Related
i love the modaco custom rom but would like to add the lockscreen from drizzys custom rom. (or any plain android looking lockscreen)
is there a way to extract the files i need and simply replacing them in the MRC? i guess its just an html file or something like that to replace, right?
I guess this is the HTCLockScreen.apk and .odex but since it's a system app, it cannot be installed or unistalled, and overwirting the apk in the system/app folder doesn't do anything.
If someone knows how to do it I will be very interested too.
im not sure if it will work but you can download my rom go to
system/framework
grab com.htc.resource.apk
now adb push com.htc.framework.apk /system/framework/
then reboot!
steps:
adb remount
adb push com.htc.framework.apk /system/framework/
adb shell
reboot
then if your phone loops then it didnt work, but if you go straight to you home screen then it should be fine!
good luck
"im not responsible for any wipes that you will have to do if you phone loops"
piflechien said:
I guess this is the HTCLockScreen.apk and .odex but since it's a system app, it cannot be installed or unistalled, and overwirting the apk in the system/app folder doesn't do anything.
If someone knows how to do it I will be very interested too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its not in the lockscreen!
its in the framework!
Or you could do what I did, pull com.htc.resources.apk from the phone, extract it with 7zip edit the .png files in res/drawable-land-480x320/ and res/drawable-port-480x320/ then zipped it and built the apk using apkbuilder.
Then push it to the phone, as usual make backups.
soulehmoo said:
Or you could do what I did, pull com.htc.resources.apk from the phone, extract it with 7zip edit the .png files in res/drawable-land-480x320/ and res/drawable-port-480x320/ then zipped it and built the apk using apkbuilder.
Then push it to the phone, as usual make backups.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much.
It works perfectly.
BR. Simemu
Thx it worked perfectly
I just pushed com.htc.resources.apk into the /system/framework folder.
Now is it also possible to change the notification bar with a similar method ?
I love the one from your Rom Drizzy Drake Rogers.
They are in framework-res.apk
A few jpg and png named status* in res/drawable-480x320/
Same method should apply.
As usual, would be smart to back up.
Edit: When I get some time off I may have a day messing with these files see about some different coloured UI's etc.
for me this does not work
what ive done is:
1. get the com.htc.resources.apk
2. extract it with rar
3. changed the mentioned png files
4. then i put them back into the archive (apk file, renamed as a zip file)
5. renamed the zip back to its original name
6. put the file as mentioned to the correct folder
there is no change.. is it a MUST to use apk builder, if yes, how to use that bat?
felikz said:
for me this does not work
what ive done is:
1. get the com.htc.resources.apk
2. extract it with rar
3. changed the mentioned png files
4. then i put them back into the archive (apk file, renamed as a zip file)
5. renamed the zip back to its original name
6. put the file as mentioned to the correct folder
there is no change.. is it a MUST to use apk builder, if yes, how to use that bat?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
reboot and see if that works!
yes i did that, its not the case..
did you guys do it my way, or did you use adk builder?
Yeah use apk builder. Should work.
Edit: you sure its named right and in the right place?? It should have overwritten your old one.
and how to use apk builder??
okay, i signed the new apk with this http://www.anddev.org/signing_your_apk-application_for_release_keytooljarsigner-t3069.html
but that didnt work (the sign process worked, but then the hero looped)..
can anyone please tell how to sign the apk with apkbuilder??
Did you sign the .apk or the .png ????
Sorry...but i didn´t got a solution...i´m standing in front of the same problem like you
easier method here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=536271
no need to bother with apk builder with this method.
boomshaker said:
Did you sign the .apk or the .png ????
Sorry...but i didn´t got a solution...i´m standing in front of the same problem like you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
signed the apk
soulehmoo said:
easier method here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=536271
no need to bother with apk builder with this method.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
also this does not work for me --> phone loop
any idea, what i could do wrong? i am using windows paint (windows 7) to edit the files.. then i put the edited png files back into archive (thus, overwrite the files there) and push that apk file again back to its path.. after phone reboot the phone goes into endless loop
soulehmoo said:
Or you could do what I did, pull com.htc.resources.apk from the phone, extract it with 7zip edit the .png files in res/drawable-land-480x320/ and res/drawable-port-480x320/ then zipped it and built the apk using apkbuilder.
Then push it to the phone, as usual make backups.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I want to change my lockscreen, it all seems to make sense apart from editing the .png files..
What am I supposed to be changing in the files? Maybe I missed something, but that doesn't seem to have been explained
pookie1 said:
I want to change my lockscreen, it all seems to make sense apart from editing the .png files..
What am I supposed to be changing in the files? Maybe I missed something, but that doesn't seem to have been explained
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tha background image of your lockscreen can be changed easily in the phone settings, but if you wanna change the other parts of the lockscreen, then you need to do it like told here ;-)
felikz said:
also this does not work for me --> phone loop
any idea, what i could do wrong? i am using windows paint (windows 7) to edit the files.. then i put the edited png files back into archive (thus, overwrite the files there) and push that apk file again back to its path.. after phone reboot the phone goes into endless loop
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
common guys, just a feedback!
i've been searching for like hours and haven't found a thread on this. is there any way to just flash a custom battery for the notification bar? i'd like the green circle battery that can be found in the Baked Snack ROM (as well as a few others). i tried ripping it out of this ROM but failed, even though i was following the structure of some battery update zip file i found laying around here. thanks
What rom are you running? DC? I will be porting it to CYANMOD when it becomes an RC. If you want to try it yourself, use adb and do these:
pull the framework-res.apk from /system/framework/
open the apk using 7zip
copy the "res" folder somewhere so you can work on it
Under drawable, or drawable hdpi something you will see "stat_sys battery" with all of your battery icons.
Copy the new icons to that folder replacing the old ones, drag the res folder back into the apk using 7zip
and copy the apk back to /system/framework/framework-res.apk
Done and Done....
thegame3202 said:
What rom are you running? DC? I will be porting it to CYANMOD when it becomes an RC. If you want to try it yourself, use adb and do these:
pull the framework-res.apk from /system/framework/
open the apk using 7zip
copy the "res" folder somewhere so you can work on it
Under drawable, or drawable hdpi something you will see "stat_sys battery" with all of your battery icons.
Copy the new icons to that folder replacing the old ones, drag the res folder back into the apk using 7zip
and copy the apk back to /system/framework/framework-res.apk
Done and Done....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks!
do i have to use adb though? i can't seem to get it to run, but maybe that's because i'm running a cmd window already, not sure because i can't stop it.
edit: nvm, i was getting ahead of myself there for a sec haha. thanks again!!!
edit2: and yes, Damage Control. the other ROMs i've tried were great but data numbers didn't work, google goggles didn't work, visual voicemail didn't work...and i even tried all the little tricks for visual voicemail/data numbers and still couldn't get it to work. DC is the best fully functional ROM imo next to the stock ROM.
Haha, yeah use adb. Might be able to do it without... but i don't know how. Maybe use a file manager to copy the file to your sd card, then transfer to your comp, do the above, then do the opposite to get it back...
thegame3202 said:
Haha, yeah use adb. Might be able to do it without... but i don't know how. Maybe use a file manager to copy the file to your sd card, then transfer to your comp, do the above, then do the opposite to get it back...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yup, that's what i'm gonna try. if not then i'll figure it out. i really just wasn't sure which files needed to be replaced. i knew a few, but not all.
ps - i'll keep an eye out for your version of the CM RC.
thegame3202 said:
What rom are you running? DC? I will be porting it to CYANMOD when it becomes an RC. If you want to try it yourself, use adb and do these:
pull the framework-res.apk from /system/framework/
open the apk using 7zip
copy the "res" folder somewhere so you can work on it
Under drawable, or drawable hdpi something you will see "stat_sys battery" with all of your battery icons.
Copy the new icons to that folder replacing the old ones, drag the res folder back into the apk using 7zip
and copy the apk back to /system/framework/framework-res.apk
Done and Done....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried this last night with the GPS icon and it still showned on reboot.
alright so i just now got this working lol
i prob used a more complicated way of changing it but that's because adb would just crash for whatever reason.
for anyone else who wants to do what i did, these were my steps
using a computer:
1. extract the ROM zip file you're trying to modify the battery for
2. navigate to system/framework
3. open framework-res.apk with 7zip
4. double click res
5. double click drawable-hdpi
6. copy your new modified battery icons into this drawable-hdpi folder to replace
7. re-zip the ROM
8. re-sign the ROM
9. re-flash
i'm sure you can do this without having to re-flash your ROM, but this is what i did, it worked, and that's all that matters
big thanks again to thegame!
pull the framework-res.apk from /system/framework/
open the apk using 7zip
copy the "res" folder somewhere so you can work on it
Under drawable, or drawable hdpi something you will see "stat_sys battery" with all of your battery icons.
Copy the new icons to that folder replacing the old ones, drag the res folder back into the apk using 7zip
and copy the apk back to /system/framework/framework-res.apk
So I'm a bit of a noob. I'm attempting to create a theme and I cannot figure out where to edit the noti bar as well as the lockscreen image. For the lockscreen, I just want to keep the same tw lockscreen, but I want to change the padlock/background. Any help would be amazing as I am truely stumped.
If this needs to be in general, please move me
The file(s) that you are looking for are located in the framework-res.apk package located in a ROM/Theme. Inside of the .apk is a folder called res, and inside it is a folder called drawable-hdpi. This folder contains the majority of images used to make a theme look a certain way. In order to change the status bar, you need to edit the file statusbar_background.png. The lock screen one is in this folder too.
Nice. Thank you sir
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
I figured since the question has been answered I could just hijack this thread instead of making a new one. I am pretty new on modifying Android ROMs and would like to know where I should start first if I wanted to create my own theme? I would like to do some simple modifications first like icons and colors. Where can I find the necessary materials to get started? Like a fresh Touchwiz 2.5 template from the epic? Or do I just extract them from the stock ROM, if so, how? Thanks.
The files are accessible from the ROM if you open the zip and go to /system/framework then extract framework-res.apk
From there, you can open the apk with a tool like WinRAR and navigate to /res/drawable-hdpi as thomasskull666 mentioned. You can extract the png files from there and then just drag them back in once modified. Then just drag the framework-res.apk back into the ROM zip and flash it and bask in the glory of your handiwork.
Best advice is organize your workspace. You will have so many folders in folders your head is going to spin! What I do is copy the framework-res.apk, twframework-res.apk into a folder on your PC called STOCK DI18 Theme. *Make sure you pull these files from a deodexed rom or you'll have issues! Drawable-hdpi folder inside of both framework-res.apk files is where the brunt of you mods will be. If you are feeling daring, after changing the images in there you can begin to pull the drawable-hdpi from apps as well as long as you drag out the drawable folder, make your edits, then drag the edited folder right back in the zip, you'll be fine. Don't touch .9.png files if you don't know how to program them, I'm guessing you don't. Don't worry, edit everything else first to get that "feel" for what you are getting into. From there then research the .9.png files.
I highly recommend using 7zip for all of this, it is less of a headache. This is the basics of what you'll be doing to everything. Lets say you were going to do all this right off of your desktop. Make a folder on your desktop called STOCK DI18 Theme. Copy your framework-res.apk and twframework-res.apk into that folder from your deodexed rom. ANY TIME YOU NEED TO TAKE THESE FILES TO EDIT FOR YOUR THEME, COPY THEM FROM THIS FOLDER, NEVER SAVE THE CHANGES BACK INTO THIS FOLDER. This is important because you want easy access to all your stock files. Copy your system/framework and system/apps in here.
Now if you want to work on the framework-res.apk first. copy it to the desktop. Right click and choose 7zip-open archive. You can see the file structure of the apk. Click twice on res and you will see all the folders including drawable, drawable-hdpi, etc. Drag and drop drawable-hdpi to your desktop. Edit anything you want in there except a .9.png. Save the files into that same folder. Then drag and drop the folder right back into the archive where you got it in the first place. Then say your all done. Drag framework-res.apk back into the zip your going to flash on your phone in the same method.
Another quick tip, if you don't have an update zip and you have no idea what you are doing, download any working theme from here. Grab one of mine, and copy your framework-res.apk, twframework-res.apk, apps, etc over what in there. Make sure not to leave nothing it will show up in your theme! Any thing you need clearing up on, PM me, this should be plenty to get you started. To theme an app, right click say alarmclock.apk choose 7zip-open archive and do your magic again. As long as you only change the pictures in there you won't alter the signature on them so don't be afraid to mess with it.
Lastly, the Epic's framework is LOADED with files that it doesn't even use so be careful you not spending too much time editing a file you never seen on your phone before!
dreamsforgotten said:
Lastly, the Epic's framework is LOADED with files that it doesn't even use so be careful you not spending too much time editing a file you never seen on your phone before!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Excellent tip, this is especially helpful if you are trying to port a theme as not all of the .png's will match up. Make sure you know what you NEED to be replacing as opposed to what is optional. Also I don't know if it was mentioned before but there are some files (especially in twframework-res) that have a .9 before the .png. These are not your run-of-the-mill png files, and they need to be specially edited to preserve their formatting. I recommend avoiding these if at all possible, but there is a way to edit them if you are feeling really adventurous. Here is the link to that post:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=5206698
My suggestions for success: If you really want to make sure you are editing only the files that you need to edit in framework-res.apk, download a few custom themes or ROMs and extract the framework-res.apk from them. Then use a program such as UltraCompare to compare the files and folders inside each to find common files. This will help you pinpoint exactly what needs to be edited and what needs to be left alone. Lastly, like dreamsforgotten stated, be sure to have a good work directory from which to edit these .apks, as you will be working with folder after folder after folder. Organization is key, and patience is required
hey guys.
i'm having a frustrating issue when editing framework-res.apk to include the rectangle battery mod.
this is a long post...please DO NOT POST GENERIC ANSWERS WITHOUT READING THE POST FIRST!!!
i'm used to editing framework-res.apk and all other .apks on my phone for various purposes. i use a combination of 7zip and apkmanager 4.9 to extract, replace, decompile/recompile, etc. depending on what i'm doing.
at this point here's what i'm trying to do:
DaGunn provided me with a modified framework-res.apk which includes a buttonized power control widget (from JsChiSurf's thread). this is v2.0 (on the 3.29 ota). previously i had v1.0 which I had fully customized to my liking.
the file provided to me by DaGunn has the buttonized look, and some smooth sense elements, as well as the super circle battery meter.
i opened framework-res.apk he provided with 7zip and replaced all the 901 images in res/drawable-hdpi with my own 901 image files from my existing framework. these files all have the same exact name and same exact extensions. (hence when I drag and drop into the new framework-res.apk in 7zip i get a direct replacement rather than having extra files).
this has worked countless times in the past. as a matter of fact, it worked 99% of the way this time. all the framework images went back to my customized images. except the battery disappeared.
i narrowed it down to the battery images. if i leave his 101 circle battery .pngs and replace every other file in framework-res, it works just fine. all my images show and the battery shows up in the circle style. if i then just replace his 101 circle battery .pngs with my 101 matted blues rectangle battery .pngs, which are the same exact names (i checked!) and extension, and after I optimized them almost exactly the same file size as well, everything goes to crap. the battery doesn't show up at all in the title bar.
if i plug in the phone, the rectangle charging animation works, the download animation works, all other smooth sense animations that I have replaced with the mattedblues files from my previous framework work. except for the battery.
now, if his .pngs work, and mine replace his directly with the same exact name and extension, why would the battery display suddenly disappear?!
I'm being told it has to do with resource IDs, but here's the problem. I was provided a "guide" on how to properly modify framework-res by one of the guys involved in MattedBlues (beatblaster). in it I was told that I only need to recompile framework-res after adding NEW .pngs, that if the .pngs were already accounted for in resources.arsc then trying to recompile would throw errors and instead I should replace those .pngs with 7zip. that's what i'm trying to do but as I said, then the battery meter doesn't work.
if i decompile DaGunn's original file, I'm able to recompile it just fine. keep in mind this file already has a lot of modifications on it as it is. but if i decompile his framework, and I replace his .pngs with mine, and try to recompile, I get thousands of lines of error in the log. all having to do with public.xml, which I'm being told goes back to resource IDs.
what am i missing here? i know how to remove the battery display from the title bar so I dont have that empty space, but I do enjoy my percentage battery and I would like to get this to work!
any input will be greatly appreciated...
+5 points for you if you read this far!
I'm not clear if you are recompiling or just dropping the images in, but if you are recompiling try making all your xml changes without adding the new images. Then after its compiled drop your new images in.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
i'm not modifying any xmls. only replacing .pngs. it's specifically clarified in the OP.
the existing framework, with its modified .xmls and .pngs as given to me decompiles and recompiles just fine. if i decompile, then replace the .pngs with my own, and try to recompile, then it gives error. if i just open it in 7zip and replace the .pngs with my own, the battery disappears, but no force closes or error messages.
anyone else?
Are any of the .png files you are replacing have the 9.png extension? I know modifying these is very tedious and requires a more difficult process. Also can u post the errors in the apkmanager log?
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App
nope. the files are stat_sys_battery_0 through stat_sys_battery_100. all .png not a single one in any other extension.
i can't post the apk manager log because it is literally thousands of lines of errors.
what I can do is give you the framework as I have it, working with his battery .pngs and a separate .zip with my battery .pngs, so you can try to do it yourself and see the problem/compile errors.
it really is weird...or stupidly simple!
Firstly you SHOULD NOT be decompiling just to swap images, even .9 pngs. You only need to decompile if you are editing xml files which by reading your post you aren't. To change pngs only, you should use option 1 (extract) in apk manager. Then change all your pngs you want changed. Use option 3 to recompress your framework. Make sure to tell it that it is a system apk, and then use option 12 to resign. You should be good to go.
t3project said:
Firstly you SHOULD NOT be decompiling just to swap images, even .9 pngs. You only need to decompile if you are editing xml files which by reading your post you aren't. To change pngs only, you should use option 1 (extract) in apk manager. Then change all your pngs you want changed. Use option 3 to recompress your framework. Make sure to tell it that it is a system apk, and then use option 12 to resign. You should be good to go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
The reason I was confused about what you were trying to accomplish is because you don't need to decompile unless changing xml's.
Thats what I do for non system apps. I'll give it a try in the morning and see if it makes a difference.
Swyped from my HTC Evo 4G on the MetroPCS 1X network!
Ok first if you go to recompile something and you get errors usally the first error is the one causing the problem. Look and see what the first error is and fix it, like has been said what you are trying to do using 7 zip is a good way to do it, not decompiling. You said this is how you prefer way to do it anyway so that's good.
Second I have found at times that 7 zip does not properly replace threw images so weird things happen, only happens sometimes. With that said try using apk manager to unzip the apk replace the images and rezip it do not sign it. See if that works
Third. If all else fails download nijamorph from the market. Put the images you want on your scard where I can find them easy. Open nijamorph and start a new project navigate to your framework-res.apk.from here you can do two things first you can press existing project and find what you are looking for and change one at a time or the easy way. Close the app open your favorite file manager find the pngs you are going to use, copy them, then navigate to android themes/workspace in there you will find the framework-resapk folder, in there is everything just like the apk so paste the files were they go (that last step can all be done on the computer if that is easier for you.) Next open your nijamorph app and press finish project follow the prompts and let it do its thing. If your phone does not reboot reboot it.you should be good to go.
Like always do a backup before doing these steps
Good luck
Sent from my unrEVOked using xda app
Max_Pain said:
Thats what I do for non system apps. I'll give it a try in the morning and see if it makes a difference.
Swyped from my HTC Evo 4G on the MetroPCS 1X network!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it works the same way when replacing pngs. compiling and recompiling is only needed if making xml/code changes. i had to learn this the hard way too. just make sure you sign system apps with option 12 instead of option 4 like you would with a non-system app.
t3project said:
To change pngs only, you should use option 1 (extract) in apk manager. Then change all your pngs you want changed. Use option 3 to recompress your framework. Make sure to tell it that it is a system apk, and then use option 12 to resign. You should be good to go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this worked!
dont know why I would have to extract, replace, compress, as I've NEVER done that with framework-res.apk, only when editing apps that need to be resigned. oh well, it worked
I think you misunderstood what I told you in the guide I gave you which is you only need to decompile/recompile when you are making XML code changes as stated above in a previous post. When I wrote that guide for you I wrote it thinking you wanted to add more features to the original power control widgets (such as smooth mods). If you want to simply replace PNGs, as stated previously, all you need to do is replace the PNGs without decompiling and recompiling.
In this instance, the problem you're running into is that you're trying to compile the framework using already-customized PNGs which will not work (another point that was stated in the guide as well )
So, in conclusion, if all you want to do is change the PNGs all you gotta do is (and you probably already know this but I'm including it to be thorough):
- Open archive (framework) in 7-zip
- Navigate to framework-res/res/drawable-hdpi
- Add your desired PNGs into the 7-zip window
- Close the 7-zip window and answer yes when 7zip asks if you want to update the archive
- Flash framework onto your phone
- All should be well
- When using this method there is no signing necessary!
Again, as stated previously, the only time you need to decompile/recompile is when you're going to edit an XML (or make any other code changes). So, for a final example of this, let's say you wanted to take DaGunn's power widgets framework but you wanted to change the "text highlight" color. What you would do then is this:
- Decompile DaGunn's framework in APK manager (option 9)
- Navigate to /projects/framework-res.apk/values/styles..xml
- Search for for "<item name="textColorHighlight">" and change the color HEX code
- Save the changes to styles.xml
- Compile the framework in APK manager (option 11)
- When asked if this is a system apk answer Y for yes
- When asked if you want to copy additional files to reduce the amount of errors answer Y for yes
- When prompted about the "keep" folder, open a file manager and navigate to /<apk_manager_folder>/keep and DELETE the resources.arsc file
- Go back to the APK manager window and press any button to finish the compile process
- Back in your file manager, go back to /<apk_manager_folder>/place-apk-here-for-modding/ folder, grab the unsignedFramework-res.apk, rename it to framework-res.apk and flash it however you flash it.
- Test your changes (in this example, the text highlight color)
This concludes my post.
thanks for the clarification beat.
but the problem was I was just opening framework-res.apk with 7zip, doing it like you're saying to do in the first part of your post above, and the battery meter would disappear instead of showing the mattedblues battery images instead of the circle ones.
if i left his .pngs in, the battery would show. if i replaced his with mine using 7zip, the battery would disappear.
this confused me because this is exactly the way that I've been integrating mattedblues into every framework i get. i open in 7zip, replace existing files with my own, and bam, everything works. this time it didnt!
this got fixed by extracting, replacing, and compressing again in apk manager 4.9.
i tried decompiling/recompiling simply because I was so out of ideas as to how else to go about it. I don't need to make any .xml changes to DaGunn's file because he had already integrated most of smooth sense with the percentage battery and v2 of the power widgets
anyways, thanks for the clarification.
beatblaster said:
So, in conclusion, if all you want to do is change the PNGs all you gotta do is (and you probably already know this but I'm including it to be thorough):
- Open archive (framework) in 7-zip
- Navigate to framework-res/res/drawable-hdpi
- Add your desired PNGs into the 7-zip window
- Close the 7-zip window and answer yes when 7zip asks if you want to update the archive
- Flash framework onto your phone
- All should be well
- When using this method there is no signing necessary!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
max, not sure why this wouldnt work for you.
t3project said:
max, not sure why this wouldnt work for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no. this method is SUPPOSED TO WORK, as I said in the original post. this is how I've done every single change to framework-res.apk in the past. that is why I felt the need to ask for help. because the same thing that has always worked, suddenly wasn't working anymore!
for some reason, using 7zip WAS NOT WORKING to replace the battery .pngs....but ONLY those files. every other file was replaced using 7zip and they all worked. the only files I ended up having to replace through apk manager extract/compress method you gave me were the battery images.
thanks everyone
Max_Pain said:
no. this method is SUPPOSED TO WORK, as I said in the original post. this is how I've done every single change to framework-res.apk in the past. that is why I felt the need to ask for help. because the same thing that has always worked, suddenly wasn't working anymore!
for some reason, using 7zip WAS NOT WORKING to replace the battery .pngs....but ONLY those files. every other file was replaced using 7zip and they all worked. the only files I ended up having to replace through apk manager extract/compress method you gave me were the battery images.
thanks everyone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ohh i know. i use the way i told you because i just like to see the images while im playing with them. that way i know for sure whats up.
The lazy man’s guide to theming.
I get requests all the time to make simple changes to my themes that anyone with a computer can do. So I put together this quick guide on how to theme the easy way. This is how I do most of my themes minus any xml edits or battery mods. This guide is for changing images only without having to decompile and recompile the entire apk file with apktool or apk manager. Great for when you just want to make a few changes to your existing setup.
What you will need.
~ 7zip use Google search it’s easy to find
~ image editor Gimp is great and free you can Google it also. I use Fireworks and Photoshop depending on what I am trying to do.
~ Draw9Suite. Created by tommytomatoe/kakomalo Thread found here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1272513
Download here: http://www.4shared.com/zip/TaDGMjde/9patchPngSuite.html
Unzip and place contents in folder, I have mine on my desktop.
~ An existing rom or theme to modify.
With just these tools you can do a lot.
Once you have 7zip and 9patchPngSuite on your system you will need to download the rom, or already existing theme for the rom you are on so you can make the changes you want to it.
Download the rom/theme you want to make changes to and use 7zip to unpack the rom/theme you downloaded, do this by right clicking on the zip file and chose open with 7zip. Inside you will find lots of folders, the ones you are looking for will be in system/app (for apps) or system/framework (for framework files). Extract the apk’s by just dragging them out of the 7zip window, to a folder on your desktop.
Inside the folder you extracted the apk’s to create a folder for each apk’s you extracted. Now you will want to extract the folder drawable-hdpi from the res folder of each apk to its associated folder, do this with 7zip also the same way you extracted the apk file. Once the drawable-hdpi folders are extracted you will see the images inside that you can modify.
At this point I create another folder inside each of the specific apk folders and name it .9 images and I copy and paste all the .9 images I want to change into that folder (these are for reference). I then copy all of those images into the compiled folder of 9patchPngSuite. And chose option 1 to decompile them. Now look in the decompiled folder and you can now take those images and change anything inside the black lines and dots you will see on the outside edge. If you feel like it you can also create your own .9 file with your own image by choosing option 2, this will open up draw9patch. Maser&Slave made a great tutorial on this so I won’t go into it. Edit your images, but be careful if the image displays words on it (like with popup_center_dark.9 )and it has a dark background it should remain dark so the word will still be readable, and vice versa if the image has a light background it most likely will have a dark font displayed on it that will be difficult to read if you make the image a dark color. Once all your images are edited use option 3 to recompile them, now in the output folder you will find your recompiled images that you can put back into your drawable-hdpi folder. Edit any other images you want just be careful with the pixel size if an image is 70X70 and you make it 140X140 it could cause some problems, some you can change others you can’t, it’s a lot of trial and error. Once all edits are finished put them all back in the drawable-hdpi folder you extracted from the apk, use 7zip to open the apk again, navigate to the res folder and delete the existing drawable-hdpi folder and drop the one you made the changes to into it, use the back arrow in the 7zip window and it will zip it back up and you can push the apk or flash it to test if your images came out the way you wanted them to. This will work with any image you chose to edit. You can also use this method add images from other themes you like to modify your theme to the way you want it. Just copy and paste the images you want to change into the drawabel-hdpi folder of the theme you are creating.
Brief list of what each apk controls, I am still new to ICS so if anyone knows more info please post.
Framework-res.apk
This will contain most of the images you will want to make changes to. Including check boxes, popup windows, menus, tabs, general status bar images, some lockscreen clocks, and a lot more. You will recognize them as you scroll through them. Some are hard to recognize like activity_tite_bar.9 and dark_header.9 because they are small, it will take some practice and trial and error to get the look you want.
Twframework-res.apk
This contains very little in ICS it still controls the tab backgrounds for a lot of apps but that is all I have found so far.
Systemui.apk
This apk contains most of the files for your dropdown and status bar, like signal bars, 3g 4g icons, wifi strength icons ,dropdown background and more. in ICS it also contains the battery images.
Ik95-res.apk and lidroid-res.apk
These apks contain the toggle images and background In the dropdown i.e. wifi toggle, airplane mode toggle etc. for the 14 ad 15 toggle mods.
Here is a standard flashable zip file you can put your modified apk files in and flash with CWM, open with 7zip and put your apk file in the corresponding folder in the flashable zip if you pulled it from framework put it back in the system/framework folder, if you pulled it from app put it in system/app folder in the flashable zip. Then flash like any other theme.
Flashable zip : http://www.4shared.com/zip/cmn3J1yd/My_flash.html
included below is a word doc of this tutorial.
future additions ....
Thanks for the guide, chief!