Edit: V14b5 with minor bug fixes

I am pleased to release one more test update to the upcoming V14 version.

It has been under development for a while, but I feel the public release is near.

And V14b4 packs great new features.

Firstly, it brings support for Android 7.1 App Shortcuts. To use it, just set the action “Show app shortcuts” to your prefered item event (for instance long tap or swipe up gesture). Once it is displayed, the shortcuts can be launched with a single tap, or dragged/dropped onto the desktop using a long tap. Please note: the launcher needs to be the default one for Android to allow the feature.

Secondly, and most importantly, Lightning is now a Live Wallpaper, in addition to being a launcher and a lock screen. How to use it? Setup a desktop as you wish, including images, scripts, panels and widgets. Change the system wallpaper, select Lightning, then your LWP desktop, and you’re done. The full LL flexibility is available, no limit nor constraint, you’re free to do whatever you wish. I recorded a basic demo here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlzUfHQDTmA.

I said there would be no constraint to this feature, but in fact there is one, because the Lightning LWP is a paid feature. I know this isn’t the most pleasant thing to hear, but remember that behind each new feature and update there’s someone to actually make it happen, and at some point this work has simply to be supported. The good news is that during the beta I am providing promo codes to unlock the feature for free: drop me an e-mail, I have at least 100 codes to give away, hurry up!

As usual, this version also includes various other improvements and bug fixes, please check the change log for all details.

Enjoy!

Full ChangeLog: http://www.lightninglauncher.com/wordpress/change-log/

What’s new?

The most visible change is the support for “plugins”: it consists in allowing the user to click on “Add item” and select either a built-in object, or a plugin loaded from an APK. You can try it with the sample clock APK (download it here : http://www.lightninglauncher.com/scripting/samples/Clock-2.1.apk) and watch the video to see how it works.

In fact the feature is currently pretty basic. At the moment, it is mostly the same as loading a script from a package, except that the APK is shown in the “Add item” dialog. More documentation and sample source code can be found here: http://www.lightninglauncher.com/wordpress/scripting/.

This sample clock plugin also demonstrates new features found in V14b3:

– support for customizing the item popup menu, meaning that you can now remove, or add items to create your own menu content, through script. Pretty much everything can be done, from easily adding a new menu item, to fully replace the whole popup content. There’s one limitation though: this is available for items, not for the container menu. This official hook replaces the smart but fragile implementation based on ViewTreeObserver.

– support for using Lightning preference controls (the ones used in the app’s settings screen). This can be used to easily create preference screens.

Naturally, that version also comes with a few bug fixes, but not that much. Good!

But there’s something bigger to come… stay tuned!

Full ChangeLog: http://www.lightninglauncher.com/wordpress/change-log/

A few bug fixes are in this new version (the biggest one being template merging) and also an important addition to scripts: they can now be classified using a path.

Using a path for scripts has two goals:

– help in classifying its own scripts (for instance, tools, events, custom views, etc.)

– help in keeping scripts organized when using templates or importing scripts: by keeping all your scripts under a given path, it will prevent the list of scripts to endlessly grow and become unmanageable. I strongly recommend to use a reverse domain name like path (something like /net/pierrox/lightning_launcher).

Enjoy!

Full ChangeLog: http://www.lightninglauncher.com/wordpress/change-log/

I am pleased to announce that the app is now in beta, no more in alpha!

A big thanks to all people that dared to try this unstable version, suffered from numerous bugs and helped me to squash them with reports or templates!

This beta is a big milestone. Although the app is not yet bulletproof, it is fairly robust and the new architecture is up and running, ready for new features.

I encourage everyone willing to test this new version to opt-in using this url: https://play.google.com/apps/testing/net.pierrox.lightning_launcher_extreme. If you were previously using the alpha, make sure to make a backup first, then opt-out and opt-in again.

Thanks!

Full ChangeLog: http://www.lightninglauncher.com/wordpress/change-log/

Edit: V14a11 one step forward, two steps back…

New bug fixes…

A bunch of issues related with scripts have been resolved. I am pushing this update as an alpha today, then I intend to migrate it to the beta channel if all goes well.

Now it’s the right time to report remaining bugs, even those that you consider harmless or those you already reported but I failed to fix 😉

Full ChangeLog: http://www.lightninglauncher.com/wordpress/change-log/

Yet another update 🙂

This time, in addition to bug fixes, this version adds an experimental API to configure and display the android action bar (sample script here: http://www.lightninglauncher.com/wiki/doku.php?id=script_action_bar_sample). Remember, this is experimental, but have fun anyway!

Full ChangeLog: http://www.lightninglauncher.com/wordpress/change-log/

Plenty of bug fixes! I believe this version works quite correctly now. If all goes well I’ll migrate it to beta.

Most remaining issues (but not all) are linked with scripts, in particular background scripts. Don’t hesitate to let me know if you encounter strange behaviors, my goal is to keep full compatibility with the stable version 12.9.1. (minus bugs and performance improvements…)

Full ChangeLog: http://www.lightninglauncher.com/wordpress/change-log/

Edit: and V14a6, then V14a7 🙂

Yet another round of bug fixes, but not only.

Leveraging the new architecture, this update feature several optimizations which should noticeably reduce the startup time of the app drawer, as well as the home screen. I’m curious to know how it works for you.

Full ChangeLog: http://www.lightninglauncher.com/wordpress/change-log/

Plenty of bug fixes, and even some optimizations, hurry up, get the update 🙂

Full ChangeLog: http://www.lightninglauncher.com/wordpress/change-log/

A third alpha with many bug fixes.

I think I fixed most critical bugs now. Of course many other remain, and usually these are the nasty ones, lol.

The app should have gain some noticeable stability, however I still prefer to call it alpha rather than beta.

Also please keep going the flood of bug reports, it helps a lot 🙂 If you encounter a bug and already reported it, don’t hesitate to ping me again, I may have missed it in the rush for fixing dozens of its siblings.

Full ChangeLog: http://www.lightninglauncher.com/wordpress/change-log/