Do you visit a certain website ten times a day? The long procedure of launching the browser and digging through bookmarks is already starting to get boring - we have a wonderful solution! Let's take your favorite site and put a shortcut on your Android desktop. After this, you will be able to open the desired web resource with one click on its icon (just like with applications).
So, first, we need the Google Chrome browser installed. Launch Chrome and go to the desired site. In the upper right corner, click on the three vertical dots - a drop-down menu list will open. Find the “Add to Home Screen” item and click on it. A small window will pop up before your eyes with the site name, description and the “Add” button at the bottom. Click on the button, voila - the site icon is now on our main desktop! Move it to the desired screen or position just like other icons.
Another little tip: before adding a tab to your desktop, you can rename it or, for example, remove an unnecessary description. To do this, simply click on the text and a keyboard for editing will appear. Enjoy! Also, we will be glad to hear from you in the comments.
For example, let's display a Word shortcut on the desktop.
Press the Start button 1. Then move the cursor (without clicking the mouse buttons) over the All Programs 2 menu. A list of programs installed on your computer opens. Follow the arrow to this list and hover over the folder you need - Microsoft Office 3.
A list of programs included in Microsoft Office will open. Move the cursor to the program we need:
Microsoft Office Word 2003 4
Now, hovering the cursor over Microsoft Office Word 2003, press the right mouse button.
A context menu will open in front of you.
Releasing the right mouse button, move the cursor to the Send 5 item, a submenu will open on the right, in which you select Desktop ( create shortcut) 6 and press the left mouse button.
That's it, now you can admire the program shortcut that has appeared on your desktop and launch Microsoft Office Word using it.
But sometimes you cannot find the desired program in the main menu (someone accidentally or deliberately deleted the shortcut). Don't despair, the matter can be fixed. If the program is on the computer, then you need to find the program launching file and display a shortcut from it on the desktop.
For the Word text editor, the path will be like this. Using Windows Explorer or the Total Commander file manager, find the Program Files folder, in it - the Microsoft Office folder, then
open the OFFICE11 folder and find the WINWORD.exe file in it
On the found file, right-click to open the context menu, and then act
already proven method. Proceed the same way with any other program.
Find its folder in Program Files, then find the file that launches the program in the folder
(most often it has the extension .exe, but there are others). If you don’t immediately understand which file is launching, double-click it and try to launch it. If the program starts, then everything is correct, this is the main file. Display the shortcut from it on the desktop using the method
shown above.
Note: You cannot delete anything in the Program Files folder using the Delete button. Otherwise the program
which is located in this folder will stop working!
If you don't like the name assigned to the shortcut by the Windows program, for example, Shortcut for Word, then you can change it.
To do this, hover the cursor over the shortcut (icon), right-click to open the context menu and select the item Rename. Immediately the signature text under the label will be highlighted and you can remove the words “Shortcut for”, or completely rename the shortcut. After this, be sure to press the Enter key - only then will your name be saved.
Paying attention that such actions (rename, delete) can be performed only with shortcuts(they have a small black arrow in the lower left corner of the label). Files
programs located in their own folders in Program Files cannot be renamed! Otherwise they will stop working. You can only display shortcuts from them, and do what you want with the shortcuts!
A site visitor asked me a question: " How to display a website shortcut on your desktop?". At first I thought that this made no sense, because links can be placed in Favorites. But after testing this option, I was convinced that this method of opening a site has a right to exist. After clicking on the shortcut, the web browser starts, and at the same time the site opens (two actions at the same time).How to create a shortcut on your desktop to your favorite site that you open every day?Since Internet Explorer is installed along with Windows on any computer, let's create a shortcut using it.
So, open Internet Explorer and open the desired site in it. Now in the File menu move the cursor to the Send link, then to the right and click the link Shortcut to desktop. That's it, shortcut ( icon) is already on the desktop. You can check!
Widgets are one of the unique features of the Android operating system. After all, there are no widgets that could be added to the screen even on the iPhone. In this article, you will learn how to add a widget to your Android screen and how to remove it later.
Depending on the version of Android that is installed on your smartphone, the process of adding widgets to your desktop may vary greatly. In addition, there are differences in different shells. In the standard Android shell, widgets can be added completely differently than in the shell from some conventional Samsung. In general, it is simply impossible to describe all possible options in one article. Therefore, we will consider only a few of the most common methods.
If you have a smartphone with a standard Android shell, then in most cases, in order to add a widget to the screen, you need to click on any empty space on the desktop and hold your finger on the screen until the menu appears. This menu may look different depending on what version of Android is installed on the phone. For example, in older versions of Android it looks something like this:
If you have such a menu, then you need to select the “Widgets” option and then add the desired widget to the screen by selecting it in the list.
In more modern versions of Android, after a long press on an empty space on the desktop, this menu appears. In which you can select “Wallpaper”, “Widgets” or “Settings”.
Select “Widgets”, after which a list of available widgets opens. In order to add one of these widgets to the Android screen, you need to click on it and, while holding your finger on the screen, transfer the widget to the desktop.
In addition, in some versions of Android, the list of widgets can be opened through the application list. To do this, you need to click on the button that opens the list of installed applications (the button with dots at the bottom of the screen).
And after the list of applications opens, you need to swipe to the left to go from the list of applications to the list of widgets.
To add a widget to the screen, do the same as described above. Click on the widget and without releasing your finger, transfer it to one of the desktops.
If you are tired of the widget or you have added the wrong widget, you can always remove it from your desktop. To do this, you need to click on the widget and, without releasing the panel, drag it to the “Delete” button. Typically this button is located at the top or bottom of the desktop.
It happens that the clock on an Android device disappears, for example, after a firmware update. Returning them to the desktop is usually not difficult, since in most cases the widget only stops being displayed on the display, remaining in the device’s memory. We will tell you further how to return the clock to the Android screen or, if necessary, install new ones from the Google application store.
If you accidentally deleted your watch or it disappeared, try displaying it on the screen in the simplest way:
If you deleted the application with the widget, read below on how to install a similar one from Google Play.
Let us next consider the best programs with graphic modules for the main screen of the gadget from those presented in the official application store. Basically, in addition to displaying the time, they also provide a lot of other information, for example, the weather directly at the user’s location according to data received by the utility via GPS.
This is one of the most popular free clock widgets with more than 10 million installations. The small program has very flexible settings, as a result of which the owner of the gadget can set the display on the display the way he needs it. Utility features:
If the owner of the device does not need all this data provided by the utility by default, he can delete it in the settings and leave just the clock. For this:
After this, a minimalistic widget with a clock will appear on the screen, the appearance of which you can also change in accordance with your own preferences.
This clock widget displaying time and date is suitable for users who like Flip Clock style clocks with turning pages. Features of the utility:
The weather display here can also be turned off if necessary, after which only a beautiful retro clock will appear on the screen. You can also test other similar utilities:
If there is a need to change the installed lock screen so that a large dial is displayed on it, then in this case we can recommend the “Luminous Clock Chest”. The utility with such a strange name is free, does not require configuration and does not display any advertising on the lock screen.
The Android operating system has always been famous for its flexibility and abundance of settings. For many, this is a definite plus. You can adapt the device to suit you. If the user is encountering this system for the first time, he may have a number of questions. To prevent this from happening, let's look at what setting up Android includes.
When you turn it on for the first time, the device will ask you to make minimal settings. You can't refuse this. First, you need to select the interface language. The main thing is not to rush in this matter. If you accidentally select, for example, Chinese, then it will be difficult to find the corresponding menu item and return to Russian.
Next, the device will prompt you to enter your Google account information. You can skip the procedure, but it is not advisable to do so. Without an account, you will not be able to download games, use mail, maps and other applications from the Play Market. If you don’t have an account, you can quickly register one (You can read about this in our separate section). The process is quite simple and takes no more than five minutes.
After authorization, the device will ask several more questions to which you need to give a positive answer. Particularly important is the point regarding data backup. Be sure to check the box. Different situations happen in life. The phone can be stolen, drowned, broken, or information simply accidentally erased. Backup will help protect yourself from losing important data. It will be enough to log in from any other device or computer and restore all the necessary data.
This completes the initial Android setup. A welcome message appears on the display, after which you can start using the gadget. The process may differ slightly on different versions of the operating system. Despite this, the main stages remain unchanged.
Above are only the basic settings that are necessary to turn on the gadget. This stage can only be considered the beginning. There are still many parameters ahead that can be changed depending on personal preferences.
This is a very convenient and useful tool that opens with a swipe. Just swipe down from the top of the screen. The curtain includes a menu with the most popular settings. Depending on the company, device model and firmware version, the set of tools may differ. In most cases, the curtain contains the following buttons:
The home screen consists of one or more desktops. They are necessary to place the most popular icons. Adding and removing desktops works differently depending on the launcher. On certain models, the menu is called up by pinching the screen. After this, all desktops appear on the screen and you can add new ones. On other gadgets, you need to move the application icon to the area where the desktop is not present.
All Android devices have the ability to add widgets. This allows you to read important information directly from your desktop. There are a large number of widgets. Among them you can find a clock, weather display, latest messages, system parameters, music player and much more.
To make finer adjustments to your device, you need to go to the “Settings” item. This is a kind of gadget control center. All available functions are concentrated there. Let's look at them in more detail below.
To connect to a wireless network, you need to click on this icon. Next, move the slider to the active position. The system automatically starts scanning available networks. The display will display a list of found networks. There are unprotected connections. In most cases, they are located in public places (cafes, restaurants, hotels). One click is enough to connect to them. The situation changes if a padlock icon appears next to the connection. This means that this network is password protected. After entering the password, you can freely use the Internet.
There is a very useful item in the Wi-fi settings - “Enabled in sleep mode”. By activating this function, Wi-fi will be turned off when the phone is at rest. This allows you to save battery power.
You need to pay special attention to setting up the screen. Firstly, this is a key part of the android, and secondly, it is the main consumer of energy.
It is possible to change the following parameters:
Android capabilities allow you to set any melody for incoming calls, messages, alarms, etc. In addition, you can set the volume level for each sound category.
All smartphones have the ability to enable or disable vibration during calls. The Silent switch turns off all sounds on the device.
This menu may differ depending on the functionality of a particular gadget. On top models, you can activate call acceptance by shaking the phone and much more. These functions are optional and are rarely used in practice.
If you store important information on your smartphone, you need to take care of security. The Android system offers a number of solutions for this:
This is quite enough to protect the gadget from unauthorized access. In addition, the device tries to protect itself from all kinds of viruses. Therefore, an “Unknown Sources” button is provided. By default, Android does not allow you to install applications from third-party sites and other sources. To install a third-party program, you need to activate this function.
There are a number of cases when the date and time on the device is lost. You can configure them in the main menu. To do this, just click on the appropriate tab and indicate the current digital values. You can take a simpler route. By activating the “Network Date and Time” function, the device will synchronize time from the Internet.
Here you can not only see the condition of the battery, but also reduce its consumption. There is a special “Energy Saving” tab for this purpose. By following it, we will see several ways to optimize consumption:
You can activate all categories at once or select one. Unfortunately, the battery saving feature is only available on new versions of Android.
This is one of the main menu items. From here you can manage all applications on the device, as well as delete them. If the device does not have enough RAM, you need to look at the “Running” tab. The currently active applications will be listed there. They can consume a lot of resources and cause the device to slow down. To fix this, the user needs to stop unnecessary applications. Often you can see unused and useless programs there.
Each manufacturer produces gadgets with a certain set of built-in applications. In most cases, they turn out to be of little functionality and take up extra space. Some of them can be removed. To do this, find the application and click on it. Next, a window will open in which you need to click the delete button and confirm your actions. This way, you can free up internal memory and clean your phone of junk.
There is a separate menu item for advanced users. Initially it is not displayed in the system. To use it, you need to find the “About phone” tab and then “Build number”. After that, click on it about ten times. The message “You have become a developer” should appear on the screen. After this, hidden settings will become available.
Here you can activate many functions. For example, change the speed of graphic effects, set a limit for background processes, and much more. The main thing is not to press everything. This may affect the operation of the device.
Manufacturers of Android-based devices are trying to stand out and create an individual graphical shell. In this regard, menus, icons, buttons and other elements look different on all devices. In some cases, the factory shell can be boring and not very functional. There is no need to be upset in this case, since this operating system allows you to install any design. Just go to the application store and download the launcher you like. This is not just a design theme, but a radically new system shell. As a result, the user can set the design to his taste.
By setting this type of rights, the user receives unlimited access to system files. As a result, you can delete system files, adjust the processor frequency, change the built-in system sounds, and much more.
You need to use root rights extremely carefully. Careless actions may cause the device to fail. It is also worth remembering that installing root rights entails loss of warranty from the manufacturer. You can read more about root rights on our website in the corresponding article.
If the Android settings are not carried out correctly and there is no desire to correct your mistakes, you can reset it. This will cause all previously made changes to be returned to factory defaults. But it’s worth remembering that this erases some of the data stored in the gadget’s memory. Therefore, before resetting, you must back up all important information. It often helps in troubleshooting problems related to incorrect operation of the device. Read about how to do this correctly in our
Devices running on the Android operating system have an unlimited number of settings. However, it is not at all necessary to use them all. Such abundance was created not with the aim of complicating the buyer’s life, but to provide him with ample opportunities to personalize the device. For normal use, just set the date, time and create a Google account. And then, at any time, if you want to use the full potential of the system, fine-tune the device.
