I am thinking about doing some theming with my Thunderbolt. In the past I have stuck with basic tweaks but now I would like to do some more in-depth theming.
I do not plan to manually modify files. Instead, I plan to theme the overall UI by using widgets, lock-screen replacements, and launcher settings.
For example, I would like to customize the look and feel of my device using some of the following tools:
Minimalist Text Widget
Simi Folders Widget
Beautiful Widgets
Desktop Visualizer
Widget Locker
etc
What is the best way to "theme" the device to have customizations such as lock screens and minimalist feel. I have begun using the above tools and can see the power behind them. In combo with launchers such as ADW or LauncherPro you can achieve the look and feel you desire.
I am unsure the best approach for lock screens and dock replacements.
I am planning to research this more but was hoping some more experienced "themers" in the community could chime in and share the best approach!! I understand that there is a lot of tweaking involved in this process.
Please provide your suggestions and advice. Maybe share what widgets you use and other things I may be missing (font packs, backgrounds, launcher docks, widgets, lock screens, etc.)
Thank You!
Most people use widget locker for the lockscreen...
I suggest , (personal taste) ADW Ex for a custom launcher replacement...
Thanks for starting off the suggestions! I plan to use WidgetLocker and ADW Launcher EX.
I need to look into more WidgetLocker themes to see what is possible!! The possibilities seem endless
I also need to find out how easy it is to replace icons/docks for ADW versus other available launchers!
JsinLegacy said:
Most people use widget locker for the lockscreen...
I suggest , (personal taste) ADW Ex for a custom launcher replacement...
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meh widget locker is like having a 2nd launcher.
just theme the lockscreens!
nitsuj17 said:
meh widget locker is like having a 2nd launcher.
just theme the lockscreens!
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what are you doing trolling the thunderbolt forums lol
mob87 said:
what are you doing trolling the thunderbolt forums lol
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i enjoy trolling...usually its just the continuum or mesmerize...but still
nitsuj17 said:
meh widget locker is like having a 2nd launcher.
just theme the lockscreens!
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How can I theme the lock screens? I am new to this, so any pointers would be helpful. I can dig deeper into the forums for that info as well.
I just figured using Widget Locker would allow for easy lock screen theming!
bmcclure937 said:
How can I theme the lock screens? I am new to this, so any pointers would be helpful. I can dig deeper into the forums for that info as well.
I just figured using Widget Locker would allow for easy lock screen theming!
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the lockscreens for htc are different than what im used to for aosp/touchwiz but the images are prolly in framework-res.apk, and htcresources.apk in system/framework and htclocksreen.apk in system/app
the aosp lockscreen would be framework-res.apk...sense slider in the other 2
Ahhh. Okay. So I would need to manually replace the images... makes sense.
One reason I am attracted to Widget Locker is the easy theming and ability to include information on the lock screen. For example, I could use Minimalist Text Widget to display battery level, time, etc.
I also plan to flash CM7 as soon as I feel it is ready (stable enough for regular function). No worries... I am definitely not sticking with Sense!
bmcclure937 said:
Ahhh. Okay. So I would need to manually replace the images... makes sense.
One reason I am attracted to Widget Locker is the easy theming and ability to include information on the lock screen. For example, I could use Minimalist Text Widget to display battery level, time, etc.
I also plan to flash CM7 as soon as I feel it is ready (stable enough for regular function). No worries... I am definitely not sticking with Sense!
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sense is kinda cool for the rosie mods and lockscreen mods you can do....and honestly i love the theme (i made the sense theme for the fascinate)....but aosp is certainly preferable for many things
Okay. What is the best way to change fonts?!
Also, which launcher do most people prefer for theming. The most popular seem to be ADW Launcher EX, Launcher Pro Plus, and Go Launcher EX.
I used ADW Launcher extensively with CM ROMs. I have not used the EX version but know it unlocks additional features (such as transition animations and the ability to swap dock/icon images).
I recently started using Launcher Pro Plus and am enjoying it very much! I do not know if ADW or Go Launcher has any additional functionality that would make it "better".
Finally, I have no experience with Go Launcher but have heard good things about it...
bmcclure937 said:
Okay. What is the best way to change fonts?!
Also, which launcher do most people prefer for theming. The most popular seem to be ADW Launcher EX, Launcher Pro Plus, and Go Launcher EX.
I used ADW Launcher extensively with CM ROMs. I have not used the EX version but know it unlocks additional features (such as transition animations and the ability to swap dock/icon images).
I recently started using Launcher Pro Plus and am enjoying it very much! I do not know if ADW or Go Launcher has any additional functionality that would make it "better".
Finally, I have no experience with Go Launcher but have heard good things about it...
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search xda for flashable font packs...some subforums have several hundred grouped together
Can anyone who has been using Widget Locker post some of their creative locksceen pics?
I can try to remember this evening after work.
Related
I've got a bunch of launchers loaded on my EVO, but my favorite ones for the G-Tab are ADW.launcher and ZEAM (XDA developed launcher).
I like both of them because they're snappy and offer a high degree of customization (e.g. being able to specify the number of columns and rows for both the workspace and the apps).
ADW.launcher seems a bit more customizable since it supports themes, but Zeam is nice because it gives you an app bar on the workspace that you can load up to 8 quick apps.
I still have a soft spot for Launcher Pro. I know that ADW has themes, but LP is fast and does what I need it to do. I have not found a reason to change, yet.
+1 for launcher pro. I liked the themes on ADW but I like the customizable buttons, configurable columns and rows and the widgets with LP.
Perchance I will try Zeam at some point, but in general I am happy with Launcher Pro.
-=Sent from my ViewSonic G Tablet (VEGAn) using Tapatalk=-
zeam cause its lightweight.
Launcher Pro here too.
I'm still playing with Sweeter Home. I like to completely customize the screen layouts. It isn't flawless in operation, but it does provide me lots of time to fidget.
LauncherPro. I like the features and being able to save/load my screen layout/setup is fantastic after flashing ROMs and reinstalling apps.
I prefer GDE but can't get it to work properly (menu's pop up flaky) on the GTab so I'm using LauncherPro.
Launcher pro. Light weight and fast.
Allways been a fan of launcher pro on my android devices it just works how i like
Do any of the themes allow more than sixteen icons per page? There is a LOT of space that more icons could go in.
Is this one of those "phone & portrait" os design constraints?
i'm an ADW fan on my Droid 1 and i tried it on my gtab but i found zeam to be better. its faster and smoother, more lightweight, and actually resizes wallpaper properly. i love adw's themes but i rather go with speed than with custom icons. also love zeam's dock, has tons of space for icons. only thing i don't like about it is that you can't save your configuration.
launcher pro i never liked. probably cuz i can get most of that stuff for free on other launchers. gotta pay to resize a widget? cmon now. also live wallpaper is really sluggish for some reason on launcher pro. keeps stuttering when i turn on the screen, no matter what live wallpaper i try.
gotwillk said:
'm an ADW fan on my Droid 1 and i tried it on my gtab but i found zeam to be better. its faster and smoother, more lightweight, and actually resizes wallpaper properly. i love adw's themes but i rather go with speed than with custom icons. also love zeam's dock, has tons of space for icons.
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Same here. Zeam Launcher + MultiPicture Livewallpaper.
thats really cool! The light effects of that background are live?
I like gde but no icons with all the the themes. But... +10 on launcher pro
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Iam I weird for not running a launcher? I always feel like they slow the system down a bit. I might have to start because all these cool looking home screens are making me jealous!
Launcher Pro... but I think I might try zeam after reading this thread.
I prefer Tap n' Tap for my launcher... OK, who am I kidding
Actually, I use Launcher Pro as well, but I also noticed the live wallpaper stuttering and always thought it was because every app seemed to want to reload itself upon wakeup. However, with all of the love out here for Zeam, I'm going to have to give that a try as well!
has anyone tried the go-launcher?
SInce there are several launchers around I'm curious what the pro's and con's are for each... I think tis thread is going a long way to that. Maybe once we managed to get all the info together we could start making a sticky with pros/cons for each launcher...
Just a thought
Hi everyone, I've been playing with new Nexus S (my first android phone) for a few days now, and I can't decide on which homescreen launcher to use because each has features I like and lacks some that the others have. Maybe someone can find a remedy for me. I've made some notes about what I like or dislike about the following three launchers I've used.
ADWLauncher EX:
Separate catalogs on drawer
Lacks scrolling dock (hidden dock is less intuitive to me)
Best homescreen transitions
Go Launcher:
Gesture response for icons on dock
Tab to see running apps from app drawer that lets you kill or switch between tasks easily. However, the tab takes away space from the icons. Maybe there's another way to access something like this, a gesture for example? (image here)
Best edit function for screens: provides convenient way to move icons from one screen to another, lets reposition screens, delete
2 touch access to phone settings from menu button
Share access from menu button
Launcher Pro:
Missed calls/sms/email notification in the doc
I personally like Zeam..
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
The main reason I use LPP is because of he cal widget and being able to use custom dock images. Over ADW EX that is.
Launcher Pro Plus, by far.
http://www.appbrain.com/app/homesmack/com.teslacoilsw.homesmack
I like Zeam. Light and fast!
Actually I'll further confuse you.
32 Home Replacements Reviewed
http://hubpages.com/hub/Droid-Home-Replacement-App-Comparison
There's a way to get the "counts" in ADW with paid app "ADWNotifier".
kschang said:
Actually I'll further confuse you.
32 Home Replacements Reviewed
http://hubpages.com/hub/Droid-Home-Replacement-App-Comparison
There's a way to get the "counts" in ADW with paid app "ADWNotifier".
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You're terrible.
That review is crap.
That review is crap. Launcher pro hard to configure my assss.
kevin2516 said:
That review is crap. Launcher pro hard to configure my assss.
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I am guessing you mean LauncherPro? Compared to drag-and-drop of HelixLauncher dock config, LauncherPro dock IS hard to config.
Why is LauncherPro so popular here? I feel like its the most limited. No long-hold uninstall or edit from the homescreen like the others. I liked it the least out ADW, Go Launcher, and LauncherPro.
glasslung said:
Why is LauncherPro so popular here? I feel like its the most limited. No long-hold uninstall or edit from the homescreen like the others. I liked it the least out ADW, Go Launcher, and LauncherPro.
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Yes it is.
glasslung said:
Why is LauncherPro so popular here? I feel like its the most limited. No long-hold uninstall or edit from the homescreen like the others. I liked it the least out ADW, Go Launcher, and LauncherPro.
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Click to collapse
I think LPP was the first Launcher to have a drop-to-uninstall function.
Zeam. Minimalistic, light, fast, awesome.
Sent from a piece of ginger bread
I have tried them all and I always end up back with LauncherPro plus.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk
I love what the VEGAn DEV's have done with my G-Tab versus the crap that came with it. One request would be to modify the size/number/spacing of icons on the screens but I cannot seem to find that as an option in the default launcher? I see that if I use a different launcher I can but so far I have spent a lot of time getting the icons and such setup and do not want to have to start again.
Am I missing something or is screen customization not an option with the default VEGAn launcher?
Running 5.1.1
Thanks!
Try Launcher Pro!
or ADW Launcher
laffer98 said:
Try Launcher Pro!
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Exactly. Used other homes but I have always gone back to LP. The donate version has awesome Widgets and you can resize Widgets which comes in handy on the gtablet. Oh ant the transition effects are amazingly cool. Free version is Rad, donate version is Rad +10%.
Zeam free version lets you size Widgets and I love the dock
Is anyone working on or have a themed TouchWiz Launcher? I like the TW launcher because it is lightweight and doesn't take up a lot of memory (even with the friends widget active). But it is not very customizable.
The only modified one I have seen is the Crush TW launcher which has a 5 icon dockbar, and I like it but it doesn't allow me to add the friends widget or set custom pictures for icons.
Can the normal TW launchers framework me modified through Ninja Morph, etc?
What are you looking for?
Just a Tw launcher with a 4 icon customizable dock that maybe allows folders and custom shortcuts. Maybe with dark themed touchwiz widgets. I thought something was out there...but am having trouble finding anything.
Sent from my fascinate
stelv said:
Is anyone working on or have a themed TouchWiz Launcher? I like the TW launcher because it is lightweight and doesn't take up a lot of memory (even with the friends widget active). But it is not very customizable.
The only modified one I have seen is the Crush TW launcher which has a 5 icon dockbar, and I like it but it doesn't allow me to add the friends widget or set custom pictures for icons.
Can the normal TW launchers framework me modified through Ninja Morph, etc?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The TeamCarbon Steel Blue theme has a blue themed touch wiz launcher that has a customizable dockbar. (I also use BetterCut to create my own customer app icons.)
ED01 CommROM ~1.3 TeamCarbon/BigLoofs_STEEL BLUE V1.75
stelv said:
Just a Tw launcher with a 4 icon customizable dock that maybe allows folders and custom shortcuts. Maybe with dark themed touchwiz widgets. I thought something was out there...but am having trouble finding anything.
Sent from my fascinate
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Click to collapse
Good day, find it a tad odd that you're having trouble getting the friends widget to work with my launcher, BuddiesNow should work, and nobody has reported any problems so far. If you're looking for dark themed touchwiz widgets, then it's not the launcher that's responsible for that, but the widgets themselves. I'd suggest the Vibrant's TW widgets, they're the darkest themed out of all of em, I have a modded Vibrant BuddiesNow in my thread. And as mentioned above, BetterCut can be used to edit some images, though from the TouchWizLauncher itself, only folders, the App Drawer icon, Google Search widget I think, and I guess the page dots are what can be changed.
CrushD said:
Good day, find it a tad odd that you're having trouble getting the friends widget to work with my launcher, BuddiesNow should work, and nobody has reported any problems so far. If you're looking for dark themed touchwiz widgets, then it's not the launcher that's responsible for that, but the widgets themselves. I'd suggest the Vibrant's TW widgets, they're the darkest themed out of all of em, I have a modded Vibrant BuddiesNow in my thread. And as mentioned above, BetterCut can be used to edit some images, though from the TouchWizLauncher itself, only folders, the App Drawer icon, Google Search widget I think, and I guess the page dots are what can be changed.
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Thank you for the advice and your work. I finally did get the TW widgets to work with your launcher. I had to push them into system/apps with root explorer before I pushed your launcher. Its all good now. I have been pushing items with root explorer because amend zips will not work with my edify CWR.
I am currently running the Miuiwiz Rom now, but I am going to use your launcher when I go back to Com Rom or EF. Thanks for the response.
Hi,
Is there an app which allows you to migrate screen icons from one launcher to another ?
E.g. Currently I have go launcher where I have places icons and widgets in 7 screens, if I want to try apex , adw or any other launcher then I have to re create everything from scratch which is quite painful. Specially if you want to try ICS roms, go launcher is quite boring. I would love to try other launchers but it required a lot of manual effort to migrate.
SS
Screen shots may be your only answer - but I would suggest that go launcher is a very good launcher and you may just be wasting you own time looking at others, just to revert back to what you have already,
Back up go launcher settings if you do go looking
anil76 said:
Hi,
Is there an app which allows you to migrate screen icons from one launcher to another ?
E.g. Currently I have go launcher where I have places icons and widgets in 7 screens, if I want to try apex , adw or any other launcher then I have to re create everything from scratch which is quite painful. Specially if you want to try ICS roms, go launcher is quite boring. I would love to try other launchers but it required a lot of manual effort to migrate.
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Click to collapse
migrating of screens from other launcher is the feature of the launcher itself.. i don't think there is any specific app for this.. I could be wrong though but apex launcher certainly doesn't support migration.. go launcher supports I think but that you are already using..
just install a new one without deleting the existing one and keep the one you like best