How-To: Folder Manipulation

CraftLass’ post explaining folders on the Droid inspired me to organize my apps into folders – especially because since starting this blog I’ve been downloading and trying a lot of apps, and my slide-up app selector (don’t know the official name for it) was getting to be cumbersome to scroll through!

I had a few issues when creating the folders, so I thought I’d jot down some quick notes to help anyone that needs it. First, a recap of what CraftLass explained:

• Long-press on the home screen background (“desktop”) to get the Add menu, then select Folders > New Folder, click the folder, then long-press its name to edit it.
• Unfortunately, folders can’t be put inside folders.

Now for some things I figured out by trial-and-error (with help from Google searches):

• Icons in folders seem to be arranged in the order in which you add them, so to rearrange them, you have to remove the icons and add them in the order you want them to appear.
• To move a folder to the right or left homescreen without deleting it and recreating it, long-press the folder so it moves when you drag it, then drag the icon to the very edge of the homescreen and hold it there until the next homescreen slides into place, and drop it. This didn’t always work for me, and I didn’t find a “trick” to make my attempts more successful. I just tried holding it on the edge of the screen a few times and it eventually worked.
• You can add an app to the homescreen and to a folder. Just drag the icon on your homescreen into the folder and add the app again to your homescreen!
• There are some neat pre-made folders in the Folders menu, such as “Starred Contacts”. When you add this folder to your homescreen, you have quick access to the contacts you’ve marked with a star (in the upper-right corner of the contact screen).

If you have any other questions about using folders or any other helpful tidbits, please add them to the comments!

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2 Responses to “How-To: Folder Manipulation”

1. LMC says:

   February 6, 2010 at 5:30 pm

   Apps Organizer is a really cool, free app that allows you to group your apps into categories such as Games, Multimedia, Tools, etc. It also has really cool icons for your homescreen that function pretty much like folders, except they automatically alphabetize your apps. http://www.androlib.com/android.application.com-google-code-appsorganizer-qqmD.aspx

   Reply
2. Renee says:

   February 6, 2010 at 8:23 pm

   Thanks for the info, LMC!

   Reply