[APP] NookColor Tools - Access hidden settings

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Ben74

Inactive Recognized Developer
Oct 18, 2006
433
202
greetings, nookies :)

i just threw together this app for the NookColor. it gives you access to hidden system settings, and allows you to select soft keyboards that are installed.

it's super basic and ugly right now, but i hope it will come in handy. i plan to expand and refine it as time goes on.

when you click the All Settings button, you'll see a list of all the available preference panels. note that some of them don't work. not sure why.

some highlights:
- Development > Auto Mount - turn off usb auto mount
- Development > Manage Applications - uninstall apps, clear defaults
- Battery Use
- SD Card and Phone Storage - shows available space in internal storage
- Testing > Battery Info - status, voltage, temp, etc
- Testing > Battery History
- Testing > Usage statistics

if you find yourself on a screen without a back button, remember that you can swipe left over the notification bar at the bottom, if it's showing.

for info on installing other keyboards, see this thread. basically, you need to copy your keyboard's apk to /system/app and reboot. if you haven't done this before, here's a howto.

new! to enable the non-market apps checkbox, you need to copy this apk to /system/app. if you have 0.1 installed, uninstall it first, then copy 0.2 to /system/app and reboot. this is necessary for the app to have the right permissions to modify secure system settings. the app will still work if you install it the normal way, but you won't be able to use the non-market apps checkbox.

as usual, i accept no responsibility if this messes up your device. use at your own risk.

changelog:

0.2 - added install non-market apps option. apk must be in /system/app to enable this feature. filtered some unusable settings screens out. added some descriptions for the buttons.
 

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clockcycle

Senior Member
Dec 28, 2007
3,664
811
Miami, FL
Moto G Power (2021)
greetings, nookies :)

i just threw together this app for the NookColor. it gives you access to hidden system settings, and allows you to select soft keyboards that are installed.

it's super basic and ugly right now, but i hope it will come in handy. i plan to expand and refine it as time goes on.

when you click the All Settings button, you'll see a list of all the available preference panels. note that some of them don't work. not sure why.

for info on installing other keyboards, see this thread.

as usual, i accept no responsibility if this messes up your device. use at your own risk.


I prefer to be reffered to as Nooker thanks, lol

Nice, I'll give'r a try..

-CC

EDIT: OOh nice, development settings access, usb debug mode, usb auto mounting galore..
 
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Mastiff

Senior Member
Jan 17, 2005
954
22
Thank you very much! Unfortunately it didn't help my keyboard problem because the only keyboard that showed up was "To enable it (the Scandinavian keyboard) go to Settings - Language & keyboard. There you need to check Scandinavian keyboard if it's not checked". So I'm guessin that it's not checked and that the specific settings file (I guess it's like a control panel app in Windows) isn't even there on a Nook. Or is it just not activated that easily?

If I try to launch the keyboard i get "Activity not found". Any idea if there is another setting to activate the keyboard for use?
 
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Ben74

Inactive Recognized Developer
Oct 18, 2006
433
202
Thank you very much! Unfortunately it didn't help my keyboard problem because the only keyboard that showed up was "To enable it (the Scandinavian keyboard) go to Settings - Language & keyboard. There you need to check Scandinavian keyboard if it's not checked". So I'm guessin that it's not checked and that the specific settings file (I guess it's like a control panel app in Windows) isn't even there on a Nook. Or is it just not activated that easily?

If I try to launch the keyboard i get "Activity not found". Any idea if there is another setting to activate the keyboard for use?

see this thread. you have to copy your keyboard apk to /system/app and reboot for it to show up as an option.
 

Mastiff

Senior Member
Jan 17, 2005
954
22
Thanks! I actually tried something like that, but couldn't get it copied because of the settings. Gonna try again tomorrow (getting late her in Norway). :)
 

Ben74

Inactive Recognized Developer
Oct 18, 2006
433
202
new version. read the OP for important instructions.
 

Ben74

Inactive Recognized Developer
Oct 18, 2006
433
202
hold off on installing this app by copying it to /system/app. it seems this might cause your NC to do a factory reset when using any of the bn apps like the library. more info to come when i get a chance to investigate. until then, you can install 0.2 as a normal app.
 

feisty_noodle

Senior Member
Jan 16, 2010
220
81
Ben74, this app is excellent!

Also, I noticed that when NC freaks out and wipes to factory settings, it does not wipe /system. Does this mean that, in principle, your app will allow to keep root (with the Development menu settings)?

Thanks again!
 

Ben74

Inactive Recognized Developer
Oct 18, 2006
433
202
Ben74, this app is excellent!

Also, I noticed that when NC freaks out and wipes to factory settings, it does not wipe /system. Does this mean that, in principle, your app will allow to keep root (with the Development menu settings)?

Thanks again!

are you saying that you also got a factory reset after installing NookColor Tools to /system/app? after the reset, did you still have root? i did a full reflash of /system and /data after that happened to me, so i don't know.
 

feisty_noodle

Senior Member
Jan 16, 2010
220
81
are you saying that you also got a factory reset after installing NookColor Tools to /system/app? after the reset, did you still have root? i did a full reflash of /system and /data after that happened to me, so i don't know.
No, I am not saying that at all.
I am saying that in my unrelated tinkering, I have had wipes that always end up keeping the /system intact. (I suppose they were not of the full-reset-"factory.zip" variety.)

I was simply guessing that if that were the case and your apk survived the "soft" wipe (as I have seen with other apks), then following the ordeal, the NC would still be rooted ... Maybe ...

That would be a cool possibility, no? Not having to go through the initial rooting procedure.
 

feisty_noodle

Senior Member
Jan 16, 2010
220
81
hold off on installing this app by copying it to /system/app. it seems this might cause your NC to do a factory reset when using any of the bn apps like the library. more info to come when i get a chance to investigate. until then, you can install 0.2 as a normal app.
Aha, after reading this post, I understand the context of your question better.

Here is my case: I had done a bunch of work and had NookColor Tools installed as a regular app. After performing some action that involved invoking the NC Home app, I got a message that the Nook encountered some error and will now undergo a factory reset. After the reset, I had to reroot, of course.

The bottomline, in my case, with respect to this discussion, is that the wipe-causing problem occurred while NookColor Tools was not in /system/app folder.

At the moment, I reinstalled everything and this time I put NookColor Tools in /system/app.
Will keep an eye out for interesting developments ...
 
Last edited:

Ben74

Inactive Recognized Developer
Oct 18, 2006
433
202
I see. The factory reset that happened on my NC was the type that only wipes /data. I'm not sure if root would be retained or not. I'm also not certain that the reset I got was related to my app. Has anyone else who installed it to /system/app experienced a reset?

Sent from my NookColor using the XDA app
 

Ben74

Inactive Recognized Developer
Oct 18, 2006
433
202
Ok, thanks for the info. So it seems possible that the reset was due to something else. Has anyone else experienced a reset?

Sent from my NookColor using the XDA app
 

Wordsmith9091

Senior Member
Nov 16, 2008
482
3
I've experienced one of these, but before I'd ever installed your app. It was right after I had tried to install the Market/Gmail fix as described by Mister Muffin. Something about an authentication problem, and then, we're going to reset ... no yes/no option, just went ahead and did it.
 

Ben74

Inactive Recognized Developer
Oct 18, 2006
433
202
ok, it looks like the reset i had was probably caused by something else. i have installed NookColor Tools to my /system/app, and haven't gotten another reset so far. please let me know if anyone has any problems when installing NookColor Tools to /system/app.
 

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    greetings, nookies :)

    i just threw together this app for the NookColor. it gives you access to hidden system settings, and allows you to select soft keyboards that are installed.

    it's super basic and ugly right now, but i hope it will come in handy. i plan to expand and refine it as time goes on.

    when you click the All Settings button, you'll see a list of all the available preference panels. note that some of them don't work. not sure why.

    some highlights:
    - Development > Auto Mount - turn off usb auto mount
    - Development > Manage Applications - uninstall apps, clear defaults
    - Battery Use
    - SD Card and Phone Storage - shows available space in internal storage
    - Testing > Battery Info - status, voltage, temp, etc
    - Testing > Battery History
    - Testing > Usage statistics

    if you find yourself on a screen without a back button, remember that you can swipe left over the notification bar at the bottom, if it's showing.

    for info on installing other keyboards, see this thread. basically, you need to copy your keyboard's apk to /system/app and reboot. if you haven't done this before, here's a howto.

    new! to enable the non-market apps checkbox, you need to copy this apk to /system/app. if you have 0.1 installed, uninstall it first, then copy 0.2 to /system/app and reboot. this is necessary for the app to have the right permissions to modify secure system settings. the app will still work if you install it the normal way, but you won't be able to use the non-market apps checkbox.

    as usual, i accept no responsibility if this messes up your device. use at your own risk.

    changelog:

    0.2 - added install non-market apps option. apk must be in /system/app to enable this feature. filtered some unusable settings screens out. added some descriptions for the buttons.
    1
    greetings, nookies :)

    i just threw together this app for the NookColor. it gives you access to hidden system settings, and allows you to select soft keyboards that are installed.

    it's super basic and ugly right now, but i hope it will come in handy. i plan to expand and refine it as time goes on.

    when you click the All Settings button, you'll see a list of all the available preference panels. note that some of them don't work. not sure why.

    for info on installing other keyboards, see this thread.

    as usual, i accept no responsibility if this messes up your device. use at your own risk.


    I prefer to be reffered to as Nooker thanks, lol

    Nice, I'll give'r a try..

    -CC

    EDIT: OOh nice, development settings access, usb debug mode, usb auto mounting galore..
    1
    Thank you very much! Unfortunately it didn't help my keyboard problem because the only keyboard that showed up was "To enable it (the Scandinavian keyboard) go to Settings - Language & keyboard. There you need to check Scandinavian keyboard if it's not checked". So I'm guessin that it's not checked and that the specific settings file (I guess it's like a control panel app in Windows) isn't even there on a Nook. Or is it just not activated that easily?

    If I try to launch the keyboard i get "Activity not found". Any idea if there is another setting to activate the keyboard for use?
    1
    yeah, i'm willing to release the source. when i have time on monday, i'll throw it up on google code.

    sorry for the delay on this. been busy. i'll just post the source code here. i expect this app will be fairly short lived, since once we have froyo on the NC, we won't need it anymore :)
    1
    I see the same behavior and I have not yet disabled the "cell standby" apks.