Shortcuts are, well, shortcuts. They make our life convenient and don’t let us waste our time. On Android, shortcuts make it easier to open apps, open specific settings, directly go to a specific website, and more. This article talks about various Android shortcuts and how you can set them up.
How to Set Up Android shortcuts for Apps
Let’s start with the basics. You probably know how to do this already. For those who don’t know, you can add a shortcut to any app that is installed on your Android. Here’s how to do it:
Step 1: Open App Drawer.
Step 2: Locate the app you have to make a shortcut of.
Step 3: Long press the app icon. Depending on the App Drawer, you will either need to just drag and drop the icon to the home screen, or tap on Add to Home.
Step 4: Once the app’s shortcut is on the home screen, you can move it around by long-pressing it and organize as per your preference.
How to Set Up Android Shortcuts for Functions
This is only available on some apps. On some apps, you can create a shortcut for specific app functions. For example, on Google Chrome you can make a function shortcut for opening incognito more or a new tab. Here’s How to do it:
Step 1: Open App Drawer.
Step 2: Long press the app icon. You will see a list of available function shortcuts if there are any.
Step 3: Long press the function you want to create a shortcut of.
Step 4: Long press the shortcut and move it to your preferred location.
How to Set Up Android Shortcuts for Websites
You can also create shortcuts for websites. Personally, I use this to create a shortcut for the TraktTV website as they do not have an official app for Android yet. Here’s how to do it:
Step 1: Open the Google Chrome app.
Step 2: Open the website you want a shortcut of.
Step 3: Tap on the ellipsis icon (3 vertical dots).
Step 4: Tap on Add to Home Screen.
Step 5: Type in a name and then hit Add.
How to Set up Android Shortcuts for System Functions
On Android, you can also create shortcuts of specific system functions such as screen time out. You may need 3rd party app launcher for this to work. For this tutorial, I am using Nova Launcher Prime. Here’s how to do it:
Step 1: Press and hold on to an empty space on the home screen.
Step 2: Slide up the Widgets panel.
Step 3: Long press drag and drop the widget. A list of available activities will open. The list will be long so you might need some time to locate the exact function you want a shortcut of.
Step 4: Tap on the activity.
You can also create setting shortcuts on the Nova launcher. To do so:
Step 1: Press and hold on to an empty space on the home screen.
Step 2: Slide up the Widgets panel.
Step 3: Scroll down till you find the Settings widget. Press and hold the widget to drag and drop it on the home screen. The settings shortcut screen will open and there you can select a shortcut.
This is it. These are the various shortcuts and steps to set them up on Android.
