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.
Before you start be aware that you will probably end up wiping your phone once, if not more. So lets go over the things that you will need.
You will need JF's RC30, RC8, or ADP1 V1.3, depending on what version you intend to create for.
Here is the link to these: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=466174
You will also want to get the dev bootloader installed on your phone and to HIGHLY suggest everyone trying your theme to install it as well.
Link to dev bootloader: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=455860
You will also need to resign all the apks located in /system/app and framework-res.apk located in /system/framework. When you push all of these to your phone, you will need to do a wipe.
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.
Here is the link: Http://www.FightForthePits.com/testsign(2).zip
Before using this you need to know how to set this up:
I will assume that you have the sdk downloaded and extracted somewhere(if not, do that now), extract both files to the tools directory of your sdk.
Now you will need to add the tools dir of your sdk to the environment variable CLASSPATH.
To do this, 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.
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
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? If not hit the windows key and R at the same time. Type in regedit. go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT and expand it. Now find .apk and click it. Double click on (Default) and erase apk_auto_file. Hit ok and close the Reg editor. Now right click an apk and the option ResignApk should be there.
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.
You will also need a version of linux installed or running vmware with linux, so that you can create an update file which will install the theme onto the users phone.
You need to make sure that you do this correctly, because if you don't then you will have the potential to create problems for people trying to install your theme. You also need to be specific in addressing what version your theme is for, RC8, RC30, or ADP1. Make sure every file gets signed. 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 res and more specifically in folders that are named Drawable, drawable-land, drawable-port, etc. 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. If you do you will have problems...Trust me. These are special images called ninepatch images and android resizes these images to fit wherever android, or any other apk, needs it to. if you do open them or edit them they will no longer render correctly when resized. I believe that in order to edit these you must do so and then put them into the source and rebuild the entire apk.
Before getting started you must also realize that you cannot simply resign one or two apk's and stick them in your phone and expect them to work. You must resign every apk inside of /system/app and framework-res.apk and put them on your phone at the same time.
To simplify this process for you though, I have provided an update which will do all of this for you. Note that these updates will not completely wipe your phone, your apps will be retained, however, they will require you to re-enter your Google info, and you will lose you call history.
Links down
Just put the correct update.zip, depending on what version you are running, onto your sd card, boot into recovery and hit alt + s.
Now you can push your own apk's one at a time without re-wiping your phone.
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. Note that if you are using windows you will need to unhide known file extension types.
See here to unhide known file extension types for Xp: http://www.mediacollege.com/microsoft/windows/extension-change.html
See here to unhide file extension types for Vista: http://maximumpcguides.com/windows-vista/how-to-change-a-file-extension/
After changing the apk to a zip open it go to res and copy the folders that have drawable in their name. Go to your desktop, or wherever, create a new folder called Images, or whatever. Open the folder, paste the drawable folders in there. Now you can see what the files look like without opening them. Btw, you may also want to add -frame, or -launcher, to the end of the folders you cope over to keep them separated from others.
Finally, you've edited the images put them all in the apk renamed it back to an apk and resigned it. Now it's time to push it to your phone and see the changes you've made.
Important! : Whenever pushing files to the phone NEVER do it while the phone is running. Do this in recovery mode! If you do this while the phone is running normally you will begin to lose space in /system.
So, boot into recovery plug your phone in and open a cmd prompt. From the cmd prompt type adb shell mount /system then type the following: adb push c:\whereveryourfileis\whateveryourpushing.apk /system/app (system/framework if your pushing framework-res.apk)
Now reboot your phone. If it doesn't boot, try doing a wipe, if that doesn't work reinstall an update and try again. There are alot of things people can do wrong, I can't explain them all here. If you get real stuck, you can ask for help here or contact me on Gtalk [email protected].
So now your theme is done and your ready to make an update.zip for others to install your theme.
This must be done in LINUX! Not WINDOWS! Yes it may work for you if you do it in windows but other people's phones will enter an indefinite loop! Just do it from Linux! If you absolutely cannot make your own update.zip, contact me and we'll see if I can make one up for ya.
I have created a template for you to make your own update.zip. Just download, open in Linux, and add the system apps to app, and framework to framework. Zip it up, SIGN IT, TEST IT YOURSELF, and then distribute it!
Empty update.zip template: Http://www.FightForthePits.com/Androidstuff/update_empty.zip
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.
Stericson
Links of interest:
Downloading SDK: http://code.google.com/android/intro/installing.html
Using ADB: http://code.google.com/android/reference/adb.html
Working with ninepatch should be straightforward if you use the draw9patch tool included in the SDK. Documentation on usage here:
http://code.google.com/android/reference/draw9patch.html
JF could also save theme users a wipe by resigning /system/app/* and /system/framework/framework-res.apk in his builds with the test keys. Nice tutorial, btw.
However it doesn't. I have used that to no avail. I believe you need to edit the images, put them in the source then rebuild the apks from the source.
As for JF's update, it does not currently wipe your phone after install. So, for him to do this he would have to have his update do a wipe. So technically, they would still have to do this initial wipe.
Stericson
Stericson said:
However it doesn't. I have used that to no avail. I believe you need to edit the images, put them in the source then rebuild the apks from the source.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good point. I thought you could simply drop a similarly dimensioned PNG in but apparently there is some metadata that only the android tool can create.
As for JF's update, it does not currently wipe your phone after install. So, for him to do this he would have to have his update do a wipe. So technically, they would still have to do this initial wipe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True, but a user who is upgrading to a JF update after having put in customized (and test-key signed) system apps will have to wipe again anyway =) Anyone using custom themes will have to wipe every time a JF update (or any update) comes out. However if JF resigns, custom theme users would not have to wipe and stock theme users only have to wipe once. (Nevermind the fact I think everyone should wipe when updating...)
thx stericson this will help big time how long before I can get resigned rc30 last night when you said all the apk. need to be resigned I was like this is going to be a long night but I see jf hooked you up save some big time with his resigning tool
jashsu said:
Good point. I thought you could simply drop a similarly dimensioned PNG in but apparently there is some metadata that only the android tool can create.
True, but a user who is upgrading to a JF update after having put in customized (and test-key signed) system apps will have to wipe again anyway =) Anyone using custom themes will have to wipe every time a JF update (or any update) comes out. However if JF resigns, custom theme users would not have to wipe and stock theme users only have to wipe once. (Nevermind the fact I think everyone should wipe when updating...)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, good point
The resigned apps will be released maybye sometime tonight...I had them done but ran into a script problem on adp1 and I have yet to try the rc30 and rc8 ones yet. so I won't release those until I've tested them. If you want to be a Guinea pig however, just let me know
Stericson
Stericson said:
Ah, good point
The resigned apps will be released maybye sometime tonight...I had them done but ran into a script problem on adp1 and I have yet to try the rc30 and rc8 ones yet. so I won't release those until I've tested them. If you want to be a Guinea pig however, just let me know
Stericson
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The resigned apps have been released, each update file will resign all of apps in /system/app and framework-res.apk. However, these updates make no changes to them whatsoever...Meaning your phone will look just like a brand new phone without any modifications.
rc30 works thx Stericson made it easy for use
Issues with using the update.zip above
Hi all,
I just wanted to point out that after I applied the update.zip above and rebooted applications kept force closing randomly and constantly even through the initial setup (where you have to click the green android to start).
Prior to this, I had JF's RC30 1.3, and the engineering bootloader V2 no sigcheck.
First I did just a alt+s then a alt-w and alt+s. And still nothing.
I'm new to all this so I'm not even sure where to begin troubleshooting. Should I be using the HardSPL?
Thanks in advance and I appologize if this isn't the right place for this post.
Update:
After reflashing with JF's 1.3 RC30 and the problem persisted I noticed that there was a new release 1.31 and this has fixed the problem. I hope this helps anyone else who runs into the same problem.
I still don't know what went wrong though, can anyone shed some light on this? thanks.
Truly there's no telling, sounds like J'f's update fixed it. Can I ask what version you tested?
I would also like to announce that now, thanks to JF, again, you do not have to wipe your phone completely to apply the resigned app updates. However, you will have to re-enter your google info and your call history and other minor things will be gone, but all of your apps will be retained.
Stericson
Stericson said:
Truly there's no telling, sounds like J'f's update fixed it. Can I ask what version you tested?
I would also like to announce that now, thanks to JF, again, you do not have to wipe your phone completely to apply the resigned app updates. However, you will have to re-enter your google info and your call history and other minor things will be gone, but all of your apps will be retained.
Stericson
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, I tested it with this one:
Rc30 resigned: http://www.fightforthepits.com/Andro...pdate_Rc30.zip
Update went fine, until I booted back up then the applications kept force quitting, without me even doing anything.
Thanks,
Limitlis
yes there is a temp problem with those right this moment I am on the problem as we speak, expect a fix tonight...
Stericson
Can we get the fix cuz it bricking fone I had to flash rc29 nbh
Edit: I forgot please.... feel kinda rude when ur helping me out lol but it bricking some phones and for our less experince members we don't global meltdown lol
These files have been fixed and uploaded.
Stericson
I found the cyclon boot effect images in in framework-res/assets/images,
is there any way to replace the android boot image with those images?
Is there anyway to make the theme with a custom boot screen? Also is there a way to change the second boot screen(The one that says Android and has the little robot)
i tried using the testkeys from JF to resign my apks, but the update still says there is not signature =[
hello, I used the tutorial and everything worked great. I'm trying to change the background to the notification section but I can't find that file. Could you tell me where it is? Thank you.
hey stericson, how do u create a theme for rc33?
Related
In framework-res.apk, what controls the color of the text for the status bar, such as notifications and the digitial clock? Are these controlled independently by seperate apks?
I'm considering diving in and attempting to skin my android but I want to know what I'm getting into.
I've tried replacing framework.apk that I built from source on a real device and emulator. Only bad things came of it. Had to reflash. Let me know if you have better luck.
I'm pretty sure it failed because a lot of the stuff in framework.apk is stubbed closed source stuff.
Koush,
Have you looked at this post by Living_Sword?
I suggest you enter the following commands using adb, because its faster and reliable than telnet or any other method. If you do not have adb setup, read here, if you do, then just enter adb shell in the console while the phone is connected.
In simple words, you have to re-sign the framework-res.apk with your own key. You should know that you will loose all your data while doing this mod. Here are the steps,
1. Re-sign and re-upload all the .apk files in /system/app with your own key or the test-keys. The command used for signing is included in the readme file alongwith the signing jar here.
2. Take a backup of /system/framework/framework-res.apk. Now, you would want to edit some stuff in framework-res.apk, for that the easiest method is to rename the apk file to .jar/.zip, put in your own files(with same name as original png) and rename it back to .apk. You have to re-sign this apk with the same key like you did in the first step.
3 . Upload the apk file to /system/framework. The phone will hang, and in few secs it will most likely go back to the android robot screen.
4. Take out the battery, then do a data reset by going into recovery mode and pressing ALT+L to see the log text and then ALT+W to wipe out /data. Obviously, you will loose all your apps and settings and will have to re-activate the phone.
5. After the wipe is complete, press HOME + BACK to reboot. The phone should reboot normally now.
I know its a pain to loose all the data and apps, but this is the easiest method until we figure out something more elegant, and its required to be done only once. Also, there is no need to keep the png file size same. And in future, you will be able to replace the framework-res.apk without any hassles.
Also, since each stock app's icon is in its own apk, once you re-sign every apk in /system/app, you can easily replace their icons with your own.
Source: http://www.modmygphone.com/forums/showthread.php?p=16871#post16871
Ok, so I have successfully replaced framework-res.apk with my own build which includes custom icons and things like that. However, I am running into two problems:
1: I keep running out of room in my system folder. Everytime I replace framework-res.apk I am losing space somehow, eventually I have to do the mod rc30 update all over again to get my memory back so I can push this file over, where is this space going? Whats eating it up? Oh, and it isn't the file size growing, this will happen if I pull a file and directly try to push it back onto the phone.
2: I still don't know how to change the default color of the text. I assume it is in one of these xml files but I'm not sure, and I haven't found it yet. Could it be in /res/color/?
If anyone could help me on these two issues I would be so appreciative.
This is what I've done so far, see the status bar and the icons?
Stericson
Stericson said:
Koush,
Have you looked at this post by Living_Sword?
I suggest you enter the following commands using adb, because its faster and reliable than telnet or any other method. If you do not have adb setup, read here, if you do, then just enter adb shell in the console while the phone is connected.
In simple words, you have to re-sign the framework-res.apk with your own key. You should know that you will loose all your data while doing this mod. Here are the steps,
1. Re-sign and re-upload all the .apk files in /system/app with your own key or the test-keys. The command used for signing is included in the readme file alongwith the signing jar here.
2. Take a backup of /system/framework/framework-res.apk. Now, you would want to edit some stuff in framework-res.apk, for that the easiest method is to rename the apk file to .jar/.zip, put in your own files(with same name as original png) and rename it back to .apk. You have to re-sign this apk with the same key like you did in the first step.
3 . Upload the apk file to /system/framework. The phone will hang, and in few secs it will most likely go back to the android robot screen.
4. Take out the battery, then do a data reset by going into recovery mode and pressing ALT+L to see the log text and then ALT+W to wipe out /data. Obviously, you will loose all your apps and settings and will have to re-activate the phone.
5. After the wipe is complete, press HOME + BACK to reboot. The phone should reboot normally now.
I know its a pain to loose all the data and apps, but this is the easiest method until we figure out something more elegant, and its required to be done only once. Also, there is no need to keep the png file size same. And in future, you will be able to replace the framework-res.apk without any hassles.
Also, since each stock app's icon is in its own apk, once you re-sign every apk in /system/app, you can easily replace their icons with your own.
Source: http://www.modmygphone.com/forums/showthread.php?p=16871#post16871
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
framework-res.apk is just the resources. framework.apk contains the actual code used by every application in the system. Attempting to replace THAT file the result of the android build process will fail.
I think we're talking about two different files.
Oh yep, definetly we are...I thought you were talking about that but I figured you would clarify if you were indeed. Thanks.
so you guys are making progress on some themes... GOOD ****..
jzajzz said:
so you guys are making progress on some themes... GOOD ****..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. Once this process is mastered, and some polished themes, or a tool to make your own (or something) comes out, our G1's will look even sweeter.
jzajzz said:
so you guys are making progress on some themes... GOOD ****..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I was making progress, but now my phone is bricked. Don't know how it happened. Was doing the same thing I've done over 20 30 times, suddenly started giving me problems, reflashe JF update and voila! bricked phone. So now I'm getting a new one sent to me and hoping that it comes pre-rc30. Sucks too because I am pretty sure I found out where the text color is set. Thats why I'm trying to get this to work under the emulator, but I can't get it to work. The dang emulator won't reboot or shutdown. So I can't see the changed made.
It sounds like it's too late to help now. But how was the phone bricked? Did it go into an infinite reboot cycle? Stay on the G1 screen?
Also, I assume you hadn't loaded the dev bootloader? That could have easily saved your phone from brickage
JesusFreke said:
It sounds like it's too late to help now. But how was the phone bricked? Did it go into an infinite reboot cycle? Stay on the G1 screen?
Also, I assume you hadn't loaded the dev bootloader? That could have easily saved your phone from brickage
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My phone does have the dev bootloader on it. However, now it just stays on the boot splash screen and I can't do the update because it says the /dev file is gone! Can I reflash all of that and save my phone?
Btw, I actually think the entire folder /system is gone, because I can't abd with root, and when I did it in the update screen my system folder wasn't showing. So, I have no idea how this happened.
Is it possible to push that entire folder back on there and then recover or something?
Yes, you can reflash the recovery partition using the fastboot protocol, which the dev bootloader supports. There isn't a windows binary for it yet, but if you have a linux or mac handy, turn on the phone into bootloader mode, then plug in the USB cable. "Serial0" should change to "FASTBOOT". now you can use the fastboot binary on your computer to flash anything on the phone. You might try re-flashing the recovery image that's in my modified update. If that doesn't work, maybe try flashing the radio too.
If you have the dev bootloader, I'm almost positive your phone can be saved. Give me at IM if you want to talk about it.
I *think* the fastboot binary is in the sdk for linux/mac. I could be wrong though. There are copies of both floating around though, just ask if you need one.
I managed to repack framework-res.apk and resign all other packages without wiping. The problem is with the signatures in /data/system/packages.xml - they no longer match after resigning. The solution is to simply delete all <sigs> sections (and the <certs> within), and the PackageManager will automatically regenerate them as they are launched. I just now successfully booted, so can't say this is thoroughly tested, but I'll report back here if any problems crop up.
donniesmit said:
I managed to repack framework-res.apk and resign all other packages without wiping. The problem is with the signatures in /data/system/packages.xml - they no longer match after resigning. The solution is to simply delete all <sigs> sections (and the <certs> within), and the PackageManager will automatically regenerate them as they are launched. I just now successfully booted, so can't say this is thoroughly tested, but I'll report back here if any problems crop up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A good check after doing something like this is to take a look at the call log, and actually receieve a call (call yourself from your home phone, or whatever). Both of these like to error out when messing around with resigning.
Once again let me preface this by saying that I am a Noob. However, I have been swapping roms for the past couple of months with no major problems. The one annoyance is every time I install a new rom I have to go through the hassle of reloading all my favorite apps.
I wanted to know how to make a update.zip folder that will actually load on my Google Ion for my apps. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
If you know how to sign a ROM its no Problem, if you dont ...
Lol, that would be a big "No."
You would have to be able to sign .zip files for it to work, You could have your favorite apps on the side so you could open your rom on the computer and add them in the apps folder.
Your prolly better off installing them individually because some roms (mostly skins) wont run with some apps although this is VERY rare!
is it not possible to resign i.e. the cyanogen rom after adding a few apps?
frleus said:
is it not possible to resign i.e. the cyanogen rom after adding a few apps?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am new to the signing of roms but from what i can see it is possible and seems to be a little easier than I originally thought. I just started with signing last night and was able to take parts of three different roms put them together and was able to sign it and sucessfully loaded and installed with no problems to my mytouch. Just to give an example I used the bootscreen from Qteks rom along with the transparent lockscreen from evils sense rom and combined them with wikeds rom cause I liked his icon pack. signed it and loaded on first shot with no issues.
Here is what I used posted by Dave Da illest 1 Senior Member
link to op
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=471586
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
thelastgoodbrother said:
Once again let me preface this by saying that I am a Noob. However, I have been swapping roms for the past couple of months with no major problems. The one annoyance is every time I install a new rom I have to go through the hassle of reloading all my favorite apps.
I wanted to know how to make a update.zip folder that will actually load on my Google Ion for my apps. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the easy way
what i do is a .bat file with my info in it
place all the stuff you want installed into a folder
and create ad .bat file(notepad save as select all files from dropdown the put .bat on end of file name\)
mine is all.bat and inside looks like this
adb remount
adb push D:\android\install\apns-conf.xml /system/etc
adb push D:\android\install\wpa_supplicant.conf /data/misc/wifi
adb install D:\android\install\apps\android.tether.apk
adb install D:\android\install\apps\com.a0soft.gphone.aTrackDog.apk
adb install D:\android\install\apps\org.freecoder.widgets.overclock.apk
adb install D:\android\install\apps\com.metago.astro.apk
adb install D:\android\install\apps\com.qype.radar.apk
adb install D:\android\install\apps\com.arron.taskManager.apk
adb install D:\android\install\apps\com.rerware.android.MyBackupPro.apk
adb install D:\android\install\apps\com.curvefish.widgets.silentmodeonoff.apk
adb install D:\android\install\apps\com.mattwach.trap2.apk
adb install D:\android\install\apps\com.tapjoy.coloroid.apk
adb install D:\android\install\apps\com.schwimmer.android.mmsextract.apk
adb install D:\android\install\apps\com.google.android.stardroid.apk
adb install D:\android\install\apps\de.android_telefonie.appmanager.apk
adb install D:\android\install\apps\MyBackupPro.apk
adb shell
reboot
and i do it when the setup wizard starts so when it reboots my apn and wireless are installed
here is the one twisted made... its simple and eazy... btw when I was getting sick of restoring all my apps every time I flashed a new rom, I searched for it and learned how to do it without posting once... but thats just me
download incremental here
http://twistedumbrella.slackdev.com/Incremental.zip
Back your apps up as an update in case you do a wipe using this:
Use Incremental_original.zip
Back all the apps up you want.
Open the archive and replace the apps in the data/app directory.
Sign the archive like a regular update and place in root of SD card.
Flash the update you want. When finished, flash Incremental.zip
Reboot the phone and both the update and apps will be installed.
to learn how to sign files look at this thread...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=4721739
You can avoid the hassle easily by going apps to sd. After that, any rom that enables apps to sd (almost every rom) will automatically have your apps installed upon first boot.
That being said, next time post in "General" first. We don't want this section to get as messed up as it has become in the Dream forum.
Buster3616 said:
That being said, next time post in "General" first. We don't want this section to get as messed up as it has become in the Dream forum.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol have you noticed this forum? i guess better late than never...
as every other post says "this should be in general" or "this should be in Q&A"
but then again I cant say Ive ever seen a clean forum... sad
Also if your gonna say "this should be [where ever]" you shouldn't also provide an answer to the initial question... What does that teach? Post where ever you want because you'll still get an answer? That doesn't help your cause.
ok, so I am working on reskinning sense, I'm using DamageControl 2.1 right now and I was able to edit some of the files used in com.htc.resources.apk without problem.
The problem I am having right now is whenever I try and modify a file in rosie, repack and resign and adb push it back to the phone, sense force closes until I revert back to the orginial file, has anyone run into the same issue?
I am going to download the latest framework to see if there might be an issue with signing caused by not having the latest one. I really can't remember which version I'm running.
i give you credit, i wouldn't even attempt to try this on my phone.
Quick question, is there a reason why you're resigning the .apk? There is no need too.
I was under the impression, perhaps uneccesarily, that whenever you modify an apk it needs to be resigned to prevent problems.
I've always done this, I have never had a problem with that practice in the past which is why it perplexed me now. As I already stated, there was no problems when I modified com.HTC.resources.apk
I'm drunk
obelisk79 said:
ok, so I am working on reskinning sense, I'm using DamageControl 2.1 right now and I was able to edit some of the files used in com.htc.resources.apk without problem.
The problem I am having right now is whenever I try and modify a file in rosie, repack and resign and adb push it back to the phone, sense force closes until I revert back to the orginial file, has anyone run into the same issue?
I am going to download the latest framework to see if there might be an issue with signing caused by not having the latest one. I really can't remember which version I'm running.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is images where the name is yadayad08.png, well the number might not be 08 it might be another number and i really dont feel like diggin into it right now, but the images with that number in the end have scripts attatched to the or it written into the image. Have you looked into that. Sorry if I have been %100 clear but ther is images with scripts actually written inside of them......... if you can follow what i'm sayin...:\ I'm drunk......... anyway i'll look into it right now and be back so I dont look like a complete douchebag
So some images have a script stored in the same file? I have never heard of that before. I'd like to see some examples if possible, and how exactly do you modify them?
Time to put my Google-fu to good use.
Edit: whatcha drinking?
The file I am trying to modify is common_mainnav_scroller3.png. maybe that will help. I'm not at my laptop right now, so I am not able to try modifying it without resigning.
I also found some info about the images with scripts attached to them. I have a utility now to modify that stuff, however looking around some more I also think the files with a filename.9.png are the applicable files. I'm not modifying them right now.
obelisk79 said:
The file I am trying to modify is common_mainnav_scroller3.png. maybe that will help. I'm not at my laptop right now, so I am not able to try modifying it without resigning.
I also found some info about the images with scripts attached to them. I have a utility now to modify that stuff, however looking around some more I also think the files with a filename.9.png are the applicable files. I'm not modifying them right now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yea i know forsure the.9 files have scripts attached however if your just changing something as small as an icon I don't think it should matter. Not sure though, i was trying to port a theme and i ran into this situation im not a linux guru so I kind of gave it up
I do not resign the .apk after modifying them If you are only changing images just make sure the new image has the same name and just open the .apk and drag n drop the image into the folder where it needs to be it will over write the old image and store the new one.
I have modified the Rosie.apk and com.htc.resources.apk many times to change things in the taskbar change over to Espresso etc
if you are only changing .png files just drag and drop.
Also like cheyne1 said files or .png's with xxxx.9.png etc in them are more than just .png files and replacing them will cause all sorts of issues if the new file is not made correctly
well, lesson learned... drag-n-drop worked. didn't think rosie apk was going to be so testy. thanks for the help.
VillainTheme System 0.3.5 for the TF101
http://www.villainrom.co.uk/forum/showthread.php/4971-About-VillainTheme-System
pulser_g2 said:
OK, so I think it's time to explain what this is about. It's born from the idea that came about on IRC, for a way to make a theme once for a ROM, rather than have to adjust it for each incremental update for a given ROM or ROMs.
As a user, you don't need to know much - just flash this zip like a regular zip, and you'll get your theme running. But you should be able to apply themes to any device, ROM, and version of the ROM, without it causing adverse effects. That means less time spent by themers making the original theme, and less time spent modifying it constantly for new versions of ROMs.
As a themer? Well, here is the information:
Inside the zip, in the vrtheme folder, you can create a folder called "system" and "data". The former is required, the latter is not required unless you wanted to theme a data app (strongly not recommended, unless you know the app will be there on every phone)
Inside the system or data folder, create a subfolder "app", and in these, make subfolders named EXACTLY after the APK name. For example, to theme the Browser, you need a folder called "Browser.apk". It must be correctly capitalised.
Within there, place the files you require for your theme, in the relevant locations. So most PNGs will be in res/drawable-hdpi/. You can put in xml files too (those which are not in resources.arsc), if you compile them via apktool, and extract them with a zip tool.
In the vrtheme folder, as well as system and data folder, one called "raw" can exist. Within here, you can place files to be copied verbatim to the ROM (for example, modified JAR files). Note that using this may make the theme device dependent (read WILL make it device dependent)
And that's about it.
Features
Will modify APKs in a ROM, without changing signatures, and can be used on any ROM where the filenames of themed files is the same.
Should not need updated between versions of a ROM
Zipaligns all APKs before installation
Stores a backup of all files being modified in /cache/vrtheme-backup/
Requires no coding abilities or editing of files - just drag and drop
Can copy "raw" files, though at risk of not working on other devices (well, let's face it, it won't work on likely a slightly different ROM, so this feature is not recommended or encouraged)
Credits
Doctorcete for the original idea in a discussion on IRC
Stericson for the original idea of metamorph. While totally different, it's a shared goal to separate themes from ROMs
Matt from the Metamorph team, for the zip binary compiled for Android
Seshy, for testing
EULA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nothing evil or complicated - just a few little things. You should not charge for access to this code. That includes a zip containing this, or a derivative of it. So please don't sell themes using it. That's not particularly cool. If you want to use it commercially for some reason, get in touch with us.
If you spot a bug or error, and find a fix, please reply in this thread and let us know, or post the changes you made. If you're going to distribute the changed version, it is expected that you share the change made by contacting us, or posting it here.
Finally, don't be a douche - don't rip this off or call it your own, and leave all headers and comments identifying the origin of the code in place. Don't rename this to match your ROM or "team" name - it's not cool, and it's not yours to go and adjust. I chose to make this a readable "plain" script, but can easily obfuscate and encrypt it if you want to be a douche.
Copyright VillainROM (2011). All rights reserved
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now this project was created around the SGS2, and as such it did not work on the TF101 at first, however me and Pulser have spent the day looking for solutions and finally got it working for the TF101.
IMPORTANT: DO NOT USE THE SGS2 TEMPLATE FROM THE VILLAINROM WEBSITE.
Download:
0.3.6 experimental
Clean template without theme included: http://www.mediafire.com/?5bs9srz88i4wdq4
Asus Eee Pad TF101 VRTheme template: http://www.mediafire.com/?5gyr1g0xgd05t70
Note: for now the template is my windows phone 7 theme since it shows you where everything goes really well
If you find any issues or bugs PM me with as much info as you can and if possible a recovery log (found in /cache/recovery/) so I can try and find a solution to your problem.
Changelog
0.3.5
Fixed ASCII art in updater script.
Minor clean up of installtheme.sh
Added preview.png to template.
0.3.3
Modified installtheme.sh as it was giving possible problems.
0.3.2
Fixed a problem with raw folder copying. Put contents of /raw in /system now on the root of the .zip
Fixed some status 0 errors.
Currently known bugs:
You may have issues trying to flash framework files and app files in the same .zip (code 0 error).
Temporary solution: Flash the framework folder and the app folder in seperate .zip files.
hello,
is that you can see screen pls ?
And this theme is compatible with any rom ?
wallah said:
hello,
is that you can see screen pls ?
And this theme is compatible with any rom ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you had taken 3 seconds to read the post you would know it's not a theme.
This is for themers only.
yes I have read and I have not really understood ...
sorry I disturb
For any themers who want a better example of how it works, I just updated my own theme to use this method:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1120525
Hey seshmaru,
This is definitely a great method! As soon as I get a chance, I will experiment with adapting PCB Blue to use the VillainROM theming method (with leaving all credit intact of course )
If someone wants to uninstall any themes applied this way, what would be the best method though? Just reflash their ROM?...(is what I'm thinking).
Thanks for working on this with the Villain Team, and if there's anything I can do (help/test/etc.), please don't hesitate to PM me.
Thanks again, and cheers for now!
scar45 said:
Hey seshmaru,
This is definitely a great method! As soon as I get a chance, I will experiment with adapting PCB Blue to use the VillainROM theming method (with leaving all credit intact of course )
If someone wants to uninstall any themes applied this way, what would be the best method though? Just reflash their ROM?...(is what I'm thinking).
Thanks for working on this with the Villain Team, and if there's anything I can do (help/test/etc.), please don't hesitate to PM me.
Thanks again, and cheers for now!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well seeing as the current .zip makes a backup of the original files, in the future there will probably be a script made to restore the back up.
Till then the easiest way is to just reflash your ROM without a wipe or to reflash whatever theme you had before.
If you want to help with testing (constantly fixing things since pulser is away so it's my task to keep the SGS2 template and TF101 template as identical as possible) or have any questions you can pop by the VillainROM IRC since I'm generally in there.
Hmm... I can't quite figure out why, but it is not working right for me.. My framework-res.apk file is exactly the same after flashing....
I managed to do some debugging, and i found out that the file file is actually created, but it doesn't copy it over for some reason...
within the VRTheme folder (which i prevented from being deleted so i could check out the contents) the framework-res.apk file is in apply/system/framework/framework-res.apk...
So i tried editing the install script, all the way down at the bottom, and i changed the code from from cd /cache/vrtheme/apply/system/framework/aligned/ to cd /cache/vrtheme/apply/system/framework/ and it worked!
All i can guess is that the file isn't getting aligned for some reason, so that folder/file is never created, but the script is still calling for it...
Can you please let me know if my fix is acceptable, or if there is something off with it that can be fixed and would allow it to be aligned therefore creating the folder and the file?
-trailblazer101
I just want to confirm this. I made some xml edits for the framework, finsky, and gmail were I change the color of the text. Those are in the values folder in the colors.xml file. After you compile the apk you cannot see that folder so I am guessing that you cannot use this to flash that xml correct?
went toflash the theme i get error 0
MetAloid said:
went toflash the theme i get error 0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just try the new version now i get error 6
MetAloid said:
just try the new version now i get error 6
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got error 6 as well.
Error 6
I'm gettting same error ^ as cescribed by others.
I have been wanting to get into the Honeycomb theme arena and this looks like a good place to start, thanks for your work and I hope I can figure it out. Would it be ok to drop by IRC if I have any questions?
Hi all, just looking for confirmation that the VillainTheme flasher is able to apply .XML files (specifically in framework-res/drawable)?
Thanks in advance!
It should be able to, although it's had some issues at times.
Anyone getting status 6, try this new updated template: http://www.mediafire.com/?5bs9srz88i4wdq4
seshmaru said:
Anyone getting status 6, try this new updated template: http://www.mediafire.com/?5bs9srz88i4wdq4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That 0.3.6 template works for me
Regards, folgui.
I'm having a problem with Recovery giving "E:Error in... / Error 0" with my theme for the TF101 below.
Can someone please test it and report their findings? Note that you should do a Nandroid backup first!
Thanks in advance...
** EDIT ** - Found the problem and fixed it...sorry for the post!
Hello. I would like to know if anyone has an actual beginner's guide to CIQ removal. For a minute, there was a guide that didn't quite have all the bugs worked out of it, but it was removed. I've been trying to follow Krylon's thread on rootzwiki, but it seems to stop short of telling people how to actually recompile everything and push it back to the phone. It would be helpful and informative to be walked through this process once the CIQ files have been deleted from the decompressed classes.dex files and .xml manifest.
Thanks
Note: So far, I have figured out that autosmali can be used to smali the files back into a classes.dex file, which can be reincorporated into the associated .jar files using 7zip. Seems simple enough. However, the process of getting framework-res updated seems to be more complicated, and requires answering some questions about. Specifically: 1. Option 11 asks (a) Is this a system apk? (b) Aside from the signature, would you like to copy over any additional files that you didn't modify from the original apk in order to ensure least # of errors? I have answered "yes" to 1.(a) and "yes" to 1.(b), which told me to delete the .xml and the resources.arcs file from a temp directory before completing the compile. This whole process has left me with three modified files (framework.jar, android.policy.jar, and framework-res.apk (unsigned)). Now what do I do with them?
Note 2: Looks like I can sign the framework-res.apk file using option 12.
Once you are done modifying the files you need to either put them in an update.zip and flash or push them with adb to their respective folders.
As for someone giving a step by step I doubt that will happen. It seems like the ones that do know how to do alot of the modifications to roms, are pretty vague when they post how to's. Most of the time it seems like they just don't want to share the information. Why I don't know, but that is just my opinion. I am sure I will probably get flamed for saying this but again this is just my opinion.
You can search the forums and find most of the information here and there. Then you need to put it all together and hope it works.
My thought's would be to have a seperate area in the forum to post just Tips, Techniques and How To's. Then alot of the people that want to learn how to theme and build roms would have an better source to find their answers than having to search all the forums. Again just my .02 cents worth...
Hope no one is offended by this as that is not my intention.... XDA is a great source for information...
quick steps..
Decompile Framework.jar, delete the entire carrieriq dir and all it's contents, recompile.
delete /system/xbin/iqbridger
DONE
Makes the rest dead code.
tablador said:
Hello. I would like to know if anyone has an actual beginner's guide to CIQ removal. For a minute, there was a guide that didn't quite have all the bugs worked out of it, but it was removed. I've been trying to follow Krylon's thread on rootzwiki, but it seems to stop short of telling people how to actually recompile everything and push it back to the phone. It would be helpful and informative to be walked through this process once the CIQ files have been deleted from the decompressed classes.dex files and .xml manifest.
Thanks
Note: So far, I have figured out that autosmali can be used to smali the files back into a classes.dex file, which can be reincorporated into the associated .jar files using 7zip. Seems simple enough. However, the process of getting framework-res updated seems to be more complicated, and requires answering some questions about. Specifically: 1. Option 11 asks (a) Is this a system apk? (b) Aside from the signature, would you like to copy over any additional files that you didn't modify from the original apk in order to ensure least # of errors? I have answered "yes" to 1.(a) and "yes" to 1.(b), which told me to delete the .xml and the resources.arcs file from a temp directory before completing the compile. This whole process has left me with three modified files (framework.jar, android.policy.jar, and framework-res.apk (unsigned)). Now what do I do with them?
Note 2: Looks like I can sign the framework-res.apk file using option 12.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't use option 12.
NEVER SIGN A SYSTEM APK
krylon360 said:
Don't use option 12.
NEVER SIGN A SYSTEM APK
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks krylon for the quick fix.
If, for completeness, I wanted to put all of these modified files on my phone (unsigned), how would I do it? Last time I tried, I used a root file explorer and my phone started bootlooping immediately after placing framework-res.apk on the phone. Adb was not available, so I had to reflash in order to put the file back the way it was. I was thinking maybe to adp push the file instead of copying it with the explorer.
adb push then reboot.
but, it's best to do it as a fresh install.
Thanks, I will give that a try.
Followed these directions 3x, but when I boot up my phone with these changes, the Android System process stops responding every time i boot my phone. I can bypass the error message fine, though.
edit: Well, after reflashing it 2 more times with the exact same rom, it doesn't happen anymore. MEH, who knows?
One of Raver's ROMs did that too. I think it is a dependency to something you removed. It was fine on the ROM. One FC when you boot ROM and that was it.