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[REQ] a non-rooted themer

After seeing the Gloss Suite I have to make a plea for the non-rooted (don't hate, just don't want to risk it till I know for DURN sure how the warranty issue shakes out or the bootloader can be relocked) for a SIMPLE Themer... don't take away the Nexus UI style, leave the number of screens alone, don't add extra docks or task bars...
... just a way to change the icons/clock/wallpaper (ok maybe multiple wallpapers). Don't add in another layer of complexity. There are PLENTY of Home Replacements out there that make it look like a Hero, iPhone or whatever, and add extra crash-able things.
Icons/Clock/Wallpaper(s)... and maybe the Weather/News widget.

It isn't really feasible without using a home replacement that has its own version of each app that you want to theme, so that the themer can theme the home replacements version of it.

Well then, just a simple HOME that leaves the Nexus UI intact and does the iconography

ilanad said:
Well then, just a simple HOME that leaves the Nexus UI intact and does the iconography
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you talking about Icons within the tray? Or icons on the screen? If on the screen, you could just use bettercut.

david1171 said:
It isn't really feasible without using a home replacement that has its own version of each app that you want to theme, so that the themer can theme the home replacements version of it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wait. No. (thats' what I get for being asleep when reading these).. no you mean things like OpenHome, Home++, PandaHome are carrying a full compliment of apps? Or just stubs.. cause on my G1's, when Google Maps got updated, the Icon's in their themes got updated..
No, I'm just looking for a dirt, dumb simple Home replacement then, that LEAVES the Nexus UI alone (the HOUSE, the scrolling of the apps there, etc.. ) just let me make an Icon/Wallpaper set and don't add tons of extra things..
and AnyCut/BetterCut, maybe.. but then would have to do it on every icon, every time...

Now that the 2.1 source is out you could alter the launcher2 source to reroute the resource calls. You have to refactor the namespace as well though as a non-rooted phone wouldn't allow you to install a second com.android.launcher2. Though like openhome/dxtop/ahome that would only alter app icons in the launcher, app icons elsewhere (long press home/settings/etc) would still have their "real" icons
Not hard, but not really fun either.

This is, at best, ridiculously difficult and, at worst, impossible.
It's not worth the effort because rooting is dirt simple, so if you want it done, you'll probably have to do it yourself.
Buy BetterCut and replace shortcuts on the homescreen - they'll still be the original in the launcher, but it's the closest you will get without root.

Casao said:
This is, at best, ridiculously difficult and, at worst, impossible...... but it's the closest you will get without root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then how do OpenHome, aHome, Home++, Freshface, et.al. do it ... without root.

ilanad said:
Then how do OpenHome, aHome, Home++, Freshface, et.al. do it ... without root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They completely replace home, and I'm not aware of any of them changing the actual icons for the .apk files. They might be creating custom shortcuts, which is possible, and if you reprogram the launcher you can do whatever you want. That's not a skin though, that's a completely redone launcher.

[Q] Looking for a good launcher that isn't a launcher

Hi folks, I'm looking for what I'd call a "launcher". But I DON'T want a Sense-Replacement like ADW, SPB Shell or things like that. I'm looking for a WIDGET that allows me to place app shortcuts. Like Multicon. Unfortunately, Multicon has only 1x1 to 1x4 vertical widgets, but no horizontal ones. I need a horizontal one because I want to be able to put more apps on the screen - on a Sense-Screen, there's only 16 shortcuts possible, but you could easily fit 25 with even larger icons. Can you recommend any widget? Performance is quite important for me. Don't need background picture and scrollable content or stuff like that. Just a plain launcher that allows for more icons than Sense would. And the icons have to be large enough - 1/4th of the normal icon size is too small.

Have you looked at circle launcher

I might have the wrong idea, but maybe elixir (in market) may be useful. Has a range of sizes (1*4, 4*1 etc.) allowing for a large number of apps/switches to be placed on home screens.
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e

Wave launcher is awesome imo. I use it daily and I use it with all launchers (I swap launchers). It takes about a week to get used to. But after that, It's smooth sailing.

You say you don't want a Launcher
Even though you say you don't want a Launcher, you should look at LauncherPro... I use it with 9 down by 5 across easily (Could probably do 6 across) which gives my 45 icons on one screen. Isn't that what you are looking for? You just choose the number of rows and columns you want in the options.
I turn off labels since they aren't needed.

Wave launcher for me also

jersey_609 said:
Have you looked at circle launcher
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, and I think its quite good, but it doesn't allow for very many icons. 8 will still look fine, but that's about the upper limit. Plus, its cumbersome that you have to tap twice - once to open the circle and once to select the app. It doesn't react instantly.
melloyello said:
I might have the wrong idea, but maybe elixir (in market) may be useful. Has a range of sizes (1*4, 4*1 etc.) allowing for a large number of apps/switches to be placed on home screens.
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, but Elixir has like ten thousand other features that I don't need/want, so it's like Bloatware in my case. I had tried it weeks ago, but I don't think the icons were any good at all. Too small. Maybe I missed something?
Thanks also for the suggestions about WaveLauncher. I tried that, but it doesn't really work well for me. When I'm on the homescreening, I'm always turning around the Sense screens instead of opening the wave.
Any other suggestions?

try wave, circle launcher, quickdesk, widgetlocker (set it as longpress search key), swipepad, powerstrip, more icons... those come to mind.
Hope that helps.

Hi Firefall
I'm in the same situation as you! The one I'm using now (after some searching) is Launch-X. They have the free and paid version. If aesthetic is not key, and you don't need more than 5 shortcuts per roll (this is ideal I think, not too small, but better than 4 per roll which I think is too sparse), free version is good enough I think.
In fact, Launch-X can go to the next 5 shortcuts (it comes with left-right buttons). If used on launcher which allow scrolling, you only need to swipe.
I combine it with Folder Organiser (this type has aplenty to choose from) which can group various apps into a folder (e.g. System, Apps, Games, Multimedia, etc.). So, now I have 5 folder shortcuts (in Launch-X) on my Sensation desktop, and each shortcut opens up another 10-20 apps. I find this two steps acceptable for a clean desktop.
Alternatively, you can consider Swipepad, which I'm using for quick access (esp to switch off my Sensation) in whichever app I'm currently running. Another alternative you can consider is Smart Taskbar.

Didn't Folder Organizer do this? You can also do it with Extended Controls.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G

TheBiles said:
Didn't Folder Organizer do this? You can also do it with Extended Controls.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good point.. I think for such nested folder feature, you need the paid version of Folder Organiser. I haven't tried it yet.

If you're looking for a very simple launcher, You can download this :
simplehome
it was on the market, I worked on it for translation.
Here is a screenshot
apk is just right here

mrassol said:
If you're looking for a very simple launcher, You can download this :
simplehome
it was on the market, I worked on it for translation.
Here is a screenshot
apk is just right here
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot for the APK, I couldn't find it on the market. I will try it soon. It takes up the whole screen though, right?
Folder organizer also looks somewhat useful, but I'm not sure if it is what I want. Will also try that. Extended controls doesn't really look like a launcher from the market screenshots, do you actually use it as a launcher?
@leyvatron: I've tried SwipePad, that's not what I want, it should be on the homescreen as a widget. PowerStrip seems to be similar to it. The QuickDesk concept however looks interesting. Thanks for that! Also, WidgetLocker MIGHT be a good alternative for the Sense lockscreen.
@Sian: Thanks for sharing your experience with Launch-X. I tried it and it seems quite good, the free is too limited in my opinion. But it comes closest to what I'm looking for so far when configured appropriately.

Personally I just create a folder on my homescreen using GoLauncher, works great for the task you are trying to accomplish!!

i, a newbie and cant find anything on how to install a launcher, no matter what i do it goes back to sense, im swithing between using home switch.....help please.
i just got my new sensation as a free upgrade cause they could not fix my desire hd........much better phone

Go clear the defaults associated with HTC Sense or try Home Switcher.

how do i clear the defaults on sense when i cant get an option??????

donaghb said:
how do i clear the defaults on sense when i cant get an option??????
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
settings/ applications, sense launcher, Clear defaults

and thanks for replying

No problem bro

[App Request] Launcher settings converter

Hi there,
first off, sorry if this is in the right forum. Please move it to the right one in that case.
Then:
I originally posted this in the Apex Launcher thread but some users pointed out (correctly) that this is probably an idea that should deserve its own app and is not limited to Apex alone. Here goes:
Android has the great ability that you can change launchers quite freely, allowing you to change the look and feel of the main GUI with a few clicks. Unfortunately, every launcher has a different way to store their settings and when you switch to a new one, you will lose the settings from the old one. I personally switched from GO Launcher EX to Nova Launcher when I upgraded my Desire to ICS but would now like to switch to Apex - but after taking all the time and effort to recreate half a dozen of folders with 50+ apps sorted, I don't feel like doing that again.
My idea would thus be to have an app that can detect a backup you made with one launcher (almost all of them allow backups these days) and convert it to the backup-format of another launcher, allowing the user to import it into the new launcher. That way stuff like folders and settings could be transferred, allowing people to switch launchers more easily.
I'm not a dev, so I have no idea whether this is possible and if so, how hard it would be to develop it, but I wanted to request it here in case someone might be able to do it.
TIA
SoWhy

Nova-Launcher already does it!
Even if this is an older request: I would also appreciate, if there would be an app which can do that. And: In general this conversion is for sure possible. The Nova-Launcher already has this function of transferring already implemented. But it would be better, if there's an independant app for this, 'cause at the moment it's only "one way", from another launcher to Nova, but not the other way round.

most customizable launchers

as many people are customizing there phones, i thought the launcher is the first screen that people always see, and they seem to provise the most customizable attributes. i am curious and on the search for the most versitile lancher out there and what they can do.
i know there is a post your homescreen thread out there and there is quite a few responses and nice pics, but not all list their lancher preferences or apps they used to get those.
posting screenshots and tools you used would be great
super simple laucher pro, but not done yet

Haven't had much success with it but sslauncher is pretty customizable. Really though most of the launchers give you roughly the same features.
Looking through the post your home screen threads many use apex, adw, or launcher pro. They let you replace homescreen icons with custom ones.
Uccw is a popular clock and weather widget but us rough to figure out.
Those are the main 2 I would say. A good place to start anyway.
Sent from my SGH-I997 using xda app-developers app

You can surely find plenty of launcher reviews, if you search.
Some require Android 4.0.. I haven't looked at those.
Among remaining it seems frequent mentions are ADW, Go Launcher, Launcher Plus, Holo
I haven't done a lot of comparison. I tried Holo launcher first and have mostly stuck with it. It does what I want, and I'm not interested in spending a ton of time comparing and setting up launchers.
I did try ADW later. It has more options but also more complicated interface so I stick with Holo. (I may change in the future...maybe if I learn about something big that I'm missing during this thread)
Attached are screenshots.
The first one highlights something I like about Holo (only the pro version) - you can put any widget into the dock area at the bottom.
So the first two icons on the left of the dock are Tasker toggle widgets in there for Wifi and Data. The color changes when the status changes (grey for off, green or red for on depending on what parameter). They are controlled manually or by Tasker which changes status based on location. Then in the center/right of the dock, I have Elixir widgets displaying battery level, MB free, number of applications running. Clicking on these widgets launches handy menus - the memory free sends you to settings/applications, the running applications lists running applications with option to switch to any running application... I use this often to make sure I have closed out all the applications I've used recently (may not be required but makes me feel better).
The 2nd screen highlights easily resizable widgets - I use them heavily for lists on my homescreen. I have 9 screens available, so plenty of room to have many lists on homescreen and move them around. Also of course I can change which note is displayed in a given position or get rid of a note from home screen and it remains (stored in Color Note).
Also I like the gestures. For me swipe down laucnhes a Tasker tasj to turn the screen off (save wear and tear on my power button). Swipe up launches a Tasker task for brightness control... if no response in 7 seconds it sets to max brightness (handy when you're in bright sun). There are several other gestures available to be assigned to whatever you want (applications or shortcuts)
That's not all the features, just a few that I like. I suspect most or all of above features are available in other launchers. And I suspect most of the others have more than Holo. I like Holo for simplicity and good useful tools. Not what you asked for... just throwing in my opinion.
Like any launcher, Holo has a few non-optimum features that are discussed in the Holo thread. There is only one that bugs me a little but I learned to cope. The main screens and three dock screens move independently of course. When you press home button with main screen not in home position, both the dock and main screen jump to their home position. But if you press home button with the main screen at home position and dock in non-home position, the dock does not jump to home position. Not a big deal since it's not hard to manage scrolling within 3 dock screens, but I'd like home to take me to home on main/dock screens regardless of where I started.

electricpete1 said:
You can surely find plenty of launcher reviews, if you search.
Some require Android 4.0.. I haven't looked at those.
Among remaining it seems frequent mentions are ADW, Go Launcher, Launcher Plus, Holo
I haven't done a lot of comparison. I tried Holo launcher first and have mostly stuck with it. It does what I want, and I'm not interested in spending a ton of time comparing and setting up launchers.
I did try ADW later. It has more options but also more complicated interface so I stick with Holo. (I may change in the future...maybe if I learn about something big that I'm missing during this thread)
Attached are screenshots.
The first one highlights something I like about Holo (only the pro version) - you can put any widget into the dock area at the bottom.
So the first two icons on the left of the dock are Tasker toggle widgets in there for Wifi and Data. The color changes when the status changes (grey for off, green or red for on depending on what parameter). They are controlled manually or by Tasker which changes status based on location. Then in the center/right of the dock, I have Elixir widgets displaying battery level, MB free, number of applications running. Clicking on these widgets launches handy menus - the memory free sends you to settings/applications, the running applications lists running applications with option to switch to any running application... I use this often to make sure I have closed out all the applications I've used recently (may not be required but makes me feel better).
The 2nd screen highlights easily resizable widgets - I use them heavily for lists on my homescreen. I have 9 screens available, so plenty of room to have many lists on homescreen and move them around. Also of course I can change which note is displayed in a given position or get rid of a note from home screen and it remains (stored in Color Note).
Also I like the gestures. For me swipe down laucnhes a Tasker tasj to turn the screen off (save wear and tear on my power button). Swipe up launches a Tasker task for brightness control... if no response in 7 seconds it sets to max brightness (handy when you're in bright sun). There are several other gestures available to be assigned to whatever you want (applications or shortcuts)
That's not all the features, just a few that I like. I suspect most or all of above features are available in other launchers. And I suspect most of the others have more than Holo. I like Holo for simplicity and good useful tools. Not what you asked for... just throwing in my opinion.
Like any launcher, Holo has a few non-optimum features that are discussed in the Holo thread. There is only one that bugs me a little but I learned to cope. The main screens and three dock screens move independently of course. When you press home button with main screen not in home position, both the dock and main screen jump to their home position. But if you press home button with the main screen at home position and dock in non-home position, the dock does not jump to home position. Not a big deal since it's not hard to manage scrolling within 3 dock screens, but I'd like home to take me to home on main/dock screens regardless of where I started.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wow, that was one lenghtly response.
i am not really on a search for a launcher, i have done that. i know how to do my homework. i was basically creating a social type of environment for those who really love their Infuse and fully exploit all the freedom we have in customizing.
the other thread, again, has a lot of great pics and i am really like liking some of the more simplified screens. however, most do not post the tools they used.
i have just discovered the SS launcher yesterday and it is pretty unique. still trying to figure it out. another one i found intresting was FullScreen launcher and of course, i still need to dive into that one too.

captemo said:
wow, that was one lenghtly response.
i am not really on a search for a launcher, i have done that. i know how to do my homework. i was basically creating a social type of environment for those who really love their Infuse and fully exploit all the freedom we have in customizing.
the other thread, again, has a lot of great pics and i am really like liking some of the more simplified screens. however, most do not post the tools they used.
i have just discovered the SS launcher yesterday and it is pretty unique. still trying to figure it out. another one i found intresting was FullScreen launcher and of course, i still need to dive into that one too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry I misunderstood.
Hopefully you didn’t view my post as being in conflict with your goal of social post (would that make me anti-social )
Launchers are of interest to me, but maybe for a different reason than for you. I have only done a litle exploring them but have been using Holo for a few weeks.. It strikes me that changing launchers has a big impact on our experience, but we don’t discuss that very much on these forums, even though chaning launchers is much eaiser and less risky than changing Roms. I guess maybe that’s because Roms are Infuse-specific and launchers aren’t.
I did think my setup is unorthodox having lots of things indicated on the bottom dock. By the way, my Data icon shows not only data on/off but also how many MB used this month (91.2MB in the first screenshot)... it’s updated daily by Tasker sending an SMS to AT&T requesting data usage and putting the value from the AT&T response into my widget label. Putting Tasker widgets like that into the dock seems pretty useful/versatile to me. I just don’t know if the other launchers allow the same approach. Lots of ROMs have similar stuff up in the notification area but I don't really like that as they tend to be small and also a busy notification area makes it harder to recognize new stuff popping up there.

electricpete1 said:
Sorry I misunderstood.
Hopefully you didn’t view my post as being in conflict with your goal of social post (would that make me anti-social )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not anti social, you responded in the first place. i was trying not to sound as if i was being a ****. i understand the reaponse though. there are way to many people who wont even look at the previous post, and ask a question that was just addressed. so many questions would be answered if they just did some reading. instead they are pissing off developers who then decide to leave our device.
with all the Jellybean work being done, which is amazing, however JB is pretty much JB. not a lot of individualism. with everything working so good, there is not a lot of movement on the threads. so i have gone back to gingerbread and contiuing my quest for the ultimate set up.
i love the idea od swapping my icons for text, and simple text is pretty easy to work. i would love some vertical text though. i am running the JW8 v2 version of Saurom and like it pretty good. pretty fast. trying to find everything else to complete the package.

i would say most customizeable would be go launcher but i hold tru to ftl launcher pro, basically becuz of the cube scrolling effect for your apps
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using xda premium

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using xda premium

I would use launcher8 its smooth and nice, look for it on the play store

Ive used Go Launcher, ADW and Holo in the past. I used Go launcher extensively on my Infuse and my Gio since it was so customizable but after playing around with other phones using more recent versions of android I felt it was too resource hungry. Holo I used for a bit for that ICS look but found it lacked a few options when compared to Go. But I actually DLed it recently and the experience is now closer to true ICS and reminds me a lot of Trebuchet and its simplicity. Currently Im using Trebuchet since putting my infuse on a CM10.1 ROM and I really like it. Very smooth and simple.

I used GoLauncher for a long time, but have used Nova for almost 4 months now, and I love it! Very customizable and easy to save and reload between flashes

I personally love Apex pro mycolorscreen.com has customization guides that use mostly apex you'd be amazed.
Sent from my SGH-I997 using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2

I use nova and like it a lot!
Sent from my SGH-I997 using xda premium

I have tried them all my friend. GO, ADW, Holo, Apex, Nova, Are all pretty close in the number of options. I used Go forever because of the folder system in the app drawer. Unfortunately it didnt seem to behave very well with all the ROMs I started flashing (thanks Faux.) Now I use the HoloHD+ and will likely continue to do so ...until the KLP hits me.

Just started using sslauncher and i have to say this is by far one of the most customizable launchers if ever used although there is a learning curve
Slim SON

Ss launcher gives pretty new styles of launcher.
You might want to try this launcher.
Sent from my SGH-I997 using xda app-developers app

Nova
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Nova + rom control.
Sent from my SM-G900F using XDA-Developers mobile app

[Q] Getting widgets to agree with launchers (Nova Prime & S-planner)

I was wondering if there was a way to get all widgets to be availible on an non-stock launcher. I am using the Nova Prime launcher, and widgets for Samsung's S-Planner are not showing up in the list of available widgets. Anybody know a way to get full access to all my widgets, on this launcher (I don't have any plans to switch to another launcher)?
(The device is unrooted, if that's relevant.)

If you figure anything out please feel free to share, I've been trying to get my ****ing swidgets to work with now for a long time
Sent from my GT-N8010 using xda app-developers app

I believe they only work on the touchwiz launcher, even if you have touchwiz installed.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app

I guess our best bet, is for all of us to keep messaging Samsung, until they recognize that enough people want this capability, that they should work at getting it to happen. Another, that comes to mind, is to seek out a ROM, that could allow that compatibility.
For immediate purposes, I imagine that some app developer(s) have discovered this royal pain of incompatibility, and was smart enough to realize that:
A) Very few people actually keep the launcher on their devices as stock
B) Samsung is undisputed as the current most popular Android-device manufacturer, with the highest number of users & sales,
So they released what would pretty much be a clone of these Samsung apps, but with more universal compatibility to other apps. I will browse the market when I have the time. I will, and ask that other users do as well, post the best/most similar/user-friendly/useful/blah of these finding.
otherwise, we may have to set the stupid touchwiz as our default (if we prefer and wish to regularly utilize Samsung's S-planner & other launcher-picky S-widgets) and have the touchwiz default homepages remain relatively uncluttered, except for these widgets, obviously. Then put in an app icon to switch to the launcher you actually prefer most.
OR
I just did a search in the google app market for "launcher switcher". There seems to be a semi-decent number of apps to help make it easy to toggle between the use of 2+ different launchers. Again, no time for me to test them out at the moment. Will also try to report back with anything promising... this is getting to be an annoying obstacle. lol.
If, like me, you mostly just want to be able to be able to keep on top of your S-planner to-do's, & don't have a great need for that apps menu that pops out of the side when you take out your S-pen, then change the s-pen settings, so that S-planner appears whenever the pen is detached.
I just remembered I could change it. for me this is GREAT because I never used that pen-apps popup. Also, I have really bad A.D.D., alongside O.C.D. . The result is that I constantly do ocd things, like put a lot of time into making detailed lists of things to do for the day, and set a stopwatch counter to track how long a task takes me to finish, but then I Always get distracted to the point, that All the time i put into countless overboard ocd attempts to keep on top of things, become completely worthless, because I have great difficulty keeping up any platform consistently. I feel like Sisyphus, rolling the giant bolder up the hill, and having it always roll back down. Anyways, on my Note tablet, I use the S-Pen more often than I use my finger, so for me, This works well.

Tablet_JF said:
Also, I have really bad A.D.D., alongside O.C.D. . ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess we all are to some extent or we wouldn't be on this forum reading things like this...