I want to add a new button background to framework-res.apk (not modify an existing one). I need to change the look of the clear notification button without modifying everything else that uses that background.
The clear button uses btn_default_small, so I made a copy of btn_default_small.xml, named it btn_default_small2.xml and in the status bar xml, pointed the clear button to btn_default_small2. (No editing at all. I'll make it look different later.)
This causes a boot loop.
I must be missing something. Any idea what?
I tried adding an entry for my new button to public.xml (do I need to do that?) using the next available ID. It still boot looped.
I get an interesting logcat message
W/ResourceType( 1683): getEntry failing because entryIndex 952 is beyond type entryCount 952
W/ResourceType( 1683): Failure getting entry for 0x010803b8 (t=7 e=952) in package 0: 0x80000001
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are 952 drawable entries in Public.xml, my new file is number 953. The next available ID is 0x010803b8. I don't know what package 0: 0x80000001 is. Is any of that even relevant?
I attached the logcat output. Please help.
To answer your question...adding is difficult.
- Baksmali Services.jar
- search there for your "btn_default_small".
- you will be surprised how many times you will see it there..(maybe 7 times ?)
now
- how often do you find "btn_default_small2" in Services.jar ??
If you can handle smali.files, cool!
I believe it´s easier to get the source and do it in Eclipse.
But maybe, anybody with more knowledge can explain this better here.
greets
Shizlak said:
I made a copy of btn_default_small.xml, named it btn_default_small2.xml and in the status bar xml, pointed the clear button to btn_default_small2. (No editing at all. I'll make it look different later.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It does not know the new file btn_default_small2.xml exists (no id), Try recompiling using apktool. (you need to use the resource-only flag for framework-res)
Make sure you deploy the new jar while the OS is not running. (i.e. recovery)
britoso said:
It does not know the new file btn_default_small2.xml exists (no id), Try recompiling using apktool. (you need to use the resource-only flag for framework-res)
Make sure you deploy the new jar while the OS is not running. (i.e. recovery)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you can add without touching services.jar?
Index
post 1: Introduction
Post 2: Simple image swap
Post 3: Decompiling and recompiling files
Post 4: Image locations in Sense ROMS
Post 8: How to use the kitchen
Post 9: Advanced modification: Add / Remove alarm notification
Post 10: Advanced modification: Add / Remove Location indicator
Introduction
There are several resources available with information about theme creation, however I find that information is usually scattered on many different threads. It is also not always newbie friendly. In this thread I would like to give a quick summary for the newbie to help start making your phone look the way you like it. Before I go into the actual details, I would like to suggest some shortcuts. You don’t always need to do things the hard way. The options that you have are:
Use the Ultimate online Kitchen . For those not familiar, this is an online tool that lets you pick and choose components and then packages them for you into the base files you supply. You can get very far using the kitchen with lots of options for customizing your phone.
Start with the kitchen and add some images. The kitchen is great to get a good baseline without going into code. You don’t have to worry about finding where color definitions sit, or what hex values are good to use. Most of the time, however, we want icons that are not available in the kitchen. The solution a lot of themers are using is to create a good base in the kitchen, then add modifications of their own.
Replace individual images, but keep everything else the same. This is a solution for those who want to manually swap battery files, or create their set of notification items and move it from ROM to ROM. You can use this either on the stock files from your ROM, or on files you generated in the kitchen.
Going into the guts – this is the advanced version. You decompile the files and modify the source code to get what you want. This is the only way to get the non-standard stuff done. Once again, you can start with a stock ROM, or you can run it through the kitchen to do some of the tedious work and then go into the guts.
I will describe the methods for both 3 (post 2) and 4 (post 3). I also have a list of where you can locate icons on the phone in post 3, that I will expand in the future.
Background
System Icons and background images sit in two main files: framework-res.apk (in system/framework) and system-ui.apk (in system/app). Additionally, sense ROMs have com.htc.resources.apk (in system/framework Within these files there is a res directory, and under that you have the folders containing data. Google has guidelines on icon design, although themers usually ignore those in order to get a different from stock look. One thing you would notice is that there are sometimes repeated folders of icons. This is usually baggage from different android versions (2.1, 2.2, 2.3). One thing to remember, it’s usually easy to add images, but you can get into all sorts of trouble if you ake things out.
Each application has its own res folder where the launcher icon and other visuals are kept. There are, however, a lot of applications that reference the framework.apk for visuals. For example the my location in maps, or google talk notification.
There are 2 types of images that you would encounter. Normal icons and images are non-scalable. They take a certain amount of real estate on the phone, and that’s it. Example of these are the battery levels and notification icons. The other type is the .9 images. These are images that are going to be stretched to fit whatever space is needed. An example of that are the menu backgrounds. The .9 images have a special format. The one pixel border around them defines how they stretch and how content is displayed in them. It is highly recommended to follow the standards in order to get repeatable and consistent look. Android SDK has a tool to help with .9 file design: draw9patch.bat.
Important note: The .9 files show the borders ONLY when de-compiled. If you grab a file from the framework directly you will not see that line. It is therefore required to compile the .9 files after you make them. You can use apk manager or ThemePro-JAVA to recompile the framework apk after modifying the files.
Definitions for which image is used where sit in the xml files under the drawable folder. These are compiled xml files, you can’t edit them with a text editor. For this introduction I will not go into modifying xml files, but I’ll describe it in a later post. Each apk also has a resources file that describes what is in there. If you add, remove, or rename files in the apk you will have discrepancy with the resource file and the theme will not work (more likely you will be stuck in an infinite bootup loop). To add, remove, or rename files you have to go through full apk decompile.
Before you start:
Warning: frameworks are highly linked with other files. You can’t just take a framework from one ROM and put it in another. Always keep a backup of the original files ready to be installed (see below), otherwise you may need to re-flash the ROM. Frameworks are also sensitive to compression. DO NOT use winzip to handle the files, it can cause problems with the final apk file.
There are several things you would need before you start
A rooted phone
SDK installed on the computer
A zip handling software other than winzip (winRAR and 7-zip are both good options)
Amend2edify . If you are on a mac you will need auto sign for mac instead
For advanced work - APK manager
These are mostly windows tools, with some support for linux, so if you're on a mac you need to find the equivalent program.
Create a backup
Grab the framewor k-res.apk, com.htc.resources.apk and system-ui.apk from your phone. They are located in the system/framework and system/app folders. You would need them as a starting point for your modification and you need them for a backup
If you plan to modify any other files, grab them and note where you took them from (most likely /system/app for things like dialer, email, etc)
Create a clockwork installation file of the original files (see post below)
Name the installation framework-original.zip, or something else that would be easily recognized in case of trouble, and then copy it to your internal sd card.
Create installation and test it
After you have finished modifying the files, the best way to get them to the phone is through clockwork installation. You can push files to the phone using adb, but in my experience it's not worth it.
Create install file
I am calling the parent folder “main”
Create a folder main\framework
Place your modified files (framework-res.apk and com.htc.resources.apk) in that folder
Create a folder main\app
Place the modified files (system-ui.apk + any other apps you modified) in that folder
Create the following folder tree:main \META-INF\com\google\android
In the android folder create a text file named update-script
Edit the update-script file content “copy_dir PACKAGE:app SYSTEM:app copy_dir
PACKAGE:framework SYSTEM:framework”
From the main folder add the three folders you created to a new zip file
Use amend2edify to convert and sign the zip file you created
WARNING: Do not name your framework file "update.zip"! Do not name your file “PG05IMG.zip”!
Testing
Give the file a name that is easy to recognize and copy it to your internal sd card
Reboot into recovery
Select install zip from card -> choose zip from sdcard
Select the installation of the new framework and confirm the installation
Reboot
If you are stuck in an infinite boot-up cycle reboot back to recovery
You can try to send “adb reboot recovery” to the phone over usb
You can battery pull then use power + volume key to boot into recovery
Install your original framework backup and reboot
hint: if you are like me and have a lot of files, name your test file z_filename.zip That way in recovery you use the up volume and get to it quickly.
Simple image swap
Simple image swap
If all you want to do is swap some images, all you need is a zip handling application (I recommend not using windows built in zip, it does not have the flexibility to properly do everything you need).
Select the apk file you want to modify and open it using a zip program
Inside the opened go to \res\drawable-hdpi\
You can extract all the images from that folder as a starting point
Modify the images you want
Copy the modified images back into the \res\drawable-hdpi\ folder in the apk file
A few things to watch for
Do not try to modify any file that ends in .9.png using this method. You are likely to create weird looking visuals on the phone
If you already know which files you want to copy over (let’s say you have a set of images that you are moving from one ROM to another) you don’t need to extract the images from the apk. Please note, however, that not all base versions use the same file names. Double check the filenames in the new apk before copying over your existing images.
Sense and AOSP roms sometimes use images from different locations (sense may use system-ui.apk for signal and AOSP may use framework-res for signal). If you try changing one place and it doesn’t work, try the other. Over time you will learn what sits where.
Different ROMS and different themes make changes to the xml files, telling the system which images to use. This means that copying files over may not be enough. This is mostly an issue with battery and battery charging, but other status bar animations can be affected. For example, if you start with a stock based rom that only uses 5 levels of battery indication you can copy over 100 images to show accurate progress, but on the phone you will still see only 5 (and probably the wrong 5). Similarly, charge animation can be 5 icons, 30 icons, or 100 icons. It can include the current battery level or not. Copying images from one type of animation to another will result in something that does not make sense on the phone. You have two options to solve this. You can take the full mod way and modify the xml, or you can try to run the framework through the kitchen and select a battery mod that has the behavior you want. After that you can modify the files.
Decompiling and recompiling files
Modifying files by decompile/recompile
What is APK manager?
APK manager is a tool for decompiling / recompiling apk files. If you want to change anything other than images, it is a must have. EDIT: A new thread for APK manager 5 is out, make sure you don't get the old 4.9 version.
The basics
The basic flow when using APK manager is
Place apk file in place-apk-here-for-modding folder
run the Script.bat file
Type 22 and select the file you want to work with
For AOSP based: Type 9 and wait for it to finish decompiling
For Sense based: Type 10. When prompted, drag your com.htc.resources.apk onto the script window, then hit enter
Modify the items you want modified (they will be in the projects folder)
type 11 to recompile
When prompted about system file answer YES
When prompted about copying files over answer NO
Item 6 is where all the magic happens. Go to the projects folder and you will find a sub-folder with the apk name. Inside you have res, where you can replace images and work on xml files.
Bad starting file
This is mostly true for framework files that went through several cycles of modifications. The framework is forgiving to having extra items, or having bad .9 images (see post above about .9 images). Some people may have replaced images without recompiling the framework in a way that breaks the .9 format. The program saves an empty file with the .9.png extensions and a copy of the original without .9 in it. If this happens you will very likely see warning messages during the decompile stage, but you don't see warnings unless you look at the log. This means that you would actually catch it only at recompile. See this post for more details and how to solve this.
Things may not always be "fixable", so the best approach is to get the original framework that is the base for the one you need. Having a clean start can save a lot of headaches later on.
Overwriting your changes
When you recompile, assuming everything worked ok, you are prompted if this is a system file. Most likely you want to say yes. This ensures that the original signature is copied over. You will also be prompted if you want to copy some files over from the original. BE CAREFUL!. There are people who say you reduce the risk of errors if you copy things that didn't change. Personally, if I changed anything that required recompilation (mostly added new images or modified xml files) I always choose not to copy extra files. If you do choose to copy some files over, pay attention to the next step. Do not hit any key until you remove the modified files. You will need to go to the newly created "keep" folder (in the top apk manager directory) and remove any image that you changed and any xml that you modified. Also, if you modified xml files to add new images you need to delete "resources.arsc".
Failed rebuild
APK manager is trying to minimize work by only compiling newly changed items. If you built an apk and realized you have an error, or want to add more changes, I recommend removing the cached build. Go to the projects folder and delete the "build" folder. I've had cases where the new items didn't catch.
Removed items
I highly recommend to leave icons that you do not need. I've had occasions where I removed things that I thought had no more reference, but then ended with endless boot-loops. For example, if you modify the xml to only show 6 out of the 101 battery charge animations, leave the remaining icons in your project.
If you're stuck
Look at the log file. That would usually give you an answer. Also, if you are working on a recent GB ROM you probably need to get the beta 5 version. Version 4.9 will have problems compiling the newer files.
Image loactions in Sense ROMS
Image locations for Sense roms
Framework-res:
1. Progress bar information. Some is in xml files (just color definitions), but there is progressbar_indeterminate*.png that has the progress bar with diagonal lines
2. Spinning processing indicator: spinner_black*.png and spinner_white*.png
3. Most notifications (stat_notify_*.png) including the sync animation (stat_notify_sync*.png)
4. Battery (stat_sys_battery*.png) and battery animation (stat_sys_battery_charge_anim*.png). There are also the stat_sys_battery_unknown.png and stat_sys_battery_charge_animfull.png (this one does not show up on sense)
System-ui:
1. Signal related notifications (Bluetooth, wifi signal, network signals) in stat_sys_data_*.png. Note that connection type is usually named like stat_sys_data_connected_3g.png, but I’ve seen those with different naming conventions
2. Alarm, location, and the “more” stat_notify_alarm.png, stat_notify_more.png, sym_gpsone*.png.
3. GPS: stat_sys_gps_acquiring*.png, although gps on is usually in framework-res (stat_sys_gps_on.png)
Elsewhere:
1. Email and Gmail notifications (in mail.apk and gmail.apk)
2. USB connection (in pcsII.apk)
3. Google voice (in gvoice.apk)
How to use the kitchen
Link: http://uot.dakra.lt/kitchen/
The kitchen's XDA UOT page has all the information on how to get started. I will just give a quick introduction here specific to the TB roms.
When you go to to the web site you have several tabs. go through one at a time and select the modifications you want. The simplest example would be to change the stock battery of the ROM so I'll use that.
1. Select the tab of interest
2. Check the "use this mod" box and the options appear. You can choose the preview option, but don't have to.
3. Once you're done select the File upload tab.
4. In the section Select your rom from kitchen's list, or upload your own files check the "system files" radio button
5. Upload framework-res.apk, SystemUI.apk, and com.htc.resources.apk (for sense ROMs). You will need to extract them from the ROM's installation file if you are on stock view or from the theme install file if you are using a theme. You can also get it from your phone (copy the files to the sdcard using root explorer and then to your computer, or use adb pull if you know how). twframework-res.apk is for Samsung phones only.
IMPORTANT: Some mods require SystemUI.apk and some require framework-res.apk. If you are not sure which one you need upload both. In any case ALWAYS upload com.htc.resources.apk for a sense ROM, without it the kitchen will fail to compile your mod (AOSP based roms don't have the com.htc.resources.apk)
6. Go to the summary page and select "submit work to kitchen"
7. Wait patiently for your files to be ready. It can take a while when the server is busy.
8. Install your modified files and enjoy
Advanced modification: Add / Remove alarm notification
For this modification you will need to decompile SystemUI.apk (see above post).
Go to the SystemUI.apk\smali\com\android\systemui\statusbar\policy folder created by apk manager. Find StatusBarPolicy.smali
search for the text
const-string v1, "alarmSet"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a line before that that starts with .line and a line after that starts with .line. This is the section you need to change.
Note: The line numbers can vary from ROM to ROM. DO NOT change those two lines. Replace the entire content between them.
Show Alarm Clock:
const-string v1, "alarmSet"
const/4 v2, 0x0
invoke-virtual {p1, v1, v2}, Landroid/content/Intent;->getBooleanExtra(Ljava/lang/String;Z)Z
move-result v0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hide Alarm Clock:
const/4 v0, 0x0
const-string v1, "alarmSet"
const/4 v2, 0x0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Recompile the apk and install.
Advanced modification: Add / Remove Location indicator
This will add or remove the general location indicator. It does not affect the GPS indicator.
For this modification you will need to decompile SystemUI.apk (see above post).
Go to the SystemUI.apk\smali\com\android\systemui\statusbar\policy folder created by apk manager. Find HtcCdmaStatusBar.smali
search for the text
.method private updateMtGpsIcon()V
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The section you are interested in is
.method private updateMtGpsIcon()V
.locals 7
.prologue
const/4 v5, 0x3
const/4 v4, 0x1
const/4 v3, 0x0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Show location indicator
const/4 v4, 0x1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hide location indicator
const/4 v4, 0x0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not sure where I have missed it but when I download the newest APK manager and open the zip there isn't a folder that says place apk here or anything like it in any part of the apk manager. Did I miss something in the instructions about this folder being somewhere else?
TDubKong said:
I am not sure where I have missed it but when I download the newest APK manager and open the zip there isn't a folder that says place apk here or anything like it in any part of the apk manager. Did I miss something in the instructions about this folder being somewhere else?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They will be in the directory you installed it to, so something like, c://ApkManager/
Sent from my TBolt using my f***king thumbs...
TDubKong said:
I am not sure where I have missed it but when I download the newest APK manager and open the zip there isn't a folder that says place apk here or anything like it in any part of the apk manager. Did I miss something in the instructions about this folder being somewhere else?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it isn't there as a subfolder when you extracted it, it should be created the first time you run the script
Sent from a gingerbread thunderbolt
tsachi said:
For this modification you will need to decompile SystemUI.apk (see above post).
Go to the SystemUI.apk\smali\com\android\systemui\statusbar\policy folder created by apk manager. Find StatusBarPolicy.smali
search for the text
There is a line before that that starts with .line and a line after that starts with .line. This is the section you need to change.
Note: The line numbers can vary from ROM to ROM. DO NOT change those two lines. Replace the entire content between them.
Show Alarm Clock:
Hide Alarm Clock:
Recompile the apk and install.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would this tutorial work for removing the clock and battery from the status bar?
sent from my mecha using XDA Premium App
warmonster said:
Would this tutorial work for removing the clock and battery from the status bar?
sent from my mecha using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is the file you need, but the changes are different from what I described here. I'll try to look them up and add them
Sent from a gingerbread thunderbolt
tsachi said:
This is the file you need, but the changes are different from what I described here. I'll try to look them up and add them
Sent from a gingerbread thunderbolt
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks man, I want to learn how to do this but right now this looks very confusing. Also I downloaded apk manger but some vgrabber program installs and I cant find apk manger.
warmonster said:
thanks man, I want to learn how to do this but right now this looks very confusing. Also I downloaded apk manger but some vgrabber program installs and I cant find apk manger.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here are the instructions http://forums.miuiandroid.com/showthread.php?5603-Q-Removing-the-clock-from-the-status-bar, .should work on our ROM too, but I haven't tried it yet.
In terms of apk manager, it is a zip file that you extract, should not install anything else. I think you clicked on a wrong download somewhere. I updated the link to the new apk manager 5 thread, try from there.
Awesome write up!!! Just found this this morning while at work. I've been stubbing my toes all weekend through trial and error to accomplish what you've summed up here. Thank you so much! Subscribed for a more thorough read when I get home.
Sent from my ADR6300 using xda premium
Hey my man, I'm trying to use the kitchen from my phone Inspire 4g..and when I try to upload files to kitchen I don't know where it looks for them at in my phone. It will open my upload folder but I can't find it on my phone anywhere? Dose anyone know what parent folder the upload folder is in...
Sent from my Inspire4G using xda premium
Towboat_man said:
Hey my man, I'm trying to use the kitchen from my phone Inspire 4g..and when I try to upload files to kitchen I don't know where it looks for them at in my phone. It will open my upload folder but I can't find it on my phone anywhere? Dose anyone know what parent folder the upload folder is in...
Sent from my Inspire4G using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First, I think it mentions somewhere on the site or on the kitchen XDA page that they are generally not compatible with phone browsers. Not sure what the compatibility issue is, but you may want to look it up. If you do get it to work from the phone you need a way to browse the system folders. If you can't see the /system/ when you browse for files I would suggest using root exlorer (paid) or file expert (free) to first copy the files over to the sdcard, and then go through the web site and grab them from the card. A lot of the basic explorers, especially those that weren't designed for rooted phones, don't have access to the /system/ so that may be your problem. The files are in /system/framework/ and in /system/apps
Hello. I'm new to the forum and to programming aswell. I'm trying to learn how to make an app so I started with a tutorial online, but I'm having a problem. I can't post a link but the tutorial is called "Make Your First Android App: Part 2/3 - Ray Wenderlich". On the section "Accessing Views From Within Java" when I add "android:text= @string/hello_world"" I get an error. On the bottom it says I should be using a @string but when I do the preview window displays the @string/" aswell. What's that about?
Second, I can't rename the string after changing hello_world to something else. Why is the tutorial even saying I should rename it? What will that do?
Lastly, in MainActivity.java above onCreate I have to insert a line of code. The tutorial doesn't explain why I need to do that. Where should the line go, the code is
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
wherever I insert the code and press Alt+Enter I mess up the whole thing...
Sorry that these questions are annoying and basic, I just really want to learn to make apps and I'm trying to figure things out alone.
Thanks.
P.S. one more thing, in "Buttons and Listeners" there is a part saying:
"Then there’s text, for which you need to add a line in strings.xml such as the following:
<string name="button">Update The TextView</string>"
when I do that I get an error in strings.xml
If you are having problems related to Java, the following tips should help you getting things working -
» Download and Install Java
» Use Java
» Test Java
» Remove Old Versions of Java
» Find Java.
basic issues
1) all strings you use needs to be defined in string.xml file, by doing so, you separate messages and names from code and it can be re used in your app from single source, easy to maintain.
2)ALT + ENTER is used to resolve import, when you add code and introduce new class, you need to import it.
3)Oncreate method in activity is used to setup layout for activity and provide content to be displayed on screen for the activity