Simple Tap tile to open a folder?

[michele654]

I would like to add a Simple Tap tile that opens a folder.  If I choose "Open a File" it won't let me pick a folder.  I can't type in the program box to add the command line switches to tell explorer.exe what folder to open.

Suggestions?

-Michele

[michele654]

Nothing huh?  Any one know how I make this a suggestion to Lenovo?

[someotherguy · Accepted solution]

It can be done, but it is tricky.  If you have any questions about these steps feel free to write back!

1.  using windows explorer, create a shortcut to the folder you want (right-click, then choose "New", then "Shortcut"), e.g. "myshortcut.lnk".

2.  create a SimpleTap tile to some existing document on your computer (it doesn't matter which document, you will be modifying it later)

3.  using windows explorer, navigate to c:\users\USERNAME\appdata\roaming\lenovo\simpletap  (where USERNAME is the name of the user you log into on Windows).  Note that this folder may be hidden.

4.  find the XML file that corresponds to the SimpleTap tile that you created in step 2 (you should be able to tell from the file name, and you can rename the file if you want).

5.  using notepad, edit the XML file to modify the <path> section.  Point it to the shortcut lnk file you created in step 1.

6.  save the file, then log off windows and log in again (to restart simpletap and load the modified XML file).

Sorry this is so complicated, we didn't think of a case where someone would want to open a folder in SimpleTap, so we can address this in a future release.  But for now the steps I listed above should get you doing what you want to do.  Thanks for your feedback!

[michele654]

Thanks!  That worked great.

I want to open a folder because I run my own  business, and have a folder that has all my business files in it, customer folders, income/expense spreadsheets, etc.  I'm used to just opening that folder and navigating from there when I'm doing the banking, invoicing, etc. and it's four extra clicks to start at the computer location.  I use SimpleTap like quicklaunch, and so wanted a button to open my business folder too.

Thanks again!

-Michele

[jkriegel]

Would like to do this, too, but can't seem to find:  c:\users\USERNAME\appdata\roaming\lenovo\simpletap on an x201T (using my login name as USERNAME).  Does not appear to be any file called "appdata".  Is there an easier way to  do this?  Also, are there any additional SimpleTap tiles that may be downloaded?  The "Settings" screen has a "Get more tiles" button, but the link just goes to the intro video and related information on the Lenovo website.

[someotherguy]

appdata is a hidden folder, you can get to it by entering the path directly into the explorer window, or else change the option for hidden folders so that explorer shows them.

As of today there aren't any additional tiles to download, sorry.

[jkriegel]

As a follow-up question, my "Turn the wireless radios on or off" and (though less frequently) "Camera privacy" tiles occasionally disappear when I open SimpleTap.  They turn back on just as randomly, so this is more of an annoyance than a problem, but just wondered if there's a fix, or if anyone else is experiencing this issue (on an x201t tablet).

[someotherguy]

I have not heard of that problem, but thank you for writing about it.  May I ask if this problem of disappearing tiles only happens when you are on battery power, or does it also happen when you are plugged in?  Thanks!

[jkriegel]

Definitely when on battery power.  I never noticed it occurring when plugged in, but will watch to see if it happens then, too.  Thanks.

[someotherguy]

Thanks for the information.  If you're using power manager, I think the default profile for the new tablets is to throttle back the CPU for maximum battery life.  It seems that sometimes this can cause some events in SimpleTap to time-out and this is what causes those 2 tiles to disappear sometimes.  We are going to fix this in an upcoming release of SimpleTap.

In general, are you pleased with the performance of your system while running on battery power?  If not, I would recommend changing some of the settings in power manager to increase performance.  This would also solve the problem you reported in SimpleTap.

Thanks again for the information about this problem!