App request? - General Questions and Answers

I still use an app that has been discontinued quite some time ago.
The app was called Volume Control by dev Bigredpepper
It's on of the first apps I install on any new phone! Very convenient for adjusting volume by just sliding the edge of your screen (no not VolumeSlider allthough very similar I didn't like that one). Volume Control was far easier than buttons or even the newest Pie Volume slider imo.
But one day it is probably gonna break on a new Android version that's my fear, so I am wondering if there are any dev's interested in making a similar app.
So I was wondering if there is a place to bring new ideas as inspiraton to dev's?

Related

[APP REQUEST] Trackball as phone "Send" button

(please delete the other thread)
N1 suffers from one simple but debilitating hardware limitations - lack of hardware buttons.
Since trackball clicking is rarely used, it would be nice to assign a different function to it.
The first function coming to mind has to do with the fact that the device is a phone -
make trackball into a "Send" button.
This is what it should do:
1) whenever not in the dialer app, clicking trackball should bring up/start the dialer.
2) when in the dialer app, and a phone number was entered, clicking trackball should dial the number.
3) when there's an incoming call, clicking the trackball should answer the call.
I know some people with arthritis who would kill for such an app.
Thanks.
If such an app. were to be created, how about the case where the foreground process requires the use of the trackball click? Then every time you clicked it, the phone dialer would load.
I also don't personally thing the Android APIs would allow such a global hook (w/o root), but I'm not the best dev. out there so I'll let the more experienced respond to that one.
jayshah said:
If such an app. were to be created, how about the case where the foreground process requires the use of the trackball click? Then every time you clicked it, the phone dialer would load.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, that's the whole point.
You mean like a game? So far, games might be the only programs where you HAVE to use trackball for functionality.
I think all other programs allow touch screen input in place of the trackball.
Since I never use the trackball for anything, and I've seen a number of comments with the same sentiment (ie "trackball is useless"), I'd gladly trade the entire trackball function (including moving the cursor with the ball) for the ability to have a hardware "send" button.
I'll personally pay 50 dollars to a man/woman who can make this work. Then they can collect the money from thousands of market goers who'd would prefer a useful hardware button over a useless one.
Just a small bump.
why is this in the development section?
/sarcasm
jesus people your right stuff like this should be posted next to / under/ above threads like Cyanogen and Amon_RA
And how would you handle the movement of the ball when it rolls? I find when in recovery, it doesn't take much for the trackball movement to register and overshoot the options I am aiming for if not careful. Obviously a sensitivity setting would be the recourse for such a dilemma but still...or were you thinking that anything beyond buttonOn (false function obviously) is ignored?
Technically you could go as far as to have the tracball pressed trigger the dialer. From there you can scroll to call log, contacts, favourites using the trackball and then scroll down if you so desire.
I do find it odd that the phone has this hardware button and rarely is it actually used.
I think being able to touch the trackball and force the phone out of sleep is a sound expectation for this phone...the fact it isn't there is odd.
just get a sense or blur rom, that fixes everything
PsychoKilla666 said:
just get a sense or blur rom, that fixes everything
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hahaha...
in other news, plenty of people have no interest in senseUI
One more bump.
Someone should really write this program.
Using the trackball to bring the phone in and out of sleep would drain your battery. That trackball is way to easily pressed (ie in your pocket) to be of any use as that function, but I would love the phone/send function. Would be wonderful as I hate having a phone shortcut on my homescreen.
Would be willing to pay or donate as well.
APrinceAmongMen said:
Using the trackball to bring the phone in and out of sleep would drain your battery. That trackball is way to easily pressed (ie in your pocket) to be of any use as that function, but I would love the phone/send function. Would be wonderful as I hate having a phone shortcut on my homescreen.
Would be willing to pay or donate as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you. One of very few people who seem to understand this problem.
Anyway, the community's reluctance to implement this feature is a seeming indication of difficulty to do it. Maybe Android OS isn't that flexible; or maybe it's just too new, so people haven't really learned yet how to do things with it.
After all, the Win Mobile OS has been around for ages, and sure enough, as soon my Sprint Touch Pro2 was released, I had an app to rebind all the keys to whatever function I wanted.
Perhaps, in the future, we will see an Android app like the one I want. But, to my greatest disappointment, it may be years...
bump bump bump
I'll bump it one more time.
Any progress with this feature?
Another month has passed...
Has any developer figured out if it'd even be possible to make an app like that?
Thanks.

[APP] Lock 2.0 unusable on Nexus One

I have had the payed version of Lock 2.0 since there was an option to buy but since I got my Nexus One it has now become pretty much unusable. The sad part is that it is better than the lock button that is on the top of the phone cause it lets you bring up the lock screen by pressing your track ball. I love all the different back grounds and sounds you can download and how they stay in a folder and not in your app draw (which is really annoying). Now the thing I don't like is that when you press the volume buttons when the phone is locked you can and will turn down or up the volume on accident and this is why this app is now unusable. Can it really be that hard to add an option to disable these buttons? I have emailed Android Apps and they say the reason the volume button does that is for when you are listening to music and thats great but whats the use if when you get a call or text and you can't hear it cause you turned the volume down to 0 on accident. I emailed them today again and asked if they could update their app and I hope they do. The reason I started this thread is so anybody could comment on this problem with I have to say is probably my second favorite app on the market. I will also email them a link to this thread so they can see what everybody thinks. One more thing on another lock app LockBot when you press the volume button the sound does not get turned down but I don't want to really pay for two apps that can do the same thing. Edit: OK they fixed it but their is a new problem with the home button.
isjr said:
I have had the payed version of Lock 2.0 since there was an option to buy but since I got my Nexus One it has now become pretty much unusable. The sad part is that it is better than the lock button that is on the top of the phone cause it lets you bring up the lock screen by pressing your track ball. I love all the different back grounds and sounds you can download and how they stay in a folder and not in your app draw (which is really annoying). Now the thing I don't like is that when you press the volume buttons when the phone is locked you can and will turn down or up the volume on accident and this is why this app is now unusable. Can it really be that hard to add an option to disable these buttons? I have emailed Android Apps and they say the reason the volume button does that is for when you are listening to music and thats great but whats the use if when you get a call or text and you can't hear it cause you turned the volume down to 0 on accident. I emailed them today again and asked if they could update their app and I hope they do. The reason I started this thread is so anybody could comment on this problem with I have to say is probably my second favorite app on the market. I will also email them a link to this thread so they can see what everybody thinks. One more thing on another lock app LockBot when you press the volume button the sound does not get turned down but I don't want to really pay for two apps that can do the same thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What rom are you using?
Cyanogens latest has an option for trackball wake-up (and of course that mod can be applied to other roms as well) if that is indeed the biggest thing about it you like. I personally never saw the need to change my lockscreen from stock, but can understand why some people do.
I am using the stock rom, I didn't want to root this phone since you void your warranty and mine is pretty messed up I should get a replacement this week. Also I am glad Cyanogen added that and that tells you it is a problem in the stock or he wouldn't have had to improve on it. So people like me only have the option of downloading an app to get the same results. Also I have used a rooted phone before, I had been using my Google Ion rooted for about 6 months before I got my Nexus One.
Ok I just got an email from the developer and they have disabled the volume buttons by default on the new version that was fast. Now there is a weird problem where even after you set the Launcher as the default for your home button it still keeps opening Lock 2.0, its really annoying but I already told them so I'm sure they will fix it. Now if only Google would respond like this for their "Support Forums" on fixing the 3G and Touchscreen problems the world would be a better place.
I understand the issue with the volume keys. I don't listen to music so i installed the app (ringer mode locker) by kaa from the market. It overrides the system setting and locks on your choose of settings: vibrate, ringer silent etc. If you volume up or down it stays on you set point. I like if because it is not a background app using extra battery trying to monitor a set point.
isjr said:
Ok I just got an email from the developer and they have disabled the volume buttons by default on the new version that was fast. Now there is a weird problem where even after you set the Launcher as the default for your home button it still keeps opening Lock 2.0, its really annoying but I already told them so I'm sure they will fix it. Now if only Google would respond like this for their "Support Forums" on fixing the 3G and Touchscreen problems the world would be a better place.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please don't critisize Google like this, 3G issues and Touchscreen problems are not simple applications in which code can be modified to turn off the "Volume" buttons.. I've noticed the employees on their forums try to solve things to the best of their abilities - but Google can not just correct everything as if it takes a small flick of the wrist, or click of a mouse...
Honestly I don't see how they will fix any 3G issue entierly without modifiying the insides of the phone.. guess I dont know enough about phones to make such a conclusion anyways.
isjr said:
Now there is a weird problem where even after you set the Launcher as the default for your home button it still keeps opening Lock 2.0, its really annoying but I already told them so I'm sure they will fix it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I emailed them about this a couple of weeks ago. I told them exactly that and I got a "Steve Jobs-like" response lol..
"Something is wrong with your phone."
I even posted about it a couple of times in the Q&A section but got no responses. I'm glad to see someone on a stock ROM is experiencing the same issue because I thought it was due to using CM. Are you using an auto task-killer?
!!
I want to get rid of my lockscreen! its anoying having to press the power button then unlock the screen!
frankzua77 said:
I want to get rid of my lockscreen! its anoying having to press the power button then unlock the screen!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get "KeyGuard disabler" from the market. It costs 1.49 but does exactly what you want. I'm sure there are free versions of similar software too but this is only one i've ever tried.
!!
gIMpSTa said:
Get "KeyGuard disabler" from the market. It costs 1.49 but does exactly what you want. I'm sure there are free versions of similar software too but this is only one i've ever tried.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
________________
wow dude just tried it! works perfect! thanks man!
Meh....
After installing and trying to use it, I finally gave up. It has the potential to be by far one of the best android apps. The developer has designed programs that mesh with android so natively that I am jealous of his understanding. But even after a few reinstallations, this program never delivered. A replacement lockscreen must be more than just pretty. It wasn't sized right for the Nexus One screen and constantly froze "Updating List", even when I was just trying to unlock. The "Updating List" freeze causes a loop that just recalled the freeze when I hit home. There is no escape short of hitting menu, more, home, then selecting my home screen program. I would consider that a lock screen fail if I have to navigate a menu to select a home screen instead of sliding the sexy little slider over. I hate taking refunds from the market, but Lock 2.0 needs more work. If I see anyone saying it has been adjusted for the N1 screen and the home bug has been fixed, I'll buy it again, but until then, I'll stick with the just weather and toggle widgets.
I hear that Lock 2.0 disables notifications on the Nexus One. Does anybody know of any apps thats just as attractive as Lock 2.0 that doesn't disable notifications or freeze.. etc.. (something iphone-ish i guess)
Any news about the home button bug bypassing the lock screen in Lock 2.0?
As far as a can tell its been working good and the dev added the option to clear the home screen default if it does it again. Its pretty sad that he left it messed up for months until I sent him the link to this thread.
Sent from my Nexus One
isjr said:
As far as a can tell its been working good and the dev added the option to clear the home screen default if it does it again. Its pretty sad that he left it messed up for months until I sent him the link to this thread.
Sent from my Nexus One
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, but I was referring to another bug (unless I'm totally mistaken):
When you turn on your nexus and you're still on Lock 2.0 lock screen, if you press the home button, it unlocks the phone without having to use the slider.
Hope this was clear...

[Q] Change tracks with volume buttons - kernel specific?

So I'm getting back into the smartphone game again after being away awhile and I got a Nexus S today basically free of cost, practically brand new without a mark on it. Previous owner had it as a temporary phone during a warranty repair job of his primary phone and when he picked up the repaired one they said he could keep the Nexus S (wish I could get that lucky).
Anyway, while I know there are a ton of different ROMs available for this fantastic (albeit older) device, here's what I really want and I'm not sure it's possible. I've used CM in the past on several devices and one of the things that I always loved first and foremost was the ability to change tracks during music playback by holding the volume up/down button(s) (long press as a short press adjusts the volume). Now, I'm not a coder, not a developer, not a ROM builder, etc - I basically enjoy the work of others provided by their ROMs and so on.
This time out I've decided to try and stick with a pure stock ROM (which I'm not sure of at the moment, the NS has 4.1.2 on it but I plan to do testing with the factory 4.0.4 and 4.1.1 images as well just to see what's going on). Since those are factory images they're obviously not rooted so I can use WugFresh's Nexus Toolkit to handle the rooting for me.
So here's my question: is the ability to use the volume controls for changing tracks during music playback (with the screen off) a ROM-specific thing or is it kernel-specific - I've never been able to find an accurate answer to this question and I've asked it several times on different forums over the past 4+ years and still nothing of substance has ever been given as a response.
I know that some music players advertise they can do it (I've seen PowerAMP mentioned a few times but it just doesn't appear to work for me, ever, on any device). Again, I'd prefer to stay stock as much as possible, save for rooting the device, and then hopefully find out either a) I have to use a custom ROM with this feature enabled in it, or b) it's kernel related and I can just install a custom kernel which I can tolerate since it'll help on several aspects.
Sorry to make this so wordy but that's just how I am.
tl;dr version: I want to remain as stock as possible, with root only, and be able to change tracks during audio/music playback with the screen off by using the volume control buttons. Is it possible with just installing a custom kernel (given this Nexus S is bootloader unlocked) or not?
Hopefully someone can offer an answer that'll put a smile on my face but, if not that's fine too I suppose, I can just drop back to CM10 (4.1.1) stable and stick with it, not sure 4.1.2 really does all that much to improve things and 4.2.2 apparently is just too big for the limited 512MB of RAM in this NS to be smooth sailing.
Thanks...
This feature is build in with the app "Uber Music" its a setting called "Use volume buttons to control media"
It works great and its awesome if you don't mind putting in a few dollars to get the app
Cheers,
Luke
UberMusic looks nice, sure, but it doesn't do what I was hoping it would (and was suggested in the post above). The setting preference says "Enable headset controls" and I already have that ability: I have a cord from Apple earbuds where I removed/desoldered the original factory earbuds (because they're crap) and then replaced them with a pair of Koss IEMs that I like. So even though the cord looks like I'm using Apple earbuds I'm not.
Having said that, I can already control the Play (single click), Pause (single click), and Next track (double click) functionality, but obviously the dedicated volume buttons on the remote don't work for whatever reason. The Nexus S has a proper TRRS jack but it seems like no Android phone makers care enough to actually allow for such volume control through that jack. And the typical triple click Previous track functionality doesn't work either, sadly (and that's with any remote I've ever tried, even earbuds/IEMs that claim to work or are "designed for Android."
So again, I'm trying to control changing tracks (Next and Previous) with the volume rocker on the phone itself and when the screen is off, that's it. Since the phone is in my hand 99% of the time and my thumb is on the volume rocker, it's infinitely more efficient to change tracks with a slight movement of the thumb than trying to grasp the inline remote and double click or whatever.
Sure is odd why this question is so difficult to get an answer to over the years...
Most custom roms support this. It's not a kernel thing afaik. You may be able to find a mod to get it working on stock. It seems like I've seen it before in the ns4g themes & mods but I could be wrong.
As for triple press on the headphones, it's always worked for me with poweramp on multiple headphones.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk 2

Android 9.0 stupidifies DND and Recent Apps.

(Moderators please move this topic if I am in the wrong forum).
My Pixel 1 received the 9.0 update and I HATE IT.
Google modified the controls over "sound on", "vibrate only", "silent" to Priority and DND many times. With Android 7 and 8 I was satisfied. But now.. they have completely stupidified Android!
A better explanation can be found here although this article is way to kind describing it:
https://www.androidpolice.com/2018/...-not-disturb-settings-simplified-single-mode/
Two problems I now have:
1. It is possible to mute your phone while you can still actively control the volume using the side buttons. It is totally unclear whether the phone is actually silent. See screenshot 1.
2. When DND is on (in my case it turns on automatically at night) there is no way to turn it off with the volume buttons anymore. You actually have to go into Settings.
3. When in a meeting and you want to turn in on, normally you could use the volume button down but not anymore
Please, is there anyway to get control over DND via volume buttons again? Some kind of setting I can change via ADB?
Then the other major change: Recent Apps. You no longer have an overview of your recent apps! You cannot just tap the app you want. Instead, your current app screen zooms out and you can scroll left to find out what other recent apps you have.
It's like going back to the stone age. I cannot believe the reasoning behind it. Is there a way to revert back to the better Recent Apps
I am not a programmer or developer at all but these dumb decisions from Google made me wish I was an Android dev who could write an app to change this.
It's also quite frustrating all the big websites write how Android 9 has AI and will improve your life because hey you are probably addicted to your phone.I haven't noticed any AI informing me of app usage. Also all the articles don't say anything about how an update could also be a huge step back I
This feels like a dumber version of Android
Maybe you would prefer LineageOS on your Pixel, instead.
Just found this, I don't know if it will help:
https://android.gadgethacks.com/how-to/make-volume-buttons-control-ringtones-notifications-again-android-pie-0186539/
post-mortem said:
Just found this, I don't know if it will help:
https://android.gadgethacks.com/how-to/make-volume-buttons-control-ringtones-notifications-again-android-pie-0186539/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That looks like a nice app! I try to avoid using my physical buttons to help extend their life... but that does seem nice if you use the volume rocker often!
I am using this app.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.leedroid.shortcutter
it allows me to add new toggles to my drop down notification toggles and one is for volume controls..
Well there is a shortcut built into Android pi for vibrate mode: when the screen is on, press the volume up and power button at the same time and the phone will vibrate for calls and notifications

Question Looking for infos about custom features (knock off/gestures/fast actions)

HI, i was a nexus user in the past and i remember a lot of features from the community. In those days i return to use a google phone, even though google has changed many of its policies about warranty. I notice a lot of problems or missed features. I was looking there but i didn't find nothing so i just ask to be sure i'm in the right place or just i missed something. For example, will be great to add the possibility to double knock on the screen to lock the screen and not only press on the right button. Or, for example, add the possibility to increase things you can do when press the botton screen. Or it will be great to improve gestures, likes oneplus so i can write some letters on blocked screen and for example activate light or something like that.
Is there alredy something for those thing or is still all blocked/work in progress?
ther3y3s said:
HI, i was a nexus user in the past and i remember a lot of features from the community. In those days i return to use a google phone, even though google has changed many of its policies about warranty. I notice a lot of problems or missed features. I was looking there but i didn't find nothing so i just ask to be sure i'm in the right place or just i missed something. For example, will be great to add the possibility to double knock on the screen to lock the screen and not only press on the right button. Or, for example, add the possibility to increase things you can do when press the botton screen. Or it will be great to improve gestures, likes oneplus so i can write some letters on blocked screen and for example activate light or something like that.
Is there alredy something for those thing or is still all blocked/work in progress?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For locking the device without using power button, I use Lock App from F-Droid, because I'm not a fan of using buttons.
3 apps/modules come to mind that can expand pixel's capabilities:
1) TapTap - tap back of phone to do something, eg pull down notification or take screenshots
2) AOSP Mods: like a Gravitybox lite. I use it to center the clock in the status bar and display date and day of week. I can also Double tap screen to sleep, but it doesn't work too well
3) ButtonMapper: customize hard buttons for other purposes. For example, i hold my volume down button to take screenshots.
For all, or most, of the best stuff (like AOSP modz) you'll need root access and lsposed to run 'em...a lot like the nexus days, lotsa toys!

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