Change Your Screen Resolution on HTC Evo 4g - EVO 4G Android Development

In this post I'd like to share a small bit of Android information with you. I've discovered it while looking around at the build.prop file and did some research on it, and it turns out to be a pretty cool and powerful feature. Of course, seeing as this requires root you can probably already guess that it involves some more-than-consumer level risk, so anything you do here is your responsibility. This is not a tweak for a fairly novice user. You will need some basic knowledge on command line terminal and how to copy/edit files. I will be assuming you know how to setup and run ADB, and how to execute it and work with it in command prompt.
What's this mod do? Basically it changes your resolution (not really, but for simplicity sake we'll say it does) to a higher pixel density. What this means is everything on your screen will look smaller as if you changed your resolution on your PC to a higher setting. Now obviously we don't want to increase this too much or it will make our screen look bad and be impossible to read things, so I recommend you stick with the settings I have and only tweak it if you're daring.
Now for setup:
1: You require root access for this to work, so make sure you have it prior to doing anything else.
2: Next you will need to get your build.prop file from the /system directory. An easy (and free) way to do this is to use Astro file manager. Open up Astro, navigate to /system/ and copy the build.prop file to the sdcard.
3: Hook the phone up to your PC and enter USB Mass Storage mode. Open the drive on your computer and copy the build.prop file to the desktop.
4: IMPORTANT: make a second copy of this file, and rename it to: build.prop.BAK - accept the change to filetype and leave it alone for now.
5: Open up build.prop using notepad. Once its open you'll see a whole ton of text assuming you have Word Wrap enabled. Press Control + F and type in "density" then press enter.
6: Close out the search menu and find the number "240" to the right of "density"
7: Change the number from 240 to 200. Save the file and close notepad. (Note - higher numbers means bigger text/objects, smaller numbers means smaller text/objects allowing you to fit more on the screen)
8: Put your phone back into PC Mode, and then enable USB Debugging in Settings->Applications->Development
9: At this point I assume you have ADB setup on your PC. Copy and paste the modified build.prop file into the folder with ADB, and then open up a command prompt, change directory to wherever you have ADB installed (ex: cd C:\adb\ ), and type in "adb devices" without the quotes to start ADB and make sure your device is configured properly
10: Now you must push the modified build.prop file to your sdcard. To do so type this in:
adb push build.prop /sdcard/build.prop
11: You should see the text indicating it successfully transferred the file. Now type in "adb shell" without quotes. You should see a $: appear. Once it does, type in "su" and it should change to a #: sign.
12: Now that you're in root access, you must mount /system as read/write to copy over the new build.prop file. To do so type this in exactly as it is, making sure to not skip any spaces or use wrong letters/characters:
mount -o remount,rw /dev/block/system /system
You should see the line repeated and that means it went ok. If you get anything else like an error, somethings not right with the text you entered. Go back and double check it.
13: Now we'll copy the file from the sdcard to the system directory to overwrite the old build.prop file:
cp /sdcard/build.prop /system/build.prop
Again, you should see the line repeat below to confirm it copied it successfully. You can now reboot the phone to make the changes happen (note: for a speedy reboot, simply type in "reboot" from the #: prompt, this will drop you out of root shell and do an automatic reboot of your phone pretty neat)
Once your phone is booted back up you should notice some pretty significant changes in appearance. Everything will look smaller much akin to the changes you see on your desktop PC when you increase the resolution from say 800x600 to 1600x1200. In case you want to change it back to the old look, simply re-trace your steps using the original build.prop file, with the pixel density set to 240 instead of 200.
Screenshots for comparison. Note how lines of text are fully exposed in the new screenshots compared to the old ones, where it has to scroll/cut off text in App names etc:
http://forum.androidcentral.com/motorola-x-roms-hacks/32035-how-resolution-tweak-req-root.html

Or you can save a whole lot of time and effort and use this app. http://www.xda-developers.com/android/lcd-density-changer-application-v3-0-released/

I think that is pretty sweet bro!! Great finding
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

njfoses said:
Or you can save a whole lot of time and effort and use this app. http://www.xda-developers.com/android/lcd-density-changer-application-v3-0-released/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Been using this for a few days now. It works great. They should have released the Evo with the higher resolution from the start.

Looks great in my opinion. I lowered just slightly to 220 and i used RootExplorer to just change the Build.prop file.

Shouldn't this be in general? This is like dpi in windows lol... not resolution

rawdikrik said:
Looks great in my opinion. I lowered just slightly to 220 and i used RootExplorer to just change the Build.prop file.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, root explorer is fantastic. it even creates a backup for you after you edit the file.

The interesting part about this is, I made a thread about the density change back when the EVO first launched and nobody cared lol

Just changed to 200 with the aforementioned app, the only problem I have is the main status bar and most of the popup menus and stuff look like crap. Hoping we can find some higher resolution (or whatever) pieces to use. Might be because I'm using Manup's theme.

bdoople said:
Just changed to 200 with the aforementioned app, the only problem I have is the main status bar and most of the popup menus and stuff look like crap. Hoping we can find some higher resolution (or whatever) pieces to use. Might be because I'm using Manup's theme.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i noticed that too....so i just went to like 215. 200 was looking good though

ro.sf.LCD_Density=240
Is that the proper value to change in root explorer?
Right below it, there is another value of 160, that's why I ask. I'm on an Evo
Poor resolution has always bugged me. On such a big screen, that number of pixels really isn't enough. This will be a great mod, just don't wanna mess it up.
Thanks.

see there's an easier way to do everything, by that i mean there is an app for that, lol.

scottspa74 said:
ro.sf.LCD_Density=240
Is that the proper value to change in root explorer?
Right below it, there is another value of 160, that's why I ask. I'm on an Evo
Poor resolution has always bugged me. On such a big screen, that number of pixels really isn't enough. This will be a great mod, just don't wanna mess it up.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The line below it (With the value of 160) has a # in front of it as that is the default value if none specified. Change the 240 to 200 or 220 or 210 or 190 etc depending on your preferences. Again, appelflap has an awesome application to easily do this for you and it provides a boot monitor as well that will check to make sure you can see the screen, and if you can't it will revert back to default setting in case you mess something up. It costs approximately $1 and is well worth it.

On my evo I am using the app and I set mine to 180. Everything looks fine so far. I don't recommend using it with the sense launcher at this level though.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

Appreciate all the feedback. When it comes to system tweaks like this, I've always preferred to do them manually. Makes it easier to keep track of changes, and, if you know what's goin on 'behind the scenes'. Even with winmo, I always would opt for tweaking via registry editor, rather than some blind, hands-off tweak app.
Thanks all, though.
Edit: ok, foot in mouth. So I opened root explorer, found build.prop, opened it clicked the mount R/O toggle, but can't seem to edit it no matter what. NVM, found editor
Also, I checked out the app on the market, looked at comments and saw lots of people say that density broke certain apps, and can't get back to normal, broken phones, blah blah blah
Anyone speak to this?

Exposes lame apps
Worked great on rooted EVO running CM6.2.
Need to increase the power of my bifocals now!
Also exposes lame apps that display set screen resolutions, such as WeatherChannel. Poopnoodles!

Very cool find, not one I will be keeping though. The taskbar icons get a bit blurry, and the widget/icon spacing looks ugly.

njfoses said:
Or you can save a whole lot of time and effort and use this app. http://www.xda-developers.com/android/lcd-density-changer-application-v3-0-released/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just tried that. Was able to make a few changes with no problems. As soon as I tried to go back to the stock settings my phone would no longer boot past the white EVO screen. Doing a restore now
And of course the restore isn't working properly for some reason. Argh.

yeah
Yeah, I read the thread by Appleflap, about his app, and it really sounds like there are a lot of issues from doing this (at this point), some of which cannot be recovered from. And at the very least, there are apps and icons that won't scale properly, and there's no fix for that but to find new ones (from the horses mouth).
Things to be worked out by some real sharp devs.

I'm not totally convinced that this makes things anything beyond just smaller. I've been testing this a various resolutions and am not sure it really adds any new pixels...aren't "pixels" more hardware related? If it were just a software thing wouldn't everyone do it?

Related

Tutorial: Overclocking and Make It Stick

I Made this tut because I was thoroughly confused when I found omapclock and TornadoPowerControl. This guide is primarily directed towards HTC StrTrk and pretty much makes it so that you can delete the start menu shortcuts and not have to worry about your overclocking ever again. I take no credit for any of these useful tools and no responsibility if your dumb ass tries to over overclock your phone.
EDIT I found out a way to make TPC not show up in your task manager. If you DONT want this then you should skip step 8.
1) Download Tornadopowercontrol14.cab and tcmdphone.cab and load.zip to Windows directory.
2) Install all on your phone
3) Using Total Commander browse to install dir of tornado power control
4) Create a shortcut and place it in the startup directory in Windows
5) Using the Total Commander browse the the startup folder and EDIT the shortcut
6) The shortcut should look something like
60#"\Program Files\TornadoPowerControl\TornadoPowerControl.exe"​
7) There are several commands that you can tell the program to run on startup
'dim' starts in dim mode (display is dim)
'bright' starts in bright mode (normal operation)
'hide' hides the app at startup
'toggle' changes from previous mode ie if in bright mode before boot now in dim mode​
This is what mine looks like:
60#"\Program Files\TornadoPowerControl\TornadoPowerControl.exe" bright hide​
8) If you DON'T want TPC to appear in the task manager then edit your startup shortcut and add italicized characters before your existing characters. Please note, this will render your start menu shortcuts inoperable and you wont be able to get to the TPC GUI. You can even delete the start menu shortcuts (I did).
41#"\Windows\load.exe" -hide "Program Files\Tornado PowerControl\TornadoPowerControl.exe" bright hide​9) Now goto your install directory and youll see 3 shortcuts named
Power_On.lnk - controls what happens when your backlight is turned on
Power_BacklightOff.lnk - when backlight turns to dim
Power_UserIdle.lnk - when phone goes into idle (screen off)​10) Those 3 files are EMPTY and TPC will not do anything with them if they remain the same.
11) omapclock.exe is included with TPC install and is in the same directory omapclock will respond to command line prompts just like TPC did earlier with Step 7.
12) Delete Power_On.ink. Create a shortcut to omapclock.exe and rename it to Power_On.ink. Edit the shortcut. add '-clock XXX' where XXX is desired speed (I have read other forums where people got stable results at 252 but I elected to stay with 240 for piece of mind)
Heres Mine:
30#"\Program Files\OmapClock\OmapClock.exe" -clock 240​13) Reboot and run omapclock from startmenu to make sure that speed is 240, close phone and let screen turn off and repeat
14) Enjoy
Note 1- If you want TPC to lower the speed of the processor when the backlight dims then do the same method as step 12 except replace Power_BacklightOff.ink. I dont know why you would want to slow down the phone even further but I guess you could in theory edit Power_UserIdle.ink and underclock your phone to save battery life maybe.
Note 2- Im using this on erofich's WM6 on Cingular 3125 and tested/benchmarked differences using TCPMP with a Youtube video saved in .flv and noticed significant improvement.
load.exe - props to Slavic for creating
TornadoPowerControl shortcuts
fire2050 said:
I Made this tut because I was thoroughly confused when I found omapclock and TornadoPowerControl. This guide is primarily directed towards HTC StrTrk and pretty much makes it so that you can delete the start menu shortcuts and not have to worry about your overclocking ever again. I take no credit for any of these useful tools and no responsibility if your dumb ass tries to over overclock your phone. . . . .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, great post! This worked perfectly on my 3125. Thanks for putting this together!
I saved the 3 edited shortcuts and zipped them up, if anyone would like them for quicker install, e.g. after a new flash, or even if this is your first time.
Once you have installed the TornadoPowerControl cab, copy TornadoPowerControl.lnk to \Windows\StartUp (this replaces steps 3-7 above), and copy Power_On.lnk and Power_BacklightOff.lnk to \Program Files\TornadoPowerControl (overwriting the blank files) (this replaces steps 9-12 above). I have overclocking set to 240 and backlight off clock set to 180 - these can easily be edited to whatever values you want, but you won't have to do the extensive t9 typing required for the full creation of these shortcuts. Will save some time if you flash frequently and/or set up multiple phones.
anyone know a good speed for the t-mobile shadow? I had it at 250 when active, but I dunno, that seems like too much...
ha85 said:
anyone know a good speed for the t-mobile shadow? I had it at 250 when active, but I dunno, that seems like too much...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i run my shadow at 276 in omap clock.
tried 276, made it hang immediately. I'm going to try 264 (stable) for a while, hope im not doing too much damage
Q9H
Has anybody used this on a Q9H?
Thanks in advance
Q9H
After installing as per instructions, all I get is an error message.
Any suggestions?
Thanks
how do you add italicized text to the beginning of the shortcut file? Changing the font within total commander makes the whole file italicized.
Thank you for great job
Btw, this is the latest version
2.0 Beta 4 - Fixed a bug causing the state of the CPU Speed Indicator not to be saved at exit. Fixed a bug that would cause the application to not fully exit under rare circumstances. Changed form behavior to only show one form at a time - The main form is hidden when another form is active.

Resolution on vegan beta 5.1

Is there a way to change/increase resolution of tablet running the vegan 5.1?
I love the high resolution which comes with the gingerbread build?
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Try LCD densitychanger from the market. Its free and doesnt survive a reboot, There is a paid version that will make it permanent. You can do a search of this forum and the instructions for changing it permanently manually are around.
rob_z11 said:
Is there a way to change/increase resolution of tablet running the vegan 5.1?
I love the high resolution which comes with the gingerbread build?
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
{from a secret bunker somewhere in the canadian rockies}in /system/build.prop there's a line that says ro.sf.lcd_density=xxx the default android density is 160. The actual pixel density of the gtablet is ~120. Since xxx is really only a UI scaling factor relative to 160, you should get reasonable results with a number between 120 and 160... 120 will make things smaller. 140 seems about right to me.
If you use RootExplorer, navigate to /system, mount it as r/w, select build.prop and open in text editor... edit the line, save your changes, and mount the directory as r/o... and reboot.
If you don't use RootExplorer, edit the file elsewhere and push it back using adb.
bittrix said:
{from a secret bunker somewhere in the canadian rockies}in /system/build.prop there's a line that says ro.sf.lcd_density=xxx the default android density is 160. The actual pixel density of the gtablet is ~120. Since xxx is really only a UI scaling factor relative to 160, you should get reasonable results with a number between 120 and 160... 120 will make things smaller. 140 seems about right to me.
If you use RootExplorer, navigate to /system, mount it as r/w, select build.prop and open in text editor... edit the line, save your changes, and mount the directory as r/o... and reboot.
If you don't use RootExplorer, edit the file elsewhere and push it back using adb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you both for your help, and I think 120 is too small, and 140 did the trick for me which is the nice combination of the workspace and not too much strain on eyes.
I am sorry to report you Bittrix, but down in Florida temperature is gong to hit 60 and may be 68 tomorrow, so enjoy the cold weather in Canadian rockies
I use 120 for my tablet on all roms. I used 140 for awhile when starting to use lcd density, but eventually went to 120 because of app issues. 120 and 160 seem to nativly supported in android, and numbers in between its hit or miss as to whether they would work or not, even with compatibility turned on. (Some would only take up 3/4 of the screen instead of full or not open at all)
My build.prop does not have a line ro.sf.lcd_density=xxx and am running the latest Vegan build...
Any ideas?
EDIT: Added the line and no issues - just dont like it that small.. reverted back. Thanks
bittrix said:
{from a secret bunker somewhere in the canadian rockies}in /system/build.prop there's a line that says ro.sf.lcd_density=xxx the default android density is 160. The actual pixel density of the gtablet is ~120. Since xxx is really only a UI scaling factor relative to 160, you should get reasonable results with a number between 120 and 160... 120 will make things smaller. 140 seems about right to me.
If you use RootExplorer, navigate to /system, mount it as r/w, select build.prop and open in text editor... edit the line, save your changes, and mount the directory as r/o... and reboot.
If you don't use RootExplorer, edit the file elsewhere and push it back using adb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Moved to general

Animated Status Bar Pull Down

Just wondering if anyone is interested in this? I learned how from the original back on the Motorola Droid and have made it work for other phones. I used to be a themer but have since been spending my free time on other things. However, I still have the urge every once in awhile. For those not familiar, this will create a little looped video playing on the pull down screen.
Guide:
Instructions for Windows users... (Linux users: You should be able to follow along, as the idea is the same in both)
Things you will need:
The knowledge that whatever you do with this information is YOUR responsibility and not mine, nor the creators / developers of the mod and / or rom.
Basics -
Working computer.
Time.
Patience.
Animation images / Idea for making your own animation.
Computer Programs:
Java: http://www.java.com/en/download/index.jsp
Apk Manager: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=695701
Text Editor (Suggested - Notepad++: http://notepad-plus-plus.org/download/v5.9.6.2.html )*
Archive Managing program (ie WinZip, WinRar, 7zip) (Suggested - 7zip: http://www.7-zip.org/download.html )*
Image Manipulation program > Whether it be Photoshop, Paint.Net, or GIMP, we'll refer to it as PIMP for short from now on.
(Suggested - Dark Silent GIMP: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9903887/PCApps/Dark_Gimp.rar )*
Batch Renamer > if you are making your own (Suggested - http://www.den4b.com/?x=downloads&product=renamer )*
You'll also need the SystemUI.apk from your favorite rom.
(Found in: rom.zip > system > app > SystemUI.apk)
If wanting to make one with images from a video, you'll need:
A short vid (if you are wanting to use one from, say, http://www.youtube.com/ then you would copy/paste that web address to a site like http://www.savevid.com/) and export the video as a file to your computer.
Video Editor (Suggested - iWiSoft Free Video Converter: http://www.iwisoft.com/videoconverter/ )*
It's easiest to export the images as PNGs.
Alternatively, you can make your own images with PIMP or kang them from someone else's already made animation (Don't forget to send them a thanks if you do!).
Common Questions:
*How big does the image need to be? - The screen size is 480 x 800.
*How many images can I have? - I'm not sure. The one I made has 14 and there have been no issues whatsoever. I've used as many as 30 on my Atrix and didn't have any issues, but others did and the apk will get a little bloated with that many images, especially if it's not very transparent or there are a lot of colors.
*What duration should I change the animation to? - Again, this really depends on what you are going for. How the animation looks, how many images you have, etc. The default on mine is "200" Trial and error ftw!
*What kind of animation should I do? - Only you can answer that! If you are having trouble thinking of something, browse the forums and see if you can't find some ideas. Search YouTube for a cool video. Play with some creating some logos. Only limitation is your imagination.
After editing images or finding the ones you want to use...
Place your SystemUI.apk in the Apk Manager's place-apk-here-for-modding folder.
Double Click the Script.
Choose 22.
Choose the number of SystemUI.apk and hit Enter.
Choose 9 for Decompile.
Naviage to Apk Manager > projects > SystemUI > res > drawable hdpi (or drawable hdpi v4, depending on rom)>
Place your images resized and renamed as status_bar_background_animationX.pngs here. (where X is the number of the image in sequential order)
Navigate to Apk Manager > projects > SystemUI > res > drawable > and place this: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9903887/status_bar_background_animation.xml in there.
The one I posted here is just the normal one I use that has 14 images, but you can adjust for the amount of images you want and the speed of the image changes using your Text Editor. You can just go from 1 - "X" number sequentially or you can have the images go 1-2-3-4-5-6-5-4-3-2 etc. depending on the style of animation or if you are trying to keep the image number down.
After that... (it really does not matter what order you do these in, but this might help you the first time or two to have a set path)
Navigate to Apk Manager > projects > SystemUI > res > layout > status_bar_tracking.xml and open with Text Editor.
Find:
com.android.systemui.statusbar.TrackingView in the second line and right after that (leave a space) add:
android:background="@drawable/status_bar_background_animation"
Make sure there is a space after this too, then save the xml.
After you have edited your images and xml and saved all of them go back to the script for Apk Manager and choose 11 to compile. After it finishes it will ask you if it is a system apk (Y/N). "Y" + Enter. It will ask you if you want to keep blah blah blah (Y/N). "Y" + Enter.
Go to the "keep" folder in Apk Manager > keep and delete the "res" folder and the resources.arsc file (this is the lazy/easy way).
Go back to the Apk Manager script and hit Enter.
The apk will be completed and named unsignedSystemUI.apk and you will find it in the "place-here-for-modding" folder. Even though it says unsigned, it is signed and you will not need to do anything else to it beyond renaming it to SystemUI.apk. This new finished SystemUI.apk will be added to a flashable zip file in this format (open zip as archive to not break the signature):
flashable.zip > system > app > replace previous SystemUI.apk
Place this on your SD card and install via ClockworkMod Recovery. You will not need to wipe data or cache for this.
The very first time you pull down the screen it will be static, but any other time it should start to animate. This is the same with every phone I have seen and not sure why this is.
Sorry if this seems crazy difficult, but I just wanted to be thorough so even relatively new people can at least see how it is made. If you need help, hit me up on Talk with my screen name. Enjoy!
*I receive no form of compensation for these recommendations. I merely suggest them as they are free, have a fair amount of support, and work well enough for me.*
I have attached for you to use/edit as you see fit:
*status_bar_background_animation.txt http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9903887/status_bar_background_animation.xml
*14 multicolored Honeycomb images inspired / kanged from the boot animation.
*status_bar_tracking.txt - Pretty sure these are similar/same between CM7 and Stock or just use as reference guide.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9903887/status_bar_tracking.xml
*Empty flashable zip for ClockWorkMod - Use the Archive Manager to open as archive and place your SystemUI.apk inside /system/app. Do NOT unzip and rezip as it will break the signature and not flash correctly.
es0tericcha0s said:
Just wondering if anyone is interested in this? I learned how from the original back on the Motorola Droid and have made it work for other phones. I used to be a themer but have since been spending my free time on other things. However, I still have the urge every once in awhile. I'll post a how to if there is interest. For those not familiar, this will create a little looped video playing on the pull down screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm interested, but how much does this impact the battery? Does it run while the statusbar is up? A little more info would be helpful but I'm certainly interested.
Nah, it only runs while the screen is down so the effects on the battery are negligible.
This one is NOT mine, but just so you get the idea:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5ZD6WzwS0k
And it's built into the SystemUI.apk, not framework for our phones.
es0tericcha0s said:
Nah, it only runs while the screen is down so the effects on the battery are negligible.
This one is NOT mine, but just so you get the idea:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5ZD6WzwS0k
And it's built into the SystemUI.apk, not framework for our phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very nice, that would be something of interest.
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium
Alrighty then. It's dinner and movie time with the lady. I'll post it up here a little later on.
OP edited with detailed instructions!
es0tericcha0s said:
Nah, it only runs while the screen is down so the effects on the battery are negligible.
This one is NOT mine, but just so you get the idea:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5ZD6WzwS0k
And it's built into the SystemUI.apk, not framework for our phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 for negligible battery loss. I've ran this with my G2x for a few months now, only minor issues if the person who puts the animation gets too crazy.
es0tericcha0s said:
Just wondering if anyone is interested in this? I learned how from the original back on the Motorola Droid and have made it work for other phones. I used to be a themer but have since been spending my free time on other things. However, I still have the urge every once in awhile. For those not familiar, this will create a little looped video playing on the pull down screen.
Guide:
Instructions for Windows users... (Linux users: You should be able to follow along, as the idea is the same in both)
Things you will need:
The knowledge that whatever you do with this information is YOUR responsibility and not mine, nor the creators / developers of the mod and / or rom.
Basics -
Working computer.
Time.
Patience.
Animation images / Idea for making your own animation.
Computer Programs:
Java: http://www.java.com/en/download/index.jsp
Apk Manager: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=695701
Text Editor (Suggested - Notepad++: http://notepad-plus-plus.org/download/v5.9.6.2.html )*
Archive Managing program (ie WinZip, WinRar, 7zip) (Suggested - 7zip: http://www.7-zip.org/download.html )*
Image Manipulation program > Whether it be Photoshop, Paint.Net, or GIMP, we'll refer to it as PIMP for short from now on.
(Suggested - Dark Silent GIMP: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9903887/PCApps/Dark_Gimp.rar )*
Batch Renamer > if you are making your own (Suggested - http://www.den4b.com/?x=downloads&product=renamer )*
You'll also need the SystemUI.apk from your favorite rom.
(Found in: rom.zip > system > app > SystemUI.apk)
If wanting to make one with images from a video, you'll need:
A short vid (if you are wanting to use one from, say, http://www.youtube.com/ then you would copy/paste that web address to a site like http://www.savevid.com/) and export the video as a file to your computer.
Video Editor (Suggested - iWiSoft Free Video Converter: http://www.iwisoft.com/videoconverter/ )*
It's easiest to export the images as PNGs.
Alternatively, you can make your own images with PIMP or kang them from someone else's already made animation (Don't forget to send them a thanks if you do!).
Common Questions:
*How big does the image need to be? - The screen size is 480 x 800.
*How many images can I have? - I'm not sure. The one I made has 14 and there have been no issues whatsoever. I've used as many as 30 on my Atrix and didn't have any issues, but others did and the apk will get a little bloated with that many images, especially if it's not very transparent or there are a lot of colors.
*What duration should I change the animation to? - Again, this really depends on what you are going for. How the animation looks, how many images you have, etc. The default on mine is "200" Trial and error ftw!
*What kind of animation should I do? - Only you can answer that! If you are having trouble thinking of something, browse the forums and see if you can't find some ideas. Search YouTube for a cool video. Play with some creating some logos. Only limitation is your imagination.
After editing images or finding the ones you want to use...
Place your SystemUI.apk in the Apk Manager's place-apk-here-for-modding folder.
Double Click the Script.
Choose 22.
Choose the number of SystemUI.apk and hit Enter.
Choose 9 for Decompile.
Naviage to Apk Manager > projects > SystemUI > res > drawable hdpi >
Place your images resized and renamed as status_bar_animationX.pngs here. (where X is the number of the image in sequential order)
Navigate to Apk Manager > projects > SystemUI > res > drawable > and place this: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9903887/status_bar_background_animation.xml in there.
The one I posted here is just the normal one I use that has 14 images, but you can adjust for the amount of images you want and the speed of the image changes using your Text Editor. You can just go from 1 - "X" number sequentially or you can have the images go 1-2-3-4-5-6-5-4-3-2 etc. depending on the style of animation or if you are trying to keep the image number down.
After that... (it really does not matter what order you do these in, but this might help you the first time or two to have a set path)
Navigate to Apk Manager > projects > SystemUI > res > layout > status_bar_tracking.xml and open with Text Editor.
Find:
com.android.systemui.statusbar.TrackingView in the second line and right after that (leave a space) add:
android:background="@drawable/status_bar_background_animation"
Make sure there is a space after this too, then save the xml.
After you have edited your images and xml and saved all of them go back to the script for Apk Manager and choose 11 to compile. After it finishes it will ask you if it is a system apk (Y/N). "Y" + Enter. It will ask you if you want to keep blah blah blah (Y/N). "Y" + Enter.
Go to the "keep" folder in Apk Manager > keep and delete the "res" folder and the resources.arsc file (this is the lazy/easy way).
Go back to the Apk Manager script and hit Enter.
The apk will be completed and named unsignedSystemUI.apk and you will find it in the "place-here-for-modding" folder. Even though it says unsigned, it is signed and you will not need to do anything else to it beyond renaming it to SystemUI.apk. This new finished SystemUI.apk will be added to a flashable zip file in this format (open zip as archive to not break the signature):
flashable.zip > system > app > replace previous SystemUI.apk
Place this on your SD card and install via ClockworkMod Recovery. You will not need to wipe data or cache for this.
The very first time you pull down the screen it will be static, but any other time it should start to animate. This is the same with every phone I have seen and not sure why this is.
Sorry if this seems crazy difficult, but I just wanted to be thorough so even relatively new people can at least see how it is made. If you need help, hit me up on Talk with my screen name. Enjoy!
*I receive no form of compensation for these recommendations. I merely suggest them as they are free, have a fair amount of support, and work well enough for me.*
I have attached for you to use/edit as you see fit:
*status_bar_background_animation.txt http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9903887/status_bar_tracking.xml
*14 multicolored Honeycomb images inspired / kanged from the boot animation.
*status_bar_tracking.txt - Pretty sure these are similar/same between CM7 and Stock or just use as reference guide.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9903887/status_bar_tracking.xml
*Empty flashable zip for ClockWorkMod - Use the Archive Manager to open as archive and place your SystemUI.apk inside /system/app. Do NOT unzip and rezip as it will break the signature and not flash correctly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can I use Clockmod Recovery to flash the MultiColored Honeycomb Animation.zip or is there something else I need or need to do?
The Honeycomb zip ONLY has the 14 images of the animation. It won't do anything if you try to flash it. And, to get those to work, you'd have to follow the guide in the opening post. It's pretty thorough. If you get stuck, let me know.
Hi, I'm extremely interested in getting this working.
I spent a good four hours designing a custom set of frames to match my current background, all before I realized that for some reason my current ROM's SystemUI.apk will not decompile correctly, and therefore won't RE-compile correctly. I spent a couple hours trying different versions of APKtool and aapt, all proving the same result. Finally I felt stupid when I tried it out on a random APK I had from a backup, decompiled and recompiled perfectly...
Has anyone tried this on an MIUI ROM? If so, I'm really interested in finishing this half-a-day project I've just started and could use some help xD
If you want, hit me up on Talk using my screen name.
Sent via telepathy
k4p741nkrunch said:
Hi, I'm extremely interested in getting this working.
I spent a good four hours designing a custom set of frames to match my current background, all before I realized that for some reason my current ROM's SystemUI.apk will not decompile correctly, and therefore won't RE-compile correctly. I spent a couple hours trying different versions of APKtool and aapt, all proving the same result. Finally I felt stupid when I tried it out on a random APK I had from a backup, decompiled and recompiled perfectly...
Has anyone tried this on an MIUI ROM? If so, I'm really interested in finishing this half-a-day project I've just started and could use some help xD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This would be awesome on MIUI.
k4p741nkrunch said:
Hi, I'm extremely interested in getting this working.
I spent a good four hours designing a custom set of frames to match my current background, all before I realized that for some reason my current ROM's SystemUI.apk will not decompile correctly, and therefore won't RE-compile correctly. I spent a couple hours trying different versions of APKtool and aapt, all proving the same result. Finally I felt stupid when I tried it out on a random APK I had from a backup, decompiled and recompiled perfectly...
Has anyone tried this on an MIUI ROM? If so, I'm really interested in finishing this half-a-day project I've just started and could use some help xD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The key to decompiling certain system apps with MIUI is using apktool and then installing the framework from the MIUI rom as a dependency.
Windows Users (Linux Users - if you can use Linux, you probably know how to use the CMD Prompt well enough to follow these directions for your system too):
1) Place the framework-res.apk and SystemUI.apk from the rom in the folder where your apktool is located.
2) Open CMD Prompt and navigate (change directories / cd) to your folder with apktool and apps.
3) apktool.jar if framework-res.apk
4) apktool.jar d SystemUI.apk
5) This will create a subfolder in the main folder that will be named SystemUI.
6) Make your edits following the guide in the OP.
7) When finished, compile the apk with this:
apktool.jar b SystemUI
8) This will build the app for you and you will find it located in the subfolder Dist inside of the SystemUI folder.
I threw one together here*: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9903887/MIUISystemUI.apk
This SystemUI is from the stock based MIUI rom ported by stormageddon posted here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1421713
It has:
1) status_bar_background_animation.xml added to res/drawable (14 image version)
2) 14 Honeycomb themed images in /res/drawable-hdpi
3) status_bar_tracking.xml edit in /res/layout
4) This version IS able to be decompiled without errors by Apk Manager, so if it doesn't work, at least you can decompile and make the needed edits.
* I have NOT tested this. I am not currently running MIUI as I NEED wifi calling and my SIM card will not work with it. I purchased another SIM card from some suggestions I have seen around the forum, but unfortunately was not paying close enough attention and purchased the same one I already had instead and am not interested in spending an hour with a nandroid backup, flashing MIUI, testing, then nandroid restoring back to my current rom. So, good luck and let me know if I can help any more.
Thank you es0triccha0s!
That got me to decompile and compile correctly! Yes I am on Linux, and yes it was the if (install framework) command. Got a new problem though, the animation doesn't show. I noticed a few things though..
For one, I'm using a Galnet MIUI based of ICS. Inside the Res folder is a "drawable-hdpi-v4" folder, not sure if that v4 is going to mess anything up with this mod. I'm going to nandroid and then test with a GB version right now.
Secondly, in the scripts you provided in the OP, in the file status_bar_background_animation.xml you have all the images referenced as status_bar_background_animationX, but also in the OP, you mention we should place our created pngs into the drawable-hdpi folder as "status_bar_animationX". I simply removed all "_background"s from the file and it compiled, but I'm not sure if that is causing them not to be seen.
I'm gonna check a few things and report back.
Okay I put it on the Galnet 2.16 MIUI build. Made sure verything was as it should be as far as mod instructions are concerned. It booted, but there is NO status bar whatsoever.. Do you think its a permissions issue or something? Next thing I'm going to try is manually pushing it to the phone with ADB. This is just a test ROM, I have my actually useful nandroid backup when I get tired of this. Once again, will report back.
k4p741nkrunch said:
Thank you es0triccha0s!
That got me to decompile and compile correctly! Yes I am on Linux, and yes it was the if (install framework) command. Got a new problem though, the animation doesn't show. I noticed a few things though..
For one, I'm using a Galnet MIUI based of ICS. Inside the Res folder is a "drawable-hdpi-v4" folder, not sure if that v4 is going to mess anything up with this mod. I'm going to nandroid and then test with a GB version right now.
Secondly, in the scripts you provided in the OP, in the file status_bar_background_animation.xml you have all the images referenced as status_bar_background_animationX, but also in the OP, you mention we should place our created pngs into the drawable-hdpi folder as "status_bar_animationX". I simply removed all "_background"s from the file and it compiled, but I'm not sure if that is causing them not to be seen.
I'm gonna check a few things and report back.
Okay I put it on the Galnet 2.16 MIUI build. Made sure verything was as it should be as far as mod instructions are concerned. It booted, but there is NO status bar whatsoever.. Do you think its a permissions issue or something? Next thing I'm going to try is manually pushing it to the phone with ADB. This is just a test ROM, I have my actually useful nandroid backup when I get tired of this. Once again, will report back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for pointing out the _background deal. Missed that in my proof reading stage. I'm going to update the OP in a bit. The drawable_hdpi vs drawable_hdpi-v4 thing seems to be dependent on either the apktool version or rom, not entirely sure. Have seen it on other phones / roms I have worked with, but seems random. Never really delved into the whys and hows. However, not really sure why the status bar disappeared on you. It might have something to do with update.zip's update script. I haven't messed with theming MIUI in a long time and am not sure if there needs to be any changes made to the update script that would be different vs. AOSP or CM7. It will almost certainly not work adb pushing the SystemUI though. That always messes things up, from my experience. Since it is just your test rom, try to put the SystemUI into the rom zip with an archive manager via opening as an archive (do not unzip, add, then rezip) and reflash.
I liked this idea. went ahead an made my own blue flames, and it looks nice (although I may mess with it a bit to get it a little smoother).
Just a note though: Unless you also remove the reference to shade_bg in status_bar_tracking.xml, you'll end up with both an animated and non-animated background.
Also, I'd recommend you have people only delete the resources.arsc and the status_bar_tracking.xml files from the keep folder when compiling. Otherwise, it's not uncommon that certain decompiling errors will transfer over to your finished product and give issues like the previous poster was having.
I'm not sure why I had never though of doing this before, but I'm glad you brought it to my attention
Okay, I'm trying something new tonight.
I went and checked every XML file and did some manual comparisons to see if I could find what was causing it not to show. For one, I think the Animation Flasher zip isn't doing the job so from now on I'll be packing it into the MIUI zip. Secondly, I noticed a lot more references to other status bar BG files in status_bar_tracking.xml. I replaced every reference of background="@drawable/blah blah bg" to background="@drawable/status_bar_animation"
I'm gonna see how this goes, will report back xD
Edit: Okay, so DON'T do that xD. At least I know my edits are recognized. Going back and removing the unnecessary edits, then packing it into the ROM Zip again, will report back.
Edit2: Okay, I'm very close to having this working with MIUI. Now that I've included it into the ROM ZIP, the statusbar is appearing completely white with the animation going on behind it. I can barely see the animation at the bottom of the status bar. Something is drawing that white background on the status bar, perhaps a default theme. I think that may be what is causing the general incompatibility with MIUI, the built in theming. I'm gonna fiddle around with the themes, see if I can find a way to use NO status bar theme. Will report back.
k4p741nkrunch said:
Okay, I'm trying something new tonight.
I went and checked every XML file and did some manual comparisons to see if I could find what was causing it not to show. For one, I think the Animation Flasher zip isn't doing the job so from now on I'll be packing it into the MIUI zip. Secondly, I noticed a lot more references to other status bar BG files in status_bar_tracking.xml. I replaced every reference of background="@drawable/blah blah bg" to background="@drawable/status_bar_animation"
I'm gonna see how this goes, will report back xD
Edit: Okay, so DON'T do that xD. At least I know my edits are recognized. Going back and removing the unnecessary edits, then packing it into the ROM Zip again, will report back.
Edit2: Okay, I'm very close to having this working with MIUI. Now that I've included it into the ROM ZIP, the statusbar is appearing completely white with the animation going on behind it. I can barely see the animation at the bottom of the status bar. Something is drawing that white background on the status bar, perhaps a default theme. I think that may be what is causing the general incompatibility with MIUI, the built in theming. I'm gonna fiddle around with the themes, see if I can find a way to use NO status bar theme. Will report back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you need to delete android:background="@drawable/shade_bg"
It's possible that MIUI calls it something different like statusbar_background or status_bar_background. Either way, it needs to be deleted, not modified.
MWBehr said:
I liked this idea. went ahead an made my own blue flames, and it looks nice (although I may mess with it a bit to get it a little smoother).
Just a note though: Unless you also remove the reference to shade_bg in status_bar_tracking.xml, you'll end up with both an animated and non-animated background.
Also, I'd recommend you have people only delete the resources.arsc and the status_bar_tracking.xml files from the keep folder when compiling. Otherwise, it's not uncommon that certain decompiling errors will transfer over to your finished product and give issues like the previous poster was having.
I'm not sure why I had never though of doing this before, but I'm glad you brought it to my attention
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Didn't think about the shade_bg as it's not linked to that in every rom. You don't have to actually remove it. You can also do this instead:
android:background="@android:color/transparent"
Also, I am of the school of thought that if the app decompiles with errors then you shouldn't use that as your base. I've done a ton of theming and I just won't use an app that decompiles wrong. It usually only happens if you are trying to decompile an app that has already been modified by the dev. Best to find a "stock" base framework or SystemUI to work with.
Easy
Can anyone make a flashable zip?
Of what and/or for what?
Sent via telepathy

[TUTORIAL] How to increase Screen Density/DPI value of any Android Device

The phones keep becoming inferior with every superior model getting launched. Some users might not want to buy a new phone just yet. You might want to get the most out of your device while it lasts. To compensate for the continously increasing screen sizes and resolutions in the newer phones, we can change the Screen Density of our devices in order to utilize our screens more efficiently.
Most manufacturers stick to the standard DPI of 240 on the large screened phones like Samsung Galaxy S II or HTC Desire HD, so it might be too big to really make efficient use of the Android device.
Still, there is hope. Just make sure that you are rooted and equipped with Root Explorer or a free app like ES File Explorer in order to access the Root owned partition of the device.
Method:
1. Open Root Explorer
2. Go to /system
3. Click on Mount RW (It shall appear aa Mount RO)
4. Look for build.prop. Long press on the file and press Open file in Editor
5. Scroll down to ro.sf.lcd_density=240
6. Change the value to anywhere between 180 and 240. The lower the value, the higher density your screen will have.
7. Click on the Menu button , and Save and Exit.
8. Reboot.
You should now have a phone with the same screen size but alot more density, slightly smaller text and more space to use applications on.
This guide can be used on all Android phone, even the smaller MDPI and LDPI phones to make your screen to appear bigger and more useful . However, you will have to tinker with the value unless you find one that suits you best.
If some applications cannot span properly to the new screen size, download Spare Parts from the market, uncheck Compatibility Mode in the options, and reboot.
Some launchers may act wierd , however most do look good with a higher density look!
Do press the Thanks button if this guide has helped!
Reserved.
I am using 160. With this value you don't have problems with play store.
Bighardy said:
I am using 160. With this value you don't have problems with play store.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What issues did you experience with play store before?
When I used different values between 160 and 240, i. e. 180 or 200, I had compatibility problems with play store. New program version weren't shown as update, and if I searched for apps the message Not compatible with this device appeared. With 160 no problems with unhacked play store.

[GUIDE] Adding Custom Flip Cover Background Images

This is for Pure XL users that use the flip cover instead of the silicone case (or no case at all)
This was an interesting idea brought up by @MatisasB on this thread.
MatisasB said:
Is there any way to add new pictures?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I took some time to check it out and found out that it is possible to add or change the current background images that you see when you wake your phone with the flip cover closed.
Requirements:
Rooted Pure XL
Some File Explorer application with root capabilities (I personally use Root Explorer. The stock File Explorer app doesn't work, even if you grant it root permission)
Some suitably large images (at least 1440x1067 to be optimal, but can be larger or slightly smaller)
Image editing software
First get some pictures that you want to use as a background. If they're not 1440 pixels wide and 1067 pixels high (1440x1067), use some image editing software to crop/resize them to that size. It doesn't matter if the image(s) are larger if you only want a portion cropped from it. The image can also be slightly smaller, but resized and cropped to 1440x1067 because honestly, 720p resolution still looks acceptable to me on a 1440p 6.0" screen. Your opinions may differ.
Use your creativity to get them to look like what you want to see through the flip cover window!
Make sure to save in .png format, .jpg doesn't work!
Adding New Backgrounds:
After you're done editing your image, rename them to a number above 10 (11 to 10+whatever number of pictures you want to add)
Copy them to /etc/GN_SkyLight
Restart your phone and see the changes!
Replacing Existing Backgrounds:
Copy your edited images to your phone's internal storage or installed microSD card (Make sure your phone's USB connection is set to the File Transfer mode)
Use your File Explorer app to navigate to /etc/GN_SkyLight
Decide which image(s) you want to replace, and back up those files (e.g. Adding "(Backup)" or "(Original)" to their names, or copy the entire folder to your computer somewhere)
Rename your image files to those file names (1-11).png and copy&replace the old images.
It works instantly without a restart!
Hey, great job. Unfortunately I wasn't able to root this decice yet. I tried lots of 1 click root apps but bone of them worked auntik now...
Hello.
I have a simple question, is there any way to control Spotify with the flip cover closed. I mean, to get access to the controls (next, previous song, start/stop) from the flip cover window.
If this is possible, maybe there's a eway to change the flip cover background by syncing with the album art.
Thank you.

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