Database Users

Samsung secret features D-Pad and Screen

I just wanted to point a few things about the Samsung Vibrant everyone is complaining about how this phone does not have a D-Pad and i just wanted to clear this up.
In fact this phone has a d-pad, select the samsung keyboard if not already in use hold down the key on the keyboard that is use to select numbers and symbols you will see a d-pad appear with copy, past select text options.
Also to easily dim your screen or to brighten your screen, slide your finger across the top of the screen where the notification bar is and you will notice your screen brighten or darken according to which way you slide your finger. (Note you may need to disable auto brightness for this function to be activated.

Heres a pic of the dpad

The Swype keyboard also has a really nice d-pad. Just swype from the tutorial icon right to the SYM key and it will show up.
Sent from my Vibrant, using the XDA app.

Thank you very much for the brightness slide tip!!!

Anyone else accidentally changing the brightness a lot? I swipe the bar with my left thumb, and if it's too angled of a swipe, my screen brightness goes to 11. I never thought I'd complain about a screen being too bright, lol.

can we activate the d-pad when not in a text entry field? I used the trackball on my G1 to select html anchors to get at small links or hovering elements

Wow I did not know this thanks for the info.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

cbisquit said:
can we activate the d-pad when not in a text entry field? I used the trackball on my G1 to select html anchors to get at small links or hovering elements
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It can be used on a web page, but I've only gotten it to come up by hitting a text box first. For that, even the addresses bar works.
-bZj
_____
-sent from my Samsung Vibrant via XDAapp

Awesome. Thanks for sharing this info.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

keyboard almost always pulls up with a long press on menu. but in the browser this also pulls up the URL bar so no can do. also what is 'keyboard sweeping' in the samsung keyboad options?

cbisquit said:
can we activate the d-pad when not in a text entry field? I used the trackball on my G1 to select html anchors to get at small links or hovering elements
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yes all you have to do is hold down the menu key they keyboard will pop up and then you just have to do the process up top..

What about when you need to see text in a menu selection that is truncated to the side?
For example, if you go to Market -> Apps, under Finance and Health, you can see there are text that runs off to the right edge you can't read. In my old phone MyTouch, if I highlight Finance, the text will scroll across so I can read the rest of the line. Can't do this right now with the Vibrant.

jkcheng122 said:
What about when you need to see text in a menu selection that is truncated to the side?
For example, if you go to Market -> Apps, under Finance and Health, you can see there are text that runs off to the right edge you can't read. In my old phone MyTouch, if I highlight Finance, the text will scroll across so I can read the rest of the line. Can't do this right now with the Vibrant.
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i havent ran across this problem. i am pretty sure when 2.2 comes out it will fix alot of the small issues, like on my nexus

soklean said:
yes all you have to do is hold down the menu key they keyboard will pop up and then you just have to do the process up top..
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I'm not seeing that option since holding down menu opens the url bar which can't be closed independently of the keyboard.
Sent from my Vibrant using XDA app

Awesome post, thanks.
Anyone figure out a better way to auto-fit text on the browser? I find tilting my phone to change the orientation and tilting it back makes it auto-fit. Phones like the Incredible do it as you're doing pinch to zoom--no need to flip the phone around.

blueman9 said:
The Swype keyboard also has a really nice d-pad. Just swype from the tutorial icon right to the SYM key and it will show up.
Sent from my Vibrant, using the XDA app.
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excellent! I didn't realize that was a d pad lol.. i always thought of a d pad being like a trackball or flat button like on the blackberry bold 9700
thanks to you and the original poster for the tip. I found out about the swipe for screen brightness by John on droiddog dot com

very nice but in swype you can do the same thing just swype from the swype key at the bottom left to the SYM key right beside it and you get arrows and some other goodies.

Oh wow! This was my biggest complaint about the Vibrant. Thank you very much.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

For those saying "o wow", check the sticky. Surely some other things you've missed.

Dougefresh91 said:
Awesome post, thanks.
Anyone figure out a better way to auto-fit text on the browser? I find tilting my phone to change the orientation and tilting it back makes it auto-fit. Phones like the Incredible do it as you're doing pinch to zoom--no need to flip the phone around.
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I hit the - or + buttons back and forth to get the text to wrap, yeah it's a bummer they don't wrap using the pinch zoom. Also you can double tap the screen to initiate zoom, that method also auto-fits the text.

disable touch key light when using main touch screen

what i noticed is when u r using the touch screen then y do the touch key light up, arent they suppose to light up when u actually press them, the menu and back touch key?
problem is when ur playing games etc ur using the main touch screen only and this results in both the keys to remain lit up all the while, i want it to light up only when pressed.

mm, I agree it is very annoying while playing games and probably doesn't help the battery :/
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

i even searched for apps to disable it etc but didnt find any, mayb it needs to be done at the kernel level.

Go to settings - display - touch key light duration - allways off (They won't light up even when you use them)
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App

Steinegal said:
Go to settings - display - touch key light duration - allways off (They won't light up even when you use them)
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
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thanks, that'll have to do for the moment when playing games and stuff....but still wish it were like the original sgs, where the screen didn't activate the backlights....oh well
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

Steinegal said:
Go to settings - display - touch key light duration - allways off (They won't light up even when you use them)
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
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im aware of those settings but i need them off when im not touching them but i want them to light up when actually used and then remain on for 1.5secs

khal_nayak said:
what i noticed is when u r using the touch screen then y do the touch key light up, arent they suppose to light up when u actually press them, the menu and back touch key?
problem is when ur playing games etc ur using the main touch screen only and this results in both the keys to remain lit up all the while, i want it to light up only when pressed.
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I thought the reason the lights on the menu and back button turns up when the screen is touched, is to tell the user that there's a back and menu button. (Good for people new to android, who does not know of the capacitive buttons)
And why do you want the menu and back button to light up when touched? You already know that they are there (that's why you touched it).
I've permanently turned off my touch button's lights as I've already knew where they are.

pen only mode please!!

If anyone is using the device as a drawing tablet, this would be very helpful. Let me explain why.
I downloaded the autodesk sketchbook, the application works great, but better if there is an option to completely shut off the touch input because in real life while drawing we do not want hand accidentally touch the canvas and leave any unwanted marks on the work. I know the tablet automatically disable touch input while the pen is within a certain distance, but the distance is only about 1.5 cm (too short !!). My hand always touches the screen and leaves unwanted marks while painting. Someone already suggested that wearing a glove while working, well, that's only a temporary solution. I would assume most artists would not want to paint with gloves on because it just does not feel right.
To sum it up, I would suggest an option to activate "pen only mode" while the pen is not in the pen slot would be perfect!

zoomincn said:
To sum it up, I would suggest an option to activate "pen only mode" while the pen is not in the pen slot would be perfect!
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When the pen icon (blue, in the upper right corner) is selected it serves the same function in S-Note.

Thank you for mentioning this, but this function seems to be S-note only. It does not work in other application while it's turned on in S-note...

I think he's asking for a pen-only mode on a system level.

I think it probably has to be implemented within different programs by the developers. I did notice how effective it was within S-note, though.
otherwise my finger was randomly creating Marks and lines as I was zooming in and out.
Sent from my GT-N8013 using xda app-developers app

It's something that could be implemented at the OS level if for example CyanogenMod wanted to make it a feature. That's a pretty clever idea actually and wouldn't be too hard to implement. I don't know if mainline CM would accept it but it could always be in an unofficial build.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

On my N8000, the screen does not accept finger input when and as long as the S-Pen is in range of the screen (point marker enabled, point marker visible on screen)

The Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet got it implemented with an update to ICS.
Maybe Samsung can do that to ?

Someone should suggest this to Samsung some how. Maybe having a toggle in the notification bar would be handy.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app

crystalstylez said:
Someone should suggest this to Samsung some how. Maybe having a toggle in the notification bar would be handy.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
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That would be perfect.
I found the pen works much better when "Battery Saving" is checked in the Pen options. Before that I was having issues with it getting confused between my fingers and the pen even when the pen was docked.

Lecture notes has this feature as well. It's pretty cool! You can use your fingers for scrolling and zooming and it won't leave any marks on the paper. The pen writes and draws, and your fingers zoom and navigate. It works amazingly well. Hopefully in the future more apps will have this feature enabled.

Screen can be turned off by touching cornor once in stock. Why not in custom ROMs?

I thought that shortcut to turn off the screen by touching the corner once is highly desirable when I can't reach the power button because the phone is lying on the table. Yes, I am that lazy.
Yet, none of the custom ROMs I tried carries that shortcut. Instead, I have to touch the narrow status bar twice in order to turn off the screen. More often than not, I end up touching the clock which appears when I pull down the status bar and, apparently, when I touch the bar. This mistake opens the time and date setting and leads to me shouting and picking up the phone from the table and squeeze the power button angrily.
Is anyone missing that shortcut?

95139ieaci said:
I thought that shortcut to turn off the screen by touching the corner once is highly desirable when I can't reach the power button because the phone is lying on the table. Yes, I am that lazy.
Yet, none of the custom ROMs I tried carries that shortcut. Instead, I have to touch the narrow status bar twice in order to turn off the screen. More often than not, I end up touching the clock which appears when I pull down the status bar and, apparently, when I touch the bar. This mistake opens the time and date setting and leads to me shouting and picking up the phone from the table and squeeze the power button angrily.
Is anyone missing that shortcut?
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How do u turn screan off by touching corners. Are u sure u are not running a 3party apps for that.

maydayind said:
How do u turn screan off by touching corners. Are u sure u are not running a 3party apps for that.
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No. I remember specifically liking this one stock function, otherwise the stock ROM sucks.
But my LG G2 is a Korean version.

If you use AOKP you can just put a power button on the navbar and turn it off there, done.
Otherwise, there are other methods posted in this very forum. You didn't look.

khaytsus said:
If you use AOKP you can just put a power button on the navbar and turn it off there, done.
Otherwise, there are other methods posted in this very forum. You didn't look.
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I don't use AOKP and I know there are other methods, but I want that particular method.
It's very neat, never misfire, invisible(until touched). Also it is a stock function(at least in the Korean version), therefore I wonder why doesn't custom ROMs include that which quite caters to G2.

95139ieaci said:
I don't use AOKP and I know there are other methods, but I want that particular method.
It's very neat, never misfire, invisible(until touched). Also it is a stock function(at least in the Korean version), therefore I wonder why doesn't custom ROMs include that which quite caters to G2.
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I'm on verizon stock, no such functionality and I have not read mention of it anywhere. I imagine if there were a spot where a single touch would shut off the screen it would be too easily triggered alllllll the time. Perhaps if you take a backup and flash back to stock you could demo this for better understanding?

Im on 100% stock TMo and I don't have this function. Double tap to turn screen off works fine for me though.

This rom can do it. One touch on the top right corner and it turns off.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2673143
The guy decided to remove it though for the other updates. I have V4.0 and have not left it for the sake of this feature.

Yes. You can actually switch off the screen by double tap anywhere in the status bar. I've tried all area and it just works! By default you need to be on homescreen to do this, but I think as the status bar was part of it, that why it works.
Sent from my LG-D802 using xda app-developers app

I was just messing around with the settings on my Sprint lg g2. You can also turn off the screen by double tapping on an empty area. I've got some empty space on a couple of my home screens with no apps or widgets, double tapping will turn off the screen.
Sent from my LG-LS980 using Tapatalk

coogrrr94 said:
I was just messing around with the settings on my Sprint lg g2. You can also turn off the screen by double tapping on an empty area. I've got some empty space on a couple of my home screens with no apps or widgets, double tapping will turn off the screen.
Sent from my LG-LS980 using Tapatalk
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Haven't you heard of knock-on and knock-off features? Were you thinking you can only turn the screen on by double tapping it?
Sent from my LG-D802 using xda app-developers app

Almost all roms have that features of not in a different way.
Sent from my LG-D801 using Tapatalk

Try Invisible Lock Widget on Play Store. You set up an invisible widget on your home screen and press that. I've got 12 icons of it all round my clock.

[Q] question virtual key

Hi all I would like to buy a used nexus 4 of 10.10.2013, at the price of 150 euro European warranty, I just doubt the seller declares that the virtual keys on the phone do not work and everything else works before you buy i surely you'll see the phone, so i wanted to know, there is pssibilità or a way to figure out if the problem is with the virtual keys or the screen without first changing rom or restore the phone, that is immediate??
You can remove the virtual keys to use the cell with the only home to see if the part of the screen where the buttons are working?
Sorry for my bad english,i use google translate

Download the app "phone tester". It has a function called " multi-touch test". You can just move your finger over the whole screen to check for any blank spots.
Does the phone come completely stock? Because sometimes s2w and d2w cause problems like this.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Free mobile app

Oxious119 said:
Download the app "phone tester". It has a function called " multi-touch test". You can just move your finger over the whole screen to check for any blank spots.
Does the phone come completely stock? Because sometimes s2w and d2w cause problems like this.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Free mobile app
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If your phone has a custom kernel, you can activate and s2w d2w, if your phone has the stock kernel that is not possible. If your phone there are s2w and d2w with phone The application tester will give error in the area of soft keys when you head to the screen?

The app I mentioned is just to see if and where there are blank spots.
I've made the experience that d2w after sometimes makes the left and right side of the screen unresponsive. Others might have made other observations.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Free mobile app

tanks before I buy it I'll try the screen with the program who advised me

I picked up the phone, the touch works all the rom and the kernel are original, as I solve the problem of virtual keys??

Does touch input work on the complete screen? There's a button on top to make the touch test run in full screen so you can test all borders and edges. If it does I guess flashing a complete stock image should solve the issues.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Free mobile app

It works all the touch screen, the problem is that the keys back - home - menu, they do not work it vertically horizontally into the side of the phone where they are placed, they only work if I turn the phone and I get them to appear in the side where you is the camera.