Update 4: ADW.Launcher v1.1.3 “damn b**ch”

Seems my betatester #alphateam didn’t work so well…. how many bugfix releases!!!
Fixes:

• Little bug with screens editor causing FCs under some circumstances
• More minor dockbar fixes
• Updated translations

If you are using a cyanogenmod custom rom, you can update the ADW version with the following:

Use adb push, rootexplorer or whatever method you want to update your system versions. Or wait for someone else’s posting flashable zips :-)

• CyanogenMod 6x users: download latest rom nigthlies, If it’s not already included, will be soon.
• Cyanogenmod 5x users: use one of this files:
• ADW.Launcher v1.1.3 for CyanogenMod 5.x on HDPi devices like Nexus One: ADW.Launcher v1.1.3 CM5 (hdpi and mdpi compatible)
• ADW.Launcher v1.1.3 for CyanogenMod 5.x on MDPi devices like Dream/Sapphire: ADW.Launcher v1.1.3 CM5x MDPI ONLY
• If you can’t use Androird Market, here are the apks for you to download and install
• ADW.Launcher v1.1.3 Donut Standalone (meant to be used only on Android 1.6 devices)
• ADW.Launcher v1.1.3 Standalone (Only Android 2.1/2.2 compatible)

Update 3: ADW.Launcher v1.1.2

Little bugfix revision with the following:

• Little bug with custom shirtcuts pictures being smaller than they should be
• Minor dockbar fixes

Update 2: ADW.Launcher v1.1.1 released

Little bugfix revision with the following:

• Updated some translations
• The new Icons shader made icons smaller than they should be
• Folder contents got messed/mixed with the app catalogs
• Dockbar allows placing items at the drop position. This mean you can drop icons in between other icons
• A few strange FCs

Old post

Long time, I know, but I’ve been making a lot of stuff for this hacky app during the last month…
Here is the brief changelog (for a better one, go to the Github project site, though i’ve not uploaded everything yet):

Fixes:

• On Froyo, apps moved to SD now properly reload their icons when available (on desktop, action buttons, dockbar, folders, etc)
• When using the desktop indicator “Top Dots” sometimes the top margin was missplaced to the left too.
• Properly center the wallpaper with only 1 desktop screen
• Sometimes the trackball/dpad scroll got stuck on the app drawer button
• Fix old bug for the default screen setting not being applied until a restart
• Fix colorpicker hardcoded dimensions to adapt different resolution devices
• Added a few verifications for possible NPEs
• Lowered a bit the swipe actions sensitivity (sometimes this caused widgets being difficult to longpress)
• New “persistence” implementation….Read below

News:

• New preferences to restart ADW or reset ADW settings
• Changed screen cache option into a list to select the desired quality. If you use scrollable widgets this can help reducing errors
• New option to disable wallpaper scrolling
• Dockbar items now can be dragged out the dockbar instead just deleted (I mean DOCKBAR no ACTIONBUTTONS)
• New options to force a specified orientation (between sensor/portrait/landscape)
• Themes now can use a custom font for desktop shortcuts, app drawer and normal folders.
• Themes now can use a new IconShader class thanks to kaydensigh!!!(read below)
• New custom “App Catalogs” thanks to seast!!! (read below)
• New “custom shortcut” option inside “add” menu (read below)
• New “Screens editor” like Samsung’s TWLauncher (read below)

Ok, I’m gonna explain a few things:

New “Persistence”

This version uses a completely different persistence implementation, but remember this is really only needed for low memory devices like G1(Dream)/Mytouch3G(Sapphire).

• By using this persistence option, ADW.Launcher will FORCE the screen to portrait mode. ADW Won’t auto rotate, even when opening the keyboard on those phones with hardware keyboards.
• This way ADW would be really “hard to kill”, so you can always return to home really fast.
• With this implementation seems the “widget freezing/not updating” issue is completely solved

Also important: if you use this option, a few chunk of your phone’s RAM will be always used by the launcher, so there’s less RAM for other apps…. you know what it means, use at your own risk.

If you’re running CyanogenMod rom version 6, try using its “Home in memory” option instead of this one.

Custom shirtcuts

Press menu/add (or long press on the home screen) and select Custom shortcut.
This is a little frontend to the standard “add shortcut” menu but allowing you to change the icon and the label. And even calling “hidden activities” of other apps

Icons can be selected from 3 sources:

• Custom picture: Just select a picture on your phone and use it as icon
• Crop picture: Just select a picture on your phone and crop the desired area to use as icon
• ADWTheme IconPacks: Yeah, ADWThemes will be able to provide icon packs for you to use as source of custom icons :-)

Soon I’ll be making a new post with the required instructions and ADW.Theme.Template update so every theme developer can adapt their themes and provide icon packs. In the meanwhile, my free theme “Stock Blue” already has a demo icon pack for you to test

Screens editor

Kanging Samsung’s great launcher, i’ve developed this little tool to allow you organize your desktop. You can add, remove an swap screens on a really easy way!

1. Press “menu/Edit”
2. Scroll through your screens
3. Use the overlay buttons to remove/add/swap screens
4. Press your phone’s “back” key to exit

App Catalogs

New way to organize your apps. Make custom application catalogs by hiding the undesired ones and switch between them fast and easy!

• Press your phone’s “menu” key while the app drawer is open
• Select “choose group” to switch between different catalogs
• Select “setup group” to edit the list of desired/hidden applications
• You can remove a group by selecting “remove group”

ADWTheme icon shaders

Theme developers can use a new and “simple” way to apply effects to ALL the icons (but custom shortcuts) by adding a little XML file to the themes. I will be posting more info about that soon.
In the meanwhile, my free theme “Stock Blue” already has a demo shader for you to test

Ok, that’s all for now!!! Please don’t be harsh to me in case of (the ton of) errors!!!

Update 2: System versions for cyanogenmod rom users

• ADW.Launcher v1.0.1 for cyanogenmod 5.0.8 dream/magic
• ADW.Launcher v1.0.1 for cyanogenmod 5.0.8 nexus one
• ADW.Launcher v1.0.1 for cyanogenmod 6RC1 dream/magic
• ADW.Launcher v1.0.1 for cyanogenmod 6RC1 nexus one

Use adb push, rootexplorer or whatever method you want to update it. Or wait for someone else’s posting flashable zips :-)

Update: v1.0.1 released!

I’ve released a little fix cause in the previous one (my fault) the widget longpress timeout (for moving widgets) was too long (2seconds). Now it’s on 700milliseconds.

Sorry everyone :-)

Old post:

Sorry guys, long time without updating :(

I’ve been very busy with the new experimental feature for ADW.Launcher, support for custom themes :-)

I know there are a few remaining bugs out there and things that could be improved, but I’m a one-man-army and I don’t have the knowledge to make things better yet…

With this version I’m releasing 4 custom themes made by myself, 2 free ones and 2 paid ones. Yeah, you’ve read right, paid.

I’ve removed the donation link from the ADW.Launcher settings menu and, if enough people buy my themes i could remove the donation link from the site too. As some of you already know, I’m actually unemployed so every little help is really welcome to pay the rent and having food for my family (we’re only 3, but the kid eats like 3!) ;-)

Ok, so i post a few pics of how ADW.Launcher looks with the applied themes, and later  the next week I’ll be posting more info on how everyone can create custom themes using my Theme Template project.

One last thing, I will probably releasing my themes stuff on http://themes.piratemedia.tv/ not here, I want this blog to remain only for the launcher development so please, don’t comment here for themes!!! The only thing theme-related on this blog will be the Theme Template and the instruction manual as I said above ;-)

Ok, now the pics!!!

P.S.-The persistence option is BAD and I’m a BAD CODER, so I’m sure my implementation is VERY BAD. So if you run issues, disable it.

P.S.2-Froyo Apps2SD is a pain in the ass if you don’t use it correctly. Believe me, I try to make things the better I can, but remember what google says about putting widgets, services or important apps onto SD:

When not to install on SD card?

The advantage of installing on SD card is easy to understand: contention for storage space is reduced. There are costs, the most obvious being that your app is disabled when the SD card is either removed or in USB Mass Storage mode; this includes running Services, not just interactive Activities. Aside from this, device removal disables an application’s Widgets, Input methods, Account Managers, Device administrators, Live wallpapers, and Live folders, and may require explicit user action to re-enable them.

EDIT: 0.8.8 “bugfixes edition” released.

So after receiving a lot of reports, i’ve been fighting some issues with the new features and packed up a bugfix release on the market and on my github.

It currently fixes  the issue with phone rotation when you had the “Persistence” mode enabled, some screen flickering/darkening issues when using the indicators autohide option, and the indicators showing over the app drawer issue as well, the “fade labels” drawer option is finally “properly working” and some updated/new translations.

Sorry everyone ;-)

Old post:

Hey you all :-)

Another little update for this thing.

Fixes:

• Folders now open to the whole screen again, not limited to 4×4
• FC if rotating the phone with the menu open.
• Finally fixed the “widget reappearing” bug when dropped inside ActionButtons or Dockbar
• Search widget can be resized too.
• Dockbar items now don’t get messed when launcher receives a shortcut intent.
• Rearranged settings screens.
• Hopefully some memory FCs on longpressing items.

News:

• New option to tweak Galaxy style app drawer (the horizontal one) page margins (thanks to Julian_Chu)
• You can now add unlimited icons to the dockbar and scroll through them (Read hints later).
• Desktop dots now allow faster navigation trough screens, removed the delay.
• New optional desktop indicator with 3 different styles/layouts and options (Read hints later).
• The long awaited but good for nothing “Keep launcher in memory” option (Read hints later).

Comments/Hints:

The “Keep launcher in memory” option (ADWSettings/System preferences/System persistent) uses an Activity property clearly discouraged by google, but some users find it useful… Is disabled by default, so enable it at your own risk :-)

The “unlimited dockbar icons” feature is as risky as every addition to your launcher. The more icons you add—>the more memory you use—>the more chances of getting FCs. Is the same as with widgets, etc.

While making this new feature, i found myself accidentally closing the dockbar a lot, so i’ve finally REMOVED the “close button” (the little pointing-donw arrow over the dockbar). If you want to close the dockbar, just swipe down over it . If you do it fast, you won’t accidentally “click” any icon inside.

The new desktop indicators are also an optional feature. By default the indocator shown will be the “Galaxy” indicator (Dots pager, like the samsung galaxy drawer) on top. You can switch between this one or just the typical small line moving along the bottom/top edge of your screen. You can also turn autoHide on/off or completely disable the indicators.

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

Since long ago, this project involves a lot of great developers/users collaborating on making this thing better/worse every release ;-). They help with translations, patches, fixes, new features….

I’d like you to know them all, and  thank to all of them:

• Ruqqq
• Takuo
• ThiasB
• Gmellini
• Kmobs
• Luke Hutchison
• Wysie_Soh
• Julian_Chu
• Bo
• Koxx3
• Pershoot
• Cyanogen
• Wjaxxx
• 翎风
• Олег Брандин
• Arnaud Legrand
• LvWind
• ….. and too many others out there.

System version:

As many of you know, Cyanogen added an own system version of ADW.Launcher with custom defaults and tweaks inside his CyanogenMod rom for Nexus One/Dream/Shapphire devices.

If I wanted to release a system version, i would be forced to make one build for cyanogenrom users (well, 2 cause of the mdpi-only users), one for other “cyanogenmod based roms” users, the “alternate build” for other roms not based on cyanogenmod…. That’s a bit time consuming. My github repo has my main 3 branches usually synced, so everyone could build a version for their tastes/needs.

Other rom developers asked me for/already did integrate ADW.Launcher system version inside their roms. So he usually build from my source tree or tweak/modify it.

So depending on your rom/device/needs/tastes, etc, you can check for system builds on different sites:

• xda-developers forum (usually inside Nexus One Android development board)
• Dr_Cloverdale “repo”.
• Pershoot droid basement custom builds.
• inFECT BOX23 Mirror

(Give baby) One more time! :P
Ok, this update provides the following new features/fixes:

News:

• New options to hide app drawer labels AND enable/disable the animation fading for them.
• New option to turn off scrollable widget support (some users noticed laggier desktop scrolling, so if you don’t intend to use a scrollable widget, you can leave this disabled until the group finds and solves the current problems :) NOTE: if you want scrollable widget support, ENABLE it, it’s disabled by default.
• New step when adding widgets. A dialog will open and let you setup the number of columns/rows the widget will span.  I’m explaining this later :-)

Fixes:

• After setting desktop screen number, the default screen slider was incorrect.
• Removed some extra log statements not really needed.
• Minor fixes.

Ok, now let’s clarify a few things about widgets, screen columns/rows and the new feature:

1. Widgets are designed/coded for a specific MINIMUM pixels width/heigh combined with a number of spanning CELLS (you know, 4×1,3×3, etc)
2. If you change your desktop columns/rows, you are making each desktop CELL smaller, so widgets shrink to fit into the desired number of cell spans.
3. I started a way of auto-converting widgets sizes to acomodate then inside a modified desktop layout, but doing this widgets would end up ocuppying the same screen/pixel amount.
4. So i decided to allow users select the layout they prefer for each widget upon inserting them.

So I’ve ended up with this:

¿¿What does that mean??

That you can, as you are going to add a widget, select the number of CELLS (columns/rows) it will occupy.

So for example, if you take the standard android analog clock (2×2) and select it to be a 1×1 widget, it will shrink/cut itself to fit inside your selected area.

Warning!

• This is NOT going EVERY widget to display correctly, some wodgets uses different scaling methods, different layouting methods and a lot of things i cannot control. Try to play with the “Auto Stretching” option and with the widget size until you’re satisfied with the result.

SUPERWARNING!

A lot of people complaints that since lasts releases they’re geting some (more) forcecloses/system lag… And then they say me they’re on a 7 screens desktop, with each screen being a 6×5 grid and they’re using about 15 different widgets….
C’mon guys, widgets eat RAM, the more widgets, the more chances you end up with an OutOfMemoryError (just an FC).

Oh, almost forgot: The ram allowed for a single app is LIMITED by android (it dones not depend on your PHONE RAM) so DON’T TRUST your free phone ram!!! The OutOfMemoryError will FC your launcher if you add a lot of stuff into it even having hundreds of free Mb RAM!!!

Only you can tweak and play with your device to see “how much it will support“, but when you push it to the limit, don’t blame google, your phone manufacturer, or myself…. seriously :P

System versions:

Warning!!!: If you’re not on a rooted phone, don’t use this. Use market version instead.

Warning!!!: If you’re running latest cyanogenmod roms, you’ll need to “push” this file overwriting the ADWlauncher.apk on /system/app/

Warning!!!: If you’re running android 1.6 this won’t work.

Warning!!!: If you’re having problems running this on your phone, try the file marked as “alternate build”

Warning!!!: Using this will REMOVE your stock android launcher, so make a backup first!

Warning!!!: If you don’t understand what previous warnings mean, DON’T USE THIS.

For use in latests cyanogenmod 5.0.8-testX
adb push ADWLauncherxxxxx.apk /system/app/ADWLauncher.apk

For use in cyanogenmod 5.0.7x and other eclair roms
adb push ADWLauncherxxxxx.apk /system/app/Launcher.apk

If you don’t know howto use adb, or prefer flashing through recovery, stay tunned to xda threads or my twitter, I’m sure someone will make a “flashable zip”.

Ok, now the downloads:

• ADW.Launcher System v0.8.5 mdpi only
• ADW.Launcher System v0.8.5 hdpi/mdpi
• ADW.Launcher System v0.8.5 hdpi/mdpi ALTERNATE

Enjoy!

UPDATE:

A lot of people complained about the new way to layout items on desktop.

I know some widgets are being missaligned, but as actually our phones are not designed to display so much rows/columns, they overlap when putting  alot of them.

What i didn’t notice is that even on 4×4 the display was so bad :P (my fault).

So I’ve released 0.8.1 with an OPTION inside screen preferences (disabled by default) so you can turn on/off the new “Auto Stretching” feature.

• If you leave it disabled, it will show icons/widgets like previous releases (but if you set up too many columns/rows, your icons will overlap)

• If you enable it, icons/wodgets will try to “autofit” inside the existing space (use it if you hace overlapping issues) :-)

EOF.

Previous post:

After a while, i’ve been able to put a few things on the “codewriter” and after some testing I think is ready for release.

News:

• Backup/Restore options inside settings, thank everyone to @Wysie_Soh!!!
• Support for scrollable widgets (not too many atm, but check PureMessenger widget, is awesome!)
• Support for setting just 1 desktop screen (some people asked for this)
• EXPERIMENTAL Support for upto 8×8 desktop columns/rows. I’ve mainly  added this as petition from PaulObrien
• Now Folders/LiveFolders obey to the “Hide labels” option :-)
• Support for the “longawaited” extra shirtcuts. If you want to replace the desktop dots with a pair more LAB/RAB, just go settings.

Fixes:

• On “previews” mode you still could click widgets/icons
• The Applications button worked really bad on Froyo if dockbar was disabled.
• Some other minor things.

Enjoy!