New App: MyOwnHotKeys, Override meaningless default hotkeys with your own hotkeys

**Vijik** · 02-16-2012, 09:46 PM

Did you always wonder if you could change the default, mostly meaningless BlackBerry Home Screen hotkeys (like N for BlackBerry Messenger, V for Saved Messages, etc) with your own customisable, meaningful and easy to remember hotkeys?

Did you get disappointed when you switched to a new BlackBerry model and the hotkeys you were used to use were no longer available?

If so, try the new App, MyOwnHotKeys (on App World) to override all the existing hotkeys (or just the ones you want) and create your own 27 hotkeys (A-Z, Space) to launch the app you want not the app RIM wants.

If 27 hotkeys are not enough, you can even enable multiclick for any hotkey to have an boosted hotkey like this:

One click of M: Messages
Double Click of M: Memopad
Triple Click of M: Maps
Quadruple click of M: Google Maps

These hotkeys can also launch your macro shortcuts in the ShortcutMe application.
True one click of an advance macro shortcut in ShortcutMe!

**gbsn** · 02-16-2012, 11:33 PM

Oh, every time i think about completely putting my blackberry to rest you just come up with something new haha.

I have a limitation though, there are some keys not being remapped.

A, D, L, U, V are not working on my side. OS 7.1.205 9810, all permissions given.

**Vijik** · 02-17-2012, 05:04 AM

Have you done a battery pull restart after installing the app?

A restart is needed after the first install.

**Vijik** · 02-17-2012, 07:42 AM

After you install the app, you can hide the new icons. The hotkeys will launch the apps you have set for hotkeys (no need to have icons visible in Home Screen), or if a hot key is not set, the config page will show up automatically.

Icons can be kept visible if you have not set the 'Launch By Typing' for Home Screen to 'Application Shortcuts'. That means you can click hotkey icons, and use the keypad for Universal Search.

**visortgw** · 02-17-2012, 07:53 AM

Great little app. Please consider adding a checkbox to revert to the factory default (where one is defined) on a per key basis. Thanks!

**TomCanuck** · 02-17-2012, 10:11 AM

Originally Posted by gbsn

Oh, every time i think about completely putting my blackberry to rest you just come up with something new haha.

I have a limitation though, there are some keys not being remapped.

A, D, L, U, V are not working on my side. OS 7.1.205 9810, all permissions given.

the icons must remain on the top level of the homescreen also. as in for A, D, L, U, C, V, etc. if you put them into a folder the default takes back over. Just hide them on the homescreen and you'll be fine.

Originally Posted by visortgw

Great little app. Please consider adding a checkbox to revert to the factory default (where one is defined) on a per key basis. Thanks!

you can disable the app on a per key basis in the config for that key. So if you want V to go back to launching Saved Messages, hit V and in the multiclick menu go to V Setup, hit the dropdown menu for "Mode" and choose disable. there's also the choice to disable multiclick on a per key basis within the same drop down menu

**TomCanuck** · 02-17-2012, 10:22 AM

Couple things I'll mention here that people might not know. Is if you're like me and very impatient you can hit the enter key to launch whatever is highlighted in the multiclick menu.

example:
I use the Browser more than anything else on my "B" multiclick, so instead of hitting B and waiting, i just hit B then EnterKey and BAM, launched.

Another is the EscKey. I'm still not used to the multi click aspect yet, so a lot of times i'll hit say the A key (for address book) but will forget the multi click menu is going to come up and I'll just start typing a name. this of course launches whatever hotkey i finish typing on. But rather than launch something I didn't want, hitting the EscKey will cancel out of MOHK.

just two little things that i think really help, especially until the user gets used to the multiclick.

**visortgw** · 02-17-2012, 10:47 AM

Originally Posted by Juggalo20

you can disable the app on a per key basis in the config for that key. So if you want V to go back to launching Saved Messages, hit V and in the multiclick menu go to V Setup, hit the dropdown menu for "Mode" and choose disable. there's also the choice to disable multiclick on a per key basis within the same drop down menu

Thanks! Disable does not appear to restore the default hotkey (unless, of course, a reboot is necessary after changing the configuration -- I haven't tried that yet).

**TomCanuck** · 02-17-2012, 10:49 AM

Originally Posted by visortgw

Thanks! Disable does not appear to restore the default hotkey (unless, of course, a reboot is necessary after changing the configuration -- I haven't tried that yet).

Reboot will work, but try this first (if you've not already rebooted).

Open the config page for a any hotkey,
Press MenuKey,
and click "Refresh OS Settings"

**Vijik** · 02-17-2012, 11:49 AM

In addition to what Juggalo20 wrote about ESC and ENTER key functionalities in the multiclick menu, there is another trick:

When you hit one of the hotkeys that you have set to have multi click feature, you can quickly navigate up or down using trackpad. As a result the timer for auto launch turns off (indicated with green cursor) and you have more time to find and click the multiclick option you have in mind.

**wkaneh3** · 02-17-2012, 02:21 PM

Alternate launches like with MOI would be nice so you could launch apps like FourSquare that require an alternate launch. Thank you for making this, Vijik.

**TomCanuck** · 02-17-2012, 02:27 PM

Originally Posted by wkaneh3

Alternate launches like with MOI would be nice so you could launch apps like FourSquare that require an alternate launch. Thank you for making this, Vijik.

Alternative launches are already available. For this example I'll use the K key, but this works for them all.

in the Setup page for the key, once you chose
1xK Launches
if applicable a new dropdown menu becomes available right underneath for
1xK AlternativeLaunching

also available for 2xK 3xK 4xK etc, for all the keys

**SCrid2000** · 02-17-2012, 03:39 PM

I'm confused, how is this different from MyOwnIcons?

**TomCanuck** · 02-17-2012, 03:46 PM

Originally Posted by SCrid2000

I'm confused, how is this different from MyOwnIcons?

MyOwnIcons == 10 icons/hotkeys
MyOwnHotKeys == 27 icons/hotkeys

MyOwnIcons == configurable icons
MyOwnHotkeys == non-configurable icons

MyOwnIcons == restricted to keys A through Z and Space that the OS didn't already use
MyOwnHotkeys == able to use keys A through Z and Space

MyOwnIcons == 1 launch per key == 10 total launchable things
MyOwnHotkeys == up to 4 per key == 108 total launchable things

Off hand i couldn't tell you if there's more built in functions (new email, new sms) or anything though, that'd take me a while to compare ... spose i could look into that. I'll update this post tonight

In all honesty I use both, MOI for the customizable icons and instant launch, and MOHK for my hotkeys.

**SCrid2000** · 02-17-2012, 03:52 PM

Thanks Juggalo

makes sense

**robchow** · 02-17-2012, 06:39 PM

Why couldn't this app have come out a few days earlier? I just got Quicklaunch for the wife but I wholeheartedly believe this is what she would prefer.

**Vijik** · 02-18-2012, 12:05 AM

Originally Posted by wkaneh3

Alternate launches like with MOI would be nice so you could launch apps like FourSquare that require an alternate launch. Thank you for making this, Vijik.

Alternative Launch selector will show up based on what you have selected for 'Launches'.

Generally, MyOwnHotKey's own functions (starting with MOHK) do not need Alt. Launch and therefore that selector will not be shown for them.

**lycafe** · 02-18-2012, 08:42 AM

Thank you so much OP for making this app.

I just bought it and in 30 minutes after config my settings, I considered this app as my "MUST HAVE" app.. It is so awesome to lauch an app with just 1 key pressed, whereas before, I would request a theme dev to implement a hotkey in a theme to have the feature like this app can do.

Hopefully in the future with the updates, I would able to make a backup of all the shortcuts instead of reassigning the keys again when installing the app.. And hopefully "$" key would be able to have a use, and the option to have it launch and open SMS folder.

**TomCanuck** · 02-18-2012, 10:54 AM

Originally Posted by lycafe

Thank you so much OP for making this app.

I just bought it and in 30 minutes after config my settings, I considered this app as my "MUST HAVE" app.. It is so awesome to lauch an app with just 1 key pressed, whereas before, I would request a theme dev to implement a hotkey in a theme to have the feature like this app can do.

Hopefully in the future with the updates, I would able to make a backup of all the shortcuts instead of reassigning the keys again when installing the app.. And hopefully "$" key would be able to have a use, and the option to have it launch and open SMS folder.

Backup/restore feature already exists:
open the Setup page
press the MenuKey
"Store Settings On uSD"

to Restore:
open Setup page
MenuKey
"Restore Settings From uSD and exit"

as for mapping the $ key, we've had this discussion before. and it seems that ONLY themes can use the $ key as a hotkey. apps cannot :'( So that's on RIM to change, nothing Vijik can do.

**lycafe** · 02-18-2012, 12:36 PM

Originally Posted by Juggalo20

as for mapping the $ key, we've had this discussion before. and it seems that ONLY themes can use the $ key as a hotkey. apps cannot :'( So that's on RIM to change, nothing Vijik can do.

Thank you for reminding me about the BB key.. Totally forgot about it when I was config the keys.. Lol.

Would you happen to know how I can set it up to launch a SMS folder? Much appreciated.

**TomCanuck** · 02-18-2012, 12:49 PM

Originally Posted by lycafe

Thank you for reminding me about the BB key.. Totally forgot about it when I was config the keys.. Lol.

Would you happen to know how I can set it up to launch a SMS folder? Much appreciated.

I wish I could. We've gone over this a couple times in the ShortcutMe thread, and really... It seems like RIM only let's themes directly launch SMS. I had a few themes on OS6 that did this, but I have never ever found an app that launches it directly.

Using ShortcutMe it's possible to do though a macro (series of key injections) but yeah. As far as I can tell, the SMS message list is not directly launchable by an app, only a theme

**Vijik** · 02-18-2012, 01:13 PM

Openiing SMS Page (all SMS messages shown in RIM's Message app) will be supported in the next version of MyOwnHotKeys.

In the mean time, if you have ShortcutMe, you can just create a shortcut in SCM with App Name set to SMS_Page and then get one of your hotkeys in MyOwnHotKeys to launch that shortcut.

**Vijik** · 02-18-2012, 01:19 PM

Originally Posted by robchow

Why couldn't this app have come out a few days earlier? I just got Quicklaunch for the wife but I wholeheartedly believe this is what she would prefer.

You haven't been lucky.

MyOwnHotKeys have been under harsh beta testing since a month ago.
Its release was delayed for a week because I wanted to wait for CrackBerry mods to write a short review for it.

**Vijik** · 02-18-2012, 03:24 PM

FYI:

Do you like taking shortcuts? Try MyOwnHotkeys for BlackBerry smartphones

**james2k8** · 02-19-2012, 07:13 AM

Hi,

I'm having 3 issues with this.

1. I can't get this to launch Flashlight 2 for 1. The app is listed as Flashlight 2 for 1 but it has front and back flashlight as separate component.

2. I can't get to home page of media. I tried media actions daemon, media app launcher, media server and mediacommon and they are all wrong.

3. I can't get to BB maps. It just wouldn't launch

Thanks.