AndroidApps

Tasker scenes can be displayed on top of lock screens

Yep, another highly specific Tasker article for the experienced Tasker users out there. This time I want to highlight a feature I’ve found myself using lately, namely the ability for Tasker scenes to be displayed on top of a lock screen, assuming you can actually trigger the scene without unlocking.

I’ve actually used this “feature” before, specifically in my Gmail notification profile, which you can see in the video above. It actually uses multiple scenes with different display types (a setting you get when using the Show Scene action to trigger a scene) in order to make the screen turn on and display the scene in fullscreen, with the black background covering anything that isn’t the Gmail logo. AMOLED screens display the color black by simply not displaying anything at all (the pixels are off), so by using scenes in this way I managed to make a large Gmail logo flash briefly on the screen, turning the screen on and putting itself on top of the lock screen that would otherwise have been displayed.

I didn’t consider any additional uses for displaying scenes above lock screens at the time, but recently I added a shortcut to my WidgetLocker lock screen to quickly access my pop-up settings scene. I didn’t realize it would display above the lock screen at that point, but once I did, I also realized how useful that would be. There’s nothing sensitive in my pop-up settings box, so having it be accessible without having to unlock the screen is not a security issue. The reason why I have that box there at all is for quick access to certain features, and having it not even require a screen unlock just makes it that much faster. I can now edit my to do lists, use my “web cam window,” and lots more without even going past the lock screen.

This little “trick” with scenes has a lot of potential, but you also have to be careful so you don’t place anything sensitive in such a scene. It would actually be possible to create your very own lock screen scene this way, and have it display automatically when the screen is turned on. It would be more limited than apps like WidgetLocker when it comes to widget and unlock slider support, but it would be possible to create different lock screens for different situations, switch them automatically, and so on.

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Andreas Ødegård

Andreas Ødegård is more interested in aftermarket (and user created) software and hardware than chasing the latest gadgets. His day job as a teacher keeps him interested in education tech and takes up most of his time.

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