Managing the Home pages

[Christopher Clayton]

After I uninstalled a number of apps I have had to update my Home pages. I had a full page and several empty ones. Every time I now move an app to Home, instead of adding to just one further page until it is full, its icon appears in a new empty page. Hence I have several almost empty Home pages with just one app in each, in splendid isolation. To compound this problem I have been unable to find how to then move the icons from one page to another ---- to a previous page, until it no longer has free space. On an earlier version of Android it was a simple matter of moving the icon to the edge of the screen, when the icon would relocate to the previous page (or forwards to the next page) if it had free space. This logical arrangement seems to no longer exist? Is there a way to do something similar, or if not what is the alternative?

 

[Dannydet]

Long press on the icon and drag it where you want, off the edge to move it to a different screen

 

[Christopher Clayton]

That is exactly what I am doing, repeatedly. It does not work. Either the icon bounces back from the edge, or if it disappears beyond the edge it reappears on the same screen I am trying to move it from. I have also tried removing the icon, then returning it to Home but it just returns to the same empty screen.

 

[Dannydet]

So it sounds like your home screen (launcher) is not working correctly.
I would install a different launcher from the play store that will solve the problem.
Nova launcher is what I use for the past few years

 

[nu2andy]

Editing mode
You can rearrange items more effectively when you're in the editing mode.
1. How to enter the Home screen editing mode
There are three methods to enter this mode:
· Press and hold an empty spot on the Home screen
· Pinch the screen with two fingers
· Press and hold the Menu button
2. Things you can do in the editing mode
Three buttons will appear after you enter the editing mode.
· Wallpaper: This button allows you to change wallpapers faster
Widgets: This button allows you add widgets.
· Settings: Default screen, layout, and transition effect options.
In the editing mode, tap works for selecting items:
· Moving: Select multiple items and tap a screen preview below to move the items there.
· Uninstalling: Select multiple items and tap "Uninstall" to uninstall all of them.
· Creating folders: Select multiple items and tap "Group" to create a folder

Is this the info you wanted?

 

[Christopher Clayton]

This looks useful if I could get it to work, but none of the methods for getting in to Home Page editing mode work as described. What happens when I press and hold, or pinch, is I am taken to the page where I can set which of the Home Pages is set as default. I see what is described in the Nova Launcher, but not in Microsoft Launcher. I have 4 launchers to choose but only want MS, in fact I don't think much of the others apart it seems from the elusive Editing Mode.

What / where is the Menu Button?

 

[nu2andy]

Hi Christopher, It all works for me.
The Menu button is the Square icon on the bottom of your screen (Left side).
The Home button is in the Middle and the Return button is the Arrowhead (right of the Menu button).
#1 Second Method - You must pinch the screen Horizontally for this action to work.
If you want to Shift an icon to another screen - just put your finger on that icon and the available screen pages will show at the bottom of the screen.
Keeping your finger on the icon - Just drag and drop to the screen you want it in.
If you want to Uninstall the App icon - again - drag and drop into the Uninstall which shows at the Top Center of the screen.
When finished your task/s, pressing Home or Return will take you back to your Home screen.
You will notice that Icons that cannot be removed/uninstalled, there will not be an uninstall icon at the top of screen when you press and hold them.
Let's know if you need further help but I have been able to do everything I have explained here.

 

[Christopher Clayton]

I though you meant the square button, but it does not do what you say. It takes me to RECENTS, ie the various pages opened recently. These can be closed (and need to be, frequently) by swiping them left or right. It is not Home Page editing and not a menu, apart from Cleaner, Security, Deep Clean, Manage Apps plus RECENTS as described.

Any pinching, including horizontally, only takes me to where I can select which Home Page is to be set as the 'default Home', as explained. Holding an icon does not show 'available screen pages at the bottom'. Uninstall does not show at the top of the screen. If I hold an app icon what happens is a small menu popup, with Uninstall and some other items such as Add to Home, Remove, Select multiple, Widget, Settings. etc etc.

We seem to have a different OS? Are you trying it out with MS Launcher? In fact what I have described seems similar in some respects to my Lumia Phone with Windows 10 Mobile.

I can move icons around a screen but I remain unable to shift an app icon to another screen this way. It is not so important now as I have found a (not elegant) work around ------ which involves removing an icon from the Default Screen to create a space, then removing the target icon from its screen, then going to All Apps, finding that icon again, holding it to reveal the 'little' menu and selecting Add to Home, after which it appears in the space I created in the default Home Page / screen. Despite all this I still prefer the MS Launcher!



,
.

 

[nu2andy]

This Forum is headed Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro and that is the Phone I own. The version of my phone is MIUI Global. The Android version is 9 PKQ1.180904.001 (PIE).
As I have described in detail how to open and use the Editing Mode I can only assume you are not using it correctly.
When you press and hold the Menu (white square) button it opens Editing Mode.
If you just Tap on the button it will open the Recent used pages.
There are various Touches and Swipe movements that are used with cellphone OS's and if your finger/s are moist/wet or the oils/greases from your fingers are present on the screen,
you may not find the operation you want will work as normal.
Remember to always clean the screen as recommended to ensure that finger touches are enabled. (it is not recommended to use any screen protectors with the Xiaomi Note7 as the Corning Gorilla screen is tough enough to not get scratched very easily). There is in fact a video clip of a phone being used to crack walnuts with the screen!
As I stated previously, I have tried and used the procedure for Editing Mode and it does work with the Note7 I own.
I have previously owned/repaired/serviced/rooted/ somewhere round 8 or 9 Samsung S4 Galaxy phones and upgraded from Android 4 to 5 to 6 & 7 (Nougat) before purchasing this Xiaomi with Android 9 (Pie).
I have also owned and used Huawei Ideos U8150 & U8800 phones along with a Sony Xperia and a Panasonic XD55 and my first ever cellphone a Motorola Flip.
All Android versions are "personalised" by the manufacturer for their various world wide distribution and therefore you have to "learn" the different ways the Android OS's work.
I have always located and downloaded the User Manual for these phones which I personally have found invaluable to better understand how to use the phone.
I do not claim to be an expert but have gained knowledge over the years by trying to follow the manufacturers recommendations on usage procedure.
I have tried and tested and used the Editing Mode in my Xiaomi Note7 with absolute success and I know I have explained the process that has worked for me.

 

[Christopher Clayton]

Your informative posts are very helpful to me, I am learning a lot and feel I am getting closer to a resolution,hough there is more to it than I anticipated. When I received my phone I looked for a manual but it had not yet been published, I did find 'generic' MI Phone manual helpful in getting started. Although some manual sites are still saying 'not available' I found it, however the info there on getting into editing mode (the key issue I think) is what you have already given me.

As a result of trying System Launcher, Nova and now MI Launcher and finding the same problem I know the issue is not with the MS Launcher. But I also found a Settings menu in which a number of options, including pinching, is greyed out as 'only available in Pro'. So I suspect the source of the issue has been found? I subscribed to the Pro Forum because there was not an alternative (I need to check if this is still the case). Nevertheless, I searched for MI Note 7 Pro in the Store, only to find one app which appears to be confined to Themes, Wallpapers, etc.in which I have no interest. It is described in a review as 'a waste of money' but it would not be a waste for me if it resolved the square button issue. Will it? I imagined a Pro version would be about more than just Themes, etc.

 

[nu2andy]

Hi Christopher, My apologies. We have been at cross purposes. The instructions I have detailed correctly ONLY apply to the MIUI System Launcher!!
I tried by installing Nova Launcher from Google Playstore and found that Nova had taken over the Default system operations.
If you go to > Settings > Manage Apps > Tap the 3 dots on upper right > Default Apps > Launcher > you should see a RED square icon with home and System Launcher.
Tap on that to restore the original system launcher and all the instructions I listed will work.
I have changed the Theme on my phone (which also changed the app icons) and yet the Edit Mode is still functional as I detailed.
I can only state that if you change the MIUI launcher to any other launcher, you obviously lose Edit Mode control.