Hey all,
Is it at all possible to customize what icons/apps show up in the menu when you press the "n" button? I'm rooted at 1.4.0.
Thanks!
Sent from my Nook Tablet using (((sonicboom)))
There was some talk about this in the apps section about a month ago, but no one ever figured it out as far as I recall.
Sent from my BNTV250 using Tapatalk
Torrential91 said:
[...] Is it at all possible to customize what icons/apps show up in the menu when you press the "n" button? I'm rooted at 1.4.0.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you mean the bar of B&N shortcuts that appears, or what appears in the B&N apps list reached after you press the 'n' button?
If you want to customize the apps that appear in the B&N interface, download Nook Color App Manager from the Android Market. Once you've downloaded it, run it and add it to the B&N app list by long-pressing the icon. Once you've done that, you can selectively add and remove 3rd party apps from the B&N screens.
One downside that appears to be a limitation of the B&N software is that any apps you add will continue to appear in the Today bar at the bottom of the screen. You can either drag them to one of the 3 home screens to keep them all corralled together, or move them to the right of the Today bar more-or-less out of constant view.
I've done this on both NC devices running 1.4.1 and NT running 1.4.0. Assuming you can still access the Market, it should still work on NT 1.4.1.
If you want to customize the actual B&N bar of shortcuts, I'm not aware of any way of doing that.
bobstro said:
Do you mean the bar of B&N shortcuts that appears, or what appears in the B&N apps list reached after you press the 'n' button?
If you want to customize the apps that appear in the B&N interface, download Nook Color App Manager from the Android Market. Once you've downloaded it, run it and add it to the B&N app list by long-pressing the icon. Once you've done that, you can selectively add and remove 3rd party apps from the B&N screens.
One downside that appears to be a limitation of the B&N software is that any apps you add will continue to appear in the Today bar at the bottom of the screen. You can either drag them to one of the 3 home screens to keep them all corralled together, or move them to the right of the Today bar more-or-less out of constant view.
I've done this on both NC devices running 1.4.1 and NT running 1.4.0. Assuming you can still access the Market, it should still work on NT 1.4.1.
If you want to customize the actual B&N bar of shortcuts, I'm not aware of any way of doing that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did that before I was rooted, but no, that's not what I'm talking about. I mean the actual menu that pops up when you press the "n" button (I.e. Home, Library, Shop, Search, etc.).
Sent from my Nook Tablet using (((sonicboom)))
Related
SoftKeys provides on screen keys for menu/home/back/search for devices that don't have those keys in hardware.
SoftKeys is also available in the Android Market
If you want to make themes for SoftKeys you will need the tools to build apks (eclipse/android sdk/etc) and the template from the git repository.
http://git.hoopajoo.net
Changelog:
2011/01/11 - 3.06 - Fix notification keys, boot straight to launcher on system startup
2011/01/11 - 3.05 - Fix notification softkeys <b>broken release</b>
2011/01/10 - 3.04 - Adds dpad and up to 6 custom keys, ability to put device
to sleep, improved performance for key injection, built in documentation, bugfixes
2010/12/23 - 3.00 - Most of the layout code has been rewritten to allow for theming, couple of bug fixes, SoftKeys is now gpl3
-----
Old Changelog (I'm too lazy to reorder this newest to oldest):
2010/12/04 - 1.01 - added launcher selector and remembers last launcher
2010/12/04 - 1.02 - added themes layouts from nemith, looks more like his screenshots but the spinner text is still black so the launcher chooser is hard to read, hopefully I'll have some time to fiddle with that soon
2010/12/04 - 1.03 - My fingers are too fat, I made everything in to image buttons and moved the launcher config to a prefs screen, if anyone has nicer icons let me know these are repurposed from generic android icons
2010/12/05 - 1.04 - Added alternate long-press soft home key for secondary launcher like if you want to use the built-in nook home, added configurable options for what to do if you tap or double tap the nook button while in the softkeys screen, long press on menu/back sends an extra back to the app before sending the requested button for apps that bring up pause screens or something when you move them to the background (angry birds, etc)
2010/12/05 - 1.05 - Integrated the dark theme from nemith, you can choose it in prefs now. Added options to disable the "exit" and "configure" buttons. If you disable "configure" you can still get to the preferences using the "menu" button in the notification bar (e.g. the normal menu button)
2010/12/05 - 1.06 - fix broken key handling, menu and back didn't work, don't use 1.05
2010/12/06 - 1.07 - add recent applications to top of the screen since we don't have a long-press-home recent apps dialog, looking in to re-ordering the buttons next
2010/12/07 - 1.08 - This release adds options to re-order the softkeys, insert soft keys in to the notification area, disable the recent apps list, long press the background to configure if you lost the configure button, and some options for changing the background to dim/blurred/none (note: the notification soft keys show up in the notification area, not in the main status bar like the nook menu/back, I can't put things there as an application you would need to modify system jars to get this effect)
2010/12/07 - v1.09 - Default to non-blurred background and added note about slowness, added option to return to softkeys after pressing back button
2010/12/08 - v1.10 - Selecting "SoftKeys" for your single-press home action will make it so if you launch softkeys, it will go to the launcher unless you hit home again, e.g. single-press home to go to launcher anywhere, double-press home to go to softkeys
2010/12/13 - v2.00 - This adds a new service overlay that is displayed above all apps allowing softkeys to be sent without having to mess with the home button. Default home key behavior has changed to be single click home from anywhere goes to your default launcher, double click home to get to the old softkeys interface. I'm still fiddling with service panel layouts and ideas so things will probably change, I just wanted to get some testing with something simple.
2010/12/17 - v2.01 - The service panel can now be dragged around the screen, you can change it from horizontal to vertial by long pressing it, you can adjust the transparency of the panel and the icon size, and also control if it closes after sending key events. If you don't want the dialog background on the panel you can disable it to just have floating buttons. NOTE: the signing certificate has changed to a release cert, you will need to uninstall the old softkeys before installing this one
2010/12/17 - v2.02 - Now you can move the button that brings up softkeys service, slightly better handling for switching horizontal/vertical layout by long press
veeerrry nice man!
Thanks! I agree with you - I didn't want to permanently re-assign the volume buttons, as I use them in some apps.
One request, if possible ) - Is there any way to make it go to launcher pro (or whatever you want as default) when pressing "Home" in the app? Right now, it asks me to "Pick Home" every time.
ddenson said:
Thanks! I agree with you - I didn't want to permanently re-assign the volume buttons, as I use them in some apps.
One request, if possible ) - Is there any way to make it go to launcher pro (or whatever you want as default) when pressing "Home" in the app? Right now, it asks me to "Pick Home" every time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never personally use the "home" button, I use the quick drawer thing in the notification bar, so I don't really use a launcher. I could probably quickly add a button just for an alternate home or use last home I guess/choose new home I guess. I'll see what I can do. I've also though about adding arrow soft keys, for using in like connectbot, is there any interest in that?
There are also other minor irritating things, like apps that exit when they are not in focus will not work with this hack. For example, monkey kick (a game my son loves to play) will exit if it's not in focus so it never receives the soft keys. I suppose it doesn't matter though since it doesn't use the screen completely anyway, so he just gets to play on my old g1
bpk said:
I never personally use the "home" button, I use the quick drawer thing in the notification bar, so I don't really use a launcher. I could probably quickly add a button just for an alternate home or use last home I guess/choose new home I guess. I'll see what I can do. I've also though about adding arrow soft keys, for using in like connectbot, is there any interest in that?
There are also other minor irritating things, like apps that exit when they are not in focus will not work with this hack. For example, monkey kick (a game my son loves to play) will exit if it's not in focus so it never receives the soft keys. I suppose it doesn't matter though since it doesn't use the screen completely anyway, so he just gets to play on my old g1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks again. Using the last home would be great, if that's possible. I don't personally have any use for additional buttons, but maybe someone else can comment? Rgds.
Awesome.
Code would be cool it would be nice to have them popup at the bottom of the screen like when you press the menu button in an app.
Also to take a screen shot you hold the 'n' button and tap the Vol - button. If you have as much trouble as I did with this method, you can also install drocap2 (root required) which does nice job.
awesome app. its perfect! great replacement until someone does the sidebar buttons like the ones available for the archos
nice work... now if you can make this pop up on the bottom of the screen with a black background like the archos tablets it would be awesome...
thank you, this is a great work around
I put the source up at
http: // git.hoopajoo.net
(take out the spaces I can't post links apparently)
That page has a list of my public git urls available, the last one is SoftKeys
if anyone wants to check it out, I'm currently looking at remembering the last launcher picked and defaulting to that for people that use launchers.
-- the rest of this is just for people looking in to the source, to provide some background to why I did it this way and alternate ideas I had --
If any devs look at it I thought I'd post some of my reasons for doing it this way:
1) I looked at creating a custom init service bound to a keycode at first, this would have made it so you didn't need superuser but would have required modifying your ramdisk. Even just making a daemon and communicating through some kind of pipe would require modifying the ramdisk to get it in init. In the end I abandoned the idea because it seemed easier for most normal people to just install an apk.
2) I looked at binding this to the camera button and remapping it in the keylayout, that would preserve the default home screen selections, but would require modifying a file in your /system/ so people would need to adb their stuff. Again I thought an apk would be easier and adding in shell commands would just complicate things for people and I'm not very good at support
3) I spent a LOT of time looking through git repos from aosp to find out if there was some way to bind to the long-press home and take over the recent apps list, since it doesn't even work. This would preserve your home settings and not even remove an existing function. After several hours grepping through the core.git stuff I decided this was just easier to do. If figured good enough is usually good enough. Though if someone can figure this out it would be sweet.
4) I really was hoping that we could just pull whatever archos is doing since that seems ideal, completely soft buttons. However after downloading the aos firmware I found it was encrypted and apparently currently can only be decrypted by the devices using the public key stored on them somewhere and I'm not aware of anyone having dumped their system images yet.
Also I've been looking through the superuser source to see how they handle the popups, they do a good job of not killing the running app and being all around unobtrusive, doing it their way for the popup buttons would be really sweet since it never seems to break the currently running app.
Great except one thing!
I have LauncherPro so when I click the home button, it always gives me a choice between LauncherPro and the original home. Can you make it so I can set a default? I want to just go straight to launcher pro then I select home.
Pinesal said:
Great except one thing!
I have LauncherPro so when I click the home button, it always gives me a choice between LauncherPro and the original home. Can you make it so I can set a default? I want to just go straight to launcher pro then I select home.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The thread is one page long and your question was already discussed.
One page was too much reading?
How about double click home button for menu and hold the button for back? Just my 2 cents.
I have taken the source code and modified it to a be a row across the bottom of the screen, I think this looks a little bit better
Note the bar at the bottom of both. Ignore that ghosting on the second image.
If anyone is good at graphics I can use some images to create a fancier looking bottom bar.
kabi said:
How about double click home button for menu and hold the button for back? Just my 2 cents.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am going to play to play with doing stuff like this. For example. Press Home for the menu. Press Home again to make the meny disappear. Double tap home for menu. Long Press for back.
I think next on my plate is setting a default launcher application to use when you hit the soft Home button.
Here is the github respository for anyone interested: https://github.com/bennetb01/SoftKeys
I can't get this to install. The first one instaled fine but when I kick this off it says it will replace the first version then "application not installed" should I remove the first one manually?
Great work BTW. Thanks
lovelacer said:
I can't get this to install. The first one instaled fine but when I kick this off it says it will replace the first version then "application not installed" should I remove the first one manually?
Great work BTW. Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can uninstall the first one via the following:
Code:
adb uninstall net.hoopajoo.android.SoftKeys
Install the second one normally via:
Code:
adb install SoftKeys.apk
Interestingly enough the adb uninstall command resulted in a failure as well. I just uninstalled via long press at my app screen and was able to install via root explorer on the nook.
Thanks for the help though.
I do like those buttons, I'm not much for making things look nice, typically I just do back end stuff. If you want to rebase against head and post your git repo I'll merge those changes in to main.
I started using launcher pro and realized it does suck way too much to have to select your launcher every time. It's just 1 button press but I'm too lazy.
And for people re-installing, from adb you have to do:
adb install -r <APK>
Also to remove packages I use appremover, or you can use astro file manager with the package manager under the menu.
nemith said:
I have taken the source code and modified it to a be a row across the bottom of the screen, I think this looks a little bit better
Note the bar at the bottom of both. Ignore that ghosting on the second image.
If anyone is good at graphics I can use some images to create a fancier looking bottom bar.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks very much for this, sir.
About those images: what size do ya need? i can do them right now.
-K
I didn't want to start a new thread for this piece of information, so this looks like a good place to discuss it. My wife noticed that you can always access the back button by swiping from right to left across the notification toolbar. This worked on her non-root NC as well as my rooted one. Pretty cool!
Works great on the NC (CM7)! Just be sure to hide the menu buttons when they show up.
Available in Android Market for $0.99 for a limited time.
Not available for me. What's up?
Did you do a special build.prop edit to allow it to be shown?
Nope didn't do anything special. I had to specifically do a search for "Captain America Sentinel of Liberty" in the market to find it though.
I'm running CM RC1 if that helps.
EDIT: Interesting, I just checked market.android.com from my PC and it says that its not compatible with the Nook. But when I did the search using the market app on the Nook, it found it and I was able to purchase, install, and play it.
If you got the new crappy Google Market, you can't get it.
I can find it in the market but can't download it. Sucks you can't get the Gmarket not to update, mine came through OTA.
Does anyone know if you kill / delete Market Updater.apk, does it jack up your system and G Market?
Yes.
I'd wiped my data/cache as well with the last NB and had the 6/13 gapps. Low and behold, after acknowledging the license it started the new market.
Looks like we need to start sending email to the app devs to please consider android tablet users that don't necessarily have GPS. Location services are still possible by Wi-Fi (although not as accurate), but should be sufficient for the dev's needs.
Google maps works for me with fairly close accuracy as the various phones have been updating their hotspot maps over time.
krazygecko said:
Nope didn't do anything special. I had to specifically do a search for "Captain America Sentinel of Liberty" in the market to find it though.
I'm running CM RC1 if that helps.
EDIT: Interesting, I just checked market.android.com from my PC and it says that its not compatible with the Nook. But when I did the search using the market app on the Nook, it found it and I was able to purchase, install, and play it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you perhaps alter your device ID in build.prop to get Netflix or Hulu working?
Update: just had no issues buying it over the old market with device IDed as Nook Color.
Update 2: Weeeeelll... the app is playable (and decent) once you get through the menus, but touch input isn't properly mapped to the menus, so you're pretty much tapping around the screen by trial and error to figure out how to move along. To top it off, none of the softkeys work except "home"--back and menu are useless. If you can manage to get into the game, it plays fine.
krazygecko said:
Works great on the NC (CM7)! Just be sure to hide the menu buttons when they show up.
Available in Android Market for $0.99 for a limited time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you hide the menu buttons, how do you exit the game since only way is to press HOME button?
Also some times, the volume key to bring back the menu buttons doesnt work.
RASTAVIPER said:
If you hide the menu buttons, how do you exit the game since only way is to press HOME button?
Also some times, the volume key to bring back the menu buttons doesnt work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I press the 'n' button.
Also the game menu items are mapped properly if you hide the CM7 menu bar.
How do you solve the problem with corrupt graphics?
Have u connected status bar with n button?
Sent from Nook Color on Cm7 Nightly 129 @1.300Mhz
al mon said:
How do you solve the problem with corrupt graphics?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No corrupt graphics here...
It really did "just work" for me.
RASTAVIPER said:
Have u connected status bar with n button?
Sent from Nook Color on Cm7 Nightly 129 @1.300Mhz
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have my 'n' button set to go back to the home screen. Status bar / menu buttons always come back when it goes back to the home screen.
krazygecko said:
I have my 'n' button set to go back to the home screen. Status bar / menu buttons always come back when it goes back to the home screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem with most games is, yes you have the status bar on your homescreen, but there's no way to get it back in-game without force closing via App Manager and starting over. Some games rely on the back button and/or menu button to navigate, especially to change any settings or really exit the app.
Taosaur said:
The problem with most games is, yes you have the status bar on your homescreen, but there's no way to get it back in-game without force closing via App Manager and starting over. Some games rely on the back button and/or menu button to navigate, especially to change any settings or really exit the app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm, don't know what to tell you here. I don't do much gaming, so I can't comment on most games. But in this one, as with all of the Angry Birds games, the in-game menu (via the pause button) works just fine for me. It's not working for you?
krazygecko said:
Hmm, don't know what to tell you here. I don't do much gaming, so I can't comment on most games. But in this one, as with all of the Angry Birds games, the in-game menu (via the pause button) works just fine for me. It's not working for you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A lot of games (and some other apps) are built assuming you have a Menu and Back button, and don't have anything on-screen to access menu functions, or to get back to the main menu if you're on a setting screen and have hidden the status bar.
ETA: you know what, not only is there a solution to this issue, but I discovered, implemented, and promptly forgot that solution months ago. In the CyanogenMod>Tablet Tweaks settings, you can set any of the hardware buttons to also unhide the status bar. I had already assigned Vol+
Taosaur said:
A lot of games (and some other apps) are built assuming you have a Menu and Back button, and don't have anything on-screen to access menu functions, or to get back to the main menu if you're on a setting screen and have hidden the status bar.
ETA: you know what, not only is there a solution to this issue, but I discovered, implemented, and promptly forgot that solution months ago. In the CyanogenMod>Tablet Tweaks settings, you can set any of the hardware buttons to also unhide the status bar. I had already assigned Vol+
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not only that, but you can also put the Home, Menu and Back buttons in the MENU that comes up when you hold the power button.
Since the only keys are the N and the volume on the Tablet....is there any way to access the options in the apps that are ran to change the settings? I am getting a Tablet next week (cannot fraking wait!) and just realized this. Has this been a problem for anyone else?
It's no problem, there are soft keys at the bottom of the screen which come up contextually so you can go back or access the menus.
Alternatively you can use button saviour and have the buttons all the time. You'll be happy with the tablet
flamingsamurai said:
It's no problem, there are soft keys at the bottom of the screen which come up contextually so you can go back or access the menus.
Alternatively you can use button saviour and have the buttons all the time. You'll be happy with the tablet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I second this
Sent from my Nook Tablet using Tapatalk
flamingsamurai said:
It's no problem, there are soft keys at the bottom of the screen which come up contextually so you can go back or access the menus.
Alternatively you can use button saviour and have the buttons all the time. You'll be happy with the tablet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I found that Button Savior is not necessary. The Back and Menu buttons come up in the status bar when they're available.
I use Homecatcher to access Go Launcher EX and installed Nook Color App Manager to install frequently used apps on the stock Home screen.
I've been VERY HAPPY with my Nook Tablet.
reverenddak said:
I found that Button Savior is not necessary. The Back and Menu buttons come up in the status bar when they're available.
I use Homecatcher to access Go Launcher EX and installed Nook Color App Manager to install frequently used apps on the stock Home screen.
I've been VERY HAPPY with my Nook Tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Button saviour is good for when your using full screen apps and want to access the menu. Like watching a video on MX player or reading in certain apps. Otherwise you wouldn't be able to.
I use Homecatcher to access Go Launcher EX and installed Nook Color App Manager to install frequently used apps on the stock Home screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can App Manger be installed on a non-rooted device? I would like to use that app but I haven't been able to find the apk for download. Everyplace wants me to get it from the android marketplace. If it only works on rooted devices, I'll quit looking for a standalone apk to download since I'm really nervous about voiding my warranty on my new toy by rooting.
Rick
Rick-S said:
Can App Manger be installed on a non-rooted device? I would like to use that app but I haven't been able to find the apk for download. Everyplace wants me to get it from the android marketplace. If it only works on rooted devices, I'll quit looking for a standalone apk to download since I'm really nervous about voiding my warranty on my new toy by rooting.
Rick
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Root isn't needed, and someone linked to their copy of the apk in this post.
Thank you very much. I've been looking for that for a couple days.
Does anyone know how to restore the Library Icon to the Apps Manager? It was there at one time, but now it's gone and I can't figure how to get a link to my Library back on my main screen. BTW, I'm using Go Launcher. I thought maybe I could hold down and select shortcut on the main screen, but when I try to create a shortcut, all I get is a blank screen that lets me do nothing.
Tel864 said:
Does anyone know how to restore the Library Icon to the Apps Manager? It was there at one time, but now it's gone and I can't figure how to get a link to my Library back on my main screen. BTW, I'm using Go Launcher. I thought maybe I could hold down and select shortcut on the main screen, but when I try to create a shortcut, all I get is a blank screen that lets me do nothing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should add to Home Screen using Application instead of Shortcut. Alternatively, you can access the App drawer, and long press on the Library Icon, then drag to bottom of the screen, and then drag to whichever home screen you want to add the Icon to. If the Icon doesn't appear in the app drawer, you may have to reinstall the app. If that is the case, let me know and I can try to post up the Library APK.
It's not appearing in the app drawer and I'm sure it used to be there. I also checked to make sure it wasn't hidden. I went into the system/app folder and found the library.apk there and reinstalled it. It still doesn't appear in the app drawer. I guess it's no big deal, I can always hit the N and bring up the library there.
It's really not as big a deal as the default reader that goes back to the cover every time I go back to a book I'm reading.
I noticed the same thing with the disappearing icons after the update to 1.4.1. I'm currently un-rooted, but using Go Launcher. I sideload apps usding adb through my computer.
My family has three NT's. I noticed that after taking the 1.4.1 update that several of the icon pictures were changed from the BN default to some generic android icon. I can't remember all of them, but they were the ones you see when you press your N button. Like the Library, Web Browser, and Shop. One one of my tablets I just replaced the icon image with something better looking using Go Launcher's replace. On another tablet my daughter accidently deleted the Web icon. When I went to get it back, that's when I noticed the same thing as you. That those icons were no longer in the app drawer so that I could add them on the desktop. They were definitely there before the update. In fact, one of my tablets I've kept from taking the update and they are definitely there. I goofed around and searched all I could in ES File Explorer, but couldn't find where they went on the tablets with the update. I did find the APK files, like you, but didn't reinstall to see what would happen.
Like you said, not a big deal since you can still get there from the N button, but some of the icons I like on the desktop. We ended up deleting all of the icons on my daughters tablet that you find on the N button, but there is no way to get them back unlesss someone here can enlighten this noob.
Im looking for an app which would show some popup window containing apps/folders which I've selected.
The idea is that I could quickly access my most-used apps, and maybe folders, without flicking through many home screens.
Im using the stock A2.1 launcher (on SE x10mp).
any suggestions?
TIA
Im not sure, but maybe Folder Organizer or App Organizer apps could help you.
Many launchers with dock, can handle folders on dock for fast access.
Cheers.
It's a widget not a popup but you could give My most used apps widget a try. Never used it myself.
thanks, but Im looking for something which could anytime popup a window from which I can launch my most -often used apps or access most-often used folders.
on my nexus one i just press and hold my search key which brings up android recent apps. i think the same functionality should be embedded with all phones as its built into android.
I have that too on my x10mp (with the home button).
but recent apps isnt the same as most used apps (I might have 20 of the latter). also, this feature doesnt show quick link to a folder or a file.