Tutorial Skinning SleepSense
Application: SleepSense
What do you need?
The only thing you need is an image-editor to edit the images
A xml editor to change the colors of the menu, borders, chart or other controls Step by step:
the original theme files
Step by step
Download the original default folder
Open the files in this folder in your image editor
Remake the images
Save the images (of course)
Edit theme.xml to change the colors of the menu, borders, chart or other controls
Create a new Theme folder: [Your theme name] Theme
Copy the edited images to your device in the folder [SleepSense installation dir]\Themes\ [Your theme name]Theme
Go to the alarm and select you own theme.
List of images in the \Themes\ folder
Bkg_Clock.jpg
Background of the sleep screen
Bkg_Default.jpg
Background of the menu
Bkg_Item1.png
The first item in the list
Bkg_Item2.png
The second/other item(s) of the list
Bkg_ItemS.png
The selected item of the list
Bkg_TxtClock.jpg
Background of the box with info in sleep screen
Bkg_TxtMain.jpg
Background of the info box
Img_Chart.png
The background of the sleep chart, the chart is projected over it.
Icon_xxxx.png
Several icons for in the menu or other
Bkg_Slide.jpg
Don’t touch it
Icon_Dummy.png
Don’t touch it
To make it compatible with the 200*480/320 screen resolution add _240x400 or _240x320 after the image name
Edit theme.xml
You can edit the xml to change the colors of the fonts, borders etc.
You can change a lot using the XML, but it’s pretty hard to understand (for a noob)
Forecolor is the color of font, Backcolor the achtergrond, other colors are gradients to the backcolor
<ImageFile1>XXXXXXXXX.png</ImageFile1>
contains the imagefile that is used that control
Code:
…="Icon_XXXXX"><ImageFile1>Icon_XXXX.png</ImageFile1>…
…="Bkg_Default"><ImageFile1>Bkg_Default.jpg</ImageFile1>…
<BackColor>XXXXXX</BackColor>
The background color of the control
Code:
… "Img_Chart"><BackColor>D3D3D3</BackColor>…
…="LeftBox_Chart"><BackColor>102C52</BackColor>…
<BorderColor>000000</BorderColor>
Color of the border
Code:
..lor><BorderColor>000000</BorderColor><Font>T…
…olor><BorderColor>000000</BorderColor><F…
<Font>[Font], [Size], [Formatting]</Font>
Font of the control
[Font] Font name
[Size] Size of the font
[Formatting] The formatting of the font (bold etc.)
Code:
…lor><Font>Tahoma, 5, Bold</Font>…
…r><Font>Tahoma, 8, Regular</Font><Fore…
<ForeColor>XXXXXX</ForeColor >
Code:
…nt><ForeColor>D3D3D3</ForeColor><Opac…
…nt><ForeColor>808080</ForeColor></Con…
These sections represent the topbuttons, main surrounding panel of the home menu, panel with for example the instructions, Clock colors, date colors, etc.
In the Beta these values can change. Best thing to do is to change is color to white FFFFFF, save the file and start SleepSense
<Opacity>XXX</Opacity>
Definite the opacity of the control, From 255 to 0, which is transparent
Code:
…r><Opacity>125</Opacity><Ba…
…Color><Opacity>80</Opacity><Ba…
Note: all colors must be in HTML color codes (like FFFFFF or 708090)
How to release your theme officially
If you want to publish you personal theme send it to [email protected] in a zip file. We will check your theme and give, where necessary, advice and update this topic with your theme
Any way of advertising through a theme is forbidden.
When your theme is checked by the SleepSense team, we will add it to this topic.
While choosing a new theme in SleepSense the user will have the option to choose from these themes in this topic too. The selected theme is downloaded, unzipped into the Themes folder and ready for use.
Why?
We decided to check themes to improve the quality of the themes. It has also benefits for the developer:
*He will get useful advices
*His theme will be showed in the theme showcase of this thread
*His theme will be included with SleepSense
What must I send?
The theme folder with the images
At least 3 screenshot
(Optional) a cab installer
Showcase
for now, there no SleepSense skins...
Read the tutorial and make your one
also reserved for future
Waiting to see what is coming...
suscribed to see some work
This info is for smartphone (WM Standard) but some items may apply also for touch screen devices (WM professional).
Not many things can be personalized on a smartphone, but some can.
The home-screen:
each of these has XML code to define its layout, the utilized plugins, the color scheme and the home-screen background. Many have defined sophisticated home-screens or loaded them from the web.
Sadly when leaving the home-screen, only the color scheme stays, nothing else
The color-schemes may be selected independently from the home-screen and these may also contain a background picture. Selected color schemes are overwriting the relevant settings of the home-screen. Note that only the defined parts in the selected color scheme are used to overwrite previous definitions in the home-screen - so they are complementary in that regard. If a background picture is defined in the color scheme, it takes precedence over the one defined in the home-screen.
An own background picture can be forced and overwrites all above methods.
Selection of a background picture via the settings panel is only possible from the \Application Data\Home directory (where all home-screens are) while defined home-screens or color schemes can reference pictures from any location on the device (usually \windows).
Via the Pictures and Videos application or via File Explorer you can also set any picture as home-screen background. You do this via the context menu and then you are presented a work-flow consisting of selecting the area to use and the transparency level to apply for that picture. Vendor specific other procedures may apply here. Finally all these should create images like: stwater_<x-res>_<y-res>.jpg in the \windows directory and a compressed adapted home-screen in the \Application Data\Home directory.
Start Menu Background: Not often used but powerful, see here for all details: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb416463.aspx. In essence you have to add to the current entries:
Code:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Shell\Rai\:MSStart]
"BKBitmapFile"="<your picture here>"
"BKFlags"=dword:1a
"BKBitmapTransparent"=dword:00ff00ff
"BKBitmapLogPixelsY"=dword:00000083 <- your DPI here '83 = 131 for QVGA
"BKBitmapLogPixelsX"=dword:00000083 <- your DPI here '83 = 131 for QVGA
Most Recent Used Applications Background: Introduced with Sliding Panels backgrounds from WM 6.1 as there is no MRU plugin with sliding panels. Here the same logic applies as for the Startmenu, just use :MSMRULauncher instead of :MSStart
And NO - the settings panels cannot handle a background picture
So why did I tell you this? You can simply align your start menu and MRU launcher with the picture on your home-screen. No need for any offline tools or editing, just do the following:
enter the keys to the registry as given above for start menu and MRU laucher, take care to set the correct DPI. You find the right ones at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\GWE\Display in the values "LogicalPixelsX" and "LogicalPixelsY"
set both the background pictures to "\windows\stwater_<x>_<y>.jpg" so that "<x,y>" matches your resolution
With file explorer or "Pictures and Videos" seek for the BG picture of your current home-screen, usually it is either in \Application Data\Home or in \windows
Set this to be your home-screen picture, choose a value of ~30% transparency in the work-flow.
Check your home-screen and the MRU + Startmenu panels. If you have already a background active you need to restart the device to pick the new ones up.
Now you will see that the selected picture is too pale for the home-screen, so on the settings-home-screen go to the background picture selection and select "standard" again to get your original picture back there.
As long as you are not assigning a new dedicated background picture to the home-screen, the previously created stwater_x_y.jpg stays in the \windows directory and will please you as the MRU and Start menu backgrounds.
Any new background related activity will only require steps 3-7, the registry stays unchanged.
Some more
The background setting in the Shell registry hierarchy works just the same as for :MSStart also for: :MSScut (Short Dials), :MSSolitaire (Solitaire), :WCEload (when installing programs) and :SIMPinBKGround (when entering the SIM PIN).
You may not want to have backgrounds for all of the above, but to get rid of the light green background in Solitaire, set the value of BKUnselected there to something else than "00FF00" which is Green only. Sequence is RGB, so make your choice. Even simpler (and best choice here): Add BKDefaultGradient = dword:1 which gives you the standard (and altered by your color scheme) gradient color on the background.
The dialog for the SIM PIN is not transparent though, so not nice to look at.
Of course the Shell\RAI has other bitmap settings (brandings, dialog backgrounds), no need to mention that here.
Introduction
This tutorial helps you get started creating your own themes for Apex Launcher. Since themes are packaged and distributed in the form of APK files, you'll need to know the basics about Android app development to make themes.
Prerequisites
Before you begin, you need to set up your development environment. Please install the required software in the following order.
JDK 6
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html
Android SDK
http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html
Eclipse IDE
http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/
ADT Plugin for Eclipse
http://developer.android.com/sdk/eclipse-adt.html
How to install these developer tools is not within scope of this tutorial, For details, make sure to read and follow the instructions in the links provided above.
Creating Your Theme
Apex Launcher supports different components in its theme engine. Icon packs replace app icons on the desktop, dock, and in the drawer. Apex skins allows the customization of the look and feel of the launcher itself, including dock background, folder background, icon label color, etc. You may also change the font of icon labels and provide a bunch of wallpapers along with your theme. Each theme may contain one or more components.
Here are two sample themes to help you get started. If you are just creating an icon pack, please use the icon pack sample as a base and follow the instructions below to add icons to the theme. If you want to go for a complete theme design, start with the other theme sample which includes all types of components.
Download Apex Icon Pack Sample
Download Apex Theme Sample
Regardless of which sample theme you choose, the first step is to import the sample project into Eclipse. Here are the instructions.
Extract the sample archive file to your hard drive.
Open Eclipse, choose "Import..." from the File menu.
In the Import dialog, choose "Existing Projects into Workspace" under General, and click Next. Then browse to the sample project directory and click Finish.
Change the package name. To do this, first expand the ApexIconPackSample (or ApexThemeSample) project in the Project Explorer and then expand the src folder. Now right click "com.yourname.iconpackname" (or "com.yourname.themename") and select "Refactor > Rename...". Enter your desired package name and click OK to save the change.
Right click on your theme project in the Eclipse Project Explorer and select "Android Tools > Rename Application Package". Enter the same package name (as used in the previous step) and click OK.
Navigate to and open "strings.xml" under "res/values" and change the theme information to your needs.
Replace the icon.png files under the drawable folders to use your own icons. Note that the sample projects are configured in a way such that they will not show up in the drawer. However, the icons are still visible in the Apex Launcher theme settings.
Provide a feature graphic and up to 5 preview images in your theme. These are optional, so you may just delete the entries from "strings.xml" and the corresponding image files if you decide not to provide these images.
Now, let's get down to the different components. Again, you may include any combination of the following components in your theme.
Icon Pack
First of all, please make sure config_iconpack is set to true in "strings.xml".
HTML:
<bool name="config_iconpack">true</bool>
This will let Apex's theme engine know that your theme includes an icon pack component.
Next, open the appfilter.xml file under the res/xml directory. (Note: This file used to be located under the assets directory, but the new app encryption feature in JellyBean made it impossible for the theme engine to access assets of paid themes.) You need to add an entry for each activity that you provide an icon for, in the following format:
HTML:
<item component="ComponentInfo{com.package.name/com.package.name.ActivityName}" drawable="icon_name"/>
For instance, here's how we provide an icon for the Browser app in the sample project:
HTML:
<item component="ComponentInfo{com.android.browser/com.android.browser.BrowserActivity}" drawable="com_android_browser_browseractivity" />
<item component="ComponentInfo{com.google.android.browser/com.android.browser.BrowserActivity}" drawable="com_android_browser_browseractivity" />
Some apps (Browser, Camera, etc.) may have different package names but they share the same activity name. Therefore, specifying both the package name and the activity name can help avoid any ambiguity if you need to provide separate icons for such apps. Please note that we do not include the file extension (.png) for the drawable attribute value.
When providing icons, please make sure they are of the right size (i.e., resolution) depending on the screen density you are targeting. Generally, Android supports these density buckets: ldpi, mdpi, hdpi, xhdpi, and xxhdpi. Please keep in mind that xxhdpi is supported starting from JellyBean, so devices running ICS may not pick it up properly. The screen resolution and icon size for each density bucket is listed below.
Code:
Density Screen Icon (px)
ldpi ~120dpi 36x36
mdpi ~160dpi 48x48
hdpi ~240dpi 72x72
xhdpi ~320dpi 96x96
xxhdpi ~480dpi 144x144
It is not required to support every density bucket listed above, as icons generally can be scaled to the right size automatically. If you are targeting higher-end devices, we recommend using xhdpi (96x96) as a starting point, which should provide enough detail on high resolution screens. After you decide on the density to support, export icons as transparent PNG files and put them in the correct folder (e.g., drawable-hdpi, drawable-xhdpi).
Since it is impossible to create a themed icon for every single app, you may provide default icon background images to achieve a uniform look and feel. If provided, these background images will be placed behind each icon that does not have a specific icon created for it. If you decide to take advantage of this feature, please declare your background images in the appfilter.xml file, like this:
HTML:
<iconback img1="iconback" />
<iconmask img1="iconmask" />
<iconupon img1="iconupon" />
<scale factor="0.75" />
The corresponding iconback image file (e.g., iconback.png) is placed under the proper drawable directory. The sample icon pack project only provides one iconback image, but you can have multiple iconback images as well, and the theme engine would randomly pick an image for each icon.
HTML:
<iconback img1="iconback1" img2="iconback2" img3="iconback3" img4="iconback4" img5="iconback5" />
All the unthemed icons will be scaled to fit atop an iconback. The scale factor is also declared in appfilter.xml, with 1.0 being the actual size (no scaling).
The Apex theme engine also allows you to mask icons using a transparent image (i.e., iconmask) or place an overlay (i.e., iconupon) on top of the icons. You may use a transparent iconupon image to decorate the icons (e.g., to achieve glossy effects).
The iconback, iconmask, iconupon, and scale tags described above are all optional, so if you do not want to use these features, just delete the tags from appfilter.xml and the corresponding image files from the sample project. In addition, the theme engine supports the icon shader feature for manipulating color values in icons.
For compatibility reasons, Apex also supports icon packs that do not use an appfilter. In this case, you must name the icon files properly so that Apex Launcher can detect and use them. Here's the naming convention:
Icon file name should be based on the full activity name
Always use lower case letters for file names
Replace dots with underscores
For example, to add an icon for the stock Android browser (com.android.browser.BrowserActivity) in your icon pack, add an icon with the name "com_android_browser_browseractivity.png" in the proper drawable directory. In case of conflicts, appfilter has higher priority and the icon file specified there will be used.
Finding the Correct Component/Activity Name
If you do not know the name of the activity, the "Activities" shortcut list may come in handy. Just long press on your home screen and select Shortcuts > Activities. The name of each activity will be listed under the label after you expand the desired app.
Since Apex Launcher 2.0, the activity picker has been improved to help you quickly find the correct component name for the app you want to theme. For each app, the package name is listed under the name of the app, and the name of each public activity is listed under the activity label. When the package name matches the activity name prefix, the activity name starts with a dot and the prefix is omitted for brevity. Otherwise, the full activity name is provided. Note that the main activity of each app is marked in blue and is the one that will appear in the app drawer. Here are two examples:
> Messaging
com.android.mms
>> Messaging
.ui.ConversationList
The activity name starts with a dot, which means you should concatenate it with the package name. The full component name for the Messaging app should be:
HTML:
ComponentInfo{com.android.mms/com.android.mms.ui.ConversationList}
> Chrome
com.android.chrome
>> Chrome
com.google.android.apps.chrome.Main
In this case, the activity name does not start with a dot, and is already the full name. The full component name for the Chrome app should be:
HTML:
ComponentInfo{com.android.chrome/com.google.android.apps.chrome.Main}
Besides the activity picker, you may also find the following websites useful:
http://activities.droidicon.com/
http://activities.tundem.com/
The next step is to declare the icons included in your icon pack. This can be done by adding an entry for each icon to the icon_pack array in "res/values/iconpack.xml". Here's an example:
HTML:
<string-array name="icon_pack" translatable="false">
<item>com_android_browser_browseractivity</item>
</string-array>
Again, we do not include the file extension (.png) in this array.
These declarations are important for the icon picker that allows users to change icons for apps/folders on the home screen. Only declared icons will appear in the icon picker when the user chooses your theme from the list.
Skin
The theme engine of Apex Launcher allows you to customize the look and feel of your desktop, dock, and drawer, by providing certain images and color values in your theme. The ApexThemeSample project includes all the things you may change, and it provides the default images and color values as the basis for your modification.
If you include a skin in your theme, make sure config_apexskin is set to true in "strings.xml".
HTML:
<bool name="config_apexskin">true</bool>
Feel free to use the sample theme as a starting point and replace any image in the drawable-xhdpi directory to your needs.
You may notice that some of the images are 9-patch drawables (those ending with .9.png). A nine patch graphic is a stretchable image, which Android will automatically resize to accommodate the contents. You can define stretchable regions that Android scales when the image is resized. The Draw 9-patch tool from the Android SDK allows you to easily create a nine patch graphic using a WYSIWYG editor. To learn more about nine patch graphics and the Draw 9-patch tool, please read the following references on the Android Developer’s site:
http://developer.android.com/guide/developing/tools/draw9patch.html
http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/graphics/2d-graphics.html#nine-patch
If you decide not to change certain images from the default theme, please delete the image from your theme package. For instance, if you do not want to theme the Apex action icons, you can just delete all the "ic_*.png" files from the drawable directory, and Apex will still use the default images. Doing so will help make your theme package slim by excluding unnecessary files and it also helps improve the performance of the launcher.
You may also notice a few xml files in the drawable directory. Those are state list drawables that select from different images based on their states. If you do not theme the drawer button, you will need to delete "all_apps_button_icon.xml" after removing both "ic_allapps.png" and "ic_allapps_pressed.png". Similarly, if you do not theme the drawer tabs, you will also need to delete the "tab_*.xml" files after removing the "tab_*.png" files. Otherwise, the project won't compile because these xml files depend on the other deleted images. For more information on state list drawables, please refer to the following link:
http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/resources/drawable-resource.html#StateList
To customize the color values for UI elements, please edit "colors.xml" and change the color values as you please.
Font
Place your custom font file under the assets folder and name it themefont.ttf. If this file is present in your theme, it will be automatically picked up by Apex Launcher. Please make sure that the font is working properly by testing it on your device.
Wallpapers
You may bundle wallpapers in your theme by putting the images inside the proper drawable directory. You also need to update "res/values/wallpapers.xml" accordingly, so that Apex will recognize the wallpapers. Here's an example from the sample theme:
HTML:
<string-array name="wallpapers" translatable="false">
<item>wallpaper_escape</item>
<item>wallpaper_outofthebox</item>
</string-array>
<string name="default_wallpaper">wallpaper_outofthebox</string>
All the wallpapers declared in the wallpapers array will be available from the Apex Launcher wallpaper chooser, while the default_wallpaper will be applied along with your theme (if the user chooses to). Note that you also need a lower-resolution preview image with a _small suffix in the file name for each wallpaper. For instance, place both wallpaper_escape.jpg and wallpaper_escape_small.jpg under the drawable directory. The preview image is only used in the wallpaper picker and the original image is used when applying the wallpaper.
Linking to Apex Theme Settings
If you like, there is a special Intent that you can use to direct users to your theme's details page in Apex theme settings, where they can apply your theme. Here's how:
Code:
final String ACTION_SET_THEME = "com.anddoes.launcher.SET_THEME";
final String EXTRA_PACKAGE_NAME = "com.anddoes.launcher.THEME_PACKAGE_NAME";
Intent intent = new Intent(ACTION_SET_THEME);
intent.putExtra(EXTRA_PACKAGE_NAME, getPackageName());
intent.addFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK);
try {
startActivity(intent);
} catch (ActivityNotFoundException e) {
Toast.makeText(this, "Apex Launcher is not installed!", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
finish();
You may include this piece of code inside your theme's activity (e.g., in the onCreate method) to launch Apex's theme settings. Please note that the sample projects are configured in a way such that no icon will show up in the drawer. If you need an icon for your activity, insert the android.intent.category.LAUNCHER category into the <intent-filter> section of your activity in the manifest file like this:
HTML:
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
<category android:name="com.anddoes.launcher.THEME" />
</intent-filter>
It is important that you must include the com.anddoes.launcher.THEME category so that Apex can recognize your theme.
Testing Your Theme
It is very important that you test your theme on a device and make sure it looks exactly the way you expect it to be. You may follow these steps to test your new theme.
Connect your phone/tablet to the computer via USB.
Turn on USB debugging via System settings > Developer options > USB debugging.
In Eclipse, right click your theme project, select "Run As > Android Application".
On your device, launch Apex theme settings and select your new theme.
Apply the theme and restart the launcher.
Look around and see if everything works as expected.
After you have thoroughly tested your theme, you are ready to distribute it to users.
Signing and Releasing Your Theme
To release your theme to other Apex Launcher users, you need to sign, optimize, and export the APK file, which can be done seamlessly with Eclipse and the ADT plugin. For details, please read the publishing section on the Android Developers website.
http://developer.android.com/guide/publishing/app-signing.html
If you publish your theme on the Google Play Store, you may want to update it later. In this case, it is very important that you version your theme properly. You may find the following link helpful.
http://developer.android.com/guide/publishing/versioning.html
That's it! I hope this tutorial contains enough information to get you started working on your own themes. Happy theming!
Apr 29, 2013
Apex Launcher 2.0 now comes with an improved activity picker to help you find the right component name.
Updated tutorial to include a new "Finding the Correct Component/Activity Name" subsection
Jan 17, 2013
Updated sample theme to include new Apex Action icons.
Dec 6, 2012
Updated sample projects to support iconmask.
Updated tutorial to include a brief discussion on icon sizes.
Oct 10, 2012
Updated sample theme to support icon label shadow colors.
Sep 24, 2012
Updated sample projects for better iconpack support.
Updated tutorial in accordance with latest Eclipse/ADT.
May 22, 2012
Added support for iconback and iconupon in v1.2.1
Updated sample projects to include default iconback and iconupon images
Updated tutorial with iconback and iconupon descriptions
May 18, 2012
Added support for appfilter in v1.2.0beta3
Updated sample projects to include appfilter and new Apex action icons
Updated tutorial with appfilter descriptions
Awesome addition to a great launcher. Looking forward to seeing some epic themes.
Can't wait for some great themes. Apex is so win, uNF!
Sent from my Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 w/Tapatalk 2
Oh great. Well laid out template.
Just to check, I don't need to change XML files if I was to populate the hdpi/mdpi/ldpi folders with images in this template, as everything is already setup to accept those files? I just should delete whichever file entries from the XML that I don't want to theme?
Or has it been setup to only use the files from the XML folder at this point.
I am planning to make a red holo theme but haven't finished downloading the sdk yet. (Travelling, its going to take some time).
Sent from my GT-I9000 running CM9 (ICS 4.0.4) using XDA premium app
Very nice!
themes
will these themes be dependent on phone resolution or will they work on any phone with apex launcher because my phone is mdpi and i am worried that my phone will have no themes
If a theme already supports ADW/Go icon packs, do you recommend including the Apex specific code? I'm just trying to think about all the overlap between the various launchers and the resources included in the theme.
Edit: NVM. Just re-read the part about Apex free only supporting Apex themes. That means Apex code will definitely be needed. Thanks.
Two suggestions/questions.
A) If a theme supports multiple launchers, potentially /ignore the other configurations and only list Apex? See my screenshot for details. I also noticed that if you add Apex theme support, the Go launcher entry is no longer listed. I think it'd be smart to consolidate a theme (that supports multiple launchers) down to a single entry.
B) Would you be willing to add an intent, similar to GO/ADW.EX, that would allow a theme to direct a user to the Theme Settings activity? I'd really like the ability to bring a user directly to the settings from my dashboard.
Screenshot:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Koveleski said:
B) Would you be willing to add an intent, similar to GO/ADW.EX, that would allow a theme to direct a user to the Theme Settings activity? I'd really like the ability to bring a user directly to the settings from my dashboard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats key.
And/or have an intent we can flag so we can continue to use the 'apply theme' feature within our apps.
well, here's my first theme for Apex Launcher
Nice theme!
I am currently travelling and haven't been able to setup a workable environment for eclipse (I don't have my own pc with me and the shared pc isn't really up to standard).
Would someone be able to compile just a base unthemed apex theme so that for the short time I can do a quick hack to add different images? Yes I know its not ideal but until I get home in 6 weeks, I don't have much choice...
Edit: I just mean a full theme but only using current unmodded apex images.
Sent from my GT-I9000 running CM9 (ICS 4.0.4) using XDA premium app
how i load themes on apex ?
vladnosferatu said:
how i load themes on apex ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need the beta. I have pro so might be different. Its in the apex menu > about apex launcher. There is an update option and an option to select whether updates are "stable" or "beta".
Sent from my GT-I9000 running CM9 (ICS 4.0.4) using XDA premium app
thanks
drakenabarion said:
Oh great. Well laid out template.
Just to check, I don't need to change XML files if I was to populate the hdpi/mdpi/ldpi folders with images in this template, as everything is already setup to accept those files? I just should delete whichever file entries from the XML that I don't want to theme?
Or has it been setup to only use the files from the XML folder at this point.
I am planning to make a red holo theme but haven't finished downloading the sdk yet. (Travelling, its going to take some time).
Sent from my GT-I9000 running CM9 (ICS 4.0.4) using XDA premium app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you talking about icon packs or complete themes? For icon packs, you need to declare your icon images in an XML file. For Apex skins, you probably don't need to change XML files (except strings.xml where you define the basic information about your theme). BTW, there is no xml folder in the provided sample projects.
opera38205 said:
will these themes be dependent on phone resolution or will they work on any phone with apex launcher because my phone is mdpi and i am worried that my phone will have no themes
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Apex themes should work on any phone, but YMMV with each theme.
Koveleski said:
Two suggestions/questions.
A) If a theme supports multiple launchers, potentially /ignore the other configurations and only list Apex? See my screenshot for details. I also noticed that if you add Apex theme support, the Go launcher entry is no longer listed. I think it'd be smart to consolidate a theme (that supports multiple launchers) down to a single entry.
B) Would you be willing to add an intent, similar to GO/ADW.EX, that would allow a theme to direct a user to the Theme Settings activity? I'd really like the ability to bring a user directly to the settings from my dashboard.
Screenshot:
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As of the latest beta, both of your suggestions have been addressed. A) Your theme would only appear once in the list even if it supports multiple launchers. B) Please refer to the new "Linking to Apex Theme Settings" section in the tutorial.
Please consider theme'ing the drawer using Golaunchers appfilter, instead of the icons naming, the icon naming method, is a bit "dated" as where it reacts the same way as ADW does with icons like Honeycombs Youtube icon, and all the angry birds stuff, it just wont accept it. Also, please consider an "iconback" option.
Thanks!
docsparks said:
Please consider theme'ing the drawer using Golaunchers appfilter, instead of the icons naming, the icon naming method, is a bit "dated" as where it reacts the same way as ADW does with icons like Honeycombs Youtube icon, and all the angry birds stuff, it just wont accept it. Also, please consider an "iconback" option.
Thanks!
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Thanks for your suggestion. We will add support for appfilter in the next version, and will consider "iconback" in the future.
I love to use Apex Pro... And I'm waiting for your nice themes
Keep up your great work
dennisxl said:
As of the latest beta, both of your suggestions have been addressed. A) Your theme would only appear once in the list even if it supports multiple launchers. B) Please refer to the new "Linking to Apex Theme Settings" section in the tutorial.
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Brilliant! I look forward to the appfilter support as well. Thank you for being so responsive to my suggestions and your continued development.