Database Develop

Resigning ROMS?

Ok so im a noob when it comes to coding. I want to replace the wallpaper that comes in some roms and from my understanding when I extract the .zip rom to replace them, I have to resign the .zip for it to work. If this is true, how do I resign them?

punkmanj said:
Ok so im a noob when it comes to coding. I want to replace the wallpaper that comes in some roms and from my understanding when I extract the .zip rom to replace them, I have to resign the .zip for it to work. If this is true, how do I resign them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
first make sure you grab all the signing tools (do a search and you'll find Stericson's stuff somewhere)
extract the zip of the update.zip
now in the main folder you should see META-INF
go in there and remove the three files that are not folders
now go up one level back to main folder
depending on how they packaged the update, you should see either a system or app folder
if you see system, then go into it and then into app
if you see app, then go into it
now you should see some .apks
the one you want is Launcher.apk
use 7z and open the archive
now navigate to the res/drawable folder and you should find your wallpapers in there
just use the name of a wallpaper thats in there that you dont like and replace it with the wallpaper you want
now navigate to the main directory of Launcher.apk
delete the META-INF folder
now close 7z
resign Launcher.apk
now navigate to the main folder of the update.zip
zip it all up again and resign the new .zip file
sorry if the instructions arent that clear .. its kinda late and been studying for a midterm for some time now .... PM me up if you need any more help

Stericson said:
Note, this will not work if your SDK or the path that you place this in has any spaces in the dir name!
An Example of this is c:\users\Nikki and Stephen\sdk\tools
Try to put the SDK and the contents of the zip in a dir where the names are all together and not like the one above.
Ok, so I have made a batch file that will automate the entire process of setting up to use the signing tool made by JF. This batch file will set the CLASSPATH, set the PATH, install the registries, let you sign the files manually, and let you push/pull files to the phone.
In order to use this you should have downloaded the sdk already. Simply extract all of the files into the tools dir of your sdk, and run autosign.bat follow the instructions and go through the options one by one, starting with 1 working through 4. You can however, put the contents of this zip anywhere on your computer and it will work. It is just better to put them into the tools dir of your SDK. Especially for the consideration of future versions.
Enjoy,
Stericson
Autosign .zip: http://www.fightforthepits.com/Androidstuff/signing.zip
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there's stericson's OP in the signing made easy thread

Yeah sorry for posting I soulda did a search first. I found the Signing Made Easy post after posting this... Thanks for the quick reply Now I can start doing themes as well. Thanks again.

punkmanj said:
Yeah sorry for posting I soulda did a search first. I found the Signing Made Easy post after posting this... Thanks for the quick reply Now I can start doing themes as well. Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
np .. dont forget to edit your OP with "SOLVED" so mods can start cleaning up

What am I doing wrong if I get the message "java is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file."

uansari1 said:
What am I doing wrong if I get the message "java is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you're missing java ... http://developers.sun.com/downloads/top.jsp .. i think you only need the jre but i always get the jdk

Help combining framework apks

What I am trying to do (on DC v1.1b5) is combine 3 (or more) signed zips (espresso, clear notification bar, and a taskbar) into an unzipped rom so I can sign it later and flash the whole rom with my changes. (NO I'M NOT GOING TO POST IT AND SAY ITS MY ROM lol)
All of these modifications each change framework-res.apk and com.htc.resources.apk in their own way.
Would I have to figure out every single change to each individual apk and merge them into one file? Or is there another way?
I am not only doing this for my phone, but I am doing this to learn.
Any help would be appreciated

Yes, since there's really no way to tell which files were edited in each theme, you have to go through and find it.
Honestly, the easiest way to do this that I've found is to unzip the archive and scroll through the folders with thumbnails enabled so you can quickly see what they all look like.
I know that the statusbar .pngs are in framework-res.apk/res/drawable-mdpi and they all start with statusbar_* or status_bar*.
The .pngs for the Rosie are found in com.htc.resources.apk/res/drawable-port-mdpi/
EDIT: I would also recommend creating a MetaMorph theme when you get all the files you need. (I'm not sure if it works on 2.1/Sense ROMs, I'm about to use it and find out though) that way you can apply the themes while your phone is on, you can easily transfer it between ROMs, and you only need to use the files that you've changed, instead of the entire .apk. For instructions on creating a MetaMorph theme: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=591329

on windows 7 you can make one folder called NEWframeworkapk paste all the original file to it, then copy and paste all the files from the others. it will say "do you wish to move and replace "jpg" say yes for all and then you have the changed files.
haha thats what i do? prolly some super easy way though.

Gregalous said:
Yes, since there's really no way to tell which files were edited in each theme, you have to go through and find it.
Honestly, the easiest way to do this that I've found is to unzip the archive and scroll through the folders with thumbnails enabled so you can quickly see what they all look like.
I know that the statusbar .pngs are in framework-res.apk/res/drawable-mdpi and they all start with statusbar_* or status_bar*.
The .pngs for the Rosie are found in com.htc.resources.apk/res/drawable-port-mdpi/
EDIT: I would also recommend creating a MetaMorph theme when you get all the files you need. (I'm not sure if it works on 2.1/Sense ROMs, I'm about to use it and find out though) that way you can apply the themes while your phone is on, you can easily transfer it between ROMs, and you only need to use the files that you've changed, instead of the entire .apk. For instructions on creating a MetaMorph theme: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=591329
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Avalaunchmods said:
on windows 7 you can make one folder called NEWframeworkapk paste all the original file to it, then copy and paste all the files from the others. it will say "do you wish to move and replace "jpg" say yes for all and then you have the changed files.
haha thats what i do? prolly some super easy way though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thank you both for the input.
now to go find EVERY change they all make lol
if anyone has an easier way, PLEASE don't hesitate to post lol

regaw_leinad said:
thank you both for the input.
now to go find EVERY change they all make lol
if anyone has an easier way, PLEASE don't hesitate to post lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gregalous said:
I know that the statusbar .pngs are in framework-res.apk/res/drawable-mdpi and they all start with statusbar_* or status_bar*.
The .pngs for the Rosie are found in com.htc.resources.apk/res/drawable-port-mdpi/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's a headstart

Gregalous said:
Here's a headstart
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks

I actually prefer MetaMorph over doing a zip file because all you need are the files that have been changed. However, in 2.1 a lot of files are scattered around or in different places and once the Sprint update comes through who knows where everything will be. Once I finally figured out how to set up the folders the rest I have done became easy...and no need to turn off your phone.
Edit: You can also combine more than one folder at a time
HTC HERO
DamageControl V1

&RoidRage said:
I actually prefer MetaMorph over doing a zip file because all you need are the files that have been changed. However, in 2.1 a lot of files are scattered around or in different places and once the Sprint update comes through who knows where everything will be. Once I finally figured out how to set up the folders the rest I have done became easy...and no need to turn off your phone.
Edit: You can also combine more than one folder at a time
HTC HERO
DamageControl V1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, MetaMorph is pretty cool.
but my problem was actually FINDING the changes in already made zips lol
but I think I got it, well most of the changes (hopefully all)

[GUIDE] How to make mymode themes

Well I haven't had much time lately to make themes but I figured i got enough time to explain how. This is how i do it in windows 7.
1) First thing i assume that you already have androidsdk on the root of your C drive. Lets go ahead and add it to your system path. If it's not called androidsdk go ahead and change it to that. Now open up your startmenu, right click computer, click properties, then click advanced system settings, in the advance system settings select environment variables. In the second box down look for path select it and choose edit. copy and paste this
Code:
;C:\androidsdk\tools
in there. Click okay.
2) download the jre and jdk from here and install them. Now you need to add them to your system path so copy paste this
Code:
;C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre6\bin;C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jdk1.6.0_20\bin
to your system path just like you did in the first step.
3) Download apk manager from here. Now run it and when it says clean out all current projects click yes. Now thats ready to go.
4) Download an image editing program. I use gimp. Also if you don't have it 7-zip
your all set to go now so lets start over with the numbers
1) choose a mymode apk and extract it with 7-zip. Open up the res folder select a png that you want to change and change it with the image editor you chose.
2) when you've changed the images you want open up the original apk as an archive with 7zip. Then place the res folder of the modified unzipped apk into the archive and close the archive.
3) Now open up apk manager and place the mymode apk into the place here for signing folder click script batch choose no then type 15.
4) Now put the newly signed apk into your androidsdk/tools folder and close apk manager.
5) open command prompt and type this
Code:
cd\
cd androidsdk/tools
adb install whatever.apk
I'll update this with pics a more thorough guide.
Thanks to everyone that made this easy

reserved for themes to come

Thanks been waiting for a thread like this.

thanks, if i ever get any free-time between jobs and kid and fiancee i will look into this a little more

This is an awesome guide! I messed around with theming mytouch/g1 back when I had one.. so this will be great to make some themes for the slide..
One question though.. let's say you pull the nest theme.. theme it and re install it.. will it just override the nest theme or in the theme listing will it appear as a new theme and still allow you to have the original theme?
Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide using XDA App

ryanolson7 said:
One question though.. let's say you pull the nest theme.. theme it and re install it.. will it just override the nest theme or in the theme listing will it appear as a new theme and still allow you to have the original theme?
Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The nest theme is in the framework, its not an .apk like the rest, its built into the system. The rest of the mymodes themes are .apks and if you edit those they will override the stock "nest" theme. The only way it will show up different in the theme chooser is if you edit the preview snapshot to be a preview of your theme. If you wanna keep the original theme, the nest theme is it and you should edit a different theme .apk...
-BMFC
Sent from my ROOTED MyTouch3G Slide

Okay so I got the next three days off and I already got two mymode themes pretty much done well their done but I just learned of a way to change the name so they are there own standalone apk instead of using another apk name. I've been using puppypride (which by the way isn't puppies those are full grown dogs) and switching out the pngs and you couldn't have the regular puppypride now you can have both

hope you don't mind but I did a mod of your themes and took out the bubbles since some people always create threads about it

Help with following guide
I am a newb at this so please don't attack me if I am doing something wrong. I have been struggling with following the guide posted to make mymode themes. I have successfully got up to the step of signing the apk file. I modified the files in the free_kick.apk. When I try to use APK Manager 4.8 and using the directions given the file just gets erased and nothing happens. My log file just shows errors. Any help with a more detailed directions one what to do in APK manager as I am trying different things and not getting anywhere. I use the option 15 like told in the guide. I can send my modified apk file to anyone if they can get this to work and get it installed that would be appreciated so much. I hope I can figure this out my own but thought I would try get help from the forums. Thanks in advance.

impimms said:
I am a newb at this so please don't attack me if I am doing something wrong. I have been struggling with following the guide posted to make mymode themes. I have successfully got up to the step of signing the apk file. I modified the files in the free_kick.apk. When I try to use APK Manager 4.8 and using the directions given the file just gets erased and nothing happens. My log file just shows errors. Any help with a more detailed directions one what to do in APK manager as I am trying different things and not getting anywhere. I use the option 15 like told in the guide. I can send my modified apk file to anyone if they can get this to work and get it installed that would be appreciated so much. I hope I can figure this out my own but thought I would try get help from the forums. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually the guide needs to be fixed a little because i'm guessing your getting compiling errors when using apk manager? But the best way to do this is to open up the mymode theme (using 7zip) as an archive delete meta-inf folder then replace the pngs with ones of your choice as long as they are the same scale. Then resign. and install

totally lost
I've followed these directions to a T and when it comes to using the apk manager i am getting nothing, please help

You guys that are having trouble with apk manager...its honestly not necessary to use Apk Manager for this. Mymodes themes are system .apks and shouldn't be re-signed. What you need to do is forget about apk manager (for now) and drop the UNsigned .apk into the ROM update you are using, and resign the whole ROM using the autosign tool created by jesusfreke. Or just adbpush the .apk. but don't resign the .apk.
Here's the link for the autosign tool to sign ROM updates. its in the THIRD POST and its auto-sign .zip, NOT the signing.zip in the first post. you can put it anywhere you want and you just drop (a copy of) your ROM update in the autosign folder, rename it update.zip, then run the sign.bat to sign. it will create another file, update-signed.zip. you shouldnt need to wipe when flashing the same ROM over itself, but i cant guarantee this is true for all ROMs.
you can also make an update that will only flash the .apk to /system/app, and nothing else will be changed. basically just make a copy of the update for the ROM youre using, then delete everything but the /system directory from the zip. then go into that /system directory and delete everything but the /app directory, then go into it and delete all the .apks and odex file or whatevers in there. ALL OF IT. when you are finished you should have an update with nothing in it but a /system/app directory. you put your modded .apk in there in /system/app, and thats it for that.
then you must edit the update script and remove MOST of its contents so that it only does what you want it to. THIS IS IMPORTANT! Go here to learn how to create an update script. what youll need is way simpler than the examples, youll want it to look basically like this...
Code:
assert compatible_with("0.2") == "true"
show_progress 0.1 0
copy_dir PACKAGE:system SYSTEM:
show_progress 0.1 10
this update script will copy ANYTHING in the /system directory to /system on your device, regardless of subdirectories. that means anything in /system will go in /system, anything in /system/app will go to /system/app, etc. but since you only have one .apk in there it wont mess with anything but what you put in there. this way, you have a NOWIPE update for...well, whatever you want to put in it.
so you just drop the new shortened update-script in /META-INF/com/google/android/
and then use the autosign tool to resign your new update then flash away! This also takes less time cus its only flashing one file instead of flashing a whole ROM just to replace that one file...
hope this helps...
-BMFC
Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide using XDA App

So you cannot do this on t-mobile's rom which is 2.1 right now? I'm leery of rooting in case they ever release froyo

Tbrewer80 said:
So you cannot do this on t-mobile's rom which is 2.1 right now? I'm leery of rooting in case they ever release froyo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm having issues with this as well... After I do the whole signing apk thing, it installs fine, but when I go to MyModes, the preview is black and when I select it, the MyModes app force closes. I don't get it.

apks, zips, and hdpi - mdpi questions

Ok, just a few questions quick hdpi images for say a theme for bigger phone like the evo can they be tossed into a drawable-mdpi and be fine? Or do you have to go through them and resize them? My second question is regarding signing, I've got the htc kitchen running which seems to do fine so I'm using the AutoSign to sign my res folder which i zip'ed as framework-res.zip then signed using the AutoSign tool and renamed to framework-res.apk which I think is correct, but then I throw that into a presigned zip for a theme that I pulled apart using the htc kitchen and rebuild it and sign it and it should be good to go. It gave me some nonsense about an updater script and it can only make an update script. But when I tried flashing the rom it failed.
Basically I think I'm missing some parts of the puzzle if anyone who knows more about this than me could give me a pointer or two I'd be eternally grateful. Thanks.

I'm not sure if you have to resize the png images. I always do, however it takes a while so you may want to try doing it with the hdpi images. As far as signing goes some extract the apk and then edit the png's and then with 7zip use the open archive option and drop the png's into the zip. And then resign.
Here is what i do..
I extract the apk
Go in and make changes
Go back to the main folder where it has the META-INF, res, AndroidManifest, etc and select all of those and zip them. It should then name it (whatever_app_your changing).zip
I use the Auto-sign from Avabox and sign it. This should also change the extension to apk
When editiing an apk you want to make sure you keep everything as it is when rezipping and signing. Do not delete any folders.
To make a flashable zip you need an update script. If you pull apart a theme and look in it there should these folders META-INF\com\google\android. The update script is located in android. It tells it where to install everything and to show a progress bar. If you look in a theme you can easily see the strcuture and what needs to be zipped.

Thanks. Thats the missing step I think, I'm about to crash as I work nights and probably shouldn't be up yet lol, but when I get up I'm gonna test some more things out but I think thats what I needed to know. I've been trying to rezip everything so it fits back together when i should be pulling them out of the zip changing them and then putting them back in. I'll try it tomorrow lol when my brain works again. Thanks for the reply though.

ok first of all download 7zip
do not unzip the whole app
open the app with 7zip. take out the res file
edit the png files that you want
edit the .9 files that you want
use draw9patch that comes inside of android sdk folder
in draw9patch u put one dot on top one dot on left and full lines on bottom and right. thats the easy way. u can watch the right window to figure out what the results will be. play with it and you will get the hang of it.
download eclipse and set up eclipse and android sdk to work with android. there a number of instructions on how to do this. google in or search in xda
use eclipse to recompile the .9 files
if u r finding files in the hdmi files and want to use them u have to make sure they are the right size for our phones.
best guess is that if its from a different phone they are the wrong size. compare the size of the file to the mdmi folder and resize where needed.
when done editing the res file drag and drop it back into the app that is open in 7zip.
it can then be pushed via adb in the command promt by putting the apk in the tools folder of sdk and typing
make sure your in the directory of ur sdk/tools folder
adb remount
adb push (app name).apk system/app
(app name)=app for example facebook.apk
if u want to make it into a flashable update than you can put into a zipped file that im sure uve downloaded from here before. make sure its the only app in the folder and use avabox as described above.

Awesome thanks papasmurf, I think I figured out the big issue was having before and thats that I have to use 7zip to pull, edit, and replace files I want to change. the .9 stuff I haven't messed with yet but I've always known they are a bit of a pain in the ass. Gotta learn sooner or later lol. Thanks for the responses guys I'm gonna mess with this stuff and see where I get.
What are the rules on signing? Now if I'm in a framework-res.apk and pull and push some files do I need to sign it again?

PlagaDeRock said:
Awesome thanks papasmurf, I think I figured out the big issue was having before and thats that I have to use 7zip to pull, edit, and replace files I want to change. the .9 stuff I haven't messed with yet but I've always known they are a bit of a pain in the ass. Gotta learn sooner or later lol. Thanks for the responses guys I'm gonna mess with this stuff and see where I get.
What are the rules on signing? Now if I'm in a framework-res.apk and pull and push some files do I need to sign it again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While when building a rom it is sometimes but very rare to sign an app...when editing pngs and such there is no need to resign the app. ..also if u do have to resign an app u can't resign the Google ****s. They don't like work if u resign them cause the only way we have to resign with r with test keys. By resigning apps ur r messings with the manifest and there is about a 99.9% chance there is no need for it.
Its different if ur trying to flash an app via recovery. Then it has to be put into a zip file and signed. My suggestion is to find a basic mod that someone else already made a signed zip of and put ur app in it and take out the other mod. Just make sure u put it in the right folders. For example
Most apps go in /system/app
Framework and com.resources go in /system/framework
Uncanny make those folders and drop the app in there then drag to the zip or if those folders exist in the zip just drag the app in.
As long as its a mod zip the update script is prob just very basic and u don't have to mess with it. Just use avabox (search for it on xda) and drag the zip into to autosign folder inside of avabox. Rename it update and click k on the sign icon. After its done signing u delete the update file and can rename the update-signed file to what ever u like. Just remember if renaming that if u r using more than one word the u must add a _ between words rather than a space. For example
Gmail_signed.zip
Hope that helps a little
Sent from my HERO200 using XDA App

Awesome. Just made my first flashable zip that worked. I'm almost finished porting over the sculpted theme from the evo section. Thanks for the help guys, its making way more sense now.

PlagaDeRock said:
Awesome. Just made my first flashable zip that worked. I'm almost finished porting over the sculpted theme from the evo section. Thanks for the help guys, its making way more sense now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anytime man. Just remember if ur changing even the size of a .9 file it has to be fixed as explained above. Only saying cause ur porting a theme from the evo and I'm sure there r .9 files in there
Sent from my HERO200 using XDA App

Papa Smurf151 said:
Anytime man. Just remember if ur changing even the size of a .9 file it has to be fixed as explained above. Only saying cause ur porting a theme from the evo and I'm sure there r .9 files in there
Sent from my HERO200 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Eclipse is intense. I think I downloaded the right one. I'm dead tired though so I'm gonna pick it up again tomorrow. I got enough of it together that it functions so I'm happy for now, but definitely going to have to work on the .9 files tomorrow lol.

PlagaDeRock said:
Eclipse is intense. I think I downloaded the right one. I'm dead tired though so I'm gonna pick it up again tomorrow. I got enough of it together that it functions so I'm happy for now, but definitely going to have to work on the .9 files tomorrow lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah eclipse is def overkill at times but when u get it set up its easy to just compile .9 files.
Sent from my HERO200 using XDA App

[guide]easy apk modding (linux)

Most of the guides ive read on XDA say you have to decompile and recompile APKS just to make a couple of modifications to the images. Well I dont believe this to be true. I have tested my method on ubuntu 14.10 and with my nexus 5.
This guide is specifically for modifying images inside of the apks, not the code, or xml itself.
- ADB pull the APK file you want to modify (i chose SystemUI.apk)
- Double click it in File Manager on ubuntu, this should open it up in the archive manager. If not, manually open it up in archive manager
- Click on the "Add Files" button and select which files you want to replace. It will automatically overwrite the current ones.
- Make sure that you are keeping the proper directory structure and are putting the images in the proper place with proper names.
- Copy the new APK file back to your device on /sdcard/file.apk
Then, to get the APK file back on your system without causing problems, I rebooted into TWRP, mounted system and went into the file manager and copy/pasted the APK in the appropriate folder. When you get back into android, chmod 644 new-file.apk. I would not suggest trying to copy the modified APK file into your system while android is running live. Thats why I did it in TWRP. It could cause system unstability, crashing, etc... Im sure that I am not the first person to realize this could be done, but I did discover this on my own because I like to try things. PLEASE, make a backup in case something doesnt work correctly after your mod. Good luck!

bynarie said:
Most of the guides ive read on XDA say you have to decompile and recompile APKS just to make a couple of modifications to the images.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine doesn't.

XperienceD said:
Mine doesn't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Um, not to be rude but the guide on your signature shows using apktool to decompile and recompile. Soo....? Unless its another guide. And Im not saying ALL guides are, but some, and thats ok. Could you link me to your guide please? I would love to take a look at it. Thanks
EDIT - woops im sorry i didnt really read it... i do see where it says drag and drop the images... good deal. sorry

bynarie said:
Um, not to be rude but the guide on your signature shows using apktool to decompile and recompile. Soo....?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Edit: No need for my original reply as you found it.

XperienceD said:
Edit: No need for my original reply as you found it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, and your guide is very good. Thank you for that.