EDIT 12.21.10 per Robo Ray suggestion:
Install Astro File Manager
Install Desktop Visualizer
Open Astro and go to preferences. Choose "Edit File Extensions" under Data. Choose "New Extension".
Extension Name: epub (no . in there, just epub)
Mime Type: application
SubType: epub (again, no . in there, just epub)
Save
Exit Astro
Long press on Home screen
Add widget (In Zeam it's "Add Item" then "Widget")
Select whatever size Desktop Visualizer Widget
Select Icon (Choose whatever you want, which is awesome)
Select Action, choose "Other", Choose "ASTRO"
Find and select your file
Rename it if you choose
Hit OK for File Name
Hit OK on bottom of Desktop Visualizer
Choose Widget span, click OK
Direct link from icon on homescreen to default BN reader.
Again, thank you to Robo Ray for this simple suggestion within Astro. This is even better than the original method using Linda File Manager as this method allows you to use whatever images you want with your links.
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EDIT: This is no longer working for me. I upgraded to 1.0.1 and used auto nooter to re-root. I have no idea why this no longer works, but I click to create a shortcut and it says that it creates a shortcut, but it never appears. Also, I can't find the shortcut anywhere. Something broke or changed between the old and new root methods or with the update itself. If anybody knows how to fix this, I and hopefully others would be greatly appreciative. I'm using my limited skills to try to figure this out as shortcuts of my sideloaded epub books that open in the BN stock reader being able to be placed on my homescreen is a very big deal for me.
I figured out how to put sideloaded content like books, comics, pdf files, etc. onto your homescreen. This was, for me, the last essential task I desired. This device is now what I consider perfect. Everything from here on out is just bonus.
This is assuming you are rooted and now using ADW or Zeam as your launcher. This won't put shortcuts on your B&N Home screen, but words for the two listed above. I haven't tried any other launchers.
Download Linda File Manager (App description linked; Found in market for free, not sure where to find outside of market)
http://www.androlib.com/android.application.com-lindaandny-lindamanager-jpBj.aspx
Once installed, open the app and go to your desired file. Long press and choose "Create Shortcut". It puts one right on your home screen. If you only have the default BN book reader, book shortcuts will automatically open in that. If you have multiple, it will ask you to choose a default app. PDF files and others show a list of apps and you just set the default.
I couldn't get this function to work using Astro.
One last note. I can't seem to find the books and magazines that came from BN. I am only finding the stuff that I put on my SD card. In Linda Manager, I've been searching around "My Phone" which seems to be the onboard storage and found the two original pdf guides that were on the original homescreen, but I can't find the books and magazines that it came loaded with and I downloaded.
Hope this is helpful.
Hit the ^ key and it should take you to the b&n content.
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Sent from my Nook Color using Tapatalk
johnopsec said:
Hit the ^ key and it should take you to the b&n content.
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Sent from my Nook Color using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you referring to the soft button at the bottom middle of the nook? If so, I know that. That is apparent right from opening the device for the first time, unrooted. It does't change at all.
I'm talking about within the Linda File Manager Application. I can easily see the SD card and all its contents and the "My Phone" tab takes you to the onboard storage, but within that area, I'm having trouble finding BN content. I'm trying to find out if it is possible to create shortcuts of those items as well on top of the sideloaded content. If so, perfect. If not, no biggie as I know I can find it easily enough in the normal BN library. The key to this is quick shortcuts to content from the home screen, something BN locked out of the stock software. They made it so only their purchases content can be placed on homescreen. This Linda File Manager has allowed me to put other content on the other launchers home screen.
Edit: I found the B&N content within Linda File Manager. You have to go to the settings and check the "Show Hidden Files" option. Now, under /media/B&N Downloads/ you find the files within the folders there. They have strange names and numbers. The books work fine, but B&N purchased Magazines do not. They default to the B&N book reader and not the fancy magazine reader that you'd get if you open the magazine through the normal library. So, that's out for now. I'm just glad I found it. You can rename the shortcuts of those on your home screen so you don't just see the random number name.
Downloaded content is located in /media/B&N Downloads/
Files aren't named just long strings of numbers. I wasn't able to get my issue of PopSci to open correctly but that may be because I checked the box to set the nook reader as my default.
As far as the shortcuts go does anyone know how I can use Desktop Visualizer and have it open the book in the nook reader? Linda doesn't show up in the other activities category.
isolated_epidemic said:
Downloaded content is located in /media/B&N Downloads/
Files aren't named just long strings of numbers. I wasn't able to get my issue of PopSci to open correctly but that may be because I checked the box to set the nook reader as my default.
As far as the shortcuts go does anyone know how I can use Desktop Visualizer and have it open the book in the nook reader? Linda doesn't show up in the other activities category.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I was typing my edit when you posted. You are right, the magazines don't open properly. They open up in the regular book reader format and not the magazine format.
I couldn't get Desktop Visualizer to recognize the nook reader. It recognizes other readers in the other activities category, but I'm pretty happy with the nook reader. I like the way my library is organized. I'll still be using the "My Shelves" area quite a bit as it's pretty nice. I just wanted to put the one or two books that I am currently reading right on home screen for easy access. That Linda File app allowed me to do that. I don't get any fancy icons, but that's ok. It functions.
Sounds interesting, would that work with epubs and aldiko ? Haven't found another epub reader so far.
Aldiko is what I'm using and combimed with adw and desktop visualizer its just as good as the nook launcher.
isolated_epidemic said:
Downloaded content is located in /media/B&N Downloads/
Files aren't named just long strings of numbers. I wasn't able to get my issue of PopSci to open correctly but that may be because I checked the box to set the nook reader as my default.
As far as the shortcuts go does anyone know how I can use Desktop Visualizer and have it open the book in the nook reader? Linda doesn't show up in the other activities category.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Linda File Manager may not show up in other activities until you reboot ....
I would suggest reading ePubs with FBReaderJ, which is FBReader for Android. It reads many formats (but not proprietary ones or pdf) and is open source, I have used it for years on various platforms. You can download it from the FBReader site. I don't have a Nook Color (yet), but I currently use it on my Archos 101.
Every ebook I have is ePub. The stock ereader on the nook has been the nicest I've used with them all. I like the bookmark, the dictionary function, the fonts and sizes. It's well organized and pages advance smoothly.
I can use the stock BN buttons to get to all books quickly. I've created shelves for quick access to favorite books or future read lists, etc. Using the Linda File Manager, I can now link to specific books I'm reading on the home screen. I also have the library icon on my homescreen to get their with one touch. It all works perfectly. Again, with this setup, I see now need to use an ereader app. I'd use kindle if I had any kindle specific files, but most likely I'd use Calibre to convert to something to read directly from BN's reader. That's just me though.
Thanks for the Tip.
I however can't seem to find the actual shortcut. I am using Zeam and nothing appeared on my homescreen. Any tips?
It should place the shortcut right onto whatever home screen you were currently at. If there is no room on that page it will place it on the furthest left page.
Just to recap the steps I've been doing:
Running Zeam
Open Linda File Manager
Browse to folder with book or file I want placed on homescreen
Long press over file
Select "Creat Shortcut"
At the top, it then gives me the message "1 Shortcut Created"
I hit my home button and go back to the home screen I was on and it is right there ready to go.
Another note. Shortcuts created in Zeam are defaulted to whatever the name of the file is and you can only see the first word or two. Enough to know what it is for me at least. In ADW, you long press over the icon and let go and a dialog box to rename the file appears. I can't seem to figure out if this is possible in Zeam.
Also, it seems to place a shortcut in both Zeam and ADW regardless of which launcher I'm running. So, if you place a bunch while in Zeam, maybe delete some, if you switch to ADW you will see all of them.
Screen shot please
@Mad
Can you post a screenshot or two? thanks!
I apologize first for the volume button showing. I'm still trying to figure this screen capture. This is my first attempt.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
The first image is what the shortcuts look like on my Zeam homescreen.
The second image is the UI for Linda File Manager. Just navigate until you find your file. Long press over the file and the third image shows what appears. Choose "Create Shortcut" and it places the icon shortcut seen in the first image.
My homescreen is clean (the way I like it). Apps in the bottom bar and the main screen will be used for content links.
Man that is exactly what I did. Doesn't seem to work for me though...
I'll keep poking around see what I come up with.
I was concerned it wouldn't work because Zeam won't let me add shortcuts from its main screen, but this Linda tip works fine. Not sure how to handle my .mobi/kindle books though as I don't get the option to use Kindle to open them when I click on the shortcut.
Thanks for the tip to use the stock reader for ePub, seems to be the best indeed. I even found by accident by going into "my shelves" that it scans for .pdf files and does a capable job with them.
A couple of OT questions :
- what's that great clock/weather widget you have?
- how are you making screenshots?
bennyhiII said:
Man that is exactly what I did. Doesn't seem to work for me though...
I'll keep poking around see what I come up with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Me neither. I have ZEAM and have been trying it over and over...ah well, I'll stick to my Library shortcut..
Have you guys tried launcher pro? It has the activities exposer that might be of some use.
I have Zeam but how did you get that home screen to look like that? The notification bar on the bottom and the icons so small?
In preferences in Zeam, under Dock, I have the spacing set to medium and the background transparent. The size of them seems to be standard. I don't know how to change that. Under Workspace, I changed the rows and columns to both be 6. That will be enough for me as I won't have much on the homescreen.
The BN notification bar never went away and stayed the same.
My previous homescreen had the waterize live wallpaper, which was showing the clouds. The widget is a beautiful widget.
I just changed my background to a black and white wallpaper. I found an app in the market that had a whole bunch of them and they all look pretty cool. I changed my widget to a fancy widget. Just looked cleaner and a bit nicer.
I'm pretty happy with the homescreen now. I'm liking Zeam better than ADW. I don't like Launcher Pro at all because of the phone button on the bottom.
Here's my new homescreen:
This thing is hacked to exactly where I want it. Unless something miraculous like bluetooth is found and able to be opened up, I've got everything I need. Books and Comics from my homescreen for quick access, quick button to get to BN library where I can get to my shelves and magazines. Major apps that I will use easily accessible.
Is there a way that i might be missing to hide albums in the gallery application? I know u can put a "." in front of the folder name to make it hidden to the whole device and possibly add 3rd party applications to hide folders but i just wanted to hide folders i have with icons in them, only in the gallery but still have them available when using other apps, that way i can still customize with the icons
iTouch24 said:
Is there a way that i might be missing to hide albums in the gallery application? I know u can put a "." in front of the folder name to make it hidden to the whole device and possibly add 3rd party applications to hide folders but i just wanted to hide folders i have with icons in them, only in the gallery but still have them available when using other apps, that way i can still customize with the icons
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try Gallery Excluder. Easy way to choose folders that you want excluded in the gallery.
https://market.android.com/details?id=de.mrfloppycoding.galleryexcluder
Make sure you don't exclude your music and movies folder though.
If you put a text file in the folder and call it ".nomedia", then none of the images in the folder will show up in the gallery.
Unless you're really attached to the stock gallery, I'd recommend trying QuickPic. It lets you hide or exclude folders and numerous other things, it also loads much faster than the stock app.
gerrylum said:
If you put a text file in the folder and call it ".nomedia", then none of the images in the folder will show up in the gallery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
like he said copy this into the folders you wanna hide your pr0n in, it will also hide subfolders too
this works for music images, video ect...
i attached it because its hard to create it under Windows
unzip and place .nomedia in the phone folder
jeandujardin01 said:
like he said copy this into the folders you wanna hide your pr0n in, it will also hide subfolders too
this works for music images, video ect...
i attached it because its hard to create it under Windows
unzip and place .nomedia in the phone folder
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
using this would hide the folder from every app though correct
like if i went to Launcherpro and wanted to change an icon in dock .. when i looked for that folder it would not be found.. really only wanted to block in gallery not the whole system
I'm having issues with this. My Nook app, for example, dumps huge folders of pics (from ArticleView I think) in the gallery. I've checked some albums, and they already have .nomedia in them and they still show in the gallery. I tried a few apps to hide the albums, but that breaks the functionality in the app too. Any solutions? This is really annoying.
try the app quickpic does an easy job of hiding or excluding folders.
CSGirl said:
I'm having issues with this. My Nook app, for example, dumps huge folders of pics (from ArticleView I think) in the gallery. I've checked some albums, and they already have .nomedia in them and they still show in the gallery. I tried a few apps to hide the albums, but that breaks the functionality in the app too. Any solutions? This is really annoying.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you manually copy the nomedia file you have to wait for the gallery Db to refresh to see the results.
If you download 'gallery excluder' it will add a nomedia file and allow you to force the media database to update whenever you'd like.
1) I recently added several folders with pictures onto my sd card. When I go into the Album I see that the preview and initial folder displayed is the same one every time. Is there a way to change the folder that shows up when you first open the album? Unfortunately, this one folder has some inappropriate photos :angel:
2) Coming from a Galaxy phone, the default music player had tabs to view tracks by artist, album, playlist etc, but most importantly it also had a tab to view by "Folder" so I could pick out one of the many music folders I had and play what was in there. The Walkman on the Z2 seems to have everything except for "Folder" view. Is there a way to do this?
ChopinLives81 said:
1) I recently added several folders with pictures onto my sd card. When I go into the Album I see that the preview and initial folder displayed is the same one every time. Is there a way to change the folder that shows up when you first open the album? Unfortunately, this one folder has some inappropriate photos :angel:
2) Coming from a Galaxy phone, the default music player had tabs to view tracks by artist, album, playlist etc, but most importantly it also had a tab to view by "Folder" so I could pick out one of the many music folders I had and play what was in there. The Walkman on the Z2 seems to have everything except for "Folder" view. Is there a way to do this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well i dont fuly understand your problem but i have on my sd /pictures/screenshots and /pictures/oldcam
It showw within my albums each individual folder
If your trying to hide some folders put what you want in a folder and rename it to have a . In front of it like this .hiddenpics
And the walkman you cant change to tab view, folders are displayed in albums like on the albums app
Envious_Data said:
Well i dont fuly understand your problem but i have on my sd /pictures/screenshots and /pictures/oldcam
It showw within my albums each individual folder
If your trying to hide some folders put what you want in a folder and rename it to have a . In front of it like this .hiddenpics
And the walkman you cant change to tab view, folders are displayed in albums like on the albums app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The album problem is like this, I open up the album and there is a preview of several pictures at the top, just the the Movies app plays a little preview of some of the movies/videos you have. on my phone, the Album has chosen to show previews of this one particular folder and also the first pictures shown are from that folder, I have to scroll, all the way down before I see another folder. So I simply want a different folder to be at the top of the list and in the preview.
I've got a bunch of music on an SD card on my 9+. And EVERY album cover shows up in Gallery. Multiple times. I can hardly find my own images anymore. Is there any way to prevent the album covers from showing up in Gallery?
.nomedia does this, but it also prevents the files from appearing in music apps, which sort of defeats the purpose.
Thanks much.
Hi,
In the gallery go on the albums tab click on the top 3 dots. Then hide/show albums. Just select the albums where the art covers are. You will have to check several boxes !
Envoyé de mon SM-G965F en utilisant Tapatalk
Go with an Explorer like RootExplorer or ES to your Music Folder and make a new File.
Name the File as follow .nomedia
Dont forget the dot before the nomedia.
now the Gallery will skip this Folder.
Works with every Folder you dont like in the Gallery.
Edit:
I read you did this alredy, with this I have the Album Covers in the Apps I use.
Like MortPlayer or MX Player.