Hi everybody, as you can see, I'm brand new to the community. This is actually my first post after the 10-post newbie threshhold. I'm also new to Android phones, though I've tinkered extensively with my Nook Simple Touch and HD+. I'm excited to be able to contribute my first mod, which addresses one of my few complaints about the stock LG ROM. I'm not a big fan of the permanent menu key, and I much prefer to have a recent apps key at the ready. So I did some digging, some decompiling and some smali hacking, and I've come up with a mod that replaces the Menu key with the Recent Apps key and makes a long-press on the Home key pull up the Menu.
Here's a screenshot:
Launcher:
{
"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"
}
** Update 9/24 **
I fixed a glitch where the recent apps button was smaller than the other buttons when in portrait mode. It should look nice now. If you flashed the earlier one, please grab the v0.2 version of the zip. I've updated all the links below.
I'm including links to two TWRP-able zips, as there are two variations of the mod. The first, RecentAppsKey_v0.2.zip just replaces Menu with Recents and makes a long press on home pull up the menu. The second, RecentAppsKey_with_ellipsis_v0.2.zip also patches framework.odex so that the system reports that there is no permanent menu key, which causes apps to display the "vertical ellipsis" overflow menu in the Action Bar. The downside to using this one is that older apps (and even the Settings app in the stock ROM) will display an ugly Menu button at the bottom of the screen if there's no permanent menu key. Personally I prefer to have the vertical ellipsis menu, but I figured some people wouldn't want it.
Also one other thing to mention is that in the little preview images in the "Front Touch Button" settings you'll still see the menu key. When you select it, the recent apps key will be in whatever position the menu key was supposed to be. Also, this mod plays nice with the various themes, so if you want a "Lovely Pink" recent apps key, I guess it's your lucky day Update: if you change the position of the recent apps button by choosing a new layout in settings, you need to reboot your phone afterwards, otherwise the recent apps button won't do anything! I'm looking into a fix for this, but haven't quite got it yet.
*** Update 9/29: AT&T Version! **
Thanks to the help of users Wesley32 and jug6ernaut, there is now an AT&T version of this mod! Please see the AT&T thread for details.
*** Installation ***
Download the zip you want:
RecentAppsKey_v0.2.zip - Just do the key swap, no overflow menu
RecentAppsKey_with_ellipsis_v0.2.zip - Also add the "vertical ellipsis" overflow menu to the action bar
Update:
As requested by stetsonaw, if you just want the vertical ellipsis action bar menu button and want to leave your nav-bar alone, you can flash VerticalEllipsis.zip which will only patch framework.odex to trick the system into thinking you don't have a permanent menu key. You can still summon the menu from the nav-bar as usual, you'll just also have a button in the nav bar.
To install, just put the zip you want somewhere on your device and reboot into TWRP. Install and reboot and you should be good to go.
*** Reverting ***
If you change your mind and would like to go back to stock, flash RevertRecentKeyMod.zip and it will re-flash the files from the stock rom.
*** Source code ***
Update: 9/25
For developers that would like to include this mod in their work, I've attached the modified sources. There are three zips, one for framework.jar to enable the Action Bar Overflow menu, one for android.policy.jar to change the long-press on home behavior to inject a menu key event, and one for LGSystemUI.apk to swap the buttons. Please let me know if you want more details on what exactly was changed.
Would this affect the black nav bar mod?
Edit: Works great, thanks! Nav bar still black.
http://imgur.com/xUcYRxD
Edit 2: The icon seems small, it that intended?
So if i just want the vertical ellipisis, and not worry about changing the keys, since i am using Auto Hide Softkeys, do i just flash the framework.odex? Or are the SystemUI and android.policy.odex files required as well?
I'm also already running another systemui mod, and don't really want to lose it.
stetsonaw said:
So if i just want the vertical ellipisis, and not worry about changing the keys, since i am using Auto Hide Softkeys, do i just flash the framework.odex? Or are the SystemUI and android.policy.odex files required as well?
I'm also already running another systemui mod, and don't really want to lose it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's a zip with just the framework.odex: VerticalEllipsis.zip
The one in the OP will also replace the SystemUI and android.policy.odex, so avoid that one!
It should work fine by itself; it's just a one-byte patch to make ViewConfiguration.hasPermanentMenuKey() return false instead of true.
cheami said:
Would this affect the black nav bar mod?
Edit: Works great, thanks! Nav bar still black.
http://imgur.com/xUcYRxD
Edit 2: The icon seems small, it that intended?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great, I'm glad it worked! The icon does seem a bit small. It's just the icon that's included in the standard SystemUI. My guess is that they didn't bother themeing it to match the others since they knew it would be disabled. There is a copy in each theme bundle, but they all seem to be the same.
sefnap said:
Here's a zip with just the framework.odex: VerticalEllipsis.zip
The one in the OP will also replace the SystemUI and android.policy.odex, so avoid that one!
It should work fine by itself; it's just a one-byte patch to make ViewConfiguration.hasPermanentMenuKey() return false instead of true.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is this suppose to give me recents button but keep the same icon?
If not is there a way to keep LG's button but just turn it into a recents with button overflow.
The zip in the post you quoted won't do anything to your navbar; it just makes apps display the three-dot menu onscreen. The zips in the OP will change the menu key into a recent apps key, including changing the icon. They will also change the behavior of the Home key so that a long-press acts like the Menu key instead of pulling up the recent app switcher.
Sent from my VS980 4G using xda app-developers app
sefnap said:
The zip in the post you quoted won't do anything to your navbar; it just makes apps display the three-dot menu onscreen. The zips in the OP will change the menu key into a recent apps key, including changing the icon. They will also change the behavior of the Home key so that a long-press acts like the Menu key instead of pulling up the recent app switcher.
Sent from my VS980 4G using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First off, Thanks for creating making the mods for us...NICE!!!
Also, thanks for the clarification. Installing now.
sefnap said:
Hi everybody, as you can see, I'm brand new to the community. This is actually my first post after the 10-post newbie threshhold. I'm also new to Android phones, though I've tinkered extensively with my Nook Simple Touch and HD+. I'm excited to be able to contribute my first mod, which addresses one of my few complaints about the stock LG ROM. I'm not a big fan of the permanent menu key, and I much prefer to have a recent apps key at the ready. So I did some digging, some decompiling and some smali hacking, and I've come up with a mod that replaces the Menu key with the Recent Apps key and makes a long-press on the Home key pull up the Menu.
Here's a screenshot:
Launcher:
I'm including links to two TWRP-able zips, as there are two variations of the mod. The first, RecentAppsKey.zip just replaces Menu with Recents and makes a long press on home pull up the menu. The second, RecentAppsKey_with_ellipsis.zip also patches framework.odex so that the system reports that there is no permanent menu key, which causes apps to display the "vertical ellipsis" overflow menu in the Action Bar. The downside to using this one is that older apps (and even the Settings app in the stock ROM) will display an ugly Menu button at the bottom of the screen if there's no permanent menu key. Personally I prefer to have the vertical ellipsis menu, but I figured some people wouldn't want it.
Also one other thing to mention is that in the little preview images in the "Front Touch Button" settings you'll still see the menu key. When you select it, the recent apps key will be in whatever position the menu key was supposed to be. Also, this mod plays nice with the various themes, so if you want a "Lovely Pink" recent apps key, I guess it's your lucky day
*** Notes and words of caution ***
This is currently a Verizon-only mod, as that's the one I've got. I've pulled the relevant files from scrosler's rooted AT&T rom, but there are several differences between the two. I also have no way to test an AT&T version, so I'll be shooting in the dark, as it were. I do plan to work up an experimental AT&T version in the next couple of days, and I'll update this thread with a link when that happens. Hopefully some brave souls can test it out.
Also, I have only tested this on a post-OTA device. I don't think that the OTA changed anything relevant, but if you are on a pre-OTA device, I'd recommend pulling the following files from your phone and checking their checksums. You can use adb to pull them, for example:
Code:
adb pull /system/framework/framework.odex
. Then you can use this tool to add a "Checksums" tab to the Properties dialog you get when right-clicking on a file in Windows Explorer. The checksums for the orignal (unmodified) files are:
/system/app/LGSystemUI.apk -- md5: 9a49826cddfaeaf7cb77fc0e3fe0557e
/system/app/LGSystemUI.odex -- md5: e3da7ff9c4bf400fe15d52f21a610955
/system/framework/android.policy.odex -- md5: cc5ca0e503cc603e30f963d1c0b5cba1
And, if you're using the Vertical Ellipsis zip:
/system/framework/framework.odex -- md5: 1e679588d49f00310f07c3a41e71fc52
If you get something else, this could easily break something! Also, if you are pre-OTA and you try this, let us know how it worked out!
*** Installation ***
Assuming everything checks out, you should be good to go, but I'd recommend doing a backup first, just to be safe.
Download the zip you want:
RecentAppsKey.zip - Just do the key swap, no overflow menu
RecentAppsKey_with_ellipsis.zip - Also add the "vertical ellipsis" overflow menu to the action bar
To install, just put the zip you want somewhere on your device and reboot into TWRP. Install and reboot and you should be good to go.
P.S. if anyone is interested in the technical details, I can write up what exactly I changed. It might have to wait a little bit though; I'm posting this at my toddler's nap time, and that could end any minute
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm guessing this is implied, but should a restore to a backup (after flashing this mod) should revert both the icon and the behavior of the home button? I didn't see a zip that reverses out these mods (I mean to say) so should that be the correct process to reverse the changes?
Would it be possible to have a variant of this mod to change the pull down menu button to the recent apps instead of the menu button? I have added the 4th button to the layout. It is a rectangle with an arrow pointing down.
The order would be: Back, Home, Menu, Recent Apps.
giri0n said:
I'm guessing this is implied, but should a restore to a backup (after flashing this mod) should revert both the icon and the behavior of the home button? I didn't see a zip that reverses out these mods (I mean to say) so should that be the correct process to reverse the changes?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, restoring a backup will revert the changes. An "undo" zip is a good idea though! I went ahead and made one up: RevertRecentKeyMod.zip -- I'll edit the OP to include it. This will just flash the stock files back, and should revert all changes.
Has anyone done this on a Pre-OTA device yet?
beddachedda said:
Has anyone done this on a Pre-OTA device yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks like I will be the Guinea pig.
sefnap said:
Hi everybody, as you can see, I'm brand new to the community. This is actually my first post after the 10-post newbie threshhold. I'm also new to Android phones, though I've tinkered extensively with my Nook Simple Touch and HD+. I'm excited to be able to contribute my first mod, which addresses one of my few complaints about the stock LG ROM. I'm not a big fan of the permanent menu key, and I much prefer to have a recent apps key at the ready. So I did some digging, some decompiling and some smali hacking, and I've come up with a mod that replaces the Menu key with the Recent Apps key and makes a long-press on the Home key pull up the Menu.
Here's a screenshot:
Launcher:
I'm including links to two TWRP-able zips, as there are two variations of the mod. The first, RecentAppsKey.zip just replaces Menu with Recents and makes a long press on home pull up the menu. The second, RecentAppsKey_with_ellipsis.zip also patches framework.odex so that the system reports that there is no permanent menu key, which causes apps to display the "vertical ellipsis" overflow menu in the Action Bar. The downside to using this one is that older apps (and even the Settings app in the stock ROM) will display an ugly Menu button at the bottom of the screen if there's no permanent menu key. Personally I prefer to have the vertical ellipsis menu, but I figured some people wouldn't want it.
Also one other thing to mention is that in the little preview images in the "Front Touch Button" settings you'll still see the menu key. When you select it, the recent apps key will be in whatever position the menu key was supposed to be. Also, this mod plays nice with the various themes, so if you want a "Lovely Pink" recent apps key, I guess it's your lucky day
*** Notes and words of caution ***
This is currently a Verizon-only mod, as that's the one I've got. I've pulled the relevant files from scrosler's rooted AT&T rom, but there are several differences between the two. I also have no way to test an AT&T version, so I'll be shooting in the dark, as it were. I do plan to work up an experimental AT&T version in the next couple of days, and I'll update this thread with a link when that happens. Hopefully some brave souls can test it out.
Also, I have only tested this on a post-OTA device. I don't think that the OTA changed anything relevant, but if you are on a pre-OTA device, I'd recommend pulling the following files from your phone and checking their checksums. You can use adb to pull them, for example:
Code:
adb pull /system/framework/framework.odex
. Then you can use this tool to add a "Checksums" tab to the Properties dialog you get when right-clicking on a file in Windows Explorer. The checksums for the orignal (unmodified) files are:
/system/app/LGSystemUI.apk -- md5: 9a49826cddfaeaf7cb77fc0e3fe0557e
/system/app/LGSystemUI.odex -- md5: e3da7ff9c4bf400fe15d52f21a610955
/system/framework/android.policy.odex -- md5: cc5ca0e503cc603e30f963d1c0b5cba1
And, if you're using the Vertical Ellipsis zip:
/system/framework/framework.odex -- md5: 1e679588d49f00310f07c3a41e71fc52
If you get something else, this could easily break something! Also, if you are pre-OTA and you try this, let us know how it worked out!
*** Installation ***
Assuming everything checks out, you should be good to go, but I'd recommend doing a backup first, just to be safe.
Download the zip you want:
RecentAppsKey.zip - Just do the key swap, no overflow menu
RecentAppsKey_with_ellipsis.zip - Also add the "vertical ellipsis" overflow menu to the action bar
Update:
As requested by stetsonaw, if you just want the vertical ellipsis action bar menu button and want to leave your nav-bar alone, you can flash VerticalEllipsis.zip which will only patch framework.odex to trick the system into thinking you don't have a permanent menu key. You can still summon the menu from the nav-bar as usual, you'll just also have a button in the nav bar.
To install, just put the zip you want somewhere on your device and reboot into TWRP. Install and reboot and you should be good to go.
*** Reverting ***
If you change your mind and would like to go back to stock, flash RevertRecentKeyMod.zip and it will re-flash the files from the stock rom. Again, these files are from the post-OTA ROM, so if you're pre-OTA and my mod broke your phone, this won't fix it! In that case you'll want to restore from the backup you undoubtedly took before you started.
P.S. if anyone is interested in the technical details, I can write up what exactly I changed. It might have to wait a little bit though; I'm posting this at my toddler's nap time, and that could end any minute
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you. Nice job!
sefnap said:
If you get something else, this could easily break something! Also, if you are pre-OTA and you try this, let us know how it worked out!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Installed and working great pre-OTA.
Works great! I liked the pull down button, a great idea for such a large screen, but having the recent apps button is great too. Coming from a galaxy nexus this is the best of both worlds. Thanks!
What did you modify in the lgsystemui.apk? I would like to incorporate the changes into another modified UI apk. Thanks.
Beaumac said:
Would it be possible to have a variant of this mod to change the pull down menu button to the recent apps instead of the menu button? I have added the 4th button to the layout. It is a rectangle with an arrow pointing down.
The order would be: Back, Home, Menu, Recent Apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, that shouldn't be too hard. I'll see what I can work up today if I have time.
BrianTDI said:
What did you modify in the lgsystemui.apk? I would like to incorporate the changes into another modified UI apk. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've removed the attached sources zip, as it had the small icon glitch. Please see the OP for a new one!
sefnap said:
Here's a zip with just the framework.odex: VerticalEllipsis.zip
The one in the OP will also replace the SystemUI and android.policy.odex, so avoid that one!
It should work fine by itself; it's just a one-byte patch to make ViewConfiguration.hasPermanentMenuKey() return false instead of true.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got it working by ripping apart the other zip... I couldn't get my phone to download this one. Nonetheless, combined with Auto Hide Softkeys, i have a menu button on the nav bar only when needed, and a menu button in apps built for it! Only problem is some of the LG software, like the settings menu and Phone have a GIANT menu bar/button at the bottom. I can live with that though!
Thanks man!
Screenshots to follow.
Can someone kindly repost the APK of ReLaunch 1.4?
The links on the original post are dead now.
Thanks!
marcoNST said:
Can someone kindly repost the APK of ReLaunch 1.4?
The links on the original post are dead now.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There seem to be at least 3 ReLaunch forks. The original ends at 1.3.8 (the easiest one to find--Google is your friend). There is then the sequence you are asking about, moving from 1.4 to now 1.4.8. I've attached 1.4.8 below. Don't know anything about it. The source is the Russian The-eBook.org forum and the original ReLaunch thread. Going back from the end of the thread, all earlier versions (all dropbox links) seem to not be available, just like 1.4.
Then there is ReLaunchX which supposedly takes up where the original 1.3.8 left off and renumbers the newer versions starting again with 1.0 (now at 2.x). The GitHub for ReLaunchX is here: https://github.com/Leszek111/ReLaunchX and the app is available on F-Droid: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.gacode.relaunchx/
You have many choices!
Edit: one more choice. Member @digixmax offers 1.4.3 here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=72246935&postcount=42
Thank you so much @nmyshkin !
You are a star
nmyshkin said:
There seem to be at least 3 ReLaunch forks. The original ends at 1.3.8 (the easiest one to find--Google is your friend). There is then the sequence you are asking about, moving from 1.4 to now 1.4.8. I've attached 1.4.8 below. Don't know anything about it. The source is the Russian The-eBook.org forum and the original ReLaunch thread. Going back from the end of the thread, all earlier versions (all dropbox links) seem to not be available, just like 1.4.
Then there is ReLaunchX which supposedly takes up where the original 1.3.8 left off and renumbers the newer versions starting again with 1.0 (now at 2.x). The GitHub for ReLaunchX is here: https://github.com/Leszek111/ReLaunchX and the app is available on F-Droid: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.gacode.relaunchx/
You have many choices!
Edit: one more choice. Member @digixmax offers 1.4.3 here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=72246935&postcount=42
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
marcoNST said:
Thank you so much @nmyshkin !
You are a star
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just rooted using NM and I am using the default system. ReLaunch seems to have a very barebones interface, and I wish I could do certain things (the two main ones is to toggle visibility of the statusbar at will (making any application full screen) using some button or button combination, and the other is to change orientation.
What benefits are there to using a new version?
Thanks!
Winston S. said:
I just rooted using NM and I am using the default system. ReLaunch seems to have a very barebones interface, and I wish I could do certain things (the two main ones is to toggle visibility of the statusbar at will (making any application full screen) using some button or button combination, and the other is to change orientation.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think you can exercise much control over the visibility of the status bar--at least not in Android 2.1. App developers either choose full-screen as the default display mode or give a programmed option which regulates the size of the window in which the app is viewed (essentially covering the status bar). I'd like to be wrong about that and I'll keep looking around a little, but I am not hopeful.
Screen orientation is easily regulated with an app. Probably the best one for the NST is Rotation Locker (there's a copy attached to this post: https://forum.xda-developers.com/nook-touch/themes-apps/app-reading-button-menu-t3815212).
You could theoretically assign a hardware button to the app. All it does is bring up a small menu (Portrait, Landscape, Auto). A simple tap on your choice makes the change, but a long-press sets up a background service that forces the change, even when apps want to resist. You'll see a notification that the service is running. You really need this for the NST because it does not much care for being in landscape mode and many apps will try to escape back into portrait with only a single tap on landscape.
Unfortunately the app suffers from a problem common to many in that it was not designed with e-ink devices in mind. Colors were used in the menu system and they are such that you don't see anything but the menu boxes! I've given you the correct order above, from top to bottom in the menu. A better and more general solution is to slightly darken the background color on all NST menus. This makes most of the offending "invisible" menu choices at least somewhat visible. The change is effected by replacing about 30 images in framework-res.apk. Two sets of images were prepared by someone on the Russian e-book forum. One is lighter and the other darker, but both are darker than the originals. I use the lighter ones.
Alternatively, if you don't expect to be running a lot of apps with potentially unreadable settings or menus but you would like a simple orientation toggle to assign to a hardware button, I could probably just extract that portion from my Reading Now menu app and assemble it as a stand-alone. It still relies on the Rotation Locker app, but you'd never see or interact with the menu, just press a hardware button.
nmyshkin said:
I don't think you can exercise much control over the visibility of the status bar--at least not in Android 2.1. App developers either choose full-screen as the default display mode or give a programmed option which regulates the size of the window in which the app is viewed (essentially covering the status bar). I'd like to be wrong about that and I'll keep looking around a little, but I am not hopeful.
Screen orientation is easily regulated with an app. Probably the best one for the NST is Rotation Locker (there's a copy attached to this post: https://forum.xda-developers.com/nook-touch/themes-apps/app-reading-button-menu-t3815212).
You could theoretically assign a hardware button to the app. All it does is bring up a small menu (Portrait, Landscape, Auto). A simple tap on your choice makes the change, but a long-press sets up a background service that forces the change, even when apps want to resist. You'll see a notification that the service is running. You really need this for the NST because it does not much care for being in landscape mode and many apps will try to escape back into portrait with only a single tap on landscape.
Unfortunately the app suffers from a problem common to many in that it was not designed with e-ink devices in mind. Colors were used in the menu system and they are such that you don't see anything but the menu boxes! I've given you the correct order above, from top to bottom in the menu. A better and more general solution is to slightly darken the background color on all NST menus. This makes most of the offending "invisible" menu choices at least somewhat visible. The change is effected by replacing about 30 images in framework-res.apk. Two sets of images were prepared by someone on the Russian e-book forum. One is lighter and the other darker, but both are darker than the originals. I use the lighter ones.
Alternatively, if you don't expect to be running a lot of apps with potentially unreadable settings or menus but you would like a simple orientation toggle to assign to a hardware button, I could probably just extract that portion from my Reading Now menu app and assemble it as a stand-alone. It still relies on the Rotation Locker app, but you'd never see or interact with the menu, just press a hardware button.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are correct about the status bar visibility, I think there is nothing you can do about it if any specific app forces that setting. There is a configuration setting for ReLaunch to not show the status bar, but even then PocketBook Reader will display it.
For the orientation right now I am resorting to starting APV PDF Viewer (which I have set to landscape,) and then starting PocketBook Reader. Because PocketBook doesn't force a specific setting, it will continue on Landscape until I go out and something else changes orientation to Portrait. Rotation Locker seems like the perfect solution to somewhat streamline orientation selection a bit more. Also, I think I'll manage by knowing which selection to press and not care about the lack of visibility of its menu.
Thank you for your kind offer to assemble that menu app with the toggle built in, but I'd hate you to spend time doing that. Instead, I'll investigate more and go through all the posts you have already provided! :good: