Android

Unclutter Your GMail Without Missing Out On Your Newsletters

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Photo by Natasa Grabovac on Unsplash

Photo by Natasa Grabovac on UnsplashI try to keep my email inbox fairly clean but I do subscribe to some daily and weekly newsletters. Usually I skim the newsletters and delete them on a daily or weekly basis. However, if I miss a day or two I am doomed with clutter.

I could unsubscribe but there are a few I like to read regularly. Or I could setup a filter and send them out of my inbox and off to a folder automatically. However, out of sight, out of mind, and I have found when I do this I never read the archived email.

Here’s a solution that I found works for me using an Android phone and Gmail (but you could do a similar thing on iPhones and any web based email):

  1. On your computer (this is easier on your computer then on mobile), open your browser and log in to your Gmail account
  2. For each newsletter, create a filter which archives and labels them with the name of the newsletter.

    For example:

    Start by creating the label/folder:

    3. After creating the label, click “Filter Messages Like These”:

    Click “Create Filter”

    Click “Skip the Inbox (Archive It)
    Click Apply the Label and select the label you created above.
    Click “Create Filter”

  3. In your browser, navigate to the Gmail folder/label you just created and click on it. The URL in your browser should reflect this. In my example, my URL is “https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#label/Codewars”. Bookmark the URL.
  4. Now send that URL to your mobile phone. I use Firefox both on mobile and on my desktop, so this is easily done by the “Send Tab to Device” option. I believe Chrome has a similar feature.
  5. On your mobile phone, open the link to your folder in your browser.
  6. In your browser, click on the Menu and select “Add to Home Screen” (both in Firefox and Chrome). The phone will allow you to rename the icon link and drag it to the desktop.

  7. Drag the Icon to a new folder labeled “News” or some other appropiate label. I also put other reading apps and links in this folder.

  8. Now when I am in the mood for reading and catching up on my newsletters, I just go the News folder and click on the shortcut. I can read when I want and my email inbox stays uncluttered.

Answer Skybell Automatically on Android Using Tasker

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Skybell App Opening

Skybell and other video doorbells ring your phone and allow you to see who’s at the door. But they require you to click on the notification and by the time you do that a minute or two may have gone by. In addition you may want to hang a tablet from a wall to act as an electronic peephole, allowing you to see at a glance who’s at the door and to communicate with them.

If you have a Skybell you can do this with Tasker.

Install Skybell, Takser, and Notification Listener Apps

  1. Make sure you have installed your Skybell app.

    2. Android Skybell HD App Install Page

  2. Go to the Google Play store and purchase and install Tasker. Tasker allows you to automate tasks on Android devices. Tasker’s currently $3 and well worth the price.

    3. Google Play Tasker Page

  3. Also from the Google Play store install “Notification Listener” a free plugin for Tasker.

    4. Google Play Notification Listener App Page

    Configure Tasker App To Ring A Bell

  4. In Tasker, click on Profiles tab, then the + sign, and add an Event, Tap “Plugin”, then “Notification Listener”, then “Notification Listener” again:

    5. Notification Listener App Screenshot

  5. Click “Configuration”, and change the event to “Notification to Any”, Click on the App button to select the Skybell App, and change the “Text” option to “You have a visitor at your door.”, settings should look like this:

    6. Tasker Configuration Page - Any Notification Event

  6. Save by clicking on the Checkmark and exiting out.
  7. Back at the Profiles screen, click on “New Task” on the dialog that pops up, name it as “Open Skybell On Ring”, Tap “+”, select “Plugin”, “Notification Listener”, and then “Gestures”:

    Takser Action Plugin

  8. Fill out the Gestures screen by adding “%nlkey” to “Notification Key” and toggle on the “Click on notification”:

    Takser Notification Key Screenshot

  9. Click the checkmark and make sure Tasker and the new profile is enabled. You are done. Your profile tab should have an entry that looks something like this:

    Notification Listener Event

    Now whenever your Skybell rings, tasker will automatically “Tap” on the Skybell notification, and the tablet should automatically open to the live streaming view of your door.

    Troubleshooting: If you are getting notifications but the Skybell app is not opening automatically, make sure you have Tasker and the event/task profile you created above is enabled, and you have permitted Tasker and Notification Listener to have access to the Android notification services (you should have allowed this during setup). If Skybell notifications are not occurring at all, try changing the tablet’s WIFI IP to a static one and use Google’s 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 DNS as described in my previous post, or uninstalling and reinstalling the Skybell app.

No Notifications on Android ? Try Changing Your Phone’s Wifi DNS

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Android Notification Photo by Jamie Street on UnsplashAndroid Notification Photo by Jamie Street on Unsplash

It seems ever since my Android phone updated to Oreo I have been missing many notifications. I would be on my home network and when I left home, my wifi would switch to data and my phone would start going off with delayed notifications I should have received when I was on my home’s wifi. I finally found what seems to be the fix. After fiddling with the Wifi Settings I discovered that by changing the DNS to Google’s own (8.8.8.8. and 8.8.4.4) the notifications would work on WIFI.

  1. Long Press on your Wifi Wireless SSID Name
  2. A menu should pop up, select “Modify Network”
  3. It will show you several options – SCROLL down on the dialog (mine only appeared to show Password and Proxy Settings, I had to scroll to see the DHCP settings)
  4. Under IP Settings, select the down arrow and change from “DHCP” to “Static”
  5. Change “IP Address” to a free available ip address on your network. If you don’t know what to do here then google it or check your router settings. It will be something like 192.168.0.120. The first 3 groups of numbers should match the ip address of your router, the 4th group is a number that hasn’t been assigned by your router yet to a device on your network.
  6. Change “DNS 1” to 8.8.8.8 and “DNS 2” to 8.8.4.4
  7. Click “Save”. That’s it. You may have to disable and re-enable the wifi on your phone but you should now be getting notifications.
  8. I later found an explanation and guide on Quora that also explains the steps. See this list of steps which has screen shots.