The theme and apps sub-forum is getting pretty crowded. Is there any way we could separate it into two sub-forums? One for themes and one for apps?
No, I thinkk, it's just okay so.
I did a few themes and it works fine at XDA.
I wouldn't mind separating them... just my opinion.
It might seem ok now, but as theming gets a little easier, and the wealth of ROMs spread - it is going to get hard to find threads. I agree with having themes and apps separate.
drpfenderson said:
It might seem ok now, but as theming gets a little easier, and the wealth of ROMs spread - it is going to get hard to find threads. I agree with having themes and apps separate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 on that
+1 too, at the moment it is fine, but it will get worse overtime as more apps and more themes come out and more nexus one owners arrive
I sorta mentioned this in the cyan thread except I suggested different threads for each major release so it was easier to follow peoples' findings. Even with different sub forums for themes/apps/roms, sifting through 100s of pages to read what others are finding to see if an upgrade is right for you is a very daunting chore.
Any help with sorting though will make the user experience more digestible me thinks
+1 I made a topic about this earlier
more sub-forums, means more threads, more sub-threads under master-threads (for each release as suggested above) create even more threads, more threads create more confusion and more noobs posting "help I can't get root", "my phone lost root after nand restore", "my phone turned into bacon" in more threads and sub-threads then ever, making it even harder to navigate and find answers.
what XDA would really need is a tag cloud
+1 to that as well.
+1 for split.
shmigao said:
more sub-forums, means more threads, more sub-threads under master-threads (for each release as suggested above) create even more threads, more threads create more confusion and more noobs posting "help I can't get root", "my phone lost root after nand restore", "my phone turned into bacon" in more threads and sub-threads then ever, making it even harder to navigate and find answers.
what XDA would really need is a tag cloud
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unless you can tag specific posts as the starting off point for certain releases (CM5b1 starts at post 25 in thread 1234 vs CM5stable4 starts at post 567 in thread 1234), a tag cloud wouldn't fix one particular issue
My biggest gripe is sifting through a ****ton of pages/posts to find out what people are having problems with to see if an upgrade is worth it or to skip a cycle and see what comes next. No, sub forums will not resolve that gripe but possibly creating a new topic for each major milestone would.
Sub forums however become not required with a tag cloud. I would love the ability to simply click "themes" or "trackball colour" or "cyanogen"...
making sub forums makes it easier to search for stuff....
personally I would like to see a split between discussions about issues and apps for rooted devices from those that are about stock apps / devices. There is a lot of good stuff in the forums for me (non-rooted) but there is (rightly) a lot of discussion about rooting and apps that need root - It would help me if I could filter these out.
I think I've read nearly every thread concerning the various rotation apps, including BsB Tweaks, PLToggle, ChangeScreen et al.
I've tried them all, and I have the RotateScreen utility that comes with the Energy ROMs. The problem I'm having is that with all of them the SpbHome screen will not consistenly return to landscape mode for me. It works when the various rotation apps are configured to turn it, and are active or activated. But once I leave the home screen and come back it either won't go into landscape mode, or it does so momentarily before returning to portrait.
Has anyone figured out the right way to tweak or configure any of these utils so that they consistent do what they are supposed to do with Spb? It could be something about Spb, but I don't think so.
Thanks
what you're looking for is here, next time make a search before opening a thread
jjollyroger said:
what you're looking for is here, next time make a search before opening a thread
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Next time try reading the whole post before you make unneeded comments. Like I said I read nearly every thread, and certainly every one I could find. I do admit I didn't search the General area, I limited my search to Themes and Apps. Searching these boards is not the most straightforward thing to do.
But anyway, in the interest of being courteous, thank you for the tip. I'll read it and see if it helps.
no intent to hurt you, it was just a suggestion, cause is already plenty of unnecessary threads on xda....
I've another one: xda is well linked to search engines , so the first place to look in is here
you have to admit that the answer was not so hidden.. don't take this as an offense again
jjollyroger said:
no intent to hurt you, it was just a suggestion, cause is already plenty of unnecessary threads on xda....
I've another one: xda is well linked to search engines , so the first place to look in is here
you have to admit that the answer was not so hidden.. don't take this as an offense again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It wasn't hidden no. It was just in a forum that was arguably not the best place for it to be, and one that I didn't search for it in.
I wasn't hurt, just a bit P.O.'d. As I said searching these boards is not always easy or straightforward. I've been around here for more than 5 years and have searched for things about as often as I've posted in that time. That being said I will admit that I have only tried using something like google once or twice to go beyond a particular forum to look for search results. I usually use ixquick as my search engine but I'd imagine it works about the same, I'll try that next time.
One side benefit to "unnecessary threads", like this is that it helps others to find things when they might not be using the exact search terms that the "necessary threads" contain. Like leaving breadcrumbs on a trail, it can help to find your way to your destination.
Thank you again for the tips.
oh, and to help others reading this, the first link that jjollyroger posted, to the cab that mamv put together to resolve this problem seems to work well. I've only used it for a few minutes so far but in that time my Spb Home screen has not failed to come back in landscape orientation after leaving it for other Spb windows, as well as other apps.
All day today I have had an issue with Searches. I keep getting told it is temp unavailable.
Yet, when I go to Samsung S3 forums and click the links (such as General or Q&A sections they work just fine - my understanding of how forums work is those links are just Pre-set Searches.
I've changed nothing on my PC in weeks, but nobody else seems to be complaining about a problem and I noticed it this morning and it is now 6:30PM.
Is there an issue or is it me in some way?
Journyman16 said:
All day today I have had an issue with Searches. I keep getting told it is temp unavailable.
Yet, when I go to Samsung S3 forums and click the links (such as General or Q&A sections they work just fine - my understanding of how forums work is those links are just Pre-set Searches.
I've changed nothing on my PC in weeks, but nobody else seems to be complaining about a problem and I noticed it this morning and it is now 6:30PM.
Is there an issue or is it me in some way?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your understanding is incorrect. When you click a link, that takes you to a pre-defined place within the forum - as you can see from the forumdisplay.php?f= info.
The search feature goes up and down like a whore's drawers. Not really a problem - you can just use Google to carry out a site specific search if you need something. That's what I do most of the time anyway as I find it to be more accurate (not just for XDA, for for most web forums out there)
I have the same problem on my tapatalk so dont know if it is connected- i keep getting temporary unavailable for sewrch and for my previous oosts where im participating? What is up with that?
Simon i really dont understand ur answer to this question?
Sent from my nokia 3310
asukaj said:
I have the same problem on my tapatalk so dont know if it is connected- i keep getting temporary unavailable for sewrch and for my previous oosts where im participating? What is up with that?
Simon i really dont understand ur answer to this question?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The search feature often goes down - that is just life. When it does it affects other features as well, such as the "Participated threads" and "User's posts".
It affects the web-site, TapaTalk and XDA App at the same time and usually comes back up after a day or so - no big deal.
You can use Google if you need to search the XDA forums. Simply put "site:forum.xda-developers.com" before the text you want to search for and it will search XDA only.
Thanks for the explanation Simon. My thinking was that, when you click on (say) S3 Q&A link, the Search had to run to find and sort the threads into presentation order. To be able to take one to that forum without running a Search would seem to me to require every forum to be in its own database - that would seem remarkably inefficient in terms of server use. I just presumed all posts would be in a single DB (or maybe one for each sub-forum choice at top level, and indexed for efficiency.
Maybe I should set up a forum so I can learn how they work...
At any rate, it is working again now...
Journyman16 said:
To be able to take one to that forum without running a Search would seem to me to require every forum to be in its own database - that would seem remarkably inefficient in terms of server use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Different forum software works differently, but most of them keep the forum number in the database in the post's record, so a SELECT on that forum number returns a recordset of all posts in that forum. (The LIMIT clause limits the dataset to the posts you see - the first 10, 26-50, whatever.)
An efficient database can search a recordset of a few million records, with the database equivalent of a Search (a WHERE clause), in a second. The efficiency is determined by the code (which is usually pretty good these days) and the database (and MySQL, the one most commonly used on the web, is pretty efficient).
Search, OTOH, has additional code to "front end" the database with whatever random search criteria you set, so it's actually less efficient.
Hello community!
I use Shortcut Maker to create direct shortcuts for many of the activities, including some hidden ones. But all of these are already available under the Activities section or Intents section within the app.
Is it possible to create a shortcut for an activity not available in those sections?
For example, I want to create a shortcut to the 'Background Usage Limits section of the Device Care app on my Samsung phone. There is already an activity that takes me to this page:
{
"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"
}
But I want to create a shortcut that takes me directly into the 'Background usage limits' section:
The app allows for editing intents:
But I don't know what to add/ edit here that will achieve the desired objective.
Can someone tell me how to find the activity/ intent name for the page I'm trying to launch directly using the shortcut?
Thanks.
TheMystic said:
Hello community!
I use Shortcut Maker to create direct shortcuts for many of the activities, including some hidden ones. But all of these are already available under the Activities section or Intents section within the app.
Is it possible to create a shortcut for an activity not available in those sections?
For example, I want to create a shortcut to the 'Background Usage Limits section of the Device Care app on my Samsung phone. There is already an activity that takes me to this page:
View attachment 5651309
But I want to create a shortcut that takes me directly into the 'Background usage limits' section:
View attachment 5651311
The app allows for editing intents:
View attachment 5651313
But I don't know what to add/ edit here that will achieve the desired objective.
Can someone tell me how to find the activity/ intent name for the page I'm trying to launch directly using the shortcut?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might be able to create a shortcut and use Tasker+shortcut to set up an automated action to open to the activity you want when you open the shortcut by creating the shortcut, then using Tasker to setup an automated process containing the sequence of actions it takes to open the app to the activity/page that you want then set the shortcut to run that automated process to open to the desired activity/page.
Or
The background usage limit activity/page is more than likely located in your system settings and the Device Care app just "links" you to it. Can you access that page by going through system settings somewhere instead of going through the Samsung Device Care app?
Droidriven said:
You might be able to create a shortcut and use Tasker+shortcut to set up an automated action to open to the activity you want when you open the shortcut by creating the shortcut, then using Tasker to setup an automated process containing the sequence of actions it takes to open the app to the activity/page that you want then set the shortcut to run that automated process to open to the desired activity/page.
Or
The background usage limit activity/page is more than likely located in your system settings and the Device Care app just "links" you to it. Can you access that page by going through system settings somewhere instead of going through the Samsung Device Care app?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Device Care app is deeply integrated with the System, and it is what handles this activity, i.e. there is no other way to access this page from System Settings.
Using Tasker for the method you described appears to be a setup that allows 'Accessibility' permissions to Tasker, plus it makes the whole setup unnecessarily complicated. Besides, I avoid using automation apps because they need to run continuously in the background, consuming RAM and battery.
Is there no way to find the exact 'intent' or 'activity' name for this process?
TheMystic said:
The Device Care app is deeply integrated with the System, and it is what handles this activity, i.e. there is no other way to access this page from System Settings.
Using Tasker for the method you described appears to be a setup that allows 'Accessibility' permissions to Tasker, plus it makes the whole setup unnecessarily complicated. Besides, I avoid using automation apps because they need to run continuously in the background, consuming RAM and battery.
Is there no way to find the exact 'intent' or 'activity' name for this process?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can try the Disable Service app, it should list all your apps and the individual internal services/activities within each app. That should help you identify the activity that you want.
Droidriven said:
You can try the Disable Service app, it should list all your apps and the individual internal services/activities within each app. That should help you identify the activity that you want.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you provide a link for that app?
Have you tried Shortcut Maker app? This too lists all activities per app and intents available. Does the app you suggest do anything more?
TheMystic said:
Can you provide a link for that app?
Have you tried Shortcut Maker app? This too lists all activities per app and intents available. Does the app you suggest do anything more?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why? It's in the Playstore, a Playstore search for :
Disable service
Will find it, it should be at the top of the list of results. I'm sure you can handle that by yourself without needing someone to hold your hand or spoonfeed you, right?
I'm not the one that needs the app, the OP of this thread does.
And....
If you read the first post in this thread, you will see that they are already using the Shortcut Maker app and it doesn't show/list the specific activity that they are looking for. The Disable Service app will probaly list activities that do not appear in Shortcut Maker.
You didn't even read the first post of this thread to understand the situation and you requested a link to an app that is extremely easy to find in the Playstore, both of these things are a bit lazy.
Droidriven said:
Why? It's in the Playstore, a Playstore search for :
Disable service
Will find it, it should be at the top of the list of results. I'm sure you can handle that by yourself without needing someone to hold your hand or spoonfeed you, right?
I'm not the one that needs the app, the OP of this thread does.
And....
If you read the first post in this thread, you will see that they are already using the Shortcut Maker app and it doesn't show/list the specific activity that they are looking for. The Disable Service app will probaly list activities that do not appear in Shortcut Maker.
You didn't even read the first post of this thread to understand the situation and you requested a link to an app that is extremely easy to find in the Playstore, both of these things are a bit lazy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm the OP.
Searching on Play Store did not list an app with the exact name that you wrote, and those that showed up with similar names, require root. My device isn't rooted.
Also, just wondering if it would have been easier to simply post the link than spend time typing so much, and that too addressing someone who doesn't exist. I'm assuming you has a bad day. Chill buddy.
TheMystic said:
I'm the OP.
Searching on Play Store did not list an app with the exact name that you wrote, and those that showed up with similar names, require root. My device isn't rooted.
Also, just wondering if it would have been easier to simply post the link than spend time typing so much, and that too addressing someone who doesn't exist. I'm assuming you has a bad day. Chill buddy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, I didn't look at your name, also, asking me if I tried Shortcut Maker made it seem like another member was mistaking me for you, that is why I thought it was someone other than you. Why would you ask if I tried Shortcut Maker as if I were the one that needed it to achieve something I wanted? The way you worded yourself threw a wrench in things from my perspective, as if you were some random member coming in the thread and confusing me with you asking me if I had tried Shortcut Maker as if they hadn't read the first post and seen where you stated that you were already using Shortcut Maker and then asking for a link on top of that just seemed like someone that wanted to be spoonfed. We don't spoonfeed members here, it is even in the Forum Rules, members are expected to search for themselves and then ask only when they can't find anything themselves.
I've used both Shortcut Maker and the Disable Service app, though, the Disable Service no longer seems available, that must be something recent because I just searched for it when I suggested it to someone a few weeks ago. But the Service Disabler app should do the same thing. I know it is for rooted devices, it requires root to actuallu use the app to disable/modify the services, it does not need root to show the list of services/activities on/in your device/apps. I'm only telling you to use it as a tool to see/find the name of the service/activity name, then use that information to do whatever you were trying to do with the service/activity name as you asked in your first post. You can uninstall Service Disabler as soon as you find the name of the service/activity.
Droidriven said:
Sorry, I didn't look at your name, also, asking me if I tried Shortcut Maker made it seem like another member was mistaking me for you, that is why I thought it was someone other than you. Why would you ask if I tried Shortcut Maker as if I were the one that needed it to achieve something I wanted? The way you worded yourself threw a wrench in things from my perspective, as if you were some random member coming in the thread and confusing me with you asking me if I had tried Shortcut Maker as if they hadn't read the first post and seen where you stated that you were already using Shortcut Maker and then asking for a link on top of that just seemed like someone that wanted to be spoonfed. We don't spoonfeed members here, it is even in the Forum Rules, members are expected to search for themselves and then ask only when they can't find anything themselves.
I've used both Shortcut Maker and the Disable Service app, though, the Disable Service no longer seems available, that must be something recent because I just searched for it when I suggested it to someone a few weeks ago. But the Service Disabler app should do the same thing. I know it is for rooted devices, it requires root to actuallu use the app to disable/modify the services, it does not need root to show the list of services/activities on/in your device/apps. I'm only telling you to use it as a tool to see/find the name of the service/activity name, then use that information to do whatever you were trying to do with the service/activity name as you asked in your first post. You can uninstall Service Disabler as soon as you find the name of the service/activity.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Often, there are many apps with similar names, especially if they are doing the same functions, so when someone recommends an app based on personal experience, it helps to include the link to that app too because of the same reason mentioned above. This isn't spoon feeding. And as you confirm yourself, the app is no longer available on the Play Store, so anyone who looks for the app based on your suggestion, would have wasted time trying out several apps, except the one suggested.
Personally, I always include links when I'm helping someone. It doesn't cost me anything. But I understand we have different perspectives and approach.
But anyways, thanks for your time and effort.
TheMystic said:
Often, there are many apps with similar names, especially if they are doing the same functions, so when someone recommends an app based on personal experience, it helps to include the link to that app too because of the same reason mentioned above. This isn't spoon feeding. And as you confirm yourself, the app is no longer available on the Play Store, so anyone who looks for the app based on your suggestion, would have wasted time trying out several apps, except the one suggested.
Personally, I always include links when I'm helping someone. It doesn't cost me anything. But I understand we have different perspectives and approach.
But anyways, thanks for your time and effort.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used to give detailed descriptions with all links included. Lots of times, it was posting descriptions and links that I had posted many different times for other members asking the same questions, answers that are already here, answers they would find if they searched for it. People treat this place like it is Reddit or Quora, just here to help and answer their questions when they have a problem/question, instead of what it actually is, a forum designed by developers for developers. The monotony of that became overbearing and then when you consider that I would often post 10's/dozens of posts a day, after being here for almost 10 years and helping 1000's and 1000's of users that just wanted someone to make things easy for them and just hand them everything they need to solve their issue while also being unwilling to try gaining some understanding of what they are dealing with, understanding that could/would help them in the future if they just paid attention, that eventually evolved into giving as straightforward of a description as I could and then telling the member how to find the things I mentioned for themselves, this not only encourages them to do the footwork of searching for themselves, it also helps refine and develop their ability to effectively search for what they need and actually get results. It isnt a matter of just searching, it is a matter of knowing what to search for and how to be more specific in their searching. A lot of times, users don't know the best search terms or keywords to use which leads them in circles, unable to find or make sense of anything. I would rather give them information to understand the issue or understand android itself, information that may help them understand their device, how the hardware/software actually functions so that they can have a better sense of how to go about doing things on the device. Show them the rules of the game and how it is played instead of just pointing them in a direction or just putting them on the field and letting them wander around doing things without understanding how their actions effect the outcome of the game. You can tell a person that 2+2=4, but you've done nothing if they don't understand the numbers or the math.
Long story short...
If you give someone a fish, you feed them for a day, but if you teach them how to fish, you feed them for a lifetime.
Droidriven said:
I used to give detailed descriptions with all links included. Lots of times, it was posting descriptions and links that I had posted many different times for other members asking the same questions, answers that are already here, answers they would find if they searched for it. People treat this place like it is Reddit or Quora, just here to help and answer their questions when they have a problem/question, instead of what it actually is, a forum designed by developers for developers. The monotony of that became overbearing and then when you consider that I would often post 10's/dozens of posts a day, after being here for almost 10 years and helping 1000's and 1000's of users that just wanted someone to make things easy for them and just hand them everything they need to solve their issue while also being unwilling to try gaining some understanding of what they are dealing with, understanding that could/would help them in the future if they just paid attention, that eventually evolved into giving as straightforward of a description as I could and then telling the member how to find the things I mentioned for themselves, this not only encourages them to do the footwork of searching for themselves, it also helps refine and develop their ability to effectively search for what they need and actually get results. It isnt a matter of just searching, it is a matter of knowing what to search for and how to be more specific in their searching. A lot of times, users don't know the best search terms or keywords to use which leads them in circles, unable to find or make sense of anything. I would rather give them information to understand the issue or understand android itself, information that may help them understand their device, how the hardware/software actually functions so that they can have a better sense of how to go about doing things on the device. Show them the rules of the game and how it is played instead of just pointing them in a direction or just putting them on the field and letting them wander around doing things without understanding how their actions effect the outcome of the game. You can tell a person that 2+2=4, but you've done nothing if they don't understand the numbers or the math.
Long story short...
If you give someone a fish, you feed them for a day, but if you teach them how to fish, you feed them for a lifetime.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Appreciate that you have stuck around for so long, and helping people with solutions. I'm neither a developer, nor have been in this platform for too long. I'm not too active either. So I'll speak for myself.
I'm aware this platform started off by Developers, and for developers. However, it has grown much beyond that with Android evolving. The Developers are now a minority, albeit still the most important category.
Although you are speaking from your personal experience, as far as I have seen, people who come to this platform come for a very specific purpose, and don't treat it like a social media platform as far as I have seen. It is just that sometimes the threads become too long and they may not find answers they are looking for, despite searching for it.
In my case, you would see that well over 90% of my questions remain unanswered. I'm not complaining. I'm aware that my questions are indeed difficult because I post only when I don't find answers after doing sufficient research. And under these circumstances, this platform becomes the best place to ask those questions because this is a platform of default for Developers, and as q consequence also has the maximum probability of providing an answer.
Whatever we post here, is going to remain forever, and it is not limited to the original poster. The answers and comments will continue to help many more people with time. I wouldn't jump into concluding that someone hasn't done his homework. That's because I don't know. So when in doubt, it is best to give the benefit of doubt. Besides, it doesn't cost anything to include links, where applicable.
So while I agree that it is better to teach someone how to do something, than providing ready made solutions, there is often no point in reinventing the wheel.
Have you since found a way to find intents?
Windows_2000 said:
Have you since found a way to find intents?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not yet. On the contrary, a lot of activities/ intent already visible within the Shortcut Maker app don't work too, with this error:
No app to open this shortcut.
Don't know yet how to solve this.