A short time ago someone had asked how to open the default Android phone app
_directly_ to the dialer keypad (aka dialpad).

There were many solutions, e.g., one of which was to use a phone app (such
as simple mobile tools' dialer) that opens to the last used screen.
<https://github.com/SimpleMobileTools/Simple-Dialer>

Or use a phone dialer that has the specific option to open to the keypad.
<com.samsung.android.dialer>

Today I was experimenting with shortcuts where I found another trick, which
is to create a shortcut to the "Activity" of making an emergency call.

A shortcut to these "Activities" brings you directly to the phone keypad.
Shortcut name = "Emergency call"
<com.samsung.android.app.telephoneyui.emergencydialer.view.EmergencyDialerActivity>

Shortcut name = "Emergency call"
<com.samsung.android.app.telephoneyui.activities.SamsungEmergencyDialerActivity>

In addition, there are apps which are designed specifically for exactly that
express purpose of bringing you directly to the default phone dialer keypad.
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ospolice.phoneshortcut>

Furthermore, if you frequently call a specific number, this shortcut maker
will create a homescreen shortcut to bring up the dialer already preset to
any given person's phone number (with their photo as the icon, if desired).
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.quick.shortcut.maker>

There are also other methods (e.g., widgets) but I like those above better.
--
On the Android newsgroup adults purposefully helpfully provide solutions.

paul wrote on 29.07.2021 08:18
> A short time ago someone had asked how to open the default Android phone app
> _directly_ to the dialer keypad (aka dialpad).

So that the information is properly cross referenced, here's that thread.
*Can the phone app be configured to start with the dialler?* [sic]
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/wgkm92vbWvU>

There we had proposed three possible solutions (all of which I've tested).
1. Install a dialer that does have the option to open to the keypad
2. Or install a dialer that has the option to open to the last used screen
3. Or, create a homescreen shortcut to your dialer's keypad "Activity"

I had proposed two more methods just now in this new thread today.
4. Shortcut to "Emergency call" (which brings up the emergency dialer)
5. Shortcut to dialer apps, e.g., <com.ospolice.phoneshortcut>

The Emergency Dialer shortcut will only work for emergency contacts though.
So it's not a general purpose solution; but the rest seem to work for all.
In addition there are widgets & potential speed dials (which I didn't test).

If we wish to contact a specific person, then some phone apps may have the
ability to create a shortcut to dial out to that specific number.

But every phone can create a shortcut that dials only one person at 1 click.

I created a shortcut for dialing out to a single number just now using
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.quick.shortcut.maker>

Notice QuickShortcutMaker can make a shortcut to any desired phone number,
which you can then label with their ID, and even make their photo the icon.
a. You press the "Phone Number" button & manually fill out the name & phone
b. You tap on the icon to change the icon based on a photo you might have
c. Then you press the "Create" button, which creates a homescreen icon

When you tap on that homescreen icon, the dialer comes up to the phone
number of that contact - where all you need to do is press the dial button.

All the apps I suggest are always free, ad free, and even GSF free unless
otherwise stated (which I only bother with if no free gsf free apps exist).

paul <nospam@nospam.invalid> wrote:
> paul wrote on 29.07.2021 08:18
> > A short time ago someone had asked how to open the default Android phone app
> > _directly_ to the dialer keypad (aka dialpad).
>
> So that the information is properly cross referenced, here's that thread.
> *Can the phone app be configured to start with the dialler?* [sic]
> <https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/wgkm92vbWvU>
>
> There we had proposed three possible solutions (all of which I've tested).
> 1. Install a dialer that does have the option to open to the keypad
> 2. Or install a dialer that has the option to open to the last used screen
> 3. Or, create a homescreen shortcut to your dialer's keypad "Activity"
>
> I had proposed two more methods just now in this new thread today.
> 4. Shortcut to "Emergency call" (which brings up the emergency dialer)
> 5. Shortcut to dialer apps, e.g., <com.ospolice.phoneshortcut>
>
> The Emergency Dialer shortcut will only work for emergency contacts though.
> So it's not a general purpose solution; but the rest seem to work for all.
> In addition there are widgets & potential speed dials (which I didn't test).
>
> If we wish to contact a specific person, then some phone apps may have the
> ability to create a shortcut to dial out to that specific number.
>
> But every phone can create a shortcut that dials only one person at 1 click.
>
> I created a shortcut for dialing out to a single number just now using
> <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.quick.shortcut.maker>
>
> Notice QuickShortcutMaker can make a shortcut to any desired phone number,
> which you can then label with their ID, and even make their photo the icon.
> a. You press the "Phone Number" button & manually fill out the name & phone
> b. You tap on the icon to change the icon based on a photo you might have
> c. Then you press the "Create" button, which creates a homescreen icon
>
> When you tap on that homescreen icon, the dialer comes up to the phone
> number of that contact - where all you need to do is press the dial button.
>
> All the apps I suggest are always free, ad free, and even GSF free unless
> otherwise stated (which I only bother with if no free gsf free apps exist).

Does QuickShortcutMaker have any advantages over a widget going direct
to the number one wants? Widgets configured like this just dial the
number with a single tap of the widget and (with a configurable
launcher) you can write who it is in text under the widget. Job done! :-)

--
Chris Green
·

Chris Green wrote on 29.07.2021 16:12
> Does QuickShortcutMaker have any advantages over a widget going direct
> to the number one wants? Widgets configured like this just dial the
> number with a single tap of the widget and (with a configurable
> launcher) you can write who it is in text under the widget. Job done! :-)

It's a good question because they're different solutions to the same effect.
1. A widget that calls a specific phone number in your contacts sqlite db
2. A "quick shortcut" to any phone number (even if not in the contacts db)
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.quick.shortcut.maker>

In my Nova launcher, to create an auto-dial widget, I tried this just now:
A. I long pressed on an empty homescreen spot & pressed "Widgets"
B. There I found "Contacts" & "Direct Dial" & "Direct Message" widgets
C. All of which can be used to create a direct connection to any contact

However, in _my_ case, my contacts sqlite db is empty (for privacy reasons).
The widget method won't work for me because it seems to need contacts.

But in most cases that "contacts" method should create a one-click shortcut
that brings up the dialer with the number already typed in to call them.

In summary, they seem to be _different_ methods that do the same thing.
In your case, both methods should work (only one method works for me).

Maybe someone who knows more about this stuff can help us further with that?
--
Every app I suggest will be free, ad free, and gsf free unless otherwise
noted (and even then, only if I can't find an ad free gsf free version).

paul <nospam@nospam.invalid> wrote:
> Chris Green wrote on 29.07.2021 16:12
> > Does QuickShortcutMaker have any advantages over a widget going direct
> > to the number one wants? Widgets configured like this just dial the
> > number with a single tap of the widget and (with a configurable
> > launcher) you can write who it is in text under the widget. Job done! :-)
>
> It's a good question because they're different solutions to the same effect.
> 1. A widget that calls a specific phone number in your contacts sqlite db

No, it's not a number in my Contacts, mine is also empty.

You can remove the Contacts entry after you have created the direct
dial widget. So just use a single entry in Contacts, change the
number to what you want to put in the widget and then remove the entry
again.

--
Chris Green
·

Chris Green wrote on 29.07.2021 13:27
> No, it's not a number in my Contacts, mine is also empty.

I agree with you now that I tried creating and then _deleting_ the contact.
When I first tried, it wouldn't let me create the widget with zero contacts.

I think I now know part of the answer to your original question.

Widget method:
A. The widget method _requires_ the contact to exist
B. But it will still work if you subsequently _delete_ the contact
C. The widget method fills in the number _&_ it also dials the number

Shortcut method:
a. The shortcut method does NOT require a contact (you can type it in)
b. But it will fail if you subsequently delete com.quick.shortcut.maker
c. The shortcut method only fills in the number (you have to press dial)

I suspect the use model will determine which people prefer.
> You can remove the Contacts entry after you have created the direct
> dial widget. So just use a single entry in Contacts, change the
> number to what you want to put in the widget and then remove the entry
> again.

1. I added a contact named "a" of phone number 1-800-555-1212 using
<https://www.simplemobiletools.com/contacts/>
2. I long tapped the homescreen > widgets > which gave me three choices
a. Direct Message Shortcut
b. Contact Shortcut
c. Direct Dial Shortcut
I long pressed on the "Direct Dial Shortcut" and up popped my contacts
3. I chose the "a" contact and it asked for permission for the Nova
launcher to make phone calls, and then it created the homescreen icon.

Now when I press the "a" homescreen icon, it actually _dials_ the number!
(Before it just brought up the dialer with the number typed in.)

As you mentioned, the widget to dial the number remained even after deleting
it from the contacts.

In summary, the widget needs a contact to _create_ the shortcut, but once
it's created, the contact no longer is needed. In a way this widget method
of creating a phone number shortcut is a nicer method because I think the
com.quick.shortcut.maker method stops working if you remove the app.
--
All the apps I suggest will be free, ad free, and gsf free unless otherwise
noted, and all will have been tested personally by me in almost all cases.