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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?
I wanted to get some insight, direction and perhaps guidance on how to take the existing Deodexed ED2 ROM and get inside and make some edits, remove bloatware, replace Touchwiz with a different launcher etc. I am not looking to build a full blown custom ROM, I am just looking to edit a stock (yet deodexed) ROM to meet my needs.
Any help would be greatly appreciated so I can learn more about this process.
There are two ways you can do it. First way, that is usually a little easier to work with, is to extract the zip file, make the changes you want, and re-zip the whole thing. The other method is to just open the zip file (7zip or similar will make this a little easier) and add/delete stuff as you want. It eliminates the decompress/recompress part, but is a little harder to work with unless you know exactly what you want to do.
As far as figuring out what to remove and such, some files are named in a manner that they are easy to figure out (Mms.apk for example) and other files are not (Dlna.apk is AllShare). If you want to figure out what an APK file is, a good indication is sometimes opening it with say 7zip (they are essentially zip files) and extracting res/drawable-hdpi/icon.png and you can see what the icon is. Astro File Manager can also give you some info on the specific Apks, as can Titanium Backup I believe.
As for replacing things (like the launcher) it is as simple as taking one out and putting another in for most stuff. I will let you know that I had battery drain issues when I removed the stock TWLauncher, but I believe I know how to fix it then. A lot of stuff though, if you are replacing things, you'll want to do 1 or 2 things at a time and also be familiar with logcat as it is an invaluable tool when testing out ROM changes and problems.
Thanks imnuts, I will start to play with a zip file and go from there. As you mentioned the bloatware is in the system folder and not the data folder so perhaps I will just delete the bloat, and install GB Launcher on my phone and make it default so that TW is still there just not in use.
Hi,
a little late, but...
did you actually make this work? I'm trying the exact same thing, but my 4ext recovery always aborts the installation. Do I need to sign it or what is wrong?
Thanks a lot...
Please use the Q&A Forum for questions Thanks
Moving to Q&A
I ported a theme for a XDA user here in this forum. But I cant seem to know how to make it into update.zip status. Can someone make it for/teach me how? http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?cxth4pchn488p6q and http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?rmnsr07y3m92d6i
There is a basic overview of how to create an update.zip file here, but this is out of date and won't fully work with our phones. The folder structure and basic process are the same though, so it will be a good overview.
The part that won't work with that guide is the update-script, as we use the new update-binary/updater-script that uses edify for flashing. It's more complicated, but I believe it also allows you to do more stuff. Here is an overview of the new functions of edify and what the old amend versions would have been.
Usually, the easiest way to get what you want is to download something that is known to work for what you are doing (theme, rom, etc.) and just replace the contents of it. You can look at the updater-script and edit it as needed. The basics are setting up the progress bar, mount /system (or where ever it is you're copying files to), copy files, set permissions (if needed), and then you should be done.
imnuts said:
There is a basic overview of how to create an update.zip file here, but this is out of date and won't fully work with our phones. The folder structure and basic process are the same though, so it will be a good overview.
The part that won't work with that guide is the update-script, as we use the new update-binary/updater-script that uses edify for flashing. It's more complicated, but I believe it also allows you to do more stuff. Here is an overview of the new functions of edify and what the old amend versions would have been.
Usually, the easiest way to get what you want is to download something that is known to work for what you are doing (theme, rom, etc.) and just replace the contents of it. You can look at the updater-script and edit it as needed. The basics are setting up the progress bar, mount /system (or where ever it is you're copying files to), copy files, set permissions (if needed), and then you should be done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome! Thanks a lot man.
Hello everyone,
This is a quick question, that I seen asked before but it several different ways.
I would like to know how to simply edit my favorite ROM's, in ways of just adding a new theme or modifying the layout.
I don't wanna get too deep into it, just the simple things like adding apps to ROM's.
Can someone help me out here?
I think a flashable zip with addons(like gapps) is a good way, or just browse the rom.zip and add things(system/app/bin/extras) before flashing it
also try this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=33349661
Trytohaxme said:
Hello everyone,
This is a quick question, that I seen asked before but it several different ways.
I would like to know how to simply edit my favorite ROM's, in ways of just adding a new theme or modifying the layout.
I don't wanna get too deep into it, just the simple things like adding apps to ROM's.
Can someone help me out here?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
grigtm said:
I think a flashable zip with addons(like gapps) is a good way, or just browse the rom.zip and add things(system/app/bin/extras) before flashing it
also try this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=33349661
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do agree with grigtm. Use OOne ROM Editor as I personally tried that and it works great.
I had some problems with OOne ROM Editor that it removed some direcotries from root of the ROM. So I made my ROM in Total Commander :laugh:.
I'd agree that the easiest way is to edit a ROM in place with some Zip program since you can effectively skip re-signing the zip. One thing to note from the RootzWiki on signing (emphasis my own):
With custom recoveries such as ClockworkMod Recovery, the recovery does not verify that the key is authorized, but just that the signature of the ZIP is valid. Most recoveries now have this option disabled by default, due to excessive user complaints: Many "popular" developers are incapable/unwilling to properly sign their ZIPs, causing the signature check to fail on such ZIPs even when they are not corrupt.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure if this applies to current Clockwork Recovery for our phone (5.0.27), but I know it can be turned of manually if necessary.
Number two, I believe it is standard practice for most archive programs and types (including programmers API's) to automatically remove empty directories, which OOne Editor likely uses. Although, the OOne Editor is becoming popular enough that if it almost suits your needs you should probably file a bug in the OOne Editor thread.
In this tutorial I will show you how to create your own T.W. rom using your GS3 and Root Explorer. There are many ways you can create a rom but not everyone has the time to sit at a computer every night. However, your phone is always on you and can find a few minutes here and there to create your own masterpiece.
For the sake of this tutorial, we will name our new rom "SLICK".
Here are a few things you will need...
1. The rom base from Scottsroms. I'm NOT talking about Cleanrom but the unmodified stock rooted rom.
2. Root Explorer.
3. Script Manager
4. Any mod you can flash or come up with on your own.
1. GET STARTED!
Download the base rom to your phones EXT-sdcard and extract it using Root Explorer. After it's extracted the new unziped rom will be located in /storage/sdcard0/SpeedSoftware/Extracted. The extracted rom is now your new base. At this point it would be a great idea to move it to your EXT-sdcard and create a new project folder for it and label the folder "Project SLICK". inside the folder is your rom. lets rename that rom "SLICK".
Lets open your new SLICK rom. You should have some folders...
BOOT IMAGE
DATA
META-INF
SYSTEM
3. THE SYSTEM FOLDER
/SYSTEM/APP
Most of your work will done in the System folder so lets open that up. This is the heart of your rom! There are many folders here but lets start with the app folder. This folder has every app installed in your rom. This is a good time to remove the bloat you don't want in your rom. Go ahead and delete the apk's you don't want or need.
/SYSTEM/BIN
Here you can speed up your system or make it more battery efficient by deleting things like "mpdecision" and things like that. Be careful what you delete though. In general you won't do much in here.
/SYSTEM/BUILD.PROP
Here you can change values or add values. The one value we are concerned with is "ro.build.display.id" This build property's value will be displayed in the end users settings menu under "about phone". So let's give this property the correct value "ro.build.display.id=SLICK ROM v1.0" The rest of the build properties you can do as you wish. Build.prop is simply a text file. You can use the text editor built into Root Explorer.
/SYSTEM/CSC
Open this file and you will see more files. Listed is "feature.xml". Here you can edit values for various items for texting and mms.
/SYSTEM/ETC
Here is where you will find a folder called "init.d". Located in this folder are various text files. The text files are scripts that are told to run when your phone boots. You can add or modify to the existing scripts or create a new text file.
So we went over a few of the basics of modding your new rom and molding it into something you can call your own but does it work??
4. TESTING YOUR NEW BASE.
So we have already modified our rom a considerable amount and should have a good solid base. Before we go any further we should really test things out first. If we did something wrong earlier we will at least have an idea where to look. So lets flash our new rom. Go to you EXT-sdcard and find our project folder. you should still have your SLICK file. Zip this file with Root Explorer. Make sure you have a good battery and a cool environment because it's going to take your GS3 about 30min of hard work to zip this file. When that is finally completed, flash your new rom located in /storage/sdcard0/SpeedSoftware/Archives. Flash it just like you would any other rom.
Test your new rom out on your GS3 and see how things are running. Check your existing modifications you did earlier. If everything looks good, we can continue modding. If not you will need to go back to your base to see where you went wrong. This is also a great time to check your init.d scripts. One way to do this is to download "Script manager" from the market and click on your init scripts to read there log. It will tell you if something went wrong.
If everything is looking good, we can continue modding...
5. THE MODS
So we have that nice clean base but what about all them mods in the roms we download and flash everyday? There are a few different ways we can do this and we will start with the easiest but first, do a nandroid backup of your new base. If one of your mods you perform next goes bad it's simply quicker to recover. Now, If you have flashable zips of some of the mods you like then you can flash them now and make sure they are working the way they should in your rom. Remember, just cause we have the d2vzw does not mean mods from the sprint or T-mobile won't work on our devices. Sometimes it's worth a try. It's all about which firmware they are on and what has changed with the firmware.
So we flashed a few mods but don't have everything we wanted. At this point you are left with only one option and that is to get on that PC of yours and learn to decompile a APK. I may touch on this subject later as it is a bit more involved for someone new to this sort of thing.
6. UNDERSTANDING THE FLASHABLE ZIP
The alternate method of a flashable zip is to extract your flashable using Root Explorer and picking it apart. For example we will use "Lean Kernel" and kill 2 topics with one stone. If you unzip the kernel you will see...
BOOT.IMG
META-INF
SYSTEM
As you can see there are some familiar files to us just like when we extracted our base rom in the beginning. Basically when you flash a mod like this or any flashable for that matter, it installs files into your rom in certain places. In this example we will be installing in BOOT.IMG and SYSTEM. But what? And what is that META-INF file for? Well this META-INF file is what tells your rom what files and what to do with those files. Inside META-INF is a text file called an "updater script".
Here is what it looks like...
Code:
show_progress(0.500000, 0);
mount("ext4", "EMMC", "/dev/block/mmcblk0p14", "/system");
package_extract_dir("system", "/system");
set_perm(0, 0, 0777, "/system/etc/init.d/00leanKernel");
unmount("/system");
assert(package_extract_file("boot.img", "/cache/boot.img"),
write_raw_image("/cache/boot.img", "/dev/block/mmcblk0p7"),
delete("/cache/boot.img"));
show_progress(0.100000, 0);
Line 2 shows it mounting the system so we can write to it.
Line 3 shows us extracting the entire directory of the system file in the flashable into the system file of our rom.
Line 4 shows we are setting permissions for one of the system files we just installed in the rom. In this case it is an INIT.D file.
Line 5 shows us returning the system to an un-writable state.
Line 6 shows we are now installing the other file called BOOT.IMG.
So we installed BOOT.IMG and the SYSTEM file. The BOOT.IMG file is usually only found in a rom or kernel zip so most of the time you won't see this file in a flashable but I wanted to use this as an example to show a bit about the kernel side of things.
Ok, so lets get back to the original files of this flashable zip. The updater script stated we installed a new system file into the rom so whats in there? If we open the SYSTEM file from our flashable with Root Explorer you will find a file hierarchy...
SYSTEM
-- ETC
--- INIT.D
---- "00LEANKERNEL"
-- LIB
--- MODULES
---- Listed here are a bunch of ".ko" modules and i'm not listing them all.
So whats the point of all this? Well lets say when we originally debloated our rom in the begining we could of included some of our flashable mods like a custom kernel before we zip the rom to test the base. So in this case we can manually install this kernel before we zip the base. We can take the BOOT.IMG from our extracted kernel and replace the BOOT.IMG in our extracted rom. We only need the files from the flashable so we need to copy and paste the "00LEANKERNEL" file from our flashable to our roms /system/etc/init.d folder. We can also take those ".ko" files from the flashable and dump those into the /system/lib/module folder and we are done. You have now manually installed a kernel into your base rom before you zipped it. Now when you zip your rom and flash it, your new base rom will boot with your custom kernel. Since we manually installed the kernel we don't need the META-INF file provides an auto install script for installing through recovery. Technically we could take all of our flashable mods, extract them, look at the file hierarchy and copy and paste the those files to our extracted base rom. That way we can zip our rom and test it with the mods right off the bat. You can really make things quicker this way and is in general the way to go.
I think it's rather important to fully understand a flashable zip. How it's built and how it completes it's task. It's used so often and makes mods so incredibly easy to install but it is also what installs our rom! One of the files we see when we open "slick" is a META-INF and there inside is the updater script to flash the rom. Again we are doing the same thing as we do with the flashable mod but this time we are installing a lot more files with a lot more permissions. It is the exact same thing as shown above just a bit more extensive.
7. PUT THE PIECES TOGETHER
Ok so we have our base rom running on our phone and possibly a few mods installed. We also have our extracted and debloated "slick" rom on the EXT-sdcard inside our project folder. The next part is rather easy if you understand how those flashable mods were installed. If you understand the whole flashable and its files, your better off just extracting them and then copy and paste them where they need to go. After you have all your mod files in place you can now zip your official "Slick" rom using Root Explorer of course. Prepare yourself for another 30 minutes for it to zip. After it's zipped your done. You have now created your first fully modded rom! However...
Lets say you don't get the whole flashable thing and or you had made some other changes to the rom while you were testing. Lets say you flashed some mods and created a few init.d scripts or the build.prop along the way. NO WORRIES! We can put the rom together another way. A lot of the mods you flash will install files in some usual areas of the rom like your Framework folder and such. Lets just say we don't know though. You can actually copy complete folders from the rom you are running right there and now and paste them into your extracted "Slick" base rom using Root Explorer. So you can take "/system/framework" from your currently running rom, copy it, and paste it in "/storage/EXT-sdcard/project folder/slick/system/framework". In short just take your copy of the framework file and put it in your extracted base and paste it. Root Explorer will then ask you if you want to replace this file and click yes. You have just transferred any modded file that might have been in framework to your extracted rom. Any folder you may think was modded, simply copy and paste it to your extracted base rom on your EXT-sdcard. Once you think you have it all the modded files transferred you can zip your new "Slick rom! Flash and enjoy!!
FINISHED
So we have now completed our own rom on the device itself. It's really not too difficult just a bit more time consuming with zipping and that. However, you may need to do a bit more research on how to decompile and recompile an APK. This is one of things that can really be a pain to setup. It's again the basics that will kill you. The whole PITA is not decompiling or making changes to a framework file, it's setting up the environment that sucked for me. You have to get the Java and files in order and all the little crap to get it to work. IMO, if you haven't decompiled an APK yet it's really not difficult at all. Like I said. It's the basics. I encourage you to learn this because it's so freakin easy after it's all setup and you will be able to do so much more with your rom. Once you get this APK thing down don't be afraid to take someone elses work and reverse engineer it. Try to figure out what that developer did to accomplish what he wanted. It's a great way to learn and thats what it's about.
I may add to this somewhere down the road but for now it's all I have. I hope this helped and motivated someone to create a rom and begin there journey to become developer someday! We can all use fresh ideas for development. There is so much more to come for Android so get your hands dirty and share!
Thanks guys!
Ha never really thought of doing this on the fly with my phone. Even though all the right stuff was sitting in my face thanks for opening my eyes razz1
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dincdoes.me said:
Ha never really thought of doing this on the fly with my phone. Even though all the right stuff was sitting in my face thanks for opening my eyes razz1
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
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It's another way. May not be the fastest way but it's another option. I also wanted to write this as a general rom creation and learning some basics. It's always the basics that will kill a project and motivation. I would like to see a complete newb to be able to complete a rom with this tutorial. Then I accomplished something. Going to have to finish this tomorrow though. It's taking longer than I thought lol.
Yea I mean I'm a newb at doing it from my phone if that counts =) .. What explorer do you like to use to repack the zips. I'm sure I'll try this method soon to play while bored at work. Rom tool box will help with boot animations, fonts and transition animations too take care thanks for giving our community some new skills I'm sure it will help out down the road.
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Thank you for this post. This will definitely get me to try and make my own ROM the way I like, also I might just learn some new stuff. Great post thanks again
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Nice tutorial.
It's a great way to show what can be done just from your phone.
:good:
Right on man. Been waiting for this. Thank you.
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dincdoes.me said:
Yea I mean I'm a newb at doing it from my phone if that counts =) .. What explorer do you like to use to repack the zips. I'm sure I'll try this method soon to play while bored at work. Rom tool box will help with boot animations, fonts and transition animations too take care thanks for giving our community some new skills I'm sure it will help out down the road.
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I use androzip man.
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More added
So would I make, say ROM manager a system app? Just copy the apk into the /System/App folder?
Evil Genius Jr. said:
So would I make, say ROM manager a system app? Just copy the apk into the /System/App folder?
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Yes, but not all apps you download from google play work in /system/app. Some want to be installed into /data/app. However /data/app doesn't exist till after the rom is booted. You would need to add the folder to your extracted rom and modify the updater script.
razz1 said:
Yes, but not all apps you download from google play work in /system/app. Some want to be installed into /data/app. However /data/app doesn't exist till after the rom is booted. You would need to add the folder to your extracted rom and modify the updater script.
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You are the fu**ing man razz1.
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That's about all I have for now. OP completed!:sly:
Hello. Ok so I created a ROM what I call MyTWGE (Tuchwiz Google Edition). Followed the instructions, unzipped the stock Verizon OS went into the -app- folder deleted all the Verizon, Samsung and Google apps (only the ones that are download able from Google Play). Replaced the stock launcher with the 5x6 version that I extracted from another zip, replaced the camera with the Google edition camera (download able from GP), replaced the keyboard with the Note2 keyboard (also unzipped from another zip). Looked around and deleted a few more files I found that were connected to some Samsung apps and zipped it up. Flashed the zip yesterday onto the phone and it's ALIVE working.
Thank you for your patience to write up all these instructions. I previously used TB to debloat my phone and that was it, learned a few thing thanks again
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Lehocki said:
Hello. Ok so I created a ROM what I call MyTWGE (Tuchwiz Google Edition). Followed the instructions, unzipped the stock Verizon OS went into the -app- folder deleted all the Verizon, Samsung and Google apps (only the ones that are download able from Google Play). Replaced the stock launcher with the 5x6 version that I extracted from another zip, replaced the camera with the Google edition camera (download able from GP), replaced the keyboard with the Note2 keyboard (also unzipped from another zip). Looked around and deleted a few more files I found that were connected to some Samsung apps and zipped it up. Flashed the zip yesterday onto the phone and it's ALIVE working.
Thank you for your patience to write up all these instructions. I previously used TB to debloat my phone and that was it, learned a few thing thanks again
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Lol the whole time I was reading this I was waiting for you to say something didn't work out for you but it all did I guess. Nice!!
Yeah running for the past 24h no problems everything works. Thanks
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---------- Post added at 02:24 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:07 AM ----------
Only thing that that's annoying is the wifi in the taskbar. I read in one of the posts that I have to go into systemui and some other files within n delete lines 12 through 21 but that didn't work , am guessing I need to decompile systemui to do that. The person in the post didn't clarify and I'm not ready to do that yet. Reason is I don't know anything about programming or linux or decompiler or anything like that. Deleting files I can do replacing some sure. But I'm happy my first attempt to mix something together worked and I'll keep doing it till I actually figure out what it is that I am doing. Thanks again for the post
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Yea. Follow Didacts write ups to get you through it. It's all in framework res apk.