[Layout] "Hubs" with Video Tutorial

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fliparsenal

Senior Member
Nov 17, 2008
832
314
NewYork.apk
http://imageshack.us


p20110814163434.png

p20110814163405.png

p20110814170003.png


(Seeing as there's no General Thread for tablets, I've re posted this here.)
Hey guys I finally ported my "hubs" set up to Android Tablets and I have to say its 10x smoother on our 1.0 ghz dual core device. The general idea of "Hubs" is to create a dedicated screen for each piece of media/productivity while providing a visual eye candy. "Hubs" is easy to emulate, and even easier to create your own style. Despite the lengthy tutorial, its actually easier than it seems. The fun part comes with setting up you layout!

What you'll need:
Main
Optional
Video Tutorial
Part I
Part II
FINAL


WALKTHROUGH​
ADW Launcher Users[/U][/B]
-To remove top bar-Press and hold and empty area on your home screen then click on "Launcher Actions" > "Hide/Show Action Bars"
-Enable Widget Overlapping-"Menu"> "ADW Settings"> "UI Settings" > "Screen Preference"> Check "Overlap Widgets" in the Advanced Settings Tab
-Increase Retail Space on your screen-"Menu"> "ADW Settings"> "UI Settings" > "Screen Preference"> Increase the desktop "Rows" and "Columns" in the "Desktop Layout" Tab.

Launcher Pro Plus Users- while not optimized for 3.2, it still runs perfect.
-Increase Retail Space on your screen-"Menu"> "Preference" > "Homescreen Settings" > Increase the "Number of columns/rows" in the Homescreen Grid.
-Remove Icons From Right Dock- Hold your finger on the icon you wish to remove> "change shortcut"> "Blank"

*You may add screen transitions for each launcher if you wish, however my advise is to leave it at default as you can set transition for Multi Live wallpaper. Doing both launcher and MLW will make your screen look "too busy" IMO.

To set the "Bars" (Titles for "Home", "Music", "Movies" etc.)
Minimalistic Text
-To set title- Press and hold a free space on the screen > "widgets" > "Minimalistic Text" (size may vary per style however I use either 4x2 or 6x1 as long as its horizontal > ensure that "background color" is checked > "Predefined Layout" > "Custom" > "Custom Layout" > Click on the plus sign > "Misc" > "Static Text".
-Black Bar Tutorial click here

Wallpapers
-Set up - Load up your wallpapers on your sd card/internal memory and placing them into seperate folders and name them based on the images (ex. Music, Movies, Games etc)
- Long press an empty screen on your homescreen > "Wallpapers" > "Live Wallpapers"> "MultiPicture Live Wallpaper"> "Settings"
- For each "Screen _ Settings" Select the picture source as "Picture Folder" and navigate it to point to your corresponding homescreen.
- Additionally you make select the screen transition here that reflects your particular taste. You may also set a default wallpaper for your lockscreen.

Despite the dozen of widget on the homescreen and live wallpaper, battery use is minimal.I have provided wallpapers below to help you get started.


NAVIGATING BETWEEN HUBS

There are two methods in which you can navigate to each individual homescreen.

Method one
: Prior/Alternate way for navigation text was achieved using this methodby trekkie0927. Using invisible icons in tandem with minimalistic text can make it easier to flip to each hubs. Please rate/comment his video.

Method two: I found a great alternative to Minimalistic Text in terms of using the text buttons to jump from one screen to another called Simple Text. Since it's only an icon and not a widget, it consumes no memory and provides a great minimal look.

p20110912230552.png


User AcIdC0R3 has posted a great tutorial. (Please thank him!)​

  • Make sure you have ADWLauncher EX
  • Go to the market and install Simple Text
  • Long press on the screen and select 'Custom Shortcut'
  • 'Pick your activity', select 'Launcher Actions'
  • Choose which screen you want, 1 - 5 or 1 - 7 if your using seven screens
  • Click on the picture of the 2 screens side by side
  • Select 'ADWTheme IconPacks' and select 'Simple Text'
  • Select the grey box named 'Simple'
  • replace the word 'Simple' with whatever of your choosing like 'Video' for your video hub or 'Social' for your social media hub and so forth
  • Adjust your text size, Y and X coordinates, your shadow settings etc.
  • Click the little blue 'A' in the top right side of the screen and select your font (more on fonts further down)
  • You also have the option to select the color wheel next to the 'A' and adjust your text color
  • Select the menu icon on the task bar at the bottom and select 'Save Style' if you want to keep what you created for later use as well.
  • Click 'Save Icon' which will create your icon for you
  • Back at the black edit screen remove the text from the text field and click OK
You should now have a custom text icon that will activate whichever screen you chose for it. You can click any app icon on your screen and follow the same procedure for your apps so all your apps also have text icons.

[FONTS] In a file manager go to /sdcard/Simple Text/ and create a folder named 'fonts' (that is plural with an 's' at the end). Next go to somewhere like dafont.com and download you some kewl fonts and place them within that 'fonts' directory you just created. Now when you go into Simple Text to do your editing you will have more fonts to choose from.

That's all there is to it.

P20110920154653.png


P20110920154602.png

You can also work with layers within the creation of your Simple Text. Notice below where I created a new layer, rotated my new text layer and intersected where both words have the letter 'E'.

P20110920165536.png


P20110920165654.png

However you may notice that simple text does have it's limitations:
  • Icons can only be 1x1
  • Works best on adw
  • No way to resize; it is only an icon after all.

p20110917181350.png


p20110917181146.png


p20110917181252.png

Miscellaneous
ISSUE: You may experience widget being placed "behind" the black bars. If so try this method provided by user SwiftLegend
1. Put the widgets/icons you want on TOP of the blackbar FIRST. You need these before anything.
2. Select a Minimalistic Text Widget, I usually use 1x1. Clear out the text options (Predefined layout > Custom, delete all of the things there)
3. Once you're back at your homescreen and see the MT Widget, just long press and re size it to your liking.
You HAVE to make sure that whatever you want on TOP of the blackbar is put on the screen FIRST. Anything put on after will go underneath.

ISSUE 2: Users have reported that Minimalistic Widget refuses to post/ show up on the homescreen.
1. Turn your tablet into portrait mode.
2. Add the widget whilst staying in portrait mode as you apply you designs.
3. Rotate back to landscape.

ISSUE 3: You can no longer take full advantage of the screen real estate using adw ex (particularly the corners)
1. Recent update kills the use of every inch of the screen. In his attempt to emulate ICS, anderwebs made the edges of the screen inaccessible.
2. Revert back to an older version (1.3.3)

here's the original layout from the nook color if you guys are interested on putting this on your homescreen HERE

and here it is in action HEREhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8DxCVzARfE&fmt=38

Other Users take on "Hubs":

vrundmc​

attachment.php

attachment.php


"Hubs Remix by CinderWild "

and lastly hubs for different devices! Make sure you check each thread as people have different ideas that works on all devices. Wished Xda had a tablet general forums.

special thanks to AhmazinSKM
special thanks to 00McD00 for the banner
sepcial thanks to AcIdC0R3
 
Last edited:

mrmad23

Senior Member
Jan 21, 2011
758
1,325
Munich
www.morethanandroid.de
Hi,

thanks for sharing it looks nice and I am tempted to reproduce it on my tab.
I've had a look at your various posts and I would suggest gathering all the info in one single tutorial and include all the wallpapers you used? I can't find the Green Day wallpaper and the one you used for your video tab for example....just too lazy.... Would it be possible to a clean step by step tutorial?
 
Last edited:

saltychino

Member
Aug 3, 2010
43
1
bobclock won't show up

I've installed it on my tab multiple times, but it never shows up in my apps or widget list...how did you get it to work?
 

fliparsenal

Senior Member
Nov 17, 2008
832
314
NewYork.apk
Hi,

thanks for sharing it looks nice and I am tempted to reproduce it on my tab.
I've had a look at your various posts and I would suggest gathering all the info in one single tutorial and include all the wallpapers you used? I can't find the Green Day wallpaper and the one you used for your video tab for example....just too lazy.... Would it be possible to a clean step by step tutorial?

Maybe if you clicked all the links given you would've have realized that the wallpapers were uploaded and a more in depth tutorial was given. But yes I do agree it is not as very user friendly

Ill update it tonight or by tommorow once I get on a computer and provide a cleaner walkthrough.

This layout can be achieved by using with either adwor launcherpro. From this screenshot I'm actually using launcher pro which contains the Calender widget.the rar file I linked are just the wallpapers that people have requested


Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
 
Aug 23, 2009
10
0
South Ockendon
Excellent work, i like it very much. I have tried to make my own setup but when i use adw with multipic it does not show different pictures on different screens,they are all the same pic on every one, yet when i gave launcher pro a go it worked fine. Anyone have any idea why it will work on one and not the other? I really like adw on my tab it seems so smooth compared to anything else so would really love it to work with this. Any help or advise would be very much appreciated.
Thanks
 
Aug 23, 2009
10
0
South Ockendon
I have tried that but it still refuses to work, i even deleted adw and multipic and reinstalled but still the same. I may try a factory reset and start again anyway. If that dont work im not sure what the prob could be! Cheers for the quick response.
 

dovid

Senior Member
Apr 26, 2006
105
26
Question about scrolling

B"H

Quick questions - (noob)

Got a few MT Widgets setup.

1) How do I tell the widget upon press to move to another screen?
2) I'm using LauncherProPlus - how many columns / rows should I configure?
3) Once I associate the tap action with a MT widget, I cannot seem to ever get back to the configure screen again for that widget to change it?

Thank you,

-Dovid
 

fliparsenal

Senior Member
Nov 17, 2008
832
314
NewYork.apk
B"H

Quick questions - (noob)

Got a few MT Widgets setup.

1) How do I tell the widget upon press to move to another screen?
2) I'm using LauncherProPlus - how many columns / rows should I configure?
3) Once I associate the tap action with a MT widget, I cannot seem to ever get back to the configure screen again for that widget to change it?

Thank you,

-Dovid

1.) Not sure yet but its possible. I've seen users do it and instructions can be found on the Nook Color version of Hubs.

2.) 10x10
3.) Click on the MT on your app drawere.
 

jdwdickie

Member
Aug 15, 2011
7
0
Hey thanks for the instructions and how to set it up
much appericated really like it so far.

Couple questions, i havnt really looks that the vidoes for instuctions for setting it up because im in a 3rd world courtny and have crappy net


1- I am using the ADW Launcher ex which i like, do i need to keep the launder Pro Plus or is there some usefull widigets that come with it.

2- Tried to dl your wallpapers, I take it i have to create a free account on the meaga upload server since it wouldnt dl? since i had to use hidemyass to even go there because normally it doesnt support where i am at.

3- I have set up my tabs yet but when u click on those tabs ect music movies , will it take you to that screen? and minimalistic app is what sets that up ?

thanks again for you work
liking my tab more and more eveyday

jay
 

fliparsenal

Senior Member
Nov 17, 2008
832
314
NewYork.apk
Hey thanks for the instructions and how to set it up
much appericated really like it so far.

Couple questions, i havnt really looks that the vidoes for instuctions for setting it up because im in a 3rd world courtny and have crappy net


1- I am using the ADW Launcher ex which i like, do i need to keep the launder Pro Plus or is there some usefull widigets that come with it.

2- Tried to dl your wallpapers, I take it i have to create a free account on the meaga upload server since it wouldnt dl? since i had to use hidemyass to even go there because normally it doesnt support where i am at.

3- I have set up my tabs yet but when u click on those tabs ect music movies , will it take you to that screen? and minimalistic app is what sets that up ?

thanks again for you work
liking my tab more and more eveyday

jay

1. Launcher Pro Plus contains the widget, while ADW launcher offers more customization. It's all personal choice.

2.There's no need to to create an account, however your location may prevent you from downloading it. I'll try to create a mirror when I get the chance

3. Check the nook color version of hubs as they figured out a way. Sorry can't be more of help in that area.
 

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    (Seeing as there's no General Thread for tablets, I've re posted this here.)
    Hey guys I finally ported my "hubs" set up to Android Tablets and I have to say its 10x smoother on our 1.0 ghz dual core device. The general idea of "Hubs" is to create a dedicated screen for each piece of media/productivity while providing a visual eye candy. "Hubs" is easy to emulate, and even easier to create your own style. Despite the lengthy tutorial, its actually easier than it seems. The fun part comes with setting up you layout!

    What you'll need:
    Main
    Optional
    Video Tutorial
    Part I
    Part II
    FINAL


    WALKTHROUGH​
    ADW Launcher Users[/U][/B]
    -To remove top bar-Press and hold and empty area on your home screen then click on "Launcher Actions" > "Hide/Show Action Bars"
    -Enable Widget Overlapping-"Menu"> "ADW Settings"> "UI Settings" > "Screen Preference"> Check "Overlap Widgets" in the Advanced Settings Tab
    -Increase Retail Space on your screen-"Menu"> "ADW Settings"> "UI Settings" > "Screen Preference"> Increase the desktop "Rows" and "Columns" in the "Desktop Layout" Tab.

    Launcher Pro Plus Users- while not optimized for 3.2, it still runs perfect.
    -Increase Retail Space on your screen-"Menu"> "Preference" > "Homescreen Settings" > Increase the "Number of columns/rows" in the Homescreen Grid.
    -Remove Icons From Right Dock- Hold your finger on the icon you wish to remove> "change shortcut"> "Blank"

    *You may add screen transitions for each launcher if you wish, however my advise is to leave it at default as you can set transition for Multi Live wallpaper. Doing both launcher and MLW will make your screen look "too busy" IMO.

    To set the "Bars" (Titles for "Home", "Music", "Movies" etc.)
    Minimalistic Text
    -To set title- Press and hold a free space on the screen > "widgets" > "Minimalistic Text" (size may vary per style however I use either 4x2 or 6x1 as long as its horizontal > ensure that "background color" is checked > "Predefined Layout" > "Custom" > "Custom Layout" > Click on the plus sign > "Misc" > "Static Text".
    -Black Bar Tutorial click here

    Wallpapers
    -Set up - Load up your wallpapers on your sd card/internal memory and placing them into seperate folders and name them based on the images (ex. Music, Movies, Games etc)
    - Long press an empty screen on your homescreen > "Wallpapers" > "Live Wallpapers"> "MultiPicture Live Wallpaper"> "Settings"
    - For each "Screen _ Settings" Select the picture source as "Picture Folder" and navigate it to point to your corresponding homescreen.
    - Additionally you make select the screen transition here that reflects your particular taste. You may also set a default wallpaper for your lockscreen.

    Despite the dozen of widget on the homescreen and live wallpaper, battery use is minimal.I have provided wallpapers below to help you get started.


    NAVIGATING BETWEEN HUBS

    There are two methods in which you can navigate to each individual homescreen.

    Method one
    : Prior/Alternate way for navigation text was achieved using this methodby trekkie0927. Using invisible icons in tandem with minimalistic text can make it easier to flip to each hubs. Please rate/comment his video.

    Method two: I found a great alternative to Minimalistic Text in terms of using the text buttons to jump from one screen to another called Simple Text. Since it's only an icon and not a widget, it consumes no memory and provides a great minimal look.

    p20110912230552.png


    User AcIdC0R3 has posted a great tutorial. (Please thank him!)​

    • Make sure you have ADWLauncher EX
    • Go to the market and install Simple Text
    • Long press on the screen and select 'Custom Shortcut'
    • 'Pick your activity', select 'Launcher Actions'
    • Choose which screen you want, 1 - 5 or 1 - 7 if your using seven screens
    • Click on the picture of the 2 screens side by side
    • Select 'ADWTheme IconPacks' and select 'Simple Text'
    • Select the grey box named 'Simple'
    • replace the word 'Simple' with whatever of your choosing like 'Video' for your video hub or 'Social' for your social media hub and so forth
    • Adjust your text size, Y and X coordinates, your shadow settings etc.
    • Click the little blue 'A' in the top right side of the screen and select your font (more on fonts further down)
    • You also have the option to select the color wheel next to the 'A' and adjust your text color
    • Select the menu icon on the task bar at the bottom and select 'Save Style' if you want to keep what you created for later use as well.
    • Click 'Save Icon' which will create your icon for you
    • Back at the black edit screen remove the text from the text field and click OK
    You should now have a custom text icon that will activate whichever screen you chose for it. You can click any app icon on your screen and follow the same procedure for your apps so all your apps also have text icons.

    [FONTS] In a file manager go to /sdcard/Simple Text/ and create a folder named 'fonts' (that is plural with an 's' at the end). Next go to somewhere like dafont.com and download you some kewl fonts and place them within that 'fonts' directory you just created. Now when you go into Simple Text to do your editing you will have more fonts to choose from.

    That's all there is to it.

    P20110920154653.png


    P20110920154602.png

    You can also work with layers within the creation of your Simple Text. Notice below where I created a new layer, rotated my new text layer and intersected where both words have the letter 'E'.

    P20110920165536.png


    P20110920165654.png

    However you may notice that simple text does have it's limitations:
    • Icons can only be 1x1
    • Works best on adw
    • No way to resize; it is only an icon after all.

    p20110917181350.png


    p20110917181146.png


    p20110917181252.png

    Miscellaneous
    ISSUE: You may experience widget being placed "behind" the black bars. If so try this method provided by user SwiftLegend
    1. Put the widgets/icons you want on TOP of the blackbar FIRST. You need these before anything.
    2. Select a Minimalistic Text Widget, I usually use 1x1. Clear out the text options (Predefined layout > Custom, delete all of the things there)
    3. Once you're back at your homescreen and see the MT Widget, just long press and re size it to your liking.
    You HAVE to make sure that whatever you want on TOP of the blackbar is put on the screen FIRST. Anything put on after will go underneath.

    ISSUE 2: Users have reported that Minimalistic Widget refuses to post/ show up on the homescreen.
    1. Turn your tablet into portrait mode.
    2. Add the widget whilst staying in portrait mode as you apply you designs.
    3. Rotate back to landscape.

    ISSUE 3: You can no longer take full advantage of the screen real estate using adw ex (particularly the corners)
    1. Recent update kills the use of every inch of the screen. In his attempt to emulate ICS, anderwebs made the edges of the screen inaccessible.
    2. Revert back to an older version (1.3.3)

    here's the original layout from the nook color if you guys are interested on putting this on your homescreen HERE

    and here it is in action HEREhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8DxCVzARfE&fmt=38

    Other Users take on "Hubs":

    vrundmc​

    attachment.php

    attachment.php


    "Hubs Remix by CinderWild "

    and lastly hubs for different devices! Make sure you check each thread as people have different ideas that works on all devices. Wished Xda had a tablet general forums.

    special thanks to AhmazinSKM
    special thanks to 00McD00 for the banner
    sepcial thanks to AcIdC0R3
    2
    Try sticking to portrait mode it should post and just switch over to landscape

    Sent from my T959 using Tapatalk
    2
    1.I have that enabled, and rows and columns set to 10. Still a small gap. If you can verify that there's no gap, and seemless like in that screen shot (no overlay), then maybe its just some quirk with my set up.

    ...

    In ADW EX enable the Stretch to Grid option for icons
    2
    Solved!!

    1.) Enable autostretch in the settings

    2.) Click on static text and just type on input bar. You can remove sections by dragging it

    Sent from my T959 using Tapatalk

    1) the icons / widgets / hubs all the way to the top and sides of the screen? Mine still leave a dead space of about 3/4-1" on the sides?
    2) When one uses MT, and you set the 'static text' - where do you type this static text in, ie/ HOME, MUSIC, etc? It keep on showing me the time/date in words?

    I'm using ADW ex with MT.

    Thanks

    So after spending almost the whole day at work on my tab, I think I figured it out.

    Goto ADWSettings/UI Settings/Main Dock/Main Dock Settings and click on None (expand desktop).

    You should now be able to set MT flush on each side of the screen. Hope this helps.
    2
    With or without HD widgets?
    p20110917181444.png


    p20110912230552.png


    p20110917181350.png


    p20110917181146.png


    p20110917181252.png

    I found a better alternative to Minimalistic Text and its Simple Text. Will post tutorial tommorow, and those eager should download it and try.