Database Develop

[GUIDE]Changing System Icons + MISC MODS

All mods are at the bottom of this post.
Here is a simple way to change system icons on your application drawer. I was looking for a guide to do this but I couldn't find any so I gave it a try and it worked. So I decided to post the method here for like minded people who wanted to change the system icons in their app drawer and not only on the homescreen.
I will show an example of changing the contacts icon. To change the icons of some other app you just have to pull the relevant apk. I know this looks long and tiresome but bear with me and the results will amaze you. After a few times it becomes really easyYou have to be rooted to do this
A couple of things to note
a. You can change icons in framework-res.apk, SystemUI.apk or any other apk this way too.
b. Please note that the icons you replace should be of the same dimensions.
c. The specific icons name inside the drawable_hdpi might change. Sometimes its icon.png. Sometimes its ic_launcher_XYZ. Just use your head and replace the correct png.
d. The files are located either in system/app or data/app depending on whether its a system file or a data file. System files have to be pushed. Data files have to be installed.
Changing Icons works for all ROMS
1. Download android-sdk from here http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html
2. Install all libraries.
3. Install jdk from here http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html
Make sure you download jdk and not just jre.
4. Download apk manager from here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=695701
5. extract apk manager inside platform-tools inside android-sdk folder. Should be something like this
C:/Android-sdk/windows/platform-tools/("extract apk manager here")
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6. Open cmd
7. Navigate to the platform-tools folder. (Simple DOS commands)
8. Do "adb pull /system/app/HtcContacts.apk" (-Do this without the quotes. If you want to change the icon for, lets say the camera, then instead of HtcContacts.apk, type HTCCamera.apk. To see all the system files just navigate to system/app on your phone using es file explorer or root explorer or any other file explorer you fancy. You can see all the system apks and you can pull anyone you want)
9. Ok so now the HtcContacts.apk should be in the platform-tools folder. Paste it into the folder "place apk here for modding".
10. Start script.bat (apk manager) from the platform-tools folder.
11. Choose option 22 to select a project
12. Choose the number of the project. In this case it would be 1.
13. Choose one again on the next screen. This will extract the apk to the projects folder.
14. Now get to the folder res/drawable-hdpi/ on your windows explorer.
15. Replace people.png with the icon of your choice. Please remember that your new icon has to be of 72x72 dimension and should have the same name. You can also replace other pngs like dialer and stuff.
(Next step is only for system files)
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16. Select option 3 on the apk manager cmd
17. Now select 8. This is a system apk and so we have to retain the system signature.
18. Enter the full path of the file ( system/app/HtcContacts.apk)
Follow these steps for data files
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
19. Select 7.
20. Wait for install.
Here are my mods. Please note that I have not made these icons and tweaks. I have just put them all together in one place. If you want to give any credit then please follow the developers.
These are designed for sense based Roms. Please DO NOT try with any other rom. Just download and push to system/framework/framework-res.apk. Please note : This is for the older sense (sense 2.0) Do not try with newer sense.
To get transparency you have to use this file -- Transparency Hack -- through metamorph. I will make this into a flashable zip once I understand how to do that.
App icons are from Tenuis theme - Images
My framework-res
Screenshot - http://img600.imageshack.us/img600/9167/snap20110125163003.png
Download
System Icons Zip
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/18171691/Mms.apk

Hello,i just use Bettercut.apk available from market .

Marcdu81 said:
Hello,i just use Bettercut.apk available from market .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi I dont use bettercut but does it let you change the system icons in the app drawer. you know the drawer that comes up when you press the menu on the launcher???
Edit: OK i just tried bettercut. Using this you cannot change system icons in the app drawer. You are only changing icons on the homescreen, basically shortcuts. You could do that with launcherpro, desktop visualizer and 10 other apps.

CREDITS
CREDITS
MultiCulti for giving me the idea to get the services.jar for transparency
Icons from MIUI framework
Icons from Gingerbread aosp ROM
sopL87 for his guide
he_stheone64 for his awesome transparency hack
Ps. tell me if I have forgotten to credit anyone and I will add your name here. Thanks to all of the above for inspiring and helping.

Good work
Check this out too:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=10157000
Simple Java app to edit .apk files with a nice GUI

You're Just Awesome THNX man !

Nice guide

Ninjamorph lets you edit and change out images within apk files right on your phone. Its a free app on the market.
Still a very nice guide though!

thanks .. i was just looking to put up something which you could use to edit any apk on your phone .. the thing with ninjamorph is that it wasn't working for me. And plus I prefer to do it this way. Gives me more area.
EDIT: Anyone wants to see an MIUI framework on your sense?? I am thinking about getting the exact MIUI framework over to our sense based ROMs. As you can see in my framework I have already copied some of the elements. I am thinking about getting the power toggles and removing the current apps from the notification pulldown.

hi could u help me to change the battery icon plzzzz
i know about kitchen. any thing else i have some pic of a battery icon but dont know how to make one..... htc desire hd rom runny 3.37

Can't extract file
I tried to put option 22 where project start. Then I enter the project name as 1 and following another option 1 to extract files. However, the CMD just close by itself and I opened the project file and still empty inside. Please help!!

How to remove background color from apps

Hey guys,
you might have discovered that on your Mate 7 all app icons (that shouldn't have a background) have a background set by your phone.
However, this does not always look good (in my opinion at least) - so I tried to fix it.
There is basically a simple solution to it which I want to share with you here.
Requirements
7zip or any other similar tool on your computer
A file manager app on your phone that supports accessing the whole file system (for example "FX File Explorer")
My solution will probably work with other apps and programs too but I will only describe it for these exact ones.
Part 1: Copying the theme to an accessible location
Copying a preinstalled theme
Open FX File Explorer on your phone. Locate the System category and open it.
Navigate to /system/themes and copy the file you wish to modify. (long press -> copy). The default theme is "Golden.hwt"
Now go back to the main window in FX.
Go to Main Storage and paste the file there. (click on "CLIPBOARD" in the top right corner and click paste in the sidebar that just opened)
Copying a user-installed theme
For user-installed themes this process is optional and mostly unnecessary. However, I will explain it anyway:
Open FX File Explorer on your phone. Locate the Main Storage category and open it
Navigate to HWThemes and copy the file you wish to modify. This time you might have to copy all the .hwt files because they aren't named the same as the theme.
Step 3 and 4 are the same as for preinstalled themes.
Part 2: Modifying the theme
Connect your phone to your computer. Open it with explorer or the file manager you have installed if you are not using Windows.
In the folder Internal Storage you should now find the themes you copied in part 1. Move them to your computer.
For user-installed themes you have to locate the correct theme first. To do that, you have to open each file with 7zip and look for the name in the file description.xml inside the zip (The name is always the entry "title")
Once you have found the correct theme, open it with 7zip. then doubleclick on icons inside the zip.
Download the universal transparent icon pack from the attachment. Open it in a seperate window of 7zip.
Copy all the files in the downloaded zip to the image folder in the theme.
Now navigate up one directory inside the theme zip. Open the file description.xml again and change the name inside the title tag. (Example: <title>XYZ</title> -> <title>XYZ_modified</title>
Close 7zip and copy the file back to your device. YOU HAVE TO PLACE IT IN THE "HWThemes" FOLDER!
Now you can enable the theme just like you activate any other theme (in the Designs app)
Congratulations, you have removed the icon backgrounds from your theme.
Sorry if my english is not that good... It's not my native language

I tried this on Ascend G6 (EMUI3.0).
Srangly enough, it works for some icons, but some icons (not the stock ones!) still have a coloured added background.

MrStickmanPro1 said:
Hey guys,
you might have discovered that on your Mate 7 all app icons (that shouldn't have a background) have a background set by your phone.
However, this does not always look good (in my opinion at least) - so I tried to fix it.
There is basically a simple solution to it which I want to share with you here.
Requirements
7zip or any other similar tool on your computer
A file manager app on your phone that supports accessing the whole file system (for example "FX File Explorer")
My solution will probably work with other apps and programs too but I will only describe it for these exact ones.
Part 1: Copying the theme to an accessible location
Copying a preinstalled theme
Open FX File Explorer on your phone. Locate the System category and open it.
Navigate to /system/themes and copy the file you wish to modify. (long press -> copy). The default theme is "Golden.hwt"
Now go back to the main window in FX.
Go to Main Storage and paste the file there. (click on "CLIPBOARD" in the top right corner and click paste in the sidebar that just opened)
Copying a user-installed theme
For user-installed themes this process is optional and mostly unnecessary. However, I will explain it anyway:
Open FX File Explorer on your phone. Locate the Main Storage category and open it
Navigate to HWThemes and copy the file you wish to modify. This time you might have to copy all the .hwt files because they aren't named the same as the theme.
Step 3 and 4 are the same as for preinstalled themes.
Part 2: Modifying the theme
Connect your phone to your computer. Open it with explorer or the file manager you have installed if you are not using Windows.
In the folder Internal Storage you should now find the themes you copied in part 1. Move them to your computer.
For user-installed themes you have to locate the correct theme first. To do that, you have to open each file with 7zip and look for the name in the file description.xml inside the zip (The name is always the entry "title")
Once you have found the correct theme, open it with 7zip. then doubleclick on icons inside the zip.
Download the universal transparent icon pack from the attachment. Open it in a seperate window of 7zip.
Copy all the files in the downloaded zip to the image folder in the theme.
Now navigate up one directory inside the theme zip. Open the file description.xml again and change the name inside the title tag. (Example: <title>XYZ</title> -> <title>XYZ_modified</title>
Close 7zip and copy the file back to your device. YOU HAVE TO PLACE IT IN THE "HWThemes" FOLDER!
Now you can enable the theme just like you activate any other theme (in the Designs app)
Congratulations, you have removed the icon backgrounds from your theme.
Sorry if my english is not that good... It's not my native language
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But do I have to downl. your file to get bckgrnd removed ?
Can u show us one screenshot of icons ? how it looks like ?
Thnx

helped!!! BROTHER THIS REALLY HELPED A LOT.. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.........
mrstickmanpro1 said:
hey guys,
you might have discovered that on your mate 7 all app icons (that shouldn't have a background) have a background set by your phone.
However, this does not always look good (in my opinion at least) - so i tried to fix it.
There is basically a simple solution to it which i want to share with you here.
requirements
7zip or any other similar tool on your computer
a file manager app on your phone that supports accessing the whole file system (for example "fx file explorer")
my solution will probably work with other apps and programs too but i will only describe it for these exact ones.
part 1: Copying the theme to an accessible location
copying a preinstalled theme
open fx file explorer on your phone. Locate the system category and open it.
navigate to /system/themes and copy the file you wish to modify. (long press -> copy). The default theme is "golden.hwt"
now go back to the main window in fx.
go to main storage and paste the file there. (click on "clipboard" in the top right corner and click paste in the sidebar that just opened)
copying a user-installed theme
for user-installed themes this process is optional and mostly unnecessary. However, i will explain it anyway:
open fx file explorer on your phone. Locate the main storage category and open it
navigate to hwthemes and copy the file you wish to modify. This time you might have to copy all the .hwt files because they aren't named the same as the theme.
step 3 and 4 are the same as for preinstalled themes.
part 2: Modifying the theme
connect your phone to your computer. Open it with explorer or the file manager you have installed if you are not using windows.
in the folder internal storage you should now find the themes you copied in part 1. Move them to your computer.
for user-installed themes you have to locate the correct theme first. To do that, you have to open each file with 7zip and look for the name in the file description.xml inside the zip (the name is always the entry "title")
once you have found the correct theme, open it with 7zip. Then doubleclick on icons inside the zip.
download the universal transparent icon pack from the attachment. Open it in a seperate window of 7zip.
copy all the files in the downloaded zip to the image folder in the theme.
now navigate up one directory inside the theme zip. Open the file description.xml again and change the name inside the title tag. (example: <title>xyz</title> -> <title>xyz_modified</title>
close 7zip and copy the file back to your device. you have to place it in the "hwthemes" folder!
now you can enable the theme just like you activate any other theme (in the designs app)
congratulations, you have removed the icon backgrounds from your theme.
sorry if my english is not that good... It's not my native language
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thİs really helped bro.. And it works too. Thanks again.. I have beeen looking for this for ages... But i found itnow..

Hi,
This is something I was eagerly looking forward on my new Y6 (EMUI 3.1).
I have followed all your steps unto 6.
Bit confused with "Copy all the files in the downloaded zip to the image folder in the theme.".
Can you please clarify the above for me?
Thanks in advance :good:
MrStickmanPro1 said:
Hey guys,
you might have discovered that on your Mate 7 all app icons (that shouldn't have a background) have a background set by your phone.
However, this does not always look good (in my opinion at least) - so I tried to fix it.
There is basically a simple solution to it which I want to share with you here.
Requirements
7zip or any other similar tool on your computer
A file manager app on your phone that supports accessing the whole file system (for example "FX File Explorer")
My solution will probably work with other apps and programs too but I will only describe it for these exact ones.
Part 1: Copying the theme to an accessible location
Copying a preinstalled theme
Open FX File Explorer on your phone. Locate the System category and open it.
Navigate to /system/themes and copy the file you wish to modify. (long press -> copy). The default theme is "Golden.hwt"
Now go back to the main window in FX.
Go to Main Storage and paste the file there. (click on "CLIPBOARD" in the top right corner and click paste in the sidebar that just opened)
Copying a user-installed theme
For user-installed themes this process is optional and mostly unnecessary. However, I will explain it anyway:
Open FX File Explorer on your phone. Locate the Main Storage category and open it
Navigate to HWThemes and copy the file you wish to modify. This time you might have to copy all the .hwt files because they aren't named the same as the theme.
Step 3 and 4 are the same as for preinstalled themes.
Part 2: Modifying the theme
Connect your phone to your computer. Open it with explorer or the file manager you have installed if you are not using Windows.
In the folder Internal Storage you should now find the themes you copied in part 1. Move them to your computer.
For user-installed themes you have to locate the correct theme first. To do that, you have to open each file with 7zip and look for the name in the file description.xml inside the zip (The name is always the entry "title")
Once you have found the correct theme, open it with 7zip. then doubleclick on icons inside the zip.
Download the universal transparent icon pack from the attachment. Open it in a seperate window of 7zip.
Copy all the files in the downloaded zip to the image folder in the theme.
Now navigate up one directory inside the theme zip. Open the file description.xml again and change the name inside the title tag. (Example: <title>XYZ</title> -> <title>XYZ_modified</title>
Close 7zip and copy the file back to your device. YOU HAVE TO PLACE IT IN THE "HWThemes" FOLDER!
Now you can enable the theme just like you activate any other theme (in the Designs app)
Congratulations, you have removed the icon backgrounds from your theme.
Sorry if my english is not that good... It's not my native language
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Hi ArnoJeroen,
Huawei Y6 / EMUI 3.1
I am facing the same problem It works for some icons but not for all ... did you find out any solutions to resolve this? any feedback will be much appreciated.
ArnoJeroen said:
I tried this on Ascend G6 (EMUI3.0).
Srangly enough, it works for some icons, but some icons (not the stock ones!) still have a coloured added background.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

themes not working after rollback to MM

Hello,
I just rolled back from nougat to Marshmellow (B181).. But I noticed that some of the default apps of Huawei is missing and themes are not working.
I also tried wipe/ factory reset and install another custom rom (B152 which is oldest I can download) but it didn't work, either.
I have no idea about rooting etc. so whats the easiest solution for p9+ ?

1. Download hw_init.zip > https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=24421527759882525
2. Unzip hw_init.zip
3. Copy folder hw_init to /data
4. Reboot
5. Apply themes
6. Enjoy

thank you for your answer. Before doing what you said, I was updating via emui from b152 to b180.
And it's corrected everything automaticly....
Thank you for your answer.

AhmadMerie said:
1. Download hw_init.zip > https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=24421527759882525
2. Unzip hw_init.zip
3. Copy folder hw_init to /data
4. Reboot
5. Apply themes
6. Enjoy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I too had this problem after rollback from VIE-L29 N (C605B354) to M (C636B202) . I was rooted and used root explorer to copy the files. The instructions I followed were similar to the above, but in addition, I had to set the permissions on the contents of /data/hw_init/system/themes to rw-r--r-- and place the theme I wanted to apply in that location. I am not able to successfully add any themes from the usual /HWThemes location, but If I copy the *.hwt file to /data/hw_init/system/themes it works.
-Paul

this is my solution ( made by me ) after trying many solutions over this forum @ other forums
just
1- delete any folder for themes u made (as hw_init or themes in root folder or at any site )
2- make folder & name it ( HWTHemes ) in internal memory
3- download this folder & put it inside (HWTHemes )
4- go to themes app and chose ** Aqua theme ** & apply it
5- no need to change any permissions
this was try on huawei y 7 2017

Help Applying Theme

I went to this website ( https://huaweiemuithemes.blogspot.com/2017/03/dark-ui-2-emui-5-huawei-theme.html?m=1#comment-form ) This theme includes a dark youtube and Play store theme. For the life of me i cant get this to work. The instructions say just copy and paste it in the HWThemes folder but when I open the Themes app, nothing is there. Any help would be appreciated!

works fine for me
make sure you copy the theme file, that ends with .hwt into your themes folder
reboot your phone, then open the themes app, and it should show up in there

wase4711 said:
works fine for me
make sure you copy the theme file, that ends with .hwt into your themes folder
reboot your phone, then open the themes app, and it should show up in there
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, i extract the zip file but i cant find the file that ends in .hwt

there is no zip file; the theme file you download ends in .hwt

Samsung theme store icon hack - Use icon only from any theme

Samsung theme added a new option in nougat for note 5 and other devices to change only icons. The problem is that icon library is quite limited. Although some themes have great icons but do let you apply icons alone (not so thoughtful of Samsung).
This method here let you use any samsung theme icon without applying that theme, [video guide link]
First download the theme which icon is bewildering your eyes or whatever. Note theme name. (lets suppose its metallic)
Now download a icon pack [as a dummy] in theme store that you would (likely) never use. Note icon pack name.(lets say neon)
Download x-plorer file browser from playstore. Allow root access.
In the left pane goto
/data/app/
and search for the folder
metallic________.appicon-1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
long press and select add to favorite.
and search for the folder
metallic________.theme-1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
long press and select add to favorite.
and search for the folder
neon________.appicon-1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
long press and select add to favorite.
Now we are all set. these folder will be at the bottom for ease of work.
1. Right Side
Create => aWorking [folder]
2. Left Side
open neon________.appicon-1
select base.apk => copy
3. Right Side
Select base.apk => open apk as zip
select META_INF [folder]
res [folder]
AndroidManifest.xml
=>delete
4. Left Side
open metallic________.appicon-1 [folder]
select base.apk => open apk as zip
select META_INF [folder]
res [folder]
AndroidManifest.xml
copy.
5. Right Side
open assets [folder]
preview [folder]
delete all files in preview folder.
6. Left Side
open metallic________.theme-1 [folder]
select base.apk => open apk as zip
7. Still left side
open assets [folder]
preview [folder]
thumnail.jpg => copy
8. Right Side
select thumnail.jpg => rename to thumnail_iconpack.jpg
9. Left Side
open neon________.appicon-1 [folder]
10. Right Side
select base.apk => copy and overwrite
all done.
now open
setting
Apps
Samsung themes
Storage => Clear Data
Its ready apply.
[video guide link]

great tutorial.....nice and explained