Database Develop

APK question [SOLVED]

I'm trying to edit a few things but I'm not sure how to go about repackaging them as .apk even though I know they're archives. If I open the archive and extract everything how should I go about putting it back together? Is it as simple as throwing it in a .zip file, renaming it to .apk and signing it or am I missing something? I tried doing that with Rosie.apk because it has a lot of wallpapers I won't ever use and I wanted to throw some of my ringtones into it too.

Dyonas said:
I'm trying to edit a few things but I'm not sure how to go about repackaging them as .apk even though I know they're archives. If I open the archive and extract everything how should I go about putting it back together? Is it as simple as throwing it in a .zip file, renaming it to .apk and signing it or am I missing something? I tried doing that with Rosie.apk because it has a lot of wallpapers I won't ever use and I wanted to throw some of my ringtones into it too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there is already another thread somewhere farther down about this, but in short, you need to resign. Stericson did a one-click signing tool, but I was never able to get it working on my machine. I use the same tools, but I have to do the manual sign option, it is still easy, it just uses one more click.
As far as repacking rosie.apk, you should just be able to locate the .png and small.png files you want to replace. Find your new wallpapers, rename them to the names of the wallpapers you want replace. (you will need to resize your 480x320 wallpapers to the small wallpaper dimensions, they are 80x60. easiest way to resize is in MS paint or Gimp. once you rename just drag the files into the open winrar window. For rosie i think wallpapers are in the drawable 480x320 folder. When winrar brings up a prompt, just make sure you have the options selected to add and overwrite existing files or something of the like. It is also a good idea to adb pull your Rosie.apk just in case things go bad you can push a backup to revert you to where you were before. If you got any questions send me a PM or hit me on gtalk- [email protected]

Dyonas said:
I'm trying to edit a few things but I'm not sure how to go about repackaging them as .apk even though I know they're archives. If I open the archive and extract everything how should I go about putting it back together? Is it as simple as throwing it in a .zip file, renaming it to .apk and signing it or am I missing something? I tried doing that with Rosie.apk because it has a lot of wallpapers I won't ever use and I wanted to throw some of my ringtones into it too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can open Rosie.apk with something like winrar and replace the images without the need to resign. I've done it countless times. There's not much point in removing wallpapers in Rosie though, it will just reduce the size of the apk without any noticeable speed improvment. Most Hero devs use the stock Rosie apk.
As for ringtones, they don't reside in Rosie.apk. You can put them on your FAT32 (or EXT if you have one). Just put the mp3's in /media/audio/ringtones. I highly suggest putting them on ext because when the SD card is mounted in your computer your phone can't access the ringtones. Ext isn't mounted (on windows atleast) so they are still accessible.

Thanks guys, I seem to have it almost done now with this and what I stumbled through

Wasting lots of time and getting nowhere!

I managed to somehow stumble through a few minor edits in the Launcher.apk by relying purely on colour replacement tools but that was messy and I tried to be more accurate and do something that works and looks how I want. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to matter what I do now on any .apk PNGs they don't work. I resign them when I'm done, push to my phone and nada. It either fails to load or half loads then throws up a ton of acore FCs so clearly I'm doing something wrong. Perhaps someone here can point out what I'm doing wrong if I list what I do.
unzip .apk and find image to edit.
Pull image into Photoshop
Change image as needed / wanted
Save file (I haven't touched any .9s yet)
zip the lot back up, rename to .apk and sign
Push file back to phone, reboot.
I've tried pushing the file while in recovery and while it's been running, neither makes a difference and I have little enough hair without resorting to pull it out :| I did just notice in another thread where Ted mentions using Paint.NET to pry open those damned indexed files. I'm going to look at that but earlier if it was indexed I ended up opening it then manually cleaning it up before making sure it was indexed when I saved it again.
That's about it. If anyone can offer insight into the cause I'd be most appreciative

try not resigning individual apks (system apks). After you edit them, zip them back up. put them back into the update.zip that it came from and resign the update.zip and reflash. that should work.

Yeah what I do is unpack the theme/ROM with the .apk I want to edit. Then I unpack the .apk, go into the folder and edit the images I need, then zip the contents of the folder back into a .apk (make sure you zip the contents, not the folder they are in) and replace the current .apk with mine. Then I re-zip the theme/ROM and resign it. it's a long and arduous process, but it works

i use 7-zip, extract the folders i want to edit from the archive, delete all of the .xml's out of it (since they can break something between versions sometimes) then edit my images, go back to the .zip or .apk file (7-zip will open either extension) go to the folder with the images i edited, then drag my images into it.
i never actually never unzip an entire zip or apk and rezip it when i am done. it is rather quick and easy. just make sure that you click ok when it ask you to update the archive.

david1171 said:
i use 7-zip, extract the folders i want to edit from the archive, delete all of the .xml's out of it (since they can break something between versions sometimes) then edit my images, go back to the .zip or .apk file (7-zip will open either extension) go to the folder with the images i edited, then drag my images into it.
i never actually never unzip an entire zip or apk and rezip it when i am done. it is rather quick and easy. just make sure that you click ok when it ask you to update the archive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hes got the solution..........its the way ive done it from day 1, and 7-zip FTW.

brandenk said:
Hes got the solution..........its the way ive done it from day 1, and 7-zip FTW.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well i got it from a certain post you made on how you made themed quickly and easily

Thanks for all the replies I've been a fan of 7-zip for a while, glad to see I'm not alone there! From the sound of it all the re-signing might be the cause so I'll give the method david suggested a whirl!
Are there any major things to avoid? For example, I noticed a lot of the icons don't take the full size of the image like the 3G notification icon or the satellite notification icon. Is it safe to go the full size or will that cause a horrible mess? I don't quite see why the images have so much space around them basically and want to use some of those extra pixels lol

Hey about using metamorph bud? much easier to do then what your doing
Check it out.
www.RelentlessAddictions.com/android
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=589315
Stericson

If your on windows, its simpler not to unzip the .apk or .zip. Since the begining, there have been problems with the way windows zips files. It seems the way Linux and windows zips files are some what different. There may lie your problem. Simply drag the folder on to your desktop, edit the pngs, then drag the folder back on to the .apk inside the .zip. I also agree with the above statements. Sign the whole zip as one instead of each one independably. You can also erase any apk or jar archive not being editing to make your update smaller and faster to load...
Also, most .apk's are universal, meaning they can be used in any rom. Some are not! Meaning they will break the system. Examples are framework, launcher...

Stericson said:
Hey about using metamorph bud? much easier to do then what your doing
Check it out.
www.RelentlessAddictions.com/android
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=589315
Stericson
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought about it for simple recolours but this is me trying to teach myself what works and what doesn't before I attempt to make myself a theme. I'm still going to have a look at metamorph though so thanks for the links Stericson.
Quick edit to note that using Paint.NET to change lots of bits in framework-res.apk worked Now I can have a little rest before I tackle things like Launcher and others. Out of all the programs to open indexed PNGs I would've thought Photoshop would do it. I only own Elements but the trial version of CS4 still opened them as corrupt. Strange stuff!

9.png framework-res.apk problem

ok... status_bar_close_on_cust.9.png
i believe i have followed all the guides i have seen correctly. sorry. i've been stuck on this for almost 4 hours.
i opened the apk in 7zip, exported the image.
removed the 9 from the file name
edited the png in PS
opened draw9patch,
added the full bottom and right side lines.
added the 2 dots i need on top and made the leftside work after eclipse failure
did the eclipse project thing
pulled new status_bar_close_on_cust.9.png from the eclipse created apk
opened framework-res.apk in 7zip again
i tried both..
- deleting the original image and then adding the new to the archive
- drag-drop the new image thus replacing the original
resign the rom's zip
when i install on system i get the bootloop with each loop getting shorter.
i have tried converting framework-res.apk to a zip, resigning it, and then back to an apk
i know this is a much descussed subject on this forum and all the other's i googled looking for the missing step or something i'm doing wrong
i have tried apkmanager, apktools, shorter suggested methods i've seen, and full drawn out methods.
i dont know if i'm messing something up in the png edit, the draw9patch, eclipse, signing or not the apk, or somewhere else.
i've tried pulling a logcat/boot.log from the device but i get some sort of error. i dont know if it's not creating one or i'm trying to pull it from the wrong place.
i'm sure a ton of you guys have had this happen to you. please offer some advice

Do you get an error when importing into eclipse? If so what does it say?

im sorry shoulda clarified that. originally i failed to put the patches on the left side. it failed when trying to make the apk. put thos there and the apk was created. my proplem is with the framework-res.apk i guess.
i put it back in the rom, sign it, and boot-loops.
i guess it has something to do with adding the image to the framework-res.apk. apparently it doesnt like the new image, so to speak. i have tried finding out how to re-build the framework-res.apk, to no avail. hell, i may be using the wrong terminology when searching. at this point, i have no idea.

If i change any images i use metamorph, free from the market. You dont need to sign and flash full apk's, just the files that need changing, a lot quicker and easier.
You could create your ***.9.png as a full size png and remove the 9 patch data, eg. instead of having a 5x32.9png make it 320x32.png(depending on your resolution).
In fact come to think of it ive never seen the "status_bar_close_on_cust.9.png" on my screen, just "status_bar_close_on.9.png".
EDIT: If you've used apktool or other to decompile, crop the the edges by 1 pixel each side, this will remove the 9 patch data, edit your image, then use your draw9 tool, and recompile with eclipse.
You may have been adding another 1 pixel 9patch border to the already existing 9patch border, hope that makes sense.

this is the custom pull down notification bar in gingerfly-1.7.0 based on cm6.1 i believe with some gingerbread looks.

This is how I do it:
1. Extract image from framework-res.akp. You can right click on the framework > 7-zip > open archive and extract the image this way or just extract the whole apk.
2. Edit the image. Open the image in Photoshop and do what you want. Don't worry if you don't have the border. Save the image as a .png file.
3.Add the border. Open draw9patch and add the image. A border for the dots should be created automatically so just do what you need to do and save it as the same file name. It should automatically change the file type to .9.png.
4. Compile the image.9.png. Download the file attached. In the zip, you should see a file called 'xUltimate-d9pc' and a folder called 'Original'. Put the image into the folder 'drawable inside 'res' inside 'Original'. Then open the file named 'xUltimate-d9pc' and wait. When it has finished, there should be a new folder and inside should be the compiled image.
5. Replace the image in framework. Right click framework-res.apk > 7-zip > open archive. Drag the new image into the framework, make sure you have the same file name. You shouldn't need to sign it.
Now you should have a framework-res.apk working with no problem.
I'm not sure if it will work for a custom rom as I use the framework-res.apk from my X10
Hope this helps.

that worked! thanks much!!! the one step i did add to this is to re-sign the rom. i have had nothing but problems anytime i have not signed it after making any changes. it may be an un-needed step, but it worked. thanks again!!!

Can I bump this real quick?
This is my first post here and I'm sorry if I shouldn't bump this thread but my problem is closely related and I hope someone out there knows what I'm doing wrong.
First things first, I'm using the EVO, that's probably important information.
I just flashed Warm Z TwoPointTwo and I love it, except... I really want the vanilla lockscreen. No problem, right? Just rename or delete HtcLockScreen.apk and you're good to go.
That works, and the vanilla lock screen appears upon hot reboot, but the images aren't right; they are all transparent in Warm Z. I have been trying basically all day to get the stock images back into framework-res.apk and nothing has worked; I bootloop every time.
The images are jog_tab_* except that the images in MY framework-res.apk have for example jog_tab_bar_left_end_confirm_gray.png (for all of the left and right end confirm images), whereas the AOSP framework-res.apk has 9patches for all of those.
I've tried deleting the jog_tab_* images in mine and placing in the ones from AOSP, I've tried placing the AOSP images in alongside the ones already in my copy, but nothing works.
I've tried apktool, apk manager, xultimate... I've read about 25 xda threads on this and tried every new suggestion. It bootloops no matter what I do. I think I'm missing something.
I've done the 7zip replacement without re-signing, I've re-signed, I've done xultimate with compression 0, and I've tried creating my own metamorphs. Something about Warm Z is conflicting with the vanilla images, but I'm too inexperienced in themes and the Android OS to know what's up.
Perhaps Warm Z changes definitions elsewhere as to which images are used, or perhaps something else isn't lining up properly with the vanilla lockscreen code. I hope someone out there knows what on earth I'm talking about.

[Q] Requesting Red Theme for kf1 roms

I was wondering if there were any themers out there that have or can make a red theme for fasty 2.5. I would be very greatful. Ive been trying the past couple weeks but im not doing very good. Alot of boot loops.
PS Fasty 2.5 if a kf1 based rom. If that helps at all.

What you trying to do, I know how to code but I'm new to Java and dalvik code. Learning as I go, but maybe I can help you out.

I don't know what all you've been trying, but what I've had success (to a limited degree) with is to pull a current copy of your framework-res.apk, twframework-res.apk, and systemui.apk files out of /system/framework and /system/app (you may need to dig to find them), then open/unzip the folder with 7zip. Make copies of each apk to a safe place as a backup.
Dig around in each folder and change anything without a .9.png extension. An easy thing to do is just to use photoshop and automate a color shift. (You may have to play around with some icons - they don't like being opened if they're indexed color.)
Once you have some files ready, open the pulled .apk's with 7zip again (use the open archive option), and overwrite the files inside of them with the files you edited.
Once that's done, fire up adb again and push your updated files back to the respective folders they came from.
Reboot, and you should be good to go.

I would like to make a red version of the theme honeysmoke by the creators of fasty. I would post the link to it but the website is down.

First thing is your going to need something like Apkmanager if you don't already have it.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1227179
Like jmtheiss said, pull the system files out and unzip them. I use Paint.net, which isn't photoshop, but works well.

OK i have apk manager i decompiled the framework-res.apk

voldomart13 said:
OK i have apk manager i decompiled the framework-res.apk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well if your just starting out you should select to extract it first and then look in res/drawable-hdpi and you will see some .png files. Just look at your phone and figure out what you want to try to mod that you see in the folder. The same would hold true for systemui and twframework-res, both will have .png files in the res/drawable-hdpi folder. Be careful not to modify .9.png files, they are a special file that is stretchable and most paint programs don't recognize them and are difficult to modify with draw9patch editor.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=908270

[MIUI] Lockscreen Help. {Solved}

So I've been asking for help from all the great LS-Themers on XDA with little things like changing the music controls to notifications to resolution, etc.
I've been wanting to do the edits myself, but XML editing seemed a little hard.
Anyway, I tried today and correct me if I'm wrong, but, when you want to edit the XML of a LS, you change the mtz file to zip. Unzip it and you should be presented with the files in that lockscreen, pngs, etc.
I unzipped my current LS, 'iDroid.' I got none of that.
I'm attaching the screenshot of what shows when I unzip it.
In the 'description' XML file, I don't get a huge XML code..I get this;
Code:
This XML file does not appear to have any style information associated with it. The document tree is shown below.
<MIUI-Theme><title>iDroid Slide2Unlock</title><author>thefsfempire</author><version>1.0</version><uiVersion>1</uiVersion></MIUI-Theme>
I've opened it with the XML Editor that's on my computer. Microsoft Word and Firefox. They all show that ^
And then there's that 'lockscreen' file. That's just...a file. I can't do anything with it.
There are no folders that show the pngs and stuff.
What am I doing wrong? D: I want to start editing little things on my own, instead of asking everyone all the time.

God! said:
So I've been asking for help from all the great LS-Themers on XDA with little things like changing the music controls to notifications to resolution, etc.
I've been wanting to do the edits myself, but XML editing seemed a little hard.
Anyway, I tried today and correct me if I'm wrong, but, when you want to edit the XML of a LS, you change the mtz file to zip. Unzip it and you should be presented with the files in that lockscreen, pngs, etc.
I unzipped my current LS, 'iDroid.' I got none of that.
I'm attaching the screenshot of what shows when I unzip it.
In the 'description' XML file, I don't get a huge XML code..I get this;
Code:
This XML file does not appear to have any style information associated with it. The document tree is shown below.
<MIUI-Theme><title>iDroid Slide2Unlock</title><author>thefsfempire</author><version>1.0</version><uiVersion>1</uiVersion></MIUI-Theme>
I've opened it with the XML Editor that's on my computer. Microsoft Word and Firefox. They all show that ^
And then there's that 'lockscreen' file. That's just...a file. I can't do anything with it.
There are no folders that show the pngs and stuff.
What am I doing wrong? D: I want to start editing little things on my own, instead of asking everyone all the time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Add .zip to the end of the lock screen that just says 'file' and extract

wez89 said:
Add .zip to the end of the lock screen that just says 'file' and extract
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oooh ok. I got it. Thanks. I didn't know you had to change that to zip too.
Okay, so now that I got the editor and I can start changing little things.
In order for this to take effect, I need to save it over the original file as XML.
What about this 'manifest.xml.bak' file? Should I do anything with that, or leave it alone?
Once I've done the edits and save. I need to rezip the advanced folder it's in with 'themes value' that was unzipped with it, then how do I rename it back to just a 'file' type?

God! said:
Oooh ok. I got it. Thanks. I didn't know you had to change that to zip too.
Okay, so now that I got the editor and I can start changing little things.
In order for this to take effect, I need to save it over the original file as XML.
What about this 'manifest.xml.bak' file? Should I do anything with that, or leave it alone?
Once I've done the edits and save. I need to rezip the advanced folder it's in with 'themes value' that was unzipped with it, then how do I rename it back to just a 'file' type?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need the manifest.xml.bak you can delete that if you want
To zip it back up you need winrar
You need to have everything in the right folders, so you need your advance folder with your manifest in there, and you need the theme_value..
You have to add those 2, to archive by selecting them and right clicking
Then with the winrar pop up you need to make sure 'store' is selected under compression or method, not at a computer/laptop so not 100% which it is and also make sure zip is selected not rar
Finally remove zip extension from the file and zip the whole lock screen back

EDIT: NVM I GOT IT. YAY. Haha. I can now do little things by myself on future lockscreens.
Now, the next thing I need to learn how to do is changing battery charging status and pngs.

you can use the "old format":
that is
your_theme
|__description.xml
|__preview (optional)
|__lockscreen (it is a folder)
......|__advanced (it is a folder too, coming from lockscreen)
..............|__all lockscreen stuff (as files)
......|__theme_values.xml (in lockscreen)
you ahve to zip in the contents of "your_theme" and name it mtz. then copy to phone and phone asks if you want to convert to new format. chooese yes and done

God! said:
Alright, I added the Advanced folder and themes value file to winrar.
Selected Zip and "Store" under the compression menu. Then ok.
Well it saved it as a zip as 'lockscreen' but there's no way to change it back to just the 'file' type it was.
I tried zipping THAT zip with the rest of the files into a zip, then renaming it to mtz and applying it on my phone, but it just ended up being the default lock.
I must be doing something wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you have zipped it up using the store and zip options, and are left with lock screen.zip.. Open the zip with winrar, don't extract just open, when winrar opens with the files go back a step so you can see the lock screen.zip rather than its files and just delete the zip extension that way and close winrar
---------- Post added at 12:36 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:33 AM ----------
picard666 said:
you can use the "old format":
that is
your_theme
|__description.xml
|__preview (optional)
|__lockscreen (it is a folder)
......|__advanced (it is a folder too, coming from lockscreen)
..............|__all lockscreen stuff (as files)
......|__theme_values.xml (in lockscreen)
you ahve to zip in the contents of "your_theme" and name it mtz. then copy to phone and phone asks if you want to convert to new format. chooese yes and done
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This method is by far easy and quicker in my honest opinion

Alrighty then.
Now onto my next issue.
How hard would it be to take away the charging battery/status off this lockscreen and replace it with this kind of battery charging status?
As you can see, the default iPhone charging covers up the music controls and notifications when they come in. I want just the simple glowing bar above the unlocker like the other one.

if you have both manifests then you can swap in the battery section to the ls you want (look for "battery")
you have to copy the appropiate images to your ls and might have to change coordinates

Thanks Picard. That wasn't as hard as I thought.
I deleted all the battery images from the first one and put in the ones from the second.
Deleted the battery section in the XML and replaced it with the other.
Changed the coordinates and ****ing bam! I did it!
Edit; Fixed my coordinate mistake.