Sesame Help

  1. What does Sesame do?
  2. What is the best way to use Sesame?
  3. How do I set up Sesame with Nova Launcher?
  4. Can I use Sesame if I don't have Nova Launcher?
  5. Can I customize the Lock Screen and Screen Edge?
  6. I'm having trouble with the Lock Screen.
  7. Can I change the position of the Screen Edge?
  8. I only see 5 shortcuts.
  9. My shortcuts are randomly ordered, I want to pick which ones show.
  10. I want to report a bug or give feedback.

What does Sesame do?

Sesame makes personal shortcuts for you. These let you navigate your device faster. Instead of swiping and tapping your way through screens, you can open many things directly from Sesame's search.


What is the best way to use Sesame?

Sesame works best when 1) you've set up your shortcuts and 2) you open them with the Search feature.

#1 Add Shortcuts
Many shortcuts are added during installation, but some require a little setup. To get the most out of Sesame we recommend the following:

#2 Use Search
Once you've set up your shortcuts, Search is the best way to use Sesame. Every shortcut can be opened from Search. Search is much faster than swiping to an app icon, long pressing it, then hoping that 1 of the 5 shortcuts is the one you want.

Sesame's search will learn from you and lets you use first letters to pull things up fast. For example, if I want to play The Beatles on Spotify I can type "S" "B" and "Spotify: The Beatles" will be the top result. Since it learns from each choice next time just "S" might work. Try it out!

In a few days, you'll know a lot of 1-2 letter abbreviations that open your most used shortcuts. And with Nova Launcher, you can tap the Home button to start a Sesame Search from anywhere, anytime. This becomes an automatic, very fast way to navigate your device.

Other tips:


How do I set up Sesame with Nova Launcher?

Sesame works with Nova Launcher starting with 5.4.

Once you have Nova 5.4, you should see the option to turn on the Sesame integration. Go to Nova Settings > Sesame Shortcuts and grant access. Then turn on "Shortcuts in App Search" and "Shortcuts in menu".

Next you'll want to set App Search to open when you tap the Home Button. Go to Nova Settings > Gestures & inputs, then tap on Home button and choose App Search.

Now you're ready to go! Just tap the Home button and to start searching your shortcuts.


Can I use Sesame if I don't have Nova Launcher?

If you don't have Nova Launcher 5.4 or greater, you can still use Sesame as a Lock Screen or Screen edge. Go to Sesame Settings > Preferences, then toggle ON the option you want.

NOTE: We highly recommend using the Nova Launcher integration. The Lock Screen and Screen Edge are not directly supported by the Android system. This means they have bugs we cannot fix. The Nova option is the most stable, has the most features, and lets you open Sesame by tapping the Home button, which is the fastest way.


Can I customize the Lock Screen and Screen Edge?

Yes. Go to Sesame Settings > Preferences, then tap on either Lock Screen or Screen Edge. You'll see a whole bunch of options to customize them, including the ability to change the position of the Screen Edge.

NOTE: We're no longer building new features for the Lock Screen or Screen Edge. The Nova integration offers so many advantages that we're focusing all of our attention there.


I'm having trouble with the Lock Screen.

3rd party Lock Screens are not officially supported by Android. Since Android takes security seriously, 3rd party apps, like Sesame, have no control over how the Android system responds to our lock screen. On some devices, users will have to swipe 2 screens to open their phone. We're sorry this happens but it's out of our control. If the lock screen doesn't work for you, we recommend trying the Nova integration. That's our best version.


Can I change the position of the Screen Edge?

Yes. Tap on "Screen Edge" in Sesame Preferences. You'll see options to customize it.


I only see 5 shortcuts.

We can only show 5 shortcuts when you long press an app icon. Those 5 shortcuts are the ones you use the most, but if they're not the ones you're looking for, try using App Search instead.


My shortcuts are randomly ordered, I want to pick which ones show.

Sesame ranks shortcuts by how often you've used them. When you first install Sesame, it doesn't have ranking data yet.

If you are using long press to open icons, you will only see 5 options. You can change which 5 appear by using App Search to find the shortcuts you want. When you use those shortcuts, they will be ranked higher and later show up in long press too.

We are considering building the option to set a fixed order for long press icons. That said, we're worried that would be investing in a feature which will never be good as search. Let us know what you think—we're listening.


I want to report a bug or give feedback.

Great! We're grateful for bug reports and feedback. We want to make Sesame better.

The best way to reach us is through the Reddit community, https://www.reddit.com/r/sesame/. We read every post and comment on Reddit. If you have a private issue or don't want to post on Reddit, you can email me at phil@sesame.ninja. It might take me longer to respond to emails.