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Help Looking for hidden apps in ICS? Try ES file explorer (Polaris, twitter, etc)

Geek Goddess

Geek Goddess

Newbie
It appears as though there is a Twitter app and Polaris Office app installed on the phone, but no way to change settings on them. Why are they there? Are they just there to handle associated mime types and/or actions such as using Twitter to "Share" with certain other apps? Polaris Office comes up as an option when I want to open a Word Doc, so the association is there for that. On the OG EVO we had another office-type product (name escapes me for the moment because I use Documents to Go), but you were able to access it from your apps and change settings if you wanted to. Same for Twitter (which was Peep).

Twitter for HTC Sense and Polaris Office are listed under "All" when you go to your Apps from your Settings, yet they're not listed in the list of Applications when I look at my app list from the launcher. Just wondering why they'd put something useful into the OS (or maybe Sense) and not allow you to have access to it ...
 
I've been able to add my twitter account through the accounts screen, but the only way I can read my timeline is through the widget.
 
Wish I had the phone to check. :D

I'm told that the One X retains the ICS feature to deactivate and reactivate system apps under the manage applications area, but I don't know how to describe it.

When you select one, do you see options?
 
EarlyMon said:
Wish I had the phone to check. :D

I'm told that the One X retains the ICS feature to deactivate and reactivate system apps under the manage applications area, but I don't know how to describe it.

When you select one, do you see options?
Click to expand...

Yes there is an option to disable, then enable apps from the Settings / applications "app XYZ" . Both of these are enabled. I wonder if these are supposed to be used like the integrated Facebook for HTC Sense that was on the OG? There wasn't an app you could open, it was "threaded" into the UI. Still learning. :)
 
marctronixx said:
the polaris office does not seem to use any storage space. its just "0.00". maybe its a place holder :confused:
Click to expand...

Bizarre.

I wonder if they started to include the old bloatware and didn't think to clear something out, or they believed that the old approach for Polaris was successful and the placeholder makes the preference setting possible. :confused:

Just bizarre.

Do you see placeholders for other older bloatware?
 
no i dont see any programs... tunein radio shows installed and uses 12.00kb but i dont see it listed under apps and you can uninstall it it seems (shows "uininstall" as an option).
 
I'm guessing they are listed in the settings > apps area because only part of the software is installed. Facebook for HTC Sense is also listed, whereas it's not in the applications drawer either. Both Twitter and Facebook have an API Engine listed directly below them in the settings > apps, so it would actually make sense that while Twitter and Facebook are listed, the only thing actually "installed" on the phone is the portion of the software needed by the API in order to integrate them into *other* apps that need to "share".

It was just curious to me because on my OG EVO, those things were also listed in the applications drawer (i.e. I'd have Facebook listed (the "official" app) as well as "Facebook for HTC Sense" and BOTH had settings I could access and change).

I'm sure these things were just added to Sense to be used as "helper" apps, but I would have liked to be able to uninstall them if I wished (i.e. if I wanted to get rid of Twitter or Polaris Office out of the list of "use this to open this" dialog), or change settings to them. [THIS part is SOLVED .. see below post ]

None of these things are a big deal, I just noticed they were there and it was different from my OG EVO.
 
So, I started playing around with options and found out something. I don't know if it's something that's just in ICS or it's Sense, so maybe I'm mentioning something people already know. This is my first chance to play with ICS though, so it's new to *me*. :)

Unlike installed apps, these "built-in" apps have an option to "disable" them rather than "uninstall them":

app1.png


So, I thought I'd see what happened when I clicked "disable". Here is the dialog that came up:

apps2.png


I clicked "OK" and then checked my "open this with this" associations, and the beautiful thing was, Polaris Office was no longer presented as an option on the "open with" dialog! Yay! So there IS a way to get at least the built-in apps off that list. I then went back to see if I could enable the app again if I wanted to, and at first I thought I no longer had access to it because it wasn't there alphabetically. But it seems once you disable a built-in app, it just moves it to the bottom of your list:

apps3.png


I'm not sure how helpful this info is for others, but I generally like to keep my interface as "clean" as possible, so - for me - it's nice to know I can get rid of unused "helper" apps from the "open this with" dialog. While I know I can get rid of some of those dialogs by choosing to say "always use this", there are some that I want options for, so I'm happy to know I can pare down that list even a little bit. :)
​
 
but you are not removing the app, just removing it from the list of options. its still in memory and still taking up space somewhere. thats not a big deal but i just want to make sure anyone reading this understands that.
 
Found a solution for to have this "hidden" apps as shortcuts on the home screen ... on Sprint Community :)

1. Launch ES File Explorer
2. Run AppMgr
3. Select Category; Under "Select types" click "All"
4. Find the app you are looking for and do a long press on it; "Operations" will pop up, pick shortcut.

You will now have a shortcut for the hidden apps.

http://community.sprint.com/baw/message/428244

Harry
 
Harry2 said:
Found a solution for to have this "hidden" apps as shortcuts on the home screen ... on Sprint Community :)

1. Launch ES File Explorer
2. Run AppMgr
3. Select Category; Under "Select types" click "All"
4. Find the app you are looking for and do a long press on it; "Operations" will pop up, pick shortcut.

You will now have a shortcut for the hidden apps.

http://community.sprint.com/baw/message/428244

Harry
Click to expand...

Stupendous find!
So we can add SoundHound to the list of 'hidden' applications. It is integrated into the stock 'Music' application.

Twitter and Facebook for HTC Sense show up in the EStrongs application list as well, however it fails to create a shortcut.
 
The Music Widget on the LTEvo has a little SoundHound button you can press, which is cool, but the built in SoundHound app doesn't seem accessible outside of this widget. When I search for it in the apps there is nothing there. I even upgraded it through the Play store and still the same thing. I like having it on the main tool bar so if I'm in the car I can go straight to the app if there's something I want it to find off the radio.

Anyone able to figure out where the SoundHound app is or how I can get a shortcut onto the main homescreen bar thing?
 
Vanquished said:
... Anyone able to figure out where the SoundHound app is or how I can get a shortcut onto the main homescreen bar thing?
Click to expand...

If SoundHound is to find in Settings, Apps, All ... , also it should be in ES File Explorer's app manager.

Couldn't you create a SoundHound shortcut on home screen using ES File Explorer ?
Some app there can't be shortcut.

Harry
 
I'm able to create an app shortcut using Es File Explorer, but I don't know where it has been created, not on any of th
 
its possible the app you are trying to create a shortcut to is not actually creating the shortcut. :p

what app are you trying to create a shortcut with. post it up so others who may have it can try.
 
skip66 said:
I'm able to create an app shortcut using Es File Explorer, but I don't know where it has been created, not on any of thé 5 screens of my ICS. I want it to be on one of those screens, can anyone help (sorry, new to Android)
Click to expand...

The shortcut would be placed on the current home screen.
So, on this home screen has to be a free space for the new icon ;)

As has been said above, some apps in ES's app manager can't be shortcut (Sense doesn't permit it ? ).
But then, ES would show shortly a message about.

Harry
 
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