I've been smashing my head against a brick wall for the past week.
I've been reading, downloading, installing, reading, uninstalling, updating, reading and punching myself in the face for far too long.
Right now I'm at the point where I'm either going to jump off a roof or destroy every piece of technology in my house with a hammer.
All I need - is somebody to talk to to give me a helping hand. I've gone too long just sitting here trying to figure it out, with all your broken links, complicated theories and insane lengths to change one icon.
Why is it so frustrating? Because what I want to do should be so simple, or it should be...
I have a Nexus S i9020, using ADW Launcher with CyanogenMod 7.0.3-NS.
All I want to do is:
-Change the icons in the Icon drawer
-Make a new status bar
-Change the color of the batter/WiFi/GPS/3G etc in the status bar.
In a perfect world this would mean replacing a few PNG images and being on my way.
But oh no - 6 days later and a LOT of frustration later - I have achieved nothing. I've watched too many youtube video's to count, and right now I just need somebody to simplify it all and give me a hand.
Can anybody point me in the direction of a detailed, easy, step by step guide which explains everything? Because NONE of the pinned threads have helped me, and I have to wait until I get 8 posts before I can print screen what is happening and try to explain it properly.
Or can somebody just give me a helping hand?
Since you're on CyanogenMod7, you can make a theme chooser APK. It's really quite simple.
CLICK HERE
Thanks but that looks more complicated than the other threads :/
I'm amazed nobody has made a simple theme builder application like those that exist for the PS3 etc.
I'm in so deep here - I have no idea where to even start.
How about UOT kitchen at http://uot.dakra.lt ?
mendozinas said:
How about UOT kitchen at
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow this is exactly what I needed.
There are still a few things I'd like to change beyond this though. But thanks a lot that has helped me achieve 90% of what I wanted.
Edit:
I got to the summary page, and I don't understand any of it. I feel like giving up right now.
At the end it was asking me to upload things, edit binary, I just have no idea where to start.
I need a 'theming for dummies' book. Seriously I know NOTHING about ANYTHING in this area.
What you need to upload is in your rom.zip unzip it and look in app, you should have some apk's there that uot is asking for
Sent from my HTC Wildfire using XDA App
Lilday said:
Wow this is exactly what I needed.
There are still a few things I'd like to change beyond this though. But thanks a lot that has helped me achieve 90% of what I wanted.
Edit:
I got to the summary page, and I don't understand any of it. I feel like giving up right now.
At the end it was asking me to upload things, edit binary, I just have no idea where to start.
I need a 'theming for dummies' book. Seriously I know NOTHING about ANYTHING in this area.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go from left to right on the tabs up top (battery, icons, etc.) and pick whatever you want to use. When you get to the file upload tab, click system files in the right column and upload the framework-res.apk and systemui.apk from your ROM. When they've finished uploading, go to the summary tab. If any of the items listed are in an orange box, they were done incorrectly. Go back to them and finish. If they're all green, hit 'Submit work to kitchen' and wait for it to finish (it can take a while). Take the zip it makes for you and flash in recovery.
To get the framework-res.apk and systemui.apk from your ROM, open the ROM in Winzip, 7Zip, or whatever you want to use. framework-res.apk is located in system/framework and systemui.apk is located in system/app.
iamthebigcheeze said:
Go from left to right on the tabs up top (battery, icons, etc.) and pick whatever you want to use. When you get to the file upload tab, click system files in the right column and upload the framework-res.apk and systemui.apk from your ROM. When they've finished uploading, go to the summary tab. If any of the items listed are in an orange box, they were done incorrectly. Go back to them and finish. If they're all green, hit 'Submit work to kitchen' and wait for it to finish (it can take a while). Take the zip it makes for you and flash in recovery.
To get the framework-res.apk and systemui.apk from your ROM, open the ROM in Winzip, 7Zip, or whatever you want to use. framework-res.apk is located in system/framework and systemui.apk is located in system/app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When he says it can take a while, he really means it. The first time I used the theme kitchen I was waiting for 30 minutes and was convinced something had gone wrong. During peak hours it can really take a long time, especially if you're creating multiple elements. So just be patient about it after you've submitted the theme for creation.
Also, make sure you take a nandroid backup before flashing anything to your device. Better to be safe than sorry! Nandroid has saved my behind more times than I can count.
Related
Android Themes Basics 4:
Finally got round to making the requested .9s video:
-Retrieving and backing up the original framework-res.apk
-Using the Draw9Patcher tool to create the required guides
-Using eclipse to apply the guides to the image
-Pushing the file back to your phone
I hope the video is helpful, I know a lot of people do not like .9 files at all
Android Themes Basics 3:
Back after a long break. Easy one to get going again: Changing system font.
-Backing up original fonts from your phone
-Replacing with new ones
Sorry been lazy recently =o)
Android Themes Basics 2:
Second Part of the video series is now finished =o). The topic this time is changing the status bar:
- Pulling necessary files from phone
- Extracting files required
- Editing the status_bar.xml file and classes.dex file to change status bar colours
- Repackaging the dex file
- Pushing modified files back to the phone
The video is split to 2 parts unfortunately due to Youtube having a 10 minute limit and I didn't want to cut anything out to keep it simple.
Android Themes Basics 1:
Just finished my first video tutorial for creating android themes. The topic of the first video is changing basic images so covers:
- Pulling files from the phone
- Extracting images from APK
- Placing edited images back to the APK
- Pushing the file back to phone.
I know this is very basic and most of you know perfectly how to do this but I thought I would start from the very basics
Let me know what you think and any areas you would like me to cover in future videos, Ideally I would like to create a series of videos that new people can work through to create full themes.
Videos:
Android Themes Basics 1: Changing Images
Android Themes Basics 2: Changing Statusbar (1/2)
Android Themes Basics 2: Changing Statusbar (2/2)
Android Themes Basics 3: Changing System Font
Android Themes Basics 4: Changing Buttons (The .9s video)
Upcoming:
- Changing the battery display
.FxN
video
How are you I just tried to view the video an youtube is saying that the video is not available
Just yesterday I was hoping someone would do something like this. Thank you. Much easier than I thought it would be.
Looks good, now just do one on .9's for the love of god PLEASE!
Do you know how to create an update file with the Mac?
Now I use windows to create an update file ... is there a signing script available for the Mac?
very cool
thanks man
cant wait for the upcoming vids and some .9 vids
T3hFurious1, maybe it was your post I saw yesterday that gave me the idea then, it was on this forum someone mentioned would be nice =o)
MurderDeathKill & smackiesfunkies, added the .9s video to the upcoming, I'll start scripting it out soon for you guys.
cybapaddy, absolutely no idea as I wouldnt touch Mac with a veeeeeeeeeery long stick, only reason the video is in windows is cause I thought it would be more helpful to majority than the linux version
.FxN
cybapaddy said:
Do you know how to create an update file with the Mac?
Now I use windows to create an update file ... is there a signing script available for the Mac?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the file somewhere hold on.
Edit: http://www.417photography.net/mac.zip comes with all 3 files!
Added a second video now with details on changing the statusbar, details in the first post
.FxN
awesome man
these videos are a big help
i was wondering tho if you could add voice walkthrough as you are goin through it?
just a preference and a lil bit easier to follow along as youre doing it :]
if not its still very helpful
I was thinking of that but couple of reasons why I decided to go without tho, mainly I do these whilst I'm at work tho
I'll see what ill do for future lessons, although I do think the first 2 should be clear enough without audio, even tho the 2nd video gets bit tricky at times.
.FxN
fxn said:
I was thinking of that but couple of reasons why I decided to go without tho, mainly I do these whilst I'm at work tho
I'll see what ill do for future lessons, although I do think the first 2 should be clear enough without audio, even tho the 2nd video gets bit tricky at times.
.FxN
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ohhhhh lol got it
yeah the first two are easy enough to follow
good job with em
Could you make a tutorial on pushing a framework-res.apk?
fxn said:
Android Themes Basics 2:
Upcoming:
- .9s (as requested)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im waiting for this too
Great job, dude. Thanks!
t3hfurious1, if you have a look at the 2nd part of 2nd video it pushes the framework-res.apk to the phone, is that what you meant?
fxn said:
t3hfurious1, if you have a look at the 2nd part of 2nd video it pushes the framework-res.apk to the phone, is that what you meant?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha, woops, didn't notice it. Thanks for pointing it out.
Hi,
big thanks for the Videos.
Now I have one problem:
The Text is white and quite good. But the clock isn't white. It's still black.
Could you please help me and say where my problem is?
could you do a video on how to do these changes if you wish to upload a zip to the public. also if you pull the apk from your phone does it physically take it out of your phone till you put it back in? Because what i'm thinking is that instead of pulling every .apk why not just download a stock 1.6 rom and use the files from there. i just dont know how to sign it/make the zip so that i can flash it on my phone.
Formel-LMS, There are two files to change, one of them will change text and the other changes the clock If I remember correctly, both files we're covered on the video however but it could be that some things have changed...I wouldn't know haven't done any of this stuff for months
MFK DGAF, No doing a pull on an APK doesn't remove it from your phone just takes a copy of it, the reason I pull the files from my own phone before making changes is because I use a custom rom and it could well be that the person cooking the rom (Cyanogen/JAC) have made a modification to that file or other files which would make the stock file incompatible with rest of the rom.
Toying with the idea of making another video, feeling lazy as hell though so dunno if that'll happen
3rd Video up, easy one mind you but hopefully will be putting another one up shortly =o)
Long time lurker, first time poster... I have been learning a lot really fast about customizing different aspects of the eris, but what I have been really searching hard for is a way to customize certain components to add to an already great rom. Right now I am running Eris_Official_0.8.1T2 btw. Anyways what I am really looking for is something like this forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=654852 Mostly the Launcher is what I really want to change but to be able to tweak everything else would be great too. If someone knows how to do this or can point me in the right direction to maybe even learn how myself I would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks
unzip the rom files
system/framework/com.htc.resources
once in there go to
res/drawable-port-mdpi
the file named common_app_rosie_navbar.png
is the launcher, and thats the main thing u need to edit.
and also go to
system/apps/rosie.apk
one inside the apk go to
res/drawable-normal-mdpi
and
drawable-normal-port-mdpi
edit those to your liking
Wow I feel dumb now lol... Ive been poking around in com.htc.resources for a couple days now and completely overlooked that... Thanks alot... Only question I have now is how do I remove the word phone that overlayed on the launcher? I would post a screenshot of my home screen but since im a new user its not allowing me.
Thanks for the help
well I uploaded a photo to my album so if you feel like checking it out just go to my profile... Im starting to like the phone (icon and word) over the orb but if anyone knows how to remove the word for future reference please let me know... I am also trying to find out how to change the status bar's clock color, which searching around has brought me to editing the services.jar or services.odex file but Im still uncertain on how to do this. Any input would be great.
Im going to sound like an idiot, but i can't open the apk to edit, im missing something.. help?
Right click and open with winrar or 7zip. Once you have edited the images you will have to resign either the .apk or the rom. Depending on if you are editing the whole rom or not. Hope I was able to help
I know I'm probably going to get the 4th degree here, but I'm at that point where my brain is jammed and its killing me. I've found guides to doing this but it either too old, or not finished.
I read a guide on how to theme, found out it wasn't really that hard. Love building sites and this is right down my road. Yes I'm a noob, and search isn't cutting it. : )
I am working with my Epic 4G with 2.2. I used UOT Kitchen to get the Battery % mod to work and it did the trick! I can go through and edit png and even .9 files.
1. That kitchen adds -v4 on the drawable folders. Its works but I don't fully understand how to change it back after it adds it.
2. That kitchen makes a whole new framework. How do I pull stuff out and make it update just what it needs. I guess I'm asking how do you make an addon or update zip?
I do all my editing by using 7zip and just placing apps and for moving things around and it seems to work. I'm also re-flashing the whole rom to test it. nothing else. 7zip.
3. Is this the way to do it? I know I'm supposed to de-compile and compile, sign some where.
4. It there a special way to combine Mods together? I've just been opening them in 7zip and adding them.
ok so... If you can point me in the right direction, to guides, search key words, links, or just explain a little. I will take any help I can get. I just need that little tap to get my mind rolling again. I will kiss your feet! Really!
Thanks!
Please go easy on me...
For an "add on" make metamorphs. All your doing is creating folders of the pngs and adding a xml which is already created you just fill in the blanks using any xml editor. It's pretty easy to make mini themes or change certain icons
Yeah the guys right Metamorph is THE ONLY way to change images in an apk without changing the entire apk. I have been doing a whole lot of themes lately but mostly porting images of other themes I need to learn the GIMP or PHOTOSHOP I started on the opposite side from you I guess. If I can help PM me and I will show you or package the themes or morphs for you.Good luck!
First, I apolgize if this belongs in the general section, I just wasn't sure where to post. I would like to change the look of my dialer (the one you hit the phone icon to bring up), specifically to the look of Jt's AOSP rom dialer posted by Captainkrtek and pictured below. I really can't find anything that says exactly what to change in the contacts apk to get it to look like that. Rather, everything I have done has failed miserably. can anyone give me a little insight into what I take from one to put into the other? Thanks in advance
the touchwiz dialer and aosp dialer don't line up right, you'll need some xml edits (DIP) and images and a bunch of other stuff.
the dialer is TabDialerActivity.apk (or something like that)
DialerTabActivity.apk and framework-res.apk
Big thanks to both of you. I have that apk on my phone, but the aosp rom doesn't, do they hide that somewhere else on aosp? I am just sifting thru the whole rom right now looking for the same files. Also, if they don't line up right, am I just wasting my time?
Fyrmedic654 said:
Also, if they don't line up right, am I just wasting my time?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, it all depends on what you want. You might want to check Phone.apk also.
Eh, looked there but nothing matches up. I give up. Getting it like that may be more than my noob behind can handle right now. I'm still learning the ins and outs so, I may put this on the back burner next to my custom boot animation. Thanks again for the help. At least now if I find one I like in another theme, I will be able to change it
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=9102683&postcount=80
These are winmo cabs, any way to put one of those into a ROM, either a flashable zip, an APK, a CM7 theme via tmobile theme chooser?
I'm especially interested in the bottom left Houston Texans one.
highly unlikely wihtout changing the scripts etc in the cab file adn then rebuilding it
Thats sucks
I'm talking about putting that image on a CM7 dialer. So it shouldn't be THAT hard right?
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA App
i did respond to your pm...but i see you are very eager to get this done.
overall, no it isn't hard. but the best way, i dunno.
the dialer is in two locations, really - contacts.apk (com.android.contacts) and phone.apk (com.android.phone) in cm7 roms. look for:
dial_num_*_wht where * = a number, etc. (they are pretty obvious)
the hard part - getting the images to look as you please. (always the hardest thing, i guess).
then to get it on your phone. many theme apks won't simply allow you to drag/replace in the apk (anastasdroid always gave me errors when i did that.)
so options:
1- decompile/recompile the above system apks with your edits and push to your phone / replace in your rom
2.a- decompile/recompile your favorite theme with your edits and install the theme
2.b - make your own theme (though then no other theme)
3- try metamorph to push your files to your apk (this would make more sense to me)
the above makes sense in my head; hopefully it will to you.
if you can edit images, i am more than willing to help - or as i wrote in the pm, when work evens out i will be glad to help.
-----------------------
edit - one concern i see is that the numbers on the cm7 dial pad seem spaced out. at least on hdpi. that may make it less of a statement as the above cab.
Ill try it out and see what happens
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA App
lol, it is indeed the hardest part to get the image looking like the pic.
I will try using Photoshop and MS paint p) and see what I can get to.
I will update this post soon.
Edit :
*1- Tried on my phone, normal background hasn't changed. Pulling attachments (for now).
*2- Now the app won't even start and there is no signal, lol.
*3- It's no use, even though I changed the background, but it keeps the phone off having signal. sorry, you'll have to have a professional do it for you .
orangekid said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=9102683&postcount=80
These are winmo cabs, any way to put one of those into a ROM, either a flashable zip, an APK, a CM7 theme via tmobile theme chooser?
I'm especially interested in the bottom left Houston Texans one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should PM Nando. He's starting to branch into droid and I would bet hard cash he can figure it out.