Database Develop

[HOW TO] Manuals for creating a theme

In the following 3 manuals, you will be shown/told how too create a theme.
Thank you to the authors.​ Most of all to​ Stericson​ for he is the first to figure out HOW to create a theme for your phones.
Thank You Again
Restore your G1 back to it's original theme and fonts!​

To create themes, or to edit themes to your liking, you will need a working knowledge of android, adb, how to resign apk's, knowledge of your own O/S.
Things you will need:
The rom you intent to create a theme for... Now a days there are so many to choose from so none of this will be rom specific.
You will also want to get the latest and greatest bootloader installed on your phone and to HIGHLY suggest everyone trying your theme to install it as well.
You'll find this on Android Development
You will also need the latest SDK and java:
Link to Java: http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index.jsp
Downloading SDK: http://code.google.com/android/intro/installing.html
You can also use any zipping archive to extract files from and to the update.zips. I believe there are links below to some of these.
Very Important!
You do not usually need to resign every apk that you change! Usually you only need to resign the update.zip! However there may be times that you may need to resign an apk. So dont sign the apks...if you have problems with the update then try to resign the apks.
JesusFreke was kind enough to build a custom signing tool for me that would allow me to right click on an apk and resign it from there. I am posting it here for others to use as well. Note that this is a courtesy of JF, so thank him for it. I cannot stress how much time this has saved me and will save you.
Automatic version!
Do not use this to sign APK files in Vista or windows 7! It will cause your theme to loop phones when placed on a device. Only use this to sign update files if your using those O/S's
Note, this will not work if your SDK or the path that you place this in has any spaces in the dir name!
An Example of this is c:\users\Nikki and Stephen\sdk\tools
Try to put the SDK and the contents of the zip in a dir where the names are all together and not like the one above.
I have made a batch file that will automate the entire process of setting up to use the signing tool made by JF. This batch file will set the CLASSPATH, set the PATH, install the registries, and will even allow you to sign files manually if you wish. I plan on building onto this batch file to include other things. However, for the moment, it will only include what you see here.
In order to use this you should have downloaded the sdk already. Simply extract all of the files into the tools dir of your sdk, and run autosign.bat follow the instructions and go through the options one by one, starting with 1 working through 4. You can however, put the contents of this zip anywhere on your computer and it will work. It is just better to put them into the tools dir of your SDK. Especially for the consideration of future versions.
Autosign .zip: https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B5...MTEyMi00NzI4LWJkMDQtZTUzNjBjMTZlMWNj&hl=en_US
Want to set up the signing tool manually?
Before using this you need to know how to set this up:
Now you will need to add the tools dir of your sdk to the environment variable CLASSPATH.
FOR XP:
Right click on My Computer click properties, then choose the tab that says advanced.
Click the button that says environmental variables.
Go to system variables find the one that says CLASSPATH
double click it
go to the end of variable value.
There should be a semicolon ; at the end, type in the path to the testsign.jar located in the tools directory of your SDK
for example the path to my testsign.jar was c:\sdk\android-sdk-windows-1.0_r1\tools\testsign.jar
If CLASSPATH is not in your system variables then create it.
Secondly, Find the system variable called PATH and add to the end of it, the full path to your sdk directory.
For example, mine was c:\sdk\android-sdk-windows-1.0_r2\tools
FOR VISTA:
Open a cmd prompt.
Replace THEEXACTPATHTO-TESTSIGN with the path to the dir that holds the file testsign.jar.
Type:
echo %CLASSPATH%
If it is returns %CLASSPATH%
Type the following:
set CLASSPATH=THEXACTPATHTO-TESTSIGN\testsign.jar
If it comes back with something else then
Type the following:
set CLASSPATH=%CLASSPATH%;.;THEXACTPATHTO-TESTSIGN\testsign.jar
For Example, when I type this it looks like:
set CLASSPATH=%CLASSPATH%;.;c:\Android\SDK\tools\tests ign.jar
To set the PATH
Replace THEEXACTPATHTO-SDK with the path to the tools dir of your SDK.
Now type:
set PATH=%PATH%;.;THEXACTPATHTO-SDK\tools
For example, when I type this out it looks like this:
path-%PATH%;.;c:\Android\SDK\tools
Now through doing this you have done two things, first off you have made the resigning process extremely easy, secondly you will not have to cd to the tools dir of the sdk to use adb or any other tool in the sdk.
Signing the Files:
Now right click the reg file that you extracted and choose to install it, or merge.
Now, right click an apk, do you see an option that says ResignApk? That's how you will resign your .apks and .zips.
When you choose it a cmd window should open for a few seconds and then close. the file you signed will be overwritten with the new resigned file.
If you find the right click menu not working for some reason you can type the following in cmd to sign your files: java testsign whateverfiletosign
General Info:
You will need to be specific in addressing what version your theme is for, RC8, RC30, or ADP1. Make sure you test the update.zip before you release it.
Every .apk contains the images relating to itself. However, every apk has the ability to use the images in framework-res.apk. The images for every apk is located inside of itself. To find these images open up the apk, you can rename it to .zip or open it with an archiver of your choice, winrar, winace, etc. Then after opening the apk open the folder called res and inside of that there are folders that are named Drawable, drawable-land, drawable-port, etc. This is where the images are stored.
There are some things you cannot edit unless you rebuild the entire apk from source, which we will not go into here.(another tutorial, another time) Just know that at this time you SHOULD NOT edit, or even open images with the extension .9.png doing so will corrupt the .9.png and cause the image to distort. You can however compile the images with eclipse.
Editing .9.png's - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=487001
Be aware, messing with .9.png's can cause problems if they are not done correctly.
If your going to build your own update.zip from scratch:
To simplify this process for you though, most rom devs provide a theme template with their roms now. You can also download someone elses theme and use their files, since they are resigned already. It may also be easier to see what files do what and go where since they have already been edited and are easy to point out.
Now, your ready to start changing things up.
You will now need to open the apk, which you can do by adding .zip after .apk, effectively changing it to a zip. or you can use your favorite archive opener.
I dont use the archive process because it can lead to very aggravating problems such as things not getting signed correctly and have heard reports of it interfering with the signing tool above. Anyways I just add zip and it works great for me.
For those renaming the .apk's to .zips
Note that if you are using windows you will need to unhide known file extension types. you can also use your favorite archiver such as winrar, winzip, etc.
See here to unhide known file extension types for Xp: http://www.mediacollege.com/microsof...on-change.html
See here to unhide file extension types for Vista: http://maximumpcguides.com/windows-v...ile-extension/
Tips:
After opening the apk copy the folder called res.
Go to your desktop, or wherever, create a new folder called Images, or whatever.
Open the folder, paste the res in there.
Now you can see what the files look like without opening them, by using thumbnails to see what they are.
Btw, you may also want to add -frame, or -launcher, to the end of the res folder you copy over to keep them separated from others.
Almost Done
So now your theme is done and your ready to make an update.zip for others to install your theme.
Update script
The update script is in a Unix format, while you do not need linux you must save it in a Unix format. I suggest using Textpad to edit this script and saving it in the Unix format.
Link to Textpad: ftp://download.textpad.com/pub/textpad5.2/txpeng520.exe
XML Edits
I have provided some additional support for the process of hex editing xml files to change things like text color, size, and more things not easily changeable.
You can find this thread here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=479019
Final Notes:

Editing market apps
With market apps, if you make changes you usually need to make sure you dont resign their apk because you will overwrite their signature keys with the test keys.
If anyone has any questions please try asking for help in this thread before emailing me for help Usually I will respond to questions in this forum.
I hope this Tutorial has been helpful. I will add on to it as needed.
Any questions can be directed to me at [email protected]
Stericson
Links of interest:
Using ADB: http://code.google.com/android/reference/adb.html

How To Theme Develop for Windows For Dummies in 10 easy steps (( no your really not a dummy its just an easy name for a how to lol))
well i'm going to give this a shot in the dark on how to create this how to be as easy as possible
1st
download these files if you don't already have them
JAVA
http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index.jsp
download the JDK
Winrar
http://rarlabs.com/rar/wrar380.exe
and Auto-sign.zip
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?uwzjjydnm2r
2nd
Download my included Auto-sign files.
what it contains.
the Test keys file..
and an update.zip file
and a batch file i created called auto-sign to make things easier to sign
3rd
after you have downloaded my Auto-sign
then you extract it to where ever you want.
4th.
use the update.zip included if your a Beginner it includes my windows 7 theme .. i edit so many files that it's easier to tell what does what and whats goiing to go where. now open that zip file DON'T EXTRACT just open it using winrar..
5th
When it is open go to Framework.. and open Framework-res.apk
NOW IF THE APK. POPS UP AND SAYS IT CANT OPEN BLAH BLAH SELECT A PROGRAM AND THEN SELECT WINRAR.
6th
Once you open Framework-res.apk KEEP THIS WINDOW AND UPDATE.ZIP WINDOW OPEN!!
then just extract the whole Res Folder to where ever you like this makes it easier to see what files you wish to edit.. most of the files will be in the folder called Drawable
7th
open up your favorite photo editor .. i use photoshop along with 90% of the people who Graphic Design... Edit your pictures Remember a file with a .9 can mess up your phone so edit those carefully.. and save what ever pictures you have
8th
Now drag the whole Res Folder .. back into the Framework-res.apk
now your update.zip file is going to say files has been changed to framework-res blah blah do you wish to save it . click yes .. now your framework has been updated you can close everything out
9th
go to the Auto-sign folder.. and open Auto-sign this will now sign your update.zip .. and rename it to update_sign.zip .. now just delete your old update.zip.. rename update_signed.zip to update.zip
10th
put it on the root of your memory card.. reset using green call + menu + end
then hold home and end .. until the recovery mode shows up .. then press Alt+S and hope your device isn't bricked
Disclaimers
I'm not responsible if your brick your device.. but i will help to the best of my abilty and if i can't help i'm sure XDA will
i don't sign every file in my update.zip i just sign update.zip .. and hey it works lol..
For ADP or RC 8 versions .. just download your favortie ADP theme or RC 8
put it in the Auto-sign folder.. and rename it to update.zip if it isn't already then just follow my steps

ToDo:
1. Explain about the files that make up themes
a. Explain update.zip and folder structure
b. Explain about pngs and apks
2. Explain the tools
a. WinRaR
b. Auto-sign
c. Java JRE and JDK
d. Draw9patch tool
e. Editing tool
3. Setting up your phone for themes
a. Choosing which JF firmware to use
b. Using the Eng Boot Loader and why
4. Explain the process to get the files
5. Explain which files to edit
6. Explain how to import modified files
7. Explain about auto-sign and how to use it - I am building a program that will making signing files easier. check it out as i build it! here
1. When you download a theme it comes in the form of an update.zip file. Basically the same as the full update looks, but it is a watered down version. All of the operating system, boot loader and radio files have been removed.
a. If you check the file size of JF’s RC30 1.31 and compare it to any of the themes, you will notice that the theme file is about a 3rd the size. JF’s update.zip contains data, META-INF and system folders it also contains a boot.img file. Where as a theme update.zip contains app, framework and META-INF folders. The theme update.zip only contains the folders and files that are necessary for changing the Android theme. If you were to dig deeper into JF’s RC30 1.31 update.zip you will find the folders that are in the theme’s update.zip. For example, double click the system folder and you will see 11 folders and 2 files. The only ones we are concerned about are app and framework. So when you flash a theme it doesn’t bother rewriting all of the OS and boot loader, but only the app and framework folders.
b. Inside the app and framework folders are apk files, apk files are like zip files or containers. There are many folders and files inside the update.zip but we are only going to cover a few for now.
(app folder) - This folder contains all of the apps that will be installed during an update or wipe. You will need to extract only the apks of the apps you wish to change the icon and graphics for.
(Launcher.apk) - This file is in the app folder and contains the menu launcher tab, clock, Google search widget, wallpapers and a few other things.
(framework) - This folder contains framework-res.apk, this is where the bulk of your editing will take place.
When you open a apk you will see:
(assets) - This will contain images, sounds and other content used by the programs. Not always used!
(META-INF) - This contains the encryption data for the update.zip.
(res) - This folder contains all of the png and xml files. The xml files are used to format the UI, these can be used to change the locations of things on the screen. They need to be unencrypted first.
Depending on the apk there can be a bunch of folders under the res folder but we will only concentrate on the drawable ones.
-drawable - The png files in this folder are displayed wheather the keyboard is open or closed. The majority of the files are here.
-drawable-land - These are the files that will show when the keyboard is open. There won't be as many files in these folders. Most of the time the programmer will re-organize the layout with an xml file.
Basically the interface of Android is a bunch of pictures; the programmer links these to certain actions. As someone making themes you do not have to worry about any programming, in the future when people start unlocking the xml files to change the way things look. Then you will have to learn some basic programming, but for now we will only talk about changing the picture files.
2. The tools you use for creating themes are very basic and you might already have 3 out of 4 installed.
a. WinRaR is a must have for everyone, it allows you to create and open compressed files (i.e. Zips, RaRs and about 25 other file types) It would best if you associate WinRaR with zips and apks, the zips can be associated during the install of WinRaR. To associate apks you can right click on an apk and choose “Open With…” make sure to check off the box that says “Always use this program to open this kind of file”
b. Auto-Sign was released by Dave da illest 1, to make signing the apks and update.zip an easier process. Before you can flash an update or theme the phone checks to make sure the update.zip is signed by google or by JesusFreake. I will explain this more in Section 3.
c. Android apps are built on Java, hence the need for JRE and JDK, You will not be working directly with these apps but part of the signing process uses Java. You can get both files here: http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index.jsp you will want to grab the first and second downloads.
d. The draw9Patch tool comes with the Android SDK, it is located in the tools folder. This tool is used to edit stretchable images. There is still a lot of research that needs to be done on using this tool. So for now let’s just say do not touch any files with .9.png as an extension. Dave da illest 1 has changed a few of these .9.png files without issue so maybe we can get him to explain them better. I have also edited some of these files but it made some of the images stretch weirdly.
e. I am not sure what other photo editors you can use, but everyone I have spoken to about modding the theme uses Adobe Photoshop. I am sure you can use other programs. But I am not aware of any at the time of this writing.
3. Before changing the theme on your phone you will need to gain root access which is explain here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=442480
a. As you look through all of the different themes, you will notice some say they are for RC30, RC8 or ADP1.
i. RC30 – Is the US version
ii. RC8 – is the UK version
iii. ADP1 – Stands for Android Developers Phone and was produced for programmers. This version is completely unlocked and does not have any of T-Mobile’s software or locks.
b. So your phone is rooted and you’re wondering why you should have the engineering boot loader. Well one reason is because of the 3 Androids on skateboards, the other reason is if your phone bricks during a flash you can fully recover your OS with the fastboot option. More about this can be found here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=455860
4. You have a few options here, you can either get the files from RC30 update.zip, one of the other theme’s update.zip or you can use the themes template at the bottom of this thread. All 3 methods you will need to open the update.zip go into the framework folder (if you get it from RC30 you will need to go into system\framework) Extract the framework-res.apk to a folder of your choosing. Most of your editing will take place on the files from this apk. When you are looking at these files in Windows explorer it is best to change the view to Thumbnails and look at all of the images and see if you can figure out where they are placed on your phone’s screen.
::TIP1:: Your best bet is to create a Themes folder on your desktop or in My Documents, somewhere simple to find. You will be dealing with a lot of files and it can get very confusing quickly.
The other file you will want to change is Launcher.apk; this file is in the app folder and contains the menu launcher tab, clock, Google search widget, wallpapers and some other things.
::TIP2:: When you open Launcher.apk from inside the update.zip file, WinRaR may default to a temp folder...(i.e. C:\Documents and Settings\bobbyd\Local Settings\Temp\Rar$DI71.579\framework-res) double check the location of where WinRaR wants to extract the files, this is how I ended up flashing the original files after spending a decent amount of time photoshopping.
5. Now the only files you will want to edit are png image files. There are also xml files, they are used to format the UI, you can change the locations of things on the screen but the xmls need to be unencrypted before you can edit them. I have not done this process yet and will update more information later.
6. Importing the files is very simple, as long as you know the layout of the update.zip. Once you have edited all of the files you plan to or just want to test to see how your theme looks. Open the update.zip in WinRaR and go to the location of the files (i.e. Say you changed the 3G icons, you would go to the framework folder and double click on framework-res.apk. This will open another WinRaR window, open Windows Explorer where your edited files are and hold the Ctrl key while clicking the files you want to copy. Now drag them onto the open WinRaR window from the framework-res.apk. When it asks to replace the files choose “Yes” or Yes to All”. Close that WinRaR window and the one from update.zip will tell you “Files have changed would you like to save this file now” click “Yes” again and now your update.zip will contain your modified files.
7. Download and install Stericson's auto-signing tool here.
I have been slacking on this guide, I will update soon again.

[HOW TO] Easy steps for creating a theme
I know there are a million and 1 walkthroughs on here for creating themes but after doing it for a while I have really refined my process and made it as easy as possible. Im just hoping to clear up some of the confusion so after you know how to sign your files you will know how to finish making them into your own custom theme.
First you need to get signing setup properly. This topic is covered in many places and my recommendation is to use the Stericson walkthrough or the Stericson auto-signing setup tool. Once you can click on any zip or apk file and get the option to Resign it you are ready to proceed with making your own theme.
1. Download an archive manager that allows you to open archives inside of archives without creating new windows. My recommendation for this is the application 7-zip. It is tiny, free, easy to use, and on all my computers it has replaced winzip and winrar.
2. Now take a blank theme from Stericson to use as your starting point, in my case I use the ADP1.1h version since I am building for JFv1.43 which uses ADP1.1h this will be the minimum needed to change your theme and will contain all the original artwork.
3. Open the update.zip and inside are typically 3 files, framework, system or app, and META-INF. Leave META-INF alone, you wont be touching that. Inside framework and system/app is where the files are that you can change. In this case we will open update.zip, then double click framework and then double click framework-res.apk (this is where the next archive will open inside the same window, your life just got a little easier).
4. Now you are looking at assets, META-INF, res, and a couple other random files, the resources.arsc can be edited but I will show you that in another tutorial. Now open up the folder res and you will see the treasure we are searching for, folders with the name drawable. All of the folders that start with the name drawable are where we can edit the themes, this includes drawable, drawable-land, drawable-port, and drawable-finger.
5. Now drag and drop the folders drawable and drawable-land onto the desktop. Once they are on the desktop you can edit the .png files in those folders until you are ready to put your theme together.
6. Now in your still open window at \framework\framework-res.apk\res\ you will open the drawable folders one at a time and drag and drop your edited files into the archive, only dragging and dropping the files you edited and not just everything inside the folder.
7. Once you have your new images copied into the archive in the correct place you can just hit the close button or browse up a couple directories and find other files to edit. Any time you edit an apk and browse out of it or close it you will be prompted to update it in the archive by 7-zip (this is my secret shortcut), always press ok.
8. Now you have a freshly created theme ready to install, all you have to do is right click, chose to Resign the file, and once its done you can copy it to your SDcard, make sure its named update.zip, and flash your new theme.
Its literally that easy! And you use this same technique in the system/app folder to edit the apk files for the individual apps on the phone. Explore around in the update.zip and see what you can find, I only told you about the major items but there is plenty more to find and change. You can always copy a folder out of the archive and if you cant edit anything just toss it but if you can find something to edit, do so and throw it back in the archive. You guys now have all the info I had when I started plus all my tricks to making that process 10x easier.

I Just Want To Change My Clock. I want everything else stock. Sorry for asking but when i search so much comes up. I know its really simple to do. If anyone can just point me in the right direction or give me a quick how to that would me AMAZING!

Read:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=482205

notifi
jut want to change notification to white on statusbar

Before I tried to setup the autosign tool, when I double clicked on zip files it opened them up, which was how I wanted it. After trying to setup the autosign, when I double click on zip files nothing happens, except a java command prompt window pops up, same happens when I right click and hit resign zip, how can I fix this?
Edit: I reinstalled Java which fixed my issue

i got this tryin to update
E:No digest for framework-res.apk
i edited someone else theme, did not edit no .9 file.. i right click on the update.zip and resigned it. what went wrong?
EDIT: nevermind i got it.. i followed the one for dummies, guess i am dumb lol

What the image file for the tab on the bottom of the screen called? I couldn't find it searchin throguh the framework-res.apk

its in launcher.apk. Check in drawable portrait and drawable landscape.
Stericson

thanks i should of explore more before posting

Hi,
I've got 99% of my theme done although I can't find where the bottom of the notification bar is and the white bit where the notifications would be.
I've done a little picture below to help me explain.
Bottom notification bar is the arrow.
The white bit where the notifications would be is the hatched.
{
"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"
}
Thanks for help in advance.

Also could someone tell me how to put icons in for well know apps from the market. At the moment I have put the full apk in the update and change the icon. But this increases the theme size. Thanks again!

NO DIGEST? Failed?
what does it mean when I try to flash the new update.zip and it fails because it says NO DIGEST? What does this mean? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

parmenti said:
what does it mean when I try to flash the new update.zip and it fails because it says NO DIGEST? What does this mean? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
means it hasn't been properly resigned.

thanks, that's what I thought. Can't seem to get it right. Does the image, the apk, and the zip all have to be resigned? Or just one or the other? THanks for your help.

parmenti said:
thanks, that's what I thought. Can't seem to get it right. Does the image, the apk, and the zip all have to be resigned? Or just one or the other? THanks for your help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just the update.zip needs to be resigned.

[HOW TO] Do it yourself guide for theme editing

To get started, read the posts below by tsachi.
Then give this a glance - Do it yourself guide for theme editing
More Resources:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=982300
https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AcdxIJRSH9ypZGZzc2pxNDlfMjdnazk4OHNxZA&hl=en
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=916814
Info on how to edit the items in notification bar:
+ http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=11158662&postcount=3
All credit belongs to the original authors. I am simply gathering all this information to make it easier.
For any help or support, post in this thread and we will try to help you the best we can.

Expanded Information
Introduction
The link in OP gives you instructions on how to replace images, but it lacks information for the inexperienced themer. Here is some background information and some more details on the steps before and after you insert new images in your framework.
System Icons and background images sit in two main files: framework-res.apk and twframework-res.apk. 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 a lot of repeated icons. For example, framework-res.apk has both drawable-hdpi and drawable-hdpi-v4. The first is there for compatibility with older APIs (anroid 1.6 or older) so I am not sure why it is still there, but if you remove it your phone will not like it.
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. An example is the dialer that calls on some background images from both framework-res and twframework-res.
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. 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)
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)
Auto-sign (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=471634) or signing tool (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=473580)
Create a backup
Grab the framewor
k-res.apk and twframework-res.apk from your phone. They are located in the system/framework folder. You would need them as a starting point for your modification and you need them for a backup
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.
After you are done modifying files
Create an installation file (see post below)
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
Take the battery out
Using 3-key combination boot into recovery (up-down volume + power. Hold until the AT&T screen cycles back, then release)
Install your original framework backup and reboot

Creating clockwork installation
After you have finished modifying the files, the best way to get them to the phone is through clockwork installation. Make sure that you have the original update.zip file on the sdcard. If you have a rooted phone, you probably have that already, but if not you can install ROM manager from the market and run it to get the update in place.
To create the installation file follow these steps:
Create a folder \framework
Place your modified framework files in that folder
Back in the main folder, create the following folder tree: \META-INF\com\google\android
In the android folder create a text file named update-script
WARNING: Do not name your framework file "update.zip"! You need both the original update.zip and the framework one for the installation.
Note: Although copying of the framework files may be possible, it is highly risky. In my experience installation from clockwork is the easiest

Puzzle Lock Screen Mod
Here is information for people who want to modify the look of the puzzle lock screen. It is only the list of images to replace, not the coding to change functionality.
The files sit in framework-res.apk under res\drawable-hdpi. The files are zzz_unlock_puzzle...
puzzle pieces
zzz_unlock_puzzle_noti_icon_call.png : Missed call piece in the floating state
zzz_unlock_puzzle_noti_icon_call_fit.png : Missed call when it gets to the unlock spot
zzz_unlock_puzzle_noti_icon_unlock.png : General unlock floating
zzz_unlock_puzzle_noti_icon_unlock_fit.png : General unlock at the unlock spot
Same for messages and voicemail.
Background
zzz_unlock_puzzle_bg.png : The image that shows on the lock screen. This should be semi-transparent if you want to show the regular screen background
zzz_unlock_puzzle_bg_pressed.png : Image that shows while dragging the puzzle pieces. Usually a slight modification of the regular background
zzz_unlock_puzzle_bg_land.png : The landscape version
Music player
zzz_unlock_disk... and zzz_unlock_ctr_pr... are the files related to the player.
zzz_unlock_ctr_bg.9.png is the background for the music controls
Text background
Overlaying the unlock image is text. That text can have background that is more opaque than the rest of the unlock screen.
The attached image shows the three regions. These regions also apply to the glass unlock.
Note: These are .9 files and should be done right to ensure correct stretching and text boundries.
Other files
There are some extra background files in the frameworks but I haven't been able to find where they go. There are also some files to control the clock numbers zzz_unlock_clock_...

Working with APK manager
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.
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
Type 9 and wait for it to finish decompiling
Modify the items you want modified (they will be in the projects folder)
type 11 to recompile
Sounds easy? It is, and it isn't. There are several places where things can go wrong. Here are a few of the things to watch for:
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 internal links. If this happens you will very likely see error messages during the decompile stage. If that happens check the log file and correct things. One of the most common errors is .9 files replaced with regular images. See this post for 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.

Thanks for the info!!! I have been wanting to play with themes for a while. Now I gots the knowledge.
sent from my Cap using the app.

Thanks for this post...I'll be looking into this for sure.

tsachi said:
After you have finished modifying the files, the best way to get them to the phone is through clockwork installation. Make sure that you have the original update.zip file on the sdcard. If you have a rooted phone, you probably have that already, but if not you can install ROM manager from the market and run it to get the update in place.
To create the installation file follow these steps:
Create a folder \framework
Place your modified framework files in that folder
Back in the main folder, create the following folder tree: \META-INF\com\google\android
In the android folder create a text file named update-script
WARNING: Do not name your framework file "update.zip"! You need both the original update.zip and the framework one for the installation.
Note: Although copying of the framework files may be possible, it is highly risky. In my experience installation from clockwork is the easiest
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this.. Question In #4 above the text file in the android folder. Is that an empty file? no extension? Thanks for your help.

TorqueWrench001 said:
Thanks for this.. Question In #4 above the text file in the android folder. Is that an empty file? no extension? Thanks for your help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The file has no extension but it isn't empty. It contains the installation instructions. Typical instructions would be:
copy_dir PACKAGE:framework SYSTEM:framework
which copies everything in the frameworks folder in the zip file to the system/framework folder on the phone
Sent from a captivate running phoenix using XDA app

https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AcdxIJRSH9ypZGZzc2pxNDlfMjdnazk4OHNxZA&hl=en
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=916814
Good info

Thanks, been wanting to play with themes for a while now!!!!!

This needs a bump for all those requesting themes to be made.

This needs to be a sticky. I detailed guide is just what was needed. I been wanting to play around with themes but always end up doing something stupid so it never works. Now I have some more knowledge and hopefully can avoid that mistake.

Thank you, one of the links has the info I need to fix my text color issue in my notification/menu window!
Sent from a phone using an app.

Why it's not pinned it's beyond me. We have a thread pinned for must have apps that aren't even must have apps, but not this.

That was do to some how me missing this thread for the post few months. It is corrected now. Stuck

Since the thread is getting more life, I just added info on lock screen (fourth post)
Sent from my captivate running the latest firefly

Resorce dump
Well now that this is not going to fall to the depths of page 500, ill unload some rubbish into it.
http://android.modaco.com/content/zte-blade-themes-and-design-customisation/328510/guide-theme-editing-and-related-things/
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=9066440&postcount=1
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=593932
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=695701
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=8105110&postcount=2
http://developerlife.com/tutorials/?p=309
http://www.droidforums.net/forum/team-inversion-conversion/116419-so-you-want-edit-xmls-more-adb-apk-manager-how-basics.html
http://www.colorschemer.com/online.html
http://www.colorsontheweb.com/colorwizard.asp
Edit: I purposefully did not include descriptions in the links. If you dont know what your doing reading all but the last two links in there entirety will help get you on your way.

whiteguypl said:
Well now that this is not going to fall to the depths of page 500, ill unload some rubbish into it.
http://android.modaco.com/content/zte-blade-themes-and-design-customisation/328510/guide-theme-editing-and-related-things/
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=9066440&postcount=1
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=593932
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=695701
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=8105110&postcount=2
http://developerlife.com/tutorials/?p=309
http://www.droidforums.net/forum/team-inversion-conversion/116419-so-you-want-edit-xmls-more-adb-apk-manager-how-basics.html
http://www.colorschemer.com/online.html
http://www.colorsontheweb.com/colorwizard.asp
Edit: I purposefully did not include descriptions in the links. If you dont know what your doing reading all but the last two links in there entirety will help get you on your way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very nice, I will add these to OP with details about each link.

I'm quite happy that this has been pinned finally. Now to get to work. I haven't decided on which ROM I want to do, or even if I wanna port another theme or make my own. SO MANY CHOICES!!

[HOWTO]: 1% steps on gingerbread

at first, it would be nice if any mod can modify the title to: [HOWTO] 1% battery mod on gingerbread and delete all following posts.
further i'm sorry for my poor english - hopefully everyone here can follow my steps!
the hard thing on changing battery icons on gingerbread is, that there are only 7 steps: 0, 10, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100... that means you have to edit or replace two xml files (more later).
IMPORTANT: please make a backup of your rom! i'm not responsible if your device won't boot after modding! also it is possible that your google/facebook etc. accounts are deleted after flashing back your modded framework. but you can easily readd them again!
WHAT YOU NEED:
apk manager from here: http://www.multiupload.com/GXW01G6URJ
battery icons or a framework-res.apk with your desired icons
a rooted gingerbread rom
your original framework-res.apk (guide to extract later on)
WHAT YOU GET (IN ATTACHMENT):
stat_sys_xml_dateien.zip (stat_sys_battery.xml and stat_sys_battery_charge.xml with 100 steps)
framework-res.apk (modified by me with circlemod battery (i hope it's okay to use them in here! btw. many thx to devs (was it mdj?) for this icons). THIS FRAMEWORK WAS ONLY TESTED BY ME ON MDJ GINGERBREAD 2.2!!!
screenshot of the circle battery mod on gingerbread
FIRST STEPS:
extract apk manager to a a desired folder and conenct your phone to debug mode
start script.bat and change kompression level to 0 (type 19, afterwards 0)
type in 0 to download framework-res.apk from your phone. it asks for the path, type: /system/framework/framework-res.apk and hit enter
if asked for a name, type framework-res.apk and hit enter and confirm with Y to be your current project
type 9 and hit enter to decompile your framework and wait until it's finished
have a look in the folder "projects" - there will be a folder "framework-res.apk" now.
navigate to the subfolder: res/drawable-hdpi and delete ALL png files with the name stat_sys_battery_X.png and stat_sys_battery_charge_animX.png (while X stands for the according number). do this also with stat_sys_battery_unknown.png and stat_sys_battery_charge_animfull.png (IMPORTANT: delete last two ones only if you have a replacement icon or you will get errors on compiling!!!)
also delete following two xml files in subfolder projects/framework-res.apk/res/drawable: stat_sys_battery_charge.xml and stat_sys_battery.xml
now it gets tricky:
depending on the amount of your custom icons you have on charging, you may have to edit your stat_sys_battery_charge.xml file and delete or add the percentual steps! if you have 100 custom png's for charging animation, you can use the stat_sys_battery_charge.xml i attached (it also includes a stat_sys_battery.xml with 100 steps if you need)
now it's time to paste your modified/downloaded stat_sys_battery_charge.xml and stat_sys_battery.xml into subfolder /res/drawable/ (where you deleted the original of gingerbread before!)
go back to apk manager and type 11 to compile your framework
when it asks "is this a system apk?", type Y for yes. confirm again with Y and let apk manager create a new folder, called "keep". a list of files appears, and after that DON'T CONFIRM!!!
first you have to navigate into this "keep" folder and delete again exactly what you deleted above (stat_sys_battery_X.png, stat_sys_battery_charge_animX.png, stat_sys_battery_unknown.png, stat_sys_battery_charge_animfull.png, stat_sys_battery.xml, stat_sys_battery_charge.xml) and ADDITIONALLY the file resources.arsc
now you can confirm in apk manager to complete the compiling process. as far as i know, these steps with keep folders are needed to include the right id's automatically in public.xml! if any errors occur, feel free to post your log in this thread (see log by typing 21 in apk manager)
flash your new created framework-res.apk by entering 8.
if you didn't anything wrong, you should have your new % battery icons after reboot! as mentioned before, your desktop background maybe messed up and/or your accounts are deleted. you can solve this by just readd accounts and change background again.

Those ID's are hexadecimal numbers (dictated by the 0x prefix), and are sequential:
0 - 17302168
10 - 17302169
100 - 17302170
20 - 17302171
40 - 17302172
60 - 17302173
80 - 17302174

RJackson said:
Those ID's are hexadecimal numbers (dictated by the 0x prefix), and are sequential:
0 - 17302168
10 - 17302169
100 - 17302170
20 - 17302171
40 - 17302172
60 - 17302173
80 - 17302174
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thx for your explanation! but i found out that it isn't necessary to edit public.xml. on decompiling, it adds automatically the missing lines when png's are listed in stat_sys_battery.xml...
finally i got it working if someone else wants the 1% increments, i can write a little tutorial.

Yea very interested. I can't stand the stock one. I knew how to do all the theming stuff on sd builds using the theme porters. Nand is different though. So please write that up, also will you post your battery mod for gingerbread

HOWTO added in 1st post!

fruchtfliege said:
HOWTO added in 1st post!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the tutorial. Question though, is this for sd builds or for nand? Or does it not matter?

it is only for nand-builds. on sd-builds it should be similar, but afaik you don't have to adb the framework-res.apk. you should find here a lot of threads about modifying sd-build statusbars, because it is not that hard like on nand builds.

Cool, I'm using nand. Yea through sd builds thing stuff was easy. I couldn't change the compression in the emulator. How were you able to change it? Also is that framework at the bottom the one we use to achieve what the picture looks like?

Background changed and accounts gone as mentioned, but it worked perfectly - well worth it!

How did you change the compression when running the batch file?
Edit: Nevemind im retarded.
When i press the 9 to decompile it it gives me some B.S error Saying could not find C:\place-apk-here-for-modding.... The directory name is invalid. Could someone make this work on JDMS nand build?
Alos when i pull the framework res file from my phone it doesnt show up in "projects" Theres nothing in there. However it does show up in "place-apk-here-for-modding" folder..

Alos when i pull the framework res file from my phone it doesnt show up in "projects" Theres nothing in there. However it does show up in "place-apk-here-for-modding" folder..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the adb pulled apk files are stored in "place-apk-here-for-modding" folder, not in projects! a project in this folder will only be created after decompiling an apk!!!
Also is that framework at the bottom the one we use to achieve what the picture looks like?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you just get the statusbar at top (in fact only + battery icon). the bottom icons and background are custom with using launcher pro.

Can you think of a certain reason why i keep getting an error when i try to decompile it?
This is the error i get
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
|Wed 01/19/2011 -- 20:11:24.04|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
'mode' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
'java' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
1631 KB/s (4121004 bytes in 2.466s)
Could Not Find C:\Users\Matt\Desktop\New folder\place-apk-here-for-modding\../pl
ace-apk-here-for-modding/signedframework-res.apk
Could Not Find C:\Users\Matt\Desktop\New folder\place-apk-here-for-modding\../pl
ace-apk-here-for-modding/unsignedframework-res.apk
'java' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
Press any key to continue . . .

i think you have to install java sdk. without it, the compiling tools are not included, like on jde (i think it's called jde...)
but i'm going to make flashable zips of these files for clockwork mod. only problem is, that i don't know much about linux commands i couldn't get it working. i should start a new thread asking about this.

If you jump on irc you would get your answer in like 5secs. Room is #htc-linux-chat on freenode. Thanks for the suggestion about sdk. That does make sense now that I think about it;p

thank you for the hint. i will ask for help at chat tomorrow. i'm also working on different statusbar colours of gingerbread with original icons. before release i have to get this cwm zip flash thing working!

fruchtfliege said:
at first, it would be nice if any mod can modify the title to: [HOWTO] 1% battery mod on gingerbread and delete all following posts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just a heads-up mate - you obviously can't delete any posts, but you can change the title. Edit the first post and go into advanced mode to change it.
Good luck with your project

thank you! i have changed the title now.

Hey Fruit Fly, any progress on that cwm zip?

not really. i forgot my hd2 at home (i do theme works at work) and couldn't test the cwm zip files. on sunday evening i can test everything and tell you whats working and what not!
rafpigna from #htc-linux-chat gave me another choice of flashing easy with an adb script (thank you for that). but some users on german android forum told me it's not working. have to bugfix the files first

Yea let me know the outcome;p

[MOD] Wake on Volume Keys via android.policy.jar

This has been bothering me for awhile now. I set the phone on the table and browse or read on it. The screen goes off and now I have to pick the phone up to wake it back up. Very irritating! I'd rather be able to press the volume keys and use the pattern lock than use the fingerprint reader, when I'm not holding the phone.
I decided I'd look into this tonight and actually it turns out it's very easy. The script took longer than figuring the mod itself. Surprise, surprise, the solution is in android.policy.jar again.
This mod will make pressing the volume keys wake the phone first, then subsequent presses will change volume as usual. I won't bother with a detailed how-to this time since I put some time into a fairly complete script, but for people who are curious, here are the details:
File: KeyguardViewMediator.smali
Method: private isWakeKeyWhenKeyguardShowing(I)Z
How: Delete cases 0x18 and 0x19 in the switch statement at the bottom of the method. These tell it to return true for volume up and down keys. Careful about changing the others. Some refer to non-existent buttons on the Atrix, but others (as I found out) affect your headset mic button and other events. For a detailed how-to on taking apart and putting together the android.policy.jar, please see this thread
The script is now universal, for all ROMs. OS X, Linux, Windows.
How does it do that? Like this:
1. It takes android.policy.jar directly from your phone.
2. Decompiles the jar.
3. Patches it.
4. Recompiles it.
5. Pushes the jar back onto your phone.
6. Cleans up and reboots the phone.
Some prerequisites before you run the script:
1. Obviously make sure you're backed up. You can't hard brick with this, but there is a possibility of soft brick if there's a bug. It should be safe because it checks for errors at nearly every command, but nevertheless have CWM ready. I have tested this on OS X and Windows. Linux users, you will need to test this yourself. It should be fine though, because you use the same script as OS X, but with a different adb. Just verify that the script and adb have the correct executable permissions, or chmod as necessary.
2. You must have java installed on your computer because it needs that to compile the android.policy.jar file. To check, you can type, "java" in a command line window. If you get a "no java command" type message, then java isn't installed correctly on your machine, or you need to add the path to java.exe to your path environment variable.
3. You must be deodexed.
4. Make sure to set your USB connection to "None" on your phone.
5. On your phone, go to Settings > Applications > Development and make sure USB debugging is turned on.
6. Plug your phone into your PC and let it install any necessary drivers. (OS X users ignore this, Linux users... You're on your own )
7. Then you can run wakeonvolume.sh for OS X/Linux and wakeonvolume.bat for windows.
* Thanks to natboy for solving the script issue for XP users!

I appreciate you and your work in the development of the atrix

xredjokerx said:
I appreciate you and your work in the development of the atrix
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm happy to help out my fellow Atrix users

nice work, although you could have just installed nolock from the market and be done with it don't need root and a a risky mod for it
I hate the sliding finger lock screen.. it's worthless... Yet if you disable the screen lock it doesn't go away. i consider that a bug.

maledyris said:
2. You must have java installed on your computer because it needs that to compile the android.policy.jar file. To check, you can type, "java" in a command line window. If you get a "no java command" type message, then java isn't installed correctly on your machine, or you need to add the path to java.exe to your path environment variable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need a java compiler (javac) or just the java virtual machine (java) ?
If you need a compiler then you need the java sdk not just the j2se

No error msgs, phone rebooted but mod doesn't seem to work, phone doesn't wake up.

booting up my virtual machine as we speak
i'll report results soon.

-----------------------------------------
Pick your ROM:
1) Bell
2) Stock ATT 1.83
3) GingerBlur v4
4) Gladiatrix
-----------------------------------------
'choice' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
Copying system files...
135 File(s) copied
-----------------------------------------
Do you want the "No Hardkey Vibrations" mod?
'choice' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
-----------------------------------------
Do you want the "Volume Keys Wake" mod?
'choice' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
-----------------------------------------
Compiling classes.dex...
-----------------------------------------
Packaging android.policy.jar...
7-Zip (A) 9.20 Copyright (c) 1999-2010 Igor Pavlov 2010-11-18
Scanning
Updating archive .\android.policy.jar
Compressing classes.dex
Compressing META-INF\MANIFEST.MF
Everything is Ok
-----------------------------------------
Cleaning up work directory...
now i believe i have the standard services.jar, because hard key vibes are back.

n1ckr0th said:
-----------------------------------------
Pick your ROM:
1) Bell
2) Stock ATT 1.83
3) GingerBlur v4
4) Gladiatrix
-----------------------------------------
'choice' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
Copying system files...
135 File(s) copied
-----------------------------------------
Do you want the "No Hardkey Vibrations" mod?
'choice' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
-----------------------------------------
Do you want the "Volume Keys Wake" mod?
'choice' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
-----------------------------------------
Compiling classes.dex...
-----------------------------------------
Packaging android.policy.jar...
7-Zip (A) 9.20 Copyright (c) 1999-2010 Igor Pavlov 2010-11-18
Scanning
Updating archive .\android.policy.jar
Compressing classes.dex
Compressing META-INF\MANIFEST.MF
Everything is Ok
-----------------------------------------
Cleaning up work directory...
now i believe i have the standard services.jar, because hard key vibes are back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same here, no errors, but no choices

stevendeb25 said:
same here, no errors, but no choices
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Worked for me, just make sure you run batch as admin and put it on the root of the C drive.

Looks like for one thing the script is using CHOICE which isn't available in Windows XP/NT. It was in MS-DOS and in Vista/Win 7.
I'm supplying the CHOICE.COM that came with the MSDOS supplement disks. You can google it and download it straight from Microsoft, so there shouldn't be any problems here. Unzip it and put it in the same directory the batch file is in. Also modify the batch file on the 12th line instead of choice /c 1234 put:
choice /C:1234
Edit: I haven't actually tried this yet, but that should get it going. Will try in a few..
Edit 2: This should only be needed if you're running WinXP/NT. I'm assuming it works under Win7 already.
Edit 3: It works! Once I added the choice.com file and modified the script as stated above, it worked on my XP box. Thanks for the mods OP! FYI, I'm on Gladiatrix v3.
Edit 4: Sorry for keep editing this post I must be bored at work today. With this latest edit, I'm uploading a zip for XP that has the choice.com file in it and the script modified to work with it. I'd think it'd work in Win7 also, but someone should test it to try it out.

natboy said:
Looks like for one thing the script is using CHOICE which isn't available in Windows XP/NT. It was in MS-DOS and in Vista/Win 7.
I'm supplying the CHOICE.COM that came with the MSDOS supplement disks. You can google it and download it straight from Microsoft, so there shouldn't be any problems here. Unzip it and put it in the same directory the batch file is in. Also modify the batch file on the 12th line instead of choice /c 1234 put:
choice /C:1234
Edit: I haven't actually tried this yet, but that should get it going. Will try in a few..
Edit 2: This should only be needed if you're running WinXP/NT. I'm assuming it works under Win7 already.
Edit 3: It works! Once I added the choice.com file and modified the script as stated above, it worked on my XP box. Thanks for the mods OP! FYI, I'm on Gladiatrix v3.
Edit 4: Sorry for keep editing this post I must be bored at work today. With this latest edit, I'm uploading a zip for XP that has the choice.com file in it and the script modified to work with it. I'd think it'd work in Win7 also, but someone should test it to try it out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thank you so much natboy!
worked for me!
maleydris i love your mods, if i had a way of donating i would.

natboy said:
Looks like for one thing the script is using CHOICE which isn't available in Windows XP/NT. It was in MS-DOS and in Vista/Win 7.
I'm supplying the CHOICE.COM that came with the MSDOS supplement disks. You can google it and download it straight from Microsoft, so there shouldn't be any problems here. Unzip it and put it in the same directory the batch file is in. Also modify the batch file on the 12th line instead of choice /c 1234 put:
choice /C:1234
Edit: I haven't actually tried this yet, but that should get it going. Will try in a few..
Edit 2: This should only be needed if you're running WinXP/NT. I'm assuming it works under Win7 already.
Edit 3: It works! Once I added the choice.com file and modified the script as stated above, it worked on my XP box. Thanks for the mods OP! FYI, I'm on Gladiatrix v3.
Edit 4: Sorry for keep editing this post I must be bored at work today. With this latest edit, I'm uploading a zip for XP that has the choice.com file in it and the script modified to work with it. I'd think it'd work in Win7 also, but someone should test it to try it out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, sorry guys! I didn't realize that wasn't part of XP!
And thank you natboy! I'll update the OP when i'm home from work
Sent from my MB860 using XDA Premium App

franciscojavierleon said:
You need a java compiler (javac) or just the java virtual machine (java) ?
If you need a compiler then you need the java sdk not just the j2se
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, you don't need the compiler, just the vm.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA Premium App

franciscojavierleon said:
nice work, although you could have just installed nolock from the market and be done with it don't need root and a a risky mod for it
I hate the sliding finger lock screen.. it's worthless... Yet if you disable the screen lock it doesn't go away. i consider that a bug.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nah, why would I want to completely get rid of lock? It's useful to me. I also like the fingerprint reader. I just want to be able to wake the phone's screen without resorting to the recessed power button. I'm generally satisfied with the locking mechanism as it is.
Granted, the script is risky as we've found the mod itself though is very clean and it's very clear cut what the code is doing there.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA Premium App

The command to remount system should be
Code:
mount -o rw,remount /dev/block/mmcblk0p12 /system

maledyris said:
Ah, sorry guys! I didn't realize that wasn't part of XP!
And thank you natboy! I'll update the OP when i'm home from work
Sent from my MB860 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad to help, thanks for the mod. I find it easier to unlock the phone now, by pushing the volume key with my thumb and swiping with my finger. Pushing the back button with the finger and sliding seemed to herky jerky to me.

thanks natboy modphone.zip working on xp
thanks maledyris for the original mod
great mod love it guys

You guys should try out no lock. It gets rid of the lock screen and allows you to wake up the phone with the volume keys.

rdubyah said:
You guys should try out no lock. It gets rid of the lock screen and allows you to wake up the phone with the volume keys.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, but then it gets rid of the lock screen, which defeats the purpose of what the OP wanted.

Building Your Own LG Themes

Introduction
This is going to be a long post! A few weeks ago I started thinking about making my own themes for my LG G5. I had installed some custom roms previously and used substratum a bit but I have always ended up going back to xpirt's Fulmics rom, which doesn't allow this. I started to think how I could do this and have today got to the first stage of being able to change the colours of my phone to precisely what I want, not only for the settings but in some of the stock apps. I thought I would share this with the community and provide some step by step instructions so you can try it yourself. This should work on LG G6, V10, V20 & V30 if you use an app made for these phones but I have no way of testing this so don't hold me to it. This has taken me about 5 full days to work this out and there is still more that I need to do.
I am not in anyway a developer or coder and have very little knowledge of Java so if anything goes wrong here it is likely that I will not be able to help you. I absolutely am a noob at this and do this only for a hobby, using just my common sense and our friend Google to overcome the problems I have come across. Saying that, I will try to offer assistance if I can.
I managed to make my theme from reverse engineering a free LG theme app that was readily available. If you do this method though please consider getting approval from the app developer first. There is a template on here posted by Raafat here. While this was helpful it was only basic and I could not work out exactly what to do. Reverse engineering an app was much easier. Here is how I did it with step by step instructions:
******DISCLAIMER******
I am in not responsible for what you do to your phone. If you decide to try and theme your phone make a backup first or be prepared to do a full reset if anything goes wrong. You do this at your own risk.
1. Programmes
The programmes/software needed for theming are:
• Notepad++
• Apktool
• Android Studio (I used version 2.3 as I was getting an error on re-signing with 3.0)
2. Installing Frameworks Using Apktool:
• Firstly, delete the files in your local temp directory. To do this open ‘Search’ and type in %temp% and delete all files in this folder. You may not be able to delete some of the files. This does not matter
• Next, extract the framework files from your rom/custom rom. For Fulmics 5.5 this was:
Frameworks-res.apk
lge-res.apk
• At a guess I would say that any rom will have these files named exactly as they are above, but I am not sure if these have been altered by xpirt for his rom so you may not be able to use them across other roms.
• Open a command prompt and navigate to the folder where the framework files are kept. This is easiest in a folder called C:/apktool so create a folder in your C:/ drive and place them there. You can of course name the folder or locate it where you want though.
• Use apktool to install the frameworks using this command in the command prompt in C:\apktool
apktool if framework-res.apk
apktool if lge-res.apk
• Once this is done you should find the following files Installed here: C:\Users\[your username]\AppData\Local\apktool\Framework
1.apk
2.apk
• If, like me, you get an error with apktool that says it cannot write to C:\Users\[your username]\AppData\Local\apktool\Framework and instead has placed them in the temp folder then go into the Local folder using the pathway above and create a folder called 'apktool' and then a subfolder called 'framework'. Try the commands again and it should then work.
• You should also find the following files in the C:\apktool folder (if that is the folder you are using). If they are not here you may have to copy and paste them from the apktool github download.
apktool.jar
apktool.bat
• If you have found these files then you are set to go with decoding the theme/app you have chosen as a basis to amend.
3. Decoding APKs Using Apktool
• Download the apk/app you want to use. I used Backup and Restore app from Play to get the app I wanted to use onto my PC. Once you have this on your PC place the main APK/app in the same folder as the apktool.bat and the apktool.jar (for me this this was C:\apktool)
• Point the command prompt at this place and type the following:
apktool d [app name]
• A folder with the name of the app you just decoded will appear in the directory that you use (in this case C:\apktool)
• In this folder you should find another folder called assets. There may be more sub APKs here in subfolders. This subfolder will likely be assets>overlays
• All the sub APKs in here will have to be decoded otherwise you will have different signing keys and the app, once compiled again, will not work. Decode all the sub APKs in this same folder. You will have to copy the following files to the folder you are decoding the sub APKs in. These are:
apktool.jar
apktool.bat
• Decode every sub apk using the command apktool d [sub_apkname]
• You should now have the same number of folders in the drive as the number of sub APKs, if you decoded them all.
4. Changing the Colours and other Themes from the Decoded APKs Using Notepad++
• Many theme APKs will have internal APKs, such as common, settings, phone, systemui, calendar etc, etc. This is what I have worked out so far:
Common: Changes the switches, brightness bar and the text headings in settings, changes swipe left panels in apps such as gallery, changes background, message icon & phone icon colour in contact/phone app, statusbar background, separating lines in settings (some themes do not have these), background bar of setting title (i.e. wireless network, device etc), settings text colour, secondary text (i.e. the text you see under Wifi and Bluetooth which shows you what you are connected to), the headings in apps such as clock where it shows 'Alarm' 'World Clock' 'Timer' etc
System UI: Changes the quick settings tiles & text and the non-heading text in settings
• To change the colour of these you have to amend the colors.xml located in one of the folders in the assets>overlays and then the folder of the overlay you want to change. I used Notepad++ to do this. Navigate to 'res' folder and then usually something like 'values-xxxhdpi-v4'. There is sometimes more than one color.xml file so you may need to look in more than one folder and amend all the color.xml files. The colours are at the end of the lines of text and will be standard Android colour coding, such as ffffffff (white) or 00000000 (black) or any other colours.
5. Building APKs & Signing with Android Studio
• If you are building the sub APKs from an app (these are the ones inside an APK such as common, systemui, phone etc) I found it best to use a different folder. For this I used C:\apktool builder
• Copy and paste the folder from the decoded APK (e.g. the [appname].LGE.common folder) that is in the asset>overlays folder to the apktool builder folder above
• Once you have made the colour amendments it is time to build the amended themes. To do this you will need Android Studio
• Open the splash screen of Android Studio and instead of the 'Open' command use the 'Import Project' command and navigate to the folder you want to import
• When opening Android Studio you have to configure the frameworks otherwise you will not be able to sign the app. This warning should come up automatically. THIS MUST BE DONE FOR IT TO WORK
• Navigate and find your APK in apktool builder and import it. If you do this more than once you will be prompted to overwrite the settings a few times.
• Go to ‘Build’ along the top and choose ‘Generate Signed APK’. If this is the first time it will ask for the Key Store Path. You will need to choose ‘Create New’. Select a place to store this key (I chose C:\apktool Builder) and input the passwords and the other data in the boxes. You must put a two-digit country code in the last box, for example US, UK etc). For ease I kept most of these very simple. For example, password was 'asdfgh'
• Once this has been completed and if there are no errors (warnings are ok) then it will generate a signed sub APK and save it to the location you are in (in this case C:\apktool builder). Copy and paste that sub APK over the one in the C:\apktool folder where the original sub APK was kept.
• Once you have done this then you need to sign the main app APK. Do the same as above and build in Android Studio. If there are no errors it will save it to your directory (in my case C:\apktool\[app name].
• Copy and paste this APK into your phone, apply the theme and it should work.
Everytime you amend a sub apk you will have to re-sign it through Android studio and then re-sign the main app apk. Once you get the hang of it though it is fairly straight forward.
6. Other Things
Nothing else in the app will change at this point. The name, wallpaper jpegs, screenshots and icons will all be the same. I am working on this at the moment but they don't actually need changing that much. The difficult thing for me is how to change the 9.png icon files and still get them to work. Once I have worked this out I will be able to finish it off.
7. Screenshots
Attached are some screenshots of how my phone now looks. I have made a few different apk's with different colours so I can now change this daily if I want a change (see post 2 for updated screenshots).
8. Thanks/Credits
@xpirt - Made it easy to get the framework files I needed for apktool and for a great custom rom!
@Raafat - for giving me the idea and the initial information
@iBotPeaches - for developing apktool.
.

Building Your Own LG Theme
I've been able to fine tune the themes over the past few weeks and have been able to colour the settings icons on the main settings page as well as putting a background behind it. I've also been able to theme the switches initially getting over a problem of the 'off' switch not showing. Here is some updated screenshots of a green/grey&blue theme.
I've also attached the updated blue & red theme from the initial post. I've not fully completed this yet though as I started to concentrate on the green/grey&blue theme as I preferred that.

Could someone make a stock theme just dark? I found one on play store but is not the best thing (it changes system sounds and other things that i don't like) I'd like a full stock theme but dark. Thanks in advance

Help
Can you help me? I tried changing package names in .json file and added new icons in the theme. I don't understand why it is failing on apply. It was running properly with only color change before doing this.

[email protected] said:
Can you help me? I tried changing package names in .json file and added new icons in the theme. I don't understand why it is failing on apply. It was running properly with only color change before doing this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is the apk.

I probably won't be able to get round to this until the weekend due to work commitments but will have a look and let you know.

strikerman10 said:
I probably won't be able to get round to this until the weekend due to work commitments but will have a look and let you know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Take your time, and thanks. ?

[email protected] said:
Take your time, and thanks. ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In case you haven't checked the apk I provided earlier, I have found and fixed some package name errors but the result is still same. It get stuck at 90% and then fails. I have changed icons too, is there anything needed to do in public.xml ? New apk is attached below.

strikerman10 said:
I probably won't be able to get round to this until the weekend due to work commitments but will have a look and let you know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you took a look at it?