[Q] Change Default Dock App and Background - Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III

Hi All,
Have Googled, Binged and looked thoroughly through XDA and have not found an answer, perhaps because it's such a piddling issue, but it's annoying me.
I have a stock Verizon Galaxy S III (SCH-I535) running Android 4.1.2 with Kernel 3.0.31-861013. I don't like the stock app that pops up when I set it in the desktop dock (Model EDD-D200BE). Specifically, I don't like the background it uses or the screensaver it goes to when it times out. (piddling, right?)
Q1. Is there a way to change that background and screensaver to use a live wallpaper?
Q2. If not, is there a suggested/preferred app that will replace the stock app that will allow me to change the backgrounds/screensavers?​
I'm not talking about themes for the S III. I've tried those and they change everything PAST the dock screen, but the dock screen and screensaver remain the same. So either those apps don't change the default app, or I'm using the wrong theme(s) app, or I am missing something very basic (apologies if there are potholes in my "information highway"). I am also not talking about changing the apps in the app tray.
Any ideas?
Thanks in advance,

Related

[Q] Utilizing a home screen as a messaging app?

What I am envisioning is using an actual home screen as a messaging app, for example I would just slide over to a fully featured messaging app without having to click on an icon. I have seen lots of widgets and the like that just sit on the "desktop" but most are rather limited in functionality. I dont want to just display messages in a widget. Ideally, just sliding over would seamlessly and literally slide right in to the native messaging app. Anybody know anything that would allow this? Or does something like this even exist? Im assuming this is probably going to be more than just an app, and something that would have to be built into the launcher itself. I have been browsing the android market for something, but maybe I am just not looking hard enough?
there are lots of SMS / IM / email widgets that you can put in your home screen
for you to directly type into it and send from it, without launching the actual app
Please use the Q&A Forum for questions Thanks
Moving to Q&A
AllGamer said:
there are lots of SMS / IM / email widgets that you can put in your home screen
for you to directly type into it and send from it, without launching the actual app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ive found a couple that do everything in a widget, Pure Messaging Widget probably being the closest to what I am looking for. But there a lot of wasted realestate on the screen, just looking for something that uses the full screen like a regular standalone messaging app. I dont know, maybe Im just being picky and pedantic. Lol, if there are any other suggestions that you have that I may not have seen yet please do tell. Thanks for the quick response.
Have you tried LauncherPro yet? I believe it has a Messaging widget that's pretty good. It may not be the full screen appearance you are looking for but there are lot's of themes around to alter it to your taste.
Somebody correct me if i'm wrong.

[Q] Removing the TouchWiz Mini Apps Tray

Hi everyone. First of all, many thanks to Gary for Root. It was quick and painless.
Now that we have root, I was wondering if anyone knows what needs to be deleted in order to get rid of that pesky pop up menu you get by pressing on the Chevron/Arrow in the middle of the bar.
I have the Wizz Bar (what an unfortunate name) installed and it does the job so much better. If you're wondering what Wizz Bar is, it basically allows you to pick your own applications or commands and bind them to the little Chevron or Arrow in the middle of the Honeycomb Bar (also called the "Mini Apps Tray")
However the built in action that pops up the Task Manager/World Clock/Calculator etc also initiates. Is there some way to remove the TouchWiz Apps Tray?
Or does this require more tinkering than a simple apk deletion from system/apps
somebody9 said:
Or does this require more tinkering than a simple apk deletion from system/apps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's much more involved. That aspect of touchwiz is buried somewhere in the frameworks. The last time I checked (a month ago), several people on both the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 8.9 forums were looking for the same thing, but I haven't seen any good solutions.
If you find something over in one of those forums, try to get information on HOW they did it, and I'll try to reproduce it with ours.
I know with HTC phones modding such things requires the knowledge of decompiling, compling and signing apk's using apkTool or apkManager and editing smalis in notepad ++. You would have to track down which particular file contains the code and then know how to edit it to hide the taskbar. As an example just the simple task of hiding the clock in the notification bar of my HTC Incredible phone required the addition of 2 lines of code in the clock.smali file inside SystemUI.apk and the only way to get it to work was to push the file back to the phone and set permissions with adb. You couldn't just copy and paste it back in.
Thanks for the suggestions guys. I actually did go look at a bunch of 10.1 and 8.9 ROMs and it looks like there may be a solution out there. I've contacted one of the ROM developers for an answer.
If someone tells you what file to edit and what lines of code to use please post it as it will be useful to the community.
You may install honeybar form market to hide/unhide the bottom bar(notification and clock as well)
Sent from my GT-P7500 using xda premium
i just tried honeybar and it doesn't work for me. I also have go launcher ex installed so not sure if it's conflicting. I see the white box for honeybar, but pressing on it multiple times does nothing (it even goes away eventually as described in the install notes).
Honeybar isn't the solution that most of us are looking for. I myself love the Honeycomb default bar. It's the Mini-Apps Tray that is entirely useless. The least that Samsung could have done was to make the shortcuts changeable by the user.
The whole point of quick access to shortcuts is to have a quick access to the applications you use the most without flipping through homescreens or going to the Apps Tray. Thanks Samsung, I really need the World Time and Calculator more than I need the Browser and Settings Panel.
somebody9 said:
Hi everyone. First of all, many thanks to Gary for Root. It was quick and painless.
Now that we have root, I was wondering if anyone knows what needs to be deleted in order to get rid of that pesky pop up menu you get by pressing on the Chevron/Arrow in the middle of the bar.
I have the Wizz Bar (what an unfortunate name) installed and it does the job so much better. If you're wondering what Wizz Bar is, it basically allows you to pick your own applications or commands and bind them to the little Chevron or Arrow in the middle of the Honeycomb Bar (also called the "Mini Apps Tray")
However the built in action that pops up the Task Manager/World Clock/Calculator etc also initiates. Is there some way to remove the TouchWiz Apps Tray?
Or does this require more tinkering than a simple apk deletion from system/apps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've wondered whether there was a way to intercept the trigger that touching the chevron activates and just redirecting it to another command (such as what happens when you hit the "home" button after you've installed a home replacement). That way we wouldn't have to worry about hacking the touchwiz dock for customizing, we just replace it altogether so something else is invoked by touching the shortcut.
rEVOLVE said:
I've wondered whether there was a way to intercept the trigger that touching the chevron activates and just redirecting it to another command (such as what happens when you hit the "home" button after you've installed a home replacement). That way we wouldn't have to worry about hacking the touchwiz dock for customizing, we just replace it altogether so something else is invoked by touching the shortcut.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Re-mapping the function would be more involved than just turning it off but it is possible if you know what you're doing. For HTC phones there's a mod called rosie remap which does just about the same thing but its a complicated hack. It remaps a + button on the phone that ads apps to the homescreen, the mod allows you to reassign the button so it opens any app you want. I believe this is a framework-res.apk mod. Eventually someone who is familar with touchwiz will do these mods, if they haven't already for the 8.9 or 10.1, which should all be pretty much the same.
Edit: I think the chevron function would be in the touchwiz apk located in system/app but I don't know what Samsung calls it. HTC calls their Sense UI Rosie and you mod Rosie.apk to do the remapping of their UI specific buttons. If the chevron is part of honeycomb itself then it would be in the framework-res.apk file I bbelieve.
This is good info flowing in. I'm gonna see if I can figure out some more.
On a positive note - guess what Samsung changed? Exactly what I was *****ing about :
Mini Apps : Upgraded so you can choose and edit your own Mini Apps tray. You can easily access favorite features such as Calendar, Email, or PenMemo as a pop up over full screen applications.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
somebody9 said:
On a positive note - guess what Samsung changed? Exactly what I was *****ing about :
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was there an update that I don't know about that allows this??? I really like the idea of the mini app tray, but like was said before, not having the ability to put your most used apps there makes it pretty useless.
Please explain how apps can now (or in the near future) be changed in the tray.
Thanks!!!
I guess until they release 7.7 we won't know. Unless there's an update out on KIES. But I really doubt it.
Confirmed:7.7 has fully customisable mini apps tray...i'm disappointed in Samsung for releasing 'premium' products in such close succession that are so different in functionality. Why did they not include this basic and important feature on all new of their new tablet products? I actually feel somewhat conned now
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
rEVOLVE said:
i just tried honeybar and it doesn't work for me. I also have go launcher ex installed so not sure if it's conflicting. I see the white box for honeybar, but pressing on it multiple times does nothing (it even goes away eventually as described in the install notes).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
doesn't go launcher ex look like **** on the tab+? i installed it yesterday and when i found out that i can't remove the dock, i uninstalled it.
diospada11 said:
doesn't go launcher ex look like **** on the tab+? i installed it yesterday and when i found out that i can't remove the dock, i uninstalled it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pare, actually like it better because i don't like stock honeycomb desktop and app drawer. I set swipe up gesture to hide/unide the dock and also changed the stock dock icons.
Once we're able to customize the Touchwiz shortcuts, or hijack the launch command so we can tell it to launch something else, I'll be much happier.
For those who've not seen this function in action yet, check it out in this video at 2.05: http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=tBpzweqvKJA
Surely Samsung can put this function in tab plus on an update ... and they need to. The app tray is almost functionless otherwise. The presence of this thread is sufficient evidence that there is a high demand and several unsatisfied customers. Many customers have spent over £400 on this tablet. Why did they put it onto the 7.7 which was going on sale only a few days/weeks after the tab plus?
Sent from my GT-P6210 using xda premium
Just for my two cents, I would also like to see the app tray made editable. I've only had my unit for a couple of days, and I already feel its wasted on me for what it holds. Hoping for that to change in a coming update.
somebody9 said:
On a positive note - guess what Samsung changed? Exactly what I was *****ing about :
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where is this "mini apps?" Did I miss something?

[Q] how to identify Samsung mods to 4.0.4?

I am considering CM9 for my P3100. I don't know all that much about Android, and this is the only ICS device I have access to.
From the photos in the CM9 dailies post, the popup menu you get by tapping at lower right seems quite different in CM9 compared to what I have on my tablet.
I have rooted it and upgraded to 4.0.4, and I have replaced the Samsung launcher with the stock launcher. But I like having the widget-style icons within that popup menu to turn wifi/3g/etc on and off, and I like being able to go to Setup via the popup menu. Are these Samsung custom modifications to 4.0.4 that I would lose in CM9?
Many thanks,
No those are ICS features. Any ics rom should have toggles and setting shortcut. On AOKP/cm9 you can choose which toggles you want displayed and easily hide/show them from the notification pop up
Sent from my XT860 using xda premium
OK, good to hear!
Yes, "notification menu", "toggles". I have yet to learn the language.
Sent from my GT-P5113 using XDA Premium HD app
I'm actually quite disappointed by the change in look and feel from flashing CM9.
The notification bar is quite different; the toggles are there but they take an extra tap to get to. The notification layout looks primitive, as though it is an earlier version.
The camera app and music player app also look like older versions, less elegantly designed.
I guess I wasn't asking the right question in the original post. The capabilities are all there but Samsung must have redesigned the interface---not just the launcher but also the notification bar and some apps. I'm sorry to have lost that, although I know i can go back to stock.

[Q] How to get/install the default clock app for the Samsung Galaxy S4

So, I have a Galaxy S4 (sprint if it matters), and it comes with a pretty simple app called "Clock". This app has multiple alarms, a stopwatch, timer, world clock, and (if you rotate it sideways) a desktop clock. I also have a Samsung Galaxy Note 2014 edition tablet. It does not come with this app, but comes with something called "Alarm", which I don't find nearly as useful. Thus, my question is, is there some way to grab the Clock app off my phone and install it on my tablet, preferably without rooting either device? Or, does anyone just have that clock as an apk sitting around somewhere that I can side load?
I've tried to find the app in the Google Play store, but with a name like "Clock" it isn't easy to find. Also, I am NOT looking for some other app that does the same thing or is "better"; I just want the one I have on my phone.
thanks

Questions About Using Lineage OS 18.1 on Pixel 3

Greetings,
So I've successfully installed Lineage OS 18.1 Nightly and it runs really well. I've got the NikGapps Core and Magisk installed. Was able to add the apps I like from Google Play store and used the free or open source alternatives I could find for others.
I have a few questions for anyone using Lineage since I'm not sure if these are bugs or design choices or parts of Android 11.
Any clarification would be great. Basically, there's a few things I noticed that are different/don't seem to operate normally.
I can upload screenshots if necessary but let me give you the cliff notes of what I'm experiencing:
-No labels on the home screen icons, even though setting says "Show labels on desktop". Is this me interpreting something incorrectly?
-All icons on the home screen and app drawer appear to have a white background... should be transparent?
-The default sms messaging app always shows quick replay phrases despite turning off the setting "Always suggest quick actions/replies" in the notifications menu
-There is no way to turn off suggested apps... when you use an app it places it in a new section at the top of the app drawer. Looks like the menu setting is missing (there in vanilla A11).
-There is no built in volume limited. This was on my stock Galaxy S7 so if it is an OEM thing I understand. Perhaps you have a suggestion?
-Notifications from the default sms messaging app do not pop up over other on screen elements (specifically fullscreen video in Brave). Does this have to do with the "Bubbles" setting under notifications?
-Screen automatically dims/sleeps when watching fullscreen video (again in Brave)... happens inconsistently and going in/out of fullscreen seems to stop it from happening again.
-There is no swype ability on the keyboard. I assume this is a OEM keyboard setting or something.. is there an alternate keyboard you would recommend (open source, free) that won't steal your info/privacy violations?
-Last thing which is more of a question than anything else, since I cannot install a stable twrp, I used the Lineage OS recovery. It doesn't seem to have a backup/restore function. So is there a way for me to, with the setup I currently have, to do a complete and full backup? By this I mean like capture an image of all the partitions as they currently are, as you would with a PC.
Sorry for n00b but the last unlocked rooted custom rom I ran was Cyanogen back on a Motorola Photon. Thank you in advance, any input or clarification is much appreciated as you are a helpful, insightful bunch here.

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