Launcher apps

[jaybo1973]

Hi all

It seems that launcher apps are a big favouite on these forums. Do you have to be rooted for all of them? I am not ready for taking that step yet but fancy using a launcher

 

[akazabam]

No, you don't have to be rooted to change your launcher. It takes all of a few seconds to switch using Home Switcher from the market. You won't lose any settings from other launchers when you switch to a different one. You have nothing to lose by trying them out. One thing to note about the root issue, though, is that I have heard of some launchers having some specials features that only work if you're rooted. Otherwise, though, don't worry about it.

In case you hadn't heard somehow, the two most common launchers are launcherpro and adw. There are many out there, though.

 

[jaybo1973]

Nice one. I'll try one

 

[jaybo1973]

just downloaded home switcher for froyo. Before I start, can I easily switch back?

 

[akazabam]

just downloaded home switcher for froyo. Before I start, can I easily switch back?

Yes, that's what home switcher is for.

 

[jaybo1973]

cool. Had a play. Tried launcerpro to start with. Only has 3 homescreens though, sense has 7. I like the dock at the bottom though.

only thing I didnt expect was when you change the wallpaper in launcerpro, it changes in sense too. What other advantages does it have over sense other than the 4 icon docking station. I want to play now What other launchers are worth looking at?

 

[akazabam]

Launcherpro is very configurable. Read the settings related articles here:

LauncherPro Help Desk

You can configure the number of screens from 1 to 7 in Launcherpro. One other thing I forgot to mention - once you find a launcher you want to stick with, you should go to every other launcher (including sense) and remove everything from the screens. You should be able to save everything in sense with scenes - just don't leave anything on the active screens.

As far as other launchers are concerned, there are many threads here about different options. Search the market for launchers, then search here for comments on them. If you like Launcherpro, you'll probably like adw, too.

 

[jaybo1973]

Thanks for the help. Looks good so far. why do you need to clear other launcher screens?

Pressing home doesn't open the center screen like in sense although I guess there may me a setting for this. Ill read the link. Thanks again

 

[akazabam]

Thanks for the help. Looks good so far. why do you need to clear other launcher screens?

Pressing home doesn't open the center screen like in sense although I guess there may me a setting for this. Ill read the link. Thanks again

It's a good idea to clear the other screens to keep them and anything you might have left on them from running in the background.

Yes, there is an option to make pressing the home button do that. You can make it do several different things, in fact. I'd tell you how, but I don't have my phone in front of me at the moment, and I can't remember off the top of my head. It's in the support docs; it's not hard to find. Just remember - all launcherpro settings are accessible through menu->preferences.

 

[jaybo1973]

Thanks again.

I was just looking to downlaod adw too. When I search for it though I just get hundreds of themes for it. I have tried adw, adw launcher and adw.launcher.

Speaking of which, there doesnt seen to be themes for launcherpro.

 

[akazabam]

Thanks again.

I was just looking to downlaod adw too. When I search for it though I just get hundreds of themes for it. I have tried adw, adw launcher and adw.launcher.

Speaking of which, there doesnt seen to be themes for launcherpro.

ADW.Launcher - Android app on AppBrain

Launcherpro doesn't support themes, but you can customize the dock and icons, which, imo, gives you more control over the overall look.

 

[jaybo1973]

Thanks again

 

[akazabam]

No problem

 

[jaybo1973]

just a minor gripe, you cant use HTC widgets. Need replacements for weather, calender, photo frame, news and gallery

I guess its time to truely customize

 

[akazabam]

Yes, that's true. Launcherpro plus has some replacement widgets - people, bookmarks, calendar, messaging, twitter, facebook, and friends. Replacements for the others can be found in the market. You won't be able to get anything that looks exactly like the HTC widgets, but the LPP ones are great.