Android App: Email Widget

224 thoughts on “Android App: Email Widget”

1. Email widget does not appear to work on Droid v2.2. There are no calendars available to select.

2. Correction to previous message. App does not appear to work because there are no mailboxes available to select. On Droid running 2.2

3. Hi Ted, thanks for your bug report. I will have a look at it and try to fix it as soon as possible. Could you tell me more about the concrete setting?

   – Which Phone are you using?
   – Do you use the build in mail functionality of android or any third party tool like touchdown or k9?

   Regards,
   Frank

4. Ok found out, that android usually blocks all access to email-accounts from other apps (s. above). This means that no app can access the emails stored by the system email app. If you still want to use my app you have to install it as a system app (see above).

   Sorry for that but android does not provide a way to access the mails without breaking your system 🙁

   I will try to build a support for third party mail apps (Touchdown, K9). They are using their own storage, so running as system app should not be required.

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6. Installed widget on Galaxy S home page and all appears to work well with Exchange e-mail. However, I do not get updates to the widget inbox for e-mails I modify using the widget (for example if I read an e-mail or delete an e-mail via the widget) unless I go back into and out of the Email Widget settings…then when I go back to my home page the e-mail list is updated showing my read items and removing the deleted items.

   How can this be corrected so the widget automatically stays refreshed with my changes?

   Thanks – Lowfu

7. foo.bar,

   Per my posting last night about updates to widget. I was mistaken. The updates ARE applying….just seems to take a few minutes (which is OK). Nice application…will leave positive feedback at marketplace. Only one I have found that will work with Exchange via native Andriod mail. Look forward to future enhancements and updates. A nice addition would be the option to show UNREAD e-mail only (this is how this function works on the Blackberry) so the widget would filter and only show unread items. Thanks again & nice work. – Lowfu.

8. Hi Lowfu,

   thanks for your feedback, it is highly appreciated! I will add your feature requests soon, this is a nice enhancement. Let me know if there is more i can do.

   I already know about the late widget updates. Till now, i couldn’t find a fix for it. What i experienced is that each time the mailbox gets synced, the widget gets updated. So the more often you sync the sooner it gets updated.

   Regards!

9. Hi mate, I’m using droid 2.2 / Galaxy S, just upgraded. Hopefully you can sort out how to access stock mailbox without rooting. Stock email is good enogh for me, just want the widget, but as written above, with only unread emails.
   Only good client found so far is Touchdown; but its terrible slow on Galaxy S, even after moving DB to SD.

10. Good effort, but I can’t select a mailbox in the settings, which makes the widget useless.

    I am using a Samsung Galaxy S 9000 with froyo (android 2.2).

    Is there going to be a fix soon or would I have to run the widget as a system app? If this is the case you should announce the fact in the Android Market, please.

    How can I refund the 99 cent if I dont want to root my phone in order to get the widget working?

    Leider kann ich im SGS 9000 mit froyo keine mailbox auswählen. Wird das widget nur als system app meine mails anzeigen können? Das sollten Sie dann aber bitte auch im Android Market klar darlegen! Wie kann ich den Kauf rückabwickeln, wenn ich mein Handy nicht rooten möchte? Bitte ein wenig mehr auf die potentiellen Käufer eingehen und den Käufern klare Anweisungen geben, was zu tun ist, wenn sie rückabwickeln wollen, wenn sie nicht rooten wollen.

11. James, please tell me, do you get a warning when opening the settings of my app, telling you, that android rejects access to your emails? If that is the case, my app will only work as a system app on your phone. Because of the very limited promo text in the market, i cannot go into detail why the app might not work for a specific configuration there.

    Do you have an exchange or googlemail account configured on your mobile?

    If you want to refund the money, please follow the description here: http://www.google.com/support/androidmarket/bin/answer.py?answer=134336

    If this doesn’t work, send me your order number or name and i will cancel the order for you, so you will get your money back.

12. I have to agree with James. If this will not work with stock email on 2.2 then you should publish it in the market so people can be aware before purchasing. I would love for the app to work as described but useless in 2.2 without rooting which I won’t do. I’m using Motorola Droid with 2.2.

13. Ok, i changed the teaser text in the market so it should be clearer now.

14. Works on my HTC Aria with K9. Only shows unified inbox, and only shows “Inbox” under “choose mailbox” options. But it does work.

    Doesn’t work with the “Android” option, but that’s probably because HTC’s default mail program is built into Sense. It’s not the default android app.

15. Hey Derek, thanks for your comment. Nice to hear that it works on your device with K9. I’m currently working on support for the HTC buildin Email-App and this will hopefully be released the next few weeks. In contrast to K9 there will be support for all widget-features on HTC (unread, open Mail, open EMail app…).

16. Works great on my HTC EVO! Thanks!!

17. Hi.

    I have a HTC Hero but with a custom ROM (Elelinux Froyo 2.2) based on CyanogenMod 6 but I think that it can be expread to all Froyo ROMs, custom or not

    I follow your instructions to install the app into the system, but I found some problems.

    In the point 8 when I try to mv the apk the system said me
    >mv: can’t rename ‘de.foobarsoft.emailwidget.apk’: No such file or directory

    I realize that the problem is because in Froyo, you can install the apk into the sd card and sometimes there are apk hard to find

    I fix this problem with this steeps
    1- Go to the android options
    2- Select Applications
    3- Select Application Manager
    4- Select SD card tab
    5- Find and select “EMail Widget”
    6- Select “Move to the phone”

    Now I can find it in the right directory.
    I have the widget working.
    Best regards
    Nacho

18. Hi. I have HTC Desire with Froyo and your app says:

    “Attention! It seems that the stock android email app is not installed …”

    What’s wrong? Normal HTC sense widget is working, but it’s only 4×4 so I purchased your app, but it’s not working.

    Thanx

19. Aha … you have to select HTC option.

    Thanx

20. I got it to work (froyo 2.2, Dell Streak)

    From READING the directions on this page, I read where the *.apk had to be moved from /data/app to /system/app

    I used Root Explorer to do the heavy lifting and it worked perfectly (after reboot)

    For 2 exchange accts.

    Suggestion: Allow the title bar to be renamed and recolored. As I have 2 of the widgets on my screen, both going to different Exchange Inboxes, both are blue and both say Inbox. It would be nice to have it say “Work Inbox” and “Personal Inbox”

21. Radimus,

    thanks for your suggestion. This is already on the list of planned features and i will definetly work on this for one of the future releases.

22. Hi foo.bar.
    Before I buy your app: Does it support multiple Gmail accounts? And if I click a Gmail e-mail, will your open the correct mailbox folder for the account?

23. Hi Sinus,

    i didn’t test it for multiple gmail accounts but it should work. Unfortunately the Gmail app doesn’t support opening emails or accounts directly, only starting the app is supported. You can try the app and if you don’t like it you can easily get your money refunded by just uninstalling it during the first 24 hours 15 minutes (see comment above).

    Regards,
    Frank

24. App works good on a Galaxy S Vibrant. Could be a bit better though. A unified inbox with colour coding (each account has different coloured emails or icon) would make the app perfect for me.

    Having multiple 4×1 widgets is an acceptable solution for now though. JKeep up the good work.

25. The only reason I’m sticking with a Sense rom is the Email widget it includes.
    Your Email widget makes it possible for me to use a different launcher (like launcher pro), but unfortunately I don’t really like the looks of it…
    Sorry…
    What I’m looking for is something like the HTC Email widget, but available for launcher pro….
    With skinning possibilities this widget might be just that! :o)

26. Hi Rob,

    you’re right, the design options are very limited right now. I’m working hard on the skinning feature but it is really a nightmare to implement, because android has no support or best practice for it. Hope to get a first version with limited skinning out in mid december.

    Regards,
    Frank

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28. This app works well for what I need. I’m having a problem with 2 Gmail accounts I have. They are both setup under the Gmail part of the OS, not under email. One account is for company email and the other is for personal email. I added 2 instances of the widget to different screens. I set one to check work, one to check personal. When I click on the widget, both are linked to the same account. While I’m viewing email, I can change it to the other. The next time I bring up email through the widget, I see the last gmail account I was in, no matter which instance of the widget I click on. Running OS 2.1 on a Galaxy S (Mesmerize) on US Cellular. Thank you for any help you can provide.

29. Hi Nathan,
    unfortuanely Gmail only supports to get opened by starting the app. So i think it restores the last viewed account when it’s started. I cannot do anything from email widget side to change it. Sorry 🙁

30. Running 2.1 on a rooted Nook Color. The widget is installed to /system/app/. Whenever I try to add the widget to Launcher Pro, I can select the settings, but the widget never actually shows up. 🙁

31. Hi ben, could you please activate logging in global preferences and send me the logfile please?

32. just to let others know: on nook color please use the back button at the bottom not on top to add the widget.

33. Running on a Archos 101 running 2.2 Froyo and working almost perfectly (using Gmail rather than the built-in email).

    It would be nice if clicking on the email would open the email directy rather than the Gmail app inbox folder.

    I do see a bug though. For some reason I have 3 emails showing as unread with this widget but I see nothing when going directly onto Gmail. I can trace it back to the threads and go to every single email in the thread to ensure they are all read but still no luck. All those emails should “unknown” as source email address, maybe that will help identifying the cause.

    Thanks !

34. Hi Alex,

    unfortunately Gmail doesn’t support opening mails directly. I can only open the Gmail app from my widget. Regarding the bug: would you mind to send me a logfile? You can activate logging by starting my app / global preferences from the app drawer and enable the logging option. After that please refresh the widget with the refresh button (or automatic refresh), go back to the global prefs and use the option “Email (Send mail to developer)”. You will be asked if you want to attach the logfile. Answer with “Yes” and send the email. Thanks in advance!

    Frank

35. Please help with install. I followed everything and TE cannot find the apk. I have searched everywhere for the apk. Any help or a refund please?

36. the widget worked well on my SGS i9000 under Froyo (2.2)
    using the guide with root/better terminal.

    Now I updated to 2.2.1 and tried to follow the installation notes again,
    but the directory names seem to have changed.
    Could you please make a new tutorial to get your app working
    under 2.2.1 (with root-access and better terminal)?

37. Hi, is this support to work for Exchange mailbox on a HTC Desire Z without rooting? Im running 2.2.1 but it’s giving me the cannot access notice when I choose HTC Mail provider.

38. Hi Laurens,
    is the 2.2.1 a very recent rom?

    Maybe HTC changed the permissions on the new rom versions. If you see this message it is not working out of the box. Please get in contact with me, if you want to refund.

    Regards,
    Frank

39. I already returned the app and got a refund, but can this be fixed for 2.2.1? I think it’s pretty recent and an update to 2.2. Send me a message on Twitter (Laur3ns) if you need more info.

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41. Hey, just want 2 start off by saying thanks for making this app

    i had just installed it i had to follow the steps above because it told me that my phone has blocked it from opening the mail. i have a CM6 rom on my phone so i moved it from phone to SD then back and restarted the phone

    the message still pops up that it is blocked – what can i do?

42. Hi, I’ve been checking out your email widget and I see that the number one new feature (currently) in the poll is a 1×1 widget with a new mail count. I don’t know how helpful it would be but Sopht’s MailWidget could get the number of unread emails from K-9. As of yesterday, he posted in K-9’s open issue for a 1×1 widget saying he could no longer develop his code and was releasing it for others to use. It may be of help for you since some code is already written. You can find the link to the post here:
    http://code.google.com/p/k9mail/issues/detail?id=1467&q=widget&colspec=ID%20Product%20Type%20Status%20Priority%20Milestone%20Owner%20Summary

    And the source code is here:
    http://android.sopht.ca/src/MailWidget2.23.zip

    Keep up the good work!

43. Hello

    i love your app, but i am experiencing a strange problem.
    I am ruuning the widget on sgs on darky’s rom v8 and froyo.
    The widget is able to connect to my exchange account, through the stock email app.
    The only peoblem is that emails are only shown under launcherpro.
    In twlauncher and laumcher, the frame is empty and only the header works.

    Any ideas?

    Thanks
    Ron

44. Hey Zshazlez,
    thanks for your great proposal! I will have a look the code, it will definetly help me.

    Regards,
    Frank

45. Well, I hope it works for ya. The next closest thing I’ve found, which is not a 1×1 unread email widget, is the mail icon in Executive Assistant, but I do not like how it’s setup cause it gives a count of every email, not just new ones. It’s kind of clunky too. Also, I am very hopeful that you’ll implement skinning with this widget as well so we can give it a few different looks. So, I hope it works cause you seem to be the best hope at getting the one widget I’ve been looking for for months.

46. Hi Ron,
    please make sure that you don’t have activated scrolling for twlauncher, because it is not supported by this launcher. I tested the widget on a SGS and HTC Desire HD with twlauncher and didn’t ran into any problem.
    If you experience the problem without scrolling beeing activated please get back to me.

    Regards,
    Frank

47. A user helped me finding out that motorola has it’s own email client (BlurEmail) which is not supported by the widget until now. I am working on this for the next release. Just to let you know.

48. Zshazlez, thanks again for your contribution. 1×1 widget is the next feature to be implemented, so stay tuned.

49. Hi there.

    Amazing widget (actually, the only one free that works with exchange accounts).

    I would suggest to make (at least as an option) each email item with two lines (just like in gmail – subject in the first line and sender’s name in the second one). This would impove readability.

    Thanks.

50. Hi shramchevsky,
    i will add your proposual to the feature list.
    Thanks for your suggestion!

    Regards,
    Frank