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I am going to start my new app which is going to be a Home Replacement. I have been through the example provided by google. but i am still little bit confused.

like Where should i start? Should i create a normal activity by extending an Activity class then just set the background image(wallpaper) and use a grid view to show all applications?

How to make Android to treat my app as a launcher process?

so many question running in my mind and please don't advise me to go through Android Launcher because it has almost more than 100 classes and what i need is just a simple start after that i know what i want from my app.

Charles
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Varundroid
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4 Answers4

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Found an amazing article related to the question: http://arnab.ch/blog/2013/08/how-to-write-custom-launcher-app-in-android/

Basher51
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I was in the same position as you a little while back. I took a look at the official Launcher2 code, which is way too frikin complicated to be an example to start off with. The Home example included in the SDK itself is (in my honest opinion) too complicated for it's intended purpose, i.e. helping guys like you and me learn how to build a custom launcher...what the heck Google.

Anyways, I put together a quick super simple launcher (called SimpleLauncher, surprise) that is no more than 2 classes and < 200 lines of code to help me understand the basics of a custom Android app launcher. It's only intended to be an easy reference for the basics and is kind of buggy, but take a look. I think it's much easier to understand than Google's examples.

pdsouza
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  • Your launcher app in Github doesn't compile... Some classes (like `ApplicationsStackLayout`) are absent. – jaibatrik Oct 25 '13 at 06:06
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I would start by looking at the source for the launcher that ships with Android to get an idea of how it works and how the code is structured:

https://android.googlesource.com/platform/packages/apps/Launcher2

Erich Douglass
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    i specially mentioned in my question that please do not advise me to go through Android default launcher. LOL and you did the same but still you try to help me out and i really appreciate it. Thanks mate. :) – Varundroid Aug 25 '11 at 19:08
  • Its been a long time now since you posted this answer, but your link is dead. – DroidDev Jan 14 '14 at 10:52
  • Can any one help me how can i add my widget as preload on home screen. When i build and run my custom launcher, my widget shown by default at home screen. Thanks in advance – Syeful Islam May 27 '17 at 05:32
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I'm not sure if I understood your question correctly, but are you looking for a startup animation of some sort? If so, check this out.

How to implement application startup animation in android

Community
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Manish Burman
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  • he clearly mentioned that he want to start my new app which is going to be a Home Replacement. – Kosh Jun 28 '13 at 21:12