Related
I'm curious about peoples' opinions of the app "LectureNotes" by Acadoid Developer and how it stacks up against the other main players in the active digitizer game. I've only been using my TPT for a few days' worth of note taking and haven't settled on a specific app yet, so I would like to hear thoughts on how you chose your primary note taking app.
i use ezpdf reader usually and just annotate my notes onto the pdf lecture slides.
if i need free form writing, i use free-note as it has keyboard + pen input
or quill if i just need pen input.
personally i haven't tried lecture notes, but it seems like MyScript Notes Mobile preloaded with the TPT
Wow, pretty good app. I didn't know about it. Thanks!
I've been using TPT for about 2 weeks now, and like the OP, I haven't really quite settled on a specific handwriting app..
Key uses for me are:
- taking notes during meetings
- something to help me in my Japanese language study
- some silly doodling/sketching fun
Some apps I've tried:
- Notesmobile
- Antipaper
- Writepad stylus
- Lecture notes
- Asus' supernotes
- Freenote
- Quill
For lecture notes specifically, I like that I can choose checkered pattern for the background and set the pattern size, as that is perfect for writing in Japanese.
But I found that it lags quite a bit when writing, and there isn't an easy way for me to scroll between pages.
So I haven't really been using it much in the past week.
For the moment, I've sort of settled with using a mix of Writepad, Supernote and Antipaper. Sadly, neither Supernote nor Antipaper has stylus only option
Still waiting for the one app that can do it all!
Might never come, but I can always hope, can't I?
I use Lecture Notes and have more or less canned every other note software. Lecture Notes just has way more features that I need. It can export in many ways. It can backup all my notes to dropbox, great support for inserting images and easy to change color, pen thickness etc.
Only think missing is better organization of the notebooks themselves. When that's here, it will be perfect.
It's also by far the most stable of Quill, Notes mobil and asus supernotes.
Personally, I have tried a lot of handwriting notes apps until I cam to this one. At that time this one worked the best overall in my opinion. When I first started using it didn't have everything it has now. But it was already robust and never crashed. I had one issue after a full system crash and reboot that wiped out the content of one notebook. But I simply loaded my backup from the day before without issue and kept rolling.
I have about 15 different notebooks on there now and I use them daily for work notes as I am walk around the office working on equipment or meeting notes.
It doesn't have the handwriting recognition features you find in other apps but I think that is what keyboard are for and I wouldn't write a document up that way anyway.
My good things list.
First, The developer is always adding things per user requests. Options for everything you can think of.
Second, it is being developed directly on the TPT and it seems to be one of the only ones able to be truly palm rejection friendly by only allowing the app to pull input from the pen (Option can be disabled for those that don't have a pen).
Third, and again the endless options... every type of custom settings, scrolling options (one finger, two finger, scroll bars and bar thickness), export options, backup options, sharing options, zoom options, page size - color - patterns, simple drawing tools, cut paste - copy paste, and on and on... every time I turn on the tablet it seems there is anther update to this app.
The dev listens to the feedback and finds ways of making the ideas work. I have submitted several ideas that have become reality.
It isn't free... but I would buy it a second and third time if I could just to support the dev team.
I see a brighter and brighter future of this app.
Hi folks,
I am the author of LectureNotes, I was glad to read that the app is useful for you. Sorry for joining this forum and this thread so late, but I learned only very recently that there are couple of forum threads related to LectureNotes.
Note that I uploaded v1.12.2 today with a couple of minor additions, the most important one probably being the possibility to choose the directory where the app stores your notebooks.
Best regards,
Markus
acadoid said:
Hi folks,
I am the author of LectureNotes, I was glad to read that the app is useful for you. Sorry for joining this forum and this thread so late, but I learned only very recently that there are couple of forum threads related to LectureNotes.
Note that I uploaded v1.12.2 today with a couple of minor additions, the most important one probably being the possibility to choose the directory where the app stores your notebooks.
Best regards,
Markus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am using the trial version, but i am already convinced of buying the full version. I have a suggestion to make :
The software really needs a laso eraser it will make it more feature-full
Dear trt44,
LectureNotes has a `lasso´ eraser, moving the eraser in a closed path so that start and end point are close deletes the interior.
Best regards,
Markus
Perfect, i just tried the laso eraser and it works like a charm, so i bought the software .
I have another suggestion : The software lacks the ability to draw basic shapes (rectangles, circles, lines...), and from my humble point of view, basic shapes are very important for fast and accurate drawing when taking notes.
Many thanks for purchasing the app.
The app contains simple drawing primitives, they are part of the pencil toolbox (as long as you do not disable this in the settings). Choose `Show pencil toolbox´ in the pencil menu to get the toolbox displayed, click-and-hold to move it around. A single click on one of the standard or custom pencils chooses the pencil and a double-click on one of the custom pencils opens the `Custom pencil settings´ dialog; a click on one of the drawing tools activates the drawing tool, another click inactivates it.
OK, thank you, i will try it once i get home.
acadoid said:
Many thanks for purchasing the app.
The app contains simple drawing primitives, they are part of the pencil toolbox (as long as you do not disable this in the settings). Choose `Show pencil toolbox´ in the pencil menu to get the toolbox displayed, click-and-hold to move it around. A single click on one of the standard or custom pencils chooses the pencil and a double-click on one of the custom pencils opens the `Custom pencil settings´ dialog; a click on one of the drawing tools activates the drawing tool, another click inactivates it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, so far this is the best note taking application for android platform, it works exactly the way it should. But the UI is a bit ugly frankly you should work it more. A software like yours deserve a sexy fantastic UI :
- Attractive icons cause the actual ones looks dead to me, note Books icons for example looks horrible
- The ability to go forward and back in pages using forward and back buttons (more convenient sometimes instead of just scrolling or doing a notebook overview and select the page from there)
- Notebook overview should have an icon in the top tools bar for easy access
One last thing, when you use palm heuristic there is no way to zoom but using the zoom function in the menu witch have a fixed zoom ratio, i suggest to add a zoom slider in the top tools bar where you can specify how much you want to zoom when using (or not) palm heuristic.
Thank you for the fantastic software and keep the good work on .
Many thanks for your kind comments. I certainly agree that the icons can be improved, but I am not an artist and I do my best.
The app allows to go forward and backward page-wise by using `One page forward` or `One page backward´ in the hand menu; alternatively, to move quickly through your notebook without changing mode or switching to notebook overview, switch on `Permanently display scroll bars´ in the settings and drag on the scroll bars (the bar thickness can be increased in the settings).
`Notebook overview´ is just two clicks away in all modes (one click on main menu and one click on the item), I do not think that it is worthwhile to add an extra icon.
When using the heuristic palm rejection, one or two fingers gestures for scrolling and zooming are restricted to the hand mode, but being in this mode you can scroll and zoom continuously. Besides that, there is a zoom slider at the left side, you can change zoom by dragging it (the bar thickness can also be increased in the settings).
Just wanted to say hello to you Markus and thank you for your amazing app.
I am loving your app more and more. I appreciate your email correspondence about features I asked about. It truly puts you and your application above the rest.
Cheers.
I just uploaded v1.13 into Google Play. The major new feature is to allow folders of notebooks (and folders of folders of notebooks, etc.), but I also added LectureNotes as an image receiver (so that the app shows up when you share an image) and fixed a bug that could cause the app to crash when using a template for a new notebook.
To allow folders affects all parts of the app (notebooks board, notebook content view, notebook overview, notebook index, notebooks board index, ...). I carefully double- and triple-checked all features and things should work as before. Please drop an email to me in case you noticed something unexpected and I will do my very best to fix it quickly.
Best regards,
Markus
Sweet, I requested this feature cause of large number of notes
Works good, but maybe change the icon of folders so they stand out more from the regular.
acadoid said:
I just uploaded v1.13 into Google Play. The major new feature is to allow folders of notebooks (and folders of folders of notebooks, etc.), but I also added LectureNotes as an image receiver (so that the app shows up when you share an image) and fixed a bug that could cause the app to crash when using a template for a new notebook.
To allow folders affects all parts of the app (notebooks board, notebook content view, notebook overview, notebook index, notebooks board index, ...). I carefully double- and triple-checked all features and things should work as before. Please drop an email to me in case you noticed something unexpected and I will do my very best to fix it quickly.
Best regards,
Markus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a wonderful feature Markus that I didn't realize I needed until just recently. Love it I like the idea of changing the icon on the folders so they stand out more. I also love the new storage location setting, it eases my mind to know it is on my external_sd.
Also, I dunno if I am just being dense, but I cannot seem to figure out the navigation menu when enabled in settings. Within settings, under Settings > Menu > Enable app's launcher icon menu and it says it provides a navigation menu at the app's launcher icon. I've always assumed this was an extra navigation menu in the top left corner, but cannot seem to ever be able to use it.
Any thoughts?
I am glad to hear that you like the new feature.
In case you switch on the menu at the app's launcher icon, you should see a menu when clicking on the icon in the left upper corner (in difference to the case when this option is off, then you get a message that there is no functionality assigned, with the exception of notebook content view where the changed pages are flushed to the file system). What happens in your case? Does the icon highlight when you click on it?
acadoid said:
I am glad to hear that you like the new feature.
In case you switch on the menu at the app's launcher icon, you should see a menu when clicking on the icon in the left upper corner (in difference to the case when this option is off, then you get a message that there is no functionality assigned, with the exception of notebook content view where the changed pages are flushed to the file system). What happens in your case? Does the icon highlight when you click on it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't seem to do anything when I click on it, with either my finger or with the pen. And it doesn't seem to matter if I have it enabled or not. Neither scenario causes the icon to do anything. It doesn't highlight or say/do anything. It also does not matter what screen I am at, the icon never does anything. Whether I am within a notebook, folder or at the notebooks board screen. Odd.
Would this have anything to do with that I am running ICS?
I started a huge thread on hints and tips for the HTC Leo (see my signature) so I thought now that I have a Surface tablet I would do the same. It is early days yet but I will update the thread as I discover more so if you have tips please share. Some tips I have discovered myself and others I have found on the internet. I am in no way claiming credit for all. I just want to put all advice in one thread. These tips should also apply to other Windows 8 tablets and not just the Surface. In some cases they even apply to Windows 8 for PC. BTW, I typed this whole thread on Surface using Touch Cover
1. How to Select a File or Photo.
Simply use a downwards flick gesture on multiple photos or files to select them. Flicking upwards also works. You can share multiple selections.
2. How to Take Screenshots
Press the capacitive home button and the downwards volume button at the same time. The screen momentarily dims. Screenshots are saved to a Screenshot album in Photos app.
3. How to Allow Video, Music and Photo Apps to See Media Stored on your MicroSD Card
At the moment you can only store and browse media files using file explorer. Those media files do not show up in their appropriate apps. This is what you need to do. Go to search and type “Disk Management”. The entry in Settings will show “Create and format hard disk partitions”. This is Disk Management. Click it. You will see that your microSD card has already been assigned a drive letter. Right-click your “Removable” drive and select “Change Drive Letter and Paths for <drive letter>…” Once the card has already been inserted and assigned a drive letter, you cannot simply click “Change…” here (the option you need will be grayed out). So you have to click “Remove”. Now the only option you have is “Add…”. Click it and you will see “Mount in the following empty NTFS folder:” Create a folder in your Users directory or in C:. For instance, C:\Users\username\microSD. Select that folder. You are now able to treat your microSD like any other folder in Windows 8, including adding to Libraries like Pictures, Video and Music etc. You can now open File Explorer and right-click the Pictures, Video and Music Libraries in the left hand Navigation Pane, select Properties, then Add and select the folder you just mounted in your microSD in. Now when you go into the Photos, Videos or Music apps in Surface you will be able to see your media files you added to your microSD card.
4. Update your Office 2013 Preview to Office 2013 Final
Search for "Windows Update" and then choose “Install optional updates” instead of Windows Update from the search results (under Settings). This will display the Windows Update control panel. Now, either check for updates or tap the link that says updates are available. In the resulting list, you’ll see “Update for Microsoft Office Home & Student 2012 RT Preview.” Select it and install that and whatever other updates are available. After a reboot, you can access your updated Office Home & Student 2013 RT apps, which drop the Preview branding and have some new features, including the Ribbon Display Options feature.
5. How to Enable Rotation Lock
Open the Charms menu and tap on Settings. Tap on the screen icon near bottom right. Above the brightness bar is the rotation lock icon. Tap to toggle on and off.
6. Enable Virtual Reality Mode in Panorama Photos in Travel App
Tap on the compass/GR round icon when viewing a panorama photo to be able to see around the photo by moving and tilting your Surface.
7. Unlock Without Swiping
Instead of Swiping up the lockscreen image to unlock, just tap space bar on your keyboard. You can also wake up your Surface from sleeping by tapping any key on the keyboard.
8. Keep Photos Private and From Appearing in Photo App Library
In Desktop mode, open file explorer and move any photos you want to prevent showing in the Pictures Library in the Photo App to a new folder. Right click that new folder and click on Properties and then Advanced. Uncheck "Allow files in this folder to have contents indexed...". You can even mark the folder and contents hidden if you wish. To see changes you may need to rebuild your index from scratch if you had already opened the Photo app and saw those photos. To rebuild the index, go to Control Panel and click on Indexing Options, then Advanced and then Rebuild. Will take a while to rebuild.
9. Speed Up Web Browsing by Blocking Advertisements
Open Desktop Internet Explorer and go into Internet Options. Click on the Programs tab and then on Manage Add-Ons. Click on Tracking Protection and then Get a Tracking Protection List Online. Add a couple from the list, such as EasyList and Fanboy. Save and exit.
10. Make your Surface Desktop Wallpaper Match your Modern UI Experience
At the moment your Desktop wallpaper does not match your new Start Screen theme and style. Follow the instructions in the link at the end to make the overall experience 'consistent'. You should disable syncing of Desktop Personalisation in PC Settings if you create a similar wallpaper for your Desktop PC as it will have a different screen resolution to your Surface tablet and you don't want your PC wallpaper syncing to your Surface Desktop and vice versa. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1963066
11. List of Keyboard Shortcuts
http://tech2.in.com/features/software/tips-and-tricks-windows-8-shortcuts-cheatsheet/551452
12. Access your Last Photo and Camera Roll Photos Direct from Camera App
In Camera app, after taking a photo or video, swipe the screen to the right to see your most recent capture. You can continue scrolling to see more photos/videos. Also, pinch to zoom out from viewfinder screen to see a smaller view more easy to navigate.
13. Enable Hidden Start Screen Animation
When you first boot into the Start screen after a fresh install, you get a lovely animation of all the tiles and text flying into view. To enable this again to occur each time you enter your Start screen, execute the following registry tweak. Type Regedit in Search and launch it. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ImmersiveShell\Grid and create a new DWORD: Launcher_SessionLoginAnimation_OnShow and set its value to 1. To disable the animation if you don't like it set the value to 0.
14. Boost Speaker Volume
Surface's volume is quite low. Go to Control Panel, then Sound, then click on Speakers, then Properties, then Enhancements and check Loudness Equalisation and Virtual Surround too if you wish. Apply changes.
15. Pinch to Zoom Out to See More Content
If you execute the pinch gesture in the following apps, you will see more content or shortcuts: People, Bing, Store, Photos, Camera, Weather, Travel, News, Sports, Finance and Reader.
16. Recover More Space After Refreshing Your Surface
When you refresh your Surface via PC settings, a folder called Windows.old is created in your C: Drive. This can be a huge folder in size as it contains previous files. You can delete this folder and reclaim some storage space as follows: Search for "Tools" and click on "Administrative Tools" in the Setting results. Next click on Disk Clean-up and after loading click on Clean Up System Files. Make sure Windows.old is checked and click ok.
17. Reposition the Virtual Keyboard in Desktop Mode
Tap on the small icon to the left of the X icon at the top right corner of the keyboard to manually reposition it. To dock the keyboard again tap on the X button. Only works in Desktop mode.
18. Enable Swiping Gestures to Advance Forwards or Backwards in Metro Internet Explorer
You can swipe the screen left or right to advance forwards or backwards by enabling Flip Ahead in Internet Options. Don't swipe from the bezel, but anywhere within the screen.
19. Check Settings for Every App/Page you are Viewing
This may sound obvious but via the Charms menu, click on settings to see if there are additional options for the app you are viewing. Do this also again in the same app if you are on a different page. You will be surprised at what additional new options you may encounter. Spend some time to do this for all your apps.
20. Enable Matrix White on Black Theme
Change the entire look of your UI to a funky Hi Tec white text on black background. Go to PC Settings via Charm and tap on Ease of Access. Turn on High Contrast mode to see the effect. Turn off to return to normal UI.
21. Access to 780 Emoticons Built Into the Keyboard
More of did you know than a tip. The keyboard has 780 emoticons (yes I counted them) split into seven categories. Just tap the smiley face key and then the ➡ key above the &123 key, to scroll through them. The bottom row of emoticons has the different categories to choose from.
22. Make Web Links Always Open Up in IE for Desktop Instead of the IE App
Search apps for inetcpl.cpl and hit enter. This is IE options. Click on the Programs tab and change the "Choose how you open links" option to Always in Internet Explorer on the Desktop.
23. How to Find All Apps in Store - Even Unlisted Ones
In the Store, enter the character * and search. You will see every single app for your country and if you sort by newest, you see a lot more new apps compared to the normal way of browsing in the store. As of writing this, there are 6525 apps listed for the UK. Also you can show even more apps by going to the Store's settings, choosing Preferences and turning off "Make it easier to find apps in my preferred language". With it on and searching for * there are 6525 apps. With it turned off there are 7799 apps. A big difference. A most excellent tip!
24. Enable Alternative Virtual Keyboard
Via the Charm menu, go to PC Settings and then Ease of Access. Change "Pressing Windows + Volume Up will turn on" On-Screen Keyboard. Now when you press the Windows key and Volume Up key, up will pop a very small keyboard. Worry not, you can resize it by dragging the bottom border down and the side borders across. You can resize it to the full width and height of the default virtual keyboard. As big as you want. The size is remembered after closing the keyboard by tapping X. Another feature is this keyboard has predictive text with word suggestions popping above the keyboard - something the default keyboard does not do. You can customise the keyboard via the options key near the lower right corner.
25. Enable Full Screen Browsing in Desktop Internet Explorer
On a normal keyboard you can enable full screen web browsing by pressing F11, however the on screen virtual keyboard and the touch keyboard do not have the F keys. Worry not. Launch the alternative keyboard (tip 24 above) and press the Fn key (Function Key) in the lower left corner and all F1-F12 keys appear on the top row. Press F11 for full screen web browsing. To turn off full screen browsing launch the alternative keyboard again and press F11 or use the trackpad on the Touch Cover to move the mouse to the top of the screen to get access to the navigation icons.
26. Tips on Saving Battery
By default, Bluetooth is turned on but if you don't really use it often, turn it off to save battery. Go to Change PC Settings and then Wireless and turn it off there. Also you can turn off live tiles which need to connect to the web such as news tiles. Finally, prevent some apps running in the background by removing them from the lock screen.
27. Change Volume on Screen by Touch
When you press the Volume Keys on the side of your Surface, a small volume graphic appears on screen at the top left corner. As well as continuing to press the Volume Keys to change the volume, you can also place your finger on the graphic and slide the bar up or down.
28. See the Time from Within Any App
Want to know what time it is at any moment? Use your right thumb to slide the Charm bar into view just enough to pop up the time in the lower left corner and immediately swipe your thumb to the right to close the Charm bar and time. You should do this gesture without releasing contact of the screen. A quick in and out thumb swipe is enough.
29. Get to Task Manager Quickly
By pressing the Windows key and Power button at the same time you get to a screen were you can Lock, Switch User, Sign Out or Use the Task Manager.
30. Kickstand Works in Portrait Mode
Should you need to display your Surface in portrait mode, then open the kickstand and stand it up. The kickstand keeps it upright also. Great if you are displaying a slideshow of portrait photos.
31. Disable Logging
Generally logging can cause some sluggishness at times because log files are constantly accessed and written to. You can turn these off if you wish. Search for gpedit.msc and launch it. Navigate to User Configuration, Administrative Templates, Windows Components, and then select Windows Error Reporting in the left column of the Group Policy editor. Double-click Disable Logging in the Settings section of the Group Policy editor. Select Enable and then click OK to save the changes. Do the same for Disable Windows Error Reporting.
32. How to Move a Tile to a New Group Very Quickly
When you install a new app, it automatically gets added to the end of your tiles on the right. If you have several groups full of lots of tiles it can be quite a chore to drag to a group near the beginning. A quicker way to do this is to drag the tile to the bottom of the screen. Automatically all the grouped tiles zoom out and now you can move it to any group you like whereupon the tiles get zoomed in again.
33. Security Wallpaper Idea
What happens if you were to lose your Surface? How would anyone know who to return it to if they can't get past your password/pin code screen to browse your Me tile in Contacts? In Photoshop, add a text line to a wallpaper you want to use on your Surface's lock screen. Position the text near the bottom right corner and have it say something like: "If you find this tablet, please contact (phone number) to return it to it's owner and claim a reward for doing so." Then upload it to your tablet and apply it to your lock screen.
34. Multi Select Emails
You can multi select emails by swiping sideways the email header in the list. Swipe either left or right. You can move, mark as read or mark as unread.
35. Enable Flash for Specific Websites
Microsoft only allows certain websites to play flash content. These sites are listed in a 'whitelist'. You can edit the whitelist to include other sites of your choice. Click on the link and follow the instructions: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1961793
36. Reclaim Storage Space
You can reclaim additional space by deleting unwanted files. Go to the Control panel, delete temporary files and history. Also go to General section in PC Settings and then to Available Storage. You can view app sizes to delete unwanted pre installed apps like finance or sports.
37. Touchpad Supports Gestures
Two finger scrolling is possible on the keyboard's touchpad. You can bring up the menu from the bottom and scroll horizontally through your tiles and photos. Also double tapping is enabled too!
38. Use Home and End Keys to Navigate Quicker
To quickly go to one end of long list of tiles to other, use PgUp and PgDn keys to scroll by pages of tiles as opposed to columns of tiles.
39. Switch Between Running Apps Using Keyboard Shortcuts
On your keyboard, press the Windows and Tab keys to switch between apps. You can also use the Alt and Tab keys too!
40. Sync Multiple Google Calendars
Having more than one Google Calendar is now possible on the Surface. Follow the instructions here: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/sync-multiple-google-calendars-windows/
41. Map Network Skydrive Folder in Surface
Here is a way to get access to your Skydrive files without having to navigate back and forth through the Skydrive app. You can now access the folder via file explorer in Desktop mode. Follow the instructions in the link: http://rashedtalukder.com/how-to-map-skydrive-folder-on-windows-rt-desktop-mode/
42. Increase Internet Explorer Performance
Follow the tweaks here to speed up your web browsing: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1998414
43. Sharing a Volume Out from the Surface
Windows RT supports file sharing (server-side), but it's hidden and disabled by default. Search for 'Services' from your Start screen. Find 'Server' in the list. Right click or tap and hold and choose properties. Change the Startup type to Automatic and you can create and share a folder like normal. Note: this might impact battery life.
44. How to Backup Recovery Partition to USB Flash Drive
Follow the instructions in the link to backup your Recovery Partition which may be useful if you want to delete that partition from the Surface. Don't delete it though until you have researched properly: http://www.shinysurface.com/2012/11/13/how-to-backup-the-surfaces-recovery-partition-to-a-usb-flash-drive/
45. How to Boot from USB Flash Drive
If you need to boot from a USB flash drive simply shut down your Surface, plug in your USB flash drive and hold down the volume button as you press the power button.
46. View Change Log of App Updates
The only way to view the change log of an app update before installing it is to deselect all the apps that want to update and select any one app. A 'View Details' button appears at the bottom which you can tap to see the details. Repeat for the other apps to be updated.
47. Share Selected Text from a Website
When you are on a website and want to share the page, you don't have to share the whole page in a link. You can highlight to select words on a website and when you share it by swiping the charm bar into view, only the selected words will be shared.
48. See Estimated Data Usage of your Wi-Fi Connection
You can see how many megabytes/gigs of data has been transferred via Wi-Fi on your Surface. Tap on Settings in the Charm bar, and then tap on your active Wi-Fi SSID name. IN the Networks list, tap and HOLD on your active Wi-Fi name and from the pop up menu choose 'Show estimated data usage'. It will show for example: Estimated usage 5.71gb since 1 day ago. Just tap on your W-iFi name next time to see the latest data usage.
49. Make your Desktop Explorer User Interface More Touch Friendly
Search for 'Display' via the Charms bar. In Settings results, tap on the blue monitor icon result. Everything is at 100% default size for text. Tap on Medium at 125% and hit apply to make everything in Explorer mode that much easier to read and touch. Make sure to set zoom level in both Internet Explorers back to 100% though.
50. Make your Keyboard Touchpad Scroll in the correct Direction
At the moment, when you scroll via the touchpad, the screen moves in the opposite direction to where your fingers move. Now you can reverse the direction thanks to a registry tweak here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2007987
51. Disable Animation on Opening Apps
If you find the flipping animation annoying when launching an app you can disable it as follows. In Charms menu search for "Performance" and tap on "Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows" in Settings results. In the Visual Effects tab, uncheck 'Animate windows when minimising and maximising'. This gives an instantaneous launch. To disable the animated live tiles, uncheck also the 'Animate controls and elements inside windows' box. To revert back to the animations, just check the boxes again.
52. Install Apps Direct to SD Card
By default only media files can be installed to the SD cards and apps are installed to internal memory. If you have a 32gig tablet, you will realise internal memory is precious and limited. Free up internal memory by changing the location of where apps are installed. Run Regedit and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Appx and change the location path of the PackageRoot key from C:\ProgramFiles\WindowsApps to say D:\WindowsApps (where D: is the drive letter of your SD card and WindowsApps is the name of a folder you created in your SD card). You may need to change permissions on the Appx registry folder so that you can edit the key. You can also change the app repository to another directory by changing the PackageRepository key in a similar manner.
53. Install Apps from Other Countries
Do you want Flixster installed but you're annoyed that it only shows on the US store? Wish you could download it? Now you can and any other FREE app (can't buy apps from other countries, only free apps). Search for 'Region' via Charm menu and tap on the results in Settings category. Tap on the Location tab and change your Home Location to any country you want. Now you can navigate the store app for that particular country and download any free apps you like the look of. Change back to your original country when you had enough. Incidentally, Flixster works perfectly well with UK location and cinemas so not sure why its not in the UK Store.
54. Speed Up Scrolling by Reducing Friction
Launch the Registry Editor and navigate to HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Wisp\Touch and change the Friction value from 32 to 0. Reboot to see change. If you feel the screen sensitivity is too fast now, change the value to say 16 or any number up to 64. 64 means high friction. 0 means low friction.
55. Stream Media Files From Your Surface to Non Windows Certified DLNA TVs
If you have a TV set which has DLNA media streaming feature, but it is not a Windows?Microsoft Certified TV (check in Devices in PC Settings), you will not be able to stream/share media files from within certain apps. However, you can stream them through Windows Explorer using the 'Play To' feature. Find your media files you want to stream in your Pictures, Music and Videos folders. Tap on the file to select it but not launch it. Tap on the Play tab in the Ribbon UI at the top of the screen. Finally tap on the Play To button and select your TV which should now be active. Make sure to turn on network discovery in the Network and Sharing Center in Control Panel, if this is not working for you.
*January 24th Update: Added entries 54 - 55.
*January 22nd Update: Added entry 53.
*January 3rd Update: Added entries 51-.52. Updated entry 26.
*December 6th Update: Added entries 47-.50
*November 22nd Update: Added entries 34-46.
*November 10th Update: Updated entry 23 and added entries 30-33.
*November 9th Update: Added entries 24-29.
Reserved.
Second Reserve.
Final Reserve.
Good summary. First one to figure out how to get a fourth row of live tiles gets a cookie.
Also, how do we replace pinned IE tiles with something a little nicer?
I've been spending all my free time trying to figure out the fourth row, and reversing scroll direction on the touchpad.
I feel ya.
As for the IE tiles, I suppose you could just create new .png files and replace the current for whichever you want:
c:\users\profile\appdata\local\microsoft\internet explorer\pin-xxxxxxxx\
I haven't tried it but, looking in there it seems like it might work.
tboy2000 said:
7. Unlock Without Swiping
Instead of Swiping up the lockscreen image to unlock, just tap space bar on your keyboard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can also press the space bar to wake the device. You don't have to press the capacitive windows button, or the lock/wake button.
MrGreencastle said:
You can also press the space bar to wake the device. You don't have to press the capacitive windows button, or the lock/wake button.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's actually any key, or the touch pad.
tboy2000 said:
12. Optimise your Surface
Once in a while execute the following: Search for "Defrag" in Settings and click on Defragment and Optimise your Drives. Click on C: drive and then click Optimise.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WTF?! Have you heard about NAND?
Useless guy said:
WTF?! Have you heard about NAND?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I second this, you could actually do harm as well you do not need to optimize/defrag Anne or any type of solid state.
Useless guy said:
WTF?! Have you heard about NAND?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I read the Optimise feature was different to defragging. However, I will substitute that entry to be safe. Thanks!
Replaced Tip 12 with: Access your Last Photo and Camera Roll Photos Direct from Camera App.
I believe I read on Anandtech that the Optimize function actually does a manual TRIM, if it's detected as an SSD.
jhoff80 said:
I believe I read on Anandtech that the Optimize function actually does a manual TRIM, if it's detected as an SSD.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It does. I did it and it said it was trimming
guitar1969 said:
It does. I did it and it said it was trimming
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So is trimming ok? Shall I add the entry back in?
it should be okay, but windows also manages it on its own, so there shouldn't be too much need for manual use
Three more added. 21-23.
adiliyo said:
it should be okay, but windows also manages it on its own, so there shouldn't be too much need for manual use
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On my windows 7 desktop my pc trims my ssd when the pc is in a standby mode. Wonder if surface does something similar
tboy2000 said:
23. How to Find All Apps in Store - Even Unlisted Ones
In the Store, enter the character * and search. You will see every single app for your country and if you sort by newest, you see a lot more new apps compared to the normal way of browsing in the store. As of writing this, there are 4984 apps listed for the UK. A most excellent tip!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is nice, but holy crapware....I found it quite pointless to browse through this list.
another tip if op wants to add is how to force sufrace into recovery.
plug in a usb keyboard, hold SHIFT, click power-. restart. Ta-da blue recovery screen.
Hi guys, i'd like to introduce Dml.
Dml (Diagram modeling language) is a diagram application like Visio.
Created diagram can be flowchart , Uml or even 2D building drawing.
This is a early preview release, for feedback during development.
A lot of functionalities are not yet implemented.
Dml differs from other diagram applications on several points of view :
A shape on a page is not only a graphical representation, but is also an object with some properties.
The same object can be drawn on different pages, keeping its name and the same text.
All properties of the object can be changed precisely in an editor, like position, size, rotation or color.
It's like a development environment for programmers but very simple to use.
The application will have scripting possibilities (create object and change properties, timer,button,...)
Users can create graphical object and reuse it.
Open to other programmers (via plugins)
Working
MultiPage
Put a shape (circle, rectangle, star,...) on the active page.
Property editor
Full text editor (like excell)
Join a line to other object, change line style (direct or bezier)
split line, horizontal or vertical line
Move and size view
Move objects, resize, rotate
Todo
Add text editor to other shapes.
Lines : Add text editor to lines , set start and target arrows
Lines : Create a line directly from an object
Clipboard : Undo, Redo, Cut, Copy, paste, duplicate
New shapes (like parallelogram), uml , user shape
Multi Select pane (for alignment)
Object tree page (for copying object to another page, or to retrieve objects easily)
Save as, new file, import, export, parameters
Align object
Scripting
plugins
Version 1.1
Removed internet permission
reserved 1
reserved 2
reserved 3
Hey, it's a nice idea!
Could you post some screenshots?
mod:
I downloaded it.
It needs full internet access. Why?
Also it crashed after I ran it (on Galaxy Tab 2.0 7). Maybe the reason was that the firewall blocked the internet access?
gyokzoli said:
Hey, it's a nice idea!
Could you post some screenshots?
mod:
I downloaded it.
It needs full internet access. Why?
Also it crashed after I ran it (on Galaxy Tab 2.0 7). Maybe the reason was that the firewall blocked the internet access?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I Removed internet access and Uploaded 1.1
Note that a lot of functionalities are not implemented.
For example, the load and save use always the same file (sample.xml)
No undo, redo,...
Do you type your name, email or address multiple times throughout the day? If yes, then Texpand is for you. It will save you lot of time if you set it up right. Texpand is text expansion app designed to assist you with your frequently typed texts. It is a bit different than other text expansion apps that you might have used in other platforms; it uses floating windows to assist you with your typing. The demo video above shows thoroughly how to get started, it is a must watch to get the most out of it. It includes the following features:
• Sort you phrases by usage count, last used time, shortcut name and phrase
• Backup and restore you phrases to/from Google Drive or your local storage
• Floating window to let you complete your expansion if you type your shortcut correctly or to show you
suggestions based on the word you typed or selected
• Expand by selection e.g.: if you select name and you have shortcut name defined to expand to your full
name the floating window will show you either complete your expansion green button or yellow suggestion
button
Settings:
o Specify if shortcut name matching is case sensitive (case sensitive by default)
o Whether to add space or not after expanded text
o Whether to show floating indicators while typing. Note that if you disable floating indicators text
expansion will be immediate i.e. when you type the shortcut text it will immediately expand to its
corresponding phrase.
o Exclude apps from text expansion e.g.: if you don’t want to expand text in a particular app go to
Settings > Exclusions and click the plus(+) button then choose the app you want excluded from the
list of app then Texpand will not expand text on the apps you add to exclusions neither will it show you
suggestions. To remove an app form exclusions click it from the list of exclusions then dialog will
prompt you if you want to remove it click yes to remove it.
Known cases where Texpand will not work:
• If the app is not developed using standard Android SDK namely PhoneGap SDK that uses HTML5 for UI
elements. Texpand only works if the app uses native EditText widget but stay assured that this is what
almost all apps use.
• Texpand will not work on password fields but this is by design not a limitation. Because if text expansion is
enabled on password fields it may interfere with what you think you are typing. Note that some app have a
show password option if the password is not being masked by dots or asterisks then it is not regarded as
password field so Texpand has no way of knowing this is a password field so it will expand your texts as it
will on normal input fields.
• Texpand does not support input fields on webpages
• Word processor apps use highly specialized input fields, they are not currently supported but I am trying to
find a way to make them supported by Texpand.
• Text expansion by selection may not work in some apps, in which case the apps choose to handle selection
themselves without notifying the system.
• Finally floating app like Facebook chatheads may cover the floating indicator in this case you could expand
text by disabling floating indicators. In the future I will add app preference settings that will let you disable
floating icons on specific apps.
P.S.: If you have more issues I will be happy to hear from you go to settings and click send feedback.
Good but gives a warning
Thanks for this great tweak !
I really like it and it seems to be working fine and it is really customizable by its settings.
The only problem I found is that my antivirus (avast) is giving a warning and prompting to uninstall it. I guess it's a false Positive.
The other thing I would have liked is a small animation when expanding text although not an essential thing.
(also you say something about a video in your post but it isn't there ?)
AlienFever said:
Thanks for this great tweak !
I really like it and it seems to be working fine and it is really customizable by its settings.
The only problem I found is that my antivirus (avast) is giving a warning and prompting to uninstall it. I guess it's a false Positive.
The other thing I would have liked is a small animation when expanding text although not an essential thing.
(also you say something about a video in your post but it isn't there ?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AlienFever, I am glad you like it you see I am new to xda I can not post link to the YouTube video but go to play store and search for Texpand you will find a demo video in the playstote page
I noticed that with Facebook chat heads, the correction bubble appears underneath the chat head making it impossible to use with Chat Heads.
@Isaias Matewos, Can you also please add some macro features like Current Date / Day / Time. etc.Thanks for the wonderful app, I think it's a must app for every Android Power user.
Just wanted to thank the dev, I'm loving this app.
I believe that it is possible to create a very usable on-screen keyboard for a smart watch. Traditional keyboards are too small. I think we need completely different approaches for smart watches. This thread is to see hat ideas other people have and offer my concept.
My watch is a Zgpax smartwatch phone with 240 X 240 pixels. The idea could be adapted to other sizes.
I think the following are basic requirements:
1. Keys must be large enough to use easily.
2. You must be able to see what you type.
3. User configurable. Full configurability is probably a luxury but desirable. To keep the keyboard App as small as possible a separate configuration App could be used.
My idea is to use a 5X5 grid of “keys” which take up the whole screen area but have a transparent background.
Obviously we cannot fit 26 keys in a 5X5 grid so I suggest putting those less commonly used onto a 'numeric' keyboard and 'swiping' to that when they are required. Multiple keyboards can be used and called up depending on the 'swipe' direction e.g. UP to toggle case, RIGHT for numbers etc. Left for Symbols and left from Symbols for lesser symbols. 3. The background will be a transparent grey and the default colour of the symbols on the keys will be white.
The colour of the key symbols will be user definable to contrast with the text colour of whatever field is being filled. In addition the size of the key symbols should be adjustable within the constraints of key size and readability.
I think that on each 'keyboard' we could accommodate a destructive and non-destructive back key, a non-destructive forward key, a space key and a 'Return' or 'Enter' key. This would result in the letters a to t, being on the main keyboard with u to z being on the numeric keyboard. Personally I would swap J and U, as U is used more frequently than J and they have a similar shape to remind the user.
The numeric keyboard should consist of the digits 0 to 9 together with the keys excluded from the main keyboard (by default u to z). This leaves 9 keys for the user to define. Suggested defaults are , ' “ @ - x Enter and the user's national currency symbol. Note that Enter is only generally used once per field and often follows '.' so can be placed here.
A further Symbol keyboard can contain up to 25 symbols including enter. These symbols should be those most commonly used and should include Enter. Some keys may – and probably should – duplicate the functions of those on the other keyboard screens.
A further screen keyboard containing less common symbols should be provided. Again, Enter and common duplicates should be included.
If desired, a further screen of macros and / or emoticons could be provided. The macro keys could be used to enter common data such as your email addresses, your name, home address and commonly used web addresses.
Done as separate post as the list of keyboard switch logic was blocked!!
Suggest UP swipe be used to return to main keyboard from any of the others.
An alternative I've seen to swiping is to do a long press on a key to capitalise letters for example. Would this be a preferable alternative or a useful addition?
·
Attached are some preliminary ideas for 5X5 240X240 pixel keyboard layouts.
This idea probably has a few things which could be improved. Comments, suggestions and criticisms are welcome.
If anyone wishes to develop a keyboard using the above then I place it in the public domain. If they do so, an acknowledgement would be nice. Mainly, I just want a usable on-screen keyboard!
A further idea is for a standard transparent querty keyboard. When you tap a letter a 3X3 full screen transparent keyboard of the letters surrounding the tapped letter appear for you to tap the one required. This would be a little slow but offers great accuracy.