Suggest user to place apps appwidget on the homescreen - android

i have an app on googleplay (MyWords-MyDictionary). After collecting some stats from google analystics i saw that very few is using apps appwidget. I am assuming that people are not aware of the appwidgets existence.. Problem is my apps unique strengt is its appwidget. So somehow i need to suggest user to put the app widget on the homescreen...
What is the right way to do it... How can i make user aware of my widget? It is possible to open the widgetpicker and point out my widget and on click maybe it will be added to the homescreen?

On splash screen make a textview stating "You have my gratitude for downloading the app but please do try the widget as well."
P.S. you don't have to use fancy language you can also type t hanks but this site won't let me type it like that

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Android home screen widget - how to add option to launch apps from the widget

I have a nicely working widget.
I have an idea to add an option for the users to launch any (previously installed) app from the widget by pressing the dedicated button. So I want users to be able to choose 1-2 apps from their installed apps in the widget configuration part and be able to launch them from the widget.
Is there any way to add this functionality without declaring this widget a launcher?
If yes, could I get any hints, maybe some tuts, please?
I really appreciate any help you can provide.
Adam

Installing a widget from an APP

I know i'm going to die as maybe i didn't place this post correctly, also i'm not a developer, only a graphic designer.
I'm looking for some advise, hope someone could help me with that.
Imagine that you launch your app, and within that there is a button that says "Install widget". You press that button, then the app closes and a widget appears on the home screen.
Is that possible?
i've been reading that before 4.2 i wasn't, but something changed from then. Problem is that i have no more information about this, and also i don't know if it changed over time.
I'm behind the graphic design of a widget. The idea is that you first download the app, which will help you to configure the widget, and then you have to manually place the widget in place.
They are afraid that some people wont understand, and they will cease trying.
I only would like to know if this is possible, (or something similar) and if someone knows any APP that does this thingie.
Note: APPS like "Swiftkey" guides you in the process of installing your keyboard. it asks you to go to a determinate place of the phone settings, and gives you a shortcut to that place so you don't have to go by yourself.
It would be amazing. To directly place a widget o to guide them trhough shortcuts.
Many many thanks in advance!
Is that possible?
No. The user installs the app widget through the home screen.
The idea is that you first download the app, which will help you to configure the widget, and then you have to manually place the widget in place.
That is also not possible. The flow is that the user chooses the app widget in the home screen, places the widget in place, then if you have a configuration activity defined, you will get a chance to help the user configure the app widget (e.g., to choose the city for the weather report that the app widget should display).
APPS like "Swiftkey" guides you in the process of installing your keyboard. it asks you to go to a determinate place of the phone settings, and gives you a shortcut to that place so you don't have to go by yourself.
Input method editors (a.k.a., soft keyboards) are configured through the Settings app, and therefore there is a consistent place to direct users towards. App widgets are configured through the home screen, and different home screens can implement that process in different ways, so there is no standard spot to direct the users towards.

Only displaying pre-installed applications on android device

So I am using the Home sample to build an application that creates a second home screen for the user. The idea is to be able to have only one user account yet restrict certain access to chosen applications. I have managed to ensure that all of the applications are invisible in the XML yet I am struggling with how to change this to make certain apps visible.
Is it possible to write a whitelist of accepted apps for instance the preinstalled apps or child friendly apps for children who game using the android device and then put in a Java method to access this white list? This is the only way I can think to make it work.
If anyone knows the correct way can you please help.
Thanks.
Ok so I discovered how to do this.
In the home sample they provide a for loop in the Home.java file that covers all apps and displays them. It take a simple if statement to restrict the apps that can be viewed -
// for loop is here
if (info.activityInfo.applicationInfo.packageName.contains("com.android"))
//then the rest of the home sample is here.
Still very basic but provides me with a good enough UI so that kids cannot see apps I don't want them to.

How to make a popup settings page for an Android widget

Ok so I am very new to the Android SDK, but not to programming. I want to attempt to make a simple Android widget. I've been looking around for things on the web pertaining to widgets, and have been able to find lots of information, but nothing pertaining to my main question.
How can I make a settings dialog that will adjust the widget when it is launched? When you add the Google search widget, it prompts you to specify what type of widget you want it to be. In my widget I'm making, I want to allow the user to specify the widget height right after they select it.
How can I present that type of dialog? What does that entail? Any code snippets or tutorials or help anyone has to offer will go a long way.
Thanks!
Check here How to put multiple widget sizes in one apk?
The answers quote resources for both several widgets in one paackage and configuration page. Still, the size choosing is done not in the own configure dislog, but during add.

Binding AppWidgets to AppWidgetHost - Android

When you normally want to add an AppWidget in Android there is a list where you need to pick one widget and it binds it to the home screen.
I'm trying to build an app which has its own appWidgetHost and specific App Widgets that I built for it.
I have two problems:
I would like to be able to automatically bind a widget to my AppWidgetsHost without the user picking from the list.
I want to make my own 'pick widgets list' and to load only widgets that I have created.
To make it simple; There is my app with my AppWidgets and I want full control in terms of binding a appWidget to the appWidgetHost etc.
3 people asked similar questions in Google forums:
Link 1
Link 2
Link 3
The only answer I found to be a possibility is in link number 2. Paraneet (one of the repliers) said that you can install the app under /system/app instead of /data/app because some security issue. but I'm not sure if it is a reliable solution for production, and I would like to know more about the pros and cons of doing this.
Thanks, Shai.
Unfortunatlly for you (and me), Paraneet is right.
binding appwidget is a sensitive action and thus, to avoid malware it requires the user's consent for the most part however if you install your app into the /system/data folder then you considered part of the OS and you are given a system permission which lets you decide to bind appwidget that you created without any user's involvement.
In Android O, its possible to pin app widget programmatically. Just watch at example here
Also check out Google official documentation

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