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...
Noob to theme'ing.
Do I have to make an update zip to theme or can I modify the framework apk and just push that to /system/app?
You can just modify and push framework-res.apk to system/framework/
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
Oddity said:
You can just modify and push framework-res.apk to system/framework/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
system/framework/
sorry i've been at this computer too long lol
My replacement keeps giving me boot loops.
All I changed was: I duplicated the green lockslider and its components and renamed them to replace the other gray locksliders.
then I compressed the framework-res to a zip (using built in mac zip compression, mac user so i can't use winrar) and change zip to apk. adb push to system/framework/
any ideas what is going wrong?
cupcakera said:
My replacement keeps giving me boot loops.
All I changed was: I duplicated the green lockslider and its components and renamed them to replace the other gray locksliders.
then I compressed the framework-res to a zip (using built in mac zip compression, mac user so i can't use winrar) and change zip to apk. adb push to system/framework/
any ideas what is going wrong?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried installing it via a update.zip?
cupcakera said:
My replacement keeps giving me boot loops.
All I changed was: I duplicated the green lockslider and its components and renamed them to replace the other gray locksliders.
then I compressed the framework-res to a zip (using built in mac zip compression, mac user so i can't use winrar) and change zip to apk. adb push to system/framework/
any ideas what is going wrong?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well this gets to be a bit confusing. I will say what i know hopefully others can help out too.
APKs are just zip containers that are signed, that means there is no compression. In your zip program look for a setting under compression labeled store. You would then have to sign that bad boy in order for your phone to work. You can not use the testsign certificate.
With that being said here is a guide...
Modifying?
PNG's -> open the apk up in the zip program, navigate to the res/whatever_folder_had_the_original and drop your files in.
9.PNGs and XML more complicated. You will have to decompile the apk [apktool] then modify them [look for articles on that, i cant get too indepth here]. Compile the apk. Drag the now compiled xml and 9.pngs to the respective folder open in your zip program.
Really the object is not to mess up the signing that comes with the apk. opening up the apk in a zip program, allows you to view, and replace files with not destroying the signature.
This method will not work with all applications. I have still not figured why some programs work with being signed with a testcert and others are not. I have a hunch that all userspace programs can be test signed and all system files need their own [htc?] key.
Also to note is that for some reason the phone when looking at framework-res, services.jar and others does not seem to mind the differences in CRC of the files stored in it, with what is in the manifest. I still can figure out the phones reasoning to allow this to happen on some but not all apps.
I hope this was not very confusing. I am working on video toturials of this same subject. Stay tuned!
That really helps a lot. Thanks.
I'll try that out tonight. Any recommendations for zip programs with a store feature for mac?
cupcakera said:
That really helps a lot. Thanks.
I'll try that out tonight. Any recommendations for zip programs with a store feature for mac?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use BetterZip on my mac..........open the apk with Betterzip, then extract the res folder to your desktop (or wherever you want). Edit the .png files you want.......steer clear ( unless you know how) of editing the 9.png files. Delete the original res folder from the framework folder and insert the res folder you just edited. Then save the framework-res.apk and push back to where it belongs.
I like 7zip better, but this works okay, since there is no 7zip for a mac.
Betterzip worked perfectly! Thanks again.
I have been looking for this png(see attachment) I changed one in HtcContact.apk. I've found several others like it but not the correct one. it's the default contact image for when you don't assign an image to a contact.
anyone?
also, I have been editting png files by pulling the apk with android commander, then editting or replacing a png using 7zip then pushing back using commander.
any harm in this? I haven't seen any yet........
try taking a peak in the framework files. /system/framework/com.htc.resources.apk and /system/framework/framework-res.apk
No harm, just keep a backup of whatever apk you modify. If something goes wrong you will basically just get force closes until you restore the original file
Thanks, found it in /system/framework/com.htc.resources.apk
Echo2Lincoln said:
Thanks, found it in /system/framework/com.htc.resources.apk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pretty cool. How did you do it? What did you modify in the com.htc.resources.apk?
editing spelled correctly
kenlperry said:
Pretty cool. How did you do it? What did you modify in the com.htc.resources.apk?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
common_icon_default_avatar.png, people_detail_defaultphoto.png
I edited both of those pics using gimp. I'm not sure which one is the actual image for the contact list cause I got impatient and changed them both.
I sorta followed this thread>http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/htc-evo-4g-themes-mods/133616-how-theme-building-sgbz.html
what I actually did was pull com.htc.resources.apk with the program android commander (http://androidcommander.com/), open the archive with
7zip, copied the png to a seperate folder, edited with gimp, copied back to the open archive, closed the archive and then pushed back to phone.
I must tell you, my profession is in auto repair, I really have no clue what I'm doing but I am having fun and learning as I go...
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
Okay i'm on CM10 and I want to change the "Virgin Mobile" to my Carrier's name "Alltel" how would I go about doing this the correct way? I've searched numerous forums and have not ran across a solution that works for me.
Google about editing eri.xml I'm pretty sure that's what changes your carrier name. If you need any further help let me know.
Its inside your /system/framework/framework-res.apk in the /res/XML folder. You can use 7zip on your PC to open the apk and extract the file for modification.
Sent from my One V using xda app-developers app
whoshotjr2006 said:
Google about editing eri.xml I'm pretty sure that's what changes your carrier name. If you need any further help let me know.
Its inside your /system/framework/framework-res.apk in the XML folder. You can use 7zip on your PC to open the apk and extract the file for modification.
Sent from my One V using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've tried a variation of that, I extracted the build.prop from the ROM I am wanting to install, 7zipped the framework apk file, extracted the eri.xml but when I open it in a HEX editor, the information is encrypted and I can't see much to edit, I tried locating the "Virgin Mobile" lines but had no luck even locating what I needed ot edit, as far as overwriting the old eri.xml placing it in the framework file, and replacing the old framework file with the altered one I can do, I am just having issues locating the information in a HEX editor, or even wordpad.
i uploaded an eri.xml that i edited to say Alltel. My phone says alltel now, use hxd (or your hex editor, i recommend hxd personally) to follow the directions on the picture attached. Highlight the words Virgin Mobile, and start typing Alltel, and you will probably have to add spaces behind it (or in 3 spaces in front of it and 3 (? or 4) spaces behind it to center it better than i did) so it doesnt change the size of the file. Save it, put it back into your framework-res.apk, and push it back to /system/framework
The eri.zip i attached is an already done copy, the instructions are just for your future reference.
Enjoy!
(make sure you have a good backup of your framework-res.apk to fall back on before you push the new one to its spot)
Awesome, took your advice, but so I can learn by doing, i just manually took apart the ROM and edited the files needed and just put them bacl, reflashed ROM, and boom, it says what I wanted, thank's alot man, greatly appreciated.