LL Tasker Plugins and variables
Since a good deal of advanced LL users, take advantage of the dual nature of the wallpaper in LL, I had an idea.
By dual nature of wallpaper I do not mean that each screen can have its own wallpaper. I mean that each screen can show a Per-Screen wallpaper and System Wallpaper.
This has allowed for some pretty interesting layout tricks, where Live Wallpapers can be used as system wallpaper and PNG based images with transparent sections can be used on Per-Screen Wallpaper.
This allows for an effect where the Per-Screen wallpaper has a transparent window that can see the LiveWallpaper behind it.
I have started toying with the idea of a dynamic color desktop layout.
Meaning that the colors of all the widgets would change depending on predefined events or circumstances.
Zooper allows for this pretty well already, and combining tasker with it is allowing for some pretty cool stuff.
In tasker I can change the system wallpaper, so long as its static. Live Wallpapers are a lot more tricky and seem to require root.
What I cant change is the Per-Screen Wallpaper in 3rd party launchers.
Here is what I suggest. Add two new features into LL.
One – Allow the Per-Screen Wallpaper selection section to have a 2nd option for a tasker variable. IE you dont pick your wallpaper, you just type in a tasker variable. Tasker would then assign the wallpaper depending on the events you have setup.
Two – Give all of the fields in LL’s settings that allow for the choice of color (fonts, borders, ect) the ability to enter in a Tasker Variable.
Plugins
Since LL not only allows for multi screen layouts but for multi-desktop layouts. It could really take advantage of Tasker.
I know a good deal of us use our phones in our cars.
I also know that a good deal of us have tried out various Car Launcher, only to later un-install them, because they make our eyes bleed they are so boring and/or ugly.
Imaging having two separate desktops in LL, one for your normal desktop and another for when you are driving. Now imagine that all it takes to switch to your car home, is getting into your car.
This can be done easily by stating in tasker to switch to car-launcher desktop when connected to this Bluetooth. Or if you dont have BT, when the accelerometer of your phone detects speeds above say 7mph.
This is just scratching the surface of what tasker integration could do and Im sure you could think of a few things yourself.
Let me hear them in the comments below.
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D5 Creation
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Per screen wallpaper options never work for me. Do you know of a good tutorial for wallpapers set up on this launcher?
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Yes i like the idea for cars or normal but if i run i can reach 7 mph 😉 lol
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Fabrice Fournier Just an example, because if I didnt put that, someone would have said, “Well I dont have BT in my car.”
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Ed Smith This is a pretty easy trick.
First apply your livewallpaper as the System Wallpaper in LL .
Customize Lightning >Current Screen>Wallpaper&Background>Change System Wallpaper
Now make an Image in say Photoshop or http://pixlr.com/editor/.
Make sure the image is the same resolution as your phones display.
Cut a hole in the image, in the editor so that you can see the checkerboard background.
Now save that image as a PNG on your phone.
Apply this PNG as the “Screen” wallpaper.
Customize Lightning >Current Screen>Wallpaper&Background>Change the ScreenWallpaper
Thats it, you should now have a Screen Wallpaper that sits ontop of the system wallpaper. The hole in your screen wallpaper should allow you to see the System wallpaper inside of said hole.
If you dont know why this is a cool trick, check out my Live Vinyl theme in the market to see whats possible with this trick. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.qlabdesigns.Live.Vinyl.zwskin&hl=en-GB
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Thank you Bill.
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I totally like this idea Bill Surowiecki. This is something that is turning in my mind since a while but it has yet to become something concrete.
One of the use case I am thinking at is using a wallpaper tint color based on the battery level (say, transparent for 100%, red for 0%). Switching desktops based on the location is another one. I am sure that everybody could find dozen of real and useful use of this automation.
I am not experienced with Tasker, but as I understand it would be the natural way to feed LL with data. Correct me if I am wrong: Tasker gather events, status, sensors data, then make some synthesis, and finally would feeds LL with data, which in turns use these data to animate its desktops and items.
Some time ago I had in mind to build data collection and synthesis directly in LL, but this is clear that Tasker (or maybe other automation app) would do this much better than me (and quicker!). The only drawback I can think of is that this is difficult to share setups since this involves two separate apps.
On my side there are two areas I need to study before to say whether this is technically possible or not:
– how to exchange with tasker (there is a dev area and group on the tasker web site, need to have a closer look at this)
– what would be the impact of automation in LL
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Yes Id say dont bother too much with automation in LL, since Tasker is great way to do this already.
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It seems like Tasker taks can be exported as APK, isn’t it ?
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Yep, this is super cool as these APKs can be decompiled and then combined with other APKS such as Zooper Skins.
Eventually when you get the Export Import function in LL to capture Widgets correctly, I was hoping to see APK export as a method. This would allow LL Setups, Zooper Widgets and Tasker tasks to be combined in a single APK download in the market.
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In theory restoring widgets can partly be done starting at Android 4.2 (or so), but it might still involve user interaction, and probably only on the same device. This is tricky and I wouldn’t bet that this will possible to do things correctly one day.
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Pierre Hébert How is SSLauncher accomplishing it?
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Bill Surowiecki ssLauncher won’t restore widgets unless it is on the same device and internal data are not cleared, or API level is 16+. In this last case internal widget context is not restored. This is this cross devices use case that matters and it cannot be done properly on most devices currently.
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Well I can only suggest doing what I had suggested before. Go download Buzz Launcher and rip the app apart.
I do know that they form “partnerships” with specific widget builders like UCCW and Zooper to get their app to save the widget. The really cool bit is that it will save the Playstore link to UCCW and Zooper widgets if they are paid skins. The new user is then shown a greyed out version of the widget in the correct spot on the screen and when they click on it, they are shown the Playstore link to download it.
Again I would suggest talking with Zoopers Dev, Richard to see what was involved with this partnership.
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I will do. I feel like having APKs of LL themes with widgets would be a really cool thing. This is probably one of my top priority for the project at the moment.
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