[ICONS][GUIDE] Creating Mask Based Icon Themes (with Example) - Android Themes

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 > Rename​Second, ensure the correct scale factor. This can be found in two places:
assets / appfilter.xml
res / xml / appfilter.xml​Third, make sure your informational strings are correct. There are two locations:
res / values / strings.xml
res / values / theme_config.xml​Fourth, 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 image​Now 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"

Related

[Tutorial][Themes][3-Jul-2010]Themes for SleepSense

Tutorial Skinning SleepSense
Application: SleepSense​
What do you need?
The only thing you need is an image-editor to edit the images
A xml editor to change the colors of the menu, borders, chart or other controls Step by step:
the original theme files
Step by step
Download the original default folder
Open the files in this folder in your image editor
Remake the images
Save the images (of course)
Edit theme.xml to change the colors of the menu, borders, chart or other controls
Create a new Theme folder: [Your theme name] Theme
Copy the edited images to your device in the folder [SleepSense installation dir]\Themes\ [Your theme name]Theme
Go to the alarm and select you own theme.
List of images in the \Themes\ folder
Bkg_Clock.jpg
Background of the sleep screen
Bkg_Default.jpg
Background of the menu
Bkg_Item1.png
The first item in the list
Bkg_Item2.png
The second/other item(s) of the list
Bkg_ItemS.png
The selected item of the list
Bkg_TxtClock.jpg
Background of the box with info in sleep screen
Bkg_TxtMain.jpg
Background of the info box
Img_Chart.png
The background of the sleep chart, the chart is projected over it.
Icon_xxxx.png
Several icons for in the menu or other
Bkg_Slide.jpg
Don’t touch it
Icon_Dummy.png
Don’t touch it
To make it compatible with the 200*480/320 screen resolution add _240x400 or _240x320 after the image name
Edit theme.xml
You can edit the xml to change the colors of the fonts, borders etc.
You can change a lot using the XML, but it’s pretty hard to understand (for a noob)
Forecolor is the color of font, Backcolor the achtergrond, other colors are gradients to the backcolor
<ImageFile1>XXXXXXXXX.png</ImageFile1>
contains the imagefile that is used that control
Code:
…="Icon_XXXXX"><ImageFile1>Icon_XXXX.png</ImageFile1>…
…="Bkg_Default"><ImageFile1>Bkg_Default.jpg</ImageFile1>…
<BackColor>XXXXXX</BackColor>
The background color of the control
Code:
… "Img_Chart"><BackColor>D3D3D3</BackColor>…
…="LeftBox_Chart"><BackColor>102C52</BackColor>…
<BorderColor>000000</BorderColor>
Color of the border
Code:
..lor><BorderColor>000000</BorderColor><Font>T…
…olor><BorderColor>000000</BorderColor><F…
<Font>[Font], [Size], [Formatting]</Font>
Font of the control
[Font] Font name
[Size] Size of the font
[Formatting] The formatting of the font (bold etc.)
Code:
…lor><Font>Tahoma, 5, Bold</Font>…
…r><Font>Tahoma, 8, Regular</Font><Fore…
<ForeColor>XXXXXX</ForeColor >
Code:
…nt><ForeColor>D3D3D3</ForeColor><Opac…
…nt><ForeColor>808080</ForeColor></Con…
These sections represent the topbuttons, main surrounding panel of the home menu, panel with for example the instructions, Clock colors, date colors, etc.
In the Beta these values can change. Best thing to do is to change is color to white FFFFFF, save the file and start SleepSense
<Opacity>XXX</Opacity>
Definite the opacity of the control, From 255 to 0, which is transparent
Code:
…r><Opacity>125</Opacity><Ba…
…Color><Opacity>80</Opacity><Ba…
Note: all colors must be in HTML color codes (like FFFFFF or 708090)
How to release your theme officially​
If you want to publish you personal theme send it to [email protected] in a zip file. We will check your theme and give, where necessary, advice and update this topic with your theme
Any way of advertising through a theme is forbidden.
When your theme is checked by the SleepSense team, we will add it to this topic.
While choosing a new theme in SleepSense the user will have the option to choose from these themes in this topic too. The selected theme is downloaded, unzipped into the Themes folder and ready for use.
Why?
We decided to check themes to improve the quality of the themes. It has also benefits for the developer:
*He will get useful advices
*His theme will be showed in the theme showcase of this thread
*His theme will be included with SleepSense
What must I send?
The theme folder with the images
At least 3 screenshot
(Optional) a cab installer
​
Showcase​
for now, there no SleepSense skins...
Read the tutorial and make your one
also reserved for future
Waiting to see what is coming...
suscribed to see some work

[GUIDE] Apex Launcher Theme Tutorial

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.

[THEMES and ICONS] Icons set F Black&White + template

Hi everybody!
First of all, I am using Buzz Launcher, which means that my "themes" are made following specific parameters such as the grid size, no labels, etc.
But I think that other launchers allow you to customize your appearence as well.
My phone resolution is 854*480.
I had a 720p one but had to send it back, so for now I can't work on that resolution anymore.
So for those having higher resolutions, well I don't know what the result would be on your screens. Except for wallpapers, I guess icons would be displayed well.
Before sharing my files, I'd like to show you what I've done so far and get your opinion: if you like it or not, what I could/should change, etc.
This to get a nice final result.
And obviously I won't and never will sell those resources because:
- I'm using some stuff such as photographs from other persons
- Some icons are directly made from other icons you can find on the Play Store or Google Image
- I'm here to share
To be edited later (once I have posted 10 messages and can freely post direct links):
I. Icons only
II. Backgrounds only
III. Themes: icons + backgrounds
I. ICONS
II. BACKGROUNDS
III. THEMES
Hey!
One of my nicest try so far: a panda theme! (I love pandas)
The panda is partially made from an iPhone game icon named Land-a-panda (see the attached pictures).
Those icons are for HD displays (720p): 144x144. Work fine on lower resolutions.
And I've "made" a few backgrounds too, giving quite a cool result when used with those icons.
Also, because it's quite boring to always have the same face, I just added 2 other kinds of eyes (see Viber and Video Player icons).
What do you think? Worth sharing them?
Any idea welcome
Let's keep up the monologue.
Seems not be be very interesting. Whatever, I'm sharing my work anyway.
Let's begin with the icons:
192 icons (64 app with 3 different kinds of pandas), pretty high quality: 144x144. See the sample below.
And if you are wondering: yes, it took me ages to save each file.
I'll share the Photoshop template once I can post direct links (man that's some weird annoying policy!), so that you can create your own icons without having to wait for updates (as I may not update this theme anyway).
If you give it a try, please share some photos/screenshots
ZIP file size: 3.62Mb
Note: if you find the icons resolution too high (say you want a 96px² size), you can use a (free) software such as ImRe to massively convert the whole folder. It perfectly and quickly does the job.
Laterz
Hey oi!
New icons, "copied" from a screenshot I saw somewhere (I think it's called themer, it's new and not compatible with all phones (not my X720D).
So here we go, 3 samples and the template file (PSD, Photoshop CS5).
The PSD is made as follow:
- A folder with the white pictures representing the icons (that's the part you really need to work on if you want to make your own icons)
- The icon's shadow (layer)
- The icon's color (layer), locked to the edit mode (you pick your color, use the brush tool and paint: it will paint ONLY the visible pixels).
Theme 5: Japanology (again)
The principle of this theme is simple: the background is the main deal, then there just needs to add the app and choose a transparent PNG to make them invisible.
Main problem with that theme: icons cannot be replaced, which means you must always keep the same applications on your screen.
edit: well it seems that uploading pictures isn't working at the moment. My PC or the servers, I don't know. I'l try to re-upload later if it keeps showing a 404.
Hum there seems to be a problem with uploading pictures from the forum. Even after having edited my post 2 times.
Hoho but I found a way to post links without having 10 posts: quotation (I hope you won't mind)
Click on each picture to enlarge it. See the above post for more information about how to use that "theme" (Buzz Launcher); Note that you must create your own date/time/battery widget (as in the screenshot below).
munchou said:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To prevent spam to the forums, new users must wait five minutes between posts. All new user accounts will be verified by moderators before this restriction is removed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could a moderator do something about that ?
That's really becoming a pain...
Today's icons: ICONS F Black and White
200x200
List:
Alarm Clock
Applications
Calendar
Camera
E-mail
Files
Gallery
Games
GPS
Internet
Notes
Record
Settings
TV
Video Player
And of course the PSD file to add your own ones.
Enjoy!

App to create an icon pack or extract an icon pack from a theme?

I've used icondy, which will allow me to merge icon packs. I've also used apps that will pull the icons out of a theme and save them as individual graphic files (Themex for instance). I've found some directions on how to create an icon pack. What I'm thinking is:
1. Why isn't there an android app that will pull the icons out of a theme and create a separate icon pack? The theme has all the info needed to properly identify and set up which icons are used for what. NOTE: if this is considered unacceptable and stealing, never mind then.
2. Why isn't there an android app that will let you create an icon pack? I may not understand the process correctly but it appears you have to identify the icon properly and possibly have more than one dpi version, but that seems like something an app could actually handle. You would just need to have the PNG files and then select them as needed for the icon pack and it gets created with the necessary permissions and so on.
Thanks for anyone who can assist, or at least explain why it's not possible to have an app do all or any of the above.

[Icon pack][Material][Flat][OpenSource] Ycons 1.0

Hey everyone,
I've decided to share my personal icon pack. I've personally designed each icon using Inkscape and built the apk.
I've made it because I was annoyed by other icon packs always lacking some icons that I wanted.
Many icons (like those of google apps) look like the originals, just without the shadows.
My icon pack doesn't have many icons (about 100). The interesting thing is that I'm sharing also the source code to build the .apk (using Eclipse) and the .svg files to modify the existing icons/create new ones (using Inkscape), so that you can create your own personal icon pack.
The icons are for FHD screens, so 192x192. You can make them larger by exporting again the .svg files.
Atteched below you can file the apk file, the .zip source and some examples.
You can reuse and modify this app, just give me credit.
No requests please: I uploaded the source of the apk file and the icon svg files. If you want to add an icon just do it on your own.
Suggestion: to add a new icon you have to modify appfilter.xml, drawable.xml, iconpack.xml, add the icon in the res folder and then compile.
enryea123 said:
Hey everyone,
I've decided to share my personal icon pack. I've personally designed each icon using Inkscape and built the apk.
I've made it because I was annoyed by other icon packs always lacking some icons that I wanted.
Many icons (like those of google apps) look like the originals, just without the shadows.
My icon pack doesn't have many icons (about 100). The interesting thing is that I'm sharing also the source code to build the .apk (using Eclipse) and the .svg files to modify the existing icons/create new ones (using Inkscape), so that you can create your own personal icon pack.
The icons are for FHD screens, so 192x192. You can make them larger by exporting again the .svg files.
Atteched below you can file the apk file, the .zip source and some examples.
You can reuse and modify this app, just give me credit.
No requests please:I uploaded the source of the apk file and the icon svg files. If you want to add an icon just do it on your own.
Suggestion: to add a new icon you have to modify appfilter.xml, drawable.xml, iconpack.xml, add the icon in the res folder and then compile.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this Open Source Project!
A few questions
Thanks a lot for this project. I could finally fulfill my dream of making my own icon pack.
I have a few questions, though. I don't understand what a few files are foo, in the project. It'd be great if you could explain thier function. The list of the files:
Values:
res/values/bools.xml [I see those are some booleans in there, but, when are they ever used?]
res/values/colors.xml [Those state the theme colours, but, where's the style used?]
res/values/dimens [No idea what this folder does]
res/values/styles.xml [Its stating the themes of the app, but, again, are those used anywhere?]
Assets:
assets/app_func_theme.xml [What does this file do?]
assets/desk.xml [What does this file do?]
assets/themecfg.xml [What does this file do?]
Drawable:
res/drawable/grid_selector.xml [I guess, it determines how the list of icons is presented, but, it doesn't work in all launchers, right? I mean, in Nova launcher, I didn't get any grid, I got one in ADW though.]
res/drawable/square_over.xml [It's used in the grid_selector.xml file, but, how's it affecting the app in any way?]
I don't intend to be mean or offensive, but, I am a very newbie Android developer and thus, probably didn't understand what these files are doing. It'd be great if you can clear this out for me.
Once again, thanks a lot for the source code!

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