Launch Tasks With Ease Using 1Tap Quick Bar [Android 2.0.1+]

There are plenty of apps for Android, which make launching applications a snap, through the use of shortcuts, widgets, notification items, and more. But sometimes, the fact that this only works for launching applications can leave much to be desired.

You may wish you could have shortcuts which automatically call someone with a single tap, or create a new text message to a specific person, and so on. Maybe you’d also like to be able to access more system settings in one tap than you can without any modifications?

While this functionality isn’t built into Android, there’s thankfully an Android task launcher which takes care of this.

About 1Tap Quick Bar

1Tap Quick Bar is an application which lives inside your notification area. Within this notification space are a bunch of icons, which you can tap to launch whatever event was programmed for that icon. This is very useful for Android system functions (such as telephone calls) which require multiple taps. Instead, if you frequently call the same person, you can program a button to do it all in one go. There are many other functions which can be programmed.

Adding Items To Your Quick Bar

After you install it, you can launch the settings for the Android task launcher app by finding it in your app drawer. You’ll see that there are no quick bars currently configured, and yes, you can create multiple ones if a single quick bar isn’t enough for all your shortcuts. When you click on “New“, you’ll be presented with a lot of different actions you can choose from.

This includes changing practically any setting that has to do with the device itself, shortcuts to any installed applications, shortcuts to special areas of other apps, contacts (where you can then choose whether to call, text, or email them), recent items for when you’re adding your next item, and “other” which includes special functions such as media controls, camera, and reboot.

Any item that you add appears in the turquoise area between the tabs and the items, and you can remove them by simply tapping on them.

Design Your Quick Bar

You’ll notice that there are two tabs at the top, items and design. When you tap on Design, there are just as many options available as in the other tab. You can choose between many different background patterns, icon colors, text color, type of status icon, and some other special settings. There is virtually nothing which cannot be changed with 1Tap Quick Bar.

Once you finished customizing, you’ll need to hit “Apply” in the main screen to activate your changes.

Don’t Like Notification Bars? Use Widgets!

You can also do something similar with Widgets on your home screens. Just create one just like you add any other widget, and then you can change the widget through the app’s settings. This is great if you don’t want a quick bar in your notifications area and find that the stock power control widget should include different items.

Installation

Installation is as easy as usual with Android apps. Just search for “quick bar” in the Google Play Store, or follow this link in your device’s or desktop’s browser. The Android task launcher app is relatively small so you should be ready to go in just a few moments.

Conclusion

I find that 1Tap Quick Bar adds a nice touch of control to your device which many users could benefit from. Whether the items included are more geared towards making quick calls or towards easily tweaking more of the device’s settings, the app is flexible enough to accommodate anyone who uses it. If you’re interested, I highly recommend to give it a try.

Do you think shortcuts like these are useful? What parts of your Android experience are, in your opinion, complicated? Let us know in the comments!

Originally published on MakeUseOf.com. Great site, check it out.