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The Beginner's Guide to ADW

I've been seeing a lot of threads (not only here) about ADW and ADW EX, the different settings, how to do certain things, etc. I don't think Ander ever wrote up a documentation so here's my little guide.
Anyone that would like to add anything, PM me and I'll add it in.
Little overview of ADW
ADW (EX) is a home launcher replacement. What does that mean? Well the home launcher, usually just called launcher, is pretty much the main way to get around on your Android device. It's the first thing you see when you turn your device on and it is what all of your apps, folders, and widgets are displayed on. To relate it to something everyone knows just think of your Windows/ OS X desktop. You know the thing you probably stare at saying "What did I want to do?!" and is a cluttered mess of icons? Yeah that's your desktop. The launcher on your device is essentially the same thing.
Quick rundown of the settings
When you first open the settings menu, you will see a list of 9 options. The top 4 are the ones you will be tweaking and constantly going into.
Presets - Profiles of settings that are preloaded into ADW. You can also create your own. Presets are just quick and easy ways to switch different things like icon size, dock type, workspace size, etc. These are only settings, NOT layouts.
UI Settings - The foundation of your launcher. From here you will edit things like Icon size, icon backgrounds, Dock type, the amount of rows and columns your workspace has, the App Drawer, and ADW's Hidden Dockbar. These are the real customization settings.
General Behavior - Name says it all. Screen transition effects, gesture controls, and the way ADW interacts with your device's hardware is all found here.
Theme Preferences - Again, pretty self explanatory. From here you choose what custom ADW theme you want on certain things. You can set 1 theme to cover everything, or use separate themes for icons, the dock background, and the hidden dock.
Backup and Restore - Backs up and restores your settings and icon layout. This does not work with widgets (I believe)
Tips and Tricks
Resizing
To resize a widget, you simply long press a widget until the little pop up menu appears and then click "Edit." The resize feature let's you resize in 4 different diretions (up, down, left, right), kind of like in a Word document. I find this to be a lot better than LauncherPro's because LP forces you to resize diagonally. To have some widgets overlapping, go to ADWSettings > UI Settings > Screen and click the Overlapping Widgets option. After that you can now overlap any widget over another widget or icon. Just remember that if you want a certain widget/icon to be BELOW another widget, the item you want below has to be placed on the screen first. If not, then it won't work.​

[Q] How can I replace unmovable shortcuts on homescreen *root*

I am running the stock Rogers rom (2.3.3) and am rooted.
The phone came preloaded with 'phone' 'internet' 'email' and 'applications' shortcuts at the bottom of the screen (like so http://www.androidincanada.ca/web/c...9_with_three_year_contract_54999_outright.jpg). I would like to replace 'email' with the Gmail application and possibly add messages to the list. These items however can not be dragged around like normal home screen shortcuts/widgets.
How can I do this? I am rooted!

I think your best bet is to use a different Launcher that you can customize. I use ADWex it lets you chose from lots of different dock bars and you can use any icon you want or even edit the icon. Just be sure to download Home Switcher so the you can go back if you dont like the launcher and If you like whatever launcher you chose you can delete Twiz launcher all together with Titanium backup since you are already rooted.

Thanks for the reply, I would ideally like to keep the stock launcher. Is there a way using root explorer to change the path of the email icon so it goes to gmail (or even messages)

How to change icons on Nexus S?

Hello,
I rooted my nexus s and was wondering how do I change the Icons on them? Do I have to download a ROM for a custom theme? Also I downloaded a icon package which I really like, was wondering if its possible to use them?

adw ex launcher lets you change your icons
or http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1389071

Use a launcher that allows you to change the icons. If you're on ICS, use Nova Launcher. If not, ADW, Launcher Pro and GO Launcher all let you customize icons.
Keep in mind though, that for apps the icons are only changed in the homescreen, but not in the drawer.

That is true for all except GO!Launcher. It changes app icons in App Drawer. Otherwise you're right those are all great options. You can however change the icon in a system folder somehow... I've seen a tutorial on the forums somewhere, but it takes work.
Nexus S - CyberGR Hybrid ICS (5), Matrix Kernel (15)

Change lockscreen icons?

I have a set of ADW icons activated on my HOX, but the lockscreen shows the stock icons. Is there any way to change to them?

gpo1956 said:
I have a set of ADW icons activated on my HOX, but the lockscreen shows the stock icons. Is there any way to change to them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lockscreen shortcuts follow the the shortcuts set in the Sense launcher

So there's no way to change them?

gpo1956 said:
So there's no way to change them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go back to the Sense launcher and change your shortcuts.
Either
Clear defaults for ADW so you can choose the Sense launcher when you hit the home button
or
Use the ADW setting to set the Sense launcher as the default launcher (can't remember what the setting was called)
Might need to clear defaults for the Sense launcher so you can set ADW as the default launcher once you're done

Thanks very much!

[Q] How to set a theme as default in custom launcher

I have set nova launcher as the default launcher of my rom. I have also included a theme and i want it to be set as default, i.e when the rom is flashed,the the will already be set. How can I do that?

With Nova you have to do it one icon at a time at the moment. Long press the icon, press edit, tap the picture, then select ADW Icon pack.
hope this helps.
if not working pls tell me
i.e private message