Android apps by appschinyang

xShortcut FREE

Tue, 24 May 2011 14:23:34 +0000

xShortcut, short for eXtreme Shortcut, is a handy android app that allows users to quickly create different types of homescreen shortcuts. -- for Android 2.1 and higher (supports App2SD).

Key Features:
1. Activity Shortcut Capture Mode: This feature allows you to directly select the active (running) activity as a homescreen shortcut (See NOTE 1). Here, an activity simply refers to a specific window/page within an app, e.g. any settings page within the System Settings (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Locale, TTS, APN, ...).

Basic Usage:
(a) Start Activity Capture Mode either by tapping the first item in the main function list or by enabling the setting "Permanent Capture"
(b) Move on to the target activity or window (e.g. the Locale settings page within the System Settings).
(c) Pull down the status bar and click [Grab Activity] for an attempt to capture the selected window as a shortcut.
(d) Edit, Test and Create the target shortcut.
(See more examples on the web site: http://sites.google.com/site/appschinyang/ )

2. Advanced Shortcut Editor: MAINLY intended for advanced users who might be familiar with the android Intent (i.e. component/action intent) and would like to create their own shortcuts.

3. Shortcut icon is allowed to be changed (before the shortcut is created).

4. More Supported Types: Application Shortcut, Direct Call Shortcut, Direct Message Shortcut, Direct Contact Shortcut, Direct Email Shortcut, Bookmark Shortcut, System Settings Shortcut (by directly selecting from a list -- especially helpful for Android3.0+ devices).

5. Auto-save all the created shortcuts data for later use: text format saved for FREE/LITE version and binary format (e.g. icon) saved for FULL version.

** You can get a FULL version of xShortcut on the Google Play Store. **

NOTE 1: Not all of the activities were originally designed to be launched by other applications/launchers. An activity shortcut only makes sense if the target activity is exported and not guarded by permissions. In xShortcut, a Test procedure will be automatically performed when creating shortcut.

NOTE 2: A *DEFAULT* icon size based on the device screen density is used to create homescreen shortcuts. You can try different sizes when the DEFAULT one is not applicable to your device (in Settings Window).

Known Issues:
# The Activity Capture Mode of xShortcut does not work when enabling "Don't keep activities" under [Settings][Developer options] (only for Android 4.0+).

# Few users reported that xShortcut running on some "custom ROMs" seems unable to create homescreen shortcuts. If this is the case, I have to say sorry because that is not an easy problem I can deal with for you.

# The System Settings program (since android 3.0) has been rewritten, so that the Activity Capture Mode (provided by xShortcut) does not work well for "system settings". One workaround is to manually edit the intent via the Advanced Shortcut Editor provided by xShortcut, or simply use the newly-added shortcut type "System Settings".

Developer: appschinyang ( Email: chinyang.x@gmail.com )

* If you want localization for your language and can help out, please email me. Thanks. *

DO NOT request features, report bugs, or ask for assistance in your review. I can't reply to them! Please e-mail me instead.

Recent changes:
V. 1.3.1:
Added: provide a Complete Activity List for "System Settings shortcut selector"
Update: prompt a message when using [Activity Capture Mode] to capture a system setting shortcut on Android 3.0+.

V. 1.3.0:
Added: auto save all types of created shortcuts data(e.g. icon)
Added: now allow Shortcut Pickers (e.g. long pressing launcher's home screen) to use the Advanced Shortcut Editor in xShortcut.
Added: some built-in icons for high-density (hdpi) screens

aBacklighter LITE

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 23:20:22 +0000

Tired of the built-in screen brightness policy (either Auto or Fixed Brightness)? Some people complain that the Auto Brightness often comes with unsatisfied situations, such as TOO BRIGHT (wasting battery power), TOO DIM or TOO AGGRESSIVE. Although the user can switch to the Fixed Brightness instead, but in that case the user requires to *MANUALLY* change the brightness level frequently. If this is also your case, you should give this app a try.

This app introduces a new brightness mode called "Custom Mode" that allows you to customize and automatically adjust the brightness level for individual apps and even screens (aka activities/windows) on your android devices (for Android 2.2+). Also included is an Outdoor Brightness that is automatically triggered when you are outdoor (i.e. high ambient light).

Main Features:
# Custom Mode: custom brightness per App or per Screen (aka activity/window).
# Outdoor Mode/Brightness: A configurable (brighter) brightness can be used when you are outdoor (based on the ambient light).
# Quick Setting Panel: control all the brightness settings/modes in a status bar notification. (If you do not like it sitting on the Notification Window, you can simply disable it.)

How it Works: With the Custom Mode enabled, the brightness would automatically change to the level you have specified for the foreground-running app (or the top screen/window). All the apps/screens not associated with custom brightness share a configurable *common* brightness level.
[When Outdoor Mode is ON]: Once an outdoor brightness is triggered (used), that brightness would remain until the NEXT TIME your SCREEN is ON or the Custom Mode is re-enabled.

How to Use: (Tutorial: http://sites.google.com/site/appschinyang/abacklighter/tutorial )
1. Enable Custom Mode
2. Setup the *common* brightness (a lower level, e.g. 25%, is recommended).
[Optional]: Enable and/or setup the Outdoor Mode/Brightness.
[Optional]: Use Quick Setting Panel to setup the brightness level for individual apps and screens (See the Video).

More Benefits:
# Battery Saving: It is recommended to keep a low *common* brightness for aBacklighter's "Custom Mode", and then to setup your preferred brightness for specific apps/screens (e.g. games, eBook readers, gallery, ...).
# Efficiency: aBacklighter is only active while SCREEN-ON and has been further optimized to achieve high efficiency (low CPU and Memory consumption).

** You can also get a FULL version of this app on the Play Store **

Known Issues:
# In case conflicts arise, it is strongly recommended to turn off other brightness apps.
# Custom Mode may be temporarily removed by some task killer apps. Please whitelist aBacklighter if this is your case.
# Outdoor Mode: Some android device (e.g. SAMSUNG Galaxy S II - Version: android 2.3) may give a wrong MAX ambient light range internally (i.e. a wrong MAX range for the threshold seekbar). If this is your case, please use the Light Meter to determine/update the right ambient light threshold for your device.

Please contact me by Email if you have any issues with this App (we cannot reply to Android Market comments)
Developer: appschinyang ( Email: chinyang.x@gmail.com )
More information: http://sites.google.com/site/appschinyang/

Recent changes:
Added: Outdoor Mode/Brightness -- A configurable (brighter) brightness can be used when you are outdoor (based on the ambient light). So, you can now stick with aBacklighter's Custom Mode (No need to switch to system's Auto Mode).
Other Updates: bugfixes and slight UI changes

xShortcut

Mon, 30 Jul 2012 00:24:08 +0000

xShortcut, short for eXtreme Shortcut, is a handy android app that allows users to quickly create different types of homescreen shortcuts. -- for Android 2.1 and higher (supports App2SD).

Key Features:
1. Activity Shortcut Capture Mode: This feature allows you to directly select the active (running) activity as a homescreen shortcut (See NOTE 1). Here, an activity simply refers to a specific window/page within an app, e.g. any settings page within the System Settings (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Locale, TTS, APN, ...).

Basic Usage:
(a) Start Activity Capture Mode either by tapping the first item in the main function list or by enabling the setting "Permanent Capture"
(b) Move on to the target activity or window (e.g. the Locale settings page within the System Settings).
(c) Pull down the status bar and click [Grab Activity] for an attempt to capture the selected window as a shortcut.
(d) Edit, Test and Create the target shortcut.
(See more examples on the web site: http://sites.google.com/site/appschinyang/ )

2. Advanced Shortcut Editor: MAINLY intended for advanced users who might be familiar with the android Intent (i.e. component/action intent) and would like to create their own shortcuts.

3. Shortcut icon is allowed to be changed (before the shortcut is created).

4. More Supported Types: Application Shortcut, Direct Call Shortcut, Direct Message Shortcut, Direct Contact Shortcut, Direct Email Shortcut, Bookmark Shortcut, System Settings Shortcut (by directly selecting from a list -- especially helpful for Android3.0+ devices).

5. Auto-save all the created shortcuts data for later use: text format saved for FREE/LITE version and binary format (e.g. icon) saved for FULL version.

NOTE 1: Not all of the activities were originally designed to be launched by other applications/launchers. An activity shortcut only makes sense if the target activity is exported and not guarded by permissions. In xShortcut, a Test procedure will be automatically performed when creating shortcut.

NOTE 2: A *DEFAULT* icon size based on the device screen density is used to create homescreen shortcuts. You can try different sizes when the DEFAULT one is not applicable to your device (in Settings Window).

Known Issues:
# The Activity Capture Mode of xShortcut does not work when enabling "Don't keep activities" under [Settings][Developer options] (only for Android 4.0+).

# Few users reported that xShortcut running on some "custom ROMs" seems unable to create homescreen shortcuts. If this is the case, I have to say sorry because that is not an easy problem I can deal with for you.

# The System Settings program (since android 3.0) has been rewritten, so that the Activity Capture Mode (provided by xShortcut) does not work well for "system settings". One workaround is to manually edit the intent via the Advanced Shortcut Editor provided by xShortcut, or simply use the newly-added shortcut type "System Settings".

Developer: appschinyang ( Email: chinyang.x@gmail.com )

* If you want localization for your language and can help out, please email me. Thanks. *

DO NOT request features, report bugs, or ask for assistance in your review. I can't reply to them! Please e-mail me instead.

Recent changes:
V. 1.3.1:
Added: provide a Complete Activity List for "System Settings shortcut selector"
Update: prompt a message when using [Activity Capture Mode] to capture a system setting shortcut on Android 3.0+.

V. 1.3.0:
Added: auto save all types of created shortcuts data(e.g. icon)
Added: now allow Shortcut Pickers (e.g. long pressing launcher's home screen) to use the Advanced Shortcut Editor in xShortcut.
Added: some built-in icons for high-density (hdpi) screens

aBacklighter (App Backlighter)

Mon, 30 Jul 2012 00:26:45 +0000

Tired of the built-in screen brightness policy (either Auto or Fixed Brightness)? Some people complain that the Auto Brightness often comes with unsatisfied situations, such as TOO BRIGHT (wasting battery power), TOO DIM or TOO AGGRESSIVE. Although the user can switch to the Fixed Brightness instead, but in that case the user requires to *MANUALLY* change the brightness level frequently. If this is also your case, you should give this app a try.

This app introduces a new brightness mode called "Custom Mode" that allows you to customize and automatically adjust the brightness level for individual apps and even screens (aka activities/windows) on your android devices (for Android 2.2+). Also included is an Outdoor Brightness that is automatically triggered when you are outdoor (i.e. high ambient light).

Main Features:
# Custom Mode: custom brightness per App or per Screen (aka activity/window).
# Outdoor Mode/Brightness: A configurable (brighter) brightness can be used when you are outdoor (based on the ambient light).
# Quick Setting Panel: control all the brightness settings/modes in a status bar notification. (If you do not like it sitting on the Notification Window, you can simply disable it.)

How it Works: With the Custom Mode enabled, the brightness would automatically change to the level you have specified for the foreground-running app (or the top screen/window). All the apps/screens not associated with custom brightness share a configurable *common* brightness level.
[When Outdoor Mode is ON]: Once an outdoor brightness is triggered (used), that brightness would remain until the NEXT TIME your SCREEN is ON or the Custom Mode is re-enabled.

How to Use: (Tutorial: http://sites.google.com/site/appschinyang/abacklighter/tutorial )
1. Enable Custom Mode
2. Setup the *common* brightness (a lower level, e.g. 25%, is recommended).
[Optional]: Enable and/or setup the Outdoor Mode/Brightness.
[Optional]: Use Quick Setting Panel to setup the brightness level for individual apps and screens (See the Video).

More Benefits:
# Battery Saving: It is recommended to keep a low *common* brightness for aBacklighter's "Custom Mode", and then to setup your preferred brightness for specific apps/screens (e.g. games, eBook readers, gallery, ...).
# Efficiency: aBacklighter is only active while SCREEN-ON and has been further optimized to achieve high efficiency (low CPU and Memory consumption).

Known Issues:
# In case conflicts arise, it is strongly recommended to turn off other brightness apps.
# Custom Mode may be temporarily removed by some task killer apps. Please whitelist aBacklighter if this is your case.
# Outdoor Mode: Some android device (e.g. SAMSUNG Galaxy S II - Version: android 2.3) may give a wrong MAX ambient light range internally (i.e. a wrong MAX range for the threshold seekbar). If this is your case, please use the Light Meter to determine/update the right ambient light threshold for your device.

Please contact me by Email if you have any issues with this App (we cannot reply to Android Market comments)
Developer: appschinyang ( Email: chinyang.x@gmail.com )
More information: http://sites.google.com/site/appschinyang/

Recent changes:
Added: Outdoor Mode/Brightness -- A configurable (brighter) brightness can be used when you are outdoor (based on the ambient light). So, you can now stick with aBacklighter's Custom Mode (No need to switch to system's Auto Mode).
Other Updates: bugfixes and slight UI changes