How to use the android

Android 101: How to Use Your Android Smartphone or Tablet

Learn the basics of the Android operating system

What to Know

• The basic operation of Android devices revolves around the Home Screen, Notifications, Search Bar, App Drawer, and Dock.
• To move an app, tap and drag the app icon around the screen. To create a folder, drag an app icon and drop it onto another icon.
• To delete an app permanently, go to Settings and choose Apps & notifications. Select an app to uninstall, then choose Uninstall.

Android devices may differ depending on the manufacturer, but many features are the same. Whether you converted from the iPhone to the Samsung Galaxy phone or bought a new tablet, here are the basics of how to navigate and customize your Android smartphone or tablet, whatever the manufacturer.

Android 101: Home Screen, Notifications, Search Bar, App Drawer, and Dock

The Home Screen is the screen you see when you are not inside an app. There’s a lot of interesting stuff packed in this screen, and there’s a lot you can do with it to be more productive using your Samsung Galaxy, Google Nexus, or whichever Android device you own.

The Notification Center

The top of the Home Screen tells you quite a bit about what’s going on with your smartphone or tablet. The right side displays information such as your carrier or Wi-Fi connection strength, battery life, and the current time. The left side of this bar lets you know what type of notifications you have.

For example, if you see the Gmail icon, you have new mail messages. A battery icon might indicate a low battery. To read the full notifications, hold your finger on this bar to display a quick view of your notifications, then swipe down with your finger to reveal the full notifications.

The Search Bar

The Google Search bar is at the top of the screen or below the time widget on most Android smartphones and tablets. The Search bar also provides quick access to Google voice search. To use voice search, tap the microphone on the left side of the Search bar.

Apps and Widgets

The main portion of the screen contains icons for apps and widgets. Widgets are small apps that run on the Home screen. The Clock is one example of a widget.

When you swipe from right to left to move from page to page, the Search bar and the icons at the bottom of the screen display on each page.

The Dock

The App Dock is at the bottom of the screen and, depending on the device, can hold up to seven apps. The App Dock is a great shortcut to your most-used apps. The apps in the App Dock remain present no matter which page of the Home screen is displayed.

Create a folder in the App Dock and have quick access to more than seven apps.

App Drawer

The App Drawer contains every app installed and enabled on your smartphone or tablet listed in alphabetical order. If you can’t locate an app, go to the App Drawer. The App Drawer is usually depicted by a white circle with black dots lined up on the inside.

Android Buttons

Some devices have virtual buttons at the bottom of the screen, and others have real buttons below the screen. These are the common buttons found on Android smartphones and tablets:

• The arrow or triangle pointing left is the Back button. This acts similar to the Back button on a web browser. In an app, press the Back button to go to a previous screen in that app.
• The Home button is either a circle or is bigger than the other buttons. It hides the app on the screen and displays the Home screen.
• The Task button is usually depicted with a box or as several boxes stacked on each other. This button displays your recently opened apps. Either tap an app to switch between apps or tap the X button to close an app.

There are three real buttons on the side of the device. The top button is the Suspend button, which is used to turn off, put to sleep, or reboot the device. To reboot a device, hold the Suspend button for several seconds, then choose Power off. The other two buttons adjust the volume.

To capture a photo of the screen, hold the Suspend and Volume down buttons at the same time.

Customize the Android Home Screen

If you want to customize the Home screen to get more out of it, there are many things that can be done by pressing and moving your finger around the screen. Move apps, create folders, and add new widgets to the Home screen, such as a monthly calendar.

How to Move an App

Place an app anywhere on the screen between the search bar and the dock as long as there is an empty space for it. And if you do move it to the same place as an app or a widget, they will move out of the way. This is all accomplished with a drag-and-drop type of gesture.

To move an app icon:

Hold your finger on the app icon.

When the icon becomes slightly larger, drag your finger across the screen.

When the app is in the location you want, remove your finger from the screen.

To move the icon to another page, drag the app icon to the side of the screen and wait for Android to switch to the next page.

When the icon is in the location you want, lift your finger to drop the app in place.

How to Create a Folder

Create a folder in the same way you move an app. However, instead of moving it to a new spot, drop it directly on top of another app.

Drag an app and drop it on top of another app. A circle appears with a notification that a folder will be created.

Tap the new folder to open it and view the apps it contains.

Tap Unnamed Folder, then enter a descriptive name for the folder.

To add new apps to the folder, drag the app icon to the folder and drop it.

How to Delete an App Icon

When you delete an app icon, only the icon is deleted from the Android device, not the app and its data.

Press and hold the app icon you want to delete.

Drag the icon to the top of the screen and drop it on the X Remove.

The app icon is deleted, but the app remains installed on the device.

How to Delete the Actual App

Sometimes, removing the icon isn’t enough. If you want to free up space on your device, get rid of the entire app. This is easy enough to do, although it isn’t as simple as moving the icon around the screen.

Open the Settings app. If you can’t find it on your Home Screen, open the App Drawer.

Choose Apps or Apps & notifications, depending on the Android version.

In the list of apps on the smartphone or tablet, tap the app you want to uninstall.

Tap Uninstall, then confirm your choice.

Some of the apps that come with the device can’t be uninstalled. Instead, tap Disable to disable the app so that it won’t run in the background.

If your device is running low on storage space, delete the app to speed up your Android device.

How to Add Widgets to the Home Screen

Widgets are the best part of Android. Whether you have a Samsung Galaxy, Google Pixel, or Motorola Z, use widgets to customize your device to your specifications.

Widgets are small apps that are designed to run on a portion of the Home Screen rather than running in full-screen mode. The clock widget that is popular on most Android devices displays the time in a larger font than the clock at the upper-right corner of the screen.

You can also put your calendar on the screen as a widget for quick access to meetings, appointments, events, and reminders you have for the day.

To add a widget to your Home screen:

Press your finger on an empty spot of the Home screen.

Tap Widgets to see a list of available widgets.

Press your finger on a widget. The widget menu disappears and the Home screen appears.

Drag the widget to any open spot.

Move the widget over an app or another widget. The app or widget moves to make space for the new widget.

To place the widget on a different page of the Home Screen, drag the widget to the edge of the screen to change pages.

When the widget is in the location you want, lift your finger from the screen.

When There’s No Widget Option

Not every device is the same. For example, the Nvidia Shield tablet adds a widget as described above. The Google Nexus tablet uses an alternative scheme that is popular among some Android devices.

If you didn’t see an option for widgets when you held your finger on the screen, follow these steps:

Open the App Drawer. The App Drawer icon looks like a circle with black dots lining up on the inside.

In the App Drawer, tap the Widgets tab.

Hold your finger on a widget to select it.

When the Home Screen appears, drag the widget to where you want it, then lift your finger from the screen to drop it in that location.

How to Use Voice Commands on Your Android Device

If you want the equivalent of Siri on your Samsung Galaxy, HTC, or another Android tablet, Google Assistant and Samsung Bixby bring you a true virtual assistant. There are also a number of personal assistant apps on the Google Play store.

Google Assistant

Google Assistant is the main conduit to the Google Home line of smart speakers and devices, and it’s also available as an Android or iOS app. Once installed, issue voice commands to Google Assistant using the phrase, «Hey Google,» or «OK Google.»

After you launch Assistant, you can say, «Create a meeting tomorrow at 8 a.m.» The Assistant will ask for a meeting name and other details. Say, «Show me a nearby pizza restaurant,» and the Assistant will display your options. Set alarms, calculate tips, ask general interest questions, and much more.

Aside from simple queries, Google Assistant can handle more complicated tasks, including making dinner reservations using an AI-powered technology called Google Duplex. Duplex also powers easy online food ordering, automatically filling in your personal info and payment details while you check out. (You’ll need to find a participating partner restaurant to use this feature.)

Bixby

Bixby’s capabilities are similar to Google Assistant’s. The main difference is that Google Assistant is integrated into the Google universe via its Google Home products, while Bixby is a handy personal assistant when you’re out and about. Find Bixby’s full capabilities on the Samsung Galaxy S10 and S9, plus the Galaxy Note 9. Other Samsung Galaxy devices have more limited Bixby capabilities.

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Getting to know Android Studio and the files that make up your apps

In this post, you will learn how to use Android Studio to view and open the files that make up your projects. In doing so, you’ll gain a better understanding of how an Android app is structured. To learn how to set-up Android studio, check out our recent post.

While Android Studio gets easier to use all the time, it can still be a little intimidating for newcomers. The tool needs to let you view and edit many different files, several of which work in completely different ways. Unlike some other forms of programming, you don’t start with a single blank screen in Android Studio, but rather lots of files, windows, and ready-written code.

Don’t worry, it will all make sense once you get into it. With a little guidance, you’ll be a pro in no time. So open up the IDE and let’s begin the guided tour.

How to use Android Studio’s UI

If you’re going to learn how to use Android Studio, you need to understand what everything does. There are a whole lot of windows, icons, and menu options which can all feel a bit like sensory overload.

The good news is you don’t need to know what everything does just yet and the easiest way to learn is to learn each button and option as you encounter it.

Let’s start with the absolute basics. The source code is on your right in the largest window. Whichever file you’ve selected will be what shows here. Just above the window there is a tab which will likely say MainActivity.java. This means the file you’re looking at and editing is the MainActivity.java file, which loads by default when your app runs unless you chose a different name for it right at the start. Above that is the route of the file:

App Name > App > Src > Main > Java > Package Name > App Name > MainActivity

You can have more than one file open at a time and switch between them by hitting the tabs along the top. You probably have two files open already, in fact: activity_main.xml and MainActivity.java. Try switching between these, if you so wish.

Over on the left is a hierarchy. This is your project structure. It basically acts like a file explorer to show you all of the files involved in your project. If you were to select another activity, a class or a layout file, then it would open up in the big window on the right.

Finally, down at the bottom you will have another window where you can see messages, a terminal, an Android Monitor and more. The window may be minimized at the moment but if you click on any of these bottom options, it will pop up.

This window is what you will use for debugging your app (testing it).

Of course along the top you also have your menu. There’s far more here than you need to worry about for now. For now you’ll just want to save your app from time to time in the file menu, and use “Run” to test your app. In future, you’ll use other menus like Tools for more advanced tasks like creating virtual devices or updating the SDK.

Files and project structure

What confused me most when I started learning how to use Android Studio was the range of different files that made up a single app. If you have any background in other types of programming, you might be used to creating a single file and then hitting “Run” to test it out. Here though, we have our activities, layout files, resource files, manifest, and Gradle scripts. It’s all a bit confusing.

If we break it down, it doesn’t have to be quite so intimidating.

MainActivity.java provides the bulk of your code to start (as mentioned, you did have the option to change this when creating your new app project). This is the code for the first activity: the first screen of your app. It handles the logic of button presses and is where you’ll write code to handle specific functions, like if you want to make the phone vibrate.

This will normally already be open when you start your new project. Otherwise, you’ll find it in the left window by navigating here:

app > java > package name > MainActivity.java

Knowing how to find and open up files like this is crucial to understanding Android Studio.

The second important part of the app is the activity_main.xml file. This is the layout file, meaning it will handle the design and the appearance of your app. It’s where we’ll add buttons for instance. You’ll find it under:

app > res > layout > activity_main.xml

If you have another look at MainActivity.java, you’ll notice there’s a line that says this:

This tells us the appearance for that activity is located in resources > layout and is called activity_main. We could change this to any other XML file if we wished. So activity_main.xml handles the appearance of our app and MainActivity.Java provides the logic. The two files combine to form our activity. To make additional activities (screens), normally we’d want an additional one of each.

When editing the XML files, you’ll notice they are formatted differently from Java files:

Notice the tabs at the bottom that let you toggle between a Design and Text view. This lets you drag and drop views (elements like buttons and text boxes) wherever you want them in the layout. Learning how to use Android Studio’s design view will save you a lot of time typing up XML.

More useful files

Also in the res directory is a folder called drawable. This is where you’ll place any images you want to reference later on. In “Values” you have some more xml files:

• colors.xml
• strings.xml
• styles.xml

These store values for your colors and text the that will populate your apps, among other things. You can reference them from any other application. The mipmap folder is where you’ll put the icon for your image. Note that resource files can’t include spaces or capitals, which is why they use underscores instead of camel case (where capital letters start each word).

This is another important file:

app > manifests > AndroidManifest.xml

This contains crucial information about your app. It’s where you can change things like your app’s name, the version of Android you want to target, and the permissions it will require.

Finally, Gradle is a “build automation system.” This indexes all the files in your app and builds that final APK when you’re ready to run or distribute your app. It’s also where you will add “dependencies,” which means you can use libraries with additional functionality for your code. You can pretty much just leave Gradle to do its thing 90 percent of the time. If you find notes that say things like “Gradle build finished,” now you know what it means.

Every now and then, Gradle can get a little confused and fail to update all the files in your app. If your app refuses to run when really it should, try selecting this will solve the problem:

Build > Clean Project

Otherwise, you can ignore Gradle until you want to start doing fancy stuff with libraries or instant apps. That stuff won’t come until much later in your journey as a developer.

Summary

While there are a lot more features and options under the hood, this basic introduction should tell you everything you need to know for now to use Android Studio for some easy projects. Understanding the structure of your app and knowing what all the files do will prevent a lot of confusion. Going forward, all our tutorials should make a lot more sense.

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