Hi All,
I am trying to create a skin for phoneAlarm, however the one biggest problem I'm having is creating a transparent/semi-transparent tga file in photoshop. I am fairly new to photoshop and have tried googling, but can't find a idiots guide how to do it. I know I need to do something by creating an alpha layer but not sure what.
I am trying to create a top curtain similar to the ones used in S2U2, but just as a seperate file which can be used to overlay a background image.
Could someone either post an idiots guide or point me in the right direction.
Many Thanks
BB4L
Related
I've seen some really nice skins for various software on my Kaiser but I want to know how I can create them myself. Is there special software that's needed or is it as simple as just changing the color of an image? Also, how do I create them from scratch and get them to work correctly? Once a skin is done, how do I turn it into a .cab file? Any help would be really appreciated.
btw.......I have Photoshop CS3 Extended if that helps any.
Well, depends what kind of skin...
I did a very simple one for wisbar here:
http://www.lakeridgesoftware.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12617
See the files to understand how to change them.
Eh, I'm no professional photoshopper. All I did was open up the images that came with TouchFlo 2D and use Ctrl + U to do a Hue/Saturation change. If you know how to create Batches in Photoshop it saves A LOT of time because you can basically edit one image and have Photoshop make that change to however many other images you want.
Can anyone help me with a skin for this one:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=427913
I'd be extremely greatful.
Ok I have WinCE CAB Manager 3.0.0.22 and 2 themes (here and here) that are mainly just the image files. How do I turn the themes in to .cab files that automatically store the files in the correct location on someone's ppc?
I want to customize the slider and icons of the home screen tabs by myself (in Photoshop)?
Where are the images of these stored and what registry keys do I need to change (if any)?
Thanks
PS: I use JWMD for the start menu icons, is there a similar app for the home screen tab? - probably not
please guys, somebody help me with this.
i reformulated my request, i've been probably misunderstood - that would explain why nobody bothered to answer by now...
this is my last attempt to get your attention into this. I can't believe none of the people who know answered, is this such a big secret?
antaed said:
this is my last attempt to get your attention into this. I can't believe none of the people who know answered, is this such a big secret?
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Hi Antaed.
I'm surprised too that no one has replied to your question.
I think the problem is not so much that it is a big secret, but that it is very complicated and therefore difficult to reply to.
I've done a bit of work on changing icons myself, so I can probably explain to you what is involved and what you have to do. But you will need to decide for yourself whether you want to put in the effort...
The slider icons (and the slider itself) are .png images stored in manila files. So the first thing you will need to do is find out, for your version of Manila, which files contain the slider icons for your version.
The best way to find out which files you need to change is to 'unzip' an existing cab which changes the slider icons on your version of manila and read the setup.xml file to extract the names of the manila files in the cab.
Please note that there are 3 files for each slider icon!
Then you will need to extract the .png files from the manila files. I use CFC GUI (available on this forum) to extract the .png files.
Once you have the original .png files, you will see that the slider icons do not take up the whole 128x128 pixels of the file but are placed approximately in the top left corner of the .png file. This will be your guide as to how big to make your new icons and where to place the new icon within the 128x128 matrix.
Please note that there are two different positions depending on whether the image you are replacing is the standard position in the row of icons or the icon visible 'within' the slider (seen as you move the slider along the row of icons), which is slightly higher and to the left.
Once you have created your new .png files in the same format as the originals, you should then use CFC GUI again to replace the original image with your new ones in the appropriate manila file.
You can then either manually move your new manila files across to your device (not recommended) or create a cab file to install them (and uninstall them) in one go (highly recommended!).
I would advise (from experience) only doing a couple of icons first until you have the exact position for the icon with the file. The position should then be the same for every icon.
The slider itself is fortunately only one file and therefore a lot easier to change. Again the best way to find out which manila file you need to change for your version is to unzip a cab file that changes the slider on your version and read the setup.xml file.
Hope this helps... (Well, at least you got an answer!)
And "No", I do not know of an easier way of doing this!
Johnkst, thanks for your kind reply, I started to have doubts I'll get an answer to this .
About the procedure - yes, it's pretty challenging but I'll try .
First because it's kind of a new adventure for me and then because I feel I owe it to you now, as I don't want to leave your effort in vain .
If I'll succeed (and I don't see why not) you'll be the first to receive my work.
Thanks again and best regards,
Antaed
Changing slider icons and the slider...
antaed said:
Johnkst, thanks for your kind reply, I started to have doubts I'll get an answer to this .
About the procedure - yes, it's pretty challenging but I'll try .
First because it's kind of a new adventure for me and then because I feel I owe it to you now, as I don't want to leave your effort in vain .
If I'll succeed (and I don't see why not) you'll be the first to receive my work.
Thanks again and best regards,
Antaed
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That's the right attitude, Antaed...!
I don't know if it will help you, but I am attaching two cabs to this post. They are ones I made myself for my HD2, which uses Manila 2.5.1920. I THINK the same files are used for 1921, but I don't know for sure...
There might be some stuff in there that you do not need, but they might also be useful to help you identify the files you need to change.
One is for the clear slider on the main tabs (it also slightly changes the black '2nd level' slider), the other for the slider icons.
The slider icons it installs are those from Jaguaralani. Let me know once you have downloaded as I will remove them again. I know Jaguaralani does not want his/her theme split up and my posting a cab which installs only the slider icons probably goes against those wishes... - Done!
Good luck!
done, thanks.
i was wondering if there's any guides available on how to make custom lock screens. i can't seem to find anything on google regarding it. i saw some of the nice ones noj created and it inspired me to make a few of my own too, but i have no idea where to start.
Here you go:
http://androidforums.com/all-things-root-sprint-hero/48610-guide-creating-custom-lockscreens.html
ajaholic said:
i was wondering if there's any guides available on how to make custom lock screens. i can't seem to find anything on google regarding it. i saw some of the nice ones noj created and it inspired me to make a few of my own too, but i have no idea where to start.
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I took the lame developer route. I just used winrar to open up an already created lockscreen.zip and just replaced the lockscreen image with my own. Flashed just fine.
jeez ajaholic, have you tried using something called "google" and other search options available?
thanks guys!
ajaholic said:
thanks for the help tatonka, but this guide seems to be pretty basic it's basically just says to do the developer route kbizzle was talking about, which is alright but severely limits the amount of customization you can do. for example you cant change the size of lock screen image or the text. there is a an xml file inside the apk that i believe controls those things, but when i open it up in notepad its in a compiled format not regular text and i can't edit it. does anyone how to edit the xml file?
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Exactly. It is basic, that was the point of me writing it. So that others could easily create basic custom lockscreens and share with the communities out there. If you are looking for something more elaborate, I would search these forums. But, to save you some time, here are 3 links I have found in my searching that describe how to change time color, etc.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=578421&highlight=deodex
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=4113483&postcount=2
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=549309
I would love to learn how to make themes; however, I can't find anything that remotely explains the process entirely. I'm seriously about to freak out (ya know, wanting to do that primal scream!) ...how could these directions be so hard to find?
P.S.
If there are magical threads I'm missing........and you post them......can you post the one that is thorough? Oh ya...sorry for the sarcasm......this is just so frustrating!
Glad you asked that question as I too also want to know the process of how to make a fully theme ;o)
You can start by downloading the programs to be able to see and edit the files you will be playing with. Mode9 Editor and CFC_GUI as well as others to see XML pages, etc,etc. AS to how to make a theme is all dependent on what type of theme you are looking to make. Are you looking to skin manila, titanium, SPB??????????
If you are looking to do manila then Mode9 is good for moving things around, changing how they function, and their look. If you are just going for look and simple use in manila I use CFC_GUI.
If you search you will find these programs. In their threads are directions on how to use each. Now I'm not going to get into specifics here because it's different for each type of GUI you want to use/skin. Needless to say a theme is just a series of images that create the over all look of said GUI.
So choose the GUI you want and start studying on that type. The info is out there you just need to narrow down the search perimeters.
and where to start when i want to create winmo themes (not manila) ?
thanks
As far as what? The menu bars? The curtains? As far as I know most of them are XML and png's.
ok im sorry if this is posted i have been looking all day on XDA and other forums nothing so far. im trying to learn how to make my own mods im not looking for a step by step guide but more a point in the right direction to some of the programs that are used maybe the file names and types (i have my own image editing program) just looking for a little help i guess. i am trying to make my own slider right now if you have any useful tips or anything please help me out thanks in advance
So you are looking to modify the images? If so this is not so much a mod but a theme. Changing the graphics is one thing but to make an actual mod like Cookies HomeTab or MaxSense, takes modding the actual file structure and the writing of code.
So if you are looking to just modify the graphics and theme of the phone look into modifying manila graphics. You want a program like CFC_GUI. This will allow you to download the manila image files and see there size and upload your own. You will still need something like GIMP or Photoshop to make your own image into a png of the proper size. You can also use a program called Mode9 to resize the size of the image allowed in a certain spot or even it's location all together. There are other things you can do and this would be getting more into modifying manila.
thank you! yeah im more thinking about themes i will let the pros handle the heavy stuff i have photoshop and Jasc PSP so thanks this was a lot of help i will look for that program.
Here is a post that gives a pretty good description on how to edit the graphics.
Post of other thread