useful -> http://lobster.ic.cz/?page=bl
is this useful or is there easier way to do that??
Been searching for an app like this for a week.
Works great!
Thanks.
Here's another program that gives you a today plug in for it:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=412896
I'll b trying yours tho as I like the idea of UL with icons for up and down
Cheers,
Matthew
I made a cab with this program mapped to the PTT button. I have a AT&T Tilt, Im not sure if your phone has a PTT button or if its called something else or whatever.
With this, just run the cab then I tap the button and it changed the brightness really quickly, no menu or anything, I love it! If I walk out into the sun I just tap the button 3 times and my screen is bright.
Lobsterii, I love this program thanks a ton!
I'm glad that I could helped u out guys... actually there might be more funny stuff possible only if HTC release some documentation on theirs DLL files cos it's pain to guess arguments...
you did it all by guessing? I figured you would have decompiled the dll.
Truly excellent! I have also been looking for something like this for a long time.
I figured I might as well kick off the feature requests that always follow a new release: How about the option set both battery and power brightness with one command? Perhaps by a special switch, or by only specifying the brightness level (i.e. no 'b' or 'p' switch)? Or is there a way to do it already?
Thanks again for a useful app!
you did it all by guessing? I figured you would have decompiled the dll.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've read some forum where someone pointed out that backlight function should be in some dll by HTC dunno where it was... Then I was googling "dll find export function" and I've found prog "DLL Export Viewer" which can show function names in dll. Unfortunatelly there is generally impossible to find out how many/what arguments the function has. So I've found function name like HTCUtilSetOnBatteryBrightnessLevel and I've simply try prototype int HTCUtilSetOnBatteryBrightnessLevel(int); but it crashed... so I keep going like int HTCUtilSetOnBatteryBrightnessLevel(int*); and it worked... voila...
pudifoot said:
Truly excellent! I have also been looking for something like this for a long time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thx alot...
I figured I might as well kick off the feature requests that always follow a new release: How about the option set both battery and power brightness with one command? Perhaps by a special switch, or by only specifying the brightness level (i.e. no 'b' or 'p' switch)? Or is there a way to do it already?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
done. + it's now compiled as an release version so it actually has 50KB less than old version... enjoy it's at the same place instead original files http://www.lobster.3web.cz/bordel/bl/index.htm...
Nice improvements! how about another a switch so that it will toggle between brightest to dimmest? So if this was used it would just go between 1 or 10 and none in between.
Thanks for implementing the feature I was looking for. A perfect application - it's small and fast, and it gets the job done with excellence.
Thank you. Works perfectly.
silentanvil said:
Nice improvements! how about another a switch so that it will toggle between brightest to dimmest? So if this was used it would just go between 1 or 10 and none in between.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hmhm... what I wouldn't do for y... There is new version 02 (on my web at the same place) where u can setup your own sequence. Length of sequence might be from 1 to 10... values are as usual from 0 to 9... But numbers must not repeat (known feature I don't see point to solve it) so u can set something like "bl02.exe 0 5 1 9 3" or whatever else... enjoy
Report any found bugs... I mean it's super simple but it's 4 am so I'm half sleeping...
lobsterii said:
hmhm... what I wouldn't do for y... There is new version 02 (on my web at the same place) where u can setup your own sequence. Length of sequence might be from 1 to 10... values are as usual from 0 to 9... But numbers must not repeat (known feature I don't see point to solve it) so u can set something like "bl02.exe 0 5 1 9 3" or whatever else... enjoy
Report any found bugs... I mean it's super simple but it's 4 am so I'm half sleeping...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome! Thanks so much! I've also been looking everywhere for something like this!
Awesome!
Well done! I've been looking for ages for something to do this.
How to use bl02...
Something from lobsterii that helped me:
create link in Total commander (file manager) I think its in options "File -> >>>>> -> Create shortcut" then I have another file bl02.lnk then I open properties of the lnk file, I click tab shortcut and put the text of path into "" and after it I wrote parameters so it looks like
"\Program files\bl\bl02.exe" 1 3 9
OK dumb question and first time posting so don't slaughter me. If I understand the thread correctly this will put large buttons to adjust from the Backlight screen....correct? Is there a program (other than the PTT button which I'm using) that will allow a button or swipe to adjust the brightness without having to open the brightness display? If you get far enough to open the utility then its not that hard to move the brightness up. Sorry for the dumbness of the question.
volleykinginnc said:
If I understand the thread correctly this will put large buttons to adjust from the Backlight screen....correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
my bl02.exe doesn't put any button anywhere... it's just app which actually toggle brightness. U can try to run it via file explorer it should change brightness...
volleykinginnc said:
Is there a program (other than the PTT button which I'm using) that will allow a button or swipe to adjust the brightness without having to open the brightness display?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is plenty of programs to map this app to buttons, finger swipes and some other crazy stuff like voice commands etc.. For example I'm using FTouchFlo (u can use FTouchSl which is easier to configure) and map backlight change for finger swipes... Most easy way is just copy blXX.exe to /Windows/Start Menu/Programs/blxx.exe and then go to Start->Settings->(tab)Personal->Buttons and link it with some buton...
I'm just now at work so have no time for more explanation... but Once I get home I'll create some FAQ at download page cos... cos it'll be easier for all of us
dont sweat it that was a perfect explanation and I now have it helped me to get it running to a button.
One other quick question though....I have S2U2. So the button doesn't work until I have unlocked it (which sometimes is hard to see going out to daylight) is there any way (easy way, Im no programmer)to allow the button to work (that is brighten the display via the button I have it mapped to) while it is still locked?
volleykinginnc said:
dont sweat it that was a perfect explanation and I now have it helped me to get it running to a button.
One other quick question though....I have S2U2. So the button doesn't work until I have unlocked it (which sometimes is hard to see going out to daylight) is there any way (easy way, Im no programmer)to allow the button to work (that is brighten the display via the button I have it mapped to) while it is still locked?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure he won't be able to bypass A_C's S2U2, but (assuming you have a Kaiser, you didn't say) if you enable dpad in S2U2 you can always hold your right dpad button to make sure S2U2 is unlocked, even if you can't see the screen, and then hit the button for the "bl02.exe 9" link.
Ha ha...you guys are awesome! Right Dpad enabled and now it works like a charm even in the brightest sun!! Thanks for the great application...makes a big difference in usability.
Some of you experts ought to make a list of these application gems (this program/kaeser tweaks etc) to make it easy for the noobs like me. This is good stuff!!

Shortcut to a terminal application

I use Better Terminal to run command line application like top, ping etc. Is it possible to create an icon on the home screen which launches terminal application?
Thanks.
BetterCut?
jackhab said:
I use Better Terminal to run command line application like top, ping etc. Is it possible to create an icon on the home screen which launches terminal application?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can create shortcuts to apps on the homescreen by default. if you want to create a shortcut that opens a saved connection with one click you need probably bettercut or anycut (never used either one), also connectbot has this feature already included.
CitizenLee said:
BetterCut?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I couldn't download BetterCut from the market (because it's not free?). I tried AnyCut but predefined actions don't seem to have such feature and to creating custom shortcut requires some knowledge of Android internals I guess.

Alternative Launcher on 5.0.1 [Help needed!]

Edit:
I'm working on a batch script to provide a different launcher as one-click script.
Hope to be ready by tomorrow, will add a step by step solution as a manual way too, thanks to all those people that were involved in rooting and launcher replacement.
Old post:
I just got my new Fire today and messed around with adb for some houres.
This is what I found regarding the replacement of the fire launcher so far:
You can hide com.amazon.firelauncher using pm hide through adb shell.
This will prevent the system from starting the launcher.
I pushed Trebuchet using adb install.
After a reboot it asks me which app to use.
I can choose Trebuchet and it will be relaunched after a reboot too.
The only problem is that the fire launcher is hard-coded to home button, and that can only be changed with superuser permissions.
Edit: I found the following looking at a logcat with fire launcher being hidden:
ActivityManager does report this when pushing the home button:
I/ActivityManager( 451): START u0 {act=android.intent.action.MAIN cat=[android.intent.category.HOME] flg=0x10200000 cmp=com.amazon.firelauncher/.Launcher} from uid 1000 on display 0
So Amazon linked firelauncher to that intent.
There are two ways to start another launcher:
First: Change an APK so it calls the launcher it installs "com.amazon.firelauncher". That is a step that I can't do myself, and it is very likely not to work because we would have a conflict between the original and the fake process, as the original app is only hidden, but still known to be there.
Second: We need to find out where they stored the list of default intents that ActivityManager draws information from.
So if anybody knows anything about how that works, please help me.
Just wanted to share those steps with you, hopefully someone finds a solution for the hard-coded home button. Till then I'll just leave apps with back button to get back to Trebuchet
good work
I'm still doing some research on this and need your help guys.
Can anyone that did block the initial update run pm list packages com.amazon on his device and post the output here?
It seems like there is an application in the 5.0.1 build that does block all changes to the default activity setup concerning the launcher app.
I installed a second launcher on my Z1 compact and watched logcat as I hit the home button.
But the behavior is different from the one the fire shows, the fire instantly tries to run com.amazon.firelauncher, no matter how many launchers are installed.
So it seems like the registration as a launcher is somehow blocked and prevents ResolverActivity from showing.
Thanks to everyone
package:com.amazon.platform
package:com.amazon.photos
package:com.amazon.precog
package:com.amazon.dp.contacts
package:com.amazon.unifiedsharegoodreads
package:com.amazon.recess
package:com.amazon.platform.fdrw
package:com.amazon.whisperplay.contracts
package:com.amazon.venezia
package:com.amazon.webapp
package:com.amazon.dcp.contracts.library
package:com.amazon.device.sync
package:com.amazon.device.logmanager
package:com.amazon.firelauncher
package:com.amazon.alta.h2clientservice
package:com.amazon.socialplatform
package:com.amazon.dp.fbcontacts
package:com.amazon.h2settingsfortablet
package:com.amazon.calculator
package:com.amazon.cloud9.systembrowserprovider
package:com.amazon.kindle.otter.settings
package:com.amazon.dp.logger
package:com.amazon.ods.kindleconnect
package:com.amazon.accessorynotifier
package:com.amazon.sharingservice.android.client.proxy
package:com.amazon.weather
package:com.amazon.webview
package:com.amazon.android.marketplace
package:com.amazon.device.backup.sdk.internal.library
package:com.amazon.client.metrics.api
package:com.amazon.dcp
package:com.amazon.imp
package:com.amazon.mp3
package:com.amazon.unifiedsharesinaweibo
package:com.amazon.sync.service
package:com.amazon.fireinputdevices
package:com.amazon.csapp
package:com.amazon.logan
package:com.amazon.tahoe
package:com.amazon.tcomm
package:com.amazon.kindle.identityservice
package:com.amazon.kindle.personal_music
package:com.amazon.kindle.personal_video
package:com.amazon.identity.auth.device.authorization
package:com.amazon.kcp.tutorial
package:com.amazon.kindle.cms
package:com.amazon.kindleautomatictimezone
package:com.amazon.device.backup
package:com.amazon.geo.mapsv2.services
package:com.amazon.securitysyncclient
package:com.amazon.unifiedshare.actionchooser
package:com.amazon.whisperlink.activityview.android
package:com.amazon.device.messaging
package:com.amazon.digital.asset.ownership.app
package:com.amazon.devicecontrol
package:com.amazon.device.messaging.sdk.internal.library
package:com.amazon.providers
package:com.amazon.kindle.otter.oobe
package:com.amazon.photos.importer
package:com.amazon.geo.mapsv2
package:com.amazon.unifiedsharetwitter
package:com.amazon.tcomm.client
package:com.amazon.client.metrics
package:com.amazon.device.settings.sdk.internal.library
package:com.amazon.acos.providers.UnifiedSettingsProvider
package:com.amazon.firepowersettings
package:com.amazon.pm
package:com.amazon.wifilocker
package:com.amazon.dcp.contracts.framework.library
package:com.amazon.device.bluetoothdfu
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package:com.amazon.kor.demo
package:com.amazon.device.messaging.sdk.library
package:com.amazon.ags.app
package:com.amazon.kindle.unifiedSearch
package:com.amazon.sync.provider.ipc
package:com.amazon.providers.contentsupport
package:com.amazon.platformsettings
package:com.amazon.device.crashmanager
package:com.amazon.application.compatibility.enforcer
package:com.amazon.kindle.rdmdeviceadmin
package:com.amazon.parentalcontrols
package:com.amazon.windowshop
package:com.amazon.avod
package:com.amazon.shpm
package:com.amazon.zico
package:com.amazon.communication.discovery
package:com.amazon.legalsettings
package:com.amazon.camera
package:com.amazon.device.settings
package:com.amazon.cloud9
package:com.amazon.device.sync.sdk.internal
package:com.amazon.unifiedsharefacebook
package:com.amazon.connectivitydiag
package:com.amazon.dynamicupdationservice
package:com.amazon.kindle.devicecontrols
package:com.amazon.kindle
package:com.amazon.application.compatibility.enforcer.sdk.library
ChrBeck said:
I just got my new Fire today and messed around with adb for some houres.
This is what I found regarding the replacement of the fire launcher so far:
You can hide com.amazon.firelauncher using pm hide through adb shell.
This will prevent the system from starting the launcher.
I pushed Trebuchet using adb install.
After a reboot it asks me which app to use.
I can choose Trebuchet and it will be relaunched after a reboot too.
The only problem is that the fire launcher is hard-coded to home button, and that can only be changed with superuser permissions.
Edit: I found the following looking at a logcat with fire launcher being hidden:
ActivityManager does report this when pushing the home button:
I/ActivityManager( 451): START u0 {act=android.intent.action.MAIN cat=[android.intent.category.HOME] flg=0x10200000 cmp=com.amazon.firelauncher/.Launcher} from uid 1000 on display 0
So Amazon linked firelauncher to that intent.
There are two ways to start another launcher:
First: Change an APK so it calls the launcher it installs "com.amazon.firelauncher". That is a step that I can't do myself, and it is very likely not to work because we would have a conflict between the original and the fake process, as the original app is only hidden, but still known to be there.
Second: We need to find out where they stored the list of default intents that ActivityManager draws information from.
So if anybody knows anything about how that works, please help me.
Just wanted to share those steps with you, hopefully someone finds a solution for the hard-coded home button. Till then I'll just leave apps with back button to get back to Trebuchet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Someone could try this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2760965 to change the application process name, and then install it over the Fire Launcher, it will update the file. If you ever want to go back, you can click "Uninstall Updates". Try this on Trebuchet and see if it works.
Cheksum
/system/priv-app/com.amazon.firelauncher/com.amazon.firelauncher.apk
It has a checksum, so not sure if an .apk renamed as com.amazon.firelauncher.apk and put back into the device would fail because of a checksum error?
Just tried and I get an error of [invalid apk file within my ADB shell]
Someone else might have better luck then me?
Haha I had the same idea some houres ago and tried to rename trebuchet to com.amazon.firelauncher using apktool.
But when trying to install it I get "Parsing error", maybe my signature is wrong or I made another mistake.
I'll add my apk so someone else can try signing and flashing it if anybody wants to.
Edit:
Just for your interest:
I compared the com.amazon app list posted here to mine: Exept for the apps that are hidden to prevent ota-update, both lists are identical.
So I still don't know what Amazon changed, but we can be sure that there is no additional app that prevents us from changing the launcher.
ChrBeck said:
Haha I had the same idea some houres ago and tried to rename trebuchet to com.amazon.firelauncher using apktool.
But when trying to install it I get "Parsing error", maybe my signature is wrong or I made another mistake.
I'll add my apk so someone else can try signing and flashing it if anybody wants to.
Edit:
Just for your interest:
I compared the com.amazon app list posted here to mine: Exept for the apps that are hidden to prevent ota-update, both lists are identical.
So I still don't know what Amazon changed, but we can be sure that there is no additional app that prevents us from changing the launcher.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I grabbed your apk and used keytool to generate my own cert and try installing the app, now adb install fails with the status below:
Code:
#This was run on OS X
#This generates the a key, after asking you several questions. Default passcode is "android"
keytool -genkey -v -keystore ~/.android/debug.keystore -alias trebuchet -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -validity 20000
#Sign the apk
jarsigner -verbose -keystore debug.keystore com.amazon.firelauncher.apk trebuchet
#install the package
hostname:user$ ./adb install com.amazon.firelauncher.apk
9433 KB/s (3427921 bytes in 0.354s)
pkg: /data/local/tmp/com.amazon.firelauncher.apk
Failure [INSTALL_FAILED_UPDATE_INCOMPATIBLE]
Update incompatible sounds great, it means that there is just one fuse we need to break.
I did not change the version info and permissions of trebuchet, that might already be the point.
I will extract firelauncher this evening, check for version, set trebuchet to a higher version and copy all the permissions firelauncher uses with those missing permissions copied from trebuchet (which should cause the installer to ask for granting only those additional ones)
As your certs seem to work, I'll just publish the unsigned apk and you could try signing and installing again if you want to.
Seems like we are getting close to a solution.
ChrBeck said:
Update incompatible sounds great, it means that there is just one fuse we need to break.
I did not change the version info and permissions of trebuchet, that might already be the point.
I will extract firelauncher this evening, check for version, set trebuchet to a higher version and copy all the permissions firelauncher uses with those missing permissions copied from trebuchet (which should cause the installer to ask for granting only those additional ones)
As your certs seem to work, I'll just publish the unsigned apk and you could try signing and installing again if you want to.
Seems like we are getting close to a solution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just used apktool to decompile your apk, which I then inserted updated version info into (apktool.yml stores this), and after resigning, installation failed for the same reason as above. It seems that the device is detecting that the cert that I'm using is not the one used to sign the original application and failing on that. I've seen this happening when doing development on my personal apps.
This might not work, though I would love if someone could prove me wrong.
In the meantime, I was considering using pm hide to hide the default launcher and use some sort of softkey solution with a link to trebuchet or nova. I'll look into it tomorrow after I get a bit of sleep.
Edit:
Just a cursory test with an app called "overlay" and nova launcher is proving to be quite adequate. I have an on-screen overlaid app shortcut to nova launcher at all times. I will have to create app filters to stop the overlay from going in front of games and videos, but this seems to do the trick for me at least. I'll upload the overlay config tomorrow morning, but it's simple enough to figure out. I currently have com.amazon.firelauncher hidden, and after rebooting it automatically opens nova launcher and the overlay pops in about 10 seconds later.
Edit 2:
Since I don't have 10 posts yet, I'm not allowed to post links to files. It should be pretty easy to figure out how to set up Overlays though. I made my application link to nova launcher almost completely transparent and in the bottom right corner of my screen, and it works well, though there is a small delay before it gets back to the launcher.
Now that I've got the play store, Google keyboard, and a decent launcher, this is shaping up to be a good purchase.
I am very interested in this thread, but I can't understand much of what @googlegot wrote.
"Just a cursory test with an app called "overlay" and nova launcher is proving to be quite adequate. I have an on-screen overlaid app shortcut to nova launcher at all times. I will have to create app filters to stop the overlay from going in front of games and videos, but this seems to do the trick for me at least. I'll upload the overlay config tomorrow morning, but it's simple enough to figure out. I currently have com.amazon.firelauncher hidden, and after rebooting it automatically opens nova launcher and the overlay pops in about 10 seconds later. "
Could you please elaborate on this?
zavorrax said:
I am very interested in this thread, but I can't understand much of what @googlegot wrote.
"Just a cursory test with an app called "overlay" and nova launcher is proving to be quite adequate. I have an on-screen overlaid app shortcut to nova launcher at all times. I will have to create app filters to stop the overlay from going in front of games and videos, but this seems to do the trick for me at least. I'll upload the overlay config tomorrow morning, but it's simple enough to figure out. I currently have com.amazon.firelauncher hidden, and after rebooting it automatically opens nova launcher and the overlay pops in about 10 seconds later. "
Could you please elaborate on this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a text only guide as I am writing it on mobile, I'll flesh it out in a full post after work.
This guide assumes you have the play store installed, debug drivers and adb installed, and debugging mode enabled in developer settings.
1. Download "Overlays - Float Everywhere" from the Play store.
2. Download a launcher of your choosing (I chose Nova launcher)
3. In overlays, press the "+" button to create a new profile
4. Select "Always/Manual (Global)", then enter a name for your profile (I named mine "Nova". Make sure to set it to "Always On" using the toggle below the name on the right side of the screen above "advanced settings"
5. Press the save button in the top right corner of the screen.
6. Select "Add your first Overlay", then "Application Shortcut", then select your launcher (again, I used Nova). This will create an icon on screen, which you can drag around to where you want your new home button to be. It may appear off screen at first. If so, turn your tablet to landscape orientation to get it into view.
7. Drag the icon where you would like it to be in both landscape and portrait mode, then save the location by pressing the save button in the top right corner of the icon.
8. Save the overlay by pressing the save button in the middle of the set of three buttons in the top right corner of the screen.
9. Reboot your tablet. Once it has booted you'll notice an icon for your launcher is now overlaid on every screen at all times. This is your new "home" button.
10. Plug your tablet into your computer and run the following to disable the built in launcher:
Code:
adb shell
pm hide com.amazon.firelauncher
exit
(To undo this, change "pm hide" to "pm unhide")
11. The original home button on your tablet will now produce an error when pressed and your only available launcher will now be the one you've installed. You'll need to use the new overlaid button you created to as your home button.
does this affect you leaving full-screen apps ?
(IE: a game)
if hitting your home buttons gives an error
peace
Ricci
a1yet said:
does this affect you leaving full-screen apps ?
(IE: a game)
if hitting your home buttons gives an error
peace
Ricci
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is an overlay, it is on top of your full screen games and videos. Your home button is broken, but the overlaid application icon is your new home button for all intents and purposes. It is a button on top of everything on screen.
googlegot said:
It is a button on top of everything on screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hmm this is interesting
thanks for this, will look into it myself :victory:
googlegot said:
I just used apktool to decompile your apk, which I then inserted updated version info into (apktool.yml stores this), and after resigning, installation failed for the same reason as above. It seems that the device is detecting that the cert that I'm using is not the one used to sign the original application and failing on that. I've seen this happening when doing development on my personal apps.
This might not work, though I would love if someone could prove me wrong.
In the meantime, I was considering using pm hide to hide the default launcher and use some sort of softkey solution with a link to trebuchet or nova. I'll look into it tomorrow after I get a bit of sleep.
Edit:
Just a cursory test with an app called "overlay" and nova launcher is proving to be quite adequate. I have an on-screen overlaid app shortcut to nova launcher at all times. I will have to create app filters to stop the overlay from going in front of games and videos, but this seems to do the trick for me at least. I'll upload the overlay config tomorrow morning, but it's simple enough to figure out. I currently have com.amazon.firelauncher hidden, and after rebooting it automatically opens nova launcher and the overlay pops in about 10 seconds later.
Edit 2:
Since I don't have 10 posts yet, I'm not allowed to post links to files. It should be pretty easy to figure out how to set up Overlays though. I made my application link to nova launcher almost completely transparent and in the bottom right corner of my screen, and it works well, though there is a small delay before it gets back to the launcher.
Now that I've got the play store, Google keyboard, and a decent launcher, this is shaping up to be a good purchase.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can confirm this is working 100%. Now we have a fully functional tablet! Thanks so much for finding out about this work-around! My hat goes to you sir. :highfive:
xT29c said:
Can confirm this is working 100%. Now we have a fully funcation tablet!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not working 100%
working 75%
everything works fine BUT Widgets
no widgets work
crashes to "settings" when you try to install one
example
the weather channel (or event flow calendar)
drag to desktop
CRASH to the Fires "settings" window
any fix or work around for this
peace
Ricci
PS: widgets have a value of at least 25% as everyone has one on their device
and is the first thing people see when the turn their device on
25% may be too low but i had to give it a value
Has anyone tried another launcher? Maybe Google Now or APEX...
a1yet said:
CRASH to the Fires "settings" window
any fix or work around for this
peace
Ricci
PS: widgets have a value of at least 25% as everyone has one on their device
and is the first thing people see when the turn their device on
25% may be too low but i had to give it a value
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is exactly what happens on 2014 HDs, too. The fix is to convert launcher to system app, which requires root.
DoLooper said:
This is exactly what happens on 2014 HDs, too. The fix is to convert launcher to system app, which requires root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thank you for letting me know this
I'll stop banging my head against a wall thinking I'm dum (or is it dumb ?)
LOL
thanks again
Ricci

I need help...

So im looking to make an app for myself, I want it to have an overlay type, so if I hit my home button it a little part like an overlay stays on screen but you can still open other apps.
Is there a way to do something like this? I have never done it and have no idea where to start :/
Almost like a widget but it can be used over any app.

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