Database Develop

[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

[Q] Parsing Error with .apk

I was editing the .png files of my widget locker to change the bottom lock bar and for some reason i cant get it to reinstall.
-Im using a mac and a Droid2 (unrooted) and these are the steps i took
-got the .apk off my phone
-changed the extension to .zip and unzipped it
-changed the png files that i wanted to change
-compressed it back into a zip file
-changed the extension to .apk, and then attached my phone and stuck it in the downloads folder
-Then when i try to install it it just says 'Parsing error'
Ive installed other modded apps from my downloads folder that i have downloaded from xda, but at the same time im new to modify android but im not toooo bad around a computer. So any help about what i may have skipped or what went wrong would be appreciated.
Thanks

I think you have to sign the new apk as well, before installing. Search the forum here how to do so...
Sent from my rooted X10i using tapatalk

yeah i figured out home to sign it using a tut from here and terminal, but it still didnt work, thanks for the help, ill just keep messing around with it and see if i can get it to work

[Q] Kitchen - problem flashing

i have tried to modify the froyobylaszlo by removing a couple of system/app
and put my own apps
after that i tried to flash it but i had some errors im not familiar with
hope someone could help me out
im attaching the recovery.log files
EDIT: btw im a complete idiot hahaha... im just starting out

marchking said:
i have tried to modify the froyobylaszlo by removing a couple of system/app
and put my own apps
after that i tried to flash it but i had some errors im not familiar with
hope someone could help me out
im attaching the recovery.log files
EDIT: btw im a complete idiot hahaha... im just starting out
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
which apps did u place in system apps?
did u remove the apps fromm data/app as well?

maximo360 said:
which apps did u place in system apps?
did u remove the apps fromm data/app as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah i think only 1 app is there in data/app = gallery i think i removed that thinking that it was the gallery3d
i changed the launcher and a couple of things in the system/app
are there limitations of which apps that i could put there...
btw is it ok if i change the updater-script to update-script?
or i shouldnt have change that... the kitchen was requesting to change it

hey if you are only removing some apk's you dont need kitchen.. just unzip file.. take out what you want than re-zip and than Sign it! should be able to flash no problem

marchking said:
yeah i think only 1 app is there in data/app = gallery i think i removed that thinking that it was the gallery3d
i changed the launcher and a couple of things in the system/app
are there limitations of which apps that i could put there...
btw is it ok if i change the updater-script to update-script?
or i shouldnt have change that... the kitchen was requesting to change it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should just do what LDrifta said if your still having problems.
OH and regarding the update-script, heres your answer straight from the op of the kitchen:
QUESTION: Why do I need to convert the ROM's updater-script to an update-script when using the kitchen?
The kitchen can only perform operations on an update-script. UpdateR-scripts are too complicated to check because there are so many combinations of parameters for every command and for different devices; plus they can be written in different formatting styles. Thus the kitchen converts them to update-script so that there is one universal method to modify any device's configuration. If we didn't convert the updater-script then it would take months of work to overhaul the dozens of scripts (plus doubling my work) to accept updater-scripts, which would really NOT make a difference in the end anyway and would likely slow down the kitchen due to extra checks made in the updater-script. So please do not request this again and again, there is no gain in doing it (I also don't have that much free time ...).
When you build the ROM you have the option of converting it back to an updater-script, or the kitchen will convert it automatically if it decides it's necessary. The conversion back to the original updater-script is near-perfect, as I have already spent months on the implementation to get it right.
QUESTION: I have converted my update-script to an updater-script, but after flashing I still have the original ROM on the device.
That means your updater-script did not have the proper mount points defined for the system (and/or data) partition. Refer to this post for more info.
QUESTION: My device only supports ROMs with the updater-script/update-binary files but not the update-script
If you extract a ROM that contains an updater-script, then the kitchen will ask you if it should convert it to an update-script. You *must* use an update-script while customizing the ROM, as the kitchen is not capable of modifying updater-scripts. When you are ready to build the ROM, though, you will need to convert it back to an updater-script if the device requires it. Use the option in the Advanced menu to convert update-script to updater-script, or else the kitchen will ask you to convert it while building the ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

ldrifta said:
hey if you are only removing some apk's you dont need kitchen.. just unzip file.. take out what you want than re-zip and than Sign it! should be able to flash no problem
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok... so im also adding a few apks at the system/app what you suggested will that still work?
btw
just to clarify, i unzip, then remove the apks
then zip it again
then i put it in the kitchen to get signed?

marchking said:
ok... so im also adding a few apks at the system/app what you suggested will that still work?
btw
just to clarify, i unzip, then remove the apks
then zip it again
then i put it in the kitchen to get signed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok well depending on what apk's you are putting in.. if they are system required like a sense app.. it wont work on a froyo base rom.. but if its something like superuser or mail or something and is compatible with your rom than put it in system/app folder.. if its something that you want the choice to uninstall later on like a 'task killer' apk or something, place it in data/app folder..
and to sign it you dont need kitchen, you can download an auto-sign.zip file for windows here on xda.. all you do is unzip it directly to C: drive, place zip file in filder rename it to 'update.zip' than run the 'sign.bat' and it will sign the zip file. than you can flash it

marchking said:
ok... so im also adding a few apks at the system/app what you suggested will that still work?
btw
just to clarify, i unzip, then remove the apks
then zip it again
then i put it in the kitchen to get signed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did u do this on Kitchen?
If you want to add Market or non-stock apps (*.apk) to your ROM (which can be uninstalled or updated from your device later) then select the kitchen's menu option that adds "/data/app functionality". Afterwards you can copy these .apk files to the new /data/app folder of your working folder.
EDIT; After your done adding/deleting all the apps, dont forget to use the sign apk command to sign.

maximo360 said:
did u do this on Kitchen?
If you want to add Market or non-stock apps (*.apk) to your ROM (which can be uninstalled or updated from your device later) then select the kitchen's menu option that adds "/data/app functionality". Afterwards you can copy these .apk files to the new /data/app folder of your working folder.
EDIT; After your done adding/deleting all the apps, dont forget to use the sign apk command to sign.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
would apps from a 2.2 hero would work? they have a mdpi format???
or do you think i will encounter lots of problems? ^_^

marchking said:
would apps from a 2.2 hero would work? they have a mdpi format???
or do you think i will encounter lots of problems? ^_^
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which kind of apps? Like sense apps? I guess they might work, try it out, make a nand backup first tho.
Sent from my COS-DS using XDA App

maximo360 said:
Which kind of apps? Like sense apps? I guess they might work, try it out, make a nand backup first tho.
Sent from my COS-DS using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its actually system/app from miui ported to mdpi...
i was able to flash it but its going into a bootloop...
im not sure how to gather logcat... i dont use adb hahaha...
i only use droid explorer... anyways
i checked the logcat console while it was on the bootloop
it appears to me that the apps that i used is not signed...
any suggestions?

marchking said:
its actually system/app from miui ported to mdpi...
i was able to flash it but its going into a bootloop...
im not sure how to gather logcat... i dont use adb hahaha...
i only use droid explorer... anyways
i checked the logcat console while it was on the bootloop
it appears to me that the apps that i used is not signed...
any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sign them using the sign apk/zip command in the kitchen

maximo360 said:
sign them using the sign apk/zip command in the kitchen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i signed them that seemed to be one problem... based on what im seeing on the logcat it seems now its having lots of problems while installing... FYI im trying to make a miui ported from nexus 1 to hero... trying to make it run on froyo by laszlo... i think there is much more complications here not as easy as i think it would be... but i like challenges ^_^ do you have any idea how we could do this maximo? try checking this link http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=858935

marchking said:
i signed them that seemed to be one problem... based on what im seeing on the logcat it seems now its having lots of problems while installing... FYI im trying to make a miui ported from nexus 1 to hero... trying to make it run on froyo by laszlo... i think there is much more complications here not as easy as i think it would be... but i like challenges ^_^ do you have any idea how we could do this maximo? try checking this link http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=858935
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read the thread, and he said he dropped some of the phones he was porting miui for, he was still doing the eris/hero. So seems to me he maybe dropped the g1, not sure tho. I guess you're gonna have to wait til either delsa is done porting it to the g1 or drakko.
Sent from my COS-DS 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.