I'm looking for a task manager that I can launch with a hard button with the help of AEButton,
in which I can scroll though my open programs using the scroller not the touch screen and close each in turn or close all.
I've tried a lot and they all either;
- They dont have the facility to use the buttons as a scroller, touch only.
- They cant be launched to open using a hardware button, as in the program launches but all I get is the little cross, dot button appear in the top right of my today screen, not actually open the task manager.
- Or they dont have the facility to close all apps.
there must be a simple little program that does this, and im starting to feel like i've tried them all...
I can distantly remember using a version on RomEOS 1.2.1 but cant find any reference to it, it allowied me to 'check' each program and close them, and launched as an actual program, rather than enabling a cross on my today screen. And it wasn;t HTC Taskmanager.
Any suggestions you lovely people? I think one handed PPC use is they way to go and this is frustraiting me.
Install SPB Pocket Plus
Soft reset
Go to Settings-Buttons
Assign "Alt-Tab" on any button you want.
Press button, see all open prg's and scroll with the wheel to the one you want, press wheel and you are there.
Hi,
ever tried WkTask (freeware) ?
Quickmenu does the trick for me. Much better than WKTask. Also freeware. X button closes the app, gives a PC feel to menus and you don't ever have to use stylus.
Thanks for the replies
tried both WKTask and Quickmenu, but evenually settles on HandySwitcher, turned out to be a bonus that you can customise the colours, since i have a white background and couldn't read the white text on the menu.
Success!
Why wouldn't you use the task switching part of phoneAlarm?
You can set the default function to the switcher and be managing open tesks with 2 button pushes.
I second Quickmenu. Once you click the exe once it'll auto start after soft resets. Goto the settings and customize the startmenu the way you want. I set mine up to have Running programs first and that set to be shown as submenu and then it allows you the close one or close all feature, quickmenu popout second, then a break and then program, settings, and office folders all set to submenus and then my regular programs as links below. I can control it all with my finger or with the jog dial. Retains your windows TSK theme and if you set it to replace windows start menu it is like the other never existed. Excellent program and very lightweight. To fix the text issue I use UI Tweaker. Also helps me match the color to my TSK better. Just my personal preference.
Hi, newbie here trying to find out if it’s possible to turn an android phone into a fast desktop type multitasker. Was told I need a combination of AOSP ROM + eXposed, +Tasker +plugins, and a launcher like Lightning Launcher Extreme. so trying to assemble a list of things I’ll need, and find out if it’s even possible or not to achieve these tasks. In priority sequence:
1) Add as many as 15 buttons to nav bar. would love to change the size and more impornt spacing maybe even location of each button.
2) Optional (ability to lock some of the buttons across the board so lets say, on left side I have a locked home and back button, btu the ones on the right I can swipe left or right and move the nav bar buttons just like on Xtended NavBar app , so it’s kind of like a split nav bar.
Is it possible to add specific functions to each nav bar button I create:
3) Three zoom buttons, one with preset zoom %, so I click it once it zooms in to my preset % I click it second time zoom out must be able to preset the % of zoom somewhere. The other two zoom buttons are regular zoom in and out by increments (if possible preset increments as well per each click)
4) Multitask, instead of resent app, where it shows my open apps as smaller windows, I’d rather switch between them in full screen view, so the navbar recent app button must be mapped to simply switch between all open apps in rotation with each click.
5) Copy/ paste/ cut / undo / 4 buttons, not sure if it needs mapping in each app I use or universal, if each app, can it be done in Firefox or any other web browser, and in Microsoft office or any other office program so when I highlight text I can use these buttons, just like they normally would work in desktop versions?
6) 4 arrow keys, this is for Microsoft excel to shift quickly between cells so in each direction. Or as scrolling in web browser in all 4 directions.
7) search button, same concept as copy paste only once I highlight a text this button will search the net for highlighted text not sure if it’s possible to do from office app as well.
8) Now this is a tricky one, is it possible to automate the nav bar buttons, so if I had 10 or more buttons in total, they can’t fit the screen obviously, os once I open a certain app, the nav bar would move left or right depending on my app, so lets say I open an office app, the cut/paste /undo are automatically in front of me, if I open a excel then the arrow keys are in front……and so on
9) Is it also possible to remap volume keys in certain apps, so lets say I open excel, I have space in my nav bar only for 4 arrow keys, so in this case the volume buttons would become copy/paste.
If some could list the ROM, which launcher, specific modules, specific takser plug ins that could accomplish this or some things, well in an optimized way so I’m not running 15 apps for each request, then I will research each one individually.
Sorry for the long post.
Cheers
I have honestly never heard of such things...
And I think (having owned a Note 3 and now a Nexus 5) that the closest you can ever get to such multitasking experience is to own a Galaxy Note 4, with all the S-Pen functionality that's been added so that it'll work like a mouse on a computer. I know this may not add a lot to your cause; it's just what my knowledge offers.
Well for a newbie the confusion comes to me from not understanding the fundamentals of the android, what things are in the core and what things are on top as a layer? So for example if there is a back button on most phones that’s a fundamental core feature, does that mean it will be easy to add a forward button, so this way I’m compromising on my number 4) request and trying to go more a long the lines of android fundamentals.
As for the note 4 if it does add some mouse like functionality it’s only 50% since some things are faster via keyboard shortcuts rather then a mouse.
The problem I see is too many menus, so you select a text even with an s pen you must open a menu then select a copy, then open another app where you want to paste it in a specific location first you must zoom in that means turn the pen away and zoom then turn the pen towards another menu to open so you can select paste… The pen only has one or two buttons so if it has the zoom buttons I can’t paste quickly with a pen, if it has the paste buttons then I need to use my fingers to zoom in again turning my hand back and forth
way too many menus and not very productive way of working in trying to accomplish a small task of coping a text in one app and pasting in another in specific location. As you can see I’m trying to combine both mouse and keyboard shortcuts into one nav bar button this is to overcome the shortcomings of a small size screen and lack of keyboard and mouse of course.
I realize maybe the whole goal of android was never geared towards my way of thinking, but if it’s open source platform and as I see it there are many things that can be changed compared to a more closed system, it’s how difficult to do it only a programmer will understand, a I’m not a programmer. So I’m here trying to get some answers.
Cheers
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:
Table of Contents
Preface
Requirements
Difficulty
How it works!
Uses
Autorun
Demo, screenshots, TaskerNet & project backup
Tips
Why not those easy to use apps from PlayStore?
End note.
1. PrefaceBefore getting my hands on Pixel 6, I was using a Samsung Galaxy S8 running on an Android 10 custom ROM. Samsung provides an advanced, and very useful app called Good Lock, in which the "One Hand Operation +" feature helps us to set up upto freaking 36 number of swipe gesture shortcuts, from the left and right (top, center and bottom) sides of the screen, irrespective of which screen or app is currently active on the screen.
The only thing that I was sure about missing in Pixel 6 was this swipe gestures. That's why I did my research even before receiving my Pixel. Now I've successfully implemented a replica of the Samsung's swipe gesture into my Google Pixel.
These gestures makes it very easy to use this big and heavy smartphone.
This gesture setup made it easy for me to pull up my Control Panel created in Tasker, whenever I need, irrespective of which app or screen I'm in.
2. Requirements
Tasker
Tasker terms to understand (Only for those who are new to Tasker)
TASK : An action or set of actions which will be later run by Tasker by itself, when defined conditions are met. Can also be run manually via the Tasker app.
Examples: Launch an app, change ringer volume, toggle WiFI, disable auto rotation etc.
PROJECT : An individual Tasker set up, where we define the conditions to meet, and the tasks to be performed when the defined conditions are met.
Example 1: A profile which automatically enables the auto-rotation (task), when YouTube is opened (condition), and disables auto-rotation when you leave YouTube.
Example 2: A profile which automatically enables mobile data (task), when your device is connected to your car WiFi (condition) or Android Auto.
SCENE : A visible, or invisible shape which will be displayed on the screen, and can be configured to respond to a swipe, tap or long tap on it, and then accordingly perform a pre-defined task. A scene can only be enabled (show) and disabled (destroy) through a task or a project.
Example 1: A visible button that can be displayed on the screen, or an invisible location on the screen, which disables WiFi when we long tap on it.
Example 2: A visible button that can be displayed on the screen, or an invisible location on the screen, which opens recent apps list when we swipe on it.
"If" variables to be used in scenes for assigning shortcuts, to each combination of a swipe length and a swipe direction:
%stroke_len : Defines the length of the swipe in pixels.
%stroke_dir : Defines the direction of the swipe. (Read How It Works! section)
Actions that can be performed on a scene:
Tap: A single touch ON the scene.
Long tap: Single touch & holding, ON the scene.
Stroke: A regular swipe started FROM the scene, and ended anywhere on the screen.
Don't get confused, there are NO different swipe types like long swipe, or short swipe in Tasker by default. For this project, we can mention a swipe with %stroke_len more than a user specified number as a long swipe, and a swipe shorter than that as a short swipe.
3. DifficultyYou only need to know the basics of Tasker app and scenes. If you are okay with creating, editing, showing and destroying scenes, then it's just a cakewalk.
You just need to create scenes wherever you want, then inside the tap, or long tap, or stroke tabs of your scene, add the if statements with any one of %stroke_len > or %stroke_len <, AND, %stroke_dir ~ as two conditions, and then your desired set of actions inside each if statement, between If and EndIf. (Refer Demo, Screenshots & Project Backup section)
If you are not comfortable with creating, editing, showing and destroying scenes, it will take maximum 1-2 hours to understand the same.
It is time consuming, only during the initial setup from the scratch.
After that, it is editing or adding conditions and shortcuts, again, it's just a cakewalk.
4. How it works!Using the scenes inside Tasker, we are setting up three different areas on the screen, which are, top (horizontal), left and right (vertical). Inside each scene, we can make small multiple shapes, where we can add different tasks to each portion, when we do a swipe, tap or long tap on it.
When it comes to swipe, we can define the swipe length (using %stroke_len) and the swipe direction (using %stroke_dir), where we can assign different tasks to each conditions, which are made with a pair of a swipe length and a swipe direction.
What is more interesting is that the swipe directions can be any of vertical or horizontal directions like Up, Down, Left, or Right, and also diagonal directions like UpLeft, UpRight, DownLeft and DownRight. (But try not to use vertical and diagonal directions together at a single location, as it might bring conflicts and may end up giving you wrong response because of failing to read your swipe correctly).
These gestures are NOT restricted to homescreen, but works irrespective of which screen or app is currently active on the screen (Exception: To make scenes work in Settings app, you need to Allow Screen Overlays in Settings through developer options).
5. UsesFor instance, a task (set of actions) can be assigned into a swipe gesture like short swipe to UpLeft direction, and another task to another swipe long swipe to UpRight direction, etc.
Examples:
Short swipe from left center edge in UpRight direction, opens YouTube.
Short swipe from right center edge in DownLeft direction, jump to last app.
Long tap on the top middle (1st scene) of the screen, toggles WiFi.
Long tap on the top middle (2nd scene) of the screen, toggles mobile data.
Long swipe from right top edge in Up direction, takes a screenshot.
Long swipe from right bottom edge in Down direction, kill foreground app.
6. AutorunYou can assign the same task (which is set up to show the scene), to a new profile which gets triggered on the device boot. This will make these swipe gestures enable automatically few seconds (or so) after booting your smartphone.
However, you can always open the task inside Tasker app, and click on the play button (⏵) to run the task manually, which will show the scene (or enable the swipe gestures).
Since I'm using Nova Launcher, I also added the same task to a Nova's homescreen gesture, so that I can easily restart this swipe gesture from homescreen itself, whenever required, or just after editing the scene via Tasker. This is very helpful because whenever we edit a scene via Tasker, the scene will get automatically destroyed. So every time you modify a scene, we have to manually re-enable it.
7. Demo, screenshots, TaskerNet & project backup
Demo:
Google Pixel: In this screenshot, I have mentioned all of the possibilities we have for the Pixel 6, which doesn't get into conflict with the existing system gestures provided by Google.
Others: I suggest using these kind of directions in other android devices which doesn't have native gestures like left swipe from the right edge, and right swipe from the left side edge.
Screenshots: This is the screen where we edit or add set of tasks to be performed, using if statements with conditions %stroke_len > (or %stroke_len <), AND %stroke_dir ~.
TaskerNet: Projects for Pixel 6 and Galaxy S8.
Project Backup: To start with setting up this project, if you want, you can also refer to these regularly updated backup of my setup where I included all the scenes, required task to activate the scene, and the project to autorun this setup on device boot. The folder includes files for both Galaxy S8 and Google Pixel 6. (You can refer here for assistance on how to import task and scene into your Tasker)
8. Tips
If your device (like Google Pixel) already got a native swipe gesture like left swipe from the right screen edge, and right swipe from the left screen side edge, you should not create a similar gesture via Tasker, which will conflict with your existing system gestures.
Swipe direction Down from a top horizontal scene might also end up in issues since most of the Android devices natively use the same gesture to pull down notification panel.
Try not to use vertical directions and diagonal directions together. For example, in right side, don't use Up or Down series AND UpLeft, DownLeft series together. Both these series at a single location might bring conflicts and it may end up giving you wrong response because of failing to read your swipe correctly.
Try not to avoid using tap. Instead, use long tap, to avoid accidental touches.
Always keep the size of the scenes thin, because these scene are blocking scenes which makes area behind it untouchable. So anything below the scene is, impossible to touch. (Refer tip number 8 along with this)
Always re-activate (show) the scene after making any changes, because making changes disables (destroy) the scene.
Assign the (scene enabling) task to any swipe gestures of your launcher (if any) to make restarting the gesture easy. However, you can always open the task inside Tasker app, and click on the play button (⏵) to run the task manually.
This is a workaround to make these blocking scenes hide temporarily so that we can touch whatever was behind the scene. (Thanks to user ActivateGuacamole for this idea)
Few other valuable tips for choosing the right swipe length for tasks considering their frequency of usage. (Thanks to user ActivateGuacamole for this idea)
9. Why not those easy to use apps from PlayStore?
Because Tasker is powerful. Period.
I have tried few popular gesture setting apps but I always came back to Tasker itself because of the level of control, and customization we have here. Tasker can do impressive automations, which can also be implemented into this swipe gestures, something that can't be achieved with other easy to use and ready-made gesture apps.
With this method, I can add a set of actions (not just one single action), one by one, to be performed, into one single gesture. So if I wanted to do a swipe on the screen, and then another direction swipe, and then a click on a specific area, all these automatically, I can easily do with Tasker.
Examples:
Kill and remove foreground app from recent: You can watch this screen record video which shows my simple swipe gesture running the task where Tasker automates actions (a) open recent apps list, (b) a swipe action to swipe away the app, and (c) another swipe action to go to home screen. All this within a fraction of second. Impressive. isn't it?
Clear all recent apps: In Pixel 6, clear all button is placed at the end of the list. But watch this one, a simple gesture is enough. Tasker will take care of the rest. Again, Impressive. Isn't it?
For implementing such complicated automations, advanced settings and toggling, into a swipe gesture, Tasker is the best solution.
10. End note.It took days of questions, answers, trail and errors to first understand, and then to make this thing work flawless. Me and my couple of friends really find this useful in our smartphones, so I decided to share it with you also. If you find this useful for you, go ahead. And if you think this is not worth the time and effort required, you can kindly ignore.
I, a noob, wouldn't have made this possible without receiving a help from another person. So, a big thanks to u/adbenj for the initial guide and idea.
Always remember that there is nothing in the world like suitable for everyone, so stick to whatever is suitable for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
.
UPDATE 1: Added TaskerNet in section "7. Demo, screenshots, TaskerNet & project backup".
Awesome information and Guide!
Thank you for taking the time to put all of this together from the Taker files themselves and then a complete and detailed write up!
.
coffee-turtle said:
Awesome information and Guide!
Thank you for taking the time to put all of this together from the Taker files themselves and then a complete and detailed write up!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know this is not something that everyone considers worthy, because of the time and effort required for the initial setup. Most of the people might go with those free ready to use applications from Play Store. But I thought at least Tasker uses might consider this useful because they are already using the Tasker and automating lot of things like a power user, or a techie (like I pretend )
I did enjoy the whole process from research, trial & error, finishing and finally this write up.
Anyway, thanks for the nice words. It took half a day to finish this write up, after numerous editing formatting and reformatting.
Happy to know that the time that I spent for this write up didn't get wasted by mere replies like "not worthy".
Thanks
Actually, now I am replacing some apps! Tasker is great and nice to have everything under one roof with greater customizing! You should also post this on Joas main Tasker Reddit forum and consider adding the demos to TaskerNet. Not only will this get greater visibility, but a lot of action happens there especially when Joas comes up with new updates. One of his last videos really highlighted scenes because he made them even able to appear on the lock screen, navigation bar, and status bar. This will even add more power to what you present here.
Not everyone explains in such detail as you did here and you've inspired some ideas to make using my phone even easier.
Keep up your good work!
coffee-turtle said:
Not everyone explains in such detail as you did here and you've inspired some ideas to make using my phone even easier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For the past 3 moths, I explained this briefly to many people in Reddit via comments. So I already know what all questions may pop up when explaining this, which helped me to make this final post very detailed.
consider adding the demos to TaskerNet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The thing is, I don't think there is a way to share the scenes via TaskerNet URLs. Only project and task can be shared via that. That's why I exported the project, required tasks and scenes, and uploaded to a shared Google Drive folder.
Will do post in Tasker subreddit also.
Anyway, thank you for your kind words
coffee-turtle said:
...and consider adding the demos to TaskerNet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi.
To be honest, today only I learned how to move (rather than exporting, deleting & importing) a profile, task and relevant scenes into a new project.
So finally I updated the post with TaskerNet links in section "7. Demo, screenshots, TaskerNet & project backup"
Great work Thanks!
ShebeerPrince said:
Table of Contents
Preface
Requirements
Difficulty
How it works!
Uses
Autorun
Demo, screenshots, TaskerNet & project backup
Tips
Why not those easy to use apps from PlayStore?
End note.
1. PrefaceBefore getting my hands on Pixel 6, I was using a Samsung Galaxy S8 running on an Android 10 custom ROM. Samsung provides an advanced, and very useful app called Good Lock, in which the "One Hand Operation +" feature helps us to set up upto freaking 36 number of swipe gesture shortcuts, from the left and right (top, center and bottom) sides of the screen, irrespective of which screen or app is currently active on the screen.
The only thing that I was sure about missing in Pixel 6 was this swipe gestures. That's why I did my research even before receiving my Pixel. Now I've successfully implemented a replica of the Samsung's swipe gesture into my Google Pixel.
These gestures makes it very easy to use this big and heavy smartphone.
This gesture setup made it easy for me to pull up my Control Panel created in Tasker, whenever I need, irrespective of which app or screen I'm in.
2. Requirements
Tasker
Tasker terms to understand (Only for those who are new to Tasker)
TASK : An action or set of actions which will be later run by Tasker by itself, when defined conditions are met. Can also be run manually via the Tasker app.
Examples: Launch an app, change ringer volume, toggle WiFI, disable auto rotation etc.
PROJECT : An individual Tasker set up, where we define the conditions to meet, and the tasks to be performed when the defined conditions are met.
Example 1: A profile which automatically enables the auto-rotation (task), when YouTube is opened (condition), and disables auto-rotation when you leave YouTube.
Example 2: A profile which automatically enables mobile data (task), when your device is connected to your car WiFi (condition) or Android Auto.
SCENE : A visible, or invisible shape which will be displayed on the screen, and can be configured to respond to a swipe, tap or long tap on it, and then accordingly perform a pre-defined task. A scene can only be enabled (show) and disabled (destroy) through a task or a project.
Example 1: A visible button that can be displayed on the screen, or an invisible location on the screen, which disables WiFi when we long tap on it.
Example 2: A visible button that can be displayed on the screen, or an invisible location on the screen, which opens recent apps list when we swipe on it.
"If" variables to be used in scenes for assigning shortcuts, to each combination of a swipe length and a swipe direction:
%stroke_len : Defines the length of the swipe in pixels.
%stroke_dir : Defines the direction of the swipe. (Read How It Works! section)
Actions that can be performed on a scene:
Tap: A single touch ON the scene.
Long tap: Single touch & holding, ON the scene.
Stroke: A regular swipe started FROM the scene, and ended anywhere on the screen.
Don't get confused, there are NO different swipe types like long swipe, or short swipe in Tasker by default. For this project, we can mention a swipe with %stroke_len more than a user specified number as a long swipe, and a swipe shorter than that as a short swipe.
3. DifficultyYou only need to know the basics of Tasker app and scenes. If you are okay with creating, editing, showing and destroying scenes, then it's just a cakewalk.
You just need to create scenes wherever you want, then inside the tap, or long tap, or stroke tabs of your scene, add the if statements with any one of %stroke_len > or %stroke_len <, AND, %stroke_dir ~ as two conditions, and then your desired set of actions inside each if statement, between If and EndIf. (Refer Demo, Screenshots & Project Backup section)
If you are not comfortable with creating, editing, showing and destroying scenes, it will take maximum 1-2 hours to understand the same.
It is time consuming, only during the initial setup from the scratch.
After that, it is editing or adding conditions and shortcuts, again, it's just a cakewalk.
4. How it works!Using the scenes inside Tasker, we are setting up three different areas on the screen, which are, top (horizontal), left and right (vertical). Inside each scene, we can make small multiple shapes, where we can add different tasks to each portion, when we do a swipe, tap or long tap on it.
When it comes to swipe, we can define the swipe length (using %stroke_len) and the swipe direction (using %stroke_dir), where we can assign different tasks to each conditions, which are made with a pair of a swipe length and a swipe direction.
What is more interesting is that the swipe directions can be any of vertical or horizontal directions like Up, Down, Left, or Right, and also diagonal directions like UpLeft, UpRight, DownLeft and DownRight. (But try not to use vertical and diagonal directions together at a single location, as it might bring conflicts and may end up giving you wrong response because of failing to read your swipe correctly).
These gestures are NOT restricted to homescreen, but works irrespective of which screen or app is currently active on the screen (Exception: To make scenes work in Settings app, you need to Allow Screen Overlays in Settings through developer options).
5. UsesFor instance, a task (set of actions) can be assigned into a swipe gesture like short swipe to UpLeft direction, and another task to another swipe long swipe to UpRight direction, etc.
Examples:
Short swipe from left center edge in UpRight direction, opens YouTube.
Short swipe from right center edge in DownLeft direction, jump to last app.
Long tap on the top middle (1st scene) of the screen, toggles WiFi.
Long tap on the top middle (2nd scene) of the screen, toggles mobile data.
Long swipe from right top edge in Up direction, takes a screenshot.
Long swipe from right bottom edge in Down direction, kill foreground app.
6. AutorunYou can assign the same task (which is set up to show the scene), to a new profile which gets triggered on the device boot. This will make these swipe gestures enable automatically few seconds (or so) after booting your smartphone.
However, you can always open the task inside Tasker app, and click on the play button (⏵) to run the task manually, which will show the scene (or enable the swipe gestures).
Since I'm using Nova Launcher, I also added the same task to a Nova's homescreen gesture, so that I can easily restart this swipe gesture from homescreen itself, whenever required, or just after editing the scene via Tasker. This is very helpful because whenever we edit a scene via Tasker, the scene will get automatically destroyed. So every time you modify a scene, we have to manually re-enable it.
7. Demo, screenshots, TaskerNet & project backup
Demo:
Google Pixel: In this screenshot, I have mentioned all of the possibilities we have for the Pixel 6, which doesn't get into conflict with the existing system gestures provided by Google.
Others: I suggest using these kind of directions in other android devices which doesn't have native gestures like left swipe from the right edge, and right swipe from the left side edge.
Screenshots: This is the screen where we edit or add set of tasks to be performed, using if statements with conditions %stroke_len > (or %stroke_len <), AND %stroke_dir ~.
TaskerNet: Projects for Pixel 6 and Galaxy S8.
Project Backup: To start with setting up this project, if you want, you can also refer to these regularly updated backup of my setup where I included all the scenes, required task to activate the scene, and the project to autorun this setup on device boot. The folder includes files for both Galaxy S8 and Google Pixel 6. (You can refer here for assistance on how to import task and scene into your Tasker)
8. Tips
If your device (like Google Pixel) already got a native swipe gesture like left swipe from the right screen edge, and right swipe from the left screen side edge, you should not create a similar gesture via Tasker, which will conflict with your existing system gestures.
Swipe direction Down from a top horizontal scene might also end up in issues since most of the Android devices natively use the same gesture to pull down notification panel.
Try not to use vertical directions and diagonal directions together. For example, in right side, don't use Up or Down series AND UpLeft, DownLeft series together. Both these series at a single location might bring conflicts and it may end up giving you wrong response because of failing to read your swipe correctly.
Try not to avoid using tap. Instead, use long tap, to avoid accidental touches.
Always keep the size of the scenes thin, because these scene are blocking scenes which makes area behind it untouchable. So anything below the scene is, impossible to touch. (Refer tip number 8 along with this)
Always re-activate (show) the scene after making any changes, because making changes disables (destroy) the scene.
Assign the (scene enabling) task to any swipe gestures of your launcher (if any) to make restarting the gesture easy. However, you can always open the task inside Tasker app, and click on the play button (⏵) to run the task manually.
This is a workaround to make these blocking scenes hide temporarily so that we can touch whatever was behind the scene. (Thanks to user ActivateGuacamole for this idea)
Few other valuable tips for choosing the right swipe length for tasks considering their frequency of usage. (Thanks to user ActivateGuacamole for this idea)
9. Why not those easy to use apps from PlayStore?
Because Tasker is powerful. Period.
I have tried few popular gesture setting apps but I always came back to Tasker itself because of the level of control, and customization we have here. Tasker can do impressive automations, which can also be implemented into this swipe gestures, something that can't be achieved with other easy to use and ready-made gesture apps.
With this method, I can add a set of actions (not just one single action), one by one, to be performed, into one single gesture. So if I wanted to do a swipe on the screen, and then another direction swipe, and then a click on a specific area, all these automatically, I can easily do with Tasker.
Examples:
Kill and remove foreground app from recent: You can watch this screen record video which shows my simple swipe gesture running the task where Tasker automates actions (a) open recent apps list, (b) a swipe action to swipe away the app, and (c) another swipe action to go to home screen. All this within a fraction of second. Impressive. isn't it?
Clear all recent apps: In Pixel 6, clear all button is placed at the end of the list. But watch this one, a simple gesture is enough. Tasker will take care of the rest. Again, Impressive. Isn't it?
For implementing such complicated automations, advanced settings and toggling, into a swipe gesture, Tasker is the best solution.
10. End note.It took days of questions, answers, trail and errors to first understand, and then to make this thing work flawless. Me and my couple of friends really find this useful in our smartphones, so I decided to share it with you also. If you find this useful for you, go ahead. And if you think this is not worth the time and effort required, you can kindly ignore.
I, a noob, wouldn't have made this possible without receiving a help from another person. So, a big thanks to u/adbenj for the initial guide and idea.
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UPDATE 1: Added TaskerNet in section "7. Demo, screenshots, TaskerNet & project backup".
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hey so i want to know how much extra battery this costs running.
And also i want to make some sort of simillar gesture swipe thing. i am wondering if via tasker i could do the following: keeping the regular side swipe horizontal to be back, and long swipe for previous app. but then also having the side gest. to be an app shortcut based on the current app running. so maybe like when youtube is running i can swipe up to open notes and write something down and then via previous app i am back to youtube. but when i am on the work app i can vertically swipe to bring the time tracker app. or a swipe down for the google maps route to home. etc. etc.
how would i manage to do this?
I am using a poco f2 pro if that matters and not rooted.