Hopefully someone can point me in the right direction as I'm not finding what I need, if it's even possible.
I need a button that is full-scrren transparent, clickable, but I want to see a ListView of items "under" the button.
I can make the full-screen button transparent and add items to the List and then just bring up the list in another Activity no problem.
But this is a client request to see the list under the button.
Anyone care to point me in the right direction...Overlays? FrameLayout? Custom Theme?
Thanks,
Roots
not really sure if I know what you mean, but you can try to make a png that is transparent and then assign it as your background image of the button in the xml file
Imagine a button that is full-screen and normal "gray" color.
Imagine a listview of some data displayed "under" that button. You make the button transparent and you can now see the list. All in the same Acitvity.
So cant stack 2 clickable items and have them both respond to clicks
Well, I tried a FrameLayout and it worked, sort of. LOL
I clicked the "invisible" button and saw my list grow in the background, but it seemed to "stop" when I hit the end of the screen.
The client is quite adamant about this requirement, but I might be able to sell them on having their data on a third screen and they can get to it on a hard or long button press. This app IS timer dependent, but the second or two it would take to bring up the data on a third screen can't be show stopper...I hope
Well, I've made some progress on the transparent button with another Activity's data showing underneath, but I still have one problem. Bear with me, this app can be confusing.
I have a screen that is a full-size transparent button. In the Manifest, it's also set to Translucent theme.
On press, it runs another Activity which has a button that adds text next to the button. Problem is, when I go back to the original activity, I can still see the button, but the setText("whatever") data is gone! If I don't make the full-screen button as "visible", the text is there.
So, I understand the concept of the setText disappearing, but why is the button still there? I need to see the text too. By the way, the button is visible when I first start the app (as it should be).
It's like I need a "setStaticText" method for TextView. I have returned the data to the calling Activity and can display it fine in a Toast. I even setText() it there, But as soon as that button goes "visible", goodbye text
Any and all ideas welcome!
Related
What is the Jog Button program?
It seems to have installed itself on one of my hardware buttons and ocassionally scrolls through several functions when that button is pressed.
I know how to change the button assignment but am wondering if there is something about Jog Button that we will want to use?
JogButton was just a freeware app we liked which allows multiple functions to be controlled by a single button. Feel free to re-assign the apps using JogButton's 'Tools' menu, or to use the button for something else entirely.
X
Thanks for the quick reply.
Do you know where I can find a help file for instructions for Jog Button?
I couldn't find it within the device and in playing with the program it just doesn't come to me.
JogButton Instructions
Fairly simple once you get the hang of it...
1. Press-and-hold the contacts button to activate JogButton. This causes the programs in its list to scroll/cycle
2. Release the contacts button when the icon of a program that you want to activate appears
Setup
1. Press-and-hold the contacts button
2. Click on the tools menu at bottom of screen
3. Select setup from the tools menu
4. The dialog that shows lists the programs and order of cycle.
5. Add/Delete/Edit as desired
6. The Snd check box is a toggle for sound/no-sound (a beep as each program is shown)
7. Duration is the number of milliseconds that an icon is shown
Hopefully that answers you questions
I'm the author...
Tek
Thanks for the reply. You are a genius!
This seems like a very handy app.
Joe_PDA
other buttons
What about using this very simple app on the calender button.
Have your "serious" stuff on one side,
then "toys" on the other..
I presume you have future plans, so give us a clue please
Perhaps even ask for ideas...
Martin
JogButton - Future Plans...
I started coding an alt-tab like feature into JogButton, but was not sure if that would be useful for anyone other than me. As you may know alt-tab in the Windows world scrolls you through the open list of of apps in a Last-in-first-out/Most Recently Used fashion. This would be useful for switching between two apps, the downside would be that you would have to remember the order. I was thinking of putting a toggle on either the menu or in the setup dialog to select this mode.
As for using two buttons, it is possible,but the way PocketPC handles the programs assigned to a button they have to have different names. I would of course have to make a few minor adjustments to allow for this, but it is possible.
I'm up for any suggestions to make this program more useful. Start a list and let's see what we get.
8)
Re: JogButton - Future Plans...
tekknogenius said:
I'm up for any suggestions to make this program more useful. Start a list and let's see what we get.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bug: by timing a quick press just right, I can get it in a mode where it keeps cycling through the programs even though I've released the button already.
I think I was unable to map it to both the hardware buttons using a different list of programs to cycle through for each button. Since a single short press still does the same thing, there's really no reason not to map it to the second button also. (?? Quick hack: map second button to patched Jogbutton2.exe, using different set of registry keys. Better: multiple small stubs which start the real exe telling it which stub was executed. ??)
Maybe map a special action to pressing both buttons at the same time?
Also, something like 'double-press' and 'triple-press' found in some other programs to quickly go to the second and third item (or completely different items) without looking at the phone would be handy. I never really use the rocker-switch, but it could be handy for app starting: just keep the hardware button pressed and hit one of the four directions or the center, giving you 5 new things (per hardware button) to start.
JogButton...
Good suggestions. I can enhance it to use all available buttons. I prefer to use one hand, but others might like to have more options available.
hmm, must be a n00b suggestion, but perhaps it would be possible to use the volume control button? i dont use it for anything anyway.
Only two options... that I know of...
On the XDA/MDA PPCPE there are only two mappable buttons, unlike other PPC that have four or five. It's either the contacts button or the calendar button. Now once an app is mapped to either button and the app is launched, it can control any of the buttons. As a side note, the volume button would be great if it were dual functioning: a press-and-release brings up the volume dialog; a press-and-hold would bring up the record function.
I'm putting out a request to all developers in compiling this app.
My idea is based off the function of the dialer curtain. Only, this app will have the option of using a transparent curtain or custom curtain (blank, wallpaper, etc.) and the curtains can be activated at any time for any reason, and then of course, be deactivated.
To be a little more detailed, one could use a capacitive swipe upwards from the send key to the home key (and activate transparent mode), or from the end call key to the back key (to activate wallpaper mode), to initialize the program. Upon initialization, the screen wouldn't be immediately covered, only a click and drag icon would appear at the top and/or bottom of the screen. Clicking this icon and dragging up or down would extend and retract the curtain and the curtain could stop wherever you lift your finger (you could use the curtain to partially cover the screen). Reactivating the program while running would simply close it (meaning another swipe upwards of the capacitive area would put away the curtain AND button).
An added option would be to double or triple tap the curtain button once the curtain has been put in place to lock the curtain in place. (even locked so that capacitive swipes won't close the program.)
I feel this could be very useful in many area's and for all types of user's from parents to porn addicts as well as for business. (<---that's sounds kinda F'd up in an ominous pun kind of way.)
Just to name a few
(e.g. Porn addicts could use it for privacy purposes in public. Parents could use it to cover the start menu while in a paint app and let their child play with it without worry, and business when you're multi tasking and need to walk away for a min and want to lock/hide the screen without closing apps or putting your phone into suspend.) Not to mention a fullscreen dialer curtain!
So what do you all think? I know there are apps that can do parts of this which is why I'm asking multiple developers to compile their certain segments.
Please and Thank You!
*Edited* A better way to lock it could be if the curtain button was able to slide left and right. When it pops up, it would start on the right side. when you let go and then touch the button again, you could slide it to the left side of the screen and it would lock. ( Because the button actually sits just above the curtain, when you drag to the very top, the button wouldn't exit the screen and the curtain wouldn't cover the start menu. Same thing for dragging down, it wouldn't cover the softkeys. But when you performed the locking action, the curtain would merely slide up or down the rest of the way. eh?!?!
Is this not that good of an idea? I noticed people have at least looked at this but not a single comment? No body backs this? disagrees? is too busy? i'm kinda disapointed.
Sounds to me like this is another locking application with features of both S2U2 and Touchlock Pro. Would you agree?
yes and no. More like a combo of butler and the HD dialer curtain with visual interaction/amusement. I'm a big fan of using gestures and seeing things work rather than just relying on adequate lighting or waiting for a vibration.
Mainly, this style of locking app allows you to lock out certain parts of your phone with ease, while still being able to use other functions.
To me this is not really another locking app! I actually like this idea. Has some possibility in it! Good thinking
Guys,
does anybody know if and how can I make my dialer not dial the person when I single tap on the row but only highlight it and then use either the hardware dial button or the big green "talk" button ... or double tapping the highlighted row?
I find it very annoying when I tap an adjacent row by mistake and have to search again. This happens pretty often when I drive and have my HD2 on a stand but it also happens from time to time when hold the phone in one hand I try to select/dial the topmost row in the result list.
The last part brings another question - is there a way to add two arrow buttons at the bottom of the dialer which will go trough up/down through the list? These will be very helpful in such "car" situations and also in the case where the search criteria results in large list (more than 3-4 items) which requires a scroll (flip scroll) and/or hiding the dialing pad to see the full list. Currently I've mapped the Vol Up/Down keys for up/down directions with AEButtons but it's not very convenient / comfortable.
I'll try to make some kind of screen shot to show what exactly I mean but I believe you get the point.
Here are the screen shots - the original and the modified (using paint)
It would be great if somebody can make such a dialer ... or explain what I need to make it myself. (the arrow buttons should stay visible when one hides the dialer ... or when the user presses them to start moving the "focused" contact just as if hardware arrows are pressed).
pankov said:
Here are the screen shots - the original and the modified (using paint)
It would be great if somebody can make such a dialer ... or explain what I need to make it myself. (the arrow buttons should stay visible when one hides the dialer ... or when the user presses them to start moving the "focused" contact just as if hardware arrows are pressed).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure but I don't think I can do it. I'm not to good at editing those resource dll files.
Someone like RyanMogul6800, or Fards, would know about this. Maybe senf one of them a PM.
Just thought I'd share this one I found.
If you hold down the "home" button for about a second you get an easy task switcher to any app that was running in the background. It's faster than hitting back till you get to the menu or getting to the menu and then finding the app you are after .
Sliding your finger across the notification window just as it drops down changes the brightness of the screen.
Any others that people have found?
You can add shortcuts to phone numbers and messages on the home screen by holding your finger down and selecting shortcuts on the home screen somewhere. This also appears to work with a lot of apps, like kindle shortcuts to a specific book.
All android phones do this, Holding the Home button is a standard android way to "Switch fast" between apps
A few things I found out reading the SGS forum here:
1. You can control the brightness by sliding your finger left to right when pulling down the notification bar. Just keep your finger on the edge of the pull down window.
2. You can have the SGS announce the title/artist of a song from the Music player by pressing and holding the Up Volume button while a song is playing.
3. You can "lock screen" while watching video by pressing Power Button while a video is playing. This is great at preventing unintended clicks while holding the phone watching a video.
tenshi888 said:
A few things I found out reading the SGS forum here:
1. You can control the brightness by sliding your finger left to right when pulling down the notification bar. Just keep your finger on the edge of the pull down window.
2. You can have the SGS announce the title/artist of a song from the Music player by pressing and holding the Up Volume button while a song is playing.
3. You can "lock screen" while watching video by pressing Power Button while a video is playing. This is great at preventing unintended clicks while holding the phone watching a video.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know the third one, but didn't know the first two. Thank you tenshi, for sharing.
However, I don't quite understand how exactly you can change the brightness in the day you described, cos I can't seem to do it.
Also, I got the feeling that to effect number 2, there is a monthly subscription that I need to pay to Optus. They gave me a 7 day free trial before continuing, and I did not continue.
eaglesteve, for #1, make sure auto-brightness is off in your display settings, now when you slide the notification bar panel down try sliding your finger left to right and you'll notice the display brightness change.
for #2, I don't think its connected to your provider as it doesn't even need a data connection to work, it's just using text to speech. You might have to enable or download it the first time.
eaglesteve said:
I know the third one, but didn't know the first two. Thank you tenshi, for sharing.
However, I don't quite understand how exactly you can change the brightness in the day you described, cos I can't seem to do it.
Also, I got the feeling that to effect number 2, there is a monthly subscription that I need to pay to Optus. They gave me a 7 day free trial before continuing, and I did not continue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tenshi888 said:
eaglesteve, for #1, make sure auto-brightness is off in your display settings, now when you slide the notification bar panel down try sliding your finger left to right and you'll notice the display brightness change.
for #2, I don't think its connected to your provider as it doesn't even need a data connection to work, it's just using text to speech. You might have to enable or download it the first time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My auto-brightness is already off, but I still can't seem to change the brightness when sliding from left to right or right to left while pulling down the notification curtain. Any other clue?
For 2, you're right, once I downloaded the voice synthesising software from the market place, it works. I need to make sure the music player is in the foreground for this to work, right?
spenceee said:
If you hold down the "home" button for about a second you get an easy task switcher to any app that was running in the background. It's faster than hitting back till you get to the menu or getting to the menu and then finding the app you are after .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Technically it's a "most recently used" list rather than a list of apps running in the background. For example if you have just exited a navigation app, or killed an app from a process manager, it will still appear in this list.
Interesting thread.
I just want to add some "shortcuts" I discovered myself using the Galaxy (maybe they aren't so hidden. I am a lousy user, don't like to read manuals. So maybe they are very obvious )
Close pull down window/curtain, close desktop layer folders and close keyboard by tapping back key
Access to the bookmark button and address bar in the brower by tapping the menu button (no need to scroll all the way up)
Open soft D-Pad by tap-and-hold the "?123" key on the standard Samsung Keyboard
Quick and reliable GPS reception by editing the ntp server in the gps.conf file
Someone I only just learnt...
Pressing and holding the power button performs a reset. (Keep pressing it after you get the shut down/mute/airplane options and the phone will suddenly restart. Have to keep the button pressed for 5 secs atleast).
dagrim1 said:
Someone I only just learnt...
Pressing and holding the power button performs a reset. (Keep pressing it after you get the shut down/mute/airplane options and the phone will suddenly restart. Have to keep the button pressed for 5 secs atleast).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cool
holding menu key for about a second brings up google search.Im sure its probably a feature of all android phones and probably in the manual but im new to android and dont read manuals much.
If you´re in "contacts"
slide to the right for an instant call or slide to the left for messaging the contact
mazurson said:
If you´re in "contacts"
slide to the right for an instant call or slide to the left for messaging the contact
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cool, this is handy when you're driving
i usually double tap the contact, but if your car goes over a bump or pot hole, then the 2nd tap is missed, and wont work.
mazurson said:
If you´re in "contacts"
slide to the right for an instant call or slide to the left for messaging the contact
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SWEET, this is a great way to dial and text people from contacts
Thx for the info
1. Browsing in the Gallery
When browsing your large list of photo's in the 'Gallery', click the icon on the right to group them into date taken ~ makes browsing much more manageable.
2. Locking the Camera
If you wish to leave the camera on but worried you may accidentally touch the scrren/controls you can lock the camera.
Once you have the camera set up how you want it, simply briefly press the Power button. You will then see a white padlock appear on screen. Now you can hold the camera and phone how you like until you are ready to shoot.... When ready again briefly press the Power button, the padlock disappears and you can take your shoot/video.
sammy555 said:
holding menu key for about a second brings up google search.Im sure its probably a feature of all android phones and probably in the manual but im new to android and dont read manuals much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nah, it's samsung's replacement for the search button that's a Google requirement. They don't have a button for it, so they assigned long-press menu for search, whereas on the Nexus One, it'll make force the soft-'board to come up.
yes it works...
eaglesteve said:
My auto-brightness is already off, but I still can't seem to change the brightness when sliding from left to right or right to left while pulling down the notification curtain. Any other clue?
For 2, you're right, once I downloaded the voice synthesising software from the market place, it works. I need to make sure the music player is in the foreground for this to work, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At first it didn't worked for me also, because I understand bad.
Not pulling down. Go to the upper of the screen, press till the botton of the dropdown curtain appears, but don't slide it down. Once that appears the BAR move left or right your finger, and it will adjust.
pafh99 said:
At first it didn't worked for me also, because I understand bad.
Not pulling down. Go to the upper of the screen, press till the botton of the dropdown curtain appears, but don't slide it down. Once that appears the BAR move left or right your finger, and it will adjust.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah yes, I got it to work too. The trick is not to pull it down but just to make the curtain barely appear before you slide.
Thanks for your excellent explanation.
sammy555 said:
cool
holding menu key for about a second brings up google search.Im sure its probably a feature of all android phones and probably in the manual but im new to android and dont read manuals much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, didn't know this one. Very useful and now I can get rid of the google search bar on the desktop too
when receiving a call press the volume down button to mute th ringer
old but cool
I was just reading about webOS and how good its interface is when dealing with multi-tasking and I realised how poor androids multi-tasking interface is. The only way I know to switch between running apps is to hold home button for a few seconds...
I personally think this can be improved by having thumbnails of open apps popup when the home button is single pressed on a home screen. Just as at the moment previews of all the home screens popup I think this should be switched with open app previews. I rarely ever use the home screen preview thing so i think its wasted, but I definitely would use app selector if little thumbnails showed.
Anybody have any thoughts on this? Im not a developer so I have no idea if this is possible but I think it would be a good feature to add and improve android. Do any devs think they can implement this??
Moved to general as not ROM development.
This would be a feature for a launcher app, so might be worth suggesting to someone like Fede who develops Launcher Pro, or cyanogenmod people that make ADW?
yes you are right. thanks. I was too lazy to find the relevant section to post under. will try contacting anderweb. or fede.
There are a couple of apps which overlays a screen on top of the current app you are in by tapping home twice, you can then open apps/access widgets without having to go back to homescreen first.
Currently im using 'smart taskbar', you can set the activation mode to be (1) tapping on a half-circle spot on either side of your screen or (2) swiping from one side to another. You can then open from a list of 5 'pinned' apps or choose from the mini apps drawer below, or click a tab called 'running' which seems the same as the current holding on home button behavior.
check out power strip. allows you to get a popup window where ever you are by doubble tapping home button (ore long press search button). there you can have quick access to widgets, shortcuts etc. really cool.
smiskkissen said:
check out power strip. allows you to get a popup window where ever you are by doubble tapping home button (ore long press search button). there you can have quick access to widgets, shortcuts etc. really cool.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just downloaded both power strip and the one mentioned above. Will try them both out and report back on whether its what i was suggesting. Thanks for your suggestions.