How to quickly access wireless, alarm, and other settings on Dell Streak using custom shortcut
Since yesterday's home launchers poll has confirmed the popularity of ADW.Launcher and LauncherPro among Dell Streak users, here's a tip from StreakSmart reader Sandesh on how to use those apps to access that pop-up alarm/battery/wireless settings menu you might remember from Dell's original Android 1.6 skin.
Although there are widgets out there that will let you control the wireless radios on your Streak and perhaps set/manage alarms, this little menu combines those things, displays the battery charge percentage, provides one-tap access to the main settings menu, and only requires a single 1×1 space on the home screen. Read on to find out how to get it on your Dell Streak or Streak 7.
When open, the menu looks like it's coming from the taskbar/status bar at the top but really it's just launching from an icon. In the photo above, for example, that "Wireless" settings icon sitting beneath the temperature is what I tapped to call up the menu.
Here's how it looks in portrait mode.
The "More settings…" option takes you to the Streak's main settings menu. It's not shown in landscape mode, but all you have to do is scroll down a bit to get to it.
Now on to the tutorial.
Using ADW.Launcher
1. Long press on your Streak's home screen to bring up the "Add to Home screen menu."
2. Tap Custom shortcut >Pick your activity.
3. From the "Select activity" menu that appears, tap Activities.
4. Scroll down and tap Settings to view the sub-listings then Wireless & networks (.StatusSettings), which should be the fourth item in the list.
5. If desired, rename the custom shortcut you are about to create. You can also change the icon by tapping on the existing one. When you're satisfied with the name and icon, tap OK and the new shortcut will automatically appear on your home screen.
Using LauncherPro
1. Long press on your Streak's home screen to bring up the "Add to Home screen menu."
2. Tap Shortcuts > Activities.
3. Scroll down and tap Settings > Wireless & networks com.android.settings.StatusSettings.
4. Rename and change the icon as desired. Tap OK and the new shortcut will automatically appear on your home screen.
Using Better Cut & another launcher
If your current home launcher doesn't include the ability to create a custom shortcut, you should be able to do it manually using an app like Better Cut ($1.99). I say "should" because I haven't been able to get it to work correctly on the StreakDroid 1.6.1 ROM I have on my Streak. So this method may or may not work for you.
There are other apps in the Market that offer the same/similar functionality, but the following instructions were written for Better Cut.
1. Long press on your Streak's home screen to bring up the "Add to Home screen menu."
2. Tap Shortcuts > Better Cut > All activities.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the list and tap Wireless & networks Settings – StatusSettings.
4. Rename and change the icon as desired. Tap Create and the new shortcut will automatically appear on your home screen.
Whether it will actually launch the correct menu is another story. On StreakDroid 1.6.1, tapping the new icon just takes you to the main settings menu. Some activities are simply not launchable in Better Cut, though, so that might be the problem too. Good luck with it at any rate and let me know if it works with your ROM/launcher combination.
Thanks to Sandesh for the original ADW tip!
