File Browsing or Customisation Activities - Android Software Development

I'm working on a simple Android app to teach myself Android development before I tackle something larger. It's just a small app that allows you to change wallpaper and ringtone settings (and maybe more). I know it's quite pointless but, as I said, it's just an educational project.
So far, everything's working but it's using text boxes with absolute paths for the wallpapers and ringtones. What I'm wanting to do is have activities which allow you to select wallpapers and ringtones. A file browser activity, maybe, or even something specifically tailorered to my needs like a wallpaper selection activity or ringtone selection activity.
I've been scouring the Android SDK docs but I can't see anything about a file browsing activity (which I would assume to be a common thing) so I'm going to assume that I'm going to have to roll my own. Is this correct?
I've seen the RingtonePreference activity, so I can probably get away with using that for browsing for ringtones but there doesn't appear to be anything similar for wallpapers.
Any help will be much appreciated

Related

[Q] Stock Graphics and how to implement them

I'm building a few apps but wanted to see if there might be a way to grab existing graphics already in the OS. Like the plus sign in the Calendar or the microphone... I'd rather not have to include the same image in the system if it's already there, and the fact that a simple theme change would make the apps I'm working on change dynamically with the new look.
Thoughts?
if the files you want to use are defined in the resource directory and can be accessed via R.java from both xml and java then there is no way to get to the files.
if the files are defined as Assets then there is a possibility for you to access them.
you will need to know the exact file path to the file you want to access.
see
http://developer.android.com/reference/android/content/res/AssetManager.html
and
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5493396/how-to-reference-android-assets-across-packages
Exactly what I was looking for, but not what I was wanting to hear. Know of any stock graphics I can use for my res/drawables? I'm not exactly the best artist in the world and would like my apps to look somewhat like they belong.
removed
android.R.drawable is helpful but if you can't get it, just download the source. are you guys forgetting the android is completely open source? it might take you a while to find them, but they're all there.
I was sure there were some stock graphics available somewhere. Thanks SimonVT. Helped quite a bit with the ugly crayon jobs I created.
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SimonVT said:
That is also an option, but using native resources will ensure that it fits in with the overall OS theme.
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Click to collapse
oh yeah, I guess you've got a point there. I wasn't thinking about people with sense, motoblur, etc. I've only ever had stock android phones. Well, I did have a nook color for a month or two, but I installed cyanogenmod the day I got it.
this might interest you aswell. its the android icon template pack.
http://developer.android.com/shareables/icon_templates-v2.3.zip
you can read more about icon and user interface guidlines here
http://developer.android.com/guide/practices/ui_guidelines/index.html
Yeah, that's some good information as well. Following the OS standard is what I would prefer over trying to make my own or grabbing from other installed apps. It makes for the apps/widgets to flow much better in overall design theory.

[Q] Detecting homescreen

Hey guys,
In an effort to 'hack' the Sense homescreen to use a custom launch/shortcut bar, I am creating an app that needs to know if the homescreen is currently visible. With this, I need some help.
I've been looking at four possibilities to do this:
1. constantly poll the window manager for the current activity. This works, however my battery doesn't like this and it's generally bad practice.
2. Use a widget to tell the service wether it's active. Too bad, Android doesn't seem to provide some kind of event to a widget when the homescreen is opened. Strange though, as you'd say this would be very useful when updating widgets. Am I overlooking something?
3. Watch the logcat or message broadcast. This works nicely to intercept a user moving away from the homescreen at it will output this when switching activities:
08-22 12:25:28.891: VERBOSE/HtcAppUsageStats(255): (launch app, package): (People, com.android.htccontacts)
I think I could intercept that, but then there's another problem. Pressing home broadcasts this message for com.htc.launcher, however using the back key (or even software options) to move back to the homescreen do not invoke this.
4. Intercept hardware presses. This seems rather hard when you don't want to actually do something with the presses. This combined with the above method would give me a decent way to see if the homescreen is active.
But all of those methods just don't work the way I want them to. Anyone got a clue on how to accomplish this? I don't mind if I require root access or some dirty programming, by the way. After all, it's some sort of a hack.
A push in the right direction would be very welcome
Quick kick. No one knows a solution for this?
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using XDA App
If this is just for sense, have you checked the openSense sdk?
From something awesome
I haven't really looked into this, I also have no experience with widgets, but using my general knowledge in how Android works, concerning 2), does the widget not receive a visibility change? I know for LiveWallpapers there is a void VisibilityChanged(boolean visible) method that allows it to update when visible. Do Widgets not have this?
killersnowman said:
If this is just for sense, have you checked the openSense sdk?
From something awesome
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Couldn't find the documentation of it. But it must be somewhere, this is indeed another option to look into.
Metastable said:
I haven't really looked into this, I also have no experience with widgets, but using my general knowledge in how Android works, concerning 2), does the widget not receive a visibility change? I know for LiveWallpapers there is a void VisibilityChanged(boolean visible) method that allows it to update when visible. Do Widgets not have this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've tried all the event listeners I could find in the reference. I don't remember the VisibilityChanged method thou, will look into that tonight. Otherwise I might be able to build a Live Wallpaper and hook it to a service.. Interesting
Thanks both!

Survivalist's Tablet

I've got a friend who's about to be deployed overseas. He has used an Android phone for a couple of years, is an avid reader, has never had a tablet but is proficient with the Android interface.
He expects to have access to Internet (wifi) only periodically, he expects to be without electrical power for days at a time, he needs any non-essential gear to be lightweight and durable. He asked me if he should get an ereader. I think a rooted Nook Simple Touch would meet his ereader needs and go one better. I'm trying to set him up with a rooted NST that will give him access to a few essential tablet apps, an Internet browser for when he's got wifi and a selection of ereader apps so he can read anything that's out there in electronic print.
So far I've rooted the NST using SalsichaNooter (thanks for that), installed Go Launcher because you can easily increase the size of text and icons, SearchMarket to overcome the inability to search in Android Market (wtf?) and ereader apps Kindle and Google Books. I sent my Gmail account a pure white image that I use for wallpaper to make icons easy to see.
Some lingering questions:
Is there a way to reduce "color settings" or whatever it would be called so that the grayscale shades are fewer? I'd gladly trade more contrast for fewer times that a medium gray icon is barely distinguishable against an only slightly darker medium gray background.
Is there a way to make the icons of Button Savior larger? I love the app. I use it on every Android device I've got because I really like having these essential commands right under my thumb but making the icons twice as large would be nice.
Are there themes that are designed to optimize the settings for a grayscale device? I found a couple for "Go SMS" in Market but I don't know exactly what that is.
Is there a workaround for the inability to install the Barnes & Noble Nook ereader app? I keep getting "Installation error. Duplicate provider authority". I don't know if he needs three or more ereader apps but I don't want to limit his choices.
I've read the Nook Touch forums on XDA, I've done Google searches on these topics but haven't found good answers. If there are resources I've missed I'd appreciate a heads-up.
1. To reduce colors or increase contrast, the only method that comes to mind is to use APK Manager or APK Multi-tool and modify the XML, png, and 9 patch files, will need some knowledge about Android layouts, etc. and color codes like #ff000000 is solid black. I had to do some, not really sure how legit that is, but original devs did not reply to emails when requested high contrast color schemes.
2. Replacing images with APK multi-tool might work, I tried google but can't seem to determine if this project is opensource or not, if it is, send me a link and I will modify it for you.
3. The nooter that you used, installs a good launcher and theme with a lot of monochrome icons for various applications, but as you installed another launcher, you will need to come up with a theme. Go SMS is a SMS application useful on cell phones by the same developer as Go Launcher, you will need themes for Go Launcher.
4. You could try modifying the manifest using APK mult-tool, however, I fail to see the point when you have an optimized version for the device already integrated with the device.
I can only provide you optimizations for opensource software or if the dev of the application explicitly allows to modify his APK, I will not provide you with any other modifications out of respect to the developers, I am one too. I hope you understand.
TouchNooter has a version of market that has search working.
You might be able to find with a little searching an e-ink theme for Go-Launcher in market. If all else fails you could probably create your own theme based off of like Minimalist black or use a non e-ink theme that does the trick.
The built in e-reader app is the equivalent if not better than the market nook app.
While I appreciate the various suggestions from tazzix I'm not proficient enough with Android to know how to manipulate APK files or settings. I keep reading that there's a version of TouchNooter that enables search in Market but either I haven't found it or it isn't working for me (I had a lot of problems with the latest version of TouchNooter, which is why I went with SalsichaNooter). I do have basic access to Market and I am using MarketSearch for searching so I could live with this level of functionality if necessary.
I downloaded and installed the Black-N-Blue free theme for GO Launcher, which seemed to help increase contrast and thus visibility. I'd love to find a way (or at least a way that was within my abilities to use) to turn the background behind all the apps white so they were easier to see when I scroll through them all.
All in all I think this device will work for my purpose even if I can't resolve my remaining problems. Oh and I mapped the side buttons, using Nook Touch Tools, for Volume Up and Down (works great to turn pages in Kindle app), Back and Menu. All very handy. Mapping one of these buttons for Home, though, sends you to the Nook home rather than the Android launcher home. I appreciate the help I've gotten and any more ideas that I come across.
lesdense said:
I'd love to find a way (or at least a way that was within my abilities to use) to turn the background behind all the apps white so they were easier to see when I scroll through them all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Somewhere on this forum is a theme with contrast icons for go launcher, it really helps, although it is not for all apps.
lesdense said:
While I appreciate the various suggestions from tazzix I'm not proficient enough with Android to know how to manipulate APK files or settings. I keep reading that there's a version of TouchNooter that enables search in Market but either I haven't found it or it isn't working for me (I had a lot of problems with the latest version of TouchNooter, which is why I went with SalsichaNooter). I do have basic access to Market and I am using MarketSearch for searching so I could live with this level of functionality if necessary.
I downloaded and installed the Black-N-Blue free theme for GO Launcher, which seemed to help increase contrast and thus visibility. I'd love to find a way (or at least a way that was within my abilities to use) to turn the background behind all the apps white so they were easier to see when I scroll through them all.
All in all I think this device will work for my purpose even if I can't resolve my remaining problems. Oh and I mapped the side buttons, using Nook Touch Tools, for Volume Up and Down (works great to turn pages in Kindle app), Back and Menu. All very handy. Mapping one of these buttons for Home, though, sends you to the Nook home rather than the Android launcher home. I appreciate the help I've gotten and any more ideas that I come across.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems odd that you'd have troubles with the latest TouchNooter, the issue I seem to come across for most people using it is the Wait a Day issue with market, but since your Market is already working and the other Nooter has done most of the work you could try running TouchNooter 1.11.20 on top of it (making sure you're upgraded to 1.1 first), or burning the card (and after installing a file manager) try installing the Market+Gapps from there manually to "update" them.
As for setting the B&N button to take you home and ending up on B&N home, try and make sure you have the setting saved for home. Also make sure that your default home is Go Launcher. As long as Button Savior's home will take you to go Launcher the B&N home button should too if you've modified the right button. Perhaps try a reboot.
Go Launcher > Preferences > Visual Settings > Backgrounds > App drawer background > Custom Background
Then just select a blank wallpaper image.

[REPO] The library thread

Hello everyone,
Based on the release of the new forums here, and the seemingly enthusiastic response, I have decided to create a repository of libraries that are useful to Android developers.
Libraries:
AChartEngine : This is a library that lets you make and display all kinds of charts, from line to bar to scatter charts. A very good solution, should you need charts.
Uses: Well... Charts!
Made by 4ViewSoft.
ActionBarSherlock: This library will help you in maintaining an easy-to-use and consistent UI across all version of Android above 2.1.
On Android 3.0+, it will use the native ActionBar, and below that, a backport of the 4.x native ActionBar has been used. Note that this is not needed if you want to target APIs that support the AB natively.
Made by Jake Wharton.
aFileChooser: The basic version of Android File Chooser, it features somewhat less graphical hints about, for example, your current folder, but does provide a somewhat cleaner UI.
Uses include a simple file chooser for opening a file from a specific folder.
Made by Paul Burke.
android-hybridchoice: A ListView that lets users open a single list item, while also letting you select one or more other items. This way, you can (for example) view a mail while selecting others to throw away, instead of having to do that separately.
Uses: Making any app with items that have detailed info in a ListView that can be changed.
Made by Kiran Rao.
android-lockpattern: A library for you to include a lock pattern in your app. It was adapted straight from Android source code, and is very useful for keeping data secure.
Uses: Root apps, apps with sensitive data or other apps that could hurt one's phone.
Made by Hai Bison.
Android FileChooser: Helps you in letting the user select a file. A visual GUI is made available to you and the user, through which the user can navigate to select a folder.
Use cases: A file explorer, a downloading action, moving/copying files, etc.
Made by Hai Bison.
Android Maps Extensions: A library that extends a number of Google Maps API v2 features. It features things like marker grouping, where it won't display individual markers when there's a lot of them together.
Can be used in an application with a Maps View, to make it clearer and easier to understand.
Made by Maciek G
Android Proxy Library: This lets you provide an easy and better (than Google's) solution to the Android Issue 1273 (OF DOOOOOOOM!). It allows you to easily get the proxy settings of an Android device.
Uses: You know, getting the proxy settings.
Made by Marco Pagliari.
BetterPickers: A cool library that implements the Android 4.2 Clock time picker for you to use in your own apps as you please. It is a very nice way to keep your app Holo-themed, and it continues the push for a consistent UI in Android.
Among others, uses include clock and calendar apps.
Made by Derek Brameyer.
Build.prop Tools: A library to get access to the properties in a device's build.prop, which include its codename, Android version, CPU name and others.
Uses: Having to edit or otherwise get access to certain build.prop entries in your app, for example to display system info.
Made by Jonathan Haylett.
Cieo: A library that lets you animate text. It is currently in very early Alpha stages of development, but does work.
Uses: Word games, for example Hangman, where you can add a little extra to make it more dynamic.
Made by Igor <LastNameUnknownException>.
DroidParts: This library helps you add the most used parts of Android apps without problems. It can help you add a number of more complicated parts that have been modded to be simpler, like an ImageFetcher and an improved ASyncTask.
Uses: Just about every app can do this. Easier everything!
Made by Alex Yanchenko.
droidText: A PDF creator library. Should you need to create a PDF easily, this is the library you want!
Uses include parsing user input and saving it to a PDF file for later use, or to send (i.e. via email).
Made by Markus Neubrand.
EventBus: This helps you tie together Activities, Fragments and background threads. It eliminates the need for overly complex listeners and interfaces, to make your life a lot easier.
Uses: Apps with background threads, Activities and/or Fragments working together.
Made by Markus Junginger.
FlipView: A FlipBoard-like animation to use for scrolling. Give your app a little extra eye candy, when you have multiple pages to scroll through.
Uses: News readers and other apps that separate content into clear "pages".
Made by Emil Sjölander.
GAST (Great Android Sensing Toolkit): A library to help you use an Android phone's internal sensors. It will help you control many sensor, including NFC, the camera and the accelerometer.
Uses: A diagnosing app, or one that uses certain sensors for controlling an app feature.
Made by Greg Milette and Adam Stroud.
GoogleDateTimePickers: TimePickers done right. A beautiful replacement for Google's standard DatePickers and TimePickers, It is designed with the Holo style in mind, and makes it much, much easier to select the date and time of your liking.
Uses: Letting the user pick a date or time, e.g. when setting an alarm.
Made by Mirko Dimartino.
Hansel And Gretel: This allows you to visually display the Fragment Stack. When you open a new Fragment, it is added to a 'tower' of Fragments, from which you can also pop (remove) the top one. This library allows you to visually represent that Stack in your app.
Uses: If, for example, you travel through multiple Fragments within one Activity, you can show which Fragments the user has gone through.
Made by Jake Wharton.
HoloEverywhere: A library that backports the Holo UI design to earlier Android versions (like ActionBarSherlock does for the ActionBar). It uses the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean assets and makes them usable on Android versions 2.1 Eclair and up.
Uses: An application that needs Holo on all platforms it runs on. Be aware that it might disrupt the UI consistency for the user, so think about that before including this in your app.
Made by Sergey Shatunov and Waza_Be.
Inscription: For displaying information about your app to the user. It contains a ChangeLogDialog and a WhatsNewDialog, where the former displays more detailed information (version numbers, etc.) than the latter.
Useful for showing a dialog after the user updated your app, without having to write too much code.
Made by Martin van Zuilekom.
JacksonInFiveMinutes: A library to help in parsing and processing JSON, offering different ways to do so: A streaming API, a tree model and data binding.
Of course, you can use this anywhere to parse JSON data (Twitter apps, for example).
Made by Tatu Saloranta (?).
JazzyViewPager: Makes it easy to add a nice effect when changing pages with a ViewPager. Easily done: just add it, change some references and pick an animation!
Uses: Spicing up your app's animation portfolio, when using a ViewPager.
Made by Jeremy Feinstein.
ListViewAnimations: An easy way of animating your ListView items easily and nicely, to give your app that little bit extra.
Uses: To spice up any ListView that needs more fancies.
Made by Niek Haarman.
NumericPageIndicator: A ViewPagerIndicator 'plug-in' that lets you easily display which page you're looking at. For example, show "page 2 of 20" at the bottom of the page.
Uses: Letting the user know which page they are on.
Made by Manuel Peinado.
OrmLite: A library that simplifies database interaction in Android apps. It is designed to work with multiple database systems, including SQLite and MySQL.
Uses: Database creation, management in Android. Various DB systems supported.
Made by Gray Watson.
osmdroid: An almost full, free replacement of Google's MapView. It includes numerous functionalities, like a number of on- and offline tile sources.
Uses: To add a map to your app, and easily use functionalities surrounding it.
Made by a number of non-disclosed awesome people!
PDFViewer SDK: A free PDF viewer library that works well. However, it does have a watermark on the screen, and you'll have to pay to remove it.
Uses are obvious: Building all kinds of PDF viewers!
Made by GEAR.it.
PlayView: This helps you in creating a Google Play-like style in your UI, by extending the CardsUI library (which can be found in the PlayView thread).
Good to use in an application where you want a nice smooth UI, with a modular and changeable look and feel.
Made by Androguide.fr and GadgetCheck, among others.
ProgressButton: A nice library that shows you the progress of a download in the same button that you press to start the download. See Google Music for a working example.
Comes in handy when there's a list of items to download, and you want to facilitate easy downloading and keeping tracks of those downloads.
Made by Prateek Srivastava, based off of Roman Nurik's examples.
PullToRefresh: Expand a Listview (multiple versions are supported) with the ability to refresh its content upon pulling down at the top.
Uses include social media clients, lists of other network-based updated items (orders, for example).
Made by Chris Banes.
Remote Metadata Provider: Get system information about, for example, which music is playing on your phone. This could help you implement lockscreen music controls for your app.
Uses: Lockscreen music controls, for example.
Made by XDA member Dr.Alexander_Breen.
RoboSpice: A library that makes long-running asynchronous tasks easy. For example, it offers caching (very useful for orientation changes).
Uses: Any app that implements an ASyncTask, especially when it is a bigger and longer-running one.
Made by Octo Technology.
RootTools: This library will make it very easy for you to gain superuser access and execute commands based on that. This way, you can, for example, move and replace files anywhere on the system.
This is especially handy when you are making a sort of backup app, or when you need the ability to do things that aren't possible without root access.
Made by Stericson.
ShowcaseView: This is a library that lets you highlight certain areas of the screen. Just like the Android launcher on first launch (or YouTube), it will allow you to tell the user how to interact with what, and what it does.
Uses: Clarifying certain UI elements and their purpose to the user.
Made by Alex Curran.
SlidingMenu: This lets you include a menu that slides into your app from the side, like the YouTube app has it. There, you can add a whole hosts of options and actions that don't fit or belong in the ActionBar. SlidingMenu also lets you customise the menu. The new Android supportv4 library version, revision 13, also has a basic version of this.
Uses: Menus with additional items, like channels in the YouTube app, shortcuts to your app's settings, etc.
Made by Jeremy Feinstein.
Spring For Android: A library that helps you integrate some features easily. For example, it can simplify using REST in your app.
Uses: Whenever your app needs REST of auth support.
Made by GoPivotal.
StandOut: A library that enables you to make your apps float! Basically, you can make any app you want float. Look in the thread for numerous examples!
Useful when you are making an app that is also used parallel to other apps, like a calculator or note taking app.
Made by Mark Wei.
StickyListHeaders: This is a great way to help you order alphabetised lists in a clear and very recognisable way. The current letter which you are scrolling through will be shown at the top of the screen, for as long as the first letter of the top item on the screen starts with that letter.
Use cases are, for example, scrolling through songs, email addresses, names and articles.
Made by Emil Sjölander.
Sugar ORM: An easy way to use SQLite libraries in your app. It takes away some of the more complex and annoying tasks of database management.
Uses: Managing and querying SQLite databases in your app.
Made by Satya Narayan.
UpdateChecker: This library is a quick and easy way of making sure that users know about updates to your app. It will show a Dialog every 5 times (by default) the app is launched, informing of an app update being available in the Play Store.
Uses: Making sure people update your app. It is handy in just about every app.
Made by Pietro Rampini.
ViewPagerIndicator: This library emulates the multiple ways of showing tab locations without using the ActionBar. This can be used to replicate the Play Store, older Google+ versions, launcher-like indicators and more!
This library is always handy when using tabs, but without wanting to, for example, sacrifice too much screen real estate to use the ActionBar.
Made by Jake Wharton.
Sites, etc. collecting libraries:
Android Libraries provides a big list of libraries for all sorts of tasks, including graphics engines.
Android Snippets is a collection of little snippets of code to help you in navigating some commonly (and less commonly) seen challenges in Android development.
Android UI Patterns for all kinds of UI libraries, with a nice app to go with it.
AndroidKickstartR is a web-based tool for quickly starting an Android app, including a number of (library) options to help ease some of the pain of adding extras. Fair warning: this seems to include older versions of some things, double check the generated project.
AndroidViews for multiple nice UI-based libraries that help make your app look and work awesome!
DevAppsDirect is an app with examples of libraries. Test without setting up a whole new project!
ramdroid77's Google+ community for GitHub-based libraries.
Libraries for developers: A nice little app that has a collection of libraries available to developers.
Also make sure to spread the word about and contribute to this repo!
Have fun,
bassie1995
very helpful thread! thanks mate
roottools is also a very helpful library: http://code.google.com/p/roottools/
nikwen said:
roottools is also a very helpful library: http://code.google.com/p/roottools/
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Forgot that one as a big one. Shame, since I used it . Will add in a sec.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
I used this library to include a file-chooser in my App:
https://code.google.com/p/android-filechooser/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and forked this, that acts basically the same:
https://github.com/dentex/aFileChooser
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
xda_dentex said:
I used this library to include a file-chooser in my App:
and forked this, that acts basically the same:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I shall be including this later today. Thanks for contributing!
bassie1995 said:
I shall be including this later today. Thanks for contributing!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're welcome!
Also the other project seems valid. If you want, point to the original repository.
The main difference is that it stays on the standard sdcard only, by default.
I also found a really good site with cool libraries: http://www.androidviews.net/
I'm sure I will want to include some of them.
xda_dentex said:
You're welcome!
Also the other project seems valid. If you want, point to the original repository.
The main difference is that it stays on the standard sdcard only, by default.
I also found a really good site with cool libraries: http://www.androidviews.net/
I'm sure I will want to include some of them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, I'm including both. Also, AndroidViews is already mentioned at the bottom of the OP .
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
bassie1995 said:
...AndroidViews is already mentioned at the bottom of the OP
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oops... Sorry.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda app-developers app
I'm running a community on G+ about Android libraries hosted on github. Tons of stuff in there:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/100609058582053363304
ramdroid77 said:
I'm running a community on G+ about Android libraries hosted on github. Tons of stuff in there:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/100609058582053363304
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice, will include the link in OP.
I was going to mention androidviews too; a very handy site. There's also a handy little app out on the Play store called Android UI Patterns (free), which is basically an app with quite a few libraries built in, so you can see what they look like in action on an actual device.
And I'm not sure if I should post this, or if it should have it's own thread (paid libraries or something), but I would argue that as there are quite a few professional developers here, a compilation of good, paid, non viral licensed libraries would be a good resource. On the other hand, XDA is all about the homebrew, open, sharing community.
Anyway, whatever the mod-gods decide, I was looking for a good, cheap, non-gpl3 licenced PDF framework for the company I work for. Many frameworks were RIDICULOUSLY expensive and many open source ones were SLOW or not functional enough. In the end I found a good alternative at androidpdf.mobi . It's fully functional, affordable and they have good support. I know this may sound like an add, but I spent some time researching this, we now use it in production and figure I might save someone some time.
MacDegger said:
I was going to mention androidviews too; a very handy site. There's also a handy little app out on the Play store called Android UI Patterns (free), which is basically an app with quite a few libraries built in, so you can see what they look like in action on an actual device.
And I'm not sure if I should post this, or if it should have it's own thread (paid libraries or something), but I would argue that as there are quite a few professional developers here, a compilation of good, paid, non viral licensed libraries would be a good resource. On the other hand, XDA is all about the homebrew, open, sharing community.
Anyway, whatever the mod-gods decide, I was looking for a good, cheap, non-gpl3 licenced PDF framework for the company I work for. Many frameworks were RIDICULOUSLY expensive and many open source ones were SLOW or not functional enough. In the end I found a good alternative at androidpdf.mobi . It's fully functional, affordable and they have good support. I know this may sound like an add, but I spent some time researching this, we now use it in production and figure I might save someone some time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have seen and used Android UI Patterns, forgot to include it.
About the licensed libraries/technologies, maybe that's a good divide for this thread. Not between UI and functional libraries, but between paid and free? Don't think there are many paid libraries for daily use, though?
If you can link me to the PDF parsing library you used, I will be including that.
Also, everyone, updates are a little slow due to school work. Hardest exam that's yet to come is on Monday, will update it probably that afternoon (my time zone ).
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
The pdf library is found at androidpdf.mobi.
You can d/l the sdk and use it for free; you pay to get rid of the watermark on each page (the fee is per application, though).
I have come across some paid UI widget libraries (coverflow type things etc). It took me a while to adapt existing OS code to achieve the same kind of effect, so sometimes, if it's the right price, it's more effective to buy these kinds of things...
AChartEngine is a good one for charts and graphs http://www.achartengine.org/
MacDegger said:
The pdf library is found at androidpdf.mobi.
You can d/l the sdk and use it for free; you pay to get rid of the watermark on each page (the fee is per application, though).
I have come across some paid UI widget libraries (coverflow type things etc). It took me a while to adapt existing OS code to achieve the same kind of effect, so sometimes, if it's the right price, it's more effective to buy these kinds of things...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tmka said:
AChartEngine is a good one for charts and graphs http://www.achartengine.org/
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Click to collapse
Thank you both. I hope to be updating the OP tomorrow.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
StandOut is a great library to create floating app :good:
Hello everyone,
I'd suggest also DroidText, for creating PDF files
Tiwiz
ciao99 said:
StandOut is a great library to create floating app :good:
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Click to collapse
That looks awesome, I think I'll try it myself
tiwiz said:
Hello everyone,
I'd suggest also DroidText, for creating PDF files
Tiwiz
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Click to collapse
Nice, a PDF creator! I'll take a look and add it.
To everyone: Sorry for not updating, exams are busting my nuts right now . I'll try and get some more in there today or tomorrow .
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
With the exams over and spare time at 1:44 AM, I'll update this again with all the suggestions from this thread. I'll add more "external" ones later.
EDIT: Done!

XHDPI Icons everywhere...

... freaking hate them.
Just kidding, would be nice to have them. Unfortunately high-res icons are not provided very often, though, as you can see on the top left of the play store app, they technically exist. The devs are required to upload 512x512 icons to google, but not to include them in the .APKs.
Do you do anything about it? Has anyone found a convenient way to replace the icons throughout the system, e.g. not only on the homescreen but also in the app drawer? (Modifiying the APKs manually on the PC or with Ninjamorph is too much of a waste of time in my opinion.)
What I do about it:
Get the Icon: Advanced search for images (Google), filetype PNG. If there is no icon: Screenshot in the play store app, remove background, save as PNG. It should be downscaled to 144x144.
Store it on the device.
Replace icon on homescreen: Via longpress in Nova Launcher. Other method, works with every launcher: Create a "Desktop Visualizer" widget, and link it to the desired app. In case the icon looks blurry, check the Desktop Visualizer settings.
However, keep in mind that the app drawer icons remain as they are.
Please tell me if you know some launcher or a highly automated APK modification app that also replaces the drawer icons.
Cheers!
Thats actually quite interesting. I noticed the high-res icons in the Play Store. I don't have my Nexus 10 as of yet but I would hate to have low-res icons simply because the developer didn't take the 10 minutes to convert the icon and upload it with the .APK!
I would suggest we try to clip this problem at the source - TELL developers of this issue! Email them about it. Request it. Developers are in it for money, customers (and, being human, they obviously appreciate positive feedback). Tell them what we want, make it an issue, show them we care, and it will get fixed. Don't just rely on Google to push for a better ecosystem, tell them yourselves!
If someone posts their email to a developer about this issue here, I will take and alter that email to send to them in support, give a bit more force behind it. Sounds like the best option to me!
CWalkop said:
Thats actually quite interesting. I noticed the high-res icons in the Play Store. I don't have my Nexus 10 as of yet but I would hate to have low-res icons simply because the developer didn't take the 10 minutes to convert the icon and upload it with the .APK!
I would suggest we try to clip this problem at the source - TELL developers of this issue! Email them about it. Request it. Developers are in it for money, customers (and, being human, they obviously appreciate positive feedback). Tell them what we want, make it an issue, show them we care, and it will get fixed. Don't just rely on Google to push for a better ecosystem, tell them yourselves!
If someone posts their email to a developer about this issue here, I will take and alter that email to send to them in support, give a bit more force behind it. Sounds like the best option to me!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. However, if you want to get it done quickly and properly, you will have to do it yourself. The problem is that I couldn't find a workaround, which is weird, because the idea exists. A long time ago, I had an iPod Touch, where you could install "Winterboard" - a Cydia app which redirected the read access to the icon file (which is stored within the app on iOS, too) to a folder where you could place custom icons.
If I were Google, I'd change the filetype of icons (or even more ui elements) to a vector format like .SVG. This way every device could calculate its own full resolution icons once and cache them for fast access. There wouldn't be the need for new icons everytime the displays are improved, which is happening all the time.

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