Edit: V12.8b2

This beta mostly deals with images, with tons of modifications ranging from bug fixes to new features, including:

– support for animated GIFs in shortcut icons (not in backgrounds nor in layers yet).

– more flexibility regarding the icon size: the image is no longer scaled to match the standard launcher icon size, but can also be displayed using its real size, or fill the item.

– fixed the icon reflection processing which has been broken since… years, probably.

– brand new script image API: it’s cleaner, much more versatile and allows the creation of small animations. Everything should remain compatible, if not then I’ll fix it.

– new ImageScript class: this geeky toy allows direct image and animation drawing, without the need for an intermediate bitmap (I hope you’ll love it as I do…).

At last but not least, panels can now be edited fullscreen. This is really new and I expect to discover a few caveats but since this is an immensely requested feature, I am publishing it right now in this beta.

API documentation for this beta can be found here:

http://www.lightninglauncher.com/scripting/reference/api-beta/

Full ChangeLog:

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

Here it is: the new stable version!

Well, that doesn’t mean “bug free”, but at least it should run reasonably well on all devices ranging from 2.3 to 6.

Thanks for your help in debugging this app. Seriously I don’t know how it would work without beta testing. Probably very bad.

Full ChangeLog:

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

I was hoping to release it as stable… but Android development is becoming increasingly difficult.

I am currently struggling with the support of Android 6, which is everything but trivial. Support for floating desktop should work again on 6 but the new permission handling is giving me headaches.

As of today, Lightning will display some notice about permission, try to avoid crashes, and that’s all. Nothing more. I will not wade throughout the code and add permission checks and request their activation everywhere the app needs to do something, this is just beyond me (at the moment). And I don’t even speak of scripts…

OK, end of my moaning 😉

What it means exactly is that the app may not behave as expected or it may behave strangely: in this case please have a look at permissions. I’ll try to improve things over time.

This beta doesn’t contain sensitive modifications, but it is the first to be built using the new SDK. Differences in behavior can be expected, including on version before Android 6.

For these reasons I am once again asking your help, dear Beta Testers, to check for possible regressions.

Full ChangeLog can be found here: http://www.lightninglauncher.com/wordpress/change-log/ ‎

This is mostly a bug fix beta. One of them is support for the floating desktop on Android 6.

Full ChangeLog can be found here: http://www.lightninglauncher.com/wordpress/change-log/ ‎

Edit: V12.7b4 with various fixes and improvements

This new beta features a new screen: the hierarchical view of your desktops. It is currently fairly minimal but I sense that a lot of cool stuff could be added to this screen. At the moment it shows all items in a flat view, allows drag&drop to change items z-index, move items from a container to another, reorder desktops and quick edit access. No doubt that it will spark some ideas. (I have one or two in mind already…)

I also changed a minor thing together with a new option: the app launch animation (per item property, found in the Misc. tab). Previously the system animation was played, now the default is to play no animation. I am curious to know your feedback.

And a lot of fixes…

Full ChangeLog can be found here: http://www.lightninglauncher.com/wordpress/change-log/ ‎

Edit: V12.7b2 to fix some app drawer related crashes

There’s two notable differences regarding icon packs in this version.

Firstly the last selected icon pack for a container is saved, meaning that all new app or shortcut added to the container will also be themed using the icon pack (as long as it is still installed). No need to manually apply the icon pack again.

Secondly I changed the way the icon scale parameter is handled when applying an icon pack. It is used only for items without matching icon in the pack and with a background. It works fine with a few packs I tested, but it could break other packs as well.

There’s also two new container events to get notified of item addition or removal. This can be used to automatically configure new apps for instance…

As usual, the full ChangeLog can be found here: http://www.lightninglauncher.com/wordpress/change-log/ ‎

It took me more than two months to build this version, but at last it is here. I hope it was worth the wait!

Full ChangeLog: http://www.pierrox.net/cmsms/applications/lightning-launcher/change-log.html

Edit: V12.6b5 to fix a crash in settings

A handful of bug fixes in this update.

Please note that there are still a couple issues with the floating desktop not being updated immediately after a modification (need a restart for the background to be updated for instance). This version should nevertheless be quite usable.

Full ChangeLog: http://www.pierrox.net/cmsms/applications/lightning-launcher/change-log.html