Related
Just wanted to create a Post so people can bounce ideas off each other as to what would be necessary to change themes on the fly. How does a normal phone change themes?
i just have a folder on my SD card called themes and i update it everyday with everytheme and the latest version of each, the themes folder has all my themes separated into adp1 adp1.1 rc30 and rc33 and i use linda file manager to move them to the root and rename them. i can flash any theme anytime i want. and if a new one comes out while i'm not near a computer i download with steel and try it out.this is the best way as far as i can see, at least with the tools i have access too
anyone seen the iphone emulator? it actually works where it will open a program associated with the icon, could that possibly help get a way to theme similar to how summerboard works?
jdwme said:
anyone seen the iphone emulator? it actually works where it will open a program associated with the icon, could that possibly help get a way to theme similar to how summerboard works?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not even close to being a theme though.
A proper theme is more than just smoe icons.
IE. iKid has a much nicer looking media player.
i use the exact same method w the themes on sdcard... i take it one step further... i use andftp to upload to my qctx.org server and upload directly tested themes... so i can access and organize however i need
- great for backing up sdcards
This is how I edit my themes on the fly
Walkthrough for creating your own Android theme
First you need to get signing setup properly. This topic is covered in many places and my recommendation is to use the Stericson walkthrough or the Stericson auto-signing setup tool. Once you can click on any zip or apk file and get the option to Resign it you are ready to proceed with making your own theme.
1. Download an archive manager that allows you to open archives inside of archives without creating new windows. My recommendation for this is the application 7-zip. It is tiny, free, easy to use, and on all my computers it has replaced winzip and winrar.
2. Now take a blank theme from Stericson to use as your starting point, this will be the minimum needed to change your theme and will contain all the original artwork.
3. Open the update.zip and inside are typically 3 files, framework, system or app, and META-INF. Leave META-INF alone, you wont be touching that. Inside framework and system/app is where the files are that you can change. In this case we will open update.zip, then double click framework and then double click framework-res.apk (this is where the next archive will open inside the same window, your life just got a little easier).
4. Now you are looking at assets, META-INF, res, and a couple other random files, the resources.arsc can be edited but I will show you that in another tutorial. Now open up the folder res and you will see the treasure we are searching for, folders with the name drawable. All of the folders that start with the name drawable are where we can edit the themes, this includes drawable, drawable-land, drawable-port, and drawable-finger.
5. Now drag and drop the folders drawable and drawable-land onto the desktop. Once they are on the desktop you can edit the .png files in those folders until you are ready to put your theme together.
6. Now in your still open window at \framework\framework-res.apk\res\ you will open the drawable folders one at a time and drag and drop your edited files into the archive, only dragging and dropping the files you edited and not just everything inside the folder.
7. Once you have your new images copied into the archive in the correct place you can just hit the close button or browse up a couple directories and find other files to edit. Any time you edit an apk and browse out of it or close it you will be prompted to update it in the archive by 7-zip (this is my secret shortcut), always press ok.
8. Now you have a freshly created theme ready to install, all you have to do is right click, chose to Resign the file, and once its done you can copy it to your SDcard, make sure its named update.zip, and flash your new theme.
Its literally that easy! And you use this same technique in the system/app folder to edit the apk files for the individual apps on the phone. Explore around in the update.zip and see what you can find, I only told you about the major items but there is plenty more to find and change. You can always copy a folder out of the archive and if you cant edit anything just toss it but if you can find something to edit, do so and throw it back in the archive. You guys now have all the info I had when I started plus all my tricks to making that process 10x easier.
jdwme said:
anyone seen the iphone emulator? it actually works where it will open a program associated with the icon, could that possibly help get a way to theme similar to how summerboard works?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The thing with the iPhone is that the applications are just folders with a .app extension at the end. This allows one to easily replace resources inside of them using just simple scripts.
In Android, the applications are zip files with an extension of .apk and must be signed. This makes it harder to replace resources on the fly.
I use the Discover App from the MarketPlace. I have a folder called Themes in my SD Card which I have separate folders labeled with the name of the theme. Inside the folder I have the update.zip. With discover I just move the update zips in and out of the folders to change themes.
Rich
I dont really know where this belongs, Original Android Development, Android Development or Themes and Apps. I use it for themes so ill put here.
Hopefully some of the people around here will find this as useful as i have.
First things first, credit and thanks to Brut.all for his awesome tool.
Basically i couldn't find anything like this so I created a very simple little reg edit to enable right click de-compiling on apks and right click builds on folders.
I've been using this since Jaunuary 2011(over a year!!) with no problems and it's great for those quick .9 or xml edits.
DISCLAIMER:
This was made for the Windows XP operating system! .so im not sure if it will work on other Window OS, feel free to try but im not responsible for your computers well being so use at your own risk.
After a little research it seems the registry tree is the same for "Vista" and "7" so it should work on them also
To use this you must have apktool working correctly.
Only works if your path variable is set to C:\sdk\tools\
If your Path variable is set differently you have 2 options:
1-let me know where and i'll attatch appropiate reg-edit.
2-Easy option, create a folder on your C:\ named "sdk", inside the sdk folder create another folder named "tools,
now copy the contents from your original tools folder into your newly created tools and add the path in enviromental variables. Simple.
RECOMMENDED:
It is highly recommended to backup your registry prior to installing, just follow the simple instructions included in the download zip.
To install:
Simply extract .reg file from the zip, double click and answer yes.
That's it!!!!
Now your ready to become a de-compiling/building whirlwind.
Useage
*I simply right click an apk, "empty.apk" for example, choose decompile (you recieve a folder with the apk's name), navigate into the res\drawable* folder and drop in my .9.png's.
*Backout of folder, right click "empty" folder and choose build.
*The built images are in are located in "empty\build\apk\res\drawable*".
*The built apk is located in "empty\dist".
I've included an empty.apk for quick .9.png edits, this saves hunting through endless amounts of images for your newly created .9.
If the tool fails it could be something simple-
Problem: solution:
-Folder already exits -Delete or rename
-.9.png's not properley edited -Fix using draw 9 tool
-Required framework not installed -Open cmd and type "apktool if FILE LOCATION\framework-res.apk"
Remember this is a simple tool, for more advanced useage and logs use apk-manager
Final Note:
If Brut.all has any reason for me to remove this please let me know and it will disappear ASAP.
Thank you.
Link and Contents::
ApkTool_reg_edit.zip(contianing reg-edit)
reg_backup_restore.txt
empty.apk
>>>CLICK ME TO DOWNLOAD<<<
If for some reason you lose the ability to create new folders here is a fix:
>>Here<<
Just extract and double click, it might say "cannot import all data", just ignore it, it will restore your create new folder option.
Hi everyone,
I'm posting a method today which i use to backup my XAP files and favorites. I hope that they will help others too and I'm posting some other tips too which i gathered around from the web and XDA. I will be constantly updating this post.
Most of the tips I've provided here are only for Fully Unlocked Phones
Backup .XAP files downloaded from Zune Marketplace
Access your phone's files using any File manager FileBrowser by ego zheng, Unique File Manager by Mohsen Unique Or TouchXplorer by julien Schapman.
Both FileBrowser and Unique file manager can open XAP files but TouchXplorer will throw an exception.
Open FileBrowser and Goto /My documents/Zune/PimentoCache/Lib/
There should be numerically named folders containing cached XAP files but with .ZMZ extension which will look like this
app0b792c7c-14dc-df11-a844.zmz Copy those files to another folder and rename the extension ZMZ to XAP. You should keep in mind that PimentoCache folder gets cleared after every few days. So you have to copy those files as soon as you've downloaded from the marketplace.
You MUST have XAPdeployer by Ultrashot installed for the following trick to work.
If you want to open ZMZ files in the FileBrowser to see which ones you are copying or renaming. Launch Registry Editor by Julien Schapman open HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT create a new key .ZMZ open .ZMZ and create a new String value "Default" enter "xapdeployerfile" in the value and tap OK. Now you can open ZMZ files in the file browser.
Backup XAP files downloaded with Bazaar App
Using Phone's file manager Or Windows Explorer on computer Goto
Application\Data\9daf0fc-a0ee-4cfc-905a-cc812d678a35\Data\IsolatedStorage
all homebrew XAPs downloaded from Bazaar will be in this folder.
Backup XAP files downloaded with wPhoManager
If you download files with wPhoManager from W.I.N.C.O marketplace all the XAPs downloaded will be in
Applications\Data\8A011F29-D5A3-4942-B865-71198AAB94AE\Data\IsolatedStorage
Screen Goes Blank during Incoming/Outgoing calls
I had this problem sometime ago when my HD7 fell real hard and started giving these problems. So I searched the web and found this solution from some website. If you are having problems (Blank screen and inaccessible phone) while incoming/outgoing calls it has to do with the proximity sensor. It goes out of alignment and that results in the black screen during the call. While the call is active, since the screen is essentially turned off by the proximity sensor, I can’t use the keypad or even hang up the call!
The fix is to press down hard on the area where the proximity sensor is. It’s located at the top of the screen – pretty much where the HTC logo is. Just press hard on that area and that should move the sensor back into place.
Backup Internet explorer's Favorites
Browse to /Windows/Favourites and copy all the content to a folder of your choice. Put them back in after you've reset your phone or installed a new firmware. You can also use IE fav Backup by Sh4d0w86 that's also a pretty good app for doing this task.
Saved Office mobile files OR copy Documents from computer to phone
All your Word, Excel, Powerpoint files you saved on your phone are stored in My documents. If you have files in your computer and you want them on your phone. Just copy all those to My documents and they will be in your files list.
Record incoming/outgoing calls complete with environmental effects
This trick does not even need any sort of unlock. Call any number on speaker and press the camera button Switch to Video Recording mode and tap Record. Your call will be recorded in a video use VirtualDub(or any other audio extraction software) to extract the audio and Audacity to reduce environmental effects if there are any.
ZIP files
By default downloaded ZIP file's content (Which can open by default in Windows Phone 7)is in Applications/Volatile/ZipView/(This folder gets deleted when you close the ZIP file, So you have to keep the ZIP file open until you've copied). but the limitation is that you have to open each file individually. But if you want to download the complete file without any content limitation. Do the following method :-
»Open your file manager on your phone OR windows explorer on PC.
»Goto \Windows\Profiles\Guest\Temporary Internet Files\
»There should be folders with names like 9FADAF33, Q110E4PZ, U0GWIYEF and U2QKY63D(exact names can differ)
»Your downloaded ZIP file will be in one of these four folders.
»Copy/Paste downloaded ZIP file to another location where you keep your files.
This method is helpful if you are downloading ZIP files which contains DLLs, EXE or any other format files which WP7 cannot open.
Download WinRar, CAB, 7Z files
Windows phone 7 does not recognize these file types so it will not download these files if you want to. With the following tip you can download these files to your phone.
»Start your phone's Registry Editor and tap HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
»Create three new keys .Rar, .cab, .7z
»Open each key and create String "Default" with "Zipfile" as a value
»Now you can download Winrar, 7Zip, and CAB files in Internet Explorer.
If any of the above tips helps u out a little please hit thanx or reply if you have any question or suggestion.
I will add shortly:
xap handler = new registry key HKCR/.zmz and string value: Default -xapfile
unique file manager extract zipfile
Download WinRar, CAB, 7Z files
Windows phone 7 does not recognize these file types so it will not download these files if you want to. With the following tip you can download these files to your phone.
»Start your phone's Registry Editor and tap HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
»Create three new keys .Rar, .cab, .7z
»Open each key and create String "Default" with "Zipfile" as a value
»Now you can download Winrar, 7Zip, and CAB files in Internet Explorer.
If any of the above tips helps u out a little please hit thanx or reply if you have any question or suggestion.[/QUOTE]
Thanks for the valuable info.
Great job
It did and did not work
The rar file can be downloaded, but wp7 cannot read it or recognize it, it shows corrupted file or unreadable file by the system.
It seems we need rar code to be native so we will be to open rar files.
meover said:
Download WinRar, CAB, 7Z files
Windows phone 7 does not recognize these file types so it will not download these files if you want to. With the following tip you can download these files to your phone.
»Start your phone's Registry Editor and tap HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
»Create three new keys .Rar, .cab, .7z
»Open each key and create String "Default" with "Zipfile" as a value
»Now you can download Winrar, 7Zip, and CAB files in Internet Explorer.
If any of the above tips helps u out a little please hit thanx or reply if you have any question or suggestion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the valuable info.
Great job
It did and did not work
The rar file can be downloaded, but wp7 cannot read it or recognize it, it shows corrupted file or unreadable file by the system.
It seems we need rar code to be native so we will be to open rar files.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The reason why i posted that registry key wasn't to open RAR files but to download them on your phone so you can copy that file to your computer. Because sometimes the content you wanna download is in RAR format.
jashd7 said:
Thanks for the valuable info.
Great job
It did and did not work
The rar file can be downloaded, but wp7 cannot read it or recognize it, it shows corrupted file or unreadable file by the system.
It seems we need rar code to be native so we will be to open rar files.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The reason why i posted that registry key wasn't to open RAR files but to download them on your phone so you can copy that file to your computer. Because sometimes the content you wanna download is in RAR format[/QUOTE]
thanks again, really great job.
I see.
But I hope we can:
Open rar file and extract content like PDF, media file, etc.
I really need 2 task:
Open PDF file within the browser.
Can print the PDF over wireless printer.
they are not accomplished missions yet
meover said:
The reason why i posted that registry key wasn't to open RAR files but to download them on your phone so you can copy that file to your computer. Because sometimes the content you wanna download is in RAR format
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks again, really great job.
I see.
But I hope we can:
Open rar file and extract content like PDF, media file, etc.
I really need 2 task:
Open PDF file within the browser.
Can print the PDF over wireless printer.
they are not accomplished missions yet [/QUOTE]
i hope too but WP7 is closed like a fort, it's not developer friendly and it's really hard and time consuming to do modifications or add new features. You can put some minor things here and there but nothing too big.
Hello!
I copied and moved some .zmz file in my pc.
I renamed them in .xap and tried to deploy them into my HTC 7 Pro with Dynamics 1.21 ROM.
I tried with WPH Xap Deployer, wf Phone Tools and Phone7Deployer, but I only got errors (failed to open the manifest file. This may not be a valid xap).
I suppose this should be related to app encription...
So now, also without Reinstaller working, if we make whatever can delete the apps from the phone, we will have to pass through the marketplace, with app list opened on Zune on our pc... :crying:
Otherwise, a way could be:
1) to know an app's guid, i.e. with cache clearer
2) use a storage explorer on pc, like windows phone device manager and go to
application/Install/(application guid);
3) copy that folder into pc
4) right click on the folder to create a zip file
5) change the extension of the zip file to xap (you can do it at the end, there
some softwares for file renaming...)
A long way if you have some tenth apps installed...
lordmago said:
Hello!
I copied and moved some .zmz file in my pc.
I renamed them in .xap and tried to deploy them into my HTC 7 Pro with Dynamics 1.21 ROM.
I tried with WPH Xap Deployer, wf Phone Tools and Phone7Deployer, but I only got errors (failed to open the manifest file. This may not be a valid xap).
I suppose this should be related to app encription...
So now, also without Reinstaller working, if we make whatever can delete the apps from the phone, we will have to pass through the marketplace, with app list opened on Zune on our pc... :crying:
Otherwise, a way could be:
1) to know an app's guid, i.e. with cache clearer
2) use a storage explorer on pc, like windows phone device manager and go to
application/Install/(application guid);
3) copy that folder into pc
4) right click on the folder to create a zip file
5) change the extension of the zip file to xap (you can do it at the end, there
some softwares for file renaming...)
A long way if you have some tenth apps installed...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are right about apps encryption. Microsoft recently encrypted all their XAPs on marketplace.
jashd7 said:
You are right about apps encryption. Microsoft recently encrypted all their XAPs on marketplace.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nonetheless, if we've got encrypted XAPs specific to our devices, we ought to be able to install them on the device somehow from within the device. We'd just need to initiate the install routine. Does anyone know how to do this?
Thanks
What I am interested in, is a way to take my games save states and back them up. I'm sick of restarting Angery Birds every time I flash my phone. lol Rest of this is super interesting stuff though.
TheXev said:
What I am interested in, is a way to take my games save states and back them up. I'm sick of restarting Angery Birds every time I flash my phone. lol Rest of this is super interesting stuff though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you try to look into the Angry Birds folders in your device if it saves something,
for example using FileBrowser (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1544399) or Webserver from GoodDayToDie?
If there's something there, you should be able to copy your states in your pc and put them back in your device, I think...
TheXev said:
What I am interested in, is a way to take my games save states and back them up. I'm sick of restarting Angery Birds every time I flash my phone. lol Rest of this is super interesting stuff though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can use Program Manager by ego Zheng to backup your angry birds settings. You just have to put your saved settings in your angry birds folder after you've flashed.
Here's the link to program manager
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1922454
Your saved XAP files will be in Applications\Data\12345678-87bf-4d87-a529-0dff41efd592\Data\IsolatedStore\Xap
Your Data backups will be in \Applications\Data\12345678-87bf-4d87-a529-0dff41efd592\Data\IsolatedStore\Data
Hello,
I have an idea to make an App, and I have one problem, I have to upload one folder that its content have a lot of files and folders in order to upload to skydrive. I think that it is more easy if I compress the main folder and then upload this compressed file. How Can I compress this folder?
Thanks you
cansado2930 said:
Hello,
I have an idea to make an App, and I have one problem, I have to upload one folder that its content have a lot of files and folders in order to upload to skydrive. I think that it is more easy if I compress the main folder and then upload this compressed file. How Can I compress this folder?
Thanks you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
have you tried zip...
dazza9075 said:
have you tried zip...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi dazza9075,
Thanks by your answer, but I thought the same, but I don't know how to use this, Can you explain about use of zip? Or, Where can I find information about this?
Thank you again
cansado2930 said:
Hi dazza9075,
Thanks by your answer, but I thought the same, but I don't know how to use this, Can you explain about use of zip? Or, Where can I find information about this?
Thank you again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 for the idea... I also want a program like winrar which also available in symbian phones.plz any dev note this and develop an app for compressing and decompressing files...
WP will unzip zip files, make the sip, copy to sky drive, open via IE, it will then give you the contents of the zip,, it can't compress files to zip though. Technically there would be little point since docs auto sync to sky drive, and WP doesnt support anything else or file system access, but its doable for unlocked devices I suppose
Sent from my SGH-i937 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
dazza9075 said:
WP will unzip zip files, make the sip, copy to sky drive, open via IE, it will then give you the contents of the zip,, it can't compress files to zip though. Technically there would be little point since docs auto sync to sky drive, and WP doesnt support anything else or file system access, but its doable for unlocked devices I suppose
Sent from my SGH-i937 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi dazza9075,
Thank you by answer, I had thought that it isn't possible, because I want to compress a folder of other app that her content are a lot of files and folders. So, Do some api exist in order to compress this? Or, Have I upload files and folders one by one?
Thank you again
I think it's completely possible
sombody names Ego zheng,wrote an application. It is program manager.
u can repack your apps,and save apps data in a single .zip file.
i think he can do this
contact him for this idea.
Leo_zodiac said:
I think it's completely possible
sombody names Ego zheng,wrote an application. It is program manager.
u can repack your apps,and save apps data in a single .zip file.
i think he can do this
contact him for this idea.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its doable so long as you have interop unlock and WP tools installed and setup
if the Windows Phone SDK is missing Zip functionality (it may be called "DEFLATE" which is the name of the compression algorithm; ZIP is the file format) then there are surely libraries for various compression methods which you could download. Alternatively, if you don't mind using native code homebrew, there are compression libraries (zlib, etc.) that can be compiled to a native DLL, and you could then access them via COM.
i add this to new version of my file manager and now you can compress and decompress file and folders
Hi!
Thanks you by your answer, they have been very useful.
Thanks you
Hi again,
I'm using the lib "SharpZipLib" and I have problems with it. Can you explain how use it? or what is the problema? I probe in a program of pc and it working correctly but in app for my mobile say it crashed when it go to create the file, this is code:
FileStream fsOut = File.Create("Copia.zip"); //here is the problema at this moment
ZipOutputStream zipStream = new ZipOutputStream(fsOut);
zipStream.SetLevel(3);
zipStream.Password = null;
........
It can't create the file.
Thank you again
Generally speaking, Silverlight (which WP7 uses for apps) doesn't even allow normal file access, so you might just be getting a MethodAccessException on File.Create. If not, that still won't work without elevated privileges. The default working directory for a program is it's install directory. For a WP7 app, that's going to be either its install location (\Applications\Install\<GUID>\Install) or the Windows directory where the taskhost.exe file lives (\Windows\). Trying to create a file without specifying full path will crete it relative to the working directory, which in this case means creating it in the working directory directly (no path specified). Since the app can't write to the working directory, you'll get an error from that too.
To get around the permissions error, use the IsolatedStore folder (\Applications\Data\<GUID>\Data\IsolatedStore\) or run the app with full permissions ("Trusted" or root unlocked).
In the WMAppManifest.xml of the app, add HubType="268435456" to the App tag, and deploy the app. See attached images.
You can also pin Extras to Start for quick access.
Really useful for keeping harmful editing stuff out of the way of people who feel the need to use your phone without your permission.
Good find, bud! He-he, someone should try to publish the app with that hack (if store will not block it of course)
Needed to restart phone after deploy to show in settings.
4-5yrs old trick anyway, just keep search on xda even in WP7.8 forum
Djtonka, how to pin to start apps from settings?
remove the HubType="268435456 from manifest file
So why before audio settings had the posibility to pin to start? It was in settings,-extras. before....
it has been redesigned for Win10
Nevermind: if on the last fast ring build cant open any deployed app, modify the wpappmanifest to deploy in HUB. Then the app will work. Happend to me with custom pfd, wptweaker, roottool jailbreak version.
Hi,
Can you please give me an xap file which include HubType="268435456" tag in WMAppManifest.xml of the app. I tried to add but not able to save the xml as it gives some error. If possible, please send me the xap
Thanks
winphouser said:
In the WMAppManifest.xml of the app, add HubType="268435456" to the App tag, and deploy the app. See attached images.
You can also pin Extras to Start for quick access.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Open the xml file as text with notepad, or right click-edit.
how to modify .appx as settings apps?
Read this
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/dn707973(v=vs.85).aspx
winphouser said:
In the WMAppManifest.xml of the app, add HubType="268435456" to the App tag, and deploy the app. See attached images.
You can also pin Extras to Start for quick access.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
does not work.
1. open the .xap in the archive
2. add HubType = "268435456" in WMAppManifest.xml
3. Close the file, saving changes.
4. copy the .xap into the phone, install, and .... nothing is installed ..
I tried and so
1. Unzip the files in the .xap in folder
2. add HubType = "268435456" in WMAppManifest.xml
3. archived back to zip archive. renamed zip into a .xap. and again nothing ...
assembly 15245. Can already removed the opportunity?
Deploy from PC.
augustinionut said:
Deploy from PC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WPAD 8.1
Error - Package was not found.
What app are you trying to deploy?
I did find the way to change and make appx to install it under Extras badge
augustinionut said:
What app are you trying to deploy?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CustomPDF & WPTweaks