Guide to Web Shortcuts on Your BB Home Screen

Written by: LauraMS • Edited by: Simon Hill
Updated Jul 5, 2011 • Related Guides: Blackberry

If you've ever desired to have a shortcut for your favorite website(s) on your BlackBerry home screen, keep reading to find out exactly how you can create one today.

Is It Possible?

BlackBerry users have often asked how they can install a shortcut or icon that will allow them to access their favorite website directly from their BlackBerry home screen. Often, users are told that a shortcut option is not possible. However, thanks to a very smart developer by the name of Jonathan Fisher, we actually can now take a shortcut to our favorite websites by simply clicking on a home screen icon instead of having to launch the BlackBerry browser first.

How to Create a Shortcut or Icon

Creating a shortcut icon for your BlackBerry is pretty easy once you’ve installed the ShortcutHub available over the air on Jonathan’s site:

http://m.jonathanhfisher.co.uk/webshortcuts

Be aware, however, that not only will you need to install the ShortcutHub on your BlackBerry first, but you will also have to individually create and install a separate shortcut for each website that you would like to access from your BlackBerry home screen. Even if you don’t have a lot of sites you’d like to create shortcuts to, you have the choice of creating just one or up to six shortcut icons for display on your BlackBerry home screen by using the ShortcutHub.

Installing the ShortcutHub and a minimum of one shortcut takes less than a minute. Once the download process is complete, you will then find that an icon for the ShortcutHub and each website you’re planning on creating a shortcut to has already been added to your home screen. By clicking on the ShortcutHub icon, you can configure each website you would like to have connected to each one of the shortcuts you’ve also downloaded. When you’re done installing all of the icons you’d like featured on your BlackBerry home screen, you can then hide the ShortcutHub icon from view by highlighting it, pressing your menu key and selecting the hide option.

Can I Customize an Icon for My BlackBerry Home Screen?

You can also add your own .png image to appear as an icon or you can go with the image that is provided. However, if you’re not going to add your own image, you may want to erase the “http//” text that appears in the icon field within the ShortcutHub. The ShortcutHub directions don’t say that you have to do this, but I found that, without erasing the text, I had trouble getting the icon to actually work. When I erased the text, the installation worked perfectly.

Just keep in mind that you must install the proper amount of shortcuts that you’ll need before trying to add them within the ShortcutHub and enjoy adding up to six new shortcut icons on your BlackBerry for fast and easy access to your favorite websites.

Jo Raleigh Feb 5, 2012 2:25 AM

RE: Guide to Web Shortcuts on Your BB Home Screen

Can anyone pls tell me where i can buy a sourcecode to create this web shortcut app (with custom icon)<br>..somethng simple non-teckies could easily click and install on the BB desktop ...from my mobile site.

Mia Jun 15, 2011 6:50 AM

Thank you

Thank you, this app works great! :D

For those having problems getting an image, it has to be stored ONLINE, not on your device. So try uploading to tinypic or photobucket, e-mail yourself the link, access on your phone and use that as the image link.

Thank u for this wonderful app!

shani Mar 5, 2011 7:58 AM

to add image as button.

package com.beginningblackberry.uifun;

import net.rim.device.api.ui.Color;
import net.rim.device.api.ui.Graphics;
import net.rim.device.api.system.EncodedImage;
import net.rim.device.api.ui.Graphics;
import net.rim.device.api.ui.component.BitmapField;
import net.rim.device.api.ui.component.LabelField;
import net.rim.device.api.ui.container.HorizontalFieldManager;
import net.rim.device.api.ui.container.MainScreen;
import net.rim.device.api.system.Display;
import net.rim.device.api.ui.*;
import net.rim.device.api.ui.component.*;

import net.rim.device.api.ui.container.*;

public class LoginSucessScreen extends MainScreen {

EncodedImage ei = EncodedImage.getEncodedImageResource("home.png");
BitmapField bmp = new BitmapField(ei.getBitmap(),BitmapField.FOCUSABLE| DrawStyle.HCENTER);
public LoginSucessScreen()
{
final LabelField title = new LabelField("Images",
LabelField.ELLIPSIS | LabelField.USE_ALL_WIDTH);

setTitle(title);
HorizontalFieldManager horizontalFieldManager = new
HorizontalFieldManager(NO_VERTICAL_SCROLL);

VerticalFieldManager horizontalFieldManager1 = new
VerticalFieldManager(Field.FIELD_HCENTER);

//add(horizontalFieldManager);
FocusChangeListener listener = new FocusChangeListener(){
public void focusChanged(Field field, int eventType)
{
if (eventType == FOCUS_CHANGED) {
UiApplication.getUiApplication().pushScreen(new FinalScreen());
}
}
};
horizontalFieldManager1.add(bmp);
bmp.setFocusListener(listener);
horizontalFieldManager.add(horizontalFieldManager1);
add(horizontalFieldManager);
// TODO Auto-generated constructor stub
}

public LoginSucessScreen(long style) {
super(style);
// TODO Auto-generated constructor stub
}

/**
* @param args
*/
}

this is code inwhich i am trying to open new screen wh

Brian Dec 30, 2010 10:33 AM

Icon Link

Did anyone figure out how to add a custom icon? I can't get it to accept the path to my icon image file.

I am trying /device/home/user/pictures/icon.png

sb439 Oct 14, 2010 8:53 AM

what URL did you use

i try file:///Media Card/Blackberry/Pictures/mypicture.png

it keeps coming up with please use valid url

Patrick Sep 21, 2010 6:02 PM

How to use it on Strom

I had also the problem, that the soft keyboard is not responding. However, if you type your text in another application like notepad, you can copy and paste it into the Hub application.
But I couldn't get the application load my icon - by now ;-)

lahaddatu May 27, 2010 9:06 PM

webshortcut

I'm having the same problem as shadi & christ S.
pls advice?

Christian Apr 30, 2010 10:26 PM

storm 2 (9550)

am one using this app on the storm 2? I can not input text, the keyboard appears however it will not recognize that i am touching it. any ideas?

roger bose Apr 25, 2010 4:50 PM

great! thank you

thanks for your work bud

Jay Apr 12, 2010 7:41 PM

Any way for this work with web radio station links?

This little blackberry program is great, I downloaded everything and can easily see how it would work...for "http://" sites.

However, I'd like it to point to a "rtsp://" link (web radio - opens up the blackberry media browser for streaming), and when I try to do that it says I still need to input a valid link.

Anybody have a fix? Thanks in advance.

Chris Smith Jan 12, 2010 1:23 PM

WebShortcuts doesn't open a browser up

On an 8330 Curve, I install the Webshortcuts tool, but when I click the new icon, it thinks for a second and then stops, if I then click over to the browser icon and open it, the page that was tied to the webshortcut is there? Any thoughts? It happens on some 8330's and not others?

stlyp Dec 24, 2009 6:19 PM

icon pictures

how do u change the icon picuture..do u just type in the file location from your fone? or wat?

Thanks alot to ! preciate this

Shadi Sep 12, 2009 11:02 AM

Web Link Shortcut

Hey, Love the software and the ability to put your own image in for an icon. I'm having a problem with it. When I click on the icon that I created, I see that it starts my browser and brings it to the right page, but it doesn't actually open the browser window. Once I click on my shortcut, I then have to click on my browser. Any advice?

Guide to Web Shortcuts on Your BB Home Screen

Is It Possible?

How to Create a Shortcut or Icon

Can I Customize an Icon for My BlackBerry Home Screen?

Comments