SweeterHome

Ah, apparently I can't edit. Another thing is I sometimes get that "Press here to set up widget" even when I've edited the widget and changed the base widget to something I have (i.e. Calendar Pad)

1) The popup you get when you click on the widget explains that widgets can't be loaded automatically; you have to set it up manually. Instructions on what to set up where should be included by a (good) home screen author

2) See my thread on reducing bitmap image usage/maintaining the home screen in the background (excluding crashes)

3) The way sweeter home is structured probably wouldn't allow for this, but you can create custom trays that let you add icons/springboards/shortcuts

4) See my answer to question 2

RE) Sometimes when you customize a widget through the edit screen, if you select the widget and then use the configure section, it will reset the widget selection. To avoid this, adding the widgets outside of an edit session will allow it to load properly. Giving the widget ample space may also be a problem too as some widgets will not load or rotate orientation properly if they are not given the correct amount of space.

1) Yes, the pop-up seems straight forward. Does this mean that I can't have a selection of theme's on my phone, and switch them without having to re-set-up all those widgets? So when you say "set up manually" do you mean that the "Pick A Widget" button does nothing? Because it just happened to me again: Pick Calendar Pad. Looks good. Go to the market, come back (takes ages, I assume SH needs to reload) widget replaced with "Press here..."

2) I will try reducing bitmap image usage and see what it does. I have had the "try and keep homescreen" selected since I rooted. I just recently turned it off, to see if it actually improves things.

5) Is there a way to get to the themes I have downloaded already? All I could work out to do was export them to my sdcard straight after downloading. If they are downloaded, where are the files kept?

dakuth wrote:

So I'm still trying to work out if SH is for me. I have a rooted HTC magic, and on top of difficulties just learning the application, I'm also getting "buggy behaviour" (which I expect is just low specs on my phone.)

1. I get a lot of "Press here to set up widget" when I download a theme. I haven't seen anyone else mention this, but perhaps that is because it's expected to be obvious. What I find, though, is even if I select "pick a widget" and pick something equivalent (say, instead of Pure Calendar I pick my preferred Calendar Pad) the widget sometimes disappears altogether. If it works, it often reverts back to "Press here..." when SH restarts.

OK, so there is a 'security feature' in Android which disallows an app to bind widgets. This means you have to do it yourself every time. Also this is a memory management feature of Sweeter Home since memory management around widgets in android sucks ass by default.

2. Speaking of restarts... this seems to happen a fair bit. I've not settled on a theme I actually like yet, so I've been putting it down to much tweaking. But if I get the "10-20sec load" complete with synchronising tags and applications more than once when I settle, it'll be a game breaker.

Yeah you'll see this happen a little. This is called resuming and happens because Android steal memory from all open apps (including your homescreen) to run whatever the last/current app is. On my Magic I mostly find this happens when I use the browser (which is mem heavy thanks to graphics etc). Usually coming out of Touituer, Bloo or games this doesn't happen. Also happens after installing apps sometimes.

3. Is there any possibility of adding these two bits of functionality: "Blank" space. I personally think blank areas should function like traditionally homescreens, where you can simply drag and drop icons and widgets on to it. People could download nice themed homescreens, and then customise it with simple drag and drops - I mean, within limited functionality. No resizing or anything. If they want that, then they can edit. The second bit is ... I forget. will edit if I remember

This is kind of counter to the SH paradigm of trays. You can set up an invisible Custom Tray with spacing and sorting set to "Free Formed Snap" to get a similar feel to the stock home... maybe I'll build a "stock home" for people to use :)

4. SH sometimes becomes ridiculously slow. Especially in edit screens. I mean, 30seconds or more for button presses to register. It is usually fixed with a reboot. Is this a know issue that I can workaround somehow?

Possibly memory leaks. If you get weird behaviour please hit menu and Report Bug - take care to be very descriptive of what actions you were taking and the strange/buggy behaviour.

Welcome to SH.com and ENJOY!!! :)

Thanks Lemon, very good reply :)

If the performance stuff settles, I may be sticking around, because as everyone else here knows it has great potential. (Yes, Magic + Browser does seem to kill it. The biggest gripe I have with this is that browser+stock cyanogen home is lickity split. Compared to Magic's stock home speed this was a big 'holy crap that's good.' and Sweethome detracts from that a bit. Good news is I'm aiming for a Nexus soon :))

Other comments from a newbie perspective:

1. I started to enjoy myself a lot more when I realised "this isn't really a home replacement. No, SH is really a HOME REPLACEMENT BUILDER. I like 91Panda, but it doesn't compare to SH. 91Panda compares more to SUI_Blue, or MetalDock." That's somewhat why I suggested the "blank" space. I was thinking that it might be better design if people built their themes with an idea that the people who download it are going to want to tweak it always (possibly extensively.) And doing so through the Edit Theme is somewhat troublesome. Streamlining dragging and dropping onto trays and easy widget-swapping or deleting might go a long way towards this. Anyway, that's pie-in-the-sky stuff for later

2. I also disagree with most theme design philosophies. Things like "Tagged Trays" seem like a good idea, but I simply don't organise my icons into categories such as type, but into usage. SH has the ability for me to do it the way I want, so a theme based on usage will be my first thing... I just wish I could steal someone else's :) It takes a long time to set up, donchaknow! If I simply had MetalDock's nice icons, but could swap around the widgets without even going into Edit Theme, I'd be 75% of the way there.

3. Never answered my question about "where are theme's downloaded too." Like I say, I just export as soon as I get one, so I have a standard base to work with. Am I allowed to poach icons from themes for my own? i.e. can I get to the pictures in a theme, or are they buried into the theme itself? Even if I can get to them, is that ethical? What's the rules with ownership for images other users create?

I'm going to make a start on my theme tonight... so I'll no doubt have more questions coming ;)