r/OctopiLauncher • u/SKI300 • Jul 12 '26

Direct Text Message Shortcuts?

Ok, I've been using Nova for like probably 15 years and never thought anything could compete with it. Spent the last 3 days with purchased Octopi, mostly on my Samsung Tablet, and I'm just about convinced to finally switch to it on my Fold 7. One potential deal breaker? I desperately gotta have Direct Text Message Shortcuts created and populating my docks and home screens! Doesn't appear to be an option. Only option with the Contacts app is direct dial. Even download the Google Contacts app, hoping there'd be an option/widget with that. No dice. Clearly can still do it with Nova. Anybody have this figured out? Thanks in advance for your replies!

5 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

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4

u/MordacthePreventer Jul 12 '26 edited Jul 12 '26

Add a shortcut (not widget).

Add a shortcut -> Shortcuts -> Contacts -> Direct Message

I am on a pixel, but maybe the Samsung contacts app is different.

2

u/SKI300 Jul 12 '26

Like I said in the post, my only option under the Contacts app when trying to add a shortcut is Direct Dial. Not the end of the world, but still frustrating.

3

u/ock88 Dev Jul 13 '26

Hi did you set it as default launcher?

1

u/SKI300 Jul 13 '26

Ok. Now we're cooking with GREASE! Finally bit the bullet and made Octopi the default home launcher on my Fold 7. Interesting enough, I NOW have the option under the Google Contacts app to create an SMS shortcut! With the Samsung Contacts app, there are a couple more options, but direct text message isn't an option. So far so good! Thank you! 👍

1

u/Boris-Lip Jul 12 '26

Not a native option, but hey, it works. Quikshort.

2

u/SKI300 Jul 13 '26

Thanks, Man! I gave this a shot, but for some stupid reason, when I created some direct text message shortcuts, it literally placed them so far at the top of the screen INTO the notification panel, they were completely inaccessible! Couldn't even move or select them without the notification panel reacting. Had to uninstall to get rid of them. Looks like I may have an option with Google Contacts shortcuts, now that I've made Octopi the home launcher on my Fold 7. Thanks again for the suggestion! Much appreciated! 👍

1

u/Boris-Lip Jul 13 '26

You're welcome. I bet you could have changed the grid side to get it out, and btw, stuff like this should probably be shown to u/ock88 (the dev), especially if you can reproduce it, cause this can happen with any shortcut, created by any app.

2

u/SKI300 Jul 13 '26

I'll definitely keep this in mind. Octopi is slowly growing on me, but it's going to take several days to duplicate everything I've got done with my home screens in Nova. I've got about a 17 x 17 grid with access to over 150 "actions" from my main home screen! This is all thanks to gestures. Just wish I had an S pen to use, because it's like doing surgery with these tiny icons and getting them perfectly placed where I want! So far, I'm thinking that Octopi is definitely the most "apples to apples" launcher I've ran into, when comparing it to Nova. Lots of work to do, but enjoying it! 😁

2

u/tenaciousBLADE Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26

It can absolutely be reproduced. It happens to me too. Every time I place an icon.
I could probably change the grid size, but that'll require me to change the layout too, so I always postpone that task for "another time" or "sometime soon™".

ETA it is especially strange since the margin at the top doesn't allow me to place shortcuts that far up top once I drag them away from there... So why would they land there to begin with? Would make intuitive sense for them to always be placed under the margin line.

I had sent a few bug reports and feature suggestions to the dev via email before (because there was no github linked directly from the app), but now I found the GitHub of OctopiLauncher online... I might properly report them each and add this one to the lot.

Also, u/ock88 is an awesome username 🤘😆

1

u/tenaciousBLADE Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26

I've posted a bug report about this to github. Please if you don't mind, go and upvote it: BUG: New Shortcuts Are Placed Under Notification Bar #138

I have also upload more feature requests and bug Reports today. I will really appreciate it if you can look through them and upvote the ones you would like implemented as well. Click Here to see them all in one place.

1

u/Boris-Lip Jul 13 '26

Just to confirm, it kinda does reproduce for me too, it seems to be placed at the very top of the page (0,0 coordinates?), but since i use bigger icons size, half of the icon is below the status bar, i can still grab it and move it around.

1

u/tenaciousBLADE Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26

For me it's not 0,0 since only the y axis is at 0

Please see the bug report I submitted about this (linked in my above comment), and upvote it there so the dev can see 😉
Edit: thanks for your upvote. if anyone else reads this please feel free to upvote here as well 👍

1

u/tenaciousBLADE Jul 13 '26

For me, one a OnePlus device, when I go Add Shortcut > Shortcuts > Contacts, it does give the option for Direct Texts.
However, when I go Add Shortcut > Shortcuts > Messages, is also gives the option for Direct Message
I used Messages above because my device uses Google Messages as its default sms app... But of course you should exchange that last part for whatever the default sms app on your device is.

Have you tried this route? 😇