Key shortcut for apps drawer?

[peter.s.fidelman 54]

Hi,

Does anyone know of a key shortcut for the Apps drawer? (The one you get when you swipe downwards on the Home screen).

Ideally I would hit a key and then start typing the name of the app to launch, without interacting with the touchscreen.

Do I need to download a custom launcher to do this?

[EskeRahn 5,421]

I have been looking for that too. Would be nice.

[sequestris 710]

Yeah I have been working on that too. I want my 6 dots back :(

[Hook 2,940]

1 hour ago, peter.s.fidelman said:

Hi,

Does anyone know of a key shortcut for the Apps drawer? (The one you get when you swipe downwards on the Home screen).

Ideally I would hit a key and then start typing the name of the app to launch, without interacting with the touchscreen.

Do I need to download a custom launcher to do this?

Maybe I am misunderstanding.  If you simply want to search your apps, hit the F(x) Tec Logo key from the home screen and start typing on the keyboard. I assume this works on stock launcher and isn't a Nova Prime thing, but apologies if I'm wrong.

[FlyingAntero 860]

4 hours ago, peter.s.fidelman said:

Hi,

Does anyone know of a key shortcut for the Apps drawer? (The one you get when you swipe downwards on the Home screen).

Ideally I would hit a key and then start typing the name of the app to launch, without interacting with the touchscreen.

Do I need to download a custom launcher to do this?

If you want to stick with stock launcher you can download a custom app drawer like Pixl Drawer from Play Store. It is an additional app drawer and you don't have to change launcher. Then you can install Keyboard/Button Mapper and make a key combination (like function+F(x)tec key) to access app drawer.

Edit: Pixl Drawer doesn't actually work on landscape so you might want to find other alternative from Play Store.

Edited February 1, 2020 by FlyingAntero

[david 921]

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=se.brokenbrain.drawer

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mobeedom.android.jinaFS

I haven't tried them, but there are a couple.

Edited February 1, 2020 by david

[peter.s.fidelman 54]

5 hours ago, Hook said:

Maybe I am misunderstanding.  If you simply want to search your apps, hit the F(x) Tec Logo key from the home screen and start typing on the keyboard. I assume this works on stock launcher and isn't a Nova Prime thing, but apologies if I'm wrong.

That's smart: I hadn't realized the stock Google app also searches one's installed apps.  I probably won't do this (because I don't like the prospect of sending all these keystrokes to Google) but I will bear it in mind as a fallback.

3 hours ago, FlyingAntero said:

If you want to stick with stock launcher you can download a custom app drawer like Pixl Drawer from Play Store. It is an additional app drawer and you don't have to change launcher. Then you can install Keyboard/Button Mapper and make a key combination (like function+F(x)tec key) to access app drawer.

Edit: Pixl Drawer doesn't actually work on landscape so you might want to find other alternative from Play Store.

The best I've found so far to pair with Keyboard/Button Mapper is an app called "Search Based Launcher" on F-Droid.  I'll try some of the others mentioned in this thread.  Thanks!

[FlyingAntero 860]

Here is a quick demo how you can access to app drawer with function + F(x)tec keys.

PS. Ultimate rotation control app is able to force Pixl Drawer and Instagram to landscape.

Edited February 1, 2020 by FlyingAntero

[EskeRahn 5,421]

6 hours ago, FlyingAntero said:

If you want to stick with stock launcher you can download a custom app drawer like Pixl Drawer from Play Store. It is an additional app drawer and you don't have to change launcher. Then you can install Keyboard/Button Mapper and make a key combination (like function+F(x)tec key) to access app drawer.

Edit: Pixl Drawer doesn't actually work on landscape so you might want to find other alternative from Play Store.

I wonder if it would not be super easy to add the existing AppDrawer activity to the already exposed activity list of the launcher (see image)? Or to have it react to "KEYCODE_ALL_APPS" What does @Waxberry think?

If as an activity it could be mapped with a third party tool as you suggests.

I tried to emulate what happens today if a keyboard sends "KEYCODE_ALL_APPS" =284, using ADB from a PC, but it does not seem to do anything currently ...

adb shell input keyevent 284

(sending other keys this way works fine, inluding 135&136 to emulate slider close and open)

I tried with various launchers installed and none seems to react. Nor if I installed "Pixl Drawer". 😥

 

Could perhaps @VaZso or @Anssi Hannula test if it is is the emulating that fails and it actually already is working stock android if assigned to a key? And if it is, I like the idea of Fn+Logo from @FlyingAntero

Or if that should be reserved for something else, then perhaps Fn+Tab could be used, as it is a bit related to existing Alt+Tab and Sh+Alt+Tab app switching...
 

[david 921]

7 hours ago, FlyingAntero said:

Here is a quick demo how you can access to app drawer with function + F(x)tec keys

PS. Ultimate rotation control app is able to force Pixl Drawer and Instagram to landscape.

So that demo was using Keyboard/Button Mapper along with the Pixl Drawer app?

[david 921]

4 hours ago, EskeRahn said:

I wonder if it would not be super easy to add the existing AppDrawer activity to the already exposed activity list of the launcher (see image)? 

Are you suggesting that the built in android app drawer that is now accessed by pulling up from the bottom of the screen would be accessed as a Pro1 launcher keyboard shortcut?

[EskeRahn 5,421]

8 hours ago, david said:

Are you suggesting that the built in android app drawer that is now accessed by pulling up from the bottom of the screen would be accessed as a Pro1 launcher keyboard shortcut?

There are more than one possibility in this, but that is the primary functionality, yes.

 

In the for the user simplest version the stock launcher when active (that is after e.g. pressing the Logo-key) listens for KEYCODE_ALL_APPS key event, and if fired launches the app drawer.

The second is that it also listens if not in the foreground, that is pressing what ever sends the keycode launches the AppDrawer even with another app active.
(This most likely would mean that it would work with another launcher too, as long as we do not directly disable the stock launcher app, but just select another one as primary)

And this of course requires that the stock keyboard (or alternative keyboard maps) with some combo sends the KEYCODE_ALL_APPS.

 

A technical simpler (I assume) method would be to just expose the AppDrawer as an acitvity, in the launcher (see above image), and then have the user install whatever they want to fire the activity. Similar to what @FlyingAnterodescribed above.

[Slion 1,200]

 

On 2/1/2020 at 1:00 PM, EskeRahn said:

I tried to emulate what happens today if a keyboard sends "KEYCODE_ALL_APPS" =284, using ADB from a PC, but it does not seem to do anything currently ...

I tried that too using a custom keyboard layout, no joy with the stock launcher. Maybe other launchers can handle that.

[OKSun 103]

On 2/1/2020 at 7:19 AM, david said:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=se.brokenbrain.drawer

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mobeedom.android.jinaFS

I haven't tried them, but there are a couple.

Jina App drawer seems to work in landscape mode. I have just downloaded it now. In settings there is an option to remove the virtual keyboard for search, which allows us to use our physical one directly.