BUG: Desktop shortcuts lose their names after reboot

Support for Android version of Total Commander

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trids
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BUG: Desktop shortcuts lose their names after reboot

Post by *trids »

Hi there

In android 4.1.2 (Samsung Galaxy S2) and 4.2.2 (Samsung Galaxy S4), after creating shortcuts to different folders with the TC widget, each shortcut is helpfully named according to the folder it is linked to. But after a reboot (restart), the TC shortcuts are all renamed to "Total Commander".

Each one still opens its selected/linked folder, but at the desktop level there is no telling them apart.

This is the case when the shortcuts are left on the desktop, and also when the shortcuts are placed into desktop folders.
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ghisler(Author)
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Post by *ghisler(Author) »

Sounds like a bug of the Samsung launcher - I don't get this problem on my devices.

If anyone has an idea how to avoid this on Samsung devices, please let me know!
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briflan
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Clearing RAM mimics plroblem

Post by *briflan »

I've noticed on my Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note 2, also running Android v4.1.2, that besides restarting the phone, clearing the RAM of inactive and background processes is another method (as the original poster noted) of removing folder names from Total Commander shortcut icons on the phone's home screen (ie, unwanted behavior).

To clarify exactly what i mean by "clearing the RAM", here's how i did it:

On this phone, it's done by holding down the middle (Home) button, then selecting the bottom-left icon to access the RAM Manager, and then tapping "Clear Memory" and confirming.

Perhaps that information helps--it's as though the folder names of the TC shortcuts are stored in a volatile location instead of in a database at some more permanent location. On this phone (which has 16GB internal memory), and others like it, the APP 2 SD app doesn't work to save internal memory by moving apps to the "External SD Card". I don't know if that is a related issue.

PS
thanks for a great Android File Manager. i've been waiting for this glitch to be fixed before providing feedback at Google Play, but the previous Android version 2.01 had the same problem.

On a more positive note,
I just figured out how to use TC to create an internet shortcut file. The file need not be located on the home screen. The file can include a text description (of any length) within the file and can be selected (checked) and then activated with a custom TC button that works with any similarly named file. How cool is that? Very cool. That's a hot feature that could be advertised.

I wish the Windows TC "Branch" command was included in the Android version. And maybe a button to easily reverse the position of the panels (ie, simultaneously show the contents of the left panel on the right side, while showing the previous contents of the right panel on the left side)--otherwise it's a tedious 6-step process that i don't know how to automate.

But thanks again for a great app, and good luck fixing the folder-shortcut-name glitch.

By the way, the Antek File Manager v3.2 for Android supposedly offers the same folder-shortcut-on-home-screen functionality, but it doesn't even start to work (perhaps because because the character they use for blank space is %2520 instead of just %20). That file manager is a bit quirky (eg, doesn't remember the content of the second pane when you switch from landscape to portrait orientation).
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TouchWiz folder shortcut workaround: Use ES File Explorer

Post by *briflan »

As previously noted by hius07, Posted: Thu May 31, 2012 11:37 pm,

Like Total Comander, ES File Explorer can create a shortcut on the Android Home Screen for any file or folder--the shortcut name is inherited and not renameable.

Unlike Total Commander, a widget isn't necessary and the folder shortcut names are not forgotten.

This seems to work fine on my Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note 2 with Samsung's TouchWiz Launcher. I'm using ES Explorer v1.6 from November 30, 2012. The icons for S-note files within this version of ES don't look like S-notes, but they do open S-notes files with a single tap without my having to modify anything.

The names of the ES folder shortcuts are retained on my Home Screen, and within folders located on my Home Screen, even after i clear the device RAM cache as i described in my previous post, so i figure the folder names will also survive a device reboot.

In ES File Explorer v3, the shortcuts are accessed differently but everything stated above still applies. The app is free and i haven't noticed any ads.

Another person on this forum, LordKaos Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 1:40 pm, stated they were using Astro File Manager for this purpose--i haven't tried that.

Two other free file managers i found allow u to assign a name to shortcuts which can differ from the file/folder name: FX File Explorer (via it's bookmark feature), and File Manager by Rhythm Software (via a widget). But neither of these 2 file managers are able to easily open files that u associate with 3rd party apps (ie, it requires more than just a single tap). File Manager has ads, FX doesn't.

By the way, all three of these file managers (ES v3, FX, and File Manager by Rhythm) feature unlimited tabs. Perhaps not an easy feature to add to Total Commander without an entire makeover of the interface, but a very desireable feature for me. FX manages to include adjustable dual panes, but the dual panes don't automatically adjust in landscape mode like they do in Total Commander.
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Post by *ghisler(Author) »

Unfortunately creating shortcuts on the start screen requires yet another permission, so I will not add this - I'm using the official way to create shortcuts. Btw, here on the nexus 7, they do not lose their name! This must be a bug in Samsung TouchWiz. Unfortunately I don't know what workaround is used by other file managers to fix this bug.
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Post by *seb- »

I recently changed to a SAM galaxy S4 Advanced (2nd generation with better 4G) i also stumbled upon this. Its very annoying... i used to have 4-5 shortcuts/bookmarks to point to different folders i recently use.

Every reboot they get named to Totalcommander.

Maybe its worth a try to use my companys connection to Samsung to get this looked at... - not that i have a little hope they will fix it ;)
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Post by *ghisler(Author) »

Maybe the following information helps them: When the shortcut is created, Total Commander sets the shortcut title to the file name like this:
retIntent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_SHORTCUT_NAME,fileName);

When you Google for EXTRA_SHORTCUT_NAME, you can see that other Samsung users suffer from the same bug:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/android-developers/7SX7Wri7qsw

I didn't find any solution, though.
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Post by *seb- »

seb- wrote: Maybe its worth a try to use my companys connection to Samsung to get this looked at... - not that i have a little hope they will fix it ;)
So... it might be some time ago we discussed this topic.

But... it seems that Samsung fixed this for S4+ (i9505) some months back. Sorry for forgetting to update the thread :?

My "Camera" shortcut works after reboot and is not renamed, it keeps its name.
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