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[Q] S Pen Button Not Switching Pens in S Note?

So, after getting my Note in August, and using it for email and Internet, I've finally been checking out what this thing can really do. Supposedly, I can switch pens (after creating pre-set pens in S Note) by pressing the S Pen button. Well, sometimes this works. Mostly, it doesn't. I've tried pressing hard, pressing softly, holding the button down, close to the screen, on the screen, away from the screen. Doesn't matter.
When it does work, which is maybe one out of every thirty tries, I can't figure out why. And then, once it's switched to the next pen, that's it. I can't switch again.
Anyone else experience this? Might this be something I can adjust by turnig the little screws under the button?
Update: Tried this on a coworker's Note 10.1, and he's having the same issue. Even tried switching S Pens. No luck.

Just another bug in the new SNote, if this is the only flaw you noticed consider yourself lucky! I have the same problem in the main app as well, the toggle between pen and rubber in the small mode is working great though. Does that work on your device (hold the button and double-tap the screen to get up the small SNote)? If it does, at least you know it's not you nor the hardware.
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Axel_ said:
Just another bug in the new SNote, if this is the only flaw you noticed consider yourself lucky! I have the same problem in the main app as well, the toggle between pen and rubber in the small mode is working great though. Does that work on your device (hold the button and double-tap the screen to get up the small SNote)? If it does, at least you know it's not you nor the hardware.
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Wow, I didn't even know it did that. Yeah, that works fine. Thanks!
'Nuther question: Is the pen switching thing supposed to work only in the new S Note (on Jellybean), or was that supposed to be a feature in the ICS version, too? I'm having some trouble finding specifics about new S Note features online. Lots of articles refer to "enhanced S Note features, " but very few say what they actually are!

loribuono said:
Wow, I didn't even know it did that. Yeah, that works fine. Thanks!
'Nuther question: Is the pen switching thing supposed to work only in the new S Note (on Jellybean), or was that supposed to be a feature in the ICS version, too? I'm having some trouble finding specifics about new S Note features online. Lots of articles refer to "enhanced S Note features, " but very few say what they actually are!
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As far as I can remember toggle between pen and rubber is supported even in ICS SNote but not toggle between your favorite pens. Ie, just like it works at the small quick note app now. But I'm not sure to be honest, that wasn't a feature I learned to use since I only had that SNote a couple of days before upgrading to JB.
I'm sure you already know this, but if you haven't consider giving LectureNotes a try!
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Yeah, I've checked out Lecture Notes. Even tried Evernote for a few days and was pretty excited about it. But I mainly use S Note for journaling, not note taking. And the ability to slap a picture, video, or map in there on-the-fly, is pretty awesome. I have a three year old, and you just can't beat how easy it is to stick a video or audio recording in your note.
If I was using this in school, I may feel differently.

loribuono said:
Yeah, I've checked out Lecture Notes. Even tried Evernote for a few days and was pretty excited about it. But I mainly use S Note for journaling, not note taking. And the ability to slap a picture, video, or map in there on-the-fly, is pretty awesome. I have a three year old, and you just can't beat how easy it is to stick a video or audio recording in your note.
If I was using this in school, I may feel differently.
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Click to collapse
I have to agree with you, SNote is a quite awesome app! It's to bad they have messed it up in the last version, however I think it's just a matter of time before there'll be an update that solves most problems including the one you experience with the button.
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Axel_ said:
I have to agree with you, SNote is a quite awesome app! It's to bad they have messed it up in the last version, however I think it's just a matter of time before there'll be an update that solves most problems including the one you experience with the button.
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So weird... this is working for me now. I think maybe my pens were so close to each other that I didn't realize it was working. I don't know. But I went in and created 7 pens, of the colors of the rainbow, so I could be sure I knew if they were switching. And they do. And when it reaches the end of the list, it switches to the eraser, then starts at the beginning of the list again.

loribuono said:
So weird... this is working for me now. I think maybe my pens were so close to each other that I didn't realize it was working. I don't know. But I went in and created 7 pens, of the colors of the rainbow, so I could be sure I knew if they were switching. And they do. And when it reaches the end of the list, it switches to the eraser, then starts at the beginning of the list again.
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Strange! That didn't work for me but I've noticed there is a couple of different SNote version that at looks the same depending on what android you're running so they might have fixed some bugs on your. Good for you
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I find this most useful feature doesnt work reliably within s notes, it changes the brush preset only about once every 10 presses of the s pen button, however if I take a screen shot then the feature works perfectly when drawing on the screen shot!! Why is that?
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manmikey said:
I find this most useful feature doesnt work reliably within s notes, it changes the brush preset only about once every 10 presses of the s pen button, however if I take a screen shot then the feature works perfectly when drawing on the screen shot!! Why is that?
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Same here, also it works perfectly every time when using the small quick note as I told in a previous post. Why? Because the new SNote is ****, that's why
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make sure your pen is close enough to show the hover when you press the button

sublimerocks13 said:
make sure your pen is close enough to show the hover when you press the button
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Nope, that's not the problem here since it's working just fine at the quick note app even if it's just toggle between pen and rubber in that particular version. So the pen nor the handling it aint, it's just an SNote bug that seems to appear in some versions of SNote.
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How to get SNote to stop zooming when palm hits the screen

Is there a way to get SNote to stop zooming in when your Palm hits the screen? I tried the disable hands thing at the bottom right, but it turns out SNote still detects two fingers and palms.
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I'd like to know as well, and I have the same problem in Sketchbook Pro.

I've also got the same problem in sketchbook pro. It's be great if you could just disable finger input entirely when the spen is out, and soon by tapping plus or minus or something.
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Bump...this is an overlooked flaw in the UI design. XDA to the rescue! Its a bummer when your writing and all of a sudden...you are zoomed in at 200%. Someone help us...also the settings tab on the status bar is frequently activated when I'm writing. I think that when the pad is in S-note or any other writing mode for that matter any non-pen input should be ignored... until switched off or reboot.

GMD Spen Control
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sgndroid1 said:
GMD Spen Control
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How does this help? Please explain? Thanks.

DrADP said:
How does this help? Please explain? Thanks.
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It's annoying me so much that I'm likely going to return the tablet tomorrow. I'm still within my 14 days. When I right on a notepad or notebook, my palm definitely sits on the page. I end up zooming in/out or hitting the *system tray (clock / settings etc).
I love the multipoint screen but there's got to be a way to turn it off.
GMD Spen also requires root. I don't want to root my device until it's out of warranty!

dtziheucdavis said:
Is there a way to get SNote to stop zooming in when your Palm hits the screen?
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Touch input should be disabled when your spen is within the air-view distance from the screen. Just make sure your pen is close to the screen before you put your palm down and do not lift it too far off while you write.

Really wish for a control to turn off pinch zoom in S Note on my Samsung Note Pro!!

Hand written notes on home screen

Is there any widget that allows you to take hand written notes directly on home screen? I mean without opening the main app by pressing the widget.

Sv: Hand written notes on home screen
When I got my device I had an idea to use a picture of an old blackboard as a wallpaper and somehow be able to draw on the blackboard itself preferably with pressure sensitive and chalk (I think is the correct word for blackboard "pens") like pens. Combined with custom, old school icons and widgets I think it would be awesome.
However, without a root it's not possible and I'm note sure if it is even with root. And more importantly, I haven't found anything close to similar so I assume that I have to learn java or whatever one are using for such features again to implement this if I'm rooting my device in the future.
The closest thing I got though, even though I didn't try it is this app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mattm.whiteboard that seems to do basically what you're looking for.
Edit: Actually, the pro version seems to be more what you're searching for now. It's been a while since I actually checked myself.
Hope that helped
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Thanks for your suggestion. I tried that one and didn't like it. Any other suggestions?
Axel_ said:
When I got my device I had an idea to use a picture of an old blackboard as a wallpaper and somehow be able to draw on the blackboard itself preferably with pressure sensitive and chalk (I think is the correct word for blackboard "pens") like pens. Combined with custom, old school icons and widgets I think it would be awesome.
However, without a root it's not possible and I'm note sure if it is even with root. And more importantly, I haven't found anything close to similar so I assume that I have to learn java or whatever one are using for such features again to implement this if I'm rooting my device in the future.
The closest thing I got though, even though I didn't try it is this app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mattm.whiteboard that seems to do basically what you're looking for.
Edit: Actually, the pro version seems to be more what you're searching for now. It's been a while since I actually checked myself.
Hope that helped
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Sv: Hand written notes on home screen
TheSanitarium said:
Thanks for your suggestion. I tried that one and didn't like it. Any other suggestions?
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Yes, actually!
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aksoft.sticky
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Hold spen button and double tap screen, that will bring up pop up note.
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Sv: Hand written notes on home screen
prenedo said:
Hold spen button and double tap screen, that will bring up pop up note.
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It won't display the note at the screen though, which can be quite useful sometimes. But sure, that combined with an SNote widget kinda works.
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TheSanitarium said:
Is there any widget that allows you to take hand written notes directly on home screen? I mean without opening the main app by pressing the widget.
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I quote myself from another thread
sphere314 said:
I'd suggest using (or trying) Snap Pad (free or ad-free).
It's not a floating note but rather a pad that comes out when you drag the snap region (that normally stays invisible).
So it can be opened and resized anytime (without having to launch it) and also while using other apps. It's also possible to adjust the pad's opacity and make it semi-transparent.
Pros
It's designed for the S-Pen (so supports pressure sensitivity and changing from pen to eraser with the button)
It's very simple
Cons
No Undo-Redo function
You have a single page to use
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See if there is anything interesting for you here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1995238

+1 for snap pad Cannot live without it, even on my note phone Perfect for people like me who suffer short term memory loss

Tried snap pad... It used 59mb of ram... I'll stick with whiteboard...with a transparent BG...its perfect for me.

bjbinc said:
Tried snap pad... It used 59mb of ram... I'll stick with whiteboard...with a transparent BG...its perfect for me.
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That's quite strange. I've checked my application manager and my Snap Pad (v. 1.1) takes 6.48MB of which 4.65MB are for the app and 1.83MB for data (a simple written note).
(But surely, if you have painted the whole Sistine Chapel on the pad, your data memory would be greater than mine... )

sphere314 said:
That's quite strange. I've checked my application manager and my Snap Pad (v. 1.1) takes 6.48MB of which 4.65MB are for the app and 1.83MB for data (a simple written note).
(But surely, if you have painted the whole Sistine Chapel on the pad, your data memory would be greater than mine... )
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Think he meant ram not rom memory. Seems like there would be lots of options for this type of widget.
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Ink Over Apps
I've just found out Ink Over Apps, that can be potentially interesting for the GNote 10.1.
There's no free version but the price (€0.76 or about $1) is affordable.
It supports the S-Pen and can be used to make quick annotations in the home screen or to make annotations inside some other app (browser, documents).
I hope the developer will improve this app because, after a quick testing, I think there's still something to do.
Anyway, it's a very interesting idea.

A fre app that does it
I posted it on write anywhere at anytime. forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2144366

Tap to wake - aka PGM - KnockOn

Lets Get this Note 3 party started!
The LG G2 has the knock on feature by stock default, called "KnockOn" since it has its only buttons on the back.
I currently run an app called PGM along with Fancy Kernel on my Galaxy Nexus this provides the same functionality.
Phone on desk in sleep mode, screen off. TAP TAP! on the screen and she wakes up.
Hoping we see this implemented on the Note 3 as its a feature that everyone loves and uses all day long.

Does your Galaxy Nexus suffer battery loss because of using that feature?

Sounds cool, I wouldn't mind that feature does it require root?

eitama said:
Does your Galaxy Nexus suffer battery loss because of using that feature?
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It will very likely drains the battery a bit
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I have installed it in my brothers nexus 4...app is called touch control
Battery drain is very minimal
Needs root and custom kernel
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The Note 2 and 3 has a home button that will wake the screen, so I see no need for me to use a knock-on feature..

I have it right now on the Note 2 using a different kernel and trickster mod app. Only issue is that if your pants have a thin inner liner your leg will turn on the phone. Same thing happened when I first did it on the Verizon Nexus. So it's not phone specific.

I'm sure that issue can be rectified with some enhancmenets for example :
- While Offscreen, reduce screen sensitivity
- If Offscreen AND touchwake event occurs, check light and proximity sensor, if both are dark and proximity==1 DO_NOT_WAKE_SCEEN
- Etc.
As for the dude who said the home button wakes the screen, that might be true,
but When you handle the Note with one hand, it is very uncomfortable to click the home button, skipping it would be awesome.

There was no appreciable drain on the galaxy nexus.

sounds interesting going to give this a try. As so for why we need it when we have a physical button? Because of its size. You don't have to reach all the way to the bottom to press the home button.

cdmoore74 said:
I have it right now on the Note 2 using a different kernel and trickster mod app. Only issue is that if your pants have a thin inner liner your leg will turn on the phone. Same thing happened when I first did it on the Verizon Nexus. So it's not phone specific.
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in the note 2, what kernel?
thx

I would like to have it in my Note 3 that has sview cover. I like to knock the s window to open. I don't like to touch the hard keys all the time.
Benjamin Mark
Sent from my Galaxy Note 3

Yeah ive had a number of phones which has the double tap 2 wake function i hope it reaches the note 3
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I really hope Samsung implements this natively.
was hoping someone on XDA would come up with an app or something
(do I really need to flash a new Kernel for this? :/)

This would be cool, it would also extend the life of the hard keys.
RoloRacer on Note3 N900A

Yeah hope they put it in natively
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baste07 said:
Yeah hope they put it in natively
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but knowing Samsung.. lol

wilflare said:
but knowing Samsung.. lol
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is there anywhere we can put forth suggestions to Samsung? haha
I really don't understand why aren't the companies making more use of gestures on the phone...
double tap at the top of the screen to scroll to the top
double tap at the bottom to scroll to the bottom
etc

Yeah if its in a custom rom or kernel then it must be good
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But isn't clicking the home button (1 click) more efficient than knock on (two clicks)? From what I've read about knock on on the LG g2, it's not awfully reliable as well.
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[falsified] See Your Pulse on Lockscreen

Ok, so I do not know if anyone have noticed this already, but you might find this interesting.
When you pass your finger over the Lockscreen without actually touching it the phone draws a ripple effect along the path of your finger,
Here's what I found; if you hold your finger steady close enough over the screen without touching all the way, you can see your pulse!!
The way I see it is, unlike the s4's lockscreen where you have a dot following you while you hover, the note's lockscreen draws a circular ripple below your finger that changes in area as you get closer. So, if you don't change the distance between your finger and the screen, the only thing that is changing the capacitance between your finger and the screen is actually your own pulse fluctuating the electrostatic energy in your finger.
If you've read so far I hope I haven't wasted your time. I just wanted to share

Was skeptical but yep seems to work not sure my pulse is that fast though
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Can a app be built arround this ? It's pretty cool

It's NOT your pulse. It's just an effect.
Try hovering your S Pen over the screen = same thing.

dehaani said:
It's NOT your pulse. It's just an effect.
Try hovering your S Pen over the screen = same thing.
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Yeah, just tried that. Bummer
Guess I was wrong and got wound up for nothing. Would have been cool though.

hehe would have been cool

PaulGG said:
Was skeptical but yep seems to work not sure my pulse is that fast though
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Maybe you got excited lol.

It's a good way to see if someone is coming off drugs or alcohol.
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shaungregg said:
It's a good way to see if someone is coming off drugs or alcohol.
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Or maybe this is a good way to see who have a sense of observation.
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there are plenty of BT heart monitors.
You could connect to one and display HR on a widget

shaungregg said:
It's a good way to see if someone is coming off drugs or alcohol.
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For those amongst us who are A, incapable of smell, or B, completely deprived of any observational skills?

I guess everyone knows, but if not this one works.
Maybe stupid of me, but when someone mentioned making an app for it.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=si.modula.android.instantheartrate
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