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How do you tell what program you're in?

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John Doe

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Jul 26, 2021, 1:45:22 PM7/26/21
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I'm trying to use a "video connect" service that throws up this message...

"Access to camera and microphone blocked. Please check your browser
settings."

I've tried enabling camera and microphone access for Chrome and Firefox, but
no go. I can't even tell what browser it's using, the browser it's referring
to.

The process is initiated from Microsoft's Outlook for Android. I tried
enabling camera and microphone for Outlook but that didn't work either. It
shows an address bar but how do you tell what browser is being used?

I guess an app that shows running programs might help.

Is there a Task Manager built into Android?

Thanks.

Anssi Saari

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Jul 29, 2021, 3:05:15 AM7/29/21
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John Doe <alway...@message.header> writes:

> Is there a Task Manager built into Android?

Yes, it's commonly activated by the square button. If you don't have it
then typically the gesture is pulling up from the oval-ish home button.

paul

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Jul 29, 2021, 3:25:10 AM7/29/21
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John Doe wrote on 26.07.2021 17:45
> I guess an app that shows running programs might help.
> Is there a Task Manager built into Android?

Below I explain how I access each of the following, when I need to:
a. Running services
b. Running apps
c. Running activities

On my phone, running services is shown by this sequence:
Android11:Settings > Developer options > Running services

If you want running apps, my app manager has a button for "Last actions".
<https://github.com/MuntashirAkon/AppManager>

But that just tells you the last "app" you ran.
You can delve even deeper into the last "Activity" (within an app!) you ran!

1. Install the "Shortcut Widgets + Inspector" free ad free shortcut tool.
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cemique.shortcutwidgets>

2. Open the app and hit the red "Start inspecting" button.

3. Navigate in your phone to EXACTLY what you want to keep track of.

4. Then go back to "Shortcut Widgets + Inspector" which will have the
complete list (in order) of "Activities" you visited in sequence.

5. Optionally, you can long press on the last item in the "INSPECT" tab.
This will allow you to create a homescreen shortcut to that _last_
"Activity" you visited (so you can test more quickly to debug).

In summary, what you do depends on what you _want_ to do.
a. If you want the list of services, then it's in developer options.
b. If you want the list of apps (in order), then it's in an app manager.
c. If you want the list of Activities (in order), then it's in an inspector.
--
On Android newsgroups, purposefully helpful people kindly help each other
with information sufficient to perform the task (on Apple newsgsroups, they
don't simply because the apologists have no purposefully helpful intent).

John Doe

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Jul 29, 2021, 6:26:07 AM7/29/21
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paul <nos...@nospam.invalid> wrote:

> John Doe wrote:

>> I guess an app that shows running programs might help.
>> Is there a Task Manager built into Android?
>
> Below I explain how I access each of the following, when I need to:
> a. Running services
> b. Running apps
> c. Running activities
>
> On my phone, running services is shown by this sequence:
> Android11:Settings > Developer options > Running services

Searching Options for "running" gets me there.

Can you put a shortcut to that on the home screen?

paul

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Jul 29, 2021, 10:26:49 AM7/29/21
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John Doe wrote on 29.07.2021 10:26
>> On my phone, running services is shown by this sequence:
>> Android11:Settings > Developer options > Running services
>
> Searching Options for "running" gets me there.

I'm glad you found it, as Android moves things around with every release.
> Can you put a shortcut to that on the home screen?

I'm pretty sure we still can, even in Android 11, as I've done it before
when I created this "kill -9" switch (ps -aux | kill <PID>) in the past.
<https://i.postimg.cc/vTkv7Grh/settings03.jpg>

This search brought up the following threads related to that "kill -9".
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/search?q=%22kill%20-9%22>

*How to create a custom "kill -9" shortcut to kill background jobs*
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/Did0Rd3mRmo>

*What's a good way to kill jobs that persist in the background?*
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/Did0Rd3mRmo/m/AIYyVzQNBAAJ>

*How to set a shortcut to any settings in System or in any application*
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/_1oTdgCIpkc>

*Have you been successful creating symbolic links on your Android phone?*
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/RrRbZytwwGM>

*Is there a way to make an Android homescreen shortcut to any setting*
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/_1oTdgCIpkc/m/dx9NAjUNBAAJ>

*Tutorial for creating Android homescreen shortcuts using custom icons*
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/if4FD2NFEnk/m/V2FTw6QMBAAJ>

*REALLY kill various apps*
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/ScA7PlwKeYs/m/E1kcNkSKAgAJ>

John Doe

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Jul 29, 2021, 11:53:34 AM7/29/21
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paul <nos...@nospam.invalid> wrote:

> *Is there a way to make an Android homescreen shortcut to any setting*
> <https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/_1oTdgCIpkc/m/dx9NAjUNBAAJ>

Interesting app, but does not work on my Android 11. Instead of Running
Services, the produced shortcut shows All Apps.

paul

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Jul 29, 2021, 3:15:19 PM7/29/21
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John Doe wrote on 29.07.2021 15:53
> Interesting app, but does not work on my Android 11. Instead of Running
> Services, the produced shortcut shows All Apps.

I agree with you.
We're going to need help from others who know more than we do.

It would be nice if people can try what I suggest below to see if it works,
and then maybe, together, we can solve the problem I agree with you on here.

Yours is a good question because I agree with you it doesn't work the same
way it used to work when we try to make a shortcut to "running services".

I went to this reference from Nov 17, 2020 where I explained how to do it.
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/_1oTdgCIpkc/m/6Ewik_-BAAAJ>

| Shortcut Creator, by AlexTernHome
| <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.alextern.shortcuthelper>
|
| Shortcut Creator easily created a homescreen "Developer options" icon:
| ShortcutCreator > Shortcuts: Settings > System Actions: Developer options
| (Then press the big "plus" key at the top right, & then "To Launcher".)
| (This puts a "Developer options" shortcut icon on your homescreen.)
|
| ShortcutCreator also created the "Running services" homescreen icon:
| ShortcutCreator > Shortcuts: Settings > Settings Activities: Observe activities
| (Scroll down to select "Running services" (.Settings$RunningServicesActivity)
| (Then press the big "plus" key at the top right, & then "To Launcher".)
| (This puts a "Running services" shortcut icon on your homescreen.)
| (...PLICATION_DEVELOPMENT_SETTINGS)
|
| Using ShortcutCreator is a bit confusing as there are many options, e.g.,
| Running services (.Settings$RunningServicesActivity)
| Running services (.RunningServices)
| Both of which "seemed" to have done the same thing in my quick tests...
|
| Nonetheless, these methods appear to allow us to put a homescreen shortcut
| to any setting that we want, which I put in a folder in my dock center:
| <https://i.postimg.cc/T2Szy9dt/settings02.jpg>

However, when I followed those steps on Android 11, it created a "Running
services" shortcut, but when I pressed that shortcut, it went instead to the
memory usage of all the apps instead of the services which are running.
<com.android.settings.Settings$RunningServicesActivity>

This is evidence that in the older android that same shortcut brought up the
running services, but on Android 11, either this is a bug, or they changed
what running services does.

If you've ever run these shortcut makers, you'll see the results they
display are numerous (many hundreds of options) where I just tested the
"Developer Options Dashboard Activity"
<com.android.settings.Settings$DevelopmentSettingsDashboardActivity>

This saves a couple of steps but it's still a click away from there to press
"Running services (View and control currently running services)"

There may be a way to _add_ that extra click though, but I've never done it.
1. Install this app first, which is the best shortcut maker overall (IMHO).
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=rk.android.app.shortcutmaker>

2. Open that app and press on the green "Settings" (this is the button in
the middle of the screen after "Intents" and before "Websites").

3. Select the "Settings Activities" (which is the first in the list).

4. Scroll down to "Developer options" where you will see the two choices
<com.android.settings.Settings$DevelopmentSettingsDashboardActivity>
<com.android.settings.Settings$DevelopmentSettingsDisabledActivity>

5. Tap the first one & then tap "Try this Shortcut".
Notice it takes you exactly one step above where we want to go in order
to display the list of running processes (to display the list of running
processes you'd just have to then tap on "Running services" after that).

This makes it _two_ clicks to list all running processes, not one. Drat.

So what we want to do is, somehow, _modify_ the shortcut to the activity.
The question is how?

I don't know, but if I long press on DevelopmentSettingsDashboardActivity
I can "Edit Intent", which I've never done, but which has "Extras" which
has "Key" and "Value" fields.

Maybe we can somehow add this extra step using those "Intents"?
I don't know.

The closest I can get, so far, to displaying Android 11 running services is
_two_ taps (not one like it used to be in an earlier Android version).

Tap 1 =
com.android.settings/com.android.settings.Settings$DevelopementSettingsDashboardActivity
Tap 2 =
Running services

Does anyone here know how to add that extra step to any given shortcut?
--
Everything said above is tested, as always, by me, as my factual credibiltiy
being correct is the most valuable thing that I share with others on Usenet.
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