Hi all,
First off, I'm new to these forums, so please excuse me if this is the wrong place to post this question.
I recently got a HTC One and i'm looking to replace the standard ROM/firmware with one of the many custom ROMs. My main reasons are that i do not like the default Sense theme, i want to be able to customise things, and i want to be able to uninstall (or at lease, stop from automatically running) pre-installed apps like Facebook and Twitter.
I've looked at a few, and so far I really like MIUI. I like it's theme particular, and that it appears to be very customisable. ViperX says it's very customisable too.
So to help me decide, can you please answer some of my questions:
I currently use the Nova launcher to replace the default Sense one. Will i still be able to use this with any ROM?
Will i have to do anything with the service provider / carrier, like re-setup connection or something?
Can i still keep the default apps installed by the service provider. For example, there is one app that provides access to un-metered services (weather, news, etc) and shows data usage.
Do any have better text navigation? I'm frustrated with the standard text input, double-tapping on a word does not always select it, i have to tap multiple times before it brings up the menu to paste, cursor positioning is awkward. In iOS, you can double-tap then hold and drag to select multiple words (like in most desktop OSes). iOS also has better rules concerning when to make letters uppercase, especially when deleting/undoing text.
Are there any other sort of usability things to look for in custom ROMs? Things that would set one apart from the others?
As for a theme, I like the default MIUI one. If i don't go with MIUI, i'd want a theme like it. Matte, light grey background (possibly with black title bar, status bar, etc), orange highlights (on controls like progress bars), round borders. Gnome/Tango style icons. At the least, i could create my own theme based of a similar one.
Anyone?
I'm also not sure about device support. The only thing i can find on Viper X is an XDA page that mentions HTC One X. Is that different to HTC One?
Other ROMs mention support for specific HTC vendors (all American i assume). I got mine from Telstra in Australia, does that mean i should look for an "international" version of a ROM? What if there are none?
Hello?
try for your self its the best way
xtal256 said:
Hi all,
First off, I'm new to these forums, so please excuse me if this is the wrong place to post this question.
I recently got a HTC One and i'm looking to replace the standard ROM/firmware with one of the many custom ROMs. My main reasons are that i do not like the default Sense theme, i want to be able to customise things, and i want to be able to uninstall (or at lease, stop from automatically running) pre-installed apps like Facebook and Twitter.
I've looked at a few, and so far I really like MIUI. I like it's theme particular, and that it appears to be very customisable. ViperX says it's very customisable too.
So to help me decide, can you please answer some of my questions:
I currently use the Nova launcher to replace the default Sense one. Will i still be able to use this with any ROM?
Will i have to do anything with the service provider / carrier, like re-setup connection or something?
Can i still keep the default apps installed by the service provider. For example, there is one app that provides access to un-metered services (weather, news, etc) and shows data usage.
Do any have better text navigation? I'm frustrated with the standard text input, double-tapping on a word does not always select it, i have to tap multiple times before it brings up the menu to paste, cursor positioning is awkward. In iOS, you can double-tap then hold and drag to select multiple words (like in most desktop OSes). iOS also has better rules concerning when to make letters uppercase, especially when deleting/undoing text.
Are there any other sort of usability things to look for in custom ROMs? Things that would set one apart from the others?
As for a theme, I like the default MIUI one. If i don't go with MIUI, i'd want a theme like it. Matte, light grey background (possibly with black title bar, status bar, etc), orange highlights (on controls like progress bars), round borders. Gnome/Tango style icons. At the least, i could create my own theme based of a similar one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1.You can use any launcher on any rom no problem
2.Once you perform a factory reset in your recovery, you phone will direct you to set up up your phone (the setup changes if you install and aosp rom)
3.Most of the custom rom on xda like to debloat (take out the carrier apps) their roms. If you want to keep your apps you will either have to find a rom that doesn't take away those apps (ie a stock rom.) or you could go with an aosp rom that completely gets rid of sense and it's carrier apps. Or if you know what carrier app you want, you could download root browser and take the apk from your system/app folder(this may be tricky because you the apps are labeled differently
4.I'm pretty sure you are supported see to hold on to the word you want to select.
5. You have to look at the features they offer. Like on Viper 2.70, you can customize various things with vemon tweaks that other custom roms don't offer.
If I helped hit that like button
---------- Post added at 04:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:51 PM ----------
xtal256 said:
Anyone?
I'm also not sure about device support. The only thing i can find on Viper X is an XDA page that mentions HTC One X. Is that different to HTC One?
Other ROMs mention support for specific HTC vendors (all American i assume). I got mine from Telstra in Australia, does that mean i should look for an "international" version of a ROM? What if there are none?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. You should be looking for ViperOne in the HTC One international thread(it just says htc one, no other carrier names attached) >android development.
2. Not sure about Australian phones but as long as it isn't a sprint phone you can flash any rom although most roms are in the international htc one thread anyway.
Sent from my HTC One using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
ayo234 said:
1.You can use any launcher on any rom no problem
2.Once you perform a factory reset in your recovery, you phone will direct you to set up up your phone (the setup changes if you install and aosp rom)
3.Most of the custom rom on xda like to debloat (take out the carrier apps) their roms. If you want to keep your apps you will either have to find a rom that doesn't take away those apps (ie a stock rom.) or you could go with an aosp rom that completely gets rid of sense and it's carrier apps. Or if you know what carrier app you want, you could download root browser and take the apk from your system/app folder(this may be tricky because you the apps are labeled differently
4.I'm pretty sure you are supported see to hold on to the word you want to select.
5. You have to look at the features they offer. Like on Viper 2.70, you can customize various things with venom tweaks that other custom roms don't offer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your help.
About #3, it sounds like you are saying i can look for the apk on the phone, back it up somewhere, then re-install it once i flash the custom rom. Is that correct? Could there be any sort of problems with installing such an app on different firmware?
About #4, it's kind of hard to explain, but i just don't like the way the text manipulation is handled. It feels awkward and sometimes doesn't do what i want it to. I press to select or insert something, and it does nothing- I have to try a number of times before it will work. Sometimes double-pressing will zoom the page instead of selecting the word. Just little things like that.
In the end, i guess all ROMs offer similar features, customizations and tweaks. I think i'll just go with MIUI, since i really like the default theme.
xtal256 said:
Thanks for your help.
About #3, it sounds like you are saying i can look for the apk on the phone, back it up somewhere, then re-install it once i flash the custom rom. Is that correct? Could there be any sort of problems with installing such an app on different firmware?
About #4, it's kind of hard to explain, but i just don't like the way the text manipulation is handled. It feels awkward and sometimes doesn't do what i want it to. I press to select or insert something, and it does nothing- I have to try a number of times before it will work. Sometimes double-pressing will zoom the page instead of selecting the word. Just little things like that.
In the end, i guess all ROMs offer similar features, customizations and tweaks. I think i'll just go with MIUI, since i really like the default theme.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes extract the apk from you carrier rom. There shouldn't be any compatability issues since it's just an apk.
I came from an iPhone but I don't understand what you mean. On Android double tap is supposed to zoom and on HTC we have text wrapping which zooms the text to the zoom magnification which no other manufacturer has anymore.
There are plenty of themes you could download that look like miui. Even a custom launcher like themer offers extensive themes which look amazing.
Sent from my HTC One using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
ayo234 said:
Yes extract the apk from you carrier rom. There shouldn't be any compatability issues since it's just an apk.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool, thanks.
I came from an iPhone but I don't understand what you mean. On Android double tap is supposed to zoom and on HTC we have text wrapping which zooms the text to the zoom magnification which no other manufacturer has any more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, try this:
On Windows, in a text editor, double-click on a word then drag the mouse while still holding down the button (i.e. don't release after the second click). Notice how it first selects the entire word, the starts selecting whole words as you drag.
Do the same thing on iOS. Double-tap and drag. Same thing happens.
Now try it on Android. Notice that double-tapping will select the whole word, but moving your finger doesn't do anything. You have to actually let go, then grab one of the markers to select more.
As for the zoom, i know double-tap zooms non-editable text. This is the same on iOS. But there have been occasions (and this may be the fault of the application) where i double-tap in a text field and this slightly zooms the view instead of selecting the word.
There are plenty of themes you could download that look like miui. Even a custom launcher like themer offers extensive themes which look amazing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure there are themes that look similar to MIUI, and i've even seen one for CyanogenMod that looks pretty similar. But with so many to choose from, i'd have to try many before stumbling upon one i liked (although that's not necessarily a bad thing ).
And what do you mean by custom launcher themes? As far as i know, all custom launchers can do is change the icon set, not the whole chrome. That is, they cannot change the Sense blue and black theme to a light grey and orange. Or can they?
Ok, how about i change the criteria. Which is the most stable, with frequent updates? And which one has the most customisation options for developers or "power users"?
A little more information about the 4th bullet. I noticed you mentioned something about how letter case is handled. The HTC keyboard is like stupid when it comes to manually editing previous words. I think I know EXACTLY what you mean. LoL!!
I hated how if I spelled "hunhry" and erased "hry" and started typing "gry" it would start auto-correcting only the "gry" part. I would recommend using a different keyboard. If you don't know which one to use, you can't go wrong with using the Google Keyboard. (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.inputmethod.latin) It's basic enough. It's also the one I use.
As far as selecting text, you can try enabling this.
Go to...
Settings --> Accessibility --> Under the "System" tab check "Show magnifier". This makes a little magnifier when you're selecting text. This may help with precision.
Also, why do you double-tap the words? A press and hold selects the word for me. That may help when trying to select words. And if you see from my screenshot, with the magnifier enabled, it will be easier to pinpoint exactly where you want to go when selecting more than one word. So I press and hold; it selects the word for me and also brings up the twin sliders; after that I can easily drag the sliders to select what I want.
3346655 288
Hi No_Nickname90, thanks for your feedback.
Regarding the keyboard, i don't use auto-correct, as i prefer to be in control (if i make a mistake, at least i know it's my fault!). If i can't get used to the stock keyboard, i might try another.
As for why i double-tap, did you not understand my example? I can't see how i'd be able to select multiple whole words in a single motion if i pressed and held. If holding selects one word, then I imagine if i moved my finger after that, it would move the selection to a different word rather than extending the selection. I really need an animation to explain this...
Anyway, i have decided to go with MIUI. If i don't like it, i can always change later.
When you press and hold, the slider comes up. Then you can control the slider and select text like that.
So it's press and hold until the slider comes. Then release and the slider will still be there.
It seems as if you're double tapping and on the second tap, sliding. I've never done that nor have I seen that. That's why I'm confused.
When I just tried to do that, all that happened was the position cursor sliding, not the selection cursor. LoL!!
Have you played around with the keyboard settings? I think there is one rule about how text is capitalized. Also, there should be a setting to calibrate the HTC keyboard to your texting. That may help when texting, should you go back.
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
xtal256 said:
Cool, thanks.
Ok, try this:
On Windows, in a text editor, double-click on a word then drag the mouse while still holding down the button (i.e. don't release after the second click). Notice how it first selects the entire word, the starts selecting whole words as you drag.
Do the same thing on iOS. Double-tap and drag. Same thing happens.
Now try it on Android. Notice that double-tapping will select the whole word, but moving your finger doesn't do anything. You have to actually let go, then grab one of the markers to select more.
As for the zoom, i know double-tap zooms non-editable text. This is the same on iOS. But there have been occasions (and this may be the fault of the application) where i double-tap in a text field and this slightly zooms the view instead of selecting the word.
I'm sure there are themes that look similar to MIUI, and i've even seen one for CyanogenMod that looks pretty similar. But with so many to choose from, i'd have to try many before stumbling upon one i liked (although that's not necessarily a bad thing ).
And what do you mean by custom launcher themes? As far as i know, all custom launchers can do is change the icon set, not the whole chrome. That is, they cannot change the Sense blue and black theme to a light grey and orange. Or can they?
Ok, how about i change the criteria. Which is the most stable, with frequent updates? And which one has the most customisation options for developers or "power users"?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Before my HTC One I used apex launcher. It was free and provided stock aosp. It also had icons packs like NOX compatible with it which makes my icons uniform and amazing. A lot of people use Nova which provides the same things but to experience the full content you have to buy the launcher.
Themer is a new launcher that is still in beta buts it's pretty amazing. It takes predefined home screen layouts for Mycolorscreen.com and applied them to your phones with widgets wallpapers and animations (much like buzz launcher.). If you are looking for a stable launcher apex or Nova is the way to go. But if your want themes and cool changes to your home screen (you might find an miui theme you like) with a little less stability, Themer is the way to go.
Sent from my HTC One using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
I don't think a launcher will quite do. As far as i know, a launcher cannot change the skin for the entire device. For example, it can't change the theme of menus or stock apps.
I just found out that MIUI is only available for HTC One via an unofficial ROM. There is an official version coming, but i don't know when. Perhaps i'll wait for it. Or maybe i'll just go with another ROM like Viper X...
xtal256 said:
I don't think a launcher will quite do. As far as i know, a launcher cannot change the skin for the entire device. For example, it can'th change the theme of menus or stock apps.
I just found out that MIUI is only available for HTC One via an unofficial ROM. There is an official version coming, but i don't know when. Perhaps i'll wait for it. Or maybe i'll just go with another ROM like Viper X...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you go for MIUI you should go ahead and get the unoffical one. It may be a very ling time before there us an offical one and not include the stuff you want.
The viper roms are very good roms. Remember it is viper one not viper x. If you install the latter you will brick your phone.
Sent from my HTC One using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
ayo234 said:
If you go for MIUI you should go ahead and get the unoffical one. It may be a very ling time before there us an offical one and not include the stuff you want.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, as long as the unofficial one is just as stable and supported as the official one.
The viper roms are very good roms. Remember it is viper one not viper x. If you install the latter you will brick your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, so that's why google searches for "viper x htc one" only return results for the One X. I'll keep that in mind.
Related
Not going to spam the sapphire forum, but because i mainly live in the G1 area I would like you all to know that I have developed a whole new Home Replacement called GDE. It has transitions like a cube, configurable toolbar buttons etc etc.
A link to the G1 thread ( with all features and some movies ) so i dont have to copy all of it over and over:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=4698010#post4698010
I have tested this on a G1 and a G2, but it should also run great on a Sapphire. If anyone has tried it please let me know how it works on your devices!
Downloaded to my mytouch and so far i'm liking it.
Couple of suggestions
1. For the option on the launch bar to bring up the phone, can you make it bring up the dialer and not the recent call list? kinda like the Hero
2. Now, when you press the menu button, the app tray pops up. I'd prefer if the normal menu would pop up. The one that has the option to change wallpaper, notifications, etc.
3. if there is a way, when trashing an icon, to make the whole bottom bar the trash, not just the bottom left corner.
4. the possibility to skin the launcher. (edit: i see in the original post that you said your working on this)
bugs i've noticed:
-when # of visible screens is set to 3 and default desktop is set to 1, you can not scroll all the way through. if you swipe right or left one time thats all that you can do. it doesn't allow you to swipe again to get to the home screen. edit: i forgot to mention that its when its in stretch mode and it doesn't work on any configuration (ie default desktop 1,2,etc). it works fine on cube
-when changing an option that require the restart of the launcher, it pops up the last used application such as sms or gmail.
thanks
Thanks for your input,
Downloaded to my mytouch and so far i'm liking it.
Couple of suggestions
1. For the option on the launch bar to bring up the phone, can you make it bring up the dialer and not the recent call list? kinda like the Hero
That indeed could be something to look at... i will look into it
2. Now, when you press the menu button, the app tray pops up. I'd prefer if the normal menu would pop up. The one that has the option to change wallpaper, notifications, etc.
The hard-menu button will be configurable in the near future, so you can set it to open up any menu you like i.e. settings... The control panel is going to get a lot bigger so it should allow you to do "almost" all things you were able to do in the past... and some more of course
3. if there is a way, when trashing an icon, to make the whole bottom bar the trash, not just the bottom left corner.
Well when you drag the right button will change into the trash... The left button is also context sensitive and in the future this will bring up a settings menu in which you can uninstall the app etc etc. I will give the icon the original red corner because the hit area isnt as clear this way ( its much bigger then you will think )
4. the possibility to skin the launcher. (edit: i see in the original post that you said your working on this)
bugs i've noticed:
-when # of visible screens is set to 3 and default desktop is set to 1, you can not scroll all the way through. if you swipe right or left one time thats all that you can do. it doesn't allow you to swipe again to get to the home screen. edit: i forgot to mention that its when its in stretch mode and it doesn't work on any configuration (ie default desktop 1,2,etc). it works fine on cube
The other transitions dont have endless scroll "yet"... I am working on implementing this into stretch and fade. The original transition can never support this, because of some technical reasons.
-when changing an option that require the restart of the launcher, it pops up the last used application such as sms or gmail.
thanks
I will see if i can make it so that it comes back to life again... it now forcefully kills GDE to clear out everything
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once again thanks for your input... this is what hopefully will make it the better home replacement.. If you ever come up with ideas, notice bugs or whatever dont hesitate to contact me
One thing i forgot to ask... Can you tell me how the transition speed is on a sapphire? I havent had a chance to run it on one... for now only the G1 and the G2.
On the G2 the cube transition is really fluid... So i hope it will also be on the Sapphire as they are the same hardware/memory wise if im not mistaking.
There are two versions of the Sapphire, one with 32B and one with 32A board. All Google/Vodafone/TIM/Provider branded sapphires are the 32B versions... which has ~182MB RAM, all sapphires with a HTC logo at the front are 32A and have ~290 MB RAM...
So your statement was partly correct
Loving the looks of your launcher by the way, reminds me of LG phones though ^^.
Ok thanks for the clarification and for loving the looks of course
I must be honest... I have never had an LG phone nor seen the interface.. So if it does im a good copycat without knowing ..
it seems pretty smooth. there is a little lag intermittently but not horrible. To get a good comparison I would need to have another phone to compare it too. But so far I'm liking it.
A thing I would like to see is a dock of 4 customisable icons (like the iPhone has yes...) and a shortcut on a different place to pull up the menu The 4x4 crap stucks :/ the 3 buttons take up too much space... I want my own icons there
I downloaded ur app btw because it has so much potential
rogro82 said:
One thing i forgot to ask... Can you tell me how the transition speed is on a sapphire? I havent had a chance to run it on one... for now only the G1 and the G2.
On the G2 the cube transition is really fluid... So i hope it will also be on the Sapphire as they are the same hardware/memory wise if im not mistaking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
By rights if it's fluid on the G1 it should be on the Sapphire as they're so similar. I've tested tried it out on my 32B and the 'stretch' and 'fade' effects are as smooth as silk, though 'cube' is alittle clunky even with the CPU at 528.
I'll throw in an iddy-biddy suggestion/request; could we get a configurable bottom-bar in a future build? I'd love to may it a bit darker or semi-transparent. Either way, no biggy.
Overall this is a killer Home replacement, and I'm really looking forward to seeing it mature. A big thank-you to you, Rogro.
Additional: Scrolling through the applications list is really choppy in both grid and list.
Thanks for the reply.
I will look into the grid/listview on my phone the listview is smooth although the grid suffers some lag. its related to the transparancy, but i will fix it asap.
About the configurable toolbar... I am working out the whole theming support, so hopefully soon you will be able to adjust it to anything you want it to be.
Thank you Rogro82 !
i made a video ( 0.1.1 ) to show all transitions and some options.
runing on a Sapphire ( 32B versions )
The new Home Android - GDE - Best News Apps
7178 men (and women maybe ) saw your app
I will make a new one with your new version with all features ( Theming option , Dock widget ,Google Search widget..)
YOU NEED COMMUNICATION WE NEED INNOVATION
Thanks man!
Already seen the video and its looking great!
Let me know when you have a new video online. Love to see reviews!
multilang.
hey rogro, are u able to add Multilang to this app, this would be rly nice.
i will help to translate to german if u want
(and a function to custom the function of the middle-button, so the hero theme will look like a real hero (and the palm theme also) )
Is there an app or hack I can apply to select text without using a trackball. something like the iphone with its magnifying glass
That was my biggest hurdle when switching from iPhone to Nexus 1. You can use your fingers to press and hold until the menu pops up, but then it's still pretty much the same thing as using the trackball.
The HTC desire has an excellent magnifying glass type of copy paste like iPhone. It's been talked about porting it to the nexus but it just hasn't happened yet. It probably needs all the sense UI frame work files along with it which is why we haven't seen it ported yet. Google's implementation is pretty lame, I'm not sure why they haven't improved it by now.
Clearly not the best solution but you can do.
menu->more->select text
then just select the text you want to copy
Well if you dont mind switching to sense theme all together you could give this ROM a try: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=730290
As mentioned above it has a great text selection mod like the iphone, and the theme isn't so bad either
Depending on the app you're in you can double tap at the starting word and drag to the end word. It works in the Stock Messaging app on Froyo. Also in the browser.
So for an upcoming April Fool's joke I want to get my N1 to look like iOS. Any suggestions as far as ROMs and themes go? Icon packs should be easy to find. I'm pretty sure I could toy around with LauncherPro to get the general look, but the key to a good April Fools is in the details. That includes the Notification bar and some of the built in apps (Dialer, email, etc.) if possible. Splash and bootanimations would help too.
MIUI would do the trick very well. Visually it's pretty much iOS copy.
MIUI rom looks like IOS, check it out in development area if nexus one.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
MIUI always struck me as more of a TouchWiz clone than iOS, but I guess with some tweaks it would work... Probably a better start than CM at least. I guess it'd be too much to try to get the trackball to work like the app button on iOS and make the other buttons do nothing...
Scratch that last post. I didn't notice they've completely moved over the widgets and everything. MIUI should work nicely (assuming I can get the Notification bar done properly). For the button trick I'm thinking of just playing with the key bindings to get that to work and using QuickDesk for the double tap functionality. Anyone know what their app button does on a long press?
On iPhone4, if I'm not mistaken, it brings up the task manager.
Jack_R1 said:
On iPhone4, if I'm not mistaken, it brings up the task manager.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought that was a double tap. QuickDesk has a "QuickPanel" that shows the recent apps. If I just have that with no icons on the rest of it, it'll look really similar. Close enough that even an iOS user might not notice the difference (which is the ultimate goal)
One thing I miss from my iPod is being able to tap the top bar and have it take me to the to of the page. Would that be doable?
Sent from my GSBv1.7-ERIS using XDA App
Surely doing this to somebody elses phone would be a prank. Doing it to your own...??
DirkGently1 said:
Surely doing this to somebody elses phone would be a prank. Doing it to your own...??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just changing it out isn't the prank, but it is a necessary part of the gag as a whole. At this point I've got the whole thing themed, slide to unlock looks right, the wallpaper doesn't scroll, double tapping the home button acts properly, and I've got a good plan of action for the face buttons. I'm down to two problems, the first being much more important: getting the Notification Bar to look like their Status Bar, and getting the icon jiggle when the launcher goes into edit mode(I'm using MIUI). I'm thinking I might have to change out the status bar layout xml in framework-res.apk. Does anyone know if there's a better way or if this will even work?
Anyone know how to implement the Universal Search feature of iOS? True the search widget more or less replicates the functionality, but I need it to look like and behave like Universal Search (needs to become full screen, and a second press on the home button needs to return to whatever home screen you were on). ideas?
ok, I am totally stuck. It looks like the notification bar is gonna be more than just a quick xml changeout in framework-res.apk. services.jar will have to be edited too. Does anyone have any experience at all with moving icons around on the status bar?
I can't seem to properly apply a wallpaper with Google Now Launcher. Every time I do, it basically shifts the whole thing to the right, almost as if it's centering it on the right border. I only use 1 home screen (plus the Google now cards screen to the left) so it just doesn't look right like that. Using something like ES file Explorer kind of helps because you can manipulate a bit how to line it up, but it seems imperfect and time consuming. I'd love to just be able to apply them from something like ZEDGE. Anyone have any suggestions?
Morpherios said:
I can't seem to properly apply a wallpaper with Google Now Launcher. Every time I do, it basically shifts the whole thing to the right, almost as if it's centering it on the right border. I only use 1 home screen (plus the Google now cards screen to the left) so it just doesn't look right like that. Using something like ES file Explorer kind of helps because you can manipulate a bit how to line it up, but it seems imperfect and time consuming. I'd love to just be able to apply them from something like ZEDGE. Anyone have any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The solution I came up with was to go into the app drawer and drag an icon to a separate home screen and then drag another icon to another screen (making 3 screens plus Google now). Apply the wallpaper and then remove the extra two shortcuts to go back to one screen.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
Othoric said:
The solution I came up with was to go into the app drawer and drag an icon to a separate home screen and then drag another icon to another screen (making 3 screens plus Google now). Apply the wallpaper and then remove the extra two shortcuts to go back to one screen.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This seems to work better than any other solution I've tried. Thanks for the heads up. Not quite perfect but easily better than doing the "guess and check" method of manually lining things up. What an annoyance though, right? It's a wallpaper, it shouldn't be this complicated.
Morpherios said:
This seems to work better than any other solution I've tried. Thanks for the heads up. Not quite perfect but easily better than doing the "guess and check" method of manually lining things up. What an annoyance though, right? It's a wallpaper, it shouldn't be this complicated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know... I just started using Google Now Launcher again after using Nova forever, because I like having Google Now to the left of the home screen and I've really started using a more minimal desktop with just one screen. It seems to me that Google of all development crews out there would know about this and fix it. It's a minor annoyance. But an annoyance nonetheless. If anyone else has any other possible solutions, I would love to hear them as well.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
Othoric said:
I know... I just started using Google Now Launcher again after using Nova forever, because I like having Google Now to the left of the home screen and I've really started using a more minimal desktop with just one screen. It seems to me that Google of all development crews out there would know about this and fix it. It's a minor annoyance. But an annoyance nonetheless. If anyone else has any other possible solutions, I would love to hear them as well.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've very strongly considered going over to Nova, except like you, I really like having the Now cards to the left and I'm just not willing to give them up. The only other method I found that semi works, I found an app on the playstore called Image 2 Wallpaper
Does what it sounds like, but there's a little bit of "playing around" you can do with lining things up. The way I've found it to at least sort of do what I want is to tap pick image from gallery, pick the image, down in the bottom half where there are options swipe over to the "Align" section, and hit "Move Left". Then hit the little green icon to the right of the preview to "set" it. Again it's not perfect but it's another option to add to the toolbox of methods I guess. I think yours seems to be a little more accurate, and much quicker though.
This is probably not the best solution for you, but thought I would mention that Action Launcher 3 also has the "swipe left for Google Now" functionality and it handles wallpaper much better. It has a lot of other neat features too, although it's not free. There is a free trial version though that might work for your purposes.
unbesorgt said:
This is probably not the best solution for you, but thought I would mention that Action Launcher 3 also has the "swipe left for Google Now" functionality and it handles wallpaper much better. It has a lot of other neat features too, although it's not free. There is a free trial version though that might work for your purposes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's interesting... I've used Action Launcher 2 a long time ago but never got into it a whole lot. Does it have Google Now to the left in the exact same way that Google Now Launcher does, or is it more like "a swipe right gesture opens Google Now"?
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
Othoric said:
That's interesting... I've used Action Launcher 2 a long time ago but never got into it a whole lot. Does it have Google Now to the left in the exact same way that Google Now Launcher does, or is it more like "a swipe right gesture opens Google Now"?
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's pretty close. The only thing that's missing is the animation when you swipe back to the home screen, IIRC. The developer said that's because of a limitation in the API. It does animate when swiping into Google Now though.
unbesorgt said:
It's pretty close. The only thing that's missing is the animation when you swipe back to the home screen, IIRC. The developer said that's because of a limitation in the API. It does animate when swiping into Google Now though.
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Click to collapse
I'm definitely intrigued. I just downloaded it, but swiping to the side just brings up what kind of appears to be a sort of quick app drawer thing. How do you enable the google now cards screen?
It's been awhile since I've used it, but there should be a way to turn it on in the settings. That other thing is called the QuickDrawer which you might need to move to the other side.
[edit]
Found it -- go to Shortcuts under Settings, then Swipe Horizontal, and change Leftmost Home Screen to Search (Google Now).
One thing I don't like is how it automatically opens the keyboard for the search bar. The Google Now Launcher's implementation is much better. If only someone could combine that with Nova Prime's features, I could die happy.
unbesorgt said:
It's been awhile since I've used it, but there should be a way to turn it on in the settings. That other thing is called the QuickDrawer which you might need to move to the other side.
[edit]
Found it -- go to Shortcuts under Settings, then Swipe Horizontal, and change Leftmost Home Screen to Search (Google Now).
One thing I don't like is how it automatically opens the keyboard for the search bar. The Google Now Launcher's implementation is much better. If only someone could combine that with Nova Prime's features, I could die happy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the update/edit. I was actually in there earlier but was specifically looking for Google Now instead of Search. I definitely see what you mean regarding the keyboard. It's soooo close. If they could just kill the automatic kb popup it'd be pretty perfect. I'm going to play with it a bit. It definitely feels fluid. And I like the idea of being able to properly theme and whatnot (one of the things I missed from homescreen replacements like Nova). If I like it enough I have enough in my play account from surveys to buy the full version. So far I'm digging it though, thanks again for the recommendation.
Morpherios said:
Thanks for the update/edit. I was actually in there earlier but was specifically looking for Google Now instead of Search. I definitely see what you mean regarding the keyboard. It's soooo close. If they could just kill the automatic kb popup it'd be pretty perfect. I'm going to play with it a bit. It definitely feels fluid. And I like the idea of being able to properly theme and whatnot (one of the things I missed from homescreen replacements like Nova). If I like it enough I have enough in my play account from surveys to buy the full version. So far I'm digging it though, thanks again for the recommendation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool, let me know if you discover any good tweaks!
Can someone kindly repost the APK of ReLaunch 1.4?
The links on the original post are dead now.
Thanks!
marcoNST said:
Can someone kindly repost the APK of ReLaunch 1.4?
The links on the original post are dead now.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There seem to be at least 3 ReLaunch forks. The original ends at 1.3.8 (the easiest one to find--Google is your friend). There is then the sequence you are asking about, moving from 1.4 to now 1.4.8. I've attached 1.4.8 below. Don't know anything about it. The source is the Russian The-eBook.org forum and the original ReLaunch thread. Going back from the end of the thread, all earlier versions (all dropbox links) seem to not be available, just like 1.4.
Then there is ReLaunchX which supposedly takes up where the original 1.3.8 left off and renumbers the newer versions starting again with 1.0 (now at 2.x). The GitHub for ReLaunchX is here: https://github.com/Leszek111/ReLaunchX and the app is available on F-Droid: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.gacode.relaunchx/
You have many choices!
Edit: one more choice. Member @digixmax offers 1.4.3 here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=72246935&postcount=42
Thank you so much @nmyshkin !
You are a star
nmyshkin said:
There seem to be at least 3 ReLaunch forks. The original ends at 1.3.8 (the easiest one to find--Google is your friend). There is then the sequence you are asking about, moving from 1.4 to now 1.4.8. I've attached 1.4.8 below. Don't know anything about it. The source is the Russian The-eBook.org forum and the original ReLaunch thread. Going back from the end of the thread, all earlier versions (all dropbox links) seem to not be available, just like 1.4.
Then there is ReLaunchX which supposedly takes up where the original 1.3.8 left off and renumbers the newer versions starting again with 1.0 (now at 2.x). The GitHub for ReLaunchX is here: https://github.com/Leszek111/ReLaunchX and the app is available on F-Droid: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.gacode.relaunchx/
You have many choices!
Edit: one more choice. Member @digixmax offers 1.4.3 here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=72246935&postcount=42
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
marcoNST said:
Thank you so much @nmyshkin !
You are a star
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just rooted using NM and I am using the default system. ReLaunch seems to have a very barebones interface, and I wish I could do certain things (the two main ones is to toggle visibility of the statusbar at will (making any application full screen) using some button or button combination, and the other is to change orientation.
What benefits are there to using a new version?
Thanks!
Winston S. said:
I just rooted using NM and I am using the default system. ReLaunch seems to have a very barebones interface, and I wish I could do certain things (the two main ones is to toggle visibility of the statusbar at will (making any application full screen) using some button or button combination, and the other is to change orientation.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think you can exercise much control over the visibility of the status bar--at least not in Android 2.1. App developers either choose full-screen as the default display mode or give a programmed option which regulates the size of the window in which the app is viewed (essentially covering the status bar). I'd like to be wrong about that and I'll keep looking around a little, but I am not hopeful.
Screen orientation is easily regulated with an app. Probably the best one for the NST is Rotation Locker (there's a copy attached to this post: https://forum.xda-developers.com/nook-touch/themes-apps/app-reading-button-menu-t3815212).
You could theoretically assign a hardware button to the app. All it does is bring up a small menu (Portrait, Landscape, Auto). A simple tap on your choice makes the change, but a long-press sets up a background service that forces the change, even when apps want to resist. You'll see a notification that the service is running. You really need this for the NST because it does not much care for being in landscape mode and many apps will try to escape back into portrait with only a single tap on landscape.
Unfortunately the app suffers from a problem common to many in that it was not designed with e-ink devices in mind. Colors were used in the menu system and they are such that you don't see anything but the menu boxes! I've given you the correct order above, from top to bottom in the menu. A better and more general solution is to slightly darken the background color on all NST menus. This makes most of the offending "invisible" menu choices at least somewhat visible. The change is effected by replacing about 30 images in framework-res.apk. Two sets of images were prepared by someone on the Russian e-book forum. One is lighter and the other darker, but both are darker than the originals. I use the lighter ones.
Alternatively, if you don't expect to be running a lot of apps with potentially unreadable settings or menus but you would like a simple orientation toggle to assign to a hardware button, I could probably just extract that portion from my Reading Now menu app and assemble it as a stand-alone. It still relies on the Rotation Locker app, but you'd never see or interact with the menu, just press a hardware button.
nmyshkin said:
I don't think you can exercise much control over the visibility of the status bar--at least not in Android 2.1. App developers either choose full-screen as the default display mode or give a programmed option which regulates the size of the window in which the app is viewed (essentially covering the status bar). I'd like to be wrong about that and I'll keep looking around a little, but I am not hopeful.
Screen orientation is easily regulated with an app. Probably the best one for the NST is Rotation Locker (there's a copy attached to this post: https://forum.xda-developers.com/nook-touch/themes-apps/app-reading-button-menu-t3815212).
You could theoretically assign a hardware button to the app. All it does is bring up a small menu (Portrait, Landscape, Auto). A simple tap on your choice makes the change, but a long-press sets up a background service that forces the change, even when apps want to resist. You'll see a notification that the service is running. You really need this for the NST because it does not much care for being in landscape mode and many apps will try to escape back into portrait with only a single tap on landscape.
Unfortunately the app suffers from a problem common to many in that it was not designed with e-ink devices in mind. Colors were used in the menu system and they are such that you don't see anything but the menu boxes! I've given you the correct order above, from top to bottom in the menu. A better and more general solution is to slightly darken the background color on all NST menus. This makes most of the offending "invisible" menu choices at least somewhat visible. The change is effected by replacing about 30 images in framework-res.apk. Two sets of images were prepared by someone on the Russian e-book forum. One is lighter and the other darker, but both are darker than the originals. I use the lighter ones.
Alternatively, if you don't expect to be running a lot of apps with potentially unreadable settings or menus but you would like a simple orientation toggle to assign to a hardware button, I could probably just extract that portion from my Reading Now menu app and assemble it as a stand-alone. It still relies on the Rotation Locker app, but you'd never see or interact with the menu, just press a hardware button.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are correct about the status bar visibility, I think there is nothing you can do about it if any specific app forces that setting. There is a configuration setting for ReLaunch to not show the status bar, but even then PocketBook Reader will display it.
For the orientation right now I am resorting to starting APV PDF Viewer (which I have set to landscape,) and then starting PocketBook Reader. Because PocketBook doesn't force a specific setting, it will continue on Landscape until I go out and something else changes orientation to Portrait. Rotation Locker seems like the perfect solution to somewhat streamline orientation selection a bit more. Also, I think I'll manage by knowing which selection to press and not care about the lack of visibility of its menu.
Thank you for your kind offer to assemble that menu app with the toggle built in, but I'd hate you to spend time doing that. Instead, I'll investigate more and go through all the posts you have already provided! :good: