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Figured we might need a help thread for metamorph and since I need help here goes the first question
So I took part of my theme and made it Metamorph compatible with the guide here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=591329
Now MM opens the zip fine, starts to install it, asks permission to edit framework-res.apk then after about 1 minute it asks for a reboot and then before I can answer it just reboots. At this point it gets stuck in a boot loop and I have to nandroid.
Never really messed with MM so it could be something I am doing wrong or I did read this:
Depending on the device you have you may need a different SPL to be able to apply themes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anyways I attached my test theme (no where complete, just wanted to test it). Is the issue with me, the phones spl or metamorph not ready for the incredible yet?
ps: If your going to test my theme uploaded here, be smart, do a backup, this is just a test and not a full theme and I just told you it is causing boot loops
test file download
I wonder if the SPL will be the roadblock until Froyo is officially released. Of course I know nothing of these things...
*Sent via Tapatalk on my Incredible
running latest leak 8/1/10 new radio 2.15 busybox all set up. tried to installed metamorph and ninjamorph, gives /system error about space and then my root is broken ?!? any ideas folks, so lost on this one. thank god for nandroid restore
icedmayhem said:
running latest leak 8/1/10 new radio 2.15 busybox all set up. tried to installed metamorph and ninjamorph, gives /system error about space and then my root is broken ?!? any ideas folks, so lost on this one. thank god for nandroid restore
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you run the unrevoked forever to unlock the nand
I'm having mixed results with metamorph. I was able to do everything I wanted on CM6. I actually ported this over for us and it works great on metamorph not problems, check it out: http://androidforums.com/roms-incredible/149055-theme-vatsense-cm6port.html
now I tried porting one of my themes over to skyraider2.2 and I can get framework-res and com.htc.resources to work fine, but when i tried to add in my themed apps, I get a f/c and have to pull battery. http://androidforums.com/roms-incredible/148221-theme-do-bluev1.html
Ran the unrevoked tool so give me s off as well...
I had somebody in the nexus forum metamorph the weather channel widget but I cant get it to install, anyone game to take a look? I would love this to be transparent.
I have ran unrevoked forever and installe the latest metamorph.
Thanks
Im running (latest) stock 2.2 leak, and i cant get metamorph or NinjaMorph to make ANYthing stick. (YES I HAVE S-OFF) Both run as if they are making the changes, No diff than they did with the Moto Droid. MM reboots after ANY package, not just framework, with out asking to reboot. Ninja will usually break the app (app is no longer installed)
ANY IDEAS?
EDIT: just for kicks i installed a Deodexed Stock ROM, and still the same results... It says its doing it, but i the end it makes NO changes to the APK files.
see if you can manually (adb) replace the files and see if it sticks..... if not then the issue is not metemporph.... it's a rooting/nand issue.
R1lover said:
see if you can manually (adb) replace the files and see if it sticks..... if not then the issue is not metemporph.... it's a rooting/nand issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Manually replacing the entire APK... work just like it did when we needed recovery. Just now you type ADB remount, then push it.
If you mean manually replacing the edited files within the apk, thats not directly possible via adb. you have to PULL, EDIT,PUSH.
The problem here is metaMorph is supposed to open the apk replace just the edited files then close it up right on the phone, and its just not doing that!
what i did that fixed all my issues was install busybox from market. its odd but it all works perfect now even though i though it had been prebuilt into the rom. strange but ill take it
icedmayhem said:
what i did that fixed all my issues was install busybox from market. its odd but it all works perfect now even though i though it had been prebuilt into the rom. strange but ill take it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea, I just did what you said, before Metamorph would say not enough free space in /system/
I was using the 8/1/10 Froyo leak and I guess that one didn't have busybox, weird I was able to use Titanium Backup and I though that required busybox as well...
everytime you switch a rom, you should download busybox and let it update, it changes per rom.
Welp , Im still at a loss... I updated busybox, using the market app... and it still gives me the same results...
It takes 2-3 min to "apply theme" then reboots... and NO changes !
My theme contains ONLY the folders and files that need to be replaced, and my xml is copied from an existing theme, then edited. So i dont know wtf is goin on with this ****.
try making it into a file that can be flashed from recovery, then ull know for sure u made it correct....
Not sure this will help but I just installed Metamorph today and was getting the "system memory" error. To fix the problem I just used Root Explorer to mount /system as rw. Could the problems be related to write permissions?
I'm new to this...
I'm running SkyRaider's 2.5.2. Sense ROM. Just downloaded MM & BusyBox via market. When I start MM I select "Start Checks" or whatever. It then either forces my phone into reboot or gives me the "not enough memory in /system" error.
I did not install unrevoked forever. Is that my problem?
ksidirt said:
I'm new to this...
I'm running SkyRaider's 2.5.2. Sense ROM. Just downloaded MM & BusyBox via market. When I start MM I select "Start Checks" or whatever. It then either forces my phone into reboot or gives me the "not enough memory in /system" error.
I did not install unrevoked forever. Is that my problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uh yea, it needs to write to system, you need S-off to use it.
I'm reviving this thread so as to not clutter up the Metamorph Themes Master List thread
This quote is from the other thread, I just thought it would be more appropriate to answer here instead.
mikesincredible said:
Wow. What you just told me is like trying to learn chinese...lol I see there's more involved...any good articles to point out so I can learn. I just know rom manager and adb push code... ::
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure there are some guides floating around XDA, but I mostly learned MM just by messing with it and learning from trial and error.
Basically, metamorph just opens up an .apk file, replaces any of the files it finds in the folders specified by a theme's .xml file, then closes/re-signs the apk.
This is much better than flashing themes from the recovery menu or rom manager because doing so replaces the entire framework-res.apk, overwriting any themes you had previously installed. Since metamorph only replaces the files you want, any theme you already had will be preserved.
Here's an example to get a quick overview of how it works. Say you've already applied my black rotary lockscreen mod (found here) and you want to use some of the elements from SoCalMiles' Incredible rEVOlution theme.
First you should download his file, and inside the .zip find "\Incredible_Revolution_Original_Theme.zip\system\framework\framework-res.apk" and extract it somewhere.
Then rename "framework-res.apk" to "framework-res.apk.zip" or something similar. Now you can browse/unzip the files just like you would any other folder.
In your new .zip navigate to \framework-res.apk.zip\res\drawable-hdpi-v4, most of a rom's theme will be in that folder.
Now, if you've applied my theme through metamorph (or any theme, for that matter) you should have the directory "\sdcard\AndroidThemes\BlackRotary-hdpi-v4\framework-res\res\drawable-hdpi-v4\" on your sdcard.
Choose any of the files you want to apply to your phone from the extracted Incredible rEVOlution drawable-hdpi-v4 folder and copy them from to the \sdcard\AndroidThemes\BlackRotary-hdpi-v4\framework-res\res\drawable-hdpi-v4\ folder. Now when you run the metamorph it should copy the files you added as well as the ones that were previously there.
If you want to copy files that are not in the drawable-hdpi-v4 folder, simply make a new folder for the containing folder. Basically just make sure the \sdcard\AndroidThemes\whatevs\framework-res\ directories match the directories in the framework-res.apk file you're pulling from.
That's the easiest way to combine two themes, if you're looking to make you're own metamorph theme to post on xda you'll need to learn to edit the .xml file which directs metamorph to which files to modify, but that isn't too hard either, and there's no need to do this if you're just making metamorphs for your own personal use.
mixedlemon said:
I'm reviving this thread so as to not clutter up the Metamorph Themes Master List thread
This quote is from the other thread, I just thought it would be more appropriate to answer here instead.
I'm sure there are some guides floating around XDA, but I mostly learned MM just by messing with it and learning from trial and error.
Basically, metamorph just opens up an .apk file, replaces any of the files it finds in the folders specified by a theme's .xml file, then closes/re-signs the apk.
This is much better than flashing themes from the recovery menu or rom manager because doing so replaces the entire framework-res.apk, overwriting any themes you had previously installed. Since metamorph only replaces the files you want, any theme you already had will be preserved.
Here's an example to get a quick overview of how it works. Say you've already applied my black rotary lockscreen mod (found here) and you want to use some of the elements from SoCalMiles' Incredible rEVOlution theme.
First you should download his file, and inside the .zip find "\Incredible_Revolution_Original_Theme.zip\system\framework\framework-res.apk" and extract it somewhere.
Then rename "framework-res.apk" to "framework-res.apk.zip" or something similar. Now you can browse/unzip the files just like you would any other folder.
In your new .zip navigate to \framework-res.apk.zip\res\drawable-hdpi-v4, most of a rom's theme will be in that folder.
Now, if you've applied my theme through metamorph (or any theme, for that matter) you should have the directory "\sdcard\AndroidThemes\BlackRotary-hdpi-v4\framework-res\res\drawable-hdpi-v4\" on your sdcard.
Choose any of the files you want to apply to your phone from the extracted Incredible rEVOlution drawable-hdpi-v4 folder and copy them from to the \sdcard\AndroidThemes\BlackRotary-hdpi-v4\framework-res\res\drawable-hdpi-v4\ folder. Now when you run the metamorph it should copy the files you added as well as the ones that were previously there.
If you want to copy files that are not in the drawable-hdpi-v4 folder, simply make a new folder for the containing folder. Basically just make sure the \sdcard\AndroidThemes\whatevs\framework-res\ directories match the directories in the framework-res.apk file you're pulling from.
That's the easiest way to combine two themes, if you're looking to make you're own metamorph theme to post on xda you'll need to learn to edit the .xml file which directs metamorph to which files to modify, but that isn't too hard either, and there's no need to do this if you're just making metamorphs for your own personal use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What other folders contain the status icons? I'm looking to restore the circle battery and alarm from the incredible revolution theme, I found the battery.pngs..but no alarm..so if I copy and paste them to the blackrotary folder in androidthemes and metamorph, I should have the battery back
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?
my first attempt into creating a new theme it's just a swype keyboard however i get fc when i try to open it. i am on starburst 1.95 i wipe after applying before launching. i modded png files compressed them originally i thought the apk being 6 megs was my issue but i have the same issue after compressing them. I didn't know if the apk needed to be resigned so i first tried without signing then with signing with the same result. can someone help me find what i screwed up.
didn't download your file to look but did you change any .9.png's ?
if all you changed were png's the .9.are probably causing your problems.
try this.
if just changing normal pngs just unzip the .apk (its a zip file) edit your png files and zip it back up.
see if that works.
once you get that going there are quite a few good tutorials out there on modding .9 files.
they take a few extra steps.
they are all .png
i have noticed swype themes for other phones don't completely work or they don't swype at least, but they do work for standard typing. my failed theme however just force closes so i am thinking this is a different issue not necessarily compatibility. the swype i modded was pulled from starburst, my current rom.
their is a com.swypeinputmethod file under data/data i am not sure if or how this effects the swupe.apk in system/app. thanks for the reply
try replacing the png files without decompiling the .apk first
just rename .apk to .zip and extract to a folder then rezip and change back to .apk
or easier just open the zip without extracting and copy the files to thier spots and close.
this way you don't have to worry about all the decompiling and signing.
it works
i got it
since it is a no install system app i just put it into the rom and installed the rom, i also got a fresh apk to dump the png's into not sure what did it but it is now working and i can look for something else to theme, skin or play with.
thanks guys
I am looking to modify my phone.apk to change the color of a few buttons and the android guy that shows up when in a call. I have done this in the past and it seemed like then it was as simple as deleting the files in 7-zip and replacing with the file I wanted. Am I missing something or is it not that simple. Every time I try to move a file or delete it its says "not Implimented" or un supported compression method. I know how to push and pull files through adb so if I could just get the .png images where I want them then I would be all set. I have looked everywhere but cant seem to come up with a solution.
Thanks Jason
PS. the files are from another rom I am simply trying to use them in my current rom so the .png file should not be corrupt or broken.
You can't edit apk's with any zip extractors
Sent from my Incredible using xda premium
Albinoman said:
You can't edit apk's with any zip extractors
Sent from my Incredible using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not true, regular image files can (should) be able to be draged out, edited, and droped back in an apk using 7-zip.
nighthawklude99 said:
I am looking to modify my phone.apk to change the color of a few buttons and the android guy that shows up when in a call. I have done this in the past and it seemed like then it was as simple as deleting the files in 7-zip and replacing with the file I wanted. Am I missing something or is it not that simple. Every time I try to move a file or delete it its says "not Implimented" or un supported compression method. I know how to push and pull files through adb so if I could just get the .png images where I want them then I would be all set. I have looked everywhere but cant seem to come up with a solution.
Thanks Jason
PS. the files are from another rom I am simply trying to use them in my current rom so the .png file should not be corrupt or broken.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My guess would be that the apk was decompiled at some point before, but not recompiled right, or with the right program. Which phone.apk are you having issues with, the one on your phone or the one your pulling the pngs from?
I am having problems with the phone.apk I pull from my phone with adb, with the phone.apk that is in the original rom, and the phone.apk that is in a nanadroid back up. The rom I am running is anthem 3.3. I am starting to think that there is a problem with 7-zip on my computer. Is there a setting I need to change? I have even ran 7-zip as administrator to see if that helped.
nighthawklude99 said:
I am having problems with the phone.apk I pull from my phone with adb, with the phone.apk that is in the original rom, and the phone.apk that is in a nanadroid back up. The rom I am running is anthem 3.3. I am starting to think that there is a problem with 7-zip on my computer. Is there a setting I need to change? I have even ran 7-zip as administrator to see if that helped.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like your install of 7z may be messed up. I just tried it to make sure something didnt change in an update and it works fine for me still with default configuration.