So, I'm well-aware that the reason icons can't be changed easily on the Android home screen is because the icon image is stored in the APK file, and editing that image is, essentially, near impossible.
However, I had an idea that could potentially fix that problem, and I'm just curious how realistic the solution is:
As most G1 users know, AnyCut is a great application that can allow a user to create a shortcut to any number of actions on the phone. These shortcuts are customizable by name, and, for the time being, have a limited number of icons, one for each shortcut type.
I also recall using an app several months ago to change the icons of bookmarks (Bookmark 2, I believe it was called). With this app, a user could choose exactly what their icons would look like on the home screen, except, of course, that these icons could only link to bookmarks.
By combining these two applications, wouldn't an icon changer be quite possible?
Using this same methodology, wouldn't it be possible to create "shortcuts" to applications on the home screen, and thus, allow the user to rename apps and change their icons, at least on the desktop? I know that the icons would not be changed in the pull-out drawer or elsewhere on the system, but wouldn't this be a temporary workaround, until a better solution is reached? I have quite a few programs with horrendous icons, and it really takes away from the aesthetic of the home screen.
Again, all I'm asking is if there's a way to place a shortcut to an APK on the desktop, and preferably to customize that shortcut's icon, not the actual apps.
It is possible to edit .apk's and change the icons. Just look at the forum for theams.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=450
soundwire said:
It is possible to edit .apk's and change the icons. Just look at the forum for theams.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=450
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I know that the icons can be edited in a theme, but can non-stock icons be edited as well?
And also, my concern with that is that it seems like a lot of work to update a theme everytime a new app appears on the market. I'm a little OCD, so if I were able to change all the icons on my home screen, I would want them all to be absolutely uniform (like the themes' icons are). However, if a new, super-useful app were to appear on the market, and I absolutely needed it on my home screen, it would seem much easier to simply add an image to my phone, and make a shortcut using that image, than to have to edit an APK, resign the entire package, and reflash the phone each time. While I know my way around the G1, and I'm comfortable with basic rooting, I am by no means a developer, and just like most G1 users, I would probably be more comfortable making shortcuts than updating firmware.
Do you understand where I'm coming from?
I too, would also like to know how to change "non-stock" app icons. Bump.
jayaustn said:
Well, I know that the icons can be edited in a theme, but can non-stock icons be edited as well?
And also, my concern with that is that it seems like a lot of work to update a theme everytime a new app appears on the market. I'm a little OCD, so if I were able to change all the icons on my home screen, I would want them all to be absolutely uniform (like the themes' icons are). However, if a new, super-useful app were to appear on the market, and I absolutely needed it on my home screen, it would seem much easier to simply add an image to my phone, and make a shortcut using that image, than to have to edit an APK, resign the entire package, and reflash the phone each time. While I know my way around the G1, and I'm comfortable with basic rooting, I am by no means a developer, and just like most G1 users, I would probably be more comfortable making shortcuts than updating firmware.
Do you understand where I'm coming from?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have yet to try this, but (provided you have root), you should be able to use adb to pull the apk for an app off your phone, edit it as described, and push it back to the same place. I will give this a go tomorrow, as I'm rather sleepy, and it's probably not a good thing to mess about with superuser stuff when I can't think straight.
If there's any flaws in my theory, I'd be happy to hear them.
RE: Changeing Icons!
I have a video on you tube on how to change icons. Here it is!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjnV_d9b22E
Hope you enjoy and your able to Change Your Icons.
Good Luck!
bms122223 said:
I have a video on you tube on how to change icons. Here it is!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjnV_d9b22E
Hope you enjoy and your able to Change Your Icons.
Good Luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Video doesnt show you how to change "non-stock" app icons, only icons for the original apps.
Well, I kind of figured out how to change the non-stock icons. But got stuck at the end...here's what I did...
1) Install/Open Astro.
2) Back up the app you want to change the icon for.
3) Grab that backup apk file off of your sdcard and put it on your computer.
4) Open it with Winrar.
5) Go to the proper folder and drag your new icon into the folder.
6) Close Winrar and move the apk back to your sdcard.
...this is where I get stuck, I know the icon changed because I can see it when I TRY to install the app. But the app doesnt want to install, it says "install unsuccesful". I'm guessing it needs to be signed?
I have used astro as well, I even signed the apk the same way I sign themes and no luck.
ultra spikey said:
Well, I kind of figured out how to change the non-stock icons. But got stuck at the end...here's what I did...
1) Install/Open Astro.
2) Back up the app you want to change the icon for.
3) Grab that backup apk file off of your sdcard and put it on your computer.
4) Open it with Winrar.
5) Go to the proper folder and drag your new icon into the folder.
6) Close Winrar and move the apk back to your sdcard.
...this is where I get stuck, I know the icon changed because I can see it when I TRY to install the app. But the app doesnt want to install, it says "install unsuccesful". I'm guessing it needs to be signed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're real close; once you replace the icon you need you need to delete META-INF folder then zip it back up, rename file extension to .apk and sign it with the test keys like the stock .apk. The META-INF is where the signature info is kept from the original author, you need to delete this so it doesn't conflict with the test keys.
Geo411m said:
You're real close; once you replace the icon you need you need to delete META-INF folder then zip it back up, rename file extension to .apk and sign it with the test keys like the stock .apk. The META-INF is where the signature info is kept from the original author, you need to delete this so it doesn't conflict with the test keys.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will that a try. So this also mean that if author updates .apk file we will not be able to install update? Similar to google RC30 updates, we have to wait for JF to modify it.
johnowa636 said:
I will that a try. So this also mean that if author updates .apk file we will not be able to install update? Similar to google RC30 updates, we have to wait for JF to modify it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed; this might be a problem.
I mean, opening up the APK files is definitely a start, but it seems the shortcut approach I mentioned earlier is just so much easier. Shortcuts would allow basic users to change icons effortlessly and without fear of ruining the app, and the process could be just as easy as Bookmark 2, if a developer took charge, no?
ultra spikey said:
Well, I kind of figured out how to change the non-stock icons. But got stuck at the end...here's what I did...
1) Install/Open Astro.
2) Back up the app you want to change the icon for.
3) Grab that backup apk file off of your sdcard and put it on your computer.
4) Open it with Winrar.
5) Go to the proper folder and drag your new icon into the folder.
6) Close Winrar and move the apk back to your sdcard.
...this is where I get stuck, I know the icon changed because I can see it when I TRY to install the app. But the app doesnt want to install, it says "install unsuccesful". I'm guessing it needs to be signed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i would like to verify that this method works to change non-stock apps without pushing files or inserting apps into updates. i used 7zip but i'd imagine winrar will work fine as well. just remember to delete the entire metainf folder, not just its contents. once you have your .apk, re-sign it using stericson's auto-sign utility and you'll be able to install the app through astro.
i should also note that i deleted all instance of the unmodified app from my sdcard. i uninstalled it and deleted the backup on my sd card. this may or may not be necessary, but i just wanted to take precautions.
I've given this method a try, and it seems simply too complicated for a moderate user like me. Wouldn't the shortcut method I mentioned be so much easier to quickly change home screen icons? Would any of the developers on this forum be interested in throwing such an app together? I'd gladly donate some money if a good app was able to take care of this problem.
what are you having trouble with, exactly? i'm far from an advanced user myself, but this is probably one of the easier things to do on the g1, probably second to flashing themes.
though i will say that there are a few apps that i can't change icons for. chomp and cubik have installed but force close when opened.
i have a feeling it's something to do with the signing the apk's, but like i said, i'm not an advanced user at all.
TruLuvNvrDies said:
what are you having trouble with, exactly? i'm far from an advanced user myself, but this is probably one of the easier things to do on the g1, probably second to flashing themes.
though i will say that there are a few apps that i can't change icons for. chomp and cubik have installed but force close when opened.
i have a feeling it's something to do with the signing the apk's, but like i said, i'm not an advanced user at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I opened up the APK using WinRAR, replaced the icon.png with my icon of choice, and then I'm stuck. I known I have to auto-sign the APK, but am not exactly sure how. I have Stericson's auto-signer tool, and used command 4 to manually enter the APK path, but once I do that I get a bunch of errors. If need be, I can copy down the exact error I get.
ultra spikey said:
Video doesnt show you how to change "non-stock" app icons, only icons for the original apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice video!
jayaustn said:
I opened up the APK using WinRAR, replaced the icon.png with my icon of choice, and then I'm stuck. I known I have to auto-sign the APK, but am not exactly sure how. I have Stericson's auto-signer tool, and used command 4 to manually enter the APK path, but once I do that I get a bunch of errors. If need be, I can copy down the exact error I get.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you probably need to delete the contents of the meta-inf folder. there should be three files in there, delete them all. if you extracted the contents of the .apk, zip them back up with an .apk extension. if you didn't extract them, you're at the last step, which is to re-sign the .apk. you don't actually need to manually re-sign the file through the console on stericson's re-signer. just right-click the .apk file and at the very top, there should be an option that says "resign .apk". click on that and your app will be re-signed and ready for an install attempt.
though, as i said before, this method is not 100%. of the 6 apps that i modified so far, i was only successful with 4 of them. even if you do all of the steps correctly, you might not have a working app at the end. the apps will install but will automatically force close when launched. i don't know what causes this, actually, and any suggestions would be appreciated.
I agree with the OP, while it is easy enough to edit the apks, resign them, copy them back onto your phone it would be far more elegant (IMHO) if you could have an application that allowed you to copy "Icon Packs" onto your SDCard, and then add links to applications on your home screen giving you a choice of icons from the aforementioned "Icon Pack".
Theme developers could then distribute the "Icon Pack" with the theme, and end users could easily add custom icons to your home screen from your phone without having to mess about on a PC.
liamw said:
I agree with the OP, while it is easy enough to edit the apks, resign them, copy them back onto your phone it would be far more elegant (IMHO) if you could have an application that allowed you to copy "Icon Packs" onto your SDCard, and then add links to applications on your home screen giving you a choice of icons from the aforementioned "Icon Pack".
Theme developers could then distribute the "Icon Pack" with the theme, and end users could easily add custom icons to your home screen from your phone without having to mess about on a PC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So what everyone wants is Anycut that can do custom icons.
I made a custom boot animation to go along with the theme that Shane6374 and I made (you can find our theme here: [THEME]Special Edition:midNIGHT ROM Autism Awareness Theme+LP+Icons+Boot Animation) and its not working. Basically what I did was I took a boot animation that works (its the one I am using now) and replaced the .png's with my own. But when I boot up all I get is a black screen until the phone boots. I have checked everything I can think of. The pics are the same dimensions, the same resolution, the same format. The only thing I see different is that mine uses more colors. IDK if that is a limitation on boot animations (but I doubt it). Does anyone have any ideas? There must be something I am missing. I'm going to post the bootanimation.zip I made here so feel free to download it and see if you can figure out what is wrong.
Johnny.Bravo said:
I made a custom boot animation to go along with the theme that Shane6374 and I made (you can find our theme here: [THEME][EB13]Special midNIGHT ROM Autism Awareness Theme + Launcher Pro + Icons) and its not working. Basically what I did was I took a boot animation that works (its the one I am using now) and replaced the .png's with my own. But when I boot up all I get is a black screen until the phone boots. I have checked everything I can think of. The pics are the same dimensions, the same resolution, the same format. The only thing I see different is that mine uses more colors. IDK if that is a limitation on boot animations (but I doubt it). Does anyone have any ideas? There must be something I am missing. I'm going to post the bootanimation.zip I made here so feel free to download it and see if you can figure out what is wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do not have the time do more than a quick look now. If someone doesn't beat me too it, I will see what I can find tmorrow.
jstine671 said:
Do not have the time do more than a quick look now. If someone doesn't beat me too it, I will see what I can find tmorrow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I've been beating my head against a wall over this for 4 days.
Your desc.txt file is saved in windows format. it uses a different code for carriage returns than does unix formatted text files. you can just open it up in something like notepad++ and under edit-->EOL Conversion switch it to unix format and it should work.
optmsprim2 said:
Your desc.txt file is saved in windows format. it uses a different code for carriage returns than does unix formatted text files. you can just open it up in something like notepad++ and under edit-->EOL Conversion switch it to unix format and it should work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I'm gonna give that a shot right now.
optmsprim2 said:
Your desc.txt file is saved in windows format. it uses a different code for carriage returns than does unix formatted text files. you can just open it up in something like notepad++ and under edit-->EOL Conversion switch it to unix format and it should work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Johnny.Bravo said:
Thanks. I'm gonna give that a shot right now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Didn't work. You were right about the the format, so I changed it to Unix, but I still get a blank screen instead of the animation while its booting.
I uploaded the bootanimation.zip with the new desc.txt file just in case you wanted to double check.
Here is something interesting.....
I decided to look at the files in the bootanimation.zip on my phone. I used Root Explorer and went into the part0 folder. The images display just fine with Astro Image viewer, but Gallery just gives me a blank screen. I think its some sort of issue with the native image viewer not being able to display these images properly. If this were Windows I would say I am missing a driver, but its Linux.
So, I say again.....any ideas?
Oh. Your zip is compressed. Make sure you set it to no compression when you make your archive.
optmsprim2 said:
Oh. Your zip is compressed. Make sure you set it to no compression when you make your archive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I started with the boot animation that is currently on my phone. I used 7zip to open the bootanimation.zip and replaced the original images with mine. I didn't change any compression settings (that I am aware of anyway).
I'm not sure about 7zip, I use winrar, but I imagine it might work similarly. If I just drag and drop files into and out of an archive it automatically compresses them. When I opened your archive the PNGs were ever so slightly compressed, not much since they are already so small, but any compression will stop it from playing. In winrar I just add the folder and txt file to a new archive and just use "store" as the compression method. I don't know what the setting is in 7zip but it probably has some similar setting.
OK, so now I need to figure out where the compression settings in 7zip are.
Thanks
There was also some issues with your file names. They need to be in the format "ANYNAME_00001.png" I believe. So you need to have any random name with an underscore, it doesn't matter what, but the numbering has to include 5 digits. I went ahead and did it and packaged it up for you. Works on my phone, Bonsai 3.0.1. Cool stuff!
optmsprim2 said:
There was also some issues with your file names. They need to be in the format "ANYNAME_00001.png" I believe. So you need to have any random name with an underscore, it doesn't matter what, but the numbering has to include 5 digits. I went ahead and did it and packaged it up for you. Works on my phone, Bonsai 3.0.1. Cool stuff!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! I knew it had to be something simple that I was missing. If I could hit the Thanks button 1000 times I would. I just flashed it on mine and it works.
Thanks again.
Frames can be named anything as long as th order is inlin for android to read properly.
Ex.
Name_001
Name_002
Name_003
Name_004
Name_005
Name_006
Name_007
Name_008
Name_009
Name_010 and so on.
Also use 7zip for zipping them up with it always set on store.
Another thing to watch out for is that when creating your part folders usin a pc running wndows, be careful not to let windows throw a hidden indexing file into the folder. This happens a lot and will give the animation the white flash screen that so many ppl have problems with, it can also cause the black nothing screen.
ZHkilla said:
Frames can be named anything as long as th order is inlin for android to read properly.
Ex.
Name_001
Name_002
Name_003
Name_004
Name_005
Name_006
Name_007
Name_008
Name_009
Name_010 and so on.
Also use 7zip for zipping them up with it always set on store.
Another thing to watch out for is that when creating your part folders usin a pc running wndows, be careful not to let windows throw a hidden indexing file into the folder. This happens a lot and will give the animation the white flash screen that so many ppl have problems with, it can also cause the black nothing screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. This is my first one so I had a bit of a learning curve. I used up all my thanks on optmsprim2 but I'll come back tomorrow and get you.
BTW I looked but I can't find where you set the compression settings in 7zip. How do I set in on store?
Johnny.Bravo said:
Thanks. This is my first one so I had a bit of a learning curve. I used up all my thanks on optmsprim2 but I'll come back tomorrow and get you.
BTW I looked but I can't find where you set the compression settings in 7zip. How do I set in on store?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
JB, I found it last night. When you "add to archive" the options for compression come up. It almost the same as in winrar.
Sent from my Epic 4G running the midNIGHT rom via Tapatalk
Everything works and its packaged up to flash with CW3.
Thanks a ton for your guys' help. Follow the link in the OP and go to post #2 for the Clockwork flashable zip
ok so i tried readin the guides and i have to say i was completely lost. might be cuz i havnt gotten any rest in a while but anyways i was looing for a way to be able to combine 2 themes. i really like the status bar icons on one theme like the bluetooth and wifi however i like everythig else from the other one also one is using launcher pro the other one tw launcher. would like to keep the one with launcher pro and just changethe top icons that always show. if i missed something please let me know any help would be greatly appreciated
Make a copy of the original themes to fall back on first.
What you have to do is open up the zip files of the themes. Extract the res folders from each themes framework-res.apk. Obviously you will have to rename one of them to something like res1 or put it in another place. Once you have the two folders extracted make the launcherpro one your base. Copy the images that you want to keep from the other theme (probably located in drawable-hdpi or drawable-hdpi-v4) and paste them into the same folder of the launcherpro theme and overwrite them. Once you have everything copied the way you want it open the framework-res.apk of the launcherpro theme. Go to the res folder and remove whatever folder you are adding back in (drawable.hdpi for example). Now drag the launcherpro folder that you made all of the changes to (drawable.hdpi or whatever) into the res folder of framework-res.apk. If you took the framework-res.apk file out of the zip file to begin with you have to also add it back into the themes zip file. Otherwise you just put the zip back on the phone and flash. It is always a good idea to put the original theme zip file on the phone also just in case something goes wrong you can just reflash the original theme and start over. If you need any additional help let us know.
^^^What he said
What you're really trying to do is essentially to create your own theme. If those instructions seem overwhelming or dont work, go to the top of this forum and start reading up on theming. Its a fairly simple concept but you might want to familiarize yourself with what it is exactly that you are doing. Everything visual on the phone is stored in image files, you're just swapping out the images. Maybe you'll get inspired and create something totally new that you can share with the community.
I tried reading theming on the top but I guess all that info at once was kind of overwhelming at the moment I was almost dead asleep however the info here seems more direct to the point so ill go ahead and see if I have time to mess with it today. I might also need to install gimp because I only saw like 1 or 2 image files when I opened up the zips with 7zip. Thanks for the help guys ill go ahead and give an update when I'm done maybe post some screen shots
jsredlineracer said:
I tried reading theming on the top but I guess all that info at once was kind of overwhelming at the moment I was almost dead asleep however the info here seems more direct to the point so ill go ahead and see if I have time to mess with it today. I might also need to install gimp because I only saw like 1 or 2 image files when I opened up the zips with 7zip. Thanks for the help guys ill go ahead and give an update when I'm done maybe post some screen shots
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You will only need gimp if you are editing images. Make sure you are looking in the right directory. You should see a ton of png files. The bulk of the images are located in drawable-hdpi (the native folder) or drawable-hdpi-v4 (some themes have this folder instead). The only tool you need for moving images from one theme to the other is a zip program. I haven't used 7zip but maybe it didn't extract all of the files. I use winrar myself. Let us know how it works out.
OK I made a really quick video. Nothing fancy but puts a visual to the text I wrote. Hope it helps.
Well here are the screenies. Thanks for the help. And also thanks to those who created the original themesblue one is after changes
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
sorry was having some issues. i couldnt upload pics from my phone
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
I am looking to modify my phone.apk to change the color of a few buttons and the android guy that shows up when in a call. I have done this in the past and it seemed like then it was as simple as deleting the files in 7-zip and replacing with the file I wanted. Am I missing something or is it not that simple. Every time I try to move a file or delete it its says "not Implimented" or un supported compression method. I know how to push and pull files through adb so if I could just get the .png images where I want them then I would be all set. I have looked everywhere but cant seem to come up with a solution.
Thanks Jason
PS. the files are from another rom I am simply trying to use them in my current rom so the .png file should not be corrupt or broken.
You can't edit apk's with any zip extractors
Sent from my Incredible using xda premium
Albinoman said:
You can't edit apk's with any zip extractors
Sent from my Incredible using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not true, regular image files can (should) be able to be draged out, edited, and droped back in an apk using 7-zip.
nighthawklude99 said:
I am looking to modify my phone.apk to change the color of a few buttons and the android guy that shows up when in a call. I have done this in the past and it seemed like then it was as simple as deleting the files in 7-zip and replacing with the file I wanted. Am I missing something or is it not that simple. Every time I try to move a file or delete it its says "not Implimented" or un supported compression method. I know how to push and pull files through adb so if I could just get the .png images where I want them then I would be all set. I have looked everywhere but cant seem to come up with a solution.
Thanks Jason
PS. the files are from another rom I am simply trying to use them in my current rom so the .png file should not be corrupt or broken.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My guess would be that the apk was decompiled at some point before, but not recompiled right, or with the right program. Which phone.apk are you having issues with, the one on your phone or the one your pulling the pngs from?
I am having problems with the phone.apk I pull from my phone with adb, with the phone.apk that is in the original rom, and the phone.apk that is in a nanadroid back up. The rom I am running is anthem 3.3. I am starting to think that there is a problem with 7-zip on my computer. Is there a setting I need to change? I have even ran 7-zip as administrator to see if that helped.
nighthawklude99 said:
I am having problems with the phone.apk I pull from my phone with adb, with the phone.apk that is in the original rom, and the phone.apk that is in a nanadroid back up. The rom I am running is anthem 3.3. I am starting to think that there is a problem with 7-zip on my computer. Is there a setting I need to change? I have even ran 7-zip as administrator to see if that helped.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like your install of 7z may be messed up. I just tried it to make sure something didnt change in an update and it works fine for me still with default configuration.
Hello. I would like to know how to compile two SystemUI.apk's into one .apk
I found two mods here on XDA-one is a NavBar theme, and the second one is a mod to show battery stats in the notification bar.
Im not a real expert about these stuff but Im willing to try, so if someone could tell me how to do it, instead of doing it for me, I would be glad
Thanks!
Use 7zip to extract the navbar mod and find the images (right click the apk and extract like a zip file). Now place those images into the battery mod system.apk my right clicking and opening with 7zip (don't extract). Then just sign the apk and push it back to the phone. The reason to do it this way is that disassembling SystemUI.apk can cause issues if done wrong, simply replacing images is safer.
Thanks for the quick replay! I have one last question-do I really need to sign the .apk? Or it can work even without singing it.
[EDIT] Never mind, did everything u said about copying the .png's but without singing-and it worked. Thank you so much!
problem
hi good day!
i have a very big problem with my android phone i wiped out all data including system files with out back up..how to fix it and restore the original files..can somebody help me...