Nova launcher

[The Real Bev]

Somebody mentioned it somewhere. That you can cram more icons on a page
and suck in your previous arrangement (Who knew it was 'Google Now'?)
make it well worth the price of admission even if it did nothing else.

--
Cheers, Bev
"People are too stupid to realize they are."
--JoHn DoH KeLm

[Algeria Horan]

On Mon, 03 Oct 2016 20:24:00 +0100, pamela wrote:

>> Somebody mentioned it somewhere. That you can cram more icons
>> on a page and suck in your previous arrangement (Who knew it was
>> 'Google Now'?) make it well worth the price of admission even if
>> it did nothing else.
>

> I like Nova too.
>
> Although one irritation is if you set Nova to use half-spacing for
> desktop icons, then when you slide a icon closer to another from the
> right it annoyingly merges to form a group - but not if you slide it
> from the left. (If you see what I mean.)
>
> I would like to stop that.

We should work together on solving that problem, since I have a similar
issue of Nova free "chasing" the grouped folder around the screen when
trying to populate some desktop folders (but not others) with newly
installed icons and I don't know why it happens that sometimes I have to
chase the folder all over the screen - but maybe it's as simple as you
said, which is just what direction you come from???

I had Nova version 3.3 for a very long time and now, after doing a factory
reset this morning, and after making a new temporary Google Play account, I
have Nova free version 4.3.1 (which seems to be the current version of Nova
free).

I think, in the past, Bev said the hard part about factory resets is
restoring everything the way it was, and, well, I *forgot* to save my
lovely Nova free settings before doing the factory reset!

So, my *recommendation* to you, is once you set up the Nova free launcher
the way you like, *save* the settings, since the new Nova seems different
in that it's harder to make a circle out of the icons, even with half-grid
turned on and a grid of 6x6 (anything bigger than 6 made the icons too
small) with a dock (although I don't need a dock since I never have more
than one desktop screen, by design).

If you choose the external SD card, the backup file goes into:
/extSdCard/data/com.teslacoilsw.launcher/backup/

[Algeria Horan]

The Real Bev wrote:

> Somebody mentioned it somewhere. That you can cram more icons on a page
> and suck in your previous arrangement (Who knew it was 'Google Now'?)
> make it well worth the price of admission even if it did nothing else.

It's nice that Nova free sucks in the previous launcher's setup, but I
generally factory reset at the first of every month, so, I just suck in the
*previous* nova free setup (if I remember to *save* it first!).

What *else* I love about Nova free is:
- We can put as many icons or folders as we want on any grid we like
- We can have as many icons (or folders) in the dock (and as many docks)
- We can get rid of the dock (since I have 1 screen, I don't need a cock)
- We can *rename* any icon (even factory-installed system icons!)
- We can *uninstall* any app just by long pressing on the desktop icon
- We can long-press on the desktop to bring up Nova settings
- We can *lock* the desktop so that it doesn't accidentally change

What I don't like about Nova free is:
- It can't make an empty placeholder folder like some launchers can
- Sometimes I accidentally delete an icon (because it's too easy to do)
- Sometimes I have to chase a folder around the screen (dunno why yet)
- Once in a while, the extremely annoying "iOS spotlite-like) pulldown menu
gets set, which I have to turn off (I never can figure out why it gets
accidentally turned on - but I hate overlays over overlays over overlays
just so people can *find* their own stuff - these obnoxious overlays are
for all those complete morons who can't find what they themselves
installed!).

[Stephen Chadfield]

The Real Bev <bashl...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Somebody mentioned it somewhere. That you can cram more icons on a page
> and suck in your previous arrangement (Who knew it was 'Google Now'?)
> make it well worth the price of admission even if it did nothing else.

Nova launcher is great. Very similar to the sitock Xperia Z3 launcher
(which is pretty good anyway) with some nice cosmetic improvements.

For example: no labels on desktop icons and larger icons when the screen
is rotated.

--
Stephen Chadfield

[Algeria Horan]

Stephen Chadfield wrote:

> Nova launcher is great. Very similar to the sitock Xperia Z3 launcher
> (which is pretty good anyway) with some nice cosmetic improvements.
>
> For example: no labels on desktop icons and larger icons when the screen
> is rotated.

Thanks for that added input, as the cost of freeware is the energy it takes
to find the best ones.

To that end, I've been using Nova free for about a year or so, and now it's
time to test out the "second-best" launcher.

Any recommendations for a free "competitor" to Nova free to test out?

[tlvp]

On Wed, 5 Oct 2016 07:11:57 -0000 (UTC), Stephen Chadfield wrote:

> cosmetic improvements.
>
> For example: no labels on desktop icons and larger icons when the screen
> is rotated.

Not a Nova problem that I know of, but it burns me up when icons arranged
4x6 in portrait mode rearrange to 6x3 in landscape (Android 2.3.5 DroidX2).

Cheers, -- tlvp
--
Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP.

[Joe Beanfish]

On Wed, 05 Oct 2016 12:53:53 -0700, Algeria Horan wrote:
...

> To that end, I've been using Nova free for about a year or so, and now it's
> time to test out the "second-best" launcher.
>
> Any recommendations for a free "competitor" to Nova free to test out?

I used holo launcher for some years before switching to nova. I forgot
why the switch. Maybe related to newer android versions???

[Algeria Horan]

tlvp wrote:

> Not a Nova problem that I know of, but it burns me up when icons arranged
> 4x6 in portrait mode rearrange to 6x3 in landscape (Android 2.3.5 DroidX2).

I just tested it with the latest nova free, which doesn't move the icons at
all in landscape mode (I have my grid set at 3-4-4 which is how I like it
as my icons are in a set place logically and I want them to stay that way).
https://s12.postimg.org/th0brwq0d/Screenshot_2016_10_06_09_30_46.png

I do have my desktop locked (so that I don't accidentally move things
around since it's so easy to do so) so maybe that's why they don't change
from portrait to landscape position (yes, I have screen rotate turned on).
https://s12.postimg.org/sq7lm4nn1/Screenshot_2016_10_06_09_35_34.png

Ah, I just looked at the nova free settings, and they have a setting for
what happens when you orient the screen.
https://s12.postimg.org/novm70qst/Screenshot_2016_10_06_09_33_23.png

a. Default (normally locked, may rotate for dock or keyboard)
b. Auto-rotate
c. Force portrait
d. Force landscape

I put it in auto-rotate and it kept my slanted grid of 3-4-4 so it seems to
work ok now...
https://s12.postimg.org/v64tm8gbx/Screenshot_2016_10_06_09_34_48.png

IMHO, any launcher that doesn't allow *you* to control exactly where your
icons go, is primitive.

[Algeria Horan]

Joe Beanfish wrote:

>> Any recommendations for a free "competitor" to Nova free to test out?
>
> I used holo launcher for some years before switching to nova. I forgot
> why the switch. Maybe related to newer android versions???

Thanks for taking the risk of suggesting a better launcher than Nova free,
which is a difficult task at best.

I didnt' see the HOLO launcher on F-Droid so I created a temporary Google
Play account (I must have scores of them by now) with a temporary password
(i.e., any old set of keys since it's a use-once-and-throw-it-away account)
and downloaded the Holo launcher from Mobint Software.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mobint.hololauncher

Apparently there are *multiple* Holo Launchers, depending on which version
of Android you're currently on.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=Mobint+Software

Froyo:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mobint.hololauncher.froyo

ICE Cream Sandwich:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mobint.hololauncher.hd

etc.

So it's initially confusing *which* holo launcher to load...

[Algeria Horan]

pamela wrote:

> I have seen that chase effect. It is as if the icons are
> considered incompatible in the sense that they can't be members of
> the same group.

Yup. Sometimes the icon just slides into the folder, but other times, I
chase the folder across the screen like some kind of simple kids' game.

Eventually, I slide the icon into the folder, but by then, my icons on my
screen might have been moved around a bit due to the collisions.

Sigh. If it's as simple as the *direction* I slide the icon into the
folder, I'll test that out the next time it happens. Thanks!