Ok themers, I tried to do this myself but I really wasn't as simple as I thought but then again it never is lol. I have audio manager pro and I got the flat white skin for the widget here:
https://market.android.com/details?...mF1ZGlvd2lkZ2V0cHJvLnRoZW1lcy5mbGF0d2hpdGUiXQ..
What I tried to do was change the color to ICS blue with plain old photoshop but my modified apk was unsigned so if anybody can take this skin and replace the white images and text with ICS blue from this example I would be most thankful
Cool hope it happens.
don't extract the apk/zip file just open it using winrar the files your moving should also be compressed in a zip this way you don't have to mess around with resigning apk files.
if the images are .png9 that's a different story
Yes that's what I did but I still got the message. I'll try again!
If it doesnt install regularly move it to system/app with root explorer and reboot
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Use apk_manager - put the apk in "place-app-here-for-signing" run the script and sign it. You shouldnt have a problem.
Related
I installed the stock MMS.apk file on my de'odexed stock rom (rooted of course). Everything worked well and the app runs, but when reading text threads there is an ugly white border around the edge of the screen, its strange. Its not present when viewing the list of conversations, only in the thread view. I'm not sure if that's how its supposed to look or not, but if not, anyone have any idea how to fix this?
I'll get a screenshot up as soon as I get home.
I first obtained the MMS.apk from the cyanogen rom, then thinking that it might be modified and thus creating my problem, I grabbed the AOSP version from this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=789493
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
UPDATE:
Found another thread where people are experiencing the same issue, apparently its a problem with how sense handles the application:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=752604
I attempted to open up the Mms.apk (AOSP version) with APKtool and play around with the xml files for the UI, but wasn't able to get it to recompile and test any changes I made, the app would just crash on launch. I simply made a few changes to the colors, but I admittedly don't really know what I'm doing and it wouldn't run. If anyone who's more experienced in this area could offer some advice I'll try again.
That's a picture of the issue, it appears in both landscape and portrait mode.
Texts were blacked out just for privacy sake.
Well after a few hours of messing around in the XML files for the AOSP messaging app, I was able to find a solution to this issue. I modified the XML file to have it correctly display the black color background when using the black theme. I was not able to eliminate the border entirely, but by changing the scrollbar type from Inset to Overlay I was able to make it uniform and far more visually pleasing.
I have attached my modified Mms.apk file, feel free to test it out.
For the specifics of what I did for those who are interested:
Two files were modified in the apk
- /res/layout/compose_message_activity.xml
- /res/layout/compose_message_activity_black.xml
In both files I changed the scrollbarStyle propery to "insideOverlay", in addition to removing the reference to always show the scrollbar track.
In the black xml file I changed the background color to "@android:color/black".
The original XML files were extracted using APKTool and Recompiled to their binary format, then reinserted into the original apk without resigning.
This is awesome! ... Except it doesn't filter out the VVM message streams that come through. :|
I haven't encountered this problem though I use google voice so I'm not really sure what it is you're referring to.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
ty!
beautiful ty!!!!!!!!!
Imma cry
I cant send mms!
Try turning off wifi while sending/receiving mms
no wifi
i don't have wifi on when i do this i just have 3g on so i can send mms!
i zipped the file with the one that had the white outline .is there a way to make this new apk. file into a .zip file for me ?
I'd imagine you could simply replace the APK file in your zip with my modified one and install that way. Use a program like winrar or 7zip to replace the apk within the zip.
tehpsyc said:
I'd imagine you could simply replace the APK file in your zip with my modified one and install that way. Use a program like winrar or 7zip to replace the apk within the zip.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry but i cant find either of thoses programs u mention to replace the APK file in my zip with your modified version .is there another program or a manual way of doing this process ?
how do i install this? since it's an APK, i thought i'd just install it from Astro but it says it's already installed and asked if i wanted to uninstall.
To install this you need to either delete or rename the Mms.apk that's already on your phone in the /system/app directory (I just rename to Mms.apk.bak) and then copy the modified one into that same directory followed by a restart of the phone. Because its a system app you cant install it the same way you would a regular apk, at least from my understanding.
You will need to get write access to the system directory to accomplish this (I used an app on the market called root explorer, though you can also do all this through the ADB shell)
hey guys.
i've been getting into modding apps to match my liking. i've modded widgetlocker, sms unread count, ported the cm6 mail app and modded it, and also lookout. pretty much what i'm doing is changing .png's. i've done it by openining the .apks with apk manager, editing the .pngs, zipping and then signing it. then i install and bam, everything works.
however, now i'm trying to mod MixZing and i'm having an issue. bear with the long explanation:
tried the regular method using .apk manager. if i unzip/edit/zip/sign and try to install, i get "Application not installed"...if i do unzip/edit/zip as system app (no signature) and try to install, same message. if i do unzip/edit/zip as regular app but dont sign it, same message. if i edit the file with 7Zip and try to install, also get the same message...
if i unzip/edit/zip/sign and try to copy/paste over the existing .apk in /data/app i get force closes when i try to open the app.
now, if i edit the .apk with 7-zip and i copy it over the existing .com.mixzing.basic-1.apk in /data/app then it works! the widgets work, the app works. all is well....until i reboot the phone. then i come back and the app wont launch, as if it wasn't there.
i go to /data/app/ the .apk is there, but it wont launch. if i try to install it from there, it also gives me "Application not installed"...interestingly enough, when i try to install it, it tells me it would overwrite an existing application. yet when i go to the Market, it shows as Mixzing NOT being installed and lets me install a new copy just fine.
if i install again from the market, and copy/paste my copy over it in /data/app, it works again...until I reboot...and the cycle repeats.
what am i doing wrong here?
I am also trying to theme/mod apks to my liking. I am also getting the same errors as you are"application not installed ". I posted the same questions, yours are more detailed, on Riptides theme thread. Riptide has themed several add-ons that are flashed via recovery. I am waiting on a reply. Maybe check his thread and see if your questions are answered on there also...
Sent from my PC36100
No help or suggestions???
Sent from my PC36100
What files are you modifying? Are they *.9.png files? If so, they need to be decompiled, not just extracted so you can see the borders.
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
yeah the majority of the images edited are the buttons, all of which are .9.pngs. would that make a difference as to the app not installing? or the fact that it's recognized prior to boot but not after boot?
EDIT: i decompiled the .apk with APK Manager. replaced the .9.pngs with my own. tried to recompile and when it was about done it gave an error. after that it allowed me zip the apk. when i went to install, got the same message..."application not installed"...
why this issue with MixZing and not Lookout, SMS Unread Count, CM6 Email, WidgetLocker???
Max_Pain said:
yeah the majority of the images edited are the buttons, all of which are .9.pngs. would that make a difference as to the app not installing? or the fact that it's recognized prior to boot but not after boot?
EDIT: i decompiled the .apk with APK Manager. replaced the .9.pngs with my own. tried to recompile and when it was about done it gave an error. after that it allowed me zip the apk. when i went to install, got the same message..."application not installed"...
why this issue with MixZing and not Lookout, SMS Unread Count, CM6 Email, WidgetLocker???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, .9 png files are not normal image files. To make a long story short, they are special image files that contain meta-data. Usually this meta-data is used to tell the widget where to stop and start (basically borders). Developers use .9 png files instead of hard-coding the borders to make it easier and more flexible for widgets and other images to display on a wide variety of devices.
When you extract .9 files, you will not see the meta-data. Chances are what is happening is when you are modifying the .9 files, you are also erasing the metadata. All .9 png files must have either a black border on the edge to tell the application where the border is, or it must have a white (blank) border surrounding the image. When you decompile the images, you should see some black lines on the edges of the .9 image files (make sure you are using APKManager 4.9).
So, when editing .9 png files, you have 3 options:
1. The easiest is to simply edit it the way you have been and remove the .9 filename. So for example, if the file is called background.9.png, rename it to background.png. This works about 50% of the time.
2. Decompile the .9 png file to see the borders, edit the image file and either keep the existing border or make your own black border on the edge (it doesn't need to be thick, just a small black line will do). The only problem with this is that sometimes you can see the black lines after it is compiled again.
3. The best way, IMHO, is to make a blank edge on the border of the background. This will avoid any compiling errors and eliminates the chance of seeing the black border. It doesn't need to be thick, just as long as the app can distinguish the border.
thanks for detailed post. will look at it with more time tonight or tomorrow.
i tried quickly now but didnt work.
i decompiled the apk using apk manager 4.9, i was able to see the .9.pngs with the black border. i changed all the extensions to just be .png for all of them. then edited them all in photoshop (make them clear is all i want), saved, and recompiled. for the first time APK Manager didn't give me an error. got all the way to asking me if it was a system app. i chose no. then i signed the app. again, no errors from apk manager. but when i tried installing, again got "application not installed"
ahhh...
will try other methods from your post later. if you have an idea as to why my first attempt didnt work i'm all ears.
Max_Pain said:
thanks for detailed post. will look at it with more time tonight or tomorrow.
i tried quickly now but didnt work.
i decompiled the apk using apk manager 4.9, i was able to see the .9.pngs with the black border. i changed all the extensions to just be .png for all of them. then edited them all in photoshop (make them clear is all i want), saved, and recompiled. for the first time APK Manager didn't give me an error. got all the way to asking me if it was a system app. i chose no. then i signed the app. again, no errors from apk manager. but when i tried installing, again got "application not installed"
ahhh...
will try other methods from your post later. if you have an idea as to why my first attempt didnt work i'm all ears.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know what the problem is. You need to uninstall the previous version before installing the modified version. Even though they are the same app, the signatures are different, so they won't overwrite. I make that mistake a lot too.
uninstalled mixzing, tried installing my signed copy and again, application not installed.
does it matter that i mixed the renaming of the 9.pngs to just .png from step 1 to the decompilation of the .apk from steps 2 and 3? maybe i should just rename the .9.pngs through 7zip without decompiling?
any more suggestions?
to test out a theory, i did the following:
1) extracted .apk with apk manager, changed 4 .png files that were not stretchable .9.pngs. zipped .apk, option 2, then signed .apk.
i uninstalled my working version of mixzing, tried to install this one, and got application not installed.
2) i decompiled .apk with apk manager, changed the same 4 .png files, recompiled apk, non-system app option, signed .apk.
mixzing was still uninstalled, tried to install this version, got same application not installed message.
neither of these tries including any .9.png modifications and still failed?
Can some leed me to the way of changing the Signal bars to baby blue i have not seen no one change the colors of the bars before
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
In a nutshell: If you are running an aosp rom, pull the framework-res.apk from /system/framework. If using sense I think you have to pull com.htc.resources.apk from the same place instead.
Then make three copies of the file you are using. Make one for backup then unzip the second one. You can then look through the unzipped apk under /res/drawable-hdpi for the images you want to change. Use your favorite editor to change the color of the images.
When you've made all the changes you want, use 7-zip to open (not unzip) the third copy of the apk that you haven't touched yet. Drag and drop the edited images into the same folder in the opened apk, overwriting the old ones.
Now you should be able to push this apk back to your phone.
Sent from your mom's phone.
Thanks man This is pretty hard do you mind doing this for me if you can thanks
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Thanks I've been trying to figure that out for done time now.
nukedukem said:
In a nutshell: If you are running an aosp rom, pull the framework-res.apk from /system/framework. If using sense I think you have to pull com.htc.resources.apk from the same place instead.
Then make three copies of the file you are using. Make one for backup then unzip the second one. You can then look through the unzipped apk under /res/drawable-hdpi for the images you want to change. Use your favorite editor to change the color of the images.
When you've made all the changes you want, use 7-zip to open (not unzip) the third copy of the apk that you haven't touched yet. Drag and drop the edited images into the same folder in the opened apk, overwriting the old ones.
Now you should be able to push this apk back to your phone.
Sent from your mom's phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Swyped from Eva running Myn's RLS4!
Less than an hour ago I decided to skin my statusbar. What I do is open SystemUI.apk with 7zip, extract everything from drawable folders and modify them. Now, I've got a question. Is it enough to replace png files in apk with modded ones, or I should somehow sign the apk file?
Thanks in advance.
Sent from nowhere
tajimura said:
Less than an hour ago I decided to skin my statusbar. What I do is open SystemUI.apk with 7zip, extract everything from drawable folders and modify them. Now, I've got a question. Is it enough to replace png files in apk with modded ones, or I should somehow sign the apk file?
Thanks in advance.
Sent from nowhere
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good question! I'm also interested in this.
Can't remember well whether it will work without resigning but I always sign the system apk / user apk after doing any modification.
Unsign apk normally get installed when it is placed at system/app but will not work when put it at sd-ext/app_s.
ckpv5 said:
Can't remember well whether it will work without resigning but I always sign the system apk / user apk after doing any modification.
Unsign apk normally get installed when it is placed at system/app but will not work when put it at sd-ext/app_s.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got it. One more question - which tool do you use for signing?
Sent from nowhere
tajimura said:
Got it. One more question - which tool do you use for signing?
Sent from nowhere
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Auto-sign for signing on PC and Signapktic (from Market) for signing on the phone.
ckpv5 said:
Auto-sign for signing on PC and Signapktic (from Market) for signing on the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the answers, now going to try that all
Sent from nowhere
Search for "apk tool" here on xda and you'll have what you need for theming and signing and more.
via xda app
System apps are NEVER signed.
If you don't extract (just open in 7zip or winrar) you can just drag new images in. If prompted for compression level, Choose "store". When finished, simply close the file with the x.
Only if you want to change xml files, need you decompile
Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk
rootSU said:
System apps are NEVER signed.
If you don't extract (just open in 7zip or winrar) you can just drag new images in. If prompted for compression level, Choose "store". When finished, simply close the file with the x.
Only if you want to change xml files, need you decompile
Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Umm, I thought that I have to sign it with "platform" key...
BTW, which PNG is responsible for statusbar background? The closest one I found is "statusbar_bg_tile", 1x1 black image. I want to use gradient background, and have created one full background image and one 9-patch, but dunno what to do - simply replace statusbar_bg_tile with statusbar_bg/statusbar_bg.9 or also modify some xml? In statusbar.xml I can't find any reference to statusbar_bg_tile PNG.
Sent from nowhere
Everywhere i look redirects to apkmanager.. Which is not working for me.. Can someone tell me the manual way to recompile an apk.. Or an alternative to apk manager...
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA Premium App
What apps are you trying to mod?
What OS?
agat63 said:
What apps are you trying to mod?
What OS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got it figured out, was trying to mod Blend ICS apps.. need de-odexed ones..
Ok new question.. This is obviously my first time figuring out how to put these back together... heres my issue: Im using the multi-tool the app im adjusting is mms.apk.. after I extract and edit the images in the res folder I choose option 3 to zip it up and then 5 to zip align and then it creates the new unsigned apk, which I then rename to Mms.apk ... when I dump it onto my phone it doesnt have the icon in astro, it looks like the white icon with the gear on it.. when i try to install it gives a parsing error... I assume its because its a system file and I need to adb it onto the phone.. but why isnt it showing up with the original mms icon? and then secondly.. I cant get multitool to adb push to my galaxy s2 it just says waiting on device.. is there something I need to do besides usb debugging and connect it to the computer? sorry for all the noobness.. gotta start somewhere right?
Oh also Im using fireworks to edit the png's and exporting them back and i noticed when i sent it back out it was like 29kb so I image export and optimized down to 2kb does that even matter?
You can't dump unsigned app into your phone.
I never workred with tool you mentioned but I think you should have sign option there.
Or you just drug modified images and xml files from that unsigned app into your original one.
It has the option to have signed or unsigned ... both ways result in the same issue...
As I said try to drag modded files and png's into original app and try to flash that.
agat63 said:
As I said try to drag modded files and png's into original app and try to flash that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok trying..
Worked like a charm.. Makes me wonder what the point of apk manager is at all? Just 7zip unzip.. Edit and rezip...
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA Premium App
You can't edit xml files if you just unzip them. You have to decompile them in order to be able to edit them.