If you plan to travel by plane in the next few days and you want to have your boarding pass handy on your mobile, we will show you how you can put a widget on the main screen of your Android smartphone to have direct access to the corresponding PDF document . Follow these step by step instructions and you can get it in a few minutes.
Step 1: Check-in online
The first thing you have to do is check-in online on the web or mobile app of the airline with which you have contracted the flight. You will need the reservation code and some personal information (such as date of birth, ID or email address) to access this option.
Once you have completed the necessary steps, the airline will allow you to download the boarding pass in PDF , and will email you a copy as an attachment.
Step 2: Download the PDF file on your mobile
When you have completed the check-in, as we have mentioned, you will have the opportunity to download the boarding pass in PDF format on your mobile . It is useful to perform this download instead of leaving the file available in the email, because if you are abroad without roaming or if you run into an Internet connection problem, you will not be able to enter your email inbox to show the card in the airport.
Step 3: Install the application
Access the Google Play application store on your Android device and download the File Widget app . You will also find others that fulfill the same function, such as File Shortcut . Next we will explain how to configure File Widget .
Step 4: Configure the widget with the shortcut to the PDF
Keep your finger pressing the home screen on the smartphone until the appearance options menu is activated, where you can configure details such as the wallpaper or the available widgets. Click on Widgets and navigate through the options until you find the File Widget section . You will see that there are two shortcut options available through this app: icons with direct access to a document, or with direct access to a folder.
Press and hold on the File Widget icon and drag it to place it in the area that interests you on the home screen.
A menu will open with options to customize the widget , and you will have to fill it with the following information:
- Shortcut label : in this text field you will have to write the name you want to give to the shortcut icon.
- Select a file : click on the Pick File button to open the phone's file browser. If you downloaded the boarding pass directly from your mobile, you will find the PDF document in the Downloads folder .
- Activate or deactivate the Display edit icon option if you want the symbol to appear to edit the widget icon.
- Check or uncheck the Display file extension option if you want the shortcut to display the type of file it links to (in this case, PDF).
If you want to customize the appearance of the widget, you can click on the Pick icon button : the application will give you the option to choose an icon among your images ( Gallery ), among the icons of other applications ( Application icons ), or keep the default design ( Default icon ).
When you have finished the configuration, click on Create shorcut and you will have the icon with direct access available in the place of the home screen that you had selected. Now you can click on it when you need it to open the PDF with your boarding pass with a single touch .