- Viewing Default Widgets
- Using the Widgets
- Using the Quick Briefing Home Screen
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Using the Widgets
All widgets enable you to open the related app on the screen to view more information and make changes to the app. Some widgets have controls contained within the widget to update and/or change information you view in the widget.
Learn What It’s Like Outside with the Weather Widget
Let’s begin by viewing the widget that appears on the primary Home screen: the Weather widget.
- On the Home screen, update the current temperature and sky conditions for your area by tapping the Refresh icon. After a few seconds, the sky conditions image and text as well as the current temperature update on the screen. The time and date of your last refresh appear to the left of the Refresh icon.
Open the Weather app by tapping a blank area inside the widget.
Add a city for which you want to display weather information by tapping the Add icon in the menu bar.
- If you see the Attention window on the screen that asks you to use the Samsung keyboard personalized data feature, tap OK in the window.
- Type the city you’re looking for in the Search Cities field. As you type, a list of potential matches appears below the field.
Select the city that matches your search term by tapping the city in the list.
Swipe up and down the list of cities that match your search term within the list. When you find the city for which you want to display weather information, tap the city in the list.
- Four areas comprise the report section at the top of the Weather screen. The top of the screen displays current weather information, including the current sky conditions for your area, the current temperature, the forecast high and low temperatures for the day, and information about precipitation, humidity, and the ultraviolet (UV) index.
- The middle of the section includes an extended weather forecast for the next six days.
- Check the bottom of the section to see the date and time the information was last updated. Tap the Refresh icon to get the most current weather information that appears at the top of the screen.
- Below the report section you see a list of all cities you’re tracking; tap the city name in the list to view the current weather in the report section.
Tap More to view more weather information for your area in either the Internet or Chrome app.
The AccuWeather.com page appears and displays current information for your area. Swipe up and down the screen to view the current wind speed, humidity level, and the amount of cloud cover in the sky.
- Return to the Weather widget screen by tapping the Back touch button.
View a current weather map by tapping Weather Map.
A Google map of the larger area around your location appears on the screen. Your current location appears in the center of the map; in this example, it’s Los Angeles, California.
- Return to the Weather widget screen by tapping the Back touch button.
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Get Social Network Updates with Flipboard
The Galaxy Tab S has the Flipboard app installed by default. This social media aggregation service enables you to get updates from all the social media websites you use within one app. You can add the Flipboard widget to a new or existing Home screen so you can access your Flipboard stories more quickly.
- Return to the Home screen, and then tap and hold on the Recent touch button for a couple of seconds.
Tap Widgets.
- Swipe from right to left to view the Flipboard widgets group on page 2 of the Widgets screen. This example adds the Flipboard (Small) widget to an existing Home screen.
Tap the Flipboard widget thumbnail image to view the Flipboard (Small) widget in the pop-up window.
Add the Flipboard (Small) widget to the main Home screen under the Weather widget. Refer to Chapter 5 if you need more information about how to add widgets to a Home screen.
Tap anywhere in the widget.
Swipe from right to left in the screen to start setting up Flipboard.
Sign up using your Google, Facebook, or email account by tapping Flipboard Account.
Tap Sign In.
If you sign up with your email account, type your email address and Flipboard password, and then tap Sign In. Otherwise, tap the Sign In with Google or Sign In with Facebook button. This example shows you how to sign in with your Facebook account.
- Type the email address or phone number and the password associated with your Facebook account.
Tap Log In.
You can view all current Flipboard lead stories on the Cover Stories screen. Swipe from right to left to view the main Flipboard screen.
Tap a category tile to view news stories within that category.
Press the Home button to return to the Home screen that contains the Flipboard widget. Now that you have set up the Flipboard app, the latest cover story appears within the widget.
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Add Videos to the Video Widget
If you want to view videos without having to open the Video app in the Apps screen, you can view them directly from within the Video widget on a Home screen. The most recent video you viewed appears within the widget, but if the Video app can’t find a video, then the widget invites you to tap it to add one.
- Tap and hold on the Recent touch button for a couple of seconds.
Tap Widgets.
Swipe from right to left to view the Video widget on page 3 of the Widgets screen.
Add the Video widget on a new Home screen. Refer to Chapter 5 if you need more information about how to add widgets to a Home screen.
Tap anywhere in the widget.
After you tap the Video widget, the default video plays in the Video app screen. You can drag and drop videos from your computer using Windows Media Player or another media player that you learned about in Chapter 3, “Setting Up the Galaxy Tab S,” or you can record a video with the Camera app. (Find out how to record video in Chapter 12, “Playing Music and Video.”)
Open the video controls by tapping the video while it is playing. The controls appear above and below the screen and disappear after three seconds if you don’t use them. Tap the video on the screen to view the controls again.
- Tap the List icon in the playback controls box to view a list of videos in the My Video window at the bottom of the screen. Each video shows a thumbnail image of a frame in the video as well as the name of the video. A blue border appears around the thumbnail image if you’re currently playing the video.
Close the My Video window by tapping the List icon.
- View details about the video by tapping the Menu icon at the top of the screen.
Tap Details.
The video file information appears within the Details window. Close the window by tapping the Close button.
Close the Video app by pressing the Home button. The widget shows the last video frame that you viewed.
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Access Chrome Bookmarks Quickly Using Bookmarks
The Bookmarks widget enables you to store bookmarks within the Chrome browser app. After you set up the Bookmarks widget, you can browse for bookmarks directly within the widget and open the bookmarked website in the Internet or Chrome app.
Add the Chrome Bookmarks (2 х 2) widget to your desired Home screen if you haven’t done so already.
The Bookmarks widget appears on the Home screen’s Setup screen so you can see how the widget will look on the screen. You can move the widget around on the screen and you can resize the widget by tapping, holding, and dragging one of the four resizing handles on the sides of the widget box. For this example, I resized the widget so it appears in the bottom half of the Home screen.
- Tap the Back touch button. The widget appears on the screen, but if you haven’t set up Chrome yet, there are no bookmarks within the widget.
Tap the Chrome icon in the widget.
In the Chrome introductory window, tap Done.
- Return to the Home screen by pressing the Home button.
Tap the folder you want to open within the widget.
- Swipe your finger up and down within the widget to view all the bookmarks (and any subfolders) contained within the folder. Go back to the previous folder by tapping the folder name at the top left of the folder list.
Tap the bookmark that contains the website you want to view.
- If you see the Complete Action Using window, tap the browser app icon to view the website within that browser app. This example uses the Chrome app.
Tap the Always button to open websites from the widget using the selected browser app. If you want the app to ask you to select your browser app each time you open a bookmarked website, tap the Just Once button.
The website appears in your desired browser app.
- Tap the Back touch button to return to the Home screen that contains the Bookmarks app.
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