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[SEARCH] How to edit background of the iconlist in Launcher

could any of you themers tell me please where I can find the wallpaper which is under the icons, when you press the Launcher Button?
It's stock black and I want to change it?
Thanks!

Ummmm.....
Are you asking for the location of the launcher background? I am not positive, but I would check inside the apk for the launcher. Just a guess.

I think that is more of a line of code somewhere and not an image if you are referring to the app drawer in launcher2.
You can tell a special .png by the helmet it wears.

Yeah, Launcher2.apk was my first look. It isn't in there.
What do you mean with "You can tell a special .png by the helmet it wears" please.
Sorry!

Formel-LMS said:
Yeah, Launcher2.apk was my first look. It isn't in there.
What do you mean with "You can tell a special .png by the helmet it wears" please.
Sorry!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was an off color joke.

I was thinking it was in an xml file in launcher2.apk somewhere but couldn't find it. Then there is an xml called grid color selector or something like that in drawable of framwwork. But I couldn't find the color in there either. I am still looking though so if anyone finds it please let us know.

So I cant' change the picture, only the colour?

it most likely isn't going to be referenced as a color, it is probably calling it out from the system framework (I just got my nexus yesterday so I only started the new theme today, so this is a guess). I have the source, but havent gone thru it yet. It would be possible to add a line of code, to the correct .xml, and either place an image or at least a background=color to it

[Q] New default contact pic

Hello all,
I am trying to tinker with the phonebook apk so that the deafult contact picture is the one I want.
I am on Wolfbreaks latest rom and have tried for about a week to find the correct image in the drawable folders of the contacts apk without any luck.
The image I am looking to change is the one on the left of a contacts name in the alphabetical list of contacts.
(Circled in red in this screenshot)
If anyone can give me the correct path to find it I will be very very grateful.
I have sent a PM to wolfbreak but he is obviously very busy and probably gets hindreds of messages and I dont want to spam his thread.
I am looking to change the image to a png of an android like my avatar of to the honeycomb bee (I use siwanthas honeycomb theme)
Also, I imagine i can just rename the file I want and replace it in the apk, just make sure it is the right size (81x81 I think)...will i need to get the apk signed?
EDIT: just realised, it may be in the siwanthas honeycomb theme apk.....

try these
howdy Mate,
in the contacts.apk
under res/drawable-hdpi/
i changed the bunch of images called
spb_contact_photo_default_#_icn.png (# is a number from 1 to 8)
i also changed these to match.
spb_contact_photo_default_pivot_#_icn.png (# is a number from 1 to 8)
if you install your theme then grab the contacts.apk then edit and push back it should work.
see attached pic to see the images changed
hope this helps
Pvy

Many thanks....
I now have it done with a picture of the honeycomb bee as default picture....

Too easy mate, happy modding
glad it worked.
Pvy

Themed Calendar

I really didn't like that wooden calendar and it's colors, so I changed it a little bit.
There is only one color that I couldn't find. (picture number 2)
Special Thanks to biopsin for helping me to build this,
and thanks to cheatman for looking in to it.
If you want to try it, just download the zip file and flash it via recovery.

Does anyone know why I can't change those colors?

Hey guy,
I'm sorry but I can't help you. But i like your app. Please don't give up!

odysseus84 said:
Hey guy,
I'm sorry but I can't help you. But i like your app. Please don't give up!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm trying, but I haven't found a way to edit that xml. I don't have any problem
with other xmls but this one... I don't know what's wrong.

Looks like some great work there mate. As for your odd xml file problem, I'm not sure there's much you can do. I've had problems like that with a couple of apk's and I've never found a reliable fix. Sorry

Decompile the apk using apktool or apkmanager .... n den edit the xml....n compile agn
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA Premium App

agc93 said:
Looks like some great work there mate. As for your odd xml file problem, I'm not sure there's much you can do. I've had problems like that with a couple of apk's and I've never found a reliable fix. Sorry
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I've had this problem before with a framework.

Thats a nice theme. The wooden calendar wasnt really bad, but your theme makes it really nice!

I realy like your theme. The contacts.apk and the phone.apk are "woody ugly" too. Would you theme theese apps too?

Can you post your said XML alone as an attachment (the already modified and original)? I'd like to take a look at it.
As some resources (files in the /res folder) are shared between apps through the framework, changing anything shared might result in an inconsistency and FC the app.
A workaround might be to completely decompile the framework as a dependency and modify it there. It would result in a more dramatic change, but it would cross over to other apps such as the contacts, dialer and calendar simultaneously.
PS: this also applies to the browser, email app, contacts and so on, depending on what you change.

cheatman said:
completely decompile the framework as a dependency and modify it there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but How?
by using what software?
I face similar issue and tried with apktool and apkmanager with no hope.
Would u give me a hand?

odysseus84 said:
I realy like your theme. The contacts.apk and the phone.apk are "woody ugly" too. Would you theme theese apps too?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've already woked on both of them, you can find them in Themes and Apps section.

cheatman said:
Can you post your said XML alone as an attachment (the already modified and original)? I'd like to take a look at it.
As some resources (files in the /res folder) are shared between apps through the framework, changing anything shared might result in an inconsistency and FC the app.
A workaround might be to completely decompile the framework as a dependency and modify it there. It would result in a more dramatic change, but it would cross over to other apps such as the contacts, dialer and calendar simultaneously.
PS: this also applies to the browser, email app, contacts and so on, depending on what you change.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So there are lots of things that should be checked.
I uploded the xml here. There are 3 colors in this xml and I can't change any of
them. The xml is in layout folder and there is another xml with the same name in
layout-land folder. I've tried working on this one as well but the result is the
same as the other one.
Anyway, thanks for looking in to it, mate.

sohrab1985 said:
I've already woked on both of them, you can find them in Themes and Apps section.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, i know that. They are nice but they don't look as good as the calendar (cause blue). Maybe you can change the colours to a few dark colours like your calendar (it's perfect for Meizu's Dark Theme)
What ever is come... thanks for your work
Sent from my GT-P1000 using Tapatalk

odysseus84 said:
Yes, i know that. They are nice but they don't look as good as the calendar (cause blue). Maybe you can change the colours to a few dark colours like your calendar (it's perfect for Meizu's Dark Theme)
What ever is come... thanks for your work
Sent from my GT-P1000 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see what I can do.

Ok, in the XML I can see you have three variations of brown/orange. Judging by the colors, I suspect this is the default XML, before editing it.
The colors are #ffbe801d, #ffede3c2 and #ff503200. What values are you trying to set instead of these? What I mean is, how EXACTLY are you replacing the actual text in the XML:
#ffbe801d becomes: ???
#ffede3c2 becomes: ???
#ff503200 becomes: ???
This is important as the color representation is not the basic HEX code encountered in regular web dev (for example). It's a 16-bit hex representation with alpha. The first two elements (ff) stand for 100% opacity.
C.

cheatman said:
Ok, in the XML I can see you have three variations of brown/orange. Judging by the colors, I suspect this is the default XML, before editing it.
The colors are #ffbe801d, #ffede3c2 and #ff503200. What values are you trying to set instead of these? What I mean is, how EXACTLY are you replacing the actual text in the XML:
#ffbe801d becomes: ???
#ffede3c2 becomes: ???
#ff503200 becomes: ???
This is important as the color representation is not the basic HEX code encountered in regular web dev (for example). It's a 16-bit hex representation with alpha. The first two elements (ff) stand for 100% opacity.
C.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, that's right, this is the default xml.
I edit the xml same as other xmls which I edit without any problem, I just open
the xml in a text file and change the value I want to edit and then I save it and
after that I compile it with Apk Manager.
I just want to change them to something like gray, for example I want to change
#ffbe801d to #ff787878 and #ffede3c2 to #ffbcbcbc. It dosen't matter if they
are not exactly these colors, like I said before I just want to make them gray
For the third one, I don't think it changes those two colors that I want to change.
Btw, thanks for helping.

Well, I've looked into it and I can:
1. Fully Decompile the APK. It doesn't need any shared resources from external packages.
2. Edit the XMLs accordingly. I have also seen that you were very thorough in your theme creation process.
It's all good apparently, however, I am unable to recompile everything back. The APK tool reports some missing resources. For some reason, there is a dependency that is not satisfied, although the package decompiles correctly (I have never seen a similar package before).
I'll have to scour some Google documentation before I'll come up with a relevant result, so it may take a while. I'm not gonna let it fly, though. The entire process should be plain smooth and must be doable anyway.

Hi
I have no issues bulding the calendar. If u send me your edited files i can try build it for you..also chech if apktool is up to date, using older ver. will hand out errors..
Edit
Tested these colors
#ffbe801d becomes: ff6090bf
#ffede3c2 becomes: ff9198b1
#ff503200 becomes: ff001d50
ref. : http://www.color-hex.com/
and it builded ok
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA Premium App

cheatman said:
Well, I've looked into it and I can:
1. Fully Decompile the APK. It doesn't need any shared resources from external packages.
2. Edit the XMLs accordingly. I have also seen that you were very thorough in your theme creation process.
It's all good apparently, however, I am unable to recompile everything back. The APK tool reports some missing resources. For some reason, there is a dependency that is not satisfied, although the package decompiles correctly (I have never seen a similar package before).
I'll have to scour some Google documentation before I'll come up with a relevant result, so it may take a while. I'm not gonna let it fly, though. The entire process should be plain smooth and must be doable anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sorry for putting you throurgh all of this, it's not really a big deal, mate.

[Guide]Change the Ticker Clock Color!

Alright, I am going to try and make this guide as easy to follow as possible for the 1000x people who requested it, lol...
Before starting there is a few things you are going to need/should have:
apk manager...
text editor...
General Idea with How to Work a Computer/Follow Directions
Since we are going to be editing xml's, you have to use apk manager... Hopefully you have some basic knowledge with this "program", since it takes a little getting used to.. If not though, i will try and make this as painless as possible
First, open up apk manager and decompile (9) the framework-res.apk of your choosing.. You can unzip my gingerbread theme and use that framework-res, or any other one that you can find
Now, go to the projects folder, and navigate to "framework-res.apk\res\layout".. This is where, as the name implies, all the layouts for the ticker are placed... They are in xml format, so you can easily use notepad or such...
The XML that we are looking for in order to change the color is "standbymode.xml". Open it up in your text editor... Don't be intimidated, i know it looks confusing lol.. We are only messing with a little part...
Navigate down to the 13th line, aka "<TextView android:textSize="@dimen/time.text.size"... This is where the phone gets its information about the size, font, and color for the Time!
Scroll through that line until you come across android:textColor="blah"... As you can guess the Hex Value within the quotes is the color the clock is! Right now it is ffeaff00, but we can very easily change that
All you have to do now is by googling "Hex value for purple" or whatever color you want, find the hex value that you want to use The code should be exactly six letters/numbers, no more and no less... Now, copy that hex value, and replace the old code from "ff" on! Do not erase those first two letters, because that is telling the phone what transparency value to use, and we would like to keep it fully visible
Easy Enough, right? The hard part is now done!
All we have to do now is recompile the apk, which can be tricky if you don't know what your doing..
P.S if you know how to do this, you are done! I would still scan over these steps though, just to make sure you are doing it right
To compile in apk manager, just type 11! if you get a compile error, then you did something wrong That shouldn't happen though, this is a relatively easy mod....
Wait a while until you get a "Is this a system apk?" message... type "y".... then type y again for the next message... Now do what it says!
Don't forget to delete the "resources.arsc" file, and the "standbymode.xml" file!
Now you are done!! Just replace that framework using whatever method you use, Whether that be with adb when the phone is in recovery, or by replacing the new modified apk with the original within a zip file already made by me
If you make your own, don't be stingy.. Upload it to XDA or whatever, and share it with the community I will put it up on the front page, and give you the credit Make sure though you share with me what kind of framework-res.apk it is, and where you got as in, if you got it from my gingerbread package, or from my stock 2.2 Accurate theme, or Reboot Options, or any other option

fantastic guide! thank you for this!
but im just wondering one thing, why dont you have a donate button for all the hard work you have been giving to the continuum community? hmmm

Trail, is there any code we can get to that's worth modding that's in Java? If so, I can start doing some development.
Sent from my SCH-I400 using XDA App

http://www.mediafire.com/?ajjo09hwxejqsl0
I added my own outlined orange softkeys, and and orange ticker color.
and a few things to the lockscreen text for the lulz

Also I failed to mention that it's based on your accurate gingerbread theme.

Thank you Jakeschweinz for sharing with the community I shall put this in the main mod Thread, and make it easy for everyone to find it And i'll be sure to let you have all the credit
Thanks again!

just a quick link to help you guys out with color
http://html-color-codes.info/
and here's my baby blue clock color
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/30842475/framework-res.apk
6FCAF5 <---- if anybody wants to know the color code for it,
And thanks again Trailblazer for this Guide.

You tricky bugger you figured it out without me lol..
Nice job!

So I'm kinda new to doing this, and I saw the upload that someone has on there for mediafire, and I was wondering, do you just download that, or do you put it in the .apk manager and change it?

This guide is very soon going to be outdated
Sent from my SCH-I400 using xda premium

[Q] How to dim soft keys Loli 5.1

Title say all , i have a Nexus 5 lolipop 5.1 and i want to full dim 0 my visor . Softkeys inclued.
Need help please.

If you want to dim the navigation bar (why would you need to?) you'll probably have to decompile SystemUI, modify the drawables then recompile, or use Xposed.

It's not necessary to decompile. As .apk is actually a .zip, you can simply change .png-s inside drawable folders.
But if you use 5.1 it will be much harder to change original SystemUI with yours, because of security changes in system partition.

zagorteney said:
It's not necessary to decompile. As .apk is actually a .zip, you can simply change .png-s inside drawable folders.
But if you use 5.1 it will be much harder to change original SystemUI with yours, because of security changes in system partition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This one is tricky though since you have to make sure, not to damage the signature. Some PNG use a "special" format and need to be decompiled first --> modified --> recompiled --> injected again in the Framework.

Gorgtech said:
This one is tricky though since you have to make sure, not to damage the signature. Some PNG use a "special" format and need to be decompiled first --> modified --> recompiled --> injected again in the Framework.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wrote this many times: you DON'T need to decompile apps which came from factory image. And even .9.png-s can be simplycomment on this are changed. For example: We wish to change background of power widget. 1. Pull the Settings.apk from /data/priv-app. Copy to PC. Rename it to .zip (you don't need any extra tool for this) or use TotalCommander - you even don't need to rename .apk to .zip with it. We must look for appropriate image (appwidget_bg_holo.9.png in /res/drawable-xxhdpi-v4) inside. Make some regullary png in Photoshop in size and resolution of original one - you can free your imaginations about colors as you like. Now copy the name of original image and with paste rename your own. Put your renamed image into .zip (overwrite original one) and thats all philosophy.
This is possible just with apps from factory image and you will not brake any signature. This works for me since Xperia X10 until Nexus 5 with 5.0.2. On 5.1 biggest problem is (at least for me) that I don't know how to integrate updates of system apps into rom. But if you are on 5.0.2 or above, you can simply try. Just remember to backup first.
Regards, Zagor
P.S. Any further informations are welcome, but at least people try this first. And it's a little annoying to write this down over and over again.

Extracting and inserting pictures is not the problem but like I mentioned before, the "9" PNG. If you simply copy them, edit them and reinsert them again, it might turn out to be a mess and these pictures are not displayed the right way. I gave up theming stuff a long time ago since it´s not really worth the trouble anymore. At least if you use a legal Gfx tool ( since I have my doubts that most people own a real licensed version of Photoshop anyway ) like eg. GIMP, you might expect some trouble if you don´t decompile "9" PNGs first. At least I can tell that I had to go through the trouble while I still had my old Galaxy S3 in order to make them usable, the way I wanted them to be
I know the procedure, don´t worry

Gorgtech said:
Extracting and inserting pictures is not the problem but like I mentioned before, the "9" PNG. If you simply copy them, edit them and reinsert them again, it might turn out to be a mess and these pictures are not displayed the right way. I gave up theming stuff a long time ago since it´s not really worth the trouble anymore. At least if you use a legal Gfx tool ( since I have my doubts that most people own a real licensed version of Photoshop anyway ) like eg. GIMP, you might expect some trouble if you don´t decompile "9" PNGs first. At least I can tell that I had to go through the trouble while I still had my old Galaxy S3 in order to make them usable, the way I wanted them to be
I know the procedure, don´t worry
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I said: you must not copy and edit existing .9.png. You have to create a new one and just name it with the procedure as I wrote above. So you have to copy the name of .9.png and paste that in the name of your own image. Am I clear enough now?
Forgive me to say, but you don't know this. Sorry.
Best regards, Zagor

I guess you don´t read what I write ? If you want to color a existing image ( "9" ), it will be displayed faulty if you don´t proceed like I did. End of the story. You can replace it with another image you can rename but it won´t be displayed the right way in some circumstances. I´m out.
zagorteney said:
As I said: you must not copy and edit existing .9.png. You have to create a new one and just name it with the procedure as I wrote above. So you have to copy the name of .9.png and paste that in the name of your own image. Am I clear enough now?
Forgive me to say, but you don't know this. Sorry.
Best regards, Zagor
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Gorgtech said:
I guess you don´t read what I write ? If you want to color a existing image ( "9" ), it will be displayed faulty if you don´t proceed like I did. End of the story. You can replace it with another image you can rename but it won´t be displayed the right way in some circumstances. I´m out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Out of what? Space?
I don't guess, I conclude: You don't read or understood what I wrote.
Back to topic: OP: If you want to change navbars buttons (those are ordinary .png-s) you can simply pull them off, modify them and put back into .apk as I already described. You don't need to decompile, compile, undercompile or hipercompile anything.
Regards from Jupiter (yes, I'm also out), Zagor

And the last and for all!
This has been done without superduperpuper compiling. Just pure windows and photoshop.
@Elluel, @Gorgtech and all of the other sceptics: Look at the navbars of attached screenshot and next time, please check the informations before you disagree with them.
Regards, Zagor

IMO @zagorteney is right as long as you do not unzip/extract the apk. If you check the .9.png with a zip viewer then you can see the black border of 1px. Modifying the icon/log/picture without touching the black borders should not create bugs.
Regarding the navbar buttons it's easier as explained above.

@Primokorn
I've changed almost all of Xperia S UI on that way, to looks more AOSP. But at the end I figured it out, that it's simplier if I get Nexus.
Just to notice you. The problem is because in photoshop you can't create .9.png-s. But if you create your own png and rename it with the mentioned method, there will be no problem with those images either. For example, you can try to change power widget background on this way.

zagorteney said:
@Primokorn
I've changed almost all of Xperia S UI on that way, to looks more AOSP. But at the end I figured it out, that it's simplier if I get Nexus.
Just to notice you. The problem is because in photoshop you can't create .9.png-s. But if you create your own png and rename it with the mentioned method, there will be no problem with those images either. For example, you can try to change power widget background on this way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually you can create .9.png files with Photoshop. I did it a lot of times.
Anyways all my modded apks have been decompiled/modified/recompiled because you cannot use this method for .xml files, can you? Moreover, theming files with a phone is a mess compared to a comfortable destop version of PS lol

@Primokorn
Yes, its true if we are talking about some serious theming. But OP just want to get little different nav buttons. So, I just want to say, that you don't need to change any .xml for that purpose, you don't need to decompile and recompile and you don't need to worry that you'll break signatures. As simple as that.
That's all folks.

zagorteney said:
@Primokorn
Yes, its true if we are talking about some serious theming. But OP just want to get little different nav buttons. So, I just want to say, that you don't need to change any .xml for that purpose, you don't need to decompile and recompile and you don't need to worry that you'll break signatures. As simple as that.
That's all folks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I know. Everything is clear on my side

Primokorn said:
Yes, I know. Everything is clear on my side
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At least one who deserves all of those thanx.

zagorteney said:
At least one who deserves all of those thanx.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do not be rude. Nobody can know everything and it is one of the goals of XDA to learn every day. All recognized members deserve their status.

A app that do that easy and without so much work is nice , my know how on this stuffs are limited :crying: , im kitkat i use a app that does that without so many work , now i use another but just dim the visor the softkeys still are very white full light... :crying:

Primokorn said:
Do not be rude. Nobody can know everything and it is one of the goals of XDA to learn every day. All recognized members deserve their status.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem is that n00bs are mislead by recognized members who think that they know everything. At least they could check before post.
And no, I'm not rude. Rude are exactly those contributors.