Hello,
Does anyone know how to create a shortcut to a file on the Android home screen?
Basically, there are several pictures/maps that I refer to and I would like to be able to click on an icon on the home screen that would open up a certain program and load the picture.
I haven't been able to find any apps. I'm using the File Manager app but that will only create shortcuts to folders. In surfing the web, it appears there use to be an app called Any Cut which allowed you to create shortcuts but it's no longer available.
Thanks for any assistance.
+1
any help here looking for the same thing for my atrix. I want to directly open either an excel file or a pdf
Use Astro file manager or EStrongs File Explorer. I believe they both allow that feature. You can't set it directly from Android launcher.
LauncherPro
LauncherPro supports this feature, if you're willing to change your launcher. Not sure about ADW Launcher, but from what I've heard has many of the same features as LauncherPro.
Related
Hey guys,
I've just installed some great emulators, Gameboid, Gensoid, Nesoid and Snesoid which I am REALLY Impressed on.
I was just woundering if it is possible to for example, make a folder on the home screen called "Games" and have "Donkey Kong Country" in there for when I open it it launches the Snesoid app and loads the DKC rom?
I hope you understand what I'm on about, am not very good at explaining things LOL
I don't know much about how Better Cut works, but I'd assume if you can find the activity call you should be able to launch a rom from it. Google around?
Sounds like something you'd have to pester the developer about.
the emeulator does not seem to have a file type assoication set up. many apps have one set up so if you install the app, then open associated file in astro(file manager) it will give you the option to open it with that app. if that works you can use astro to make a shortcut to the file on the desktop and open it from there, but these emulators dont seem to have file associations. ask the devloper, he is constantly updating so im shure he would be willing to do it
I have had an android phone for about a month and continue to find new ways of doing things...
Not sure if you were aware of this...
If you have LauncherPro, there is a shortcut menu option called "Activities" that will display and let you create a shortcut icon from items inside programs and SETTINGS.
That means, you can create an icon for MobileAP, Wifi selection,VPN, etc.
Using this one step further, you could add these shortcuts into FolderOrganizerLabels and display a label(folder) on your home screen(s).
I am stoked now because I can get to so many settings individually without having to do the extra 5 steps to get there.
I am super stoked as well because I created a folder specifically for BTEP ssh client shortcuts to access my firewalls, servers and switches.
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I know the last few builds of Launcherpro have been bogged down due to new widgets (twitter). But I don't think i can get any happier.... well unless samsung fixes my gps!
Krad said:
I have had an android phone for about a month and continue to find new ways of doing things...
Not sure if you were aware of this...
If you have LauncherPro, there is a shortcut menu option called "Activities" that will display and let you create a shortcut icon from items inside programs and SETTINGS.
That means, you can create an icon for MobileAP, Wifi selection,VPN, etc.
Using this one step further, you could add these shortcuts into FolderOrganizerLabels and display a label(folder) on your home screen(s).
I am stoked now because I can get to so many settings individually without having to do the extra 5 steps to get there.
I am super stoked as well because I created a folder specifically for BTEP ssh client shortcuts to access my firewalls, servers and switches.
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I know the last few builds of Launcherpro have been bogged down due to new widgets (twitter). But I don't think i can get any happier.... well unless samsung fixes my gps!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, the activities shortcuts are nice... I was able to create one to the GPS Service menu as well,so I can jump right in and do a GPS Test and/or clear out the GPS data very easily. I have found that whenever my GPS hangs, clearing out the data does seem to help and this makes it super-easy (no need to dial the number!)
Also, like you, I used this feature to create a shortcut to "MobileAP" ... very nice!
jsmith8858 said:
Also, like you, I used this feature to create a shortcut to "MobileAP" ... very nice!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you do that? Never mind. I figured it out. I needed a little patience for the screen to arrive.
I too love LauncherPro Plus. I use Smart Shortcuts to put apps in folders on the desktop. You can apply any icon you want. It also handles folders for bookmarks and contacts. I'll check out FolderOrganizer as well.
Thanks!
I believe ADW Launcher has the same feature. You just need to choose "Custom Shortcut" instead of "Shortcut" and it will allow you to choose your activity. Haven't played with it much, but was curious about what it did so tried to create my own shortcut. Worth some more investigation, certainly.
jsmith8858 said:
I was able to create one to the GPS Service menu as well,so I can jump right in and do a GPS Test and/or clear out the GPS data very easily.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not wanting to cry wolf, but can you describe how you did this? I looked at the scripts menu, but it seems to want a script that has already been written.
thanks so much for posting this. i was trying to figure out how to create a link to my call log on the home screen, now there is one with launcherpro.
mrschwarz said:
Not wanting to cry wolf, but can you describe how you did this? I looked at the scripts menu, but it seems to want a script that has already been written.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi -- no script is needed, you just add an activity shortcut.
i am dropping folderorganizer.. it is getting way to slow. Trying smart shortcuts now.
Only thing keeping me from using the stock browser is not being able to get my bookmarks as my homepage
Any way for this to be done?
Run a script or set homepage and put the file path to the bookmarks instead of a url?
looked on google and everywhere and seems no way for this to be done on stock browser.
Figure some type of workaround for this should be available by now.
fidorulz said:
Only thing keeping me from using the stock browser is not being able to get my bookmarks as my homepage
Any way for this to be done?
Run a script or set homepage and put the file path to the bookmarks instead of a url?
looked on google and everywhere and seems no way for this to be done on stock browser.
Figure some type of workaround for this should be available by now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This will probably get moved to q&a or somewhere other then android development.
If you have cyanogenmod 6/adw you can do this easily.
long press blank spot on one of your screens,
click custom shortcut,
click pick your activity,
click Activities,
click Browser,
Click Bookmarks(CombinedBookmarkHistoryActivity).
Enjoy your new shortcut to bookmarks. Alternatively you could use anycut/bettercut to launch this specific activity.
gIMpSTa said:
This will probably get moved to q&a or somewhere other then android development.
If you have cyanogenmod 6/adw you can do this easily.
long press blank spot on one of your screens,
click custom shortcut,
click pick your activity,
click Activities,
click Browser,
Click Bookmarks(CombinedBookmarkHistoryActivity).
Enjoy your new shortcut to bookmarks. Alternatively you could use anycut/bettercut to launch this specific activity.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry if this wasn't in the right forum but reason I posted it in development is I actually want to change the browser homepage to the bookmarks in the actual browser app and not simply put a shortcut to the bookmarks which current isnt an open with the stock app.
Reason for this is many times when I use my browser (dolphin currently) ill open multiple tabs (windows whatever you want to call it) strait from my bookmarks
So for example at the homepage(aka bookmarks) I long press on a page and open in background
I do this for maybe 7 pages thus they are loading at the same time and I can do what I need
With the current config with every new window I open the original window goes back to the homepage thus I have to re-select to access my bookmarks instead of the bookmarks page simply staying put
I know this isnt a big deal but it would save me at least 1 extra click per page I want to open doing this so it can add up over time
Don't know if this would be desirable to many, but with launcher pro you can set the swipe-up activity to pop up your bookmarks. So on my launcher I can start the browser normally or swipe-up and select the bookmark I want to access directly.
poorboy168 said:
Don't know if this would be desirable to many, but with launcher pro you can set the swipe-up activity to pop up your bookmarks. So on my launcher I can start the browser normally or swipe-up and select the bookmark I want to access directly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info but still simply a work around. Im sure im not the only one who would want this
many other browsers allow this such as opera (even if limited to 9) or xscope and even miui browser
Also chrome on my computer shows by default the most visited sites when opening a new tab which is almost the same thing
Hi,
Is there a way to create an SMB connection to a shared windows folder and create a permanent map to say a virtual folder on the sdcard that can be accessed from within other apps?
I'd like to be able to access a windows shared folder from within other apps, specifically office apps (quick office, office pro) rather than having to use ES File explorer or the like to access the files first.
I've used google docs via the office apps which is great, but need to find a way to access local network files on a per user (login) basis for apps.
Thanks
The only thing I have found that works OK is CIFsManager.
It is a pain to launch on VEGAn 5.1 beta (I can't launch it from the app drawer, I have to go into Market or Titanium Backup to start it), but it works to map drives over so my multi-terabyte store of video and music files on my home server are "local" files.
The app mounts the shares under /mnt/cifs/<share-name> by default, but you can mount them anywhere I think. If you are not using VEGAn 5.1 beta, make sure your ROM has cifs.ko capability (can probably check the release notes for whatever ROM you are using). If you are using the stock TnT, I am not sure if CIFsManager will work, but it might work with one of the enhancement packs for the stock image.
If you hve questions you can PM me or just post back. I'll check the thread again later today.
Weird....I use VEGAn 5.1 beta and have no problems launching CIFsManager from the app drawer or the shortcut on the homescreen.
huntar said:
The only thing I have found that works OK is CIFsManager.
It is a pain to launch on VEGAn 5.1 beta (I can't launch it from the app drawer, I have to go into Market or Titanium Backup to start it), but it works to map drives over so my multi-terabyte store of video and music files on my home server are "local" files.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks Huntar,
Works a treat, although I do get the same issue you report, unable to launch from the app drawer, have to launch from the Market. Be interesting to get to the bottom of that (i'm running vegan 5.1 beta also)
Now I need the next step, which is to provide a simple interface to get users to 'login' to their shared folders then 'logout' once finished. It's a multi user per device scenario, thus need the ability to have dynamic mapping per user...
Any ideas or developers willing to write something? Can be paid development if anyone is interested....?
Nik
That is definitely a lot of heavy lifting if the device is used my multiple people with different access rights. My scenario is simple as everyone has full access to the media server.
I don't understand the launch issue, I have uninstalled and reinstalled, tried different things, but can't get it to launch from the app drawer or a shortcut.
Good luck, I'm sure that someone here (I'm NOT a programmer) can whip up something to script out the drive mappings. You might try a more general Android development thread elsewhere on XDA, you might have better chance of finding that programmer.
You might look at Mount Manager also... seems like it might work better, as it can mount shares based on location and task (with the paid license) triggers. I just found it in the Market while I was twiddling with the CIFsManager install. I might try it myself as CIFsManager is tedious even for me.
Permission Denied
I don't mind the launch from Market (as I have the same issue, tnt lite 3.1.4, with clemsyn #77 kernel). I put in the address and share name, which I can log into my router and pull all that info as the hard drive is connected to my router, and when I try to mount I get Permission Denied?? Thoughts?
msieg080 said:
I don't mind the launch from Market (as I have the same issue, tnt lite 3.1.4, with clemsyn #77 kernel). I put in the address and share name, which I can log into my router and pull all that info as the hard drive is connected to my router, and when I try to mount I get Permission Denied?? Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any help on getting this working? I too have the marketplace launch issue (not a big deal) but eveytime I try to mount I get a no such file or directory error. I am used to CIFS in Windows so what am I missing?
Thanks!
huntar said:
You might look at Mount Manager also... seems like it might work better, as it can mount shares based on location and task (with the paid license) triggers. I just found it in the Market while I was twiddling with the CIFsManager install. I might try it myself as CIFsManager is tedious even for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bought it and like it so far - works better then CIFsManager but then you get what you pay for - you hope.
I installed two free apps - "es file explorer" and "androexplorer", interesting enough I had to leave user name and password blank, but then I was able to get my network drives!!! Works great!
I am trying to get mountmanager to work, but it is FC every time and seems like it will not load the module. CIFSmanger works, but I can't get mount manager to do anything but crash
TNT 4.2.3- Clemsyn Kernel
Not sure what happened, but it's running now. Some crashes but it would not even run before.
I know this topic is discussed on one or two threads, but they're pretty complex and with one, you need to download an APK Manager tool, which actually wants you to download a torrent downloader first - and my browser says its all virus-ware - and the other was an app called NinjaMorph, gotten off the Play Store (for $5), which looked promising and looked like it was going to work, but when I saved the "project", which recreates the .apk file for the app I want to replace the icon in with a hi-res version, there are no errors, but the .apk file is nowhere to be found, and the icon/app disappears from the app drawer. Going back into Ninjamorph, it still thinks everything is cool. I can open the "existing project" and all that.
So... does ANYONE have a way to simply and easily replace the small icon with a hi-res one? I sent an email to the developer of Ninjamorph, but he didn't respond. Could be a wasted $5.
Thanks!!
Eric
APK Icon Editor
There is a free tool to change app icons: APK Icon Editor
Kindle Fire devices are supported.