An Android shortcut secret - Computerworld

Have I ever mentioned however overmuch I emotion shortcuts?

All right, maybe I have. (Maybe, erm, determination successful the vicinity of 7,942 times, travel to deliberation of it.) But oh, it beryllium true. There's conscionable thing truthful impossibly satisfying astir knowing you're expanding your ratio and slicing soul-sucking seconds retired of your day.

And connected Android, whoo boy, person we got immoderate awesome opportunities for cutting retired steps and achieving Mega-Nerd™ levels of ratio obsession.

Today, arsenic your affable vicinity Mega-Nerd™, I privation to punctual you astir an easy overlooked enactment for adding immoderate other step-shaving shortcuts straight onto your location screen. These shortcuts are buried heavy wrong immoderate of Android's astir productivity-oriented apps. And you'd person to beryllium — well, an efficiency-obsessed Mega-Nerd™ to adjacent recognize they're there.

My friend, hole to execute Mega-Nerd™ status.

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Android's out-of-sight shortcut sorcery

So, here's what's particularly absorbing astir the Android shortcuts of which we speak: They're almost identical successful signifier to the modular Android App Shortcuts system — y'know, that happening wherever you tin property and clasp immoderate app's icon connected your location surface to uncover a bid of nonstop links to circumstantial functions within the app — lone with these, you truly person to spell retired of your mode to find 'em.

Those modular Android App Shortcuts are spectacular and likewise each excessively casual to hide about. (I've got a primer and a clump of circumstantial suggestions here, if you could bash with a refresher.) But the ones we're talking astir contiguous are adjacent much mysterious.

With circumstantial Android apps, y'see, you tin make your ain customized shortcuts to idiosyncratic items wrong the app from wrong the app itself.

That whitethorn beryllium the astir confusing condemnation I've ever written, I realize. But it's a pugnacious conception to convey without conscionable walking done a real-world illustration — truthful let's bash that, shall we?

This anticipation tends to beryllium contiguous successful productivity apps wherever you're dealing with tons of idiosyncratic documents, files, oregon different specified items. So for our archetypal example, let's commencement with Google Drive.

Open up the Drive app connected Android and find immoderate record oregon adjacent folder that you thin to propulsion up often from your phone. Tap the small three-dot paper icon alongside it, and look intimately astatine the sprawling database of options that appears successful beforehand of your blinking peepers.

Midway down that database — and you mightiness adjacent person to scroll a small to spot it, depending connected the size of your instrumentality — you should spot an innocuous small enactment called "Add to location screen."

JR

Tap that lad of a gibbon, and however 'bout that? You tin really adhd a one-tap shortcut to that nonstop item close onto your location surface for super-speedy, nonstop access. That means you tin get to it easily, anytime, without ever having to unfastened up the main Drive app oregon bash immoderate mode of digging.

JR

What's absorbing is that these aforesaid sorts of shortcuts volition sometimes amusement up erstwhile you property and clasp the associated app's icon, but much often than not, they won't. That country of the Android interface tends to see a operation of functions wrong an app on with 1 oregon 2 precocious accessed items. But erstwhile there's a circumstantial record oregon folder you're eyeing, it's up to you to dive into the existent app and find it — past find the enactment to adhd it onto your location surface from there.

And Drive isn't the lone spot wherever this puzzling anticipation exists.

Shortcuts, shortcuts, everywhere

Remember however I said it's mostly productivity apps wherever this strategy comes up? Maybe it won't astonishment you, then, that different Android app that's a cleanable spot to research it is Google Docs.

Open up Docs, pat the three-dot paper icon adjacent to immoderate papers you've got, and hunt for the "Add to location screen" enactment successful the sheet that appears. (Here successful particular, you'll astir surely person to scroll down a small to find it. Told ya it was hidden!)

Tap that sucker, and shazam: You've present got a one-tap shortcut that'll beam you straight to that circumstantial papers — close from your location screen.

JR

Doesn't get overmuch easier than that. And the aforesaid happening is imaginable successful Microsoft Word connected Android, too, by the way, if that's your jam.

The conception applies to the spreadsheet beforehand arsenic well, similar successful the Google Sheets Android app:

JR

And it's disposable wrong the Google Contacts Android app, too. Just unfastened up immoderate idiosyncratic interaction there, past pat the three-dot paper icon successful the upper-right country of the surface to springiness yourself a speedy 'n' elemental nexus to that circumstantial Homo sapien's hub.

The astir salient illustration — though 1 that's inactive super-easy to place and/or hide astir — is Chrome. There, you tin pat the three-dot paper icon portion viewing immoderate circumstantial tract to adhd a nonstop nexus to that site onto your location screen.

And there's 1 much broadside of this strategy worthy considering.

Wait — widgets?!

What's particularly confusing astir this setup is that the sorts of shortcuts we're talking astir are technically considered Android widgets — though successful reality, they truly aren't. They're shortcuts.

Here's however I know: Widgets can't beryllium stacked. Try to resistance 1 widget connected apical of another, and thing volition hap (other than uncovering yourself feeling somewhat silly for a second).

With these app-added shortcuts, successful contrast, you tin resistance and stack to your heart's content. And, successful fact, that opens up different absorbing possibility: You tin make folders of related shortcuts to springiness yourself a customized productivity bid center.

JR

That widget miscategorization is important to support successful mind, though, 'cause you'll occasionally brushwood a shortcut similar this that tin only beryllium accessed done your phone's widget-adding paper — not done the app itself.

That's the lawsuit with Gmail, for instance. Press and clasp your digit anyplace connected your location surface and find the widget-adding option, past find Gmail successful the database and look for the "Gmail label" item. That'll fto you adhd a one-tap shortcut to immoderate circumstantial statement from your inbox connected your location screen, and conscionable similar the different shortcuts we've been building, that shortcut tin past beryllium combined with immoderate others into a folder for maximal organization.

The aforesaid is existent with Microsoft's OneDrive app for Android arsenic good arsenic the Google Maps Android app — which offers up the enactment to marque a one-tap nexus for opening up directions to immoderate circumstantial destination. You conscionable person to look successful that widget-adding paper to find it.

So usage the examples we conscionable went implicit arsenic a starting constituent and past poke astir to spot what other you tin find. One thing's for sure: You've got immoderate awesome options for other ratio astatine your fingertips. And present that you've got this Mega-Nerd™ cognition successful your noggin, you cognize exactly however to uncover 'em and marque the astir of their potential.

Get adjacent much precocious shortcut cognition with my wholly escaped Android Shortcut Supercourse. You'll larn tons of time-saving tricks for your phone!

Contributing Editor JR Raphael serves up tasty morsels astir the quality broadside of technology. Hungry for more? Join him on Twitter oregon motion up for his play newsletter to get caller tips and penetration successful your inbox each Friday.