I am working on combining Draya's Red GB theme and stock OTA. I have run into trouble trying to make the 10% battery increments actually display the images. I was wondering if someone could offer assistance.
I have tried decompiling framework-res.apk with apk manager and recompiling it with the changes in stat_sys_battery.xml. Although for some reason when I recompile and install via update.zip I bootloop.
This update.zip currently works perfectly, although it only displays battery in increments of 20%.
Here is a link to the themes current update.zip. http://db.tt/LV6Y9i9
Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk
Are u recompiling as a system apk? If you try to recompile with just an apktool command for instance as if it
were an app, it wont recompile correctly.
Sorry if you already knew this, not trying to sound condescending in any way. Just ran into this same issue myself a while ago.
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App
I actually didn't. I have just started trying to learn to do all if these modifications.
I have learned that I can do hex editing to change colors and change the .png's but I am still working on learning to compile my own .9.png's and trying to figure out how to decompile and recompile so that I can modify the xml in standard text vs. hex because I would have no idea how to add my own text to an xml while still in hex form and I believe I read somewhere that if you change the file to much you need to include a new resources file or something.
Do you have any directions in decompiling and recompiling system apk's so that they are editable?
The way I was trying was with apk manager 4.9 as a system apk I believe. I am thinking option 11 or option 9 if I remember right...
I had also switched the apktool version to 1.3.1 because of the issue in 1.3.2 that I read on the apktool page.
Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk
How To Port Theme's
(Using Apktool, and Theme Porter)
Since there are some people out there willing to learn but not exactly able to with all of the convoluted information on the forums, I decided I'd start putting together a guide similar to other's to aid those trying to learn. Stay tuned as this is under construction!
All credit is due to original creators of the product's used in this process, without them there wouldn't be a reason for this guide . Please be respectful of other's work, sometimes it's best to ask before attempting (if it is an original product) but at very least give credit and a link back.
What is porting?
Porting very basically is taking .png files and XML changes from one theme (typically created for a different model, but using the same resolution) and copying them into deodexed stock rom's such as EC10/EE19 Pick and Pack so that they can be flashed onto our phones and used with our framework and/or updated framework.
Sounds really easy, doesn't it? At first it will be cumbersome and frustrating, but after you've used the processes enough you will be able to snap these out in 30 minutes or less! The problem lies in the way these files are packaged, they are mainly just a .zip file that isn't compressed, however there is another layer to an .apk that you can only see once you've learned how to use tools such as apktool/apkmanager. The other tool we will use to aid us in this painstaking process is an application called Theme Porter, which essentially is a script that has been written that will do all of the legwork for us. Let's get started!
What will I need?
Apktool I currently use an older version of the program, you can download here, this one I know works for sure - last I heard the other has issues.
ThemePorter
7zip (Win rar could be used instead)
Notepad++ (Or equivalent code editing software) which will be used to make the xml changes. If you're not familiar with using something such as this, you may want to take time to research before attempting to port.
How to set up;
Begin by getting ThemePorter setup, you just need to unzip the download and that will be "theme porter" It is basically just made up of a few folders, and has a batch script that you will use to initiate the process. I just place mine on the desktop for easy access.
Secondly, get apktool downloaded and unzipped. place the apt folder somewhere where you can easily navigate to it through a command prompt. C: might be a good place if you want to save yourself some keystrokes.
Next just make sure you have notepad++ or another editor installed for use later.
Lastly, get 7zip installed so that you're able to open .apk and .zip files without actually extracting the files.
Where do I get my source files?
You can use any framework from any rom that can be decompiled correctly with apktool. This means when you decompile it, there are no errors and it generates a folder with the same name. Download the rom of your choice and save it (still zipped) somewhere on your desktop, and make an extra copy in case you mess up and overwrite the wrong files. You will ALWAYS use these in the NEW folder within theme porter, but we will get to that.
As for the theme you're trying to port, I usually use fascinate theme's, because it is basically a direct copy of our phone (Note: As of 2.2 they now have a Data on/off icon in their status pull down, where we have Silence, so this will often need to be taken care of separate from this process.) I've also recently started using Vibrant theme's, as these are also very similar - but there are tweaks with these too and I will try to cover them in the guide at some point. You may find others that will work too, at this point this is all I've had time to mess with. Either way, download the .ZIP file and also place it somewhere easy to access.
This is where it get's sort of difficult.
Stock ROM's have some differences to theme's that theme porter cannot handle for you. These are basically MOD's that may exist in the theme ROM and/or XML changes that have been made to alter text color's to accommodate the theme (black to white, white to black, etc.) These changes WILL NOT be ported over using theme porter and unfortunately also cannot be made AFTER using theme porter, so there is a certain process to go about this.
Now enter's apktool. Apktool is a script brut.all very kindly wrote to assist android developers in decompiling/recompiling .apk files without losing structure that normal compression software breaks. Basically there are two reasons you will need to take this step.
When;
Editing Text Color- When choosing a theme to port you will need to pay attention to the screenshots the original poster has posted, as these will clue you in whether or not this needs to happen.
The Pick and Pack rom is essentially still stock, as far as XML goes - so the text on menu's for example, will be Black text on a white background. If the theme you chose has something different, you will need to take this step so that the text is legible in the final theme.
Adding accurate battery MOD- Also when choosing a theme you will need to take a look at the framework-res.apk file to determine if the themer has added the accurate battery mod. Essentially all this means is the XML and image's have been edited to show you each percentage of battery life vs. the stock one that only shows odd increments of 10/15/20.
Open framework-res.apk with 7zip
Navigate to res/drawable-hdpi (this also may be drawable-hdpi-v4 depending on your theme, I haven't quite figured out why this is)
Scroll down until you see the status_battery icons near the bottom - if there are not images for every percentage - then no mod exist's and you can skip using apktool for this step.
How;
For either change you will follow this process to decompile To gain access to the XML/PNG files that contain these text values, we will need to decompile the framework-res.apk file from the rom.
Copy framework-res.apk from the rom and place in the APT folder created earlier.
Rename this to something shorter such as "FW.apk" for easier command lines
Start a command prompt (in windows 7 type "cmd" in the search bar within start menu)
Navigate to the APT folder, For example;
Code:
CD c:\Users\brandon\Desktop\apt
Type
Code:
apktool d FW.apk
This will decompile the .apk into a folder called FW within the APT folder, allowing you access to the files. I will cover the actual changes in a later post.
At this point you have the files in a folder and they can be edited how you see fit (should you choose to just edit the stock ones vs. actually porting already changed ones).
You'll notice when examining the folder that there are quite a bit more files. Also, you will be introduced to the .9.png file type, which essentially is just a .png file that has some black lines embedded in the file to instruct android how to resize and reuse the image within the framework.
Any edits made to these files must be made carefully, as to not alter the integrity of these black lines. When the file is recompiled, the lines will disappear but will be included (if you tried doing this without decompiling - your photo editor would nix these lines and android wouldn't know how to size them)
If all your edits were complete, you would then recompile the file through apktool. (I will continue with the theme porting guide in the next step, this is just a good reference point for these steps.)
Type this into the command prompt
Code:
apktool b FW framework-res.apk
This would then create the framework-res.apk file in the APT folder, however there is an important step here. During this process the META folder is lost, and the AndroidManifest file is corrupted.
Delete the AndroidManifest.xml file from the new framework-res.apk
Copy the META-INF folder and the AndroidManfiest.xml file from the ORIGINAL framework-res.apk (now named FW.apk in this example) and place it in the new framework-res.apk using 7zip (do not extract the file, open the archive with 7zip.)
At this point, your framework could be ready for replacing in your theme.zip (will be covered later) with the edit's you've made Or if you're learning how to port theme's, continue reading.
Guide Part 2....
Preparing for Theme Porter
Okay now that we have some of the side process out of the way, let's get back to the guide.
Determine if you need to make any XML edit's for battery or text color changes and perform them per the processes detailed below. If you do not need to make them, you may skip this step completely and move on to using theme porter.
Correcting Accurate Battery Mod Animations-
Follow this guide to make the changes to the framework to use the new charging animation images and will allow you to then use theme porter to swap the .png files
Decompile the framework-res.apk from the ROM download (I usually just rename this to EE19.apk or whatever the rom is i'm working with)
Decompile the framework-res.apk (I first rename the framework-res.apk file to NEW.apk (or whatever you wish) Note: It will typcially give you errors (unless it's theme'd correctly) but you're just after some code from a few .xml files so don't worry.
In the NEW folder Navigate to
Code:
\res\drawable-hdpi\
or
\res\drawable-hdpi-v4\
Copy all of the battery charging .png's and drag them to a folder on your desktop. Then open the EE19 folder within APT (the one you decompiled from the rom you're working from) Drag those images into the /res/drawable-hdpi-v4 directory replacing any existing ones.
open the following file in notepad++
Code:
\apt\NEW\res\drawable\stat_sys_battery_charge.xml
Also open the same file within the EE19 decompiled folder
In the THEME xml file select all and copy
In the EE19 xml file, paste this replacing the text. Then save it overwriting the original.
At this point, the battery mod is done and the new .png files exist so that theme porter can do it's work (And the xml is there to make it works when it get's to your phone). If you don't have any text edits to make, you can recompile the apk (as stated in steps in first post) and move on to steps below (skipping the section on changing text).
Changing text colors-
If you have determined that the text in the theme is different from the rom framework (I.E. Text on notifications, menu's, etc.) then you will follow these steps to locate where these changes need to be made.
If you haven't already, decompile the framework-res.apk from the Rom.
Next, determine what text color edit's you need to make and then use this wonderful reference to determine which actual files those edit's correspond to.
Locate the file you need to edit in the decompiled folder, and open it with 7zip.
Typically removing the "inverse" reference on the color line will change it from black to white, or white to black and is the easiest/best way to alter colors in a ROM. (For a quick note, searching for "menu" in the styles.xml files located in /values/ will give you the items you need to change, watch for _bright references for the dividers, change those to _dark instead.
Once you are done making these edits, recompile the folder as stated in first post. And move on to using theme porter.
Using Theme Porter-PAY CLOSE ATTENTION HERE.
Now that you have the appropriate prep-work done, the easy part finally comes. (Hopefully)
Copy and paste the applications & framework-res.apk twframework-res.apk files from the THEME.zip into the appropriate folders within the OLD folder in theme porter.
Now copy and paste the same files that you copied from the theme.zip, now from the rom (EE19 for example) to the NEW folder in theme porter.
Once all files are in appropriate folders, run the Script.bat file in theme porter. Use a selection of "1" and press enter.
Theme porter will now copy all of the .png files from one .apk to the other (where the folder names are an exact match)
NOTE:At this step, you may have issues where the images aren't brought over (This typically only effects the framework files and just depends on how the file was generated/edited). This can be detrmined by opening the .apk in 7zip and pulling out the res folder, where you can view the files (you will see if it's been changed or not) If it hasn't, you will need to make sure the folder within the Themed .apk's are the exact same as the ROM you're themeing and re-run the theme porter script. (meaning you need to add or remove the -v4 ending depending on where the previous themer placed the themed files)
If you're lucky, everything is done at this point and you can move on to packaging a flashable update.zip.
Packaging A Flashable Update.Zip
A flashable package is simply a .zip file (stored as "store" in 7zip, no compression) that is made up of META-INF and System folders. The META-INF folder is very important as there is a big difference between using one from a ROM (pick and pick) and a theme (NeonGT) You will need to download a theme and pull the META-INF folder out so that you can use it in your theme ports. This is to ensure you have the correct script (edify or ammend) typically now we're using edify so use one from one of the H57 theme's via baked_tator The system folder should contain two folders "framework" and "app" each of which will hold the respective .apk files you have been working with. (but could also contain a "Media" folder for changing bootanimation.zip files, basically any files within the folder structure you create (matches the system structure) will be replaced when flashed. So be careful not to include things I haven't listed here unless you know what you're doing. And be sure to test these things before even thinking about a release.
Create the following folder that can be re-used with any new theme port, it's the easiest way to keep things organized and not lose track of files.
Create a new folder on your desktop called New Theme
Within that folder paste in the META-INF folder from another EE19 theme.
Create a new folder called "system"
Open system and create two new folders "app" and "framework" (and "media" if you are including the bootanimation.zip from the theme (which typically will work on our phone)
Place approprate files from the NEW folder within theme porter into these folders, respectively
Back up so that you see the META-INF folder and System folder, select those two, right-click and select "add to archive" in the 7zip menu.
Name the file "EE19 ThemeName VX.zip" and select "Store" for the method
Drag this to your desktop and this will be what you will place on your SD card for flashing.
Test the theme thoroughly to make sure everything ported over and everything still works (make sure to test USB, even color XML edits can cause odd issues) and get help from others to make sure the bugs are out.
If you run into issues, check the next post for possible resolutions.
BE SURE TO CREDIT THE PROPER CREATORS!!! I can't express this enough, I have a format for the way I do release posts, feel free to copy it if you'd like but either way make sure you make it known that it's not your work!
FAQ / Common Issues / Other Resources
Common Issues:
Images do not transfer to new framework.apk files.
(typically the applications all have the same folder names, so no problems occur here.)
As stated in the guide, all folders within each res folder within each .apk file used in theme porter must have exact matching folders/files for the .png to actually transfer. If it's been edited with apktool, it typically has the -v4 extension.
Troubleshoot your issue by opening the resulting .apk file in 7zip and comparing to the downloaded theme file in 7zip. You may have to pull the res folders out and look that way to actually see which images didn't transfer.
First thing to check is the folder names within the res folder, if the rom folder's names are "drawable-hdpi" and "drawable-land-hdpi" and the theme has "drawable-hdp-v4" then you need to remove the -v4 from those folders and run theme porter again.
NOTE: I've also run into situations where both folder's existed in the .apk file, meaning both drawable-hdpi and drawable-hdpi-v4 folders were there, but only one actually had the themed .pngs. In this case it was the drawable-hdpi folder that had the themed ones, but I needed it to be -v4, so I deleted the existing -v4 folders and renamed the others to -v4 - this also slimmed the rom because you really don't need the extra folders/files (nor wan't them!)
Some times icons don't exist on other phones, or they are completely different icons. I.E. with 2.2 fascinate theme's the Silence icon does not exist and therefore would need to be pulled from another theme or created to be fixed. This can be done with 7zip, no need to decompile the file if you're just swapping .png files (in the final framework-res.apk .
[*]Problems after testing theme.
This has happened to me on all sorts of levels;
Problems Restoring - Sometimes after testing theme's you'll go to restore and things will not be right when you boot, FC's and whatnot. Best case scenario you can restore to a vanilla restore (meaning your rom + any app's you wanted, but no theme's) or just flash your rom to fix.
Problems with icon's not being correct on a restore or a flash.
Same as above, sometimes things just go awry when you're flashing theme on top of theme, so i'ts best to start from the rom. Make a restore point with your rom + all your apps, then you can always go back to it and flash your day to day theme - this will give you the least trouble.
Phone stuck in airplane mode, setting is disabled.
I had this happen to me randomly once, no idea why but if you do run into this the only thing that fixed it for me was an odin back to a full build. No restore or flash would fix it. Typically your problem should be solved with a fresh flash of your rom, but sometimes going to a full build with odin is the only way.
FAQ:
Post them and we'll get them answered and edited in here. So far I've tried to cover everything I knew of in the guide .
Reserved
Reserved
Reserved
Other Resourcs:
Great guide by nitsuj17 on how to theme
Hex Colors
Free Photoshop Alternative
XML Color Edit Guide - in case you missed it above - credits to KBanause
wow, you rock bde. thanks for your time and help with this, I will be following it to help you guys out with stuff more.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk
sageDieu said:
wow, you rock bde. thanks for your time and help with this, I will be following it to help you guys out with stuff more.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great, and thanks, I'm glad to share what I've learned with the community
Great write up,ive read through it several times. Just wish I hadn't traded my desktop for tattoo work this weekend. ..
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk
man you write some good tutorials...
Very thorough and still easy to understand, Great work!!
Very nice! Just fixed the white on white text in my super light port. Big Thanks!
Great write up!
So, I tried using apktool to decompile the framwork-res.apk and it worked fine, recompiled it and everything was good, are these the same steps I would use for other APK's such as in the apps folder (i.e. Settings.apk) because I cannot get them to work I keep getting brut.androlib errors
bwot75 said:
So, I tried using apktool to decompile the framwork-res.apk and it worked fine, recompiled it and everything was good, are these the same steps I would use for other APK's such as in the apps folder (i.e. Settings.apk) because I cannot get them to work I keep getting brut.androlib errors
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Usually if you get errors in compiling there have been things added or removed after compiling, this is sometimes caused by using theme porter for example.
Apktool works on any apk, but i'ts fussy about what's there before it recompiles. Try decompiling and recompiling with no changes, if it doesn't work then it won't work on that .apk (to my knowledge). You basically will always need to start with one of the deodexed apks from phidelt's pick and pack, then add changes while i'ts decompiled, then run theme porter after it's recompiled if needed.
And glad you all appreciate it
I vote sticky on this how-to...very good write up and it makes my life easier!!!
Definitely sticky
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
Thanks for the good reading bde. great tutorial.
Hey thanks, glad to share the wealth
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I followed this guide and made XML editing for Framework-res.apk to change font colour in the Menu using Notepad++, but after xml edit, cant build the framework.apk, it says sources have changed and does not build the apk. Am using apktool for this. Any suggestions how to go about it. Or somebody can guide, how can I change the menu background so that Menu texts are visible?
trip007in said:
I followed this guide and made XML editing for Framework-res.apk to change font colour in the Menu using Notepad++, but after xml edit, cant build the framework.apk, it says sources have changed and does not build the apk. Am using apktool for this. Any suggestions how to go about it. Or somebody can guide, how can I change the menu background so that Menu texts are visible?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As stated in an above post, try decompiling the framework-res.apk you are working with - without any edits and see if it will recompile with no error. If it doesn't then re-read my guide
Ok thanks will check it.
Never mind, I figured it out.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
I did some major fixin' on the OP, hope it's more clear!
Howdy all,
I am wanting to kno if there is anything special about editing certain system apps, do they all need to be signed with the same keys. i think i read this somewhere.
cause when i decompile the phone.apk then recompile with no changes / or with changes, signed it with autosigner or APK-Manager, it just FC's on the phone and i cant make sence of the logs...
oh and i tried pushing the file with adb and x10 mod tool, tried in the emulator, still no joys.
been googling for hours... and i feel i am searching for the wrong things...
Thanks in advance
Pvy.
you can use 7zip to browse the apk as an archive and replace png's and .9.png's inside the drawable folders.
you wouldn't have to resign the apk this way, but i would recommend zip-aligning the apk after you replace the png's.
i would also make sure you know how to work with .9.png's before replacing them. not doing .9.png's correctly will break the app.
I have edited the pngs there is no prob there I can put all the images in.
I am editing the xmls and the manifest... I tried drag and drop but it seems to break the apk...
Thanks tho.
Sent from my X10i using XDA App
Go ahead and compile with apk manager, say yes to 'is it a system apk?'.
Then open the new apk with 7zip and pull out the xmls, etc. you changed.
After that open the original apk w/7zip and drag in the compiled xmls along with your images.
That should work.
So I did this,
compiled phone.apk chose system app when it asked.
drag and dropped the 3 pngs I modded, and a few xml files, and the modded androidmanifest.xml to the original
Pushed it to my phone, rebooted...
But it wont install.
It appears the signing breaks.
Pvy
AyDee said:
Go ahead and compile with apk manager, say yes to 'is it a system apk?'.
Then open the new apk with 7zip and pull out the xmls, etc. you changed.
After that open the original apk w/7zip and drag in the compiled xmls along with your images.
That should work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my X10i using XDA App
Changing default image
I wondered if anyone could help me out with this
Many thanks
pvyParts said:
So I did this,
compiled phone.apk chose system app when it asked.
drag and dropped the 3 pngs I modded, and a few xml files, and the modded androidmanifest.xml to the original
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My suggestion is after doing this add the now modded original .apk into a flashable.zip and use xRecovery/FreeXperiaRecovery to install the app.
If you don't know how to make a flashable.zip just use 7zip to replace the phone.apk in a theme update.zip and delete any other folders/.apks that you don't want being reinstalled (framework-res etc.).
Not sure if this will work because I haven't tried this after modding .xml files, but it works after I make any other changes, even changing .9.pngs.
Best of luck, hope this works.
nope that didn't work either... took me a while but once i figured out the update.zip i got it going. and still no joy.
thanks heaps guys for all your help, i think i must have to compile from source or something silly like that...
I'll keep at it and let you all kno how i go...
Hello so what I've got is this. I've modified some of the system .apks and the framework on my current rom well an update has rolled out and i was wondering how do i take those modded apps with me I've used zipthemer and cwm but i get a bootloop using zipthemer i had wrote my xml to install the entire .apk is this wrong any help would be greatly appreciated thanks
Use Super Manager to make a backup of all your .APK's on the device it will be under the .APK section in Super Manager around tab 4 or 5 i believe! Mount your SD card in your PC after the backup and push the backup .APK's to a new folder on your PC and do a fresh clean flash of the new ROM then push the .APK's back onto the device after you reboot! If this is not exactly what you are looking for feel free to elaborate a bit more im pretty sure i understand the concept you are going for!
That's pretty much what I'm aiming at only im talking about modified /system apks I usually wind up pulling the apps and framework and replacing the image files inside the new ones with the ones ive edited using 7.zip and pushing them back to /system/app or framework with adb but man that takes forever lol I guess what ive done here is created a system wide theme including system apps and framework but i dont know how to write the xml to push the images into the framework and apks through a cwm flashable
I guess im kinda looking for building a flashable theme something i can just flash after installing the rom update but I''m not really sure if what I've done is or could be considered a theme i guess it would be seeing as how it changes the look of the apps and framework its seems like I'm themeing the hard way
(btw typing while i think sorry if it doesn't make sense)
edit - but it seems like ive tried pushing the actual "old" apk from an older version to a new version of the same rom and it force closes
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AHH yea now i fully understand what you are getting at... props br0... i for one have never used ABD to push system modified values back to the droid but i completely get what your doing. I assume the "old.apk" force closes because your modified values collide with the default values resulting in a source error, are you using some sort of hex editor to modify anything? or just extracting .png's and swapping? if swapping .png's only you should be able to extract swap and rebuild with success but im sure there will be bugs as this is open source of sorts! I'll take a look around and see if i can find anything structured towards this because i gotta tell you man that is something i have thought about taking on myself for a little bit now just haven't gotten around to it. Sounds easy enough to do what you are going for as does most things... until you put it into practice lol i'll have a look around br0
No I'm not using an editor just 7zip to open the apk and pulling pngs from old and placing them in the "new" apk and pushing it back to the system folder if you can download something like this from the market surely I can build one I think I'm just missing something
That would be awesome man any help further into this would be greatly appreciated and Ill do the same and post here
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Nevaloud said:
No I'm not using an editor just pulling pngs from old and placing them in the "new" apk and pushing it back to the system folder
That would be awesome man any help further into this would be greatly appreciated and Ill do the same and post here
Sent from my Incredible 2 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Download a apk editor just Google how to edit apk and you should find a nice set of script put together as a cmd promt.There extract the apk both old and new then replace the PNG files.After that repackage them using the script and also sign them as a system apk (there is a script for this too).After that just copy it to the folder you took it from or via ADB.I edited mine SystemUI.apk like this and now my status bar is exactly like the one in ICS
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This sounds like what I do with with 7zip i keep the drawable files ive edited on my cpu after a rom update i pull the new apk and open with seven zip and just drag and drop what I've edited to the open res
push back reboot success
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Nevaloud said:
This sounds like what I do with with 7zip i keep the drawable files ive edited on my cpu after a rom update i pull the new apk and open with seven zip and just drag and drop what I've edited to the open res
push back reboot success
Sent from my Incredible 2 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah but i think you need to sign them too in order for them not to FC and yeah rebooting after you pushet them is a must
Sent from my LG-P350 using xda premium
O no no they don't force close doing this at all
they only force close when I tried pushing an "old" apk to the "new" rom
If you pull the new ones and change with 7zip and push back they're money
I really just want to build a flashable theme zip so I don't have to pull all kinds of stuff after an update
Just a simple flash maybe even something i could deploy onto another inc2 but I'm really not sure if that's possible because of the amount of changes done to multiple apks and framework
If you guys would like to see screen shots ill post some just for fun I've done alot of work
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http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1111476
you can have a look at this
Thank you for the link but I'm not using apktool to decompile apps I'm just editing .Png images and putting what I pull from the phone back on the phone like a theme would but I'm not just editing the framework-Res I've "themed" 6 or 7 system apks aswell but I have done zero XML editing to anything
From my Inc2 Nevaloud V2.6
So as in my earlier thread I have moved back to eagles blood 4.0.4 AOSP rom. One of the drawbacks is that the hdpi drawable folder in my systemui does not have 1% icons. I've read a few tuts on how to make my own....or add them from a downloadable zip.
My question to those who are more knowledgeable about development is this: will opening the drawable hdpi folder from my systemui.apk with 7-zip and replacing all my stock sys_batt PNG images with the custom 1% images and then saving those to the folder and pushing the systemui.apk back to my phone do the trick?
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium
Pain-N-Panic said:
So as in my earlier thread I have moved back to eagles blood 4.0.4 AOSP rom. One of the drawbacks is that the hdpi drawable folder in my systemui does not have 1% icons. I've read a few tuts on how to make my own....or add them from a downloadable zip.
My question to those who are more knowledgeable about development is this: will opening the drawable hdpi folder from my systemui.apk with 7-zip and replacing all my stock sys_batt PNG images with the custom 1% images and then saving those to the folder and pushing the systemui.apk back to my phone do the trick?
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium
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Should add long as those are referenced (I think in the xml, but then, I have never done this myself). Would need a nandroid for sure .
-- The noob says:
From first-hand experience, a smartphone is incapable of making you smarter!
Nope, they're not. I have to manually reference them in the sys_bat icon XML file located in drawable folder. Then I have to swap in the images in the drawable hdpi folder once they're referenced. However, I'm having issues. Once I extract the files from the apk with 7zip, specifically the drawable folder to get to the sys_bat icon XML file, I cannot open it in notepad++ to edit it. I'm getting an error. Any ideas mansa?
Edit- LOL nandroid was the first thing I did!
Now I have to crank out this stupid paper for class so I can continue tinkering with my Android lol
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium
Ok, So I've come to learn that in order to edit XML files within the APK, that the APK needs to be decompiled with APK Tool, not simply extracted using 7zip. I downloaded APK tool and set everything up according to this tut----> http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1989533
I have the APKTOOL folder placed on the root of my C:/ drive. Inside that folder I have placed the following aapt (the apktool exe or application file), apktool (batch file), apktool.jar, and my framework-res.apk (I know I need to use systemui.apk, I'm just using this as I follow the tutorial on how to get this program working before I try anything on my own files). When I get to the command c:\apktool>apktool if system.apk to install the APK on my system so I can decompile I get an error saying it's not a recognized command. Any ideas dev-friendly users?
So I realized I didn't have the JDK installed on my pc since I did a system wipe on it the other day. Reinstalled it but it's still not working. Very frustrating. I'm also using win 8 if that means anything.
Giving up on apktool as I cannot seem to get a way around the error. However, apk manager seems much more user friendly and have seen tuts using the program specifically for ics roms. I've only seen tuts for apktool using jelly bean roms so maybe that's the issue. I won't be home until late tonight as I have class. If anyone has any tips/suggestions please let me know.
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium
Not that many people are in here anyway but I figured I'd give it a shot. So I went to use apk manager instead of apk tool which seemed to be a much more "newb friendly" program. I can successfully decompile my framework-res.apk but cannot decompile my systemUI.apk afterward. I get an error....here's my log if anyone can help me with it:
EDIT- deleted log as I was able to decompile systemUI with a different apk program. That was a huge headache getting it to decompile. Now editing the XML should be no problem, along with swapping out the PNG's. Recompiling on the other hand will most likely be another headache!