Related
UPDATED 03-15-12:
Elex_kr has introduced a NEW DRAW9PATCH Program. Please scroll down through the post to view his work. AND DONATE. This DEV deserves a lot of credit for bringing a new improved program to the rooted community. I can attest that his program is very easy to use and extremely fast. We're working on new ways to improve the program. Please post your comments and suggestions to Elex_kr below.
03-15-12-Direct link to his latest Better 9-patch Tool
Here's quick video of what Elex_kr's Better 9-Patch Tool
Original Post:
I'm putting this thread together because it's been too long that draw9patch has been in place without any updates or improvements since its release. I'm also posting this because I'm sure there's a dev willing to redesign draw9patch and make it easier to use. Here's a quick video of why we need an improved draw9patch program.
The main issue for many themers is how time consuming it can be to fill in only ONE pixel at a time. I've been using draw9patch for almost a year and it consumes a large portion of my day. The IDEAL draw9patch would be able to select multiple pixels at the same time. For example, selecting one end of the png and holding down (Shift) while selecting the end point where the pixels would automatically fill in. I'm open to suggestions or comments. Please keep this professional.
Donation: I'm willing to give any DEV $100 for a newly improved draw9patch program. Conditions as follows:
1) Must be based off the original draw9patch
2) Must have the improvements stated above, allowing for multiple pixels to be selected based on holding (CTRL, SHIFT or ALT)
3) Must have the ability to save the PNG as a .9.png.
4) Must be compatible with Windows 7.
*-*-*
Just to give the dev an idea of how long draw9patch can take. Today I used the program to stretch 59 .9.png's. It took an average of 2 1/2 minutes per 9.png. That's 2 hours and 26 minutes of solid time spent using draw9patch. I could have done these in probably 35 minutes tops if the program was more user friendly and had the above stated actions.
Attention moderator(s). If this video can be embedded, please correct it.
Well as I am fairly new to the .9 drawing itself, can you please explain the general idea and workflow?
I know that those lines and pixels are used to determine what in the image is stretchable and what not.
And I have another question:
You say that the new too lneeds to be based on the old one... What do you mean exactly with that sentence?
Is there any special kind of problem doing these .9 files? Or is it just drawing the lines and then saving the file as a normal png?
Diamondback2010 said:
Well as I am fairly new to the .9 drawing itself, can you please explain the general idea and workflow?
I know that those lines and pixels are used to determine what in the image is stretchable and what not.
And I have another question:
You say that the new too lneeds to be based on the old one... What do you mean exactly with that sentence?
Is there any special kind of problem doing these .9 files? Or is it just drawing the lines and then saving the file as a normal png?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for dropping in Diamondback! Draw9patch places a one pixel border around the PNG. The border is used to place black pixels in areas the png will stretch.
My workflow consist of making the png from scratch in CS5 (Adobe Photoshop) then saving the image as a png. That PNG is then places into draw9patch for editing. I place the pixels around the border as needed then save the work in draw9patch. Draw9patch automatically saves the png as a .9.png.
The .9.png is in it's raw decompiled format. Which means, the pixels are still visible. The only way to hide the outer border is to place the .9.png into either Eclipse (Instructions found here on my thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1140034
Or XUltimate draw9patch compiler(reference: xeudoxus). Website:
http://www.droidforums.net/forum/xeudoxus/47283-release-xultimate.html
Both of the programs will compile the .9.png which then can be used in any apk. XUltimate's being the quickest and easiest to use by far.
What the new draw9patch needs:
"The new Tool needs to be based on the old on." Really, I just need to be able to see how the png will look when my pixels on the border are added. When you drop a png into draw9patch, you'll know what I'm talking about. Aside from that, it's basic functions would be nice. Such as,
1) Show lock
2) Show Patches
3) Show content
4) Zoom
5) The drop and drag png's into the program
6) MOST IMPORTANTLY a faster way to draw the pixel border around the png. An example of this would be to hold shift down and select the beginning point and end point of where a pixel line should be place.
If it could compile itself upon saving, that would be another great feature to add.
There's really no kind of problem with doing .9.png's other than the draw9patch program we are forced to use is a dinosaur and lacks efficiency. Hundred's of Devs and themers use draw9patch on a daily basis. This product alone would be valuable to anyone needing a more efficient tool. With that said, I'm sure themers like myself would gladly pay to use a more efficient program.
raider3bravo said:
Thanks for dropping in Diamondback! Draw9patch places a one pixel border around the PNG. The border is used to place black pixels in areas the png will stretch.
My workflow consist of making the png from scratch in CS5 (Adobe Photoshop) then saving the image as a png. That PNG is then places into draw9patch for editing. I place the pixels around the border as needed then save the work in draw9patch. Draw9patch automatically saves the png as a .9.png.
The .9.png is in it's raw decompiled format. Which means, the pixels are still visible. The only way to hide the outer border is to place the .9.png into either Eclipse (Instructions found here on my thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1140034
Or XUltimate draw9patch compiler(reference: xeudoxus). Website:
http://www.droidforums.net/forum/xeudoxus/47283-release-xultimate.html
Both of the programs will compile the .9.png which then can be used in any apk. XUltimate's being the quickest and easiest to use by far.
What the new draw9patch needs:
"The new Tool needs to be based on the old on." Really, I just need to be able to see how the png will look when my pixels on the border are added. When you drop a png into draw9patch, you'll know what I'm talking about. Aside from that, it's basic functions would be nice. Such as,
1) Show lock
2) Show Patches
3) Show content
4) Zoom
5) The drop and drag png's into the program
6) MOST IMPORTANTLY a faster way to draw the pixel border around the png. An example of this would be to hold shift down and select the beginning point and end point of where a pixel line should be place.
If it could compile itself upon saving, that would be another great feature to add.
There's really no kind of problem with doing .9.png's other than the draw9patch program we are forced to use is a dinosaur and lacks efficiency. Hundred's of Devs and themers use draw9patch on a daily basis. This product alone would be valuable to anyone needing a more efficient tool. With that said, I'm sure themers like myself would gladly pay to use a more efficient program.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hm, okay so the only real "work" is drawing lines around the image, okay.
I wonder if those lines are really needed? Does the final (compiled) image somehow has those lines too?
Or are the lines only an easy way to tell the compiler what to do?
Would it be possible choose another way of "marking" those areas instead of lines if we create a different compiler?
What about the sources of the compilers? Are they opensource?
Edit: Actually the biggest problem would be the preview... But I see that this is the most important part too
Diamondback2010 said:
Hm, okay so the only real "work" is drawing lines around the image, okay.
I wonder if those lines are really needed? Does the final (compiled) image somehow has those lines too?
Or are the lines only an easy way to tell the compiler what to do?
Would it be possible choose another way of "marking" those areas instead of lines if we create a different compiler?
What about the sources of the compilers? Are they opensource?
Edit: Actually the biggest problem would be the preview... But I see that this is the most important part too
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The lines are exactly what you say. They aid in telling the compiler which way to stretch the png. Sometimes if you have complex png's like I do, you have to be very specific on where you place the pixels. The same problem remains though, the bottom pixels and the right pixels take the longest.
If the compiler was modified to to automatically place these borders in a specific place each time, it would lead to png's that may not look as intended. For example:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
The screen shot on the left shows several of my buttons. Look specifically at the button with the words "Set" & "Cancel". These buttons require very specific pixel alignment on the bottom of the png which tells where to place the text. If it were on the entire bottom portion of the button it may lead to text running over parts of my graphic where I didn't intend it.
I'm not sure if the compilers are opensource. I would talk to the dev that made XUltimate.
**Adding the ability to select multiple pixels at the same time with the current program in place is the ideal solution.
I would love thus as well. Now while I don't mind hold the mouse button and dragging the pointer down to draw the line instead of the single click method it would be so much easier with making 2 points and then having the rest get filled in.
I would love to work on that project here but actually I don't have enough time to code and maintain two projects ( of which is one way bigger than everybody thinks)...
So maybe someone else can join me?
We do have several "harder" tasks to do:
Crerate an engine which can generate the patches fro mthe patch lines
Something that can work with the patch lines to show the previews
The user interface needs to be easy to work with
I would code that with C# and WPF, so if we have some talented experienced .NET WPF devs here it would be cool to make a little team
Alternative to using draw9patch
Here's a alternative method I uncovered using Adobe Photoshop.
1.Drag and drop png's into Adobe Photoshop instead of Draw9patch
2.Increase canvass size by 2w and 2h.
3. Use the pen tool to make your corrections like you would in draw9patch.
4. Convert pen tool by right clicking on the line you created and select stroke path/pencil/ok
5. Delete the path
6. save the png as .9.png
7. Compile
Here's video on how. For now, it's the best alternative to draw9patch.
This process alone has saved me hours of time. Especially, on large png's.
http://youtu.be/kwpQ8A9r_Zo
Updated 12-16-11. Someone out of Korea just created an awesome draw 9 patch program. It's a must see. Link here.
http://fly-elex.tistory.com/m/entry/the-9-patch-builder
Hello,
I just make a new id in xda to let you know that
I made an alternative 9 patch tool with Java.
And you can download it from my blog.
(sorry, it says that i shouldn't link external ... oh.. i'll attach the '.jar' file.)
Please try it. Thank you.
DOWNLOAD FROM HERE
Elex_kr said:
Hello,
I just make a new id in xda to let you know that
I made an alternative 9 patch tool with Java.
And you can download it from my blog.
(sorry, it says that i shouldn't link external ... oh.. i'll attach the '.jar' file.)
Please try it. Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome work Elex_kr! Downloading now. This could change the entire Theme Community/rooted community. Good work. I'll report back soon.
Updated:
WOW! This is a must have Themer tool. Very nice job. Thanks for posting your initial link on my Youtube video. Very much appreciated, your donation has been sent!
Newly updated!!!
Following is your requirements.
1) Show the outer line pixel being drawn. It really helps to see it being draw9 out. This is a must. The shading you designed helps but it will help much more if we see the border being drawn.
2) Your program draws the line from one end to one end. The original draw9patch leaves at least one pixel at each corner. Have you experienced any problems with your .9.png’s being designed like this?
3) Can you add a copy button or port button to allow the image to be immediately opened up in the old draw9patch editor so we can see how the image stretched? Or at least make it super easy for us to save the path to our draw9patch program from command prompt then press a button to have the image created in your program transfer over to draw9patch.
4) Create a transparent border around the png. With your latest release, there’s only a transparent border on the left and right. The top and bottom should also have a little buffer room to make things equal.
5) A save as button would be nice so we can direct the image to a folder where we want our work to be saved. Even better, give us an option to create a default work folder where our .9.png’s are saved.
6) This is of course much more difficult but would be a nice feature. Being able to compile the .9.png upon save. That would save some time. That would for sure be the icing on the cake.
DOWNLOAD FROM HERE
------------------------------------------------------
I think I solved 1) ~ 5).
And 6) will be available on next release.
Please, check attached file.
And thanks for your donation!
FINALLY a New Draw9patch Program
Elex_kr said:
Following is your requirements.
1) Show the outer line pixel being drawn. It really helps to see it being draw9 out. This is a must. The shading you designed helps but it will help much more if we see the border being drawn.
2) Your program draws the line from one end to one end. The original draw9patch leaves at least one pixel at each corner. Have you experienced any problems with your .9.png’s being designed like this?
3) Can you add a copy button or port button to allow the image to be immediately opened up in the old draw9patch editor so we can see how the image stretched? Or at least make it super easy for us to save the path to our draw9patch program from command prompt then press a button to have the image created in your program transfer over to draw9patch.
4) Create a transparent border around the png. With your latest release, there’s only a transparent border on the left and right. The top and bottom should also have a little buffer room to make things equal.
5) A save as button would be nice so we can direct the image to a folder where we want our work to be saved. Even better, give us an option to create a default work folder where our .9.png’s are saved.
6) This is of course much more difficult but would be a nice feature. Being able to compile the .9.png upon save. That would save some time. That would for sure be the icing on the cake.
------------------------------------------------------
I think I solved 1) ~ 5).
And 6) will be available on next release.
Please, check attached file.
And thanks for your donation!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WOW. Your work is amazing and SPOT ON
I really enjoy having the push button that exports the 9.png to the old draw9patch, I'm impressed. The lines around the png certainly helps along with having an even buffer around the image. I'm very excited for the next release.
Up until now, theming .9.png's have been a serious pain and very time consuming. Another donation sent just now...as promised! Thank you sir. We all look forward to the next release.
This looks awesome guys. I cannot wait to give it a try.
Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk
Hey D! Thanks for the linky. I just got back from honeymoon
TO imbed youtube...........
Use the YOUTUBE Tags with this in between: 2Wvw1aNXRw4
[youtube ]2Wvw1aNXRw4[/youtube ]
no spaces in between brackets yield this:
now, you can drop '.9.png'.
as you know,
it's been a massively complicated calculating job..
i hope you could test it and report me some bug, if any.
and some 'preview' would be available on next release.
merry christmas~
DOWNLOAD FROM HERE
Elex_kr said:
as you know,
it's been a massively complicated calculating job..
i hope you could test it and report me some bug, if any.
and some 'preview' would be available on next release.
merry christmas~
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So far, so good. The "Center" feature you added saves a lot of time. That's a very nice feature to have.
Here's a thought.
1) Add a "New Project/New" button so we don't have to close the program to start a new project.
2) Batch open and save, based on your "Center" feature you added. I'm sure we couldn't use this feature on all our .9.png's but the majority of the buttons all use the same "center" feature you added.
1) I couldn't understand why 'new' is needed. Is there any difference between dropping new image on a workspace? Please explain more..
2) Processing entire images inside a folder with same values, good idea! I'd better let it an additional function for a paid version.
Thank you for your ideas!
+ 1
raider3bravo said:
Here's a alternative method I uncovered using Adobe Photoshop.
1.Drag and drop png's into Adobe Photoshop instead of Draw9patch
2.Increase canvass size by 2w and 2h.
3. Use the pen tool to make your corrections like you would in draw9patch.
4. Convert pen tool by right clicking on the line you created and select stroke path/pencil/ok
5. Delete the path
6. save the png as .9.png
7. Compile
I was just about to suggest this same thing, however I use gimp.
But the process is exactly the same except I only add a 1 pixel border usually.
You then select that border so you don't affect the rest of the image when drawing your lines.
You must be good at 9 patching to use this method but after spending so much time with the android 9 patch tool like you said it should be a easy for you.
I don't think it could ever really get easier than this.
I swear I have seen a tutorial a long time ago when I was getting started that showed a guy doing exactly as you described by drawing the lines by hitting shift. I was never able to figure it out.
I am going to try your tool Elex_kr
It sounds very promising.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Elex_kr said:
Following is your requirements.
1) Show the outer line pixel being drawn. It really helps to see it being draw9 out. This is a must. The shading you designed helps but it will help much more if we see the border being drawn.
2) Your program draws the line from one end to one end. The original draw9patch leaves at least one pixel at each corner. Have you experienced any problems with your .9.png’s being designed like this?
3) Can you add a copy button or port button to allow the image to be immediately opened up in the old draw9patch editor so we can see how the image stretched? Or at least make it super easy for us to save the path to our draw9patch program from command prompt then press a button to have the image created in your program transfer over to draw9patch.
4) Create a transparent border around the png. With your latest release, there’s only a transparent border on the left and right. The top and bottom should also have a little buffer room to make things equal.
5) A save as button would be nice so we can direct the image to a folder where we want our work to be saved. Even better, give us an option to create a default work folder where our .9.png’s are saved.
6) This is of course much more difficult but would be a nice feature. Being able to compile the .9.png upon save. That would save some time. That would for sure be the icing on the cake.
------------------------------------------------------
I think I solved 1) ~ 5).
And 6) will be available on next release.
Please, check attached file.
And thanks for your donation!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would like to say thank you. I don't think clicking the button is good enough. Thank you for improving the infrastructure of development tools.
Awesome, awesome, awesome work. Every time I have to use draw9patch I'm reminded of how long it takes to do such a simple task. Can't thank you enough for the work you've done on this!
Return to Contents Page - doubleshot Developers Reference
----
Part 1: This thread.
Part 2: Edit .9.png files for the MT4GS - step-by-step.
Part 3: Edit Mode10 Files for the MT4GS - step-by-step
--------
In today's workshop we are going to learn how to make changes to the Sense Lockring for the doubleshot.
What you need:
1 - HtcLockScreen.apk from the ( Sense ) ROM you are making it for.
2 - 7-Zip installed and ready.
3 - Photoshop ( or equivalent - directions for photoshop ) installed and ready.
4 - Time, interest, and creativity.
* - Guide written for a Windows XP machine, please adjust accordingly if your environment is different.
--------
Okay - the first thing I want you to do is go to this thread:
Customize Sense 3.0 Lock Ring and read the first and second post completely.
Don't download anything or try to play along, just read it.
When you get to the bottom of post 1, click thanks if you intend to customize your lockring. Ditto on clicking thanks at the bottom of post 2 in that thread if you intend to inscribe text on your Lockring.
Once you have read and thanked the author for both of those posts, come back here and see how much easier it is to do this on the MT4GS then it's sister device.
--------
Preparation: Setup.
Now that you have a rough idea of what you have to do, forget about the .m10 tools, fusion.apk, and everything else except for the requirements I listed at the top of this post. Easier already, huh?
First things first - let's set up our dev environment.
1 - Go to your computer desktop, right click and make a new folder. Call this folder "LockringEdits".
2 - Place your HtcLockScreen.apk file in the "LockringEdits" folder.
3 - Open the "LockringEdits" folder, and create two new folders in it. Call one "LockringOriginal" and the other one "Lockring001".
4 - Right click on the HtcLockScreen.apk file and choose "copy" from the menu.
5 - Open the "LockringOriginal" folder, and then right-click in an empty area of the folder and select "paste" from the options menu. Once pasted, go back up one level to the "LockringEdits" main folder.
6 - Repeat step 4, then step 5 again pasting into the "Lockring001" folder instead.
7 - Stop.
Recap setup:
We now have 3 copies of our HtcLockScreen.apk file in 3 different folders.
- The "LockringOriginal" folder is a backup of our HtcLockScreen.apk file and you hopefully won't have to go in there at all, but just in case you need it it's there.
- The "Lockring001" folder is where we will actually be working on our first Lockring, and has the HtcLockScreen.apk file we are going to edit.
- The "LockringEdit" main folder this project is in also has a copy of HtcLockScreen, so when you make your next project folder ( 002 ) you have a fresh file to copy into it.
--------
Make sure you have 7-zip and Photoshop installed, and you have rebooted your computer after the install, before moving on with this project.
Now that we have our project folders set up, time to get down to business. We are going to extract the graphics we are going to change, change them, and then add them back into the .apk file.
Easy, right? Yep - and here's how:
--------
Part 1: Extraction.
1 - Navigate to the "Lockring001" folder if you aren't in it already.
2 - Right click on HtcLockScreen.apk - highlight the "7-Zip" menu option, and when the next menu pops up choose "Open archive".
*Note: Just "Open archive" NOT the option with another menu of choices.
2A - You should now have a window open that shows the contents of the HtcLockScreen.apk file.
3 - Double-left-click the "res" folder, and then double-left-click the "drawable-hdpi" folder.
4 - Scroll down the list until you see "lockscreen_ring.png" and left-click once and hold to drag it out of the .apk file and drop it in the "Lockring001" folder.
4A - Also scroll down the list and find "lockscreen_ring_highlight.png" and drag that out of the .apk file and into the "Lockring001" folder as well.
4B - Close the 7-Zip window.
5 - Stop.
--------
You should now see in the "Lockring001" folder 3 files:
- HtcLockScreen.apk
- lockscreen_ring.png
- lockscreen_ring_highlight.png
Switch your view of this folder to "thumbnails" so you can see what the pictures look like while they are sitting in the folder.
--------
Part 2: Coloring.
1 - Open photoshop. Once it loads up, go to file->open and open each of the .png files one at a time.
2 - Position them in the Photoshop window so they sit next to each other and you can see them both.
3 - Click in the "lockscreen_ring.png" window, and then go up to and click "Image" in the menu at the top of your Photoshop window. Highlight "Mode" and make sure that "RGB Color" and "8 bits/channel" are both checked. If not, make them so.
3A - Do the same for "lockscreen_ring_highlight.png".
4 - Click back on the "lockscreen_ring.png" window to bring it into focus.
5 - Go back up to "Image" in the menu at the top of your Photoshop window. Highlight "Adjustments" and then select "Color Balance" from the menu.
6 - In the window that pops up, make sure "Midtones" is selected at the bottom, then grab the middle slider and drag it all the way to "Green".
The middle text box at the top of the color balance window should now read "+100" and the lock ring itself should be a semi see-through green.
( If not, make sure the "preview" option is checked in the color balance window to see your changes in real-time before making them. )
7 - Select "OK" in the color balance window, and then save the colored lockring.
8 - Repeat steps 5 to 7 for "lockscreen_ring_highlight.png".
9 - Close Photoshop after having saved both pictures, and navigate back to the "Lockring001" folder if not there already.
10 - Stop.
--------
Part 3: Replacing the graphics.
You should now have two green lockring pictures in the "Lockring001" folder next to the HtcLockScreen.apk file.
We are almost done, we just have to add these graphics back in to the HtcLockScreen.apk file to finish it off. Do that by:
1 - Right click on HtcLockScreen.apk - highlight the "7-Zip" menu option, and when the next menu pops up choose "Open archive".
*Note: Just "Open archive" NOT the option with another menu of choices.
1A - You should now have a window open that shows the contents of the HtcLockScreen.apk file.
2 - Double-left-click the "res" folder, and then double-left-click the "drawable-hdpi" folder.
3 - Select both of the edited graphics in the "Lockring001" folder, and then drag them into the 7-Zip window. Make sure you are in the "drawable-hdpi" folder in the 7-Zip window before doing so.
4 - Confirm the file copy, let it copy, and then close the 7-Zip window when it's done.
That's it!
You have now successfully changed the color of your Lockring for the Sense doubleshot ROM you got the HtclockScreen.apk file from.
The only thing left to do is get the HtcLockScreen.apk file on the device, and replace the one already on it in /system/app. Once that's done, you can enjoy your new custom colored lockring!
--------
Part 4: Engraving.
Now that we've learned that coloring the lockring is pretty easy, especially compared to the hoops they had to jump through on the Sensation to do the same thing, let's look at engraving some text on the lockring.
Again, we have it easy. Unlike on the Sensation, our lockring is right-side up and facing the right way. You can just type your text as normal over it and it'll be just right.
Repeat the steps from above to extract and load the two lockring graphic files into Photoshop.
Type your text over the first lockring, bend it and position it so it looks good on the ring.
Then follow this quote from the Sensation lockring guide:
mohit1234 said:
Engrave on the Lock Ring
Open the lock ring in Photoshop.
Click on the TYPE TOOL in the sidebar on the left and type the text you want to engrave.
On the right sidebar, right click on the layer with your text and click on blending options.
Select inner shadow and input the following settings:-
Blend Mode = Multiply
Color = Black
Angle = 30
Use Global Light box ticked
Opacity = 75%
Distance = 5px
Choke = 7%
Size = 5px
Then select bevel and emboss and input the following settings:-
Style = Outer Bevel
Technique = Chisel Hard
Depth = 1000%
Direction = Up
Size = 0px
Soften = 16px
Angle = 30
Altitude = 30
Use Global Light box ticked
Highlight mode = Screen
Color of Highlight Mode = White
Opacity = 75%
Shadow mode = Multiply
Color of Shadow mode = black
Opacity = 75%
Click OK and save the file as a PNG file.
There will be a popup asking whether you want the PNG to be interlaced or not. Choose none.
Change the color of the Lock Ring
Open the lock ring in Photoshop.
From the top menu, go to Image ---> Adjustments ---> Variations.
A window will open up.
In the window that just opened, move the pointer towards Coarse.
You can now select the color that you want.
You can also adjust the pointer between fine and coarse depending on the color you wish to achieve.
There are also options of Light and Dark which will also help to get the desired color.
After you've changed the color, click on save and save it as a PNG file.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
...and that's basically it.
The only other thing you have to do is go back to the Sensation lockring tutorial and click thanks on both the first and second posts - because that tutorial made your life a whole lot easier.
--------
Conclusion & Thoughts:
Now that it's pretty plain out there how to make changes to the lockring on a Sense ROM for the doubleshot, i'm looking forward to seeing what the rest of you come up with.
I am not such a fan of graphics work, i'd rather be coding, but there are certainly some very talented and creatively artistic people floating around here.
Experiment, try different things, figure out how to make different shapes, and come up with some cool stuff.
I found out how to change the color of the ring on my own while I was overhauling the graphics on my ROM, I just decompiled and went through every app one at a time and changed any graphics file I could find to see what happened.
On a lark I searched for lockrings on XDA to see what was out there after I got my rainbow of colors, and found the Sensation lockring tutorial that taught me how to engrave them and a healthy appreciation for how easy it was to edit the lockrings on our device.
- ...and yes, you did just learn how to edit just about any graphic in any .apk file you come across on the device.
- If you want to start using this information to edit other graphics on your phone, DO NOT EDIT any .9.png graphics you find in this manner. You must use a completely different approach and actually de-compile and re-compile the .apk you take them from for them to work right.
See this thread: Edit .9.png files for the MT4GS - step-by-step. for .9.png files.
Other then that, just about anything else is fair game.
I tried to make the guide as simple as possible, aimed at someone with little-to-no photoshop knowledge or 7-Zip experience. All you need is an interest in doing it, and the tools to do so - the how is right here.
Here's the door, wide open, and I can't wait to see what happens when some of you walk through it.
Happy modding!
Edit - also - some graphics packages ( Like boot animations ) need to be placed back into the archives or archived without being compressed. The drag and drop method of using 7-Zip to do this will compress those images and then the file won't work anymore.
If you start messing with more graphics then the lockring explained above - just make sure to look at the information in the 7-Zip window before you remove it. It'll show you the actual size and compressed size - if they are both the same then you need to make sure it gets back into the archive without being compressed.
I use winrar for that function, I like it and it forces me to realize what graphics are compressed or not because I use a different program to deal with ones that aren't.
Your mileage may vary, but that works great for me, and is a good suggestion for others.
--------
EDIT: 12/16/2011
Lockscreen_ring.png
This is the graphic that shows when you need to grab it, so when the lockring is at rest on the lockscreen.
Lockscreen_ring_highlight.png
This is the graphic that is used to make it grow and appear to fly out of the phone at you once it is activated.
If the two graphics are not lined up the same in the .png files, you will have bugs.
Thus far the only bug i've encountered is that the screen turns off as it's booting - easily solved by just hitting the power or trackpad buttons to get it on again.
There may be other bugs that have not been found yet - it is recommended to keep both .png files with the graphics in the same place, and not one lower and the other higher. I am not sure what happens if you use two different graphics.
Also:
I have noticed no impact on the lock ring when you change the hidden .m10 lockring graphic in fusion.apk
What I have noticed is changing this graphic makes fusion.apk a bit buggy, and lags the system.
At this time it is still recommended to ignore the fusion.apk file altogether as mentioned at the top of this posting.
--------
Make sure to browse the first few posts after this one in the thread, some more in-depth and helpful explanations of the process and particulars is there.
aad4321 said:
Y u no have picture?!?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I suppose I could take screenshots at each step of the process and work them into the guide...
I've still got a few more tutorials to type up and some work to do on my ROM, so i'll get around to doing that but it's not something i'm in a big hurry to do.
I tried to make sure to over-exaggerate the explanations to make the guide crystal clear for someone to follow, as this is part 1 of 3 and I wanted to target people who have little to no experience and walk them through it. That hopefully sets them up to be able to take advantage of the other two parts after they get finished and written.
I'll link all 3 together once they are done.
Edit: For the time being if you want to see what the lockring looks like in different colors, here's the picture I posted in my ROM thread for the different lockring mod packages I made for it:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
... which shows different colors and with text engraved.
There is actually text on both the top and bottom of the lockring, and when you pull it up you can see what's on the bottom.
( Just my handle, for the curious. I'm not so vain as to make that what you see on the top half of the lockring. )
Some more examples:
Misc Lockring 000
md5 = 78bc3cb1cd705f7971d937b82af5c033
Original Art - Blue6IX
Non circle design:
Batman Lockring 005
md5 = cf8c6ccc230dcfb7b547db08ffbeb279
Graphic Source
*Note - flashing these two examples will also change your lockscreen icons to Bulletproof Green.
Wu Tang Lock Rings
I haven't had much chance to test, but throwing them up anyway.
Possibly a little glitchy, I was just testing this tutorial to see if I can get it to work.
(Alpha & Ring Sizes I think need to be tweaked, I may have overlooked the Ring heights - hence they maybe a little too short.)
I am happy to rework any of these if anyone wants em cleaner.
Enjoy
5 Wu tang Rings in one zip, extract them and flash them singularly/individually at will.
DL Link = http://www.megaupload.com/?d=TXW8229A
The plunge - someone has taken it!
Looks pretty happy, now we're getting somewhere
I gotta run out for a bit, but when I get back i'm gonna download them and try them out.
One thing I forgot to mention is that the image size is:
244 pixels
by
243 pixels
If anything is bigger it just gets cut off, but it'll still work fine.
Even if they end up being too low and you can't see them on the lockscreen, you can drag from anywhere on-screen to pull it up, you don't have to touch the graphic.
Keep 'em coming!
Blue6IX said:
The plunge - someone has taken it!
Looks pretty happy, now we're getting somewhere
I gotta run out for a bit, but when I get back i'm gonna download them and try them out.
One thing I forgot to mention is that the image size is:
244 pixels
by
243 pixels
If anything is bigger it just gets cut off, but it'll still work fine.
Even if they end up being too low and you can't see them on the lockscreen, you can drag from anywhere on-screen to pull it up, you don't have to touch the graphic.
Keep 'em coming!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeap, I note the sizes (244 by 243 when extracting your original .png files... However these wu images are more oval then round, hence I retained the width at 244, but lost some height trying preserve aspect ratio.)
You're wright, the rings are still useable however slightly too short (hence not as visible as a perfect 244 by 243 ring.)
Defo gonna rework these & make moreeeeeee.
Great simple tutorial, with the necessary programs, I can knock these rings out in like less then 5mins having found a nice graphic to work with.)
Forgot to hit Thanks, will do when back on PC.
Sent from my Bulletproof_Doubleshot using XDA App
You might want to download one of my oval-shaped batman logo lockrings from the Bulletproof thread - they suffer from the same issue.
What I did was make them sit higher on both graphics, instead of centered.
This shows them above the bottom of the screen before you touch them.
One thing to note, though, is that the animation that makes it fly towards you getting bigger on the unlock becomes off-center as well. If you raise it too high it just pops up near the top of the screen and becomes much less visually impressive.
Because Photoshop lets you use layers, I left the original lockring and pasted my new graphic over it, then moved it around using the original graphic as a guide to get it positioned well.
Once I had it where I wanted it, I simply clicked the layer underneath for the original graphic and deleted it, leaving only my newly pasted and aligned image.
Let me actually grab a quick screenie to show you what I mean - give me a few mins to get it edited in.
Edit:
Broke my screenshot function on my computer for the moment - so took a pic with the MT4GS camera - sorry about that.
Here you can see how I positioned it, kind of a happy medium of getting it higher on the graphic but not too high:
Then click on the layer for the grey ring, select delete, and it's all set.
Here is what it looks like in action:
Edit again:
For the sake of convenience, i'm posting the download info for the lockring made of the graphic pictured in the photoshop window just above, that way people can easily download an example of what the picture is showing after it's finished.
Batman Lockring 001
md5 = c6b1efd118ab0e8d6b4e1beaa42b4ffb
Graphic Source
*Note - flashing this example will also change your lockscreen icons to Bulletproof Green.
Blue6IX said:
You might want to download one of my oval-shaped batman logo lockrings from the Bulletproof thread - they suffer from the same issue.
What I did was make them sit higher on both graphics, instead of centered.
This shows them above the bottom of the screen before you touch them.
One thing to note, though, is that the animation that makes it fly towards you getting bigger on the unlock becomes off-center as well. If you raise it too high it just pops up near the top of the screen and becomes much less visually impressive.
Because Photoshop lets you use layers, I left the original lockring and pasted my new graphic over it, then moved it around using the original graphic as a guide to get it positioned well.
Once I had it where I wanted it, I simply clicked the layer underneath for the original graphic and deleted it, leaving only my newly pasted and aligned image.
Let me actually grab a quick screenie to show you what I mean - give me a few mins to get it edited in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like it, that's very useful info. Great concept in prepping the positioning with layers - niiice!
Sent from my Bulletproof_Doubleshot using XDA App
dillalade said:
I like it, that's very useful info. Great concept in prepping the positioning with layers - niiice!
Sent from my Bulletproof_Doubleshot using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The hardest thing about writing up tutorials is communicating all the minor details.
It's easy to take for granted the knowledge that you have, like using layers together for example - for people who don't or haven't spent much time using a particular tool what is obvious to someone is not to someone else.
I'm glad i'm starting to get people just diving in and making stuff, because all the little things that didn't get mentioned get brought up and explained.
No matter how hard you try to cover all your bases, you'll always forget something.
I'm going to give this a try as soon as I finish getting BulletProof 1.1 set up properly and the corresponding backups made. (I have an older but still very uasable version of Photoshop around here somewhere) But I DID want to take a second and thank you for all your hard work on this ROM that runs sooooo smoothly but not only that....I want to commend you on your selfless desire to teach the rest of us about what you are doing internally with your phases of programming on this ROM. Other experienced programers, I'm Sure, appreciate your efforts on this ROM as well as your other work Blue but I HOPE that a few others will follow your lead in the role of teacher that you have taken on SO well. That alone, is appreciated beyond simple words by those of us that have always had an interest in programming, graphics, modeling, etc.... but have never seen a valid starting point before now. Your detailed explainations along with the open source nature of Linux is an inspiration that makes many (I am sure) reevaluate the possibility of it being within more people's grasps that before now have only sat in awe of the ability of real programmers like yourself. Have you ever given any thought to teaching computer programming at a college for pay so that you could get paid for what you undoubtably LOVE and that give you more time than you now have for you research?? I just HAD to ask.....and THANK YOU again.
WeekendsR2Short said:
... Have you ever given any thought to teaching computer programming at a college for pay so that you could get paid for what you undoubtably LOVE and that give you more time than you now have for you research?? I just HAD to ask.....and THANK YOU again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as being paid money to teach people...not too interested in that at this point in my life. It would twist my desire to do so into something else altogether. I prefer to give freely and help others advance who are willing to invest the time and effort to do so.
Thank you so much! ^^^
hi, do you know how to edit the shortcut icon container? I'm using MikXe sense 3.6 rom and can't find where to edit that, thanks.
Can anyone repost some pics I would like to make my lock ring a chevy emblem thanks in adv.
Hi, everyone. Our team has recently developed a screenshot app for Android OS. It doesn’t require rooting your phone. I post it here, hoping you can give us some advice to make it better for you to use.
Download the app from Google play.
Main functions:
1. Screenshot regional or full webpages with its built-in browser.
2. Edit image. You can crop image, annotate it with lines, arrows, texts, mosaics, etc.
3. Drawing board to take down your inspiration at any time.
4. Upload and share images directly.
5. Provide QR code scanner.
We appreciate any suggestions. Help us to make it become one of the best apps you like. Thanks!
After some time, we have improved this screenshot app a lot.
New features:
1. Take screenshot with Power + Volume down/Home keys.
2. Take screenshot with overlay icon on Android 5.0 and higher.
3. Customize save directory for screenshots.
4. Upload screenshot to free cloud storage and get link to it.
5. Choose format for screenshots, PNG and JPG.
i will try out your app
I want to introduce my new image editor bevore I will release it on F-Droid and Play Store. The app is fully Open Source. And needs no unnecessary permissions (only write on storage to save the edited pictures). It's lightweight (< 5 mb), clean, easy to use and nice looking.
Features:
adjustments: brightness, gamma, saturation, ...
filter: sepia, monochrome, invert, poster, comic, ...
add text: add, resize and rote text
crop: crop, rotate or flip the image
Privacy:
permissions: only "read and write on sd-card"
dependencies: no Google dependencies
sending user data: no user data will be collected and send to any other servers.
"FOSS Image Editor" doesn't have permission to use the internet
To achieve this, I'm using several libraries (see in the About --> license dialog). I will only add new features, when it doesn't make to much trouble. In the best case there's a library to achieve the implementation of new features. So please test "FOSS Image Editor" and give your feedback. The Open Source Community is depending on users, who share their experience.
Changelog:
### v 0.3:
- new: custom crop
- new: hide app icon from launcher
### v 0.2:
- new: warning when overwriting original image
- new: changelog and license file on Github
- updated: help dialog
- improved: quality of saved pictures
- fix: remain original file extension
Regards
Gaukler Faun
Screenshots
Here are some screenshots:
Thank you. This is indeed simple, clean, and very useful.
Would you consider supporting PNG ? Now they can be read and imported, but the output of the edited image is JPG.
Ultramanoid said:
Thank you. This is indeed simple, clean, and very useful.
Would you consider supporting PNG ? Now they can be read and imported, but the output of the edited image is JPG.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the feedback. At the moment I'm on vacation, but I will look when I'm back home.:highfive:
Warning - critical bug:
If you save a picture at the moment, it will be saved only in low resolution. So don't overwrite your original pictures. I'm on vacation so it will take a while until I can look into the issue. I updated the OP.
Some of my holiday pictures have now a size of ~ 150 kb. Therefore they had a size > 2 mb.
Update v 0.2
The saving issue is now solved. Thanks for your patience. Download in the first post.
Changelog v 0.2:
- new: warning when overwriting original image
- new: changelog and license file on Github
- updated: help dialog
- improved: quality of saved pictures
- fix: remain original file extension
Gaukler_Faun said:
Update v 0.2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With this latest version picking an image immediately crashes the application... ( The previous one doesn't. )
Code:
FATAL EXCEPTION: AsyncTask #1
Process: de.aosd.fossimageeditor, PID: 4351
java.lang.RuntimeException: An error occurred while executing doInBackground()
at android.os.AsyncTask$3.done(AsyncTask.java:325)
at java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.finishCompletion(FutureTask.java:354)
at java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.setException(FutureTask.java:223)
at java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.run(FutureTask.java:242)
at android.os.AsyncTask$SerialExecutor$1.run(AsyncTask.java:243)
at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:1133)
at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:607)
at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:761)
Caused by: java.lang.IllegalStateException: Couldn't read row 0, col 0 from CursorWindow. Make sure the Cursor is initialized correctly before accessing data from it.
at android.database.CursorWindow.nativeGetLong(Native Method)
at android.database.CursorWindow.getLong(CursorWindow.java:511)
at android.database.CursorWindow.getInt(CursorWindow.java:578)
at android.database.AbstractWindowedCursor.getInt(AbstractWindowedCursor.java:69)
at android.database.CursorWrapper.getInt(CursorWrapper.java:122)
at jp.co.cyberagent.android.gpuimage.GPUImage$LoadImageUriTask.getImageOrientation(GPUImage.java:526)
at jp.co.cyberagent.android.gpuimage.GPUImage$LoadImageTask.rotateImage(GPUImage.java:695)
at jp.co.cyberagent.android.gpuimage.GPUImage$LoadImageTask.loadResizedImage(GPUImage.java:623)
at jp.co.cyberagent.android.gpuimage.GPUImage$LoadImageTask.doInBackground(GPUImage.java:589)
at jp.co.cyberagent.android.gpuimage.GPUImage$LoadImageTask.doInBackground(GPUImage.java:565)
at android.os.AsyncTask$2.call(AsyncTask.java:305)
at java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.run(FutureTask.java:237)
Ultramanoid said:
With this latest version picking an image immediately crashes the application... ( The previous one doesn't. )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems, that the image you want to open isn't scanned by the media scanner. Here a few questions:
This happens always, when you try to load an image via the build in menu?
With every image?
Dies it also happen, when you "share" the same picture to the editor?
Does rebooting the phone solve the issue?
Gaukler_Faun said:
It seems, that the image you want to open isn't scanned by the media scanner. Here a few questions:
This happens always, when you try to load an image via the build in menu?
With every image?
Dies it also happen, when you "share" the same picture to the editor?
Does rebooting the phone solve the issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the quick reply. So, answering every question.
# Yes, always, any image, jpg and png, any path, opening from the menu.
# Yes, also shared from another application, file manager or image viewer.
# Working with the smartphone and it's my internet connection right now with hotspot for several devices, so I can't restart it. I triggered just a media provider restart if that was the purpose of your question, but did not change anything.
Edit : There's one one way it will not crash. If I pick using Android's default file picker ( the one part of the OS, DocumentsUI ), then it works.
Edit 2 : It works with Ghost Commander, too. So I guess it works depending on the application. Problems with FX file manager for instance and Simple Mobile's Gallery.
Feature request: Could you add a freeform draw option? It would really come in handy.
Thanks
Ultramanoid said:
Thanks for the quick reply. So, answering every question.
# Yes, always, any image, jpg and png, any path, opening from the menu.
# Yes, also shared from another application, file manager or image viewer.
# Working with the smartphone and it's my internet connection right now with hotspot for several devices, so I can't restart it. I triggered just a media provider restart if that was the purpose of your question, but did not change anything.
Edit : There's one one way it will not crash. If I pick using Android's default file picker ( the one part of the OS, DocumentsUI ), then it works.
Edit 2 : It works with Ghost Commander, too. So I guess it works depending on the application. Problems with FX file manager for instance and Simple Mobile's Gallery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's strange I've no of this issues on my side. I also use Simple Mobile's Gallery. I'm on OREO.
Is anyone else facing this issue?
TheMadRuffian said:
Feature request: Could you add a freeform draw option? It would really come in handy.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just tried it several, but had no luck. I'll try it again, but not in the near future.
Gaukler_Faun said:
That's strange I've no of this issues on my side. I also use Simple Mobile's Gallery. I'm on OREO.
Is anyone else facing this issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm also using simple gallery and haven't faced a issue. I'm on pie.
Gaukler_Faun said:
That's strange I've no of this issues on my side. I also use Simple Mobile's Gallery. I'm on OREO.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When sharing from Simple Mobile's Gallery ( any image, any path ) there is no crash but I always get a 'Could not load image' error in the editor. In the log I only see this :
Code:
System.err
at de.aosd.fossimageeditor.MainActivity.handleImage(MainActivity.java:367)
... I tried with Android 8.1 and 7.1.2. Anyway, the editor itself works fine. I wouldn't worry about supporting every possible file manager and gallery application out there.
Could 2:3 / 3:2 ratio be added to the crop options ?
Or alternatively / in addition, be able to specify pixels in width and height ourselves, maybe. With the free option is guesswork now.
Ultramanoid said:
Could 2:3 / 3:2 ratio be added to the crop options ?
Or alternatively / in addition, be able to specify pixels in width and height ourselves, maybe. With the free option is guesswork now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At the moment I'm working on my browser. But the alternative suggestion sounds good. I'll implement it. At Monday school starts again (with a lot to do and the next vacation will be at Christmas). So if I forget it, please remind me.
Gaukler_Faun said:
At the moment I'm working on my browser. But the alternative suggestion sounds good. I'll implement it. At Monday school starts again (with a lot to do and the next vacation will be at Christmas). So if I forget it, please remind me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I follow progress on that too. Thank you for considering it ! I'll try to remember it myself, make a note somewhere to check around Christmas.
Edit, January 20th : I guess this last post became the reminder note.
Update v 0.3
Changes:
- new: custom crop option
- new: hide app from launcher
- minor fixes
Gaukler_Faun said:
Changes:
- new: custom crop option
- new: hide app from launcher
- minor fixes
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for this version. I have been testing and see two issues consistently repeating.
# The cropped images are degraded, noticeably, in quality, compared to the originals. ( Is this the same bug that happened on an older version, maybe ? )
# The crop specifying values doesn't really respect the values given. I try, say a fixed 720 pixels cut for instance, but get 913 pixels ( or some other random number ) in the exported crop.
I've tested both jpg and png.
Hi, some questions:
Is It possible
- determine jpg compression rate when saving an an image?
- determine wether to keep/change/delete EXIF-data when saving an image?
Gesendet von meinem SM-T820 mit Tapatalk
Hi guys!
Before few times i asked this question, but no one answered. Looks like I found a way through. Usually, this option is available for iOS users only.
1. Your photo needs to be blurred - Live Focus, Portrait Mode (gcam) etc, you got the point.
2. Upload the photo to https://www.depthy.me
3. You will see some kind of error. Click load and upload the same picture to create depthmap.
4. You will see the preview of the 3D image now in the next step you need to look at the bottom and click on the image icon.
5. Here you will see the Depth Image Map. Save it.
6. Rename both files to 1.jpg and 1_depth.jpg
7..Upload both files to the desktop version of Facebook.
8. After few seconds you will see new window which says Creating 3D Photo.
10.Done!
Tip:
You can set the privacy to only me if you just wanna see the result.
Here you can check the original way. I'm doing in like this because I don't use google camera as the main app.
Source: GatgetGig
P.S
I set the privacy to be able to show the result.
You can see it here:
https://www.facebook.com/mefistoreyon/posts/3315614768464052