Customizable, Resizeable Folder Widget?

[3happypenguins]

So I love, love, love what this guy has done to customize the Home Screen of his Android mini PC.

If you skip ahead to 5:04, you will see him create a widget where you can create a nice big button with a custom image to open an app. It's great!

But my problem is that I want to create a nice big button that will open a folder that contains my emulator apps. I don't want every single emulator to be on the Home Screen (by themselves), but it makes more sense to have them organized into a folder there.

MetroUI only lets me execute and app or a URL. Does anyone have any ideas as to what app I can use to create the equivalent of all that, but with a folder? I have tried folder apps, but they don't allow me to resize the actual app to make it as big as the other "buttons" (some do let me pick a custom image, though).

Any ideas?

 

[3happypenguins]

Or maybe there is a way to create a folder that will execute as an app?

 

[Hadron]

You want something that will let you create a custom widget, then assign it as a shortcut to a folder app's folder.

There are a number of apps that can do this, but a versatile choice would be Zooper. You can create a widget which is just an image, resize it as you like, then set the "widget on tap action" to be a shortcut to a folder app's folder - I just tested this with a Folder Organizer folder link, so know that this works.

Simple Text also works for this, and can use images as well as text, but won't let me resize larger than 2x2.

 

[3happypenguins]

Sorry... can you explain what you mean "shortcut to a folder app's folder"? How do I make the folder app folder?

I had downloaded Zooper (free) previously, but I couldn't really test it or anything. The free version is useless. I didn't even know what execution on tap commands they offered. And then the app froze on me.

 

[Hadron]

I've never known Zooper freeze, whether free or paid (because of course I used the free app for a while before paying). What device/OS version do you have?

To use the folder app I know as an example, in Folder Organizer I create a "new label" (little pencil and + icon at the bottom). Choose a name, add apps to it. Then in Zooper I create a widget, go to layout, select widget on tap action, wait for that to load, scroll twice to the right to get "Shortcuts", and one of the options is "FO Folder link - Folder Organizer". Select that and it asks which of my Folder Organizer folders I want to use. Then I have a widget that when I tap on it it will open the selected folder directly. I'd expect something similar to work with other folder apps, but as I say, that's the one I know.

If you do this then I'd suggest customising the button to your taste before setting the action on tap. Once you do that then of course tapping on it will not open the widget customisation options, though if you do need to make further changes you can just open Zooper from the app drawer and then tap "configure widgets" and use that to select the widget and edit it.

There are other apps which will let you create custom widgets, and in any of these the trick will be to set the widget action to be a shortcut, then choose the shortcut to open the folder created by the folder app (which is what I meant by "a folder app's folder").

 

[3happypenguins]

Thank-you, Hadron! Do you know of any other apps that can create custom widgets? Any free ones? I don't mind paying for Zooper, but I'd like to try it before I buy it. But when I tried the free version, it wouldn't let me save it, it wouldn't let me choose an action, etc. So it was kind of pointless.

 

[Hadron]

Simple Text, which I mentioned, can do that but with more limitations.

UCCW (Ultimate Custom Clock Widget) can also make widgets and define targets on them that will open apps - I imagine that can open shortcuts too. Last time I used that it was possible to use it free as well as paid.