Lock screen gestures on HTC EVO 4G AOSP ROMs help you save time
If you use an AOSP ROM on your HTC EVO 4G like I do, then you're probably jealous of Sense users. At least a little bit, anyway. The first time I ran a Sense 3.0 ROM, I thought to myself, "Wow, these app shortcuts on the lock screen are quite nifty." But, for the sake of stability and features, I always found myself going back to KushDeck's 2.3.4 Gingerbread ROM.
What can we do to make up for the lack of these app shortcuts on our lock screens? I suppose we could just spend three extra seconds opening the app drawer and tapping the app. But I'm too busy hiding pictures to be wasting my time in the app drawer.
Luckily, if you are running CyanogenMod or KushDeck's 2.3.4 Gingerbread, you have a lock screen feature built-in to your ROM that is arguably better than Sense's new app shortcuts: lock screen gestures.
Normally on the AOSP lock screen, you have two options: unlock the phone or adjust the volume of your EVO. Hidden, though, is a feature that allows you to get to apps faster than ever before.
When you unlock your phone, you have a goal in your head. It may be to check G&E for another great post from yours truly. It may be to see what everybody is tweeting about. Maybe you need to send a text. Lock screen gestures are nice because they reduce your pocket-to-action time drastically.
The first step involves enabling them on your EVO. This varies slightly between the two ROMs, but the procedure is nearly identical. First, get to the Settings app (Menu -> Settings, app drawer, etc.). Next, go to Advanced Settings or CyanogenMod Settings (depending on your ROM). Then go to the Lockscreen option, followed by Lockscreen Gestures. Now, check the first box.
Congratulations! You have turned on lock screen gestures. Now let's build some gestures.
Above is my custom list of lock screen gestures. My most used gestures are for the camera and the flashlight. This takes previously tedious steps and replaces them with a swipe of your finger.
Now you are probably wondering how to use this nifty feature. I'll show you.
Under the Lockscreen Gestures settings, select Build Gestures. At the bottom is a button that says "Add gesture" (see screenshot above). Now, select the action. For this example, I will set up "Shortcut or activity" to open Skype faster. After selecting the action you want the gesture to complete, you must select a gesture. For this action I chose an "S":
After hitting Done on the bottom, your gesture is saved.
To use the lock screen gestures, simply lock your EVO. After pressing the power button on your EVO the screen will light up again. Now, just above the unlock/volume sliding tabs, you can trace your gesture. In this example, Skype is opened after I trace an "S" on the screen.
As you start to use this feature, you may get tired of that yellow line following your finger (especially when you're just unlocking). You can change the color to be more appealing, as I chose to do for my Skype example, or you can disable the "trails" altogether (the Show Gesture Trails option is found in the Lockscreen Gestures settings). This makes your lock screen much cleaner, but I would recommend leaving the trails on as you get used to the gestures.
I hope all of you using an AOSP ROM on your HTC EVO will start taking advantage of this time-saving feature.
