The best Android shortcuts that aren’t built-in

This article has been updated and was first published on April 11, 2019

The charm of Android system lies in its high customizability. Applications can be integrated with the operating system, adding shortcuts beyond built-in features to maximize operation of your device. The following four applications will help you achieve this.

Create shortcuts to specific interfaces within the application

The icons on the home screen provide quick access to your favorite apps, but most icons will only bring you to the main interface of the open app. You still need to click multiple times to access the required features, which can become cumbersome if you repeat this process every day. Some applications may allow you to create shortcuts for these features (for example, Google Docs allows you to create a shortcut on the home screen to create a new document), but not all applications have this feature.

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There are many apps in the Play Store that can help you create shortcuts to specific activities or features within other apps. QuickShortcutMaker is such a tool. Once you install it, you can add shortcuts to specific locations within a specific application. For example, you can create shortcuts, jump directly to Netflix's search interface, open your Amazon wishlist, or create a new project in the to-do list now.

Again, some applications have this feature themselves, and while determining the activity to be targeted may feel a little mysterious (because they have names like ".activity.PrefsActivity"), this is still very useful.

Add swipe gestures to home screen shortcuts with Nova Launcher Prime

Unfortunately, you can only accommodate so many icons on the home screen before the shortcut itself becomes unmanageable. If you're tired of scrolling through multi-page apps and are willing to replace your home screen launcher, you can get more new shortcuts. You may lose some features of the current home screen, but you will get more rewards.

Nova Launcher Prime ($4.99) is a very popular third-party home screen replacement that includes one of my favorite features: swipe gesture. Nova allows you to add extra touch gestures to the home screen to invoke various actions. You can customize these gestures from Nova's settings, located under gestures and input .

However, what is more practical (and what I am currently addicted to) is adding a swipe gesture to the existing icons of the home screen. On the Nova home screen, long press one of the app icons and click the Edit button. Select the No option under Swipe Action to create a gesture to start the application, launch activities, or perform any other features supported by Nova. From then on, when you slide the icon upward, it will do what you want.

I use this for various purposes. Sliding up the map icon will immediately navigate me home, and swiping up the phone icon will immediately call my wife. This is similar to QuickShortcutMaker's activity, but you don't need to allocate home screen space specifically for such shortcuts. Nova is still able to create activity shortcut icons, which will be very handy if you focus more on visual effects.

Add more options to the Quick Settings menu with Tile Shortcuts

When you drag down from the top of your phone screen, you will see all notifications. Drag down again and you will see the Quick Settings menu: several icons that enable or disable features such as Airplane Mode, Do Not Disturb mode, or flashlight with just one click. You can edit these tiles by clicking the Pencil button, allowing you to add new tiles or delete tiles you don't use.

However, Android's quick setup tile selection is quite limited, which is why Tile Shortcuts is a savior. You can add any activity as a tile, or add toggle settings such as adaptive brightness, start a calculator, or perform various other tasks. I personally use it to enable and disable Android's "Always On" active display feature, which is very useful, but it will consume too much power if it is turned on.

One of the disadvantages of Tiles is that for some tiles, you need to plug your phone into your computer and run ADB commands to grant certain permissions. This can be a bit daunting if you have never used ADB or command line before, but tech-savvy users should be able to follow the instructions.

Create custom voice commands with Tasker and automate all operations

The above tips allow you to create clickable shortcuts to access a large number of different features, which can greatly speed up the pace of your life. But what if you don't have to click anything at all?

Tasker is a very popular app that has been around for years and is the perfect showcase for Android's hidden features. With Tasker, you can create rules that trigger specific events based on specific conditions. For example, when you plug in your headset, you can have your phone automatically launch the music app, or keep it silent when the phone is placed face down on the table.

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The plugin further extends the functionality of the application. For example, AutoVoice allows you to create custom "OK Google" voice commands. If you can imagine, Tasker is likely to do this, although in some cases it may require additional permissions from the command line, or even root permissions. If these requirements seem overly complex, you can still use the most basic features of Tasker.

Like other apps we've discussed, Tasker can also create activity shortcuts and quick settings tile, or you can use it to create your own app. Just know that the complexity of Tasker depends on what you want to do, so if you want to really experience its full functionality, be ready to experiment and read some stuff.

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