This info is for smartphone (WM Standard) but some items may apply also for touch screen devices (WM professional).
Not many things can be personalized on a smartphone, but some can.
The home-screen:
each of these has XML code to define its layout, the utilized plugins, the color scheme and the home-screen background. Many have defined sophisticated home-screens or loaded them from the web.
Sadly when leaving the home-screen, only the color scheme stays, nothing else
The color-schemes may be selected independently from the home-screen and these may also contain a background picture. Selected color schemes are overwriting the relevant settings of the home-screen. Note that only the defined parts in the selected color scheme are used to overwrite previous definitions in the home-screen - so they are complementary in that regard. If a background picture is defined in the color scheme, it takes precedence over the one defined in the home-screen.
An own background picture can be forced and overwrites all above methods.
Selection of a background picture via the settings panel is only possible from the \Application Data\Home directory (where all home-screens are) while defined home-screens or color schemes can reference pictures from any location on the device (usually \windows).
Via the Pictures and Videos application or via File Explorer you can also set any picture as home-screen background. You do this via the context menu and then you are presented a work-flow consisting of selecting the area to use and the transparency level to apply for that picture. Vendor specific other procedures may apply here. Finally all these should create images like: stwater_<x-res>_<y-res>.jpg in the \windows directory and a compressed adapted home-screen in the \Application Data\Home directory.
Start Menu Background: Not often used but powerful, see here for all details: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb416463.aspx. In essence you have to add to the current entries:
Code:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Shell\Rai\:MSStart]
"BKBitmapFile"="<your picture here>"
"BKFlags"=dword:1a
"BKBitmapTransparent"=dword:00ff00ff
"BKBitmapLogPixelsY"=dword:00000083 <- your DPI here '83 = 131 for QVGA
"BKBitmapLogPixelsX"=dword:00000083 <- your DPI here '83 = 131 for QVGA
Most Recent Used Applications Background: Introduced with Sliding Panels backgrounds from WM 6.1 as there is no MRU plugin with sliding panels. Here the same logic applies as for the Startmenu, just use :MSMRULauncher instead of :MSStart
And NO - the settings panels cannot handle a background picture
So why did I tell you this? You can simply align your start menu and MRU launcher with the picture on your home-screen. No need for any offline tools or editing, just do the following:
enter the keys to the registry as given above for start menu and MRU laucher, take care to set the correct DPI. You find the right ones at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\GWE\Display in the values "LogicalPixelsX" and "LogicalPixelsY"
set both the background pictures to "\windows\stwater_<x>_<y>.jpg" so that "<x,y>" matches your resolution
With file explorer or "Pictures and Videos" seek for the BG picture of your current home-screen, usually it is either in \Application Data\Home or in \windows
Set this to be your home-screen picture, choose a value of ~30% transparency in the work-flow.
Check your home-screen and the MRU + Startmenu panels. If you have already a background active you need to restart the device to pick the new ones up.
Now you will see that the selected picture is too pale for the home-screen, so on the settings-home-screen go to the background picture selection and select "standard" again to get your original picture back there.
As long as you are not assigning a new dedicated background picture to the home-screen, the previously created stwater_x_y.jpg stays in the \windows directory and will please you as the MRU and Start menu backgrounds.
Any new background related activity will only require steps 3-7, the registry stays unchanged.
Some more
The background setting in the Shell registry hierarchy works just the same as for :MSStart also for: :MSScut (Short Dials), :MSSolitaire (Solitaire), :WCEload (when installing programs) and :SIMPinBKGround (when entering the SIM PIN).
You may not want to have backgrounds for all of the above, but to get rid of the light green background in Solitaire, set the value of BKUnselected there to something else than "00FF00" which is Green only. Sequence is RGB, so make your choice. Even simpler (and best choice here): Add BKDefaultGradient = dword:1 which gives you the standard (and altered by your color scheme) gradient color on the background.
The dialog for the SIM PIN is not transparent though, so not nice to look at.
Of course the Shell\RAI has other bitmap settings (brandings, dialog backgrounds), no need to mention that here.
Introduction
This tutorial helps you get started creating your own themes for Apex Launcher. Since themes are packaged and distributed in the form of APK files, you'll need to know the basics about Android app development to make themes.
Prerequisites
Before you begin, you need to set up your development environment. Please install the required software in the following order.
JDK 6
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html
Android SDK
http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html
Eclipse IDE
http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/
ADT Plugin for Eclipse
http://developer.android.com/sdk/eclipse-adt.html
How to install these developer tools is not within scope of this tutorial, For details, make sure to read and follow the instructions in the links provided above.
Creating Your Theme
Apex Launcher supports different components in its theme engine. Icon packs replace app icons on the desktop, dock, and in the drawer. Apex skins allows the customization of the look and feel of the launcher itself, including dock background, folder background, icon label color, etc. You may also change the font of icon labels and provide a bunch of wallpapers along with your theme. Each theme may contain one or more components.
Here are two sample themes to help you get started. If you are just creating an icon pack, please use the icon pack sample as a base and follow the instructions below to add icons to the theme. If you want to go for a complete theme design, start with the other theme sample which includes all types of components.
Download Apex Icon Pack Sample
Download Apex Theme Sample
Regardless of which sample theme you choose, the first step is to import the sample project into Eclipse. Here are the instructions.
Extract the sample archive file to your hard drive.
Open Eclipse, choose "Import..." from the File menu.
In the Import dialog, choose "Existing Projects into Workspace" under General, and click Next. Then browse to the sample project directory and click Finish.
Change the package name. To do this, first expand the ApexIconPackSample (or ApexThemeSample) project in the Project Explorer and then expand the src folder. Now right click "com.yourname.iconpackname" (or "com.yourname.themename") and select "Refactor > Rename...". Enter your desired package name and click OK to save the change.
Right click on your theme project in the Eclipse Project Explorer and select "Android Tools > Rename Application Package". Enter the same package name (as used in the previous step) and click OK.
Navigate to and open "strings.xml" under "res/values" and change the theme information to your needs.
Replace the icon.png files under the drawable folders to use your own icons. Note that the sample projects are configured in a way such that they will not show up in the drawer. However, the icons are still visible in the Apex Launcher theme settings.
Provide a feature graphic and up to 5 preview images in your theme. These are optional, so you may just delete the entries from "strings.xml" and the corresponding image files if you decide not to provide these images.
Now, let's get down to the different components. Again, you may include any combination of the following components in your theme.
Icon Pack
First of all, please make sure config_iconpack is set to true in "strings.xml".
HTML:
<bool name="config_iconpack">true</bool>
This will let Apex's theme engine know that your theme includes an icon pack component.
Next, open the appfilter.xml file under the res/xml directory. (Note: This file used to be located under the assets directory, but the new app encryption feature in JellyBean made it impossible for the theme engine to access assets of paid themes.) You need to add an entry for each activity that you provide an icon for, in the following format:
HTML:
<item component="ComponentInfo{com.package.name/com.package.name.ActivityName}" drawable="icon_name"/>
For instance, here's how we provide an icon for the Browser app in the sample project:
HTML:
<item component="ComponentInfo{com.android.browser/com.android.browser.BrowserActivity}" drawable="com_android_browser_browseractivity" />
<item component="ComponentInfo{com.google.android.browser/com.android.browser.BrowserActivity}" drawable="com_android_browser_browseractivity" />
Some apps (Browser, Camera, etc.) may have different package names but they share the same activity name. Therefore, specifying both the package name and the activity name can help avoid any ambiguity if you need to provide separate icons for such apps. Please note that we do not include the file extension (.png) for the drawable attribute value.
When providing icons, please make sure they are of the right size (i.e., resolution) depending on the screen density you are targeting. Generally, Android supports these density buckets: ldpi, mdpi, hdpi, xhdpi, and xxhdpi. Please keep in mind that xxhdpi is supported starting from JellyBean, so devices running ICS may not pick it up properly. The screen resolution and icon size for each density bucket is listed below.
Code:
Density Screen Icon (px)
ldpi ~120dpi 36x36
mdpi ~160dpi 48x48
hdpi ~240dpi 72x72
xhdpi ~320dpi 96x96
xxhdpi ~480dpi 144x144
It is not required to support every density bucket listed above, as icons generally can be scaled to the right size automatically. If you are targeting higher-end devices, we recommend using xhdpi (96x96) as a starting point, which should provide enough detail on high resolution screens. After you decide on the density to support, export icons as transparent PNG files and put them in the correct folder (e.g., drawable-hdpi, drawable-xhdpi).
Since it is impossible to create a themed icon for every single app, you may provide default icon background images to achieve a uniform look and feel. If provided, these background images will be placed behind each icon that does not have a specific icon created for it. If you decide to take advantage of this feature, please declare your background images in the appfilter.xml file, like this:
HTML:
<iconback img1="iconback" />
<iconmask img1="iconmask" />
<iconupon img1="iconupon" />
<scale factor="0.75" />
The corresponding iconback image file (e.g., iconback.png) is placed under the proper drawable directory. The sample icon pack project only provides one iconback image, but you can have multiple iconback images as well, and the theme engine would randomly pick an image for each icon.
HTML:
<iconback img1="iconback1" img2="iconback2" img3="iconback3" img4="iconback4" img5="iconback5" />
All the unthemed icons will be scaled to fit atop an iconback. The scale factor is also declared in appfilter.xml, with 1.0 being the actual size (no scaling).
The Apex theme engine also allows you to mask icons using a transparent image (i.e., iconmask) or place an overlay (i.e., iconupon) on top of the icons. You may use a transparent iconupon image to decorate the icons (e.g., to achieve glossy effects).
The iconback, iconmask, iconupon, and scale tags described above are all optional, so if you do not want to use these features, just delete the tags from appfilter.xml and the corresponding image files from the sample project. In addition, the theme engine supports the icon shader feature for manipulating color values in icons.
For compatibility reasons, Apex also supports icon packs that do not use an appfilter. In this case, you must name the icon files properly so that Apex Launcher can detect and use them. Here's the naming convention:
Icon file name should be based on the full activity name
Always use lower case letters for file names
Replace dots with underscores
For example, to add an icon for the stock Android browser (com.android.browser.BrowserActivity) in your icon pack, add an icon with the name "com_android_browser_browseractivity.png" in the proper drawable directory. In case of conflicts, appfilter has higher priority and the icon file specified there will be used.
Finding the Correct Component/Activity Name
If you do not know the name of the activity, the "Activities" shortcut list may come in handy. Just long press on your home screen and select Shortcuts > Activities. The name of each activity will be listed under the label after you expand the desired app.
Since Apex Launcher 2.0, the activity picker has been improved to help you quickly find the correct component name for the app you want to theme. For each app, the package name is listed under the name of the app, and the name of each public activity is listed under the activity label. When the package name matches the activity name prefix, the activity name starts with a dot and the prefix is omitted for brevity. Otherwise, the full activity name is provided. Note that the main activity of each app is marked in blue and is the one that will appear in the app drawer. Here are two examples:
> Messaging
com.android.mms
>> Messaging
.ui.ConversationList
The activity name starts with a dot, which means you should concatenate it with the package name. The full component name for the Messaging app should be:
HTML:
ComponentInfo{com.android.mms/com.android.mms.ui.ConversationList}
> Chrome
com.android.chrome
>> Chrome
com.google.android.apps.chrome.Main
In this case, the activity name does not start with a dot, and is already the full name. The full component name for the Chrome app should be:
HTML:
ComponentInfo{com.android.chrome/com.google.android.apps.chrome.Main}
Besides the activity picker, you may also find the following websites useful:
http://activities.droidicon.com/
http://activities.tundem.com/
The next step is to declare the icons included in your icon pack. This can be done by adding an entry for each icon to the icon_pack array in "res/values/iconpack.xml". Here's an example:
HTML:
<string-array name="icon_pack" translatable="false">
<item>com_android_browser_browseractivity</item>
</string-array>
Again, we do not include the file extension (.png) in this array.
These declarations are important for the icon picker that allows users to change icons for apps/folders on the home screen. Only declared icons will appear in the icon picker when the user chooses your theme from the list.
Skin
The theme engine of Apex Launcher allows you to customize the look and feel of your desktop, dock, and drawer, by providing certain images and color values in your theme. The ApexThemeSample project includes all the things you may change, and it provides the default images and color values as the basis for your modification.
If you include a skin in your theme, make sure config_apexskin is set to true in "strings.xml".
HTML:
<bool name="config_apexskin">true</bool>
Feel free to use the sample theme as a starting point and replace any image in the drawable-xhdpi directory to your needs.
You may notice that some of the images are 9-patch drawables (those ending with .9.png). A nine patch graphic is a stretchable image, which Android will automatically resize to accommodate the contents. You can define stretchable regions that Android scales when the image is resized. The Draw 9-patch tool from the Android SDK allows you to easily create a nine patch graphic using a WYSIWYG editor. To learn more about nine patch graphics and the Draw 9-patch tool, please read the following references on the Android Developer’s site:
http://developer.android.com/guide/developing/tools/draw9patch.html
http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/graphics/2d-graphics.html#nine-patch
If you decide not to change certain images from the default theme, please delete the image from your theme package. For instance, if you do not want to theme the Apex action icons, you can just delete all the "ic_*.png" files from the drawable directory, and Apex will still use the default images. Doing so will help make your theme package slim by excluding unnecessary files and it also helps improve the performance of the launcher.
You may also notice a few xml files in the drawable directory. Those are state list drawables that select from different images based on their states. If you do not theme the drawer button, you will need to delete "all_apps_button_icon.xml" after removing both "ic_allapps.png" and "ic_allapps_pressed.png". Similarly, if you do not theme the drawer tabs, you will also need to delete the "tab_*.xml" files after removing the "tab_*.png" files. Otherwise, the project won't compile because these xml files depend on the other deleted images. For more information on state list drawables, please refer to the following link:
http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/resources/drawable-resource.html#StateList
To customize the color values for UI elements, please edit "colors.xml" and change the color values as you please.
Font
Place your custom font file under the assets folder and name it themefont.ttf. If this file is present in your theme, it will be automatically picked up by Apex Launcher. Please make sure that the font is working properly by testing it on your device.
Wallpapers
You may bundle wallpapers in your theme by putting the images inside the proper drawable directory. You also need to update "res/values/wallpapers.xml" accordingly, so that Apex will recognize the wallpapers. Here's an example from the sample theme:
HTML:
<string-array name="wallpapers" translatable="false">
<item>wallpaper_escape</item>
<item>wallpaper_outofthebox</item>
</string-array>
<string name="default_wallpaper">wallpaper_outofthebox</string>
All the wallpapers declared in the wallpapers array will be available from the Apex Launcher wallpaper chooser, while the default_wallpaper will be applied along with your theme (if the user chooses to). Note that you also need a lower-resolution preview image with a _small suffix in the file name for each wallpaper. For instance, place both wallpaper_escape.jpg and wallpaper_escape_small.jpg under the drawable directory. The preview image is only used in the wallpaper picker and the original image is used when applying the wallpaper.
Linking to Apex Theme Settings
If you like, there is a special Intent that you can use to direct users to your theme's details page in Apex theme settings, where they can apply your theme. Here's how:
Code:
final String ACTION_SET_THEME = "com.anddoes.launcher.SET_THEME";
final String EXTRA_PACKAGE_NAME = "com.anddoes.launcher.THEME_PACKAGE_NAME";
Intent intent = new Intent(ACTION_SET_THEME);
intent.putExtra(EXTRA_PACKAGE_NAME, getPackageName());
intent.addFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK);
try {
startActivity(intent);
} catch (ActivityNotFoundException e) {
Toast.makeText(this, "Apex Launcher is not installed!", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
finish();
You may include this piece of code inside your theme's activity (e.g., in the onCreate method) to launch Apex's theme settings. Please note that the sample projects are configured in a way such that no icon will show up in the drawer. If you need an icon for your activity, insert the android.intent.category.LAUNCHER category into the <intent-filter> section of your activity in the manifest file like this:
HTML:
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
<category android:name="com.anddoes.launcher.THEME" />
</intent-filter>
It is important that you must include the com.anddoes.launcher.THEME category so that Apex can recognize your theme.
Testing Your Theme
It is very important that you test your theme on a device and make sure it looks exactly the way you expect it to be. You may follow these steps to test your new theme.
Connect your phone/tablet to the computer via USB.
Turn on USB debugging via System settings > Developer options > USB debugging.
In Eclipse, right click your theme project, select "Run As > Android Application".
On your device, launch Apex theme settings and select your new theme.
Apply the theme and restart the launcher.
Look around and see if everything works as expected.
After you have thoroughly tested your theme, you are ready to distribute it to users.
Signing and Releasing Your Theme
To release your theme to other Apex Launcher users, you need to sign, optimize, and export the APK file, which can be done seamlessly with Eclipse and the ADT plugin. For details, please read the publishing section on the Android Developers website.
http://developer.android.com/guide/publishing/app-signing.html
If you publish your theme on the Google Play Store, you may want to update it later. In this case, it is very important that you version your theme properly. You may find the following link helpful.
http://developer.android.com/guide/publishing/versioning.html
That's it! I hope this tutorial contains enough information to get you started working on your own themes. Happy theming!
Apr 29, 2013
Apex Launcher 2.0 now comes with an improved activity picker to help you find the right component name.
Updated tutorial to include a new "Finding the Correct Component/Activity Name" subsection
Jan 17, 2013
Updated sample theme to include new Apex Action icons.
Dec 6, 2012
Updated sample projects to support iconmask.
Updated tutorial to include a brief discussion on icon sizes.
Oct 10, 2012
Updated sample theme to support icon label shadow colors.
Sep 24, 2012
Updated sample projects for better iconpack support.
Updated tutorial in accordance with latest Eclipse/ADT.
May 22, 2012
Added support for iconback and iconupon in v1.2.1
Updated sample projects to include default iconback and iconupon images
Updated tutorial with iconback and iconupon descriptions
May 18, 2012
Added support for appfilter in v1.2.0beta3
Updated sample projects to include appfilter and new Apex action icons
Updated tutorial with appfilter descriptions
Awesome addition to a great launcher. Looking forward to seeing some epic themes.
Can't wait for some great themes. Apex is so win, uNF!
Sent from my Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 w/Tapatalk 2
Oh great. Well laid out template.
Just to check, I don't need to change XML files if I was to populate the hdpi/mdpi/ldpi folders with images in this template, as everything is already setup to accept those files? I just should delete whichever file entries from the XML that I don't want to theme?
Or has it been setup to only use the files from the XML folder at this point.
I am planning to make a red holo theme but haven't finished downloading the sdk yet. (Travelling, its going to take some time).
Sent from my GT-I9000 running CM9 (ICS 4.0.4) using XDA premium app
Very nice!
themes
will these themes be dependent on phone resolution or will they work on any phone with apex launcher because my phone is mdpi and i am worried that my phone will have no themes
If a theme already supports ADW/Go icon packs, do you recommend including the Apex specific code? I'm just trying to think about all the overlap between the various launchers and the resources included in the theme.
Edit: NVM. Just re-read the part about Apex free only supporting Apex themes. That means Apex code will definitely be needed. Thanks.
Two suggestions/questions.
A) If a theme supports multiple launchers, potentially /ignore the other configurations and only list Apex? See my screenshot for details. I also noticed that if you add Apex theme support, the Go launcher entry is no longer listed. I think it'd be smart to consolidate a theme (that supports multiple launchers) down to a single entry.
B) Would you be willing to add an intent, similar to GO/ADW.EX, that would allow a theme to direct a user to the Theme Settings activity? I'd really like the ability to bring a user directly to the settings from my dashboard.
Screenshot:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Koveleski said:
B) Would you be willing to add an intent, similar to GO/ADW.EX, that would allow a theme to direct a user to the Theme Settings activity? I'd really like the ability to bring a user directly to the settings from my dashboard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats key.
And/or have an intent we can flag so we can continue to use the 'apply theme' feature within our apps.
well, here's my first theme for Apex Launcher
Nice theme!
I am currently travelling and haven't been able to setup a workable environment for eclipse (I don't have my own pc with me and the shared pc isn't really up to standard).
Would someone be able to compile just a base unthemed apex theme so that for the short time I can do a quick hack to add different images? Yes I know its not ideal but until I get home in 6 weeks, I don't have much choice...
Edit: I just mean a full theme but only using current unmodded apex images.
Sent from my GT-I9000 running CM9 (ICS 4.0.4) using XDA premium app
how i load themes on apex ?
vladnosferatu said:
how i load themes on apex ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need the beta. I have pro so might be different. Its in the apex menu > about apex launcher. There is an update option and an option to select whether updates are "stable" or "beta".
Sent from my GT-I9000 running CM9 (ICS 4.0.4) using XDA premium app
thanks
drakenabarion said:
Oh great. Well laid out template.
Just to check, I don't need to change XML files if I was to populate the hdpi/mdpi/ldpi folders with images in this template, as everything is already setup to accept those files? I just should delete whichever file entries from the XML that I don't want to theme?
Or has it been setup to only use the files from the XML folder at this point.
I am planning to make a red holo theme but haven't finished downloading the sdk yet. (Travelling, its going to take some time).
Sent from my GT-I9000 running CM9 (ICS 4.0.4) using XDA premium app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you talking about icon packs or complete themes? For icon packs, you need to declare your icon images in an XML file. For Apex skins, you probably don't need to change XML files (except strings.xml where you define the basic information about your theme). BTW, there is no xml folder in the provided sample projects.
opera38205 said:
will these themes be dependent on phone resolution or will they work on any phone with apex launcher because my phone is mdpi and i am worried that my phone will have no themes
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apex themes should work on any phone, but YMMV with each theme.
Koveleski said:
Two suggestions/questions.
A) If a theme supports multiple launchers, potentially /ignore the other configurations and only list Apex? See my screenshot for details. I also noticed that if you add Apex theme support, the Go launcher entry is no longer listed. I think it'd be smart to consolidate a theme (that supports multiple launchers) down to a single entry.
B) Would you be willing to add an intent, similar to GO/ADW.EX, that would allow a theme to direct a user to the Theme Settings activity? I'd really like the ability to bring a user directly to the settings from my dashboard.
Screenshot:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As of the latest beta, both of your suggestions have been addressed. A) Your theme would only appear once in the list even if it supports multiple launchers. B) Please refer to the new "Linking to Apex Theme Settings" section in the tutorial.
Please consider theme'ing the drawer using Golaunchers appfilter, instead of the icons naming, the icon naming method, is a bit "dated" as where it reacts the same way as ADW does with icons like Honeycombs Youtube icon, and all the angry birds stuff, it just wont accept it. Also, please consider an "iconback" option.
Thanks!
docsparks said:
Please consider theme'ing the drawer using Golaunchers appfilter, instead of the icons naming, the icon naming method, is a bit "dated" as where it reacts the same way as ADW does with icons like Honeycombs Youtube icon, and all the angry birds stuff, it just wont accept it. Also, please consider an "iconback" option.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your suggestion. We will add support for appfilter in the next version, and will consider "iconback" in the future.
I love to use Apex Pro... And I'm waiting for your nice themes
Keep up your great work
dennisxl said:
As of the latest beta, both of your suggestions have been addressed. A) Your theme would only appear once in the list even if it supports multiple launchers. B) Please refer to the new "Linking to Apex Theme Settings" section in the tutorial.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Brilliant! I look forward to the appfilter support as well. Thank you for being so responsive to my suggestions and your continued development.
I've only created two icon packs, but they seem to work, so I'll take you through my process.
The first thing to research is how mask based icons work in general. There's a dearth of good information, but I did find the Icons Special Features section of the ADW Theming Guide to be useful. Alternatively, you can follow along and examine my images to gain an understanding of what I've done.
Let's proceed.
I began with mathur's Icon-Pack Template, but I've modified it to fit my needs by removing unnecessary bits and the parts relating to non-mask based icon packs. See the attached example, Crinkle.zip
Once you've downloaded Crinkle.zip and imported the code into eclipse, there are several things you'll need to alter:
First, you must rename the package. This can be done by doing one (or both) these actions:
[project (context menu)] > Android Tools > Rename Application Package
[package (context menu)] > Refactor > RenameSecond, ensure the correct scale factor. This can be found in two places:
assets / appfilter.xml
res / xml / appfilter.xmlThird, make sure your informational strings are correct. There are two locations:
res / values / strings.xml
res / values / theme_config.xmlFourth, and most important, add your own icons. These can be found in res / drawable-xhdpi, and they are:
icon.png - the application icon
iconback.png - the background image
iconmask.png - the transparency / opacity mask
iconupon.png - the overlay imageNow test it out.
My finished icon pack is live on Google Play under the title Crinkle Icon Theme.
Enjoy!
This looks great, but how would you create a mask for making all the icons black and white? Something like this:
com.seangrondin.icons.filmstripdesaturate (sorry i can't post links yet )
I want to make a sepia themed icon mask.
Thanks
error
Also, I'm getting an error as soon as I import.
Is there a way to make this target api 10 instead of api 19?
1rdc said:
This looks great, but how would you create a mask for making all the icons black and white? Something like this:
com.seangrondin.icons.filmstripdesaturate (sorry i can't post links yet )
I want to make a sepia themed icon mask.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I looked into it a bit, and here's what I've discovered. If you include a res/xml/shader.xml file, you will be able to affect the color in at least Apex and Nova. I found a fairly detailed explanation that should help you get started.
I will soon update the original post to include more details about this, as well as a cleaner icon pack framework.
How do I make it compatible with Smart Launcher? The icon pack applies but the shader doesn't work and the theme doesn't show up under "Themes"
As always, use at your own risk!
Quelle
BecauseI know I'm not theonly one whowants tounderstandit a lot,I'll showyoua way.Inspirationand ideasI got from this article. Huawei EMUI Themes gestalten und verändern [Teil 1]
What is needed:
- 7zip
- Sublime Text 3
Here we go. The prerequisite is time to rest and work accurately!
After you have installed the two programs are set to go.
Think up a folder where the issues come in here (.hwt). Always works only with copies!
Here you should create a subfolder with the topic name you now. There you unpacked the topic. Go into that folder and subfolders again sets each with the appropriate name. example:
com.android.settings = com.android.settings e
So you keep track of things.
The repeated her with the topic, which ye icons, etc you want to have.
Now comes the actual act. Take the issue of the want to edit it, in my case, Edward Returns.hwt and clicks it right (not extract!), Just select Open.
Next, locate the com.android.settings and open it again.
Here again open the res folder. Here delete the contents (click there and delete right).
Now we take the topic from which we want the icons. Also re-open and click through to the folder res. Now we select the content and push it, hold by the left, into the folder from another topic. We confirm the prompt with Yes. Now is the content in the other folder. Now we can both close, confirm the prompt with Yes and we already did it. Only on Mate7, select and look the topic. If you want, you can even assign a name. For the description.xml with Sublime Text 3 Open Notepad and then copy into the theme.
You can also use your own icons here on size, format and name eighth! It is also possible to take files from other themes if they do not exist.
Of course, goes even more, color etc, but you will still need to edit the corresponding .XML files.
Here are a few paths:
- Contacts com.android.contacts
- Gallery com.android.gallery3d: Here lies the Gallery widget.
- Player com.android.mediacenter: Here the player is widget.
- Settings com.android.settings: Here is what you see under settings and submenus.
- Links com.android.systemui: Here is what you see Status Bar / Benarichtigungen / Verküpfungen.
- Designs com.huawei.android.thememanager: Here is what you see under Themes.
- Clock / weather widget
com.huawei.android.totemweather / res
drawable-nodpi: Here are the wallpapers
drawable-sw360dp-xxhdpi: Here are the symbols
- Icons icons: This is what you see on the homescreen icons.
Thanks , i would like to create a theme for me, a dark one, simple and clear but unfortunately, i really didnt understand the procedure Is it possible for you to make a step by step guide ? Taking the default theme and changing it ?
I need one with dark toggle background, and white toggles, the one selected blue or red.
Than the notifications background black and white text and icons.
on settings , dark background and white text + icons.
So sorry i dont understand , i would have tried to make some themes
Thanks !
For the font you need to edit the corresponding XML files. This is tedious. It is easier to look for the best ducks already in coarse threads and replace only the background, symbols etc is.
A Guide for the XML I'm not going to write, which is too complex, as there is also still required Chinese.
You can read here.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/mate-7/themes-apps/mod-thememessages-notification-panel-t2973486
Or here keeping an eye out for suitable topics.
http://www.android-hilfe.de/root-cu...7/654285-themes-der-grosse-themes-thread.html
Fooox1 said:
For the font you need to edit the corresponding XML files. This is tedious. It is easier to look for the best ducks already in coarse threads and replace only the background, symbols etc is.
A Guide for the XML I'm not going to write, which is too complex, as there is also still required Chinese.
You can read here.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/mate-7/themes-apps/mod-thememessages-notification-panel-t2973486
Or here keeping an eye out for suitable topics.
http://www.android-hilfe.de/root-cu...7/654285-themes-der-grosse-themes-thread.html
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Thank you dude !
cool instruction
i also want to edit this specific theme Edward Returns for my Ascend p7, the theme is as of now only for Mate 7 it cant be found on p7 online themes, so i downloaded this theme and installed on my p7, everything is as it should be except the icons, the system Apps icons are well, but the apps that i have installed their icons dont fit in the icon frame of the theme, they are bigger than the theme icons so they come on top of the frame, but some of the Apps that have smaller icons i can see the icon frame of the theme behind them. So i wanna know if it is possible to resize the icons so they fit the icon frame? and how it can be done?
Thanks in advance :good:
Unpack theme, edit icons and then copy the unzipped not matter.
Does anyone know how to change the background color in Messeges? i have a really cool theme but there is some error in its Messages App the background is white while the timestamp in the left side is also in white color so i can read the time... i dont know which line in themes.xml should i change????
Unfortunately, I do not quite understand you. The background images are. Just as the symbols of the timeline. About the xml you lay down only the text color and the assignment.
can you help me of that modified whatsapp called WhatsMaap changing icon cause it looks so bad because the whatsapp icon is circle so there is a black or green background the app icon
this is the app dude : https://plus.google.com/communities/111022663413469989470
I need to modify the text colour of notifications into NOTIFICATION PANNEL.
Not the standard text you find below email notification or whatsapp notifications, just the ones poping up with text surrounded by circle and asking to close a particular application consuming too much battery, for example.
Actually these notifications text are in black and, since the background is black, they aren' t readeble at all, while the others notifications (i.e. whatsapp notifications, email notifications, etc. etc.) are properly in white (see picture attached).
Considering that I need to keep the background as black, I would need to modify the notifications text colour only, from black to....white, or light blue, or other which result more readable on the black background.
I tried to edit and modify the hwt file, as well as the XML file contained into the com.android.systemui file, but unsuccesfully.
Can you explain me which file and line I must modify in order to have fixed this?
None can help me??? Fooox1, Kolembo,Hannanzikrea, please assist.
I've edited the stat_sys_battery_15.png file on a theme, but every time my phone goes down to that level the battery icon reverts to stock. All other times the battery icon displays the custom one. Anyone know why and/or how to fix this?
Sent from my HUAWEI MT7-L09 using XDA Free mobile app
mighty_moose said:
I've edited the stat_sys_battery_15.png file on a theme, but every time my phone goes down to that level the battery icon reverts to stock. All other times the battery icon displays the custom one. Anyone know why and/or how to fix this?
Sent from my HUAWEI MT7-L09 using XDA Free mobile app
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You should add another .png file with name stat_sys_battery_15_new.png and stat_sys_battery_7_new.png
Sent from my HUAWEI MT7-L09 using XDA Free mobile app
hannanzikrea said:
You should add another .png file with name stat_sys_battery_15_new.png and stat_sys_battery_7_new.png
Sent from my HUAWEI MT7-L09 using XDA Free mobile app
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Okies, thanks. I thought they were extraneous and deleted them... Then forgot all about them lol
Sent from my HUAWEI MT7-L09 using XDA Free mobile app
My modified dark theme
https://drive.google.com/folder/d/0Bw1wBQi9rn3WMnc1cHQ0eVNUQTQ/edit
Here's my modified theme Dark Knight v3.2.9. Some bug fix for Honor 6.