How to add folders, shortcuts and widgets in Android

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Today we will tell and show how easy and simple it is to create a shortcut to the Android desktop, and below we will write how to remove it.
Desktop in Android - the place where we get after unlocking the screen. Usually it consists of several eranes, which are switched by “swipe” - by swiping the finger left or right. Just there we have applications, programs and games for quick access to them and launch. You can find other installed programs by pressing the "menu" button on your device.

Icons of programs and menus of all applications

Unlike some other mobile operating systems, for example, Apple iOS, the shortcuts of all installed applications do not necessarily get to the desktop: most often there are icons of only the most frequently used programs, and all the rest can be found in the special menu of all applications. You can usually open it by clicking on the dots icon at the bottom of the screen. It is worth noting that despite the fact that this menu is part of AOSP, some manufacturers, for example, Huawei, nevertheless refuse it and really put the shortcuts of all installed programs directly on the desktops, removing the program menu.

To place an application shortcut on the desktop, you need to touch and hold the desired icon in the menu of all applications for about a second, and then, without opening your finger, drag the shortcut to the desired location on the desktop that opens. Also, a menu usually appears at the top of the screen by dragging the icon to one of the items of which, depending on the shell, you can delete the application or see information about it. In the same way, by holding and then dragging the icon, the program shortcuts are sorted on the desktop.

Defining the concept of a widget is difficult. In the context of the Android operating system, this word means an interface element placed on the desktop, which can serve to display information, quickly perform any action, entertainment, or even just for additional customization. Android OS widgets can be standard (pre-installed) and third-party, and the latter can be downloaded and installed both with the program, in addition to which they are, and independently.

All installed widgets in most firmware and shells occupy space on a separate tab in the menu of all installed applications. If there is no list of widgets in the place shown in the screenshot, then they can most likely be added by pressing the hardware “menu” button on the desktop and selecting the desired item. Placing widgets on desktops is the same as placing application shortcuts, but for some widgets you can additionally adjust the size.

One way to organize icons on desktops is to group them into folders. In most shells, the creation of folders occurs automatically when you move one icon from top to another.

In the same way, new shortcuts are added to the folder - just move the application icon to the folder. In addition, by opening a specific folder, you can move the icons in it in the same way as on desktops. Folders can be given names, for example, “Games,” “Social Networks,” and so on. Some shells, for example, Samsung TouchWiz, also allow you to create folders in the menu of all applications.

Dock with icons

A separate area of the desktop is the dock with icons, which we briefly mentioned in the previous article. In most shells, it is static and uniform for all desktops. As a rule, it contains an icon for accessing the menu of all applications, as well as four shortcuts for the most frequently used programs that the user can select by dragging the icons from the desktop to the dock and vice versa.

Missing shortcut on Android how to recover

The icon may disappear in several cases: you deleted it by accident, for example, when you got your smartphone out of your pocket. The icon could "spread" by dragging it to another screen. Or you just deleted the application itself - in this way the launch shortcut from the desktop disappeared. To restore the desktop icon, follow the steps described above.

How to remove shortcuts on Android

If you do not have enough space for shortcuts, there are several options: create a new screen, group several icons into folders (for example, create folders with games, social networks and programs separately) or delete an unnecessary application.

Open the desktop, scroll to the desired screen with an icon.
Pinch your finger on an unnecessary application. The icon will hang “in the air” or start to tremble (visual effects are different on smartphones).
At the top of the screen, the message “Delete”, “Remove” or the trash can icon appears, we drag our icon there and the job is done.

Removing the application icon, it remains in the device’s memory. To remove the program itself, also go to the "All Applications" menu and do the above items.

Conclusion

I hope you figured out how to create a shortcut on the Android desktop or remove unnecessary icons from the desktop. Write in the comments if you are having difficulty managing Android devices or have unexpected errors. If you use Android version 7 and higher, we will definitely supplement our instructions.

Special cases and autosave

On some old devices, removing labels in this way will not work, since such a function is not provided on these smartphones and tablets. For them, you can download special utilities that can easily cope with this task, as well as others, which will be written at the end. One such program is Apex Launcher. After installing it, we simply hold the icon, after which a context menu appears where you can select the removal. In addition to this utility, there is CCleaner, which can also help with removing unnecessary icons.

Working with shortcuts using Alex Launcher

Not every user likes that each installed application creates its own icon on one of the screens. This feature is easy to disable.

We go to Google Play.
We pull out the menu on the right side of the screen.
We select "Settings" there.
Disable the option "Add Icons". It is located in the "General" section.

Making a shortcut on your desktop is as easy as removing it.

Open the application menu.
We hold what we need and drag it to the desktop.

The application icon will now be on the initial screen. After that, you can drag it to any convenient place.

Android provides for the addition of some special shortcuts. For example, if you often chat with one person on the VKontakte social network, you can easily make a button on the screen through the official application that will open a dialogue with him. To do this, you just need to hold your finger on the dialogue, and then click on the corresponding button. Similar functions are offered by some other instant messengers and other programs. As you can see, in Android you can add not only a simple shortcut.

Icons can not only be created, but combined into folders and renamed. To create a folder, just drag one shortcut to another. After which the system will prompt you to put them in a folder.

View folder contents on Android desktop

The renaming will help the aforementioned Apex Launcher. In general, any launcher has such a function. After installing it, we simply hold the icon until the context menu appears. There we select "Rename" or "Edit" and come up with a new name for any shortcut.

Now you know that working with shortcuts is quite simple. And working with them is not limited to creating or deleting. They can change the name, as well as move them to folders.

Do you visit a particular site ten times a day? The long procedure with launching the browser and digging in the bookmarks is already starting to bother - we have a wonderful solution! Let's take your favorite site and place the shortcut on the android desktop. After that, you can open the desired web resource with one click on its icon (just like with applications).

So, for starters, we need the installed Google Chrome browser. Launch Chrome and go to the desired site. In the upper right corner, click on the three vertical dots - a drop-down menu list will open. Find the item "Add to the main screen" and click on it. A small window will pop up before your eyes with the site name, description and the Add button below. Click on the button, voila - the site icon is now on our main desktop! Move it to the desired screen or position just like other icons.

Another such small tip: before you add a tab to the desktop, you can rename it or, for example, delete an unnecessary description. To do this, just click on the text and a keyboard for editing will appear. Enjoy it! Also, we will be glad to hear you in the comment.

Now each child has his own gadget and they have been with you for a long time right after purchasing the device. However, for others, this information will be useful. So, to take any shortcut of a game or program to the desktop, we will do the following.

The actions are similar for Android devices with an operating system up to the 6th version.

Press the button “All applications” - its icon is a circle with three dots.
Select the desired application, game or program and pinch your finger on it.
The screen will collapse and our desktop will appear. Choose the location of the icon and release your finger.
To select the desired desktop screen if there are several of them, pull your finger with a shortcut to the left or right corner of the screen, they will begin to scroll.
If there are a lot of icons, you can combine them into folders or delete unused ones.

How to add a webpage and speed dial shortcut

Many people use devices based on the Android operating system daily, but they don’t know anything about the hidden reserves of their own gadgets. For example, there is such an interesting feature as adding a phone contact shortcut. To do this, click on the free space on the screen and wait for the context menu to appear. In the window that appears, you need to tap on "Widgets", and then on "Select contact." After that, the phone book will open. All that remains is to click on the desired name.

Support multiple main screens

In fact, this function becomes an unnecessary panorama, which opens with a menu button. Then in the menu you can select the desired item. From the list of applications, you can simultaneously drag and drop several applications onto the main screen without saving anything except touching here and there.

In the same way, you can install on the desktop several icons with the contacts of subscribers with whom you communicate most often.

In addition, you can make not only the shortcut of the program, but also the icon of your favorite site. To do this, launch a browser on your tablet or smartphone, for example, Google Chrome, and then open the web page from which you need a shortcut. Then click on 3 vertical dots in the right corner, in the list that opens, select "Add to Home Screen". The site icon appears on the display of your device.

Quick access to special settings and preferences

You can perform a series of actions using the button to place it on the main screen. In particular, we point to the buttons shown in the figure below to hide the information panel and dock in the central image, as well as search for keywords in the image on the right. Article translated into German.

Create a desktop shortcut

It will be useful to those who spend most of their time on the desktop, but do not even feel sharp touches. Attach them to the main panel, as well as to others. Fragmentation is not healthy. Who would like to fly between the subway and the table, all the time? Welcome to the original icon set, but you can choose your own.

Agree, sometimes it is convenient to have some files at hand. In order not to rummage through folders, but launch them directly from the desktop. What for?

Many of us often turn to certain documents, tables, presentations, etc. On a laptop or computer with almost any operating system on board, creating a shortcut or transferring a file to the desktop is very simple. What about doing the same thing on Android?

If you have bright icons for shortcuts, click No. Otherwise, choose without a second thought. However, for the supported items there is nothing to do, click Create Shortcut to create shortcuts directly on the desktop. You can capture icons and drag them to the taskbar if you don't like this area. Links to applications do not just serve to launch them. In case of already running programs, switch to them. You don't need to think about keyboard shortcuts, let alone find an application somewhere in a difficult sentence.

I want to warn you right away that we won’t be able to transfer the file to the desktop itself. But we’ll try the label anyway.

As we know, in order to display the application shortcut on the desktop, you need to make a long tap on the screen. After that, a list of what can be pulled onto the screen appears. Unfortunately, we will not see our file there. But, this is Android, which is very flexible and there is always a solution for any task. In this case, the best solution would be to use a file manager. I’m just sure that you already have it installed, and if not, I advise you to do it right now. When I buy another Android device, among the applications that I install first of all, there is the ES Explorer file manager, which, in my opinion, is one of the best of its kind. This application is free and allows you to perform many operations with files and folders on your device. A detailed review of the conductor, I plan to write in the near future. But this is my personal choice, you can use what you like more. Using the example of this program, I will show how to make a file shortcut and transfer it to the Android desktop.

Merging Shortcut Shortcuts

By the way, it is hiding in the upper left corner of the screen. Keyboard enthusiasts will be pleased with the opportunity to take advantage of the combination of keys. Launching applications, now even from the subway, can be simplified by an old trick. Call the properties of the shortcut and enter the desired combination in the shortcut key.

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