Question about the google screen capture feature

Xelanthys

Hi,

I am looking for a feature that is really important to me. I know it's hard to have it on graphene but I wonder if you know any alternative or way to turn it on.

On google pixel, when long pressing the center button you get that google lens overlay that allow to quickly translate the page. Living in a country with a completely different alphabet, I was using that regularly to scan and translate some online page, some friend messages or some emails.

Now I know Graphene is not really for this, and hat by putting google it defeat a bit the purpose of it, but each one has their threat model and this is really something I was using daily (as some app don't event support English and don't allow copy paste of text.)

Do you know an alternative app, or a way to activate google lens on demand if there are none?

Thank you for your help and for the OS which is really great.

Dumdum

Xelanthys Now I know Graphene is not really for this, and hat by putting google it defeat a bit the purpose of it

Nope
https://xcancel.com/GrapheneOS/status/1951685943045313013

Skorp

Hello!

On GrapheneOS you are able to set Google/Gemini as the default assistant app and trigger it from the long press on home (3-button navigation) or the diagonal swipe up from the bottom corners (gesture navigation). However, even when enabling the related toggles in the settings for the Google app, it cannot read the screen or screenshots you take.

As a possible workaround, the Google Translate app adds a shortcut to the text selection options. When you install it and highlight some text on a web page, in addition to the "Copy", "Share", and "Select all" options, there will also be a "Translate" option. I do not know how it will behave for every app, however.

Installing Google services does not defeat the purpose of GrapheneOS in the slightest and there is no shame in needing or wanting to use the services.

Xelanthys

Thanks you so much for the replies. I am used to reddit etc where just by mentioning google in a privacy related would have get me down voted to hell and not get any proper answer. I m glad you are way nicer here ^^

Skorp thanks I missed that option and I setup google assistant back just for this feature which really is a must for me. The google translate one doesn't work in many cases where text is not selectable or app that do not allow screenshots.

Now my Graphene as all I needed from my Previous Pixel installation with far less google stuff on it and quite some more control. It's amazing!

Thank you for the help

CitizenOfTheWorld

Hello,

I have exactly the same problematic, constantly switching between different language, learning them all is not an option ...

I'm currently using DeepL, taking screenshots and translating them in the app. Even if some language are missing, most that i use are present. I have to agree it is far less convenient than the screen translate function of google translate but it does the job for my ungoogled profile. However, I'm currently considering making a dedicated google profile just to use this functionality, still not tried yet.

While doing my research, i came across gaminik that seems to be what we could be looking for, but there is not a lot of information on their website so I still did not try it personally.

Maybe someone have better option to recommend ?

Byku

I can recommend TranslateYou of you want something FOSS. It can translate marked text in an overlay.

If you want that Google circle to search function with the assistant that also is possible:
1 install MICTS (no root or other workaround is needed on a Pixel phone)
2 install Key Mapper and set the keys you want to launch MICTS with
3 set Google app as assistant
4 press the keys set in 2 to access circle to search

There's a more detailed guide with links on this forum. Search for "circle to search" topic.

simboi

Hi, I installed Graphene OS yesterday and have been trying to find an alternative to this since! Have you found any good alternatives? I didn't realize how much I relied on the text select and circle to search features until I uninstalled Pixel os

Tandara

Hey there!

Download Google app, set it as default assistant, download Google Translate, and download MiCTS from GitHub.

Then, just use any shortcut app you prefer to launch MiCTS. Now the dev's repo also has an app for on-screen Gemini. I'm using Touch the Notch to launch MiCTS.