Android Tips & Tricks: CyanogenMod 7 (Android Smartphones and Tablets)

CyanogenMod 7

CyanogenMod 7 is the ROM of choice for most of the Android. Here are some tricks you can use to make most out of your Android (Cynogen Mod 7).

In the previous post we had posted Tricks for Applications & Games on Android Smartphones, and now tricks for Cynogen Mod,

Use Lockscreen Gestures

You can enable lockscreen gestures that let you quickly jump to an app or perform a task directly from the lockscreen. These can be enabled and customized from
Settings > CyanogenMod Settings > Lockscreen.

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Quickly Dismiss Any Single Notification

In the Notifications panel, swipe to the right on a notification to remove it. (This has since been introduced as a stock feature in Ice Cream Sandwich.)

Change Number of Recent Apps

You know in Android 2.x you can long-press the ‘Home’ button on your phone for a list of the recently used apps? In CM7, you can change the number of apps in this list: open Settings > CyanogenMod Settings > Input Settings > Long-press home settings, and change “Number of recent apps”.

Force-Kill Apps With the Back Button

In Settings > Applications > Development, there’s an option called “Stop app via long-press”, which, when checked, allows you to force-kill the current foreground application by long-pressing the back button. Useful if you frequently use an app that’s a bit flaky, but watch out: some apps use a long-press of the back button as a shortcut for another feature (for example, it shows the History in the default browser).

Save Power by Going Monochrome

You can use RenderFX to set a single colour for the display to use – for example, pick red and you’ll eliminate the green and blue pixel usage, thereby saving power. The option is in CyanogenMod Settings > Interface > Render Effect.

End a Call With a Button Press

You can enable an option that let’s you end a call by pressing the Power button, instead of having to tap the screen. The setting can be enabled in Menu > Settings > Accessibility, and is called “Power Button ends call”.

Change Volume Without Unlocking

You can change your ringer volume quickly, while your phone is locked, by tapping Power to turn on the display, then holding Power to open the power menu, and then using the volume keys to adjust the volume.

(This also gives you a quick way to switch to Silent Mode or reboot the phone from the lock screen.)

Edit Notification Power Widget Buttons

Above the notifications, when you swipe down the bar, is a set of icons for toggling Wi-Fi, silent mode, and so on. You can choose what to show in here in Settings > Interface > Notification Power Widget > Widget Buttons.

Long-pressing on some of these icons will load additional options, or open the related app.

Show Battery Charge in Notification Area

You can replace the vague power icon with one that shows the percentage charge inSettings > Interface > Status Bar Tweaks > Battery Percentage.