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
Let me first start off by saying I do not know much. So I am asking if anyone knows of some beginner guides to start creating my own theme's.
1) Is it basically scripting? Or will I have to write completely new code for all my functions... By the way, I fail at programming, so please inform me so I don't waste my time.
2) Would someone like me who does not know much scripting, have a hard time doing this or is it relatively quick to pick up?
3) Is it done on the phone or through the ADB Shell?
Thanks a bunch in advance.
It is done with photoshop and 7zip......all it is is replacinng drawable icons from the res folder
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
jdkoreclipse said:
It is done with photoshop and 7zip......all it is is replacinng drawable icons from the res folder
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the quick reply, do you have any possible examples to show me how to do this?
You going to do your editing on the computer. I believe the command is
Code:
adb remount
adb pull framework-res.apk /Desktop/Theme
/Desktop/Theme is a directory you create on your computer. If adb pull doesn't work just download what ever rom your using to your computer and copy and paste framework-res.apk out of /system/framework.
Afterwards you can use 7zip to find the files you wish to edit. Its been a while for me but i believe most files are located in drawable-hdpi. Use Gimp or Photoshop to edit whatever images you want to. Do not edit any images with file extensions .9pngs as they require some additional steps, and can cause issues when you try and put it back on your phone.
Once your done move the files to the tools directory of sdk. cd to that directory and run..
Code:
adb remount
adb push framework-res.apk /system/framework
adb reboot
That should work for personal reasons. If your looking to create an update.zip to release for others i can help you with that too.
tcberg2010 said:
You going to do your editing on the computer. I believe the command is
Code:
adb remount
adb pull framework-res.apk /Desktop/Theme
/Desktop/Theme is a directory you create on your computer. If adb pull doesn't work just download what ever rom your using to your computer and copy and paste framework-res.apk out of /system/framework.
Afterwards you can use 7zip to find the files you wish to edit. Its been a while for me but i believe most files are located in drawable-hdpi. Use Gimp or Photoshop to edit whatever images you want to. Do not edit any images with file extensions .9pngs as they require some additional steps, and can cause issues when you try and put it back on your phone.
Once your done move the files to the tools directory of sdk. cd to that directory and run..
Code:
adb remount
adb push framework-res.apk /system/framework
adb reboot
That should work for personal reasons. If your looking to create an update.zip to release for others i can help you with that too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Excellent, thank you, I will give it a shot!
tcberg2010 said:
You going to do your editing on the computer. I believe the command is
Code:
adb remount
adb pull framework-res.apk /Desktop/Theme
/Desktop/Theme is a directory you create on your computer. If adb pull doesn't work just download what ever rom your using to your computer and copy and paste framework-res.apk out of /system/framework.
Afterwards you can use 7zip to find the files you wish to edit. Its been a while for me but i believe most files are located in drawable-hdpi. Use Gimp or Photoshop to edit whatever images you want to. Do not edit any images with file extensions .9pngs as they require some additional steps, and can cause issues when you try and put it back on your phone.
Once your done move the files to the tools directory of sdk. cd to that directory and run..
Code:
adb remount
adb push framework-res.apk /system/framework
adb reboot
That should work for personal reasons. If your looking to create an update.zip to release for others i can help you with that too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just noticed you are an expectant father, congratulations. I have a 6 month old, who is a ton of fun!
Ok, so I went through 'astro' found the file framework-res.apk inside of /system/framework as you stated above, the only problem is from adb shell, whenever I run pull, it gives me the following message:
Code:
'remote object 'framework-res.apk' does not exist'
I have debugging turned on, so I should have access, and adb mounted just fine...
If you have any ideas, I would appreciate it.
bboydp said:
Just noticed you are an expectant father, congratulations. I have a 6 month old, who is a ton of fun!
Ok, so I went through 'astro' found the file framework-res.apk inside of /system/framework as you stated above, the only problem is from adb shell, whenever I run pull, it gives me the following message:
Code:
'remote object 'framework-res.apk' does not exist'
I have debugging turned on, so I should have access, and adb mounted just fine...
If you have any ideas, I would appreciate it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try mounting the partitions through Clockword Recovery. I've had issues in the past where a partition wasn't mounted, therefore the computer couldn't find it.
Hope it works, i'm looking to start theming some as well and this looks like it'll help!
Thank you. I don't think u need to be in adb shell. Try using astro to copy and paste that framework-res.apk to ur sdcard. Then just disk drive ur card and remove it.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
MMBosstones86 said:
try mounting the partitions through Clockword Recovery. I've had issues in the past where a partition wasn't mounted, therefore the computer couldn't find it.
Hope it works, i'm looking to start theming some as well and this looks like it'll help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you, I will keep that in mind.
tcberg2010 said:
Thank you. I don't think u need to be in adb shell. Try using astro to copy and paste that framework-res.apk to ur sdcard. Then just disk drive ur card and remove it.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol, that works easily... thanks!
ok so i've used 7zip to pull the images from the drawable icons folder out of the framework res what's the simplest way to say add transparency to my notification window would I use Photoshop for this?
Also interested in a guide for this.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
HeyItsLou said:
ok so i've used 7zip to pull the images from the drawable icons folder out of the framework res what's the simplest way to say add transparency to my notification window would I use Photoshop for this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes with photoshop you manipulate the image's transparency using a ton of different tools but the easiest being the blend tool by simply double clicking on the image in the layers pallet
EDIT* Hopefully that makes sense lol
jdkoreclipse said:
It is done with photoshop and 7zip......all it is is replacinng drawable icons from the res folder
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dont forget xml files, for fully rounded theme you will have to modify some of these!
So you want to know how to theme heh. Cool, we need more themers!
Here is a guide to get you started:
The Ultimate Android Themeing Guide
Can't afford Photoshop? No problem, download Gimp, its free and will work great for themeing.
Download for Gimp
Dont know how to do something with your theme? Google to the rescue. For example; say you want to add a transparency to your image. Just google "how to add transparency with Gimp". Google can answer all your questions.
Couple things to keep in mind while themeing.
1: Dont change the size of the default image
2: Some images are 8-bit paletted. You are really limited on what you can do in 8-bit. While in your graphics program change the image to 24bit rgb or 32bit cmyk, do your edits then change the image back to 8-bit when you are done.
Instead of using adb to pull the apk's I want to edit I just extract them from the ROM itself. If you download your ROMS from ROM Manager they can be found on your SD card in the clockworkmod/download folder. For example Skyraider can be found in clockworkmod/download/pcjock.com/skyraider/Roms folder.
Inside the rom zip file you will see a folder structure similar to data/meta-inf/system/tools etc. There are 2 main apk's you are looking for:
framework-res.apk - this is the main "theme" area for droid devices
com.htc.resources.apk - this is the main "theme" area for sense based roms
Both of these can be found in the system/framework folder within the zip of the ROM. Editing these 2 apk's will theme about 80% of your overall look of the phone. The other 20% use their own png's found within the apk of that particular app. These apps can be found in system/app of the ROMS zip file.
What I do when editing a apk is extract the apk to my desktop. After I have the apk I want to edit there I open it up with 7zip and extract the whole res folder to my desktop (keep the apk open in 7zip so you can add the res folder back in after your edits). All the pngs you want to edit will be in the drawable folders (ie drawable, drawable-hdi, etc)
Pay close attention to the png files you edit. If it has a .9 in its name you need to take some extra steps when editing the file. A guide on editing .9 pngs can be found here. After you have made your png edits drag the res folder from your desktop back into the apk in 7zip. After that you need to create a update.zip file with your new theme in it. I use apk sign which can be found here. Thats it, your theme should be ready to go.
I hope this helps some. When in doubt do what I did, research, google, research and google some more.
Good luck!
djkms said:
So you want to know how to theme heh. Cool, we need more themers!
Here is a guide to get you started:
The Ultimate Android Themeing Guide
Can't afford Photoshop? No problem, download Gimp, its free and will work great for themeing.
Download for Gimp
Dont know how to do something with your theme? Google to the rescue. For example; say you want to add a transparency to your image. Just google "how to add transparency with Gimp". Google can answer all your questions.
Couple things to keep in mind while themeing.
1: Dont change the size of the default image
2: Some images are 8-bit paletted. You are really limited on what you can do in 8-bit. While in your graphics program change the image to 24bit rgb or 32bit cmyk, do your edits then change the image back to 8-bit when you are done.
Instead of using adb to pull the apk's I want to edit I just extract them from the ROM itself. If you download your ROMS from ROM Manager they can be found on your SD card in the clockworkmod/download folder. For example Skyraider can be found in clockworkmod/download/pcjock.com/skyraider/Roms folder.
Inside the rom zip file you will see a folder structure similar to data/meta-inf/system/tools etc. There are 2 main apk's you are looking for:
framework-res.apk - this is the main "theme" area for droid devices
com.htc.resources.apk - this is the main "theme" area for sense based roms
Both of these can be found in the system/framework folder within the zip of the ROM. Editing these 2 apk's will theme about 80% of your overall look of the phone. The other 20% use their own png's found within the apk of that particular app. These apps can be found in system/app of the ROMS zip file.
What I do when editing a apk is extract the apk to my desktop. After I have the apk I want to edit there I open it up with 7zip and extract the whole res folder to my desktop (keep the apk open in 7zip so you can add the res folder back in after your edits). All the pngs you want to edit will be in the drawable folders (ie drawable, drawable-hdi, etc)
Pay close attention to the png files you edit. If it has a .9 in its name you need to take some extra steps when editing the file. A guide on editing .9 pngs can be found here. After you have made your png edits drag the res folder from your desktop back into the apk in 7zip. After that you need to create a update.zip file with your new theme in it. I use apk sign which can be found here. Thats it, your theme should be ready to go.
I hope this helps some. When in doubt do what I did, research, google, research and google some more.
Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot for that post, exactly what I was looking for.
1 quick question, I was just trying to make a transparent background for my SmoothCalendar Widget, and I edited it in gimp fine, readded the png to the apk, moved the apk back to my sd card, but when I went to install it it just said "cannot install" from what I was reading, this is a signing issue -- is that where the apk sign program you linked comes into play?
scrdy said:
Thanks a lot for that post, exactly what I was looking for.
1 quick question, I was just trying to make a transparent background for my SmoothCalendar Widget, and I edited it in gimp fine, readded the png to the apk, moved the apk back to my sd card, but when I went to install it it just said "cannot install" from what I was reading, this is a signing issue -- is that where the apk sign program you linked comes into play?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would be my guess. Attached is the program I use to sign single apk's (the one I linked earlier is a bit more involved and I use it for themes only).
With the one attached I would suggest using a public key, no need that I can see in using a private key (its more pain then its worth).
Also, I would suggest uninstalling the app before installing the one you themed, most will error out when installing (in my experience anyways).
There is a tutorial link in the zip file on how to sign your apk's. If you need some clarification let me know.
my problem (which is why I've never finished some of my themes) is that signing apk's never works for me
djkms said:
That would be my guess. Attached is the program I use to sign single apk's (the one I linked earlier is a bit more involved and I use it for themes only).
With the one attached I would suggest using a public key, no need that I can see in using a private key (its more pain then its worth).
Also, I would suggest uninstalling the app before installing the one you themed, most will error out when installing (in my experience anyways).
There is a tutorial link in the zip file on how to sign your apk's. If you need some clarification let me know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll give that a go when I get home from work -- thanks for your help.
Excellent thread! I've been poking all around the place trying to find this info...
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
hi not sure if this is the right place for this or not but i've got a question on apk files
I've made some changes to an apk file but not sure how to compress it back to an apk file.
is it as simple as compressing as a zip then renaming it to apk?
take care
denti said:
hi not sure if this is the right place for this or not but i've got a question on apk files
I've made some changes to an apk file but not sure how to compress it back to an apk file.
is it as simple as compressing as a zip then renaming it to apk?
take care
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use 7zip (7z.exe to be exact)
Copy it to a folder make a subfolder inside,
Put ur apk contents in subfolder
Open notepad, copy and paste these 3 lines
Save as script.bat in folder with 7z.exe
cd subfoldername
..\7z.exe -tzip archivename.apk "*" -mx0
Exit
Change subfoldername to name of subfolder to the name of subfolder u created ofc lmao
And archive name to sign.. mx0 is best for loadin, mx9 is compression, use signapk to sign if its not a system file
If the "..\7z" don't wotk 4 u use full path in quotes, example
"%userprofile%\desktop\foldername"
Is the same as: (vista)
"C:\users\username\desktop\foldername"
And: (xp)
C:\documents and settings\username\desktop\foldername"
Or use apk manager lol I prefermymethod personally, n fyi, googles ur friend
Should get to know it
thank you doug.
i did google it but found bunch of different programs and thought that there might be a simpler way of doing it rather than getting a program just to compress
denti said:
thank you doug.
i did google it but found bunch of different programs and thought that there might be a simpler way of doing it rather than getting a program just to compress
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ye no worries just hope it helped sorry if the post seemed rushed had like 5min left 2 my break when I origionally replyed lmao n this methods rather simple cuz when used correct its more or less drag n drop n run, zip is generated in folder with 7z.exe n 7z performs flawlessly
APKs are basically a zip file with an MD5 signature embedded in them. There are apk generators on market if you copy directory to sdcard is prolly easiest to start with specially with the processing power of this phone.
In Windows compressed folders work fine if you just enable viewing file extensions and change between zip and apk
or hold left shift key as you right click apk file in windows.
Now click open with...
and choose browse for application
Choose your favorite zip app or windows compressed folders
Next to last check always use box so checkmark is visible
Finally click OK
Now no need to modify extensions
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Xparent Green Tapatalk
This is a simple guide to make your own custom rom……..(the other parts will be written…as soon as I become bothered to type for hours again)
PART 1:setup the kitchen and rom
1.Download java(java.com) and install the java JDK(www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html)
2.Download the kitchen(http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=633246) (thankyou DSIXDA for your amazing kitchen)
3.Download Cygwin(Cygwin.com)
3.extract the cygwin file(using winzip or winrar) in C drive only….dont put it into any folders
a.Enter a file called Cygwin(setup file)
b.click next>install from local directory
c.now it will ask you where to put the program….leave everything as default
d.now It will ask you where the location of the packages are so>click browse>click my computer >go to drive C>and you will fin the folder Cygwin-packages>so select that folder and click ok>next.
e.now it will extract the folders>a promt is going to pop up..>click ok
f.now you will see a list>go to the first line and you will see next to the word ALL ,two arrows>click on them so all files can be installed.
g.now it will install the program whick take from 5-10min.
h.when its done …select finish.
i.you can now delete the setup file and Cygwin-packages folder.
j.now enter the Cygwin program and it will create some files..>when its done exit the program….
Now Cygwin program is done installing .
3.To use the kitchen:
a.Enter Cygwin folder>home>your user name>so you will find 3 files
b.in the same folder>extract the kitchen zip file(Android-Kitchen-master.zip)
c.now enter the kitchen folder>you will find a folder called>put rom here.
d.so in that folder>either put a rom.zip file or put a system.img file if you want complete stock…..(which you get from the ruu of your phone)
e.now enter tools folder>edifly_......(something like that) and see if you mount points are in it…
f.to know go to your build.prop file>check ro.product.device>and if you see a txt file under the name of your device …..your device is supported…
g.if NOT,go to the original thread …where the dev has stated a way on how to add your device…..
Now we are done from the setup of the kitchen…..
To use the kitchen:
1.Enter Cygwin
2.type
a.cd kitchen>press enter
b. ./menu>press enter
Now a list of options will come infront of you ……
3.go to the option>setup working folder>enter its number and press enter…
4.now if you go to Cygwin folder >enter home>user name>kitchen.
5.you will find a folder called(working folder_8254897)
NOW YOU ARE DONE WITH SETTING UP THE KITCHEN……AND YOU CAN START PLAYING WITH THE ROM
PART 2:Clearing up the options
Explanation for each option:
1.creates you a working folder,which extracts the rom for you.
2. It gives you super user access aka SU, Some apps require root to work properly….so if your rom isn’t rooted … it’ll be useless.
3. Busy Box is something that you install on your phone to give you some additional handy LINUX / UNIX based commands. You need Busy Box installed because some commands are not available to you and you made need them for some root level tasks.
4.To disable sounds while phone is booting
5.To add you a tethering app…..and allow you do wireless tethering
6. Zipalign is an archive alignment tool. It optimizes the way an app is packaged. Doing so enables the operating system to interact with the application more efficiently, and has the potential to make the application and overall the whole system much faster. Execution time is minimized for zipaligned applications, resulting in a lower amount of RAM consumption when running the app.
7.If you want the rom to do a FULL WIPE while installing the rom
8.To change the name of the rom
9.Checks if the update script contains any errors….because if it did the rom wont be installed correctly,which may lead to a brick
10.To see all information about your rom..ex: if you have root access/if you aren’t using stock kernel/if you have app2sd support etc..
11. Apk files have respective odexes that devs use to supposedly save space. Deodexing means you convert it back to a .dex file and put it back inside the apk. This allows you to easily replace files (not having to worry about odexes), but the main point was to deodex services.jar so that you can change all text to different colors (such as the clock color to white) and to deodex services.jar, you need to deodex everything.
12.To add a task killer….which closes applications to free RAM
13.To add a /data/app folder so applications could be installed their rather than getting installed in system/app
14.To add text editor…for ex.if you want to edit build.prop or any txt file which is in system.
15.To add a command shell which allows you to use in in the terminal
16.To give the option of moving applications to sd card
17. To add /etc/init.d scripts support ….which allow you to add tweaks and stuff for the phone
18.To allow user to put the boot-animation that he desires.
19.To be able to extract the boot.img(kernel)
20.To extract data.img (which I don’t know what it is )
21.check this (http://developer.android.com/tools/publishing/app-signing.html)
22.To covert update script to updater script which is a must before you build the rom.
99.To build the rom when you finish editing and modding.
PART 3:How to mod apks
OK SO NOW SINCE YOU KNOW WHAT EACH OPTION DOES…..LETS START MODDING,and to start customizing,you have to use an apk extractor and zipper because the apks contain all the treasure …..for example:SystemUI.apk(contains battery icons ,signal icons, the location of the clock and many many more things)
So what were gonna use is apk manager,which is an very easy program to use,and helps a lot in apk extracting and zipping and signing.
Here are the steps to use it:
1.Extract the zip file(apk manager)
2.youll find a file called setup>enter it and select option 3 and press enter.
3.folders will be created
4.so to extract an apk>select an apk file and drop it into the folder (put apk here)
5.go into script file>press enter file>and after you’ve put the apk file in the specified folder>select option 2 >so the apk will be extracted
6.after you extract it you will find the extracted files it in the same folder(put apk here) in a new folder under the name of the apk file.
7.edit whatever you want
8.When you finish >select option 3>press enter.
9.then select option 5 and 6 to sign and zipalign the apk…..
And your done ,but to find the modded apk…..go into place apk here for signing and you will find it there.
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RESERVVED
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RESE8VED
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W hayde kamen yaben 5alte....................reserved
Sorry need help....
donhashem.dh said:
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey dude/*****.....
Me again and loving yr tutorial. But do have a couple of questions that I hope you can help with.
Firstly the update version of Cygwin menu is not exactly as yours in the tutorial. Why is the allow Tethering function not there and could this be a problem.
Secondly i am nooooooB and are unsure on how to add remove system apk's from rom. Do I just dig in and delete them from windows. And can I pull apk's from another rom to put into the data app folder which was created using Cygwin.
I was wanting to add aroma installer as well but another story....
Really appreciate if you can advise. If I sound to noooobish then understrand that I am to much work.
veroby said:
Hey dude/*****.....
Me again and loving yr tutorial. But do have a couple of questions that I hope you can help with.
Firstly the update version of Cygwin menu is not exactly as yours in the tutorial. Why is the allow Tethering function not there and could this be a problem.
Secondly i am nooooooB and are unsure on how to add remove system apk's from rom. Do I just dig in and delete them from windows. And can I pull apk's from another rom to put into the data app folder which was created using Cygwin.
I was wanting to add aroma installer as well but another story....
Really appreciate if you can advise. If I sound to noooobish then understrand that I am to much work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ayyy take it easy cun*
I'll update the tutorial because I made it from a long time and posted it now
For the apks you just enter the rom.zip system>app and you'll find all the apks there..
The data folder cygwin creates is that when you use the Rom ..the apps won't be installed in system>app anymore,they will be installed the folder the kitchen created data
And for the aroma installer,leave it for later ...your still not ready for it ...
no signature....problem ?!?!?!
donhashem.dh said:
Ayyy take it easy cun*
I'll update the tutorial because I made it from a long time and posted it now
For the apks you just enter the rom.zip system>app and you'll find all the apks there..
The data folder cygwin creates is that when you use the Rom ..the apps won't be installed in system>app anymore,they will be installed the folder the kitchen created data
And for the aroma installer,leave it for later ...your still not ready for it ...
no signature....problem ?!?!?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was going to ask you about signature but didnt want to over do it. I am guessing you need to sign it after the 99 - Build ROM from working folder?
I have proceed with the Build rom and are at the recomend to sign rom stage. Its some thing I dont understand. Is it ok to proceed without?
Cool I have noticed the roms produced by dev's here xda are not signed so doesnt seem to matter for this purpose. I have hit thx ***** 5 or 6 times.
I will hit 500 s****y if you give share some knowledge in installing arroma installer. or do you recomend just trying things....cheers anyway its been awsome.....:good: