☚ The Sliding Drawer is a built-in workspace hidden off-screen. Demo ☛

It is a distinct screen area attached to the Left, Right, Top, or Bottom edge of the display. While it could be consider a “window” (another feature of Total Launcher which would have to be built from scratch) the Sliding Drawer is a system feature which is simply “turned on,” and the launcher handles its creation. It defaults to an empty container.

It works exactly like the “Notification Shade” on the device, but can be placed in 4 different locations and contain user-selected widgets, apps, and folders.

1. Go to Menu > Launcher options > UI & Animation
2. Scroll down to Sliding Drawer
3. Choose On the left (or ..right/..top/..bottom)
4. Exit the menu. A swipe from that edge the new empty drawer

The built-in Sliding Drawer is designed to solve specific interface problems for new users.

* The “All Apps” Solution:

• Instead of having all app icons cluttering the home screen, enable the Bottom Sliding Drawer. Place an “App Drawer Widget” inside it. Now, the classic “Swipe up for apps” behavior found in Pixel and Samsung phones, but fully customizable.

* The Widget Shelf:

• There may be a preference for a Calendar and Weather widget, but these obstruct the wallpaper. Instead, enable the Left Sliding Drawer. Place the widgets in the drawer to be accessible in one swipe but never in the way.

* Dock Replacement:

• Instead of a tiny row of 5 icons at the bottom (a dock), use a sliding drawer to hold 20 favorite shortcuts or objects.

Understand the “rules” of this specific feature:

* Edge Priority:

• The Sliding Drawer overrides other gestures on the very edge of the screen. When setting a “Swipe Right” gesture on the background *and* enabling a “On the left Sliding Drawer,” the drawer takes priority for the swipe from the edge.

* Independent Geometry:

• The drawer is essentially a separate “Page”.
• It has its own grid for each separate object created, such as a 4×4 grid on the home screen and a dense 6×10 grid inside the drawer.

Additional discussion can be found here in the wiki's “ui” section.