Database Users

[Q] picking and choosing what you want from a theme?

hey guys,
just curious if you could some how choose what you want to have in the theme and if you can mix themes, if so how? for example i installed epic unleashed 2.5 and i loved the battery indicator and i installed the 982dark theme for the droid 2 and it's great with a couple exceptions... personally I think i'm going back to the Kangerade Blue for the Droid2 but i still want the original battery indicator from the epic rom.
thanks
-Jim

As far as I know, we don't have this level of customizability on D2 as of now. However, we are starting to see this. Like this, for example:
http://www.xda-developers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=784855
I used to use a ROM for the old Touch CDMA that did in fact have this level of customizability - there was a thread that had pretty much every individual piece available to customize. But again, I haven't seen this for D2 yet.

damn... ok well hopefully we get there eventually... until then I'll just stick with the theme I overall like the best lol

I have this problem with themes too, and the solution is simple. Take the theme that you are going to install, open the zip, and just remove the apps, fonts, or framework you don't want altered.
For example, I despise the font changes alot of themes force on you. Makes my twitter streams unreadable, so I just open the zip, and delete the fonts folder. That way it won't override the stock fonts. I've never tried deleting individual files, but that method should work for icons as well.
Just open the framework.res (rename the .res to .zip or .rar if you have WINRAR installed, or just use the "open with or choose default program" option) goto the res folder, then drawable-hdpi and just delete the battery images from the folder before you install the theme.
An easy way to do this, is to make a copy of the zip first so you'll have a proper version of the theme to view. Open it up with winzip, WINRAR or whatever archiving tool you use on your computer. Then browse the files in thumbnail view to find the images you want to get rid of. Make a note of their file names, then open up the other zip, locate the files in question, right click, delete em.

I'm not quite understanding what you're saying Natty
For example, right now I'm using the Revolution Remix theme. If I unzip it, there are 2 folders: META-INF and system.
Under system there are 3 folders: app, fonts, and framework. In the framework file there are 2 .apk files (framework-res.apk and blur-res.apk) and the systems.jar file.
In the app folder there are all .apk files, and the font folders are all .ttf
I'm not seeing any pictures to be deleted, unless you mean to actually delete the respective app .apk files (for example, I dislike the Talk app icon and the Market app icon)
Edit:
So I guess you're supposed to just rename the .apk to .zip, but for some reason the files are not allowing me...Could these files be locked? (I don't know if that's a stupid question or not lol)
Edit #2:
So I got 7zip (yay for google), but when I go to open the .png files they don't want to open...an application opens to view them, but it just sits there saying "loading"

Natty_lite said:
I have this problem with themes too, and the solution is simple. Take the theme that you are going to install, open the zip, and just remove the apps, fonts, or framework you don't want altered.
For example, I despise the font changes alot of themes force on you. Makes my twitter streams unreadable, so I just open the zip, and delete the fonts folder. That way it won't override the stock fonts. I've never tried deleting individual files, but that method should work for icons as well.
Just open the framework.res (rename the .res to .zip or .rar if you have WINRAR installed, or just use the "open with or choose default program" option) goto the res folder, then drawable-hdpi and just delete the battery images from the folder before you install the theme.
An easy way to do this, is to make a copy of the zip first so you'll have a proper version of the theme to view. Open it up with winzip, WINRAR or whatever archiving tool you use on your computer. Then browse the files in thumbnail view to find the images you want to get rid of. Make a note of their file names, then open up the other zip, locate the files in question, right click, delete em.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure if that would work for png files inside of framework-res.apk.... I would think that would cause a bootloop
It will work for the fonts folder and for any app you dont want to get altered in /system/app.

So just remove the app from the system/app folder? That's what I'm somewhat confused about.

DGalt11 said:
So just remove the app from the system/app folder? That's what I'm somewhat confused about.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you dont want a themed app to overwrite your current app, then just delete the apk file from /system/app inside of the themed zip file. Or if you dont want a themed font to overwrite ur current font, then just delete the fonts folder inside of the themed zip file.
But deleting files from inside the framework-res.apk... I doubt that would work.

Any idea how to edit the Market? It's not under system/app.
Edit: Never mind, didn't know "market" was actually vending.

removing the png specifically will cause an issue however if you have another png that you would like you use you can just replace this and it will not overwrite then.

theecho said:
removing the png specifically will cause an issue however if you have another png that you would like you use you can just replace this and it will not overwrite then.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah that's what I did. just copy / replace.

DGalt11 said:
yeah that's what I did. just copy / replace.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So did the install go smoothly without the M logo freeze or bootloops? I hope so.
I'm Glad others came to pick up my pieces, lol. That's why this forum is so great. To summarize for those joining the party late, just take the .png's from another theme, and replace the unwanted images with those. Don't just delete them

It's working fine, no reboots or stuck in boot loop or anything. Didn't even need to wipe data / cache.
Now if I could just figure out a way to remove the font they used from just the browser and my apps and nothing else (b/c it looks really nice in the notification bar, the menus, on the widgets, etc. but makes reading email or reading stuff in the browser really difficult) I'd be golden.

So I started removing one font at a time, nothing changed.
So I removed the whole fonts folder, and still didn't get any change in the fonts in the theme.
Ideas?

Thats exactly why I got rid of it. What good is a font that you can't read? I'm not sure if you can just remove it from the statusbar specifically.
Remember, removing them prevents it from changing the fonts that are currently installed. So if they're already different, then they'll just stay that way when you install the edited version of the theme. You're gonna need to flash to the stock theme first, then flash to another theme (like the NexTheme for example) with all the edits that you made.

I see, so those files in the fonts folder aren't actually fonts. They're more like...where the fonts you want get stored. So you need to actually replace the file.
From what I've figured out, the majority of the fonts are derived from DroidSans. If you change that, you change most of the fonts including those in the apps, widgets, etc. So is there no way to specifically change a font in, lets say, apps vs. widgets? And what are all those other files in the fonts folder for

I have no idea. I just deleted the whole folder prior to installing to ensure I kept all stock fonts.

battery mod

Hello,
I found this thread :
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=765419
and I have some questions about this :
1) Is it possible to "tweak" our framework-res.apk with this battery mod.
2) Can I use this method to "tweak my framework-res.apk : http://circle.glx.nl/
3) When I download my new framework-res.apk, how to boot on recover mode on the phone to put the framework-res.apk on the system ?
4) Do you know an other easylier method to tweak icons on the HD2 under android ?
Thanks a lot !

+1 I asked myself to but no time to seach forum

@Karlichon
What is with this batmod? Are you done with them?

karlichon said:
1) Is it possible to "tweak" our framework-res.apk with this battery mod.
2) Can I use this method to "tweak my framework-res.apk : http://circle.glx.nl/
3) When I download my new framework-res.apk, how to boot on recover mode on the phone to put the framework-res.apk on the system ?
Thanks a lot !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok I think I'll answer this, but bear with me as it's NOT easy or for the faint of heart. If you read this and you DO NOT feel comfortable I would recommend you not giving this a go.
Before you start ANY of these steps below, MAKE SURE YOU BACKUP YOUR FILES BEFORE REPLACING THEM. I WILL NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE CAUSED FOLLOWING THESE STEPS! You have been warned.
1) Visit the website above and run through the steps to get the battery images you want. For the purposes of this tutorial/howto I am not covering how to change anything else (KISS: Keep It Simple, Stupid).
2) The easiest ones to change are the Version A-I ones, just choose which battery set would work best for you on your phone and click "Next"
3) Choose "Do not include icons" and click next. The icons it is talking about here are the signal, wifi, usb etc notification bar icons and as I mentioned I will not cover how to change those here.
4) Leave "Do not change notification status bar" selected and click next. Again I'm not covering that here.
5) You can choose a different boot anim if you want, they are very easy to upload to your phone and you can figure out where they have to be put yourself with no problems. IMPORTANT: If you do change the boot animation, make sure you choose the correct type of rom you have from the dropdown selection.
6) Upload your existing framework-res.apk (using something like DroidExplorer, navigate to /system/framework and paste it onto your desktop, then upload here). This will update the relevant files in your framework-res.apk automatically. (If you cannot obtain your existing framework-res.apk I cannot guarantee method 2 will work, sorry but feel free to try)
7) Replace your framework-res.apk (via DroidExplorer or your chosen ADB browser) on your phone and reboot. Voila!
This worked for me on shubcraft 2.0 drop mode but obviously I cannot guarantee it will work for everyone. Please remember my warnings above that this is not guranteed.

hello, thanks for your quick help, but it doesn't work for hyperdroid rom V1.7
any idea ?

karlichon said:
hello, thanks for your quick help, but it doesn't work for hyperdroid rom V1.7
any idea ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there is another far more complicated way around it, but it really does take about half an hour to work out.
Basically, you need to get your framework-res.apk and extract it with winrar or something similar (an apk is basically just a zip file) and find the folder called res/drawable-HDPI. this is where all the icons for things like your battery icons live.
Copy and paste the new icons from someone elses framework-res or even one you download from the website above into this folder and replace the drawable-HDPI folder into your framework-res.apk, replace it onto your phone and reboot.
Again, this is a quick description of a much lengthier way of doing it but it does work. Also, my disclaimer in the post I made before still stands, do this AT YOUR OWN RISK and do NOT complain to me if something breaks. If you don't fully understand, don't do anything.

I tried the kitchen method, but I receive a huge error log after uploading the framework apk

is the page currently partly down?

rafpigna said:
I tried the kitchen method, but I receive a huge error log after uploading the framework apk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't seem to work all that well with frameworks from our current modded builds. I've tried it with a rooted desire framework (from my gf's desire) and that worked. Evidently all the work that the devs do on our hd2's make them very different to other android builds. the second method I posted (adding the png's to your existing framework) works perfectly.
BlackPit666 said:
is the page currently partly down?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, seems up to me.

yes its up again

rafpigna said:
I tried the kitchen method, but I receive a huge error log after uploading the framework apk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
for me the same, desirehd revolution rom of mdj
can anybody help me?

Reno_79 said:
there is another far more complicated way around it, but it really does take about half an hour to work out.
Basically, you need to get your framework-res.apk and extract it with winrar or something similar (an apk is basically just a zip file) and find the folder called res/drawable-HDPI. this is where all the icons for things like your battery icons live.
Copy and paste the new icons from someone elses framework-res or even one you download from the website above into this folder and replace the drawable-HDPI folder into your framework-res.apk, replace it onto your phone and reboot.
Again, this is a quick description of a much lengthier way of doing it but it does work. Also, my disclaimer in the post I made before still stands, do this AT YOUR OWN RISK and do NOT complain to me if something breaks. If you don't fully understand, don't do anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can you tell me which files i need to replace to get another battery icon? only the files which "batt" in it?

Reno_79 said:
there is another far more complicated way around it, but it really does take about half an hour to work out.
Basically, you need to get your framework-res.apk and extract it with winrar or something similar (an apk is basically just a zip file) and find the folder called res/drawable-HDPI. this is where all the icons for things like your battery icons live.
Copy and paste the new icons from someone elses framework-res or even one you download from the website above into this folder and replace the drawable-HDPI folder into your framework-res.apk, replace it onto your phone and reboot.
Again, this is a quick description of a much lengthier way of doing it but it does work. Also, my disclaimer in the post I made before still stands, do this AT YOUR OWN RISK and do NOT complain to me if something breaks. If you don't fully understand, don't do anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This method will not work with the battery icons which shows all 100% increments. This method will only work for the standard battery icons, which only involves like 12 battery icons.
In order to add the 1% increment readings in the battery, it involves modifying xml files to read and associate the correct battery icons at each increment.

can you give a tut how to add the version a manually?

nvm, I got it!

[Q] How to edit theme images and not have phone hang on boot?

I've figured out all apk files are really just zip files, but why am I not able to unzip the framework-res.apk file, edit the images within, then save it again without causing my phone to hang on boot?
Is there some step I am missing? I've tried rezipping with normal compression, store only, and only photoshopping and resaving a single image within the apk and still it fails.
How are images edited and updated? What am I missing?

I use apkmanager myself for most theming. You might look into it
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App

An apk is a zip, but it's a *signed* zip
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App

Here is the way I do it. I use 7zip to do this and I think it is the only program that can do it.
The way you can do it is to extract the drawable-hdpi folder within the framework-res.apk then do all your edits and save them with the exact same file names. Then you can go back into your framework-res.apk and drag and drop the drawable-hdpi folder back in and it will over write the original ones. Now just hit the Up (like to move up a directory) button until you see the message "framework-res.apk has been changed. Update it in the archive?" then click yes. Now you can put it on your phone without force closing. If you were just editing framework-res and it was not within another .zip file then you won't get that message and that is fine.

APK Manager.
You can use extract/zip (2/3) for image-only edits, but you need to decompile/compile (9/11) to mess with xml files.
Do *not* sign system apks (like framework-res.apk). Do sign other apks.
Btw, this is in the wrong forum.
(Next step: learn about the update.zip packaging script. Remember to name it something besides update.zip afterwards, because on the Fascinate we're installing everything through Clockwork, which should be the only file actually called update.zip.)

s44 said:
APK Manager.
You can use extract/zip (2/3) for image-only edits, but you need to decompile/compile (9/11) to mess with xml files.
Do *not* sign system apks (like framework-res.apk). Do sign other apks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oooh! I didn't know this app made xml's editable. That opens up a whole new set of theming fun. I can't wait to release my new theme. It should be well received (I hope)
Btw, this is in the wrong forum.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I considered putting this in Themes, but this was a theme development question, so here it ended up. If the Theme and Development forums ever hook up and have a few drinks, then spawn a sub-forum, Theme Development, I assure you it would have been a much easier decision to make

Thanks everyone for helping me out. My last time playing with a phone is an old WinMo 5 device. Anroid seems limiting in it's own ways (no dedicated theme files (can't update without losing the apk theme), but much better for customizing for a 'look' of the OS.

Battery mod links

Ok, So after copying 200 or so png's in the Drawable_xlarge_mdpi and the drawable_mdpi folder, I get my image mods after flashing.
But, they still only show the stock number of images, 9 or 10. Charging works ok.
So somewhere, there are some xml files I need to edit to reflect the filename additions?
Or am I missing something else?
A501 HC 3.2
Thanks guys and girls!

Battery_Charge.xml & Battery_Discharge.xml should be what your looking for.
Sent from my DROIDX using Xparent Red Tapatalk

DRTMI said:
Battery_Charge.xml & Battery_Discharge.xml should be what your looking for.
Sent from my DROIDX using Xparent Red Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I kind of figgured those were the xml files I was looking for. Problem is, I'm playing hell with de-compiling my framework-res to be able to edit the xml files.
Can't make much progress with the apktools available, even when including the dependancy apk's. So clearly I am a noob with decompiling framework-res
So my next question, is there any difference between a com gen 1 stat_battery_charge.xml; for the a500 and 501? If not, is it feasible to switch the modified xml to replace the current stock one?

here is how i mod those files as well as the icons and so on
i copy the system ui.apk to a folder on my desktop
i open it with winrar.. DO NOT EXTRACT IT.. pull out the folder containing the png files or xms you want to edit.. Just drag and drop them to another folder..
edit them to your hearts desire.
open the system.ui apk again in win rar.. drag the edited folder back into the system.ui.. push it to your tablet.. to say download folder..
then copy it to the original place it will ask you to replace say yes.. your tablet will CRASH .. REBOOT then if you edited the files corectly it will boot and show your changes.
i dont know if this is the correct way easiest way .. but IT DID WORK FOR ME.. USE AT YOUR OWN DESCRESSION..

I could send you the apktool I am using. Its the only one I have found that works worth honeycomb.
Sent from a phone.

NunHugger said:
I could send you the apktool I am using. Its the only one I have found that works worth honeycomb.
Sent from a phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would be much appreciated Just send a link, and thanks!

erica_renee said:
USE AT YOUR OWN DESCRESSION..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks Erica! That's what I've been doing Actually, wanted to do some editing to the xml files itself. It's easy for png's, at they don't get compiled.
Anytime we take the first step, and install iconiaroot, we do so at our own discretion

Here's an updated apk_manager if you prefer that method.
I normally use a CWM zip since I have to reboot anyway. You can usually start with any theme zip and just make sure their updater-script copies /system to /system and just look through the zip to see what it copies, and if it looks normal, you can make the directory structure the same but copy your own over the old ones (and delete any orginal files that you won't be overwriting). i.e. it should look like:
system/app/SystemUI.apk
system/framework/framework-res.apk
system/fonts/blah.ttf
Just drag your files into the zip in the same place and use it.
And then as a precautionary measure, just do this once or any time you mess with more files (for inexperienced modders): Make a 2nd copy of that zip and call it blah-revert.zip then copy the orginal files over those modified files. Once you have both zips on the device, if anything goes wrong you can flash the revert to get back quick.

Customize Xperia Themes [no computer]

Sometimes someone makes a theme you love, but you wish just one thing was different, or maybe, like me, you have a modded system with dark background, and you apply a theme with dark text on settings dashboard, etc, and you can't read the words. This is what I do about it, (screenshots - Dark Sense theme by @shehabskull). Maybe someone else will appreciate...
** Note - you may not use this method to modify someone else's theme, then re-post it as your own. Always give credit and get proper permission before using a developer's work.
I posted a similar thread a year and a half ago, but seems like Sony theme creator has changed since then, (can't say for sure since I've never used it, but the files and folders in recent themes seem different than they were back then).
This assumes you know something about apktool. If not, that's a different thread. I recommend using ApktoolX for decompile / recompile, and Mixplorer for editing.
1. Install ApktoolX - https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=673368273298927619 - and set it up, (check 'root' in settings, make apktool folder, copy framework files and import each one). Also copy whatever theme you want to mod to apktool folder.
2. Decompile theme apk. You will get a folder with a few files and folders in it. One of them is called 'assets', which contains a bunch of zip files. The zips are all apks with zip extension.
3. Make a temp folder somewhere and copy whatever zips in the assets folder you want to mod, (settings, systemui, etc). Change the file extension from zip to apk. Then go back to ApktoolX and decompile those. Now you can mod the values.
4. After making mods, use ApktoolX to recompile. When recompile is done, change the filename back to what it was originally, (whatever.zip). Then copy that zip into the original location in the decompiled theme apk, deleting the one that's already there.
5. Now go back to ApktoolX and recompile the theme. When it's done, you will get a filed called (whatever)_src.apk. Use ApktoolX to sign it, (click on the file and choose 'sign' from the menu). The new file can be installed normally.
Note - occasionally you can change something that will recompile and install just fine, but will cause systemui to crash or something. If so, just boot to recovery, and delete the theme from /data/app.
Also - some themes might have a certain asset you like that another theme doesn't have. You can add them, but you have to modify android manifest xml accordingly, (look at it and you'll see). They're not always cross-compatible, though.

Nice guide.. Keep it up ?
Sent from my E6633 using Tapatalk