[Ticker][Mod] New Event Wave - Continuum Themes and Apps

I want to share with all you guys the beginning of something great, I hope xD
You know that blue wave that you see when you scroll to the Notification Screen (where all the Icons are at) in the ticker? Well, I made it so that when you get a new text message or email, that wave goes through that screen...
I just made it do the wave for simplicity sake, I can make it do whatever.... I just don't have the graphic skills to make a newly colored wave...
check it out! I personally like the effect Adds a little bit of spice i think it deserves
http://www.mediafire.com/?57hklwwhjeaz99z
***HOW TO:***
I personally figured out how to do this by reading up on the " Pulldown Notification Animation Mod".. I just used this knowledge, and applied it to the ticker basically...
So, let's begin..
WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
apk manager...
text editor...
Basic Idea with this kinda stuff
Since we are going to be editing xml's, you have to use apk manager... Hopefully you have some basic knowledge with this "program", it takes a little getting used to..
first, decompile the framework-res.apk (9).. Go to the projects folder, and navigate to "framework-res.apk\res\layout".. This is where, as the name implies, all the layouts for the ticker are placed... they are in xml format, so you can easily use notepad or such...
The XML for this specific mod that we are looking for is "ticker_new_message_view.xml". Open it up in your text editor... Don't be intimidated, i know it looks confusing lol.. We are only messing with a little part...
Navigate to the second line down, aka "<FrameLayout androidrientation="vertical" blah blah blah". You should see within that line "android:background="@drawable/tt_noti_bg_01" "... This is saying that the background for the ticker when you get a new message is "tt_noti_bg_01", which is located in the drawable folder.. This is what we are going to change...
By changing this part of the line to, say, "android:background="@anim/new_message_wave" " you are now saying that the background should be "new_message_wave" in the anim folder... Easy Enough, right?
Now, go to the anim folder... This is where the magic happens
The original wave is defined in the xml in that folder named "missed_notification_view.xml"... i suggest go taking a peek in the file, and get a feel for how android defines it's objects...
So what I personally did was just copied and renamed that xml to "new_message_wave.xml"
The hard part is done!
All we have to do now is recompile the apk, which can be tricky if you don't know what your doing..
P.S if you know how to do this, you are done!
To compile in apk manager, just type 11! if you get a compile error, then you did something wrong That shouldn't happen though, this is a relatively easy mod
Wait a while until you get a "Is this a system apk?" message... type "y".... then type y again for the next message... Now do what it says!
Don't forget to delete the "resources.arsc" file, and the "ticker_new_message_view.xml" file!
now you are done Just replace that framework using whatever method you use
Whether that be with adb when the phone is in recovery, or making a flashable zip

I just installed it. Pretty cool

Sounds like you are on a promising breakthrough there Trail, thanks for your hard work!

I'd like to work on this some more. How exactly would I go about changing it?
Sent from my SCH-I400 using XDA Premium App
---------------------------------
Jill plays tricks, Jack plays God

It's kinda hard to explain it in simple enough terms through on my phone, but I'll be home from vacation on Monday, and then I'll make a relatively easy tutorial for everyone xP
Sent from my Continuum

Sounds good
Sent from my SCH-I400 using XDA Premium App
---------------------------------
Jill plays tricks, Jack plays God

Check Da OP

Circa, did you ever work on this more?
Sent from my SCH-I400 using XDA Premium App

Nope. I completely forgot to. I will though
Sent from my SCH-I400 using XDA Premium App
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Jill plays tricks, Jack plays God

Related

Unlock Slider Color

is there anyway I can change my unlock screen slider colors. Im loving the setup I have but the ugly blue slider doesn't go with my red layout.
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App
not unless you edit the framework.apk file...
yeh I figured I would have to edit that but im new to android and not sure what file and how to change it.
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App
I don't believe it's possible without some 9patch editing. I tried it for my Xtreme theme. Any color modifications I made to it (changing it to all black, changing just the white speaker/unlock icon to red) rendered it "immovable." What I mean by that is, when I applied the changes, the lockbar would appear and vibrate/unlock fine, but it wouldn't "slide" like it's supposed to. Everything just stood still. So you would need to research the .9.png file editing and such to come anywhere close to being successful at this. If you're new to android and interested in any type of theming, I strongly recommend this article. The Ultimate Theming Guide
if you look at a few of my posts, one about themes for noobs you can easily figure out what to do. If your comfortable with it I might send you my red sliders from my UPgrade theme
Or if your really curious, google "draw9patch" tool then search over on droid forums for the xUltimate tool, and get the d9p compilerer
lots of learning off the bat but once you get it down its quite easy.
I also think there is a you tube video for ".9.png"

[DL17][EC03] Softkey Themes & Ticker Clock Requests?

So, in case you didn't know already, the Continuum's soft keys are actually part of the one full screen... Which means we can change them with a little effort
Hit me with ideas with what you want to see within this thread
Here are the zips so far you need CWM
Here are the zips for 2.2 Froyo on the Continuum! Thank you biznazz for taking the time and porting them over He deserves all the credit for porting, and if you are grateful, click http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=16496004&postcount=135 and click thanks
If you are ready to download, you can head over to the thread listed above and this one: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=16497349&postcount=136, being sure to thank him along the way!
Located at the bottom of this post (ONLY FOR 2.1 DL17!!!):
Original (duh )
Dark Green
Light Green
Light Blue
Purple
Dots!
Text!
Cool Font [Courtesy of Circa881]
Continued...
Red! [Courtesy of biznazz] :
(DL17)
CWM: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=X819XKAT
Multi-Colored Dots (Softkeys Remapped [Circa881]):
(DL17)
CWM2 : http://www.mediafire.com/?4w2m55uka70wpl8
CWM3 : http://www.mediafire.com/?06i9h5p3a86ean7
***NEXUS S THEME***
This will change your Softkey Functions and looks to match that of the Nexus S! Just to warn you...
Nexus S:
(DL17)
CWM 2 : http://www.mediafire.com/?8hzfp63j1o2824q
CWM 3 : http://www.mediafire.com/?k12f85pu8b0vr6o
If you want the default Softkey Functions back (like when you want to try any of the other softkey themes) Then flash the Default_Softkey_Actions.zip
Default Softkey Actions:
(DL17)
CWM 2 : http://www.mediafire.com/?u5t12dg6lzyyues
CWM 3 : http://www.mediafire.com/?05e83h878ztz4zq
***NOTE ABOUT CWM 3***
Not all the packages are CWM 3 compatible... The Nexus Theme is, and so is the Defaul Softkey Action zip.... For now if you want to flash any of the other themes, download the old Blue cwm 2 and flash that from within the new yellow cwm 3. Then you can flash the files
If you want a certain theme converted, i will do that... I just don't wanna waste any extra energy doing that if i don't have to
***DIY***
THEMING:
If you wanna try tackling this yourself, there really isn't much you have to do... Before embarking, however, make sure you have at least a little knowledge in what your doing....
What You'll Need:
-The Framework-res.apk from /system/framework
-7-zip (easy way)
-(optional) Update-Zip-Packager (not my creation, thank the developer of this batch for his wonderful project )
Steps:
Now, right click on the APK and go to 7-zip --> Open Archive..
A window will appear, where you now maneuver yourself to assets --> images...
Select all of the four google_key_icon_*.png images within that folder, and drag "Copy To" your deskop...
Now, add your special touches to those images
When done, just drag those images back into that same folder you got them from within 7-zip Manager, and you are set
To throw this apk into a flashable zip, i just used Update-Zip-Packager found on XDA... However, you can use ClockWorkRecovery/ADB also... Whatever you want
NOTICE: Backup your old framework-res.apk just in case :3
BUTTON MAPPING:
What You'll Need:
-ADB (or Root Explorer )
-Text Editor (on your computer )
Steps:
The button configuration for the Continuum is located at /system/usr/keylayout, and the file name is qwerty.kl
First we need to mount System as RW... To do this, Use ADB, and type "adb shell /system/bin/mount -o remount,rw -t rfs /dev/block/stl9 /system"
Now that it is mounted properly, we have to copy the qwerty.kl to the computer... Type "adb pull /system/usr/keylayout/qwerty.kl"
(Of course you can just use Root Explorer or another such app if you so choose, but that cost money this is free )
Now, open the file open in your favorite text editor, it doesn't really matter...
Here is a list of the codes and the corresponding button... This is important, because there are more than one buttons labeled as, for example, "Menu":
key 158 = Back
key 139 = Menu
key 217 = Search
key 102 = Home
Make your appropriate changes, and save...
Now you gotta push it back to the phone, which you can either use the Update-Zip-Packager again, or you can just use ADB in CWM
Step 42: Profit
Any modifications that you make yourself, don't be stingy Share with the community, for everyone to use! Just send me the framework-res.apk and/or qwerty.kl, and i will do the rest
Or you could make the zip yourself, that works too
Ticker Clock Colors:
We have managed to figure out how [Thank you Jaizero for helping me with this ] to change the color of the Ticker Clock (and also the date, music info text, etc )... If you want to see a certain color, just ask nicely below, providing at the same time the Hex code you would like to see exactly! If you aren't sure how to find the Hex Code of the color you want, just do a google search for, say, "Blue Hex Value" or something along that lines
If you are thankful just hit thanks<3
Hmm, that sounds interesting. What were you thinking about modifying then to?
Sent from my SCH-I400 using XDA App
can you change the functions as well? or just the icons...
It would be nice to have the ability to lock them during game play because I have the tendency to bump them on accident from time to time and the ability it change the color would be absolutely appreciated
Sent from my Rooted Space Time Continuum w/h a 2600mAh battery
1) yeah, I thought this was a cool little hidden plus for our phone and I was thinking maybe for the "clean"people maybe just dots, and maybe for the metro ui people the actual words, like "Menu" "Home" and the works...
2) Yeah, I can change the function, but that doesn't involve what I am talking about.. I'm pretty sure there is a *.ko file in system I can edit to modify the soft keys... idk why you would want to though
3) I don't know how to lock them, sorry froyo has a default setting to make them time out after a while, however... So maybe when we get a froyo rom I can check it out for you
Also, I can change the colors, sure... Just so you know though, once you flash a themed file, you can't change the color until you flash another file... So no automatic color changing if that's what your thinking.. It can be done, I just don't know how to program apps xP
Sent from my SCH-I400 using XDA Premium App
That sound like it will be awesome. I would love to chane the colors also
Sent from my SCH-I400 using XDA App
Thats awesome but my only question is would o have to flash it through the recovery or odin
Sent from my Rooted Space Time Continuum w/h a 2600mAh battery
Another question, will I be able to change a certain softkey a different color eg. Home, blue search, green or would they all have to be the same color.
Sorry for all of these questions but one of the main things I wanted to do besides updating to 2.2 was to change the softkeys and since you discovered the ability to do so I figured it's better to ask then to wonder. LoL
Sent from my Rooted Space Time Continuum w/h a 2600mAh battery
lol, i like answering questions, so its no problem
They don't all have to be the same, i can make each one a different color if i wanted... Just give me a template with what you want done, and i'll try and get it done Like, what color do you want for what, and what should they look like? (original, words, "dot", etc)...
and i can make a recovery package for you if you want it when/if i finish
I would say let's start off simple and work from there let's keep the original icons and go with a cyanogen blue
And with the recovery package will it work with the stock recovery or will I have to install cwm
Sent from my Rooted Space Time Continuum w/h a 2600mAh battery
Just so you know before i start, whatever i make is going to be "grayed" down because of that gray strip we have where the softkeys are.....
and your going to need cwm It's pretty easy to do it nowadays
*Duplicate *
Thats fine with me, but will I also need cwm to install the new soft key theme
Sent from my Rooted Space Time Continuum w/h a 2600mAh battery
Yes, you will..
Here is a quick pic of cyan-like softkeys... The blue is much more pronounced when you actually have it installed... Would something like that be good?
Hells yea. LoL
But is there a way to make them brighter with out having to adjust the screen brightness like the icons I have now
Sent from my Rooted Space Time Continuum w/h a 2600mAh battery
I like the idea of having cyan colored keys. Great work
Sent from my SCH-I400 using XDA App
For me I would love to see green, thanks for doing this btw.
I can do green next and no problem its actually pretty easy lol..
Lincoln3828: Here's the thing, with the screen shot the cyan blue is very bright... Whatever you set the brightness for the screen, the soft keys follow... Also, even though those icons look really bright, when you flash it it is a lot more darker/not as bright... It looks more blue, but yeah, not as bright... There isn't anything I can do for that... Thanks to the grey stripe :l
EDIT:
Green Softkeys i think they might be a litttle too dark green when you actually flash it, imo
Do you like it though? haha
Green looks awesome man, cant wait till you upload some stuff lol. Thanks again man
I would love to see some different icons man, Say some text icons maybe? Idk how it would look though because it doesnt look like there is enough room to fit the full words.

[Guide]Change the Ticker Clock Color!

Alright, I am going to try and make this guide as easy to follow as possible for the 1000x people who requested it, lol...
Before starting there is a few things you are going to need/should have:
apk manager...
text editor...
General Idea with How to Work a Computer/Follow Directions
Since we are going to be editing xml's, you have to use apk manager... Hopefully you have some basic knowledge with this "program", since it takes a little getting used to.. If not though, i will try and make this as painless as possible
First, open up apk manager and decompile (9) the framework-res.apk of your choosing.. You can unzip my gingerbread theme and use that framework-res, or any other one that you can find
Now, go to the projects folder, and navigate to "framework-res.apk\res\layout".. This is where, as the name implies, all the layouts for the ticker are placed... They are in xml format, so you can easily use notepad or such...
The XML that we are looking for in order to change the color is "standbymode.xml". Open it up in your text editor... Don't be intimidated, i know it looks confusing lol.. We are only messing with a little part...
Navigate down to the 13th line, aka "<TextView android:textSize="@dimen/time.text.size"... This is where the phone gets its information about the size, font, and color for the Time!
Scroll through that line until you come across android:textColor="blah"... As you can guess the Hex Value within the quotes is the color the clock is! Right now it is ffeaff00, but we can very easily change that
All you have to do now is by googling "Hex value for purple" or whatever color you want, find the hex value that you want to use The code should be exactly six letters/numbers, no more and no less... Now, copy that hex value, and replace the old code from "ff" on! Do not erase those first two letters, because that is telling the phone what transparency value to use, and we would like to keep it fully visible
Easy Enough, right? The hard part is now done!
All we have to do now is recompile the apk, which can be tricky if you don't know what your doing..
P.S if you know how to do this, you are done! I would still scan over these steps though, just to make sure you are doing it right
To compile in apk manager, just type 11! if you get a compile error, then you did something wrong That shouldn't happen though, this is a relatively easy mod....
Wait a while until you get a "Is this a system apk?" message... type "y".... then type y again for the next message... Now do what it says!
Don't forget to delete the "resources.arsc" file, and the "standbymode.xml" file!
Now you are done!! Just replace that framework using whatever method you use, Whether that be with adb when the phone is in recovery, or by replacing the new modified apk with the original within a zip file already made by me
If you make your own, don't be stingy.. Upload it to XDA or whatever, and share it with the community I will put it up on the front page, and give you the credit Make sure though you share with me what kind of framework-res.apk it is, and where you got as in, if you got it from my gingerbread package, or from my stock 2.2 Accurate theme, or Reboot Options, or any other option
fantastic guide! thank you for this!
but im just wondering one thing, why dont you have a donate button for all the hard work you have been giving to the continuum community? hmmm
Trail, is there any code we can get to that's worth modding that's in Java? If so, I can start doing some development.
Sent from my SCH-I400 using XDA App
http://www.mediafire.com/?ajjo09hwxejqsl0
I added my own outlined orange softkeys, and and orange ticker color.
and a few things to the lockscreen text for the lulz
Also I failed to mention that it's based on your accurate gingerbread theme.
Thank you Jakeschweinz for sharing with the community I shall put this in the main mod Thread, and make it easy for everyone to find it And i'll be sure to let you have all the credit
Thanks again!
just a quick link to help you guys out with color
http://html-color-codes.info/
and here's my baby blue clock color
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/30842475/framework-res.apk
6FCAF5 <---- if anybody wants to know the color code for it,
And thanks again Trailblazer for this Guide.
You tricky bugger you figured it out without me lol..
Nice job!
So I'm kinda new to doing this, and I saw the upload that someone has on there for mediafire, and I was wondering, do you just download that, or do you put it in the .apk manager and change it?
This guide is very soon going to be outdated
Sent from my SCH-I400 using xda premium

[Theme] Spearoid's Clean and Blue

I have finally taken the time to try to get my icons the way I want them to look on this phone. I stopped developing my tweaking skills in the days of WinMo 6.5, but I decided to tinker with a framework-res.apk in one of Trailblazer's mods to swap out all the icons I wanted to change.
After sifting through many other themes mostly made for the Fascinate, I have repacked the file with the icons I wanted. I also blanked out the Ticker History button and the "No Data" button for the Weather on the Ticker. See Screenshot.
I am sure there is a better way to install this file, but I took the framework-res file out of Trailblazer's Touchwiz Accurate Theme, replaced all the icons I wanted in the file and then I copied it back into his .zip file. I was then able to flash the .zip file in Recovery. I am sure you can use Root Explorer or some sort of file manager program to replace the file, but I haven't had the best of luck replacing files that way so I went with what I knew would work.
I figured I would share my work in case anyone else has wanted a different look for their Continuum.
spearoid said:
I have finally taken the time to try to get my icons the way I want them to look on this phone. I stopped developing my tweaking skills in the days of WinMo 6.5, but I decided to tinker with a framework-res.apk in one of Trailblazer's mods to swap out all the icons I wanted to change.
After sifting through many other themes mostly made for the Fascinate, I have repacked the file with the icons I wanted. I also blanked out the Ticker History button and the "No Data" button for the Weather on the Ticker. See Screenshot.
I am sure there is a better way to install this file, but I took the framework-res file out of Trailblazer's Touchwiz Accurate Theme, replaced all the icons I wanted in the file and then I copied it back into his .zip file. I was then able to flash the .zip file in Recovery. I am sure you can use Root Explorer or some sort of file manager program to replace the file, but I haven't had the best of luck replacing files that way so I went with what I knew would work.
I figured I would share my work in case anyone else has wanted a different look for their Continuum.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome! I have one question for you though... You stated you "blanked out the Ticker History button and the "No Data" button for the Weather"... Are the blanked out so if your finger/hand/palm, what ever touches those areas, it doesn't open the damn address search (for weather) or the ticker history? If that is the case, I have been wanting something like this for a while, I just haven't had the time to dive into exploring this, and TrailBlazer seemed to have been working on it, so I figured I'd wait for him. Thanks dude!
I've been working on my batch so that it actually removes the buttons, like totally (not just blank images)... Finished it yesterday, just need someone to test it any volunteers? Lol
You can choose the clock color, softkey images, button remaps, hide/show history and/or weather icon.....
Sent from my SCH-I400 using xda premium
trailblazer101 said:
I've been working on my batch so that it actually removes the buttons, like totally (not just blank images)... Finished it yesterday, just need someone to test it any volunteers? Lol
You can choose the clock color, softkey images, button remaps, hide/show history and/or weather icon.....
Sent from my SCH-I400 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
im off early today and setting up a my rom kitchen... ill give her another try... in irc to boot
Spearoid, I tried using root explorer to replace the apk from blazers theme with the one you posted. No luck.
Blazer, I would be more than willing to volunteer to try your batch out.it includes all the things I want to change.
turboblue385 said:
Spearoid, I tried using root explorer to replace the apk from blazers theme with the one you posted. No luck.
Blazer, I would be more than willing to volunteer to try your batch out.it includes all the things I want to change.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I've had little luck doing file replacements on vital system files that way.
I took the .apk in the OP and overwrote that file in Trailblazer's Touchwiz Accurate theme .zip file.
I open Trailblazer's zip file with a program like WinRar....then browse to the system/framework folder...and drag and drop my new .apk into that folder....it overwrites...and I copy the zip file to my SD card and flash from recovery.
all is good from there
I wish I knew how to take files like these and put them in a new flashable zip file. I'd probably be more inclined to do more tweaking if I could
And Moon Shadow, they are just transparent png files. The buttons still function.
But I'm with you, I'd much rather have them be invisible AND non-functioning
Trailblazer, post up the link. Now that I have this thing working right, again, I'll beta
Looks great. Just got it working last night. I really like the blue. And three battery icon is bigger which makes it easier to see. Great work!
turboblue385 said:
Looks great. Just got it working last night. I really like the blue. And three battery icon is bigger which makes it easier to see. Great work!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sweet, I'm glad someone likes it!
The battery icon was my primary motivation for making the new file. The white text on green was almost impossible for me to see.

[Q] Background Colors - SMS, Conversation History...

I know this is probably petty, but for me it's sort of a big deal.
I like light characters on a black screen, especially at night. There are flashlight apps to turn the screen white because it's bright and at night I would prefer to have a black screen.
Is there a way to change the conversation history to black, and lso for the background behind the balloons in an SMS?
Is there a ROM that has an option for this?
Thanks for the help!
Go sms. Totally customizable. Backgrounds, fonts, font colors, etc
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk
Ends said:
Go sms. Totally customizable. Backgrounds, fonts, font colors, etc
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Handcent will let you do this too.
If you get GoSMS Pro, grab the Theme builder in the market as well. It will allow you to totally create your own theme.
liquidzoo said:
Handcent will let you do this too.
If you get GoSMS Pro, grab the Theme builder in the market as well. It will allow you to totally create your own theme.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I should have included that I've tried all those. Yes, they're good and very customizable. But I've not been able to get them to work seamlessly and to replace the stock messaging. One of those my keyboard does't display properly with and simple other things. Plus I really like how I can go to messages and slide to the right to call. That's the easiest way to call people. That's my favorite feature and no one else has that.
What's so hard about changing the stock messaging to black with white text? lol At one point there was a night mode that made the conversation history black, but not now.
One question... For example a lock screen. There are different ones to install. Is there a different messaging to install to replace stock that someone has added things to? I don't even know if it's possible to replace messaging or not. I don't really want to install another app... I've just not had the best luck with them having the right feel.
Firstly, are you on GB or ICS? And which ROM?
If GB, you could swap out the AT&T mms.apk with the Rogers version, as they use a dark charcoal background behind matte blue and yellow bubbles (was always my favorite). Or you could try the mms.apk that Sean used to include in his GB ROMs. It was basically stock, but came with 5 themes. If you're on NexusMod GB, somewhere in the thread R4INS posted a CM7 mms.apk which has a light and dark theme.
If you're on an AOSP ICS (which I know you're not since you mention swipe to call), you could try the inverted mms.apk, which is black. If you're on stock ICS, the only thing I can think of is to just decompile the apk and use Gimp to change the colors as you'd like them (which goes for any apk really), although I think the important images are *.9.png's which are tricky. Or since you like TouchWiz, see what the T-Mobile mms.apk from their leak looks like? And if it works? As I don't know the answer to either.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2
I'm running ICS that I just flashed. I put in SKYICS also.
Thank you for getting back to me. I'm new to this and starting to figure things out. I opened the mms.apk with WinRar and found most of what I want to change. I've not used Gimp. For colors I usually use Office Picture Manager. I'll have to check out Gimp. I'm starting to understand a little about the xdaAutoTool. I suppose I have to decompile the mms.apk , modify what I want, then recompile it, zip it all back up, then install it through CWM. I can't get the adaAutoTool to run because of the OCX thing and I don't know how to register the files. I wish I knew someone that could decompile the apk, let me change some of the .png files and recompile it for me. I want to change the editor box from this almost black to black beause it looks incredibly grainy at 1% gray or whatever it is. The hard thing for me would be figure out how to change the text color to white if I had to on the conversation list. I think I'll do as you suggested and look for another mms.apk.
You said I like TouchWiz... I'm not exactly sure what that even is. Isn't that something to do with the buttons and how they look at the bottom?
You mentioned the CM7 something. I'm not exactly sure what the CM is. I have CM5 and it said I have a mismatch when I tried to restore my original ROM that I backed up. it was 2.3.6 I think.
Thanks for the help and I'll be back. I'm going to look for another mms.apk...
CodeRedDewd said:
I'm running ICS that I just flashed. I put in SKYICS also.
...
I'm going to look for another mms.apk...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I may have just come across a solution for you. Did you see this post in the SkyICS thread?? I'd look into that one first before attempting any of the above.
---------- Post added at 05:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:43 PM ----------
CodeRedDewd said:
I'm new to this and starting to figure things out. I opened the mms.apk with WinRar and found most of what I want to change. I've not used Gimp. For colors I usually use Office Picture Manager. I'll have to check out Gimp. I'm starting to understand a little about the xdaAutoTool. I suppose I have to decompile the mms.apk , modify what I want, then recompile it, zip it all back up, then install it through CWM. I can't get the adaAutoTool to run because of the OCX thing and I don't know how to register the files. I wish I knew someone that could decompile the apk, let me change some of the .png files and recompile it for me. I want to change the editor box from this almost black to black beause it looks incredibly grainy at 1% gray or whatever it is. The hard thing for me would be figure out how to change the text color to white if I had to on the conversation list. I think I'll do as you suggested and look for another mms.apk.
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Now I'm no expert on this or anything and haven't done much research on it, so I don't know everything you're talking about. But when I manually swapped out battery icon images from framework-res.apk, I didn't do any unzipping, rezipping, decompiling, recompiling. All I had to do was *open* the archive with 7zip (NOT unzip). Delete the images in there I wanted to replace. Then drag and drop the new images into the archive. As long as they were the same names and I wasn't adding or removing any images, there was no need to change any of the XML files. And it all worked fine.
As I said though, if I recall (as I actually looked into trying to do this myself with the help of another guy -- I wanted to make the AT&T mms.apk look like the Rogers mms.apk) the background image and maybe the bubble images too are 9-patch files, which are the image_name.9.png files. They require a very special process for editing. So that might require a bit more work.
---------- Post added at 05:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:51 PM ----------
CodeRedDewd said:
You said I like TouchWiz... I'm not exactly sure what that even is. Isn't that something to do with the buttons and how they look at the bottom?
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Haha something like that. TouchWiz is the graphical overlay (UI skin) Samsung puts on top of "vanilla" Android, or AOSP. Every manufacture does it. Motorola's is called MotoBlur. HTC's is called Sense. And so on. The Nexus line of phones is the only one to get stock, vanilla Android (AOSP). So it's the reason all android phones from the same manufacture look somewhat the same.
TouchWiz does consist of those buttons at the bottom and how they look (I assume you're talking about the docked apps - Phone, Contacts, Email, Apps). But it's also the system apps (Messaging, Email, Phone, Contacts, Settings, etc.) and how they look and act. The swipe right to call / swipe left to message is a feature of TouchWiz, which is why I said you liked TW because you like that feature.
---------- Post added at 06:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:58 PM ----------
CodeRedDewd said:
You mentioned the CM7 something. I'm not exactly sure what the CM is. I have CM5 and it said I have a mismatch when I tried to restore my original ROM that I backed up. it was 2.3.6 I think.
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CM stands for CyanogenMod and consists of a more AOSP feel, unlike Samsung's TouchWiz. So it doesn't have the swipe to call feature; usually just tap the contact picture inside Messaging and it gives you the option to call. CM7 was their Gingerbread build. CM9 is their Ice Cream Sandwich build.
Basically CyanogenMod has created a replacement/aftermarket firmware to replace Google Android (AOSP). It's sort of different than just a custom ROM because a custom ROM is usually just built with one phone in mind (whichever one the developer owns). CM is a firmware built the same way, with the same features, for as many phones as they can support. So your specific phone still needs to be supported and have its own specific build, but once you have it on you phone, it will look and feel just like any HTC, Motorola, etc. that is also running CM.
So it's based off of Google Android (AOSP), it's completely self-contained as its own operating system (somewhat anyway).
We have an unofficial alpha of CM9 in the development section if you want to give it a shot! (Unofficial means it's not being built by or currently supported by the actual CyanogenMod team. Just a private individual is using their source code to make it work with our Skyrocket.) It works rather well and is like 99.5% a daily driver.
Wow, thank you for that information. Some of the fuzzy things are a little clearer now but not much. lol
What you said about replacing a png - I opened the ROM in 7Zip, clicked down to the Mms.apk. I right clicked and copied to desktop. I opened that in 7Zip and dragged and dropped the png into that. I changed the file extinsion to .zip and put in on my phone. When I tried to install it though CWM touch it just aborted.
I'm not 100% sure, but I edited the png in paint. I magnified it 800 times and could see a perfect rectangle inside of this other stuff. I only made the perfect rectangle black and saved. The one I'm doing is textfield_default_dark.9.png. I don't quite think I edited it wrong since it wouldn't even install. My editing wrong would make it FC or not show right?? I don't know how to troubleshoot.
In the meantime I'm going to check out some of your other suggestions. However I would LOVE to be able to fix what I want. Why make a black that's not black and can't be displayed right by the display because the pixels are just barely on?
Suggestions on my proceedure? I read somewhere earlier that there has to be some something done to the png for permission or something strange....
I checked out the dark themed Mms.apk you mentioned at the top. This is what it says.
This is not flashable. what you'll need to do is navigate to system--> app, rename your current mms.apk to something like "mms.apk.old" or "mms.apk.bak". Then paste the attached into the same folder. Reboot your phone and voila.
I lost root access and cannot get it back when I installed SKYICS. I'm running UCLD2. I haven't been able to put together what to do about this. I tried to install my original backup and it said CM5 mismatch or something. I do believe I need root access to navigate to the system folder because I can't find it?
yeah. you need root. you dont really need to "flash" in CWM. Just replace the original in the system. But you do need root. Reboot into recovery and flash superuser
I did that a few times and nothing. I gave up on rooting for a while then now I'm rooted. Titanium, when I opened it, asked for permission. It wouldn't do that yesterday. I'm just going to have to say okay I'm rooted.
I'm trying to find the system directory right now...
CodeRedDewd said:
I'm not 100% sure, but I edited the png in paint. I magnified it 800 times and could see a perfect rectangle inside of this other stuff. I only made the perfect rectangle black and saved. The one I'm doing is textfield_default_dark.9.png. I don't quite think I edited it wrong since it wouldn't even install. My editing wrong would make it FC or not show right?? I don't know how to troubleshoot.
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Yea so like I said, since it's a 9-patch file (*.9.png), I'm not sure if you can just edit the image and throw it back in there. I'm guessing that Paint only recognizes it as a *.png, and so saves it as such. 9-patch images need to be recompiled, as far as I know. So that might've screwed you up, even if you installed it right.
CodeRedDewd said:
What you said about replacing a png - I opened the ROM in 7Zip, clicked down to the Mms.apk. I right clicked and copied to desktop. I opened that in 7Zip and dragged and dropped the png into that. I changed the file extinsion to .zip and put in on my phone. When I tried to install it though CWM touch it just aborted.
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So about installing it. Everything above sounds like the correct process EXCEPT for changing the file extension. A CWM flashable zip isn't just any old zip file. It's has a certain structure to it and includes a script file that tells CWM exactly what to do with the information contained inside the zip. With a system apk, all you need to do is get the file on your phone somehow (microSD, USB cable, Dropbox, etc.), and then copy and paste it into the /system/app directory, afterwards setting its permissions to rw-r--r--. To do this, yes you will need root access. It shouldn't be that hard to just root again if you lost it somehow. Or judging by your last post, you may have successfully rooted again.
CodeRedDewd said:
I checked out the dark themed Mms.apk you mentioned at the top. This is what it says.
This is not flashable. what you'll need to do is navigate to system--> app, rename your current mms.apk to something like "mms.apk.old" or "mms.apk.bak". Then paste the attached into the same folder. Reboot your phone and voila.
I lost root access and cannot get it back when I installed SKYICS. I'm running UCLD2. I haven't been able to put together what to do about this. I tried to install my original backup and it said CM5 mismatch or something. I do believe I need root access to navigate to the system folder because I can't find it?
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Which brings us back to this mms.apk. Definitely give this app another shot using the above method once you obtain root again. You will need an app such as Root Explorer, which can be downloaded from the Market.
As far as restoring your backup, the error you received was an MD5 checksum mismatch error. You can Google what MD5 means, and possible reasons why CWM gave you that error. I think it gives it to you sometimes when you rename a backup file and put a space in the file name.
I'll have to research that MD5 thing...
I got the Mms.apk copied to the right directory and my changes worked. I have to use something other than paint that allows me to keep white as the transparant color. This is pretty awesome... Maybe I'll post my result when I figure out what's going on. I'm thinking the text field is a box within a box. I got a black box with a very dark gray one in the middle... But it's progress! Thanks for your help!
CodeRedDewd said:
I'll have to research that MD5 thing...
I got the Mms.apk copied to the right directory and my changes worked. I have to use something other than paint that allows me to keep white as the transparant color. This is pretty awesome... Maybe I'll post my result when I figure out what's going on. I'm thinking the text field is a box within a box. I got a black box with a very dark gray one in the middle... But it's progress! Thanks for your help!
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That's awesome man, good job! Wanna post a screenshot for me? A before and after if you have it?
But if you need something better than Paint, I'd look into Gimp. It's what most of the guys on here use. It's basically the Linux version of Photoshop. And being Linux, it's free and open source... and has been ported over to Windows. It works great for quick image editing. Just takes a bit of Googling to learn all the buttons haha.
I'm using Gimp because it keeps the transparant background. I had a big white box around my box from paint.
Update: When I used paint, it seemed things worked correctly besides the white box around the editor. The transparancy was lost. In Gimp, if I change 1 pixel I get a whole distorted image for the editor. In paint, I made the blue line gold and the box black. That looked great. Nothing seems to be working right with Gimp. Wait, in Paint I did notice one thing. The box was a true black, but with a lighter black, wide stripe in the middle from end to end, as if it was another png inserted into it. Hmmm... In Gimp it looks like nothing is getting inserted and the small image is stretching all the way across with the thin blue line getting super fat. I didn't jack the image up. I only changed one pixel to red in the middle of the black. I'm thinking there's more to this. Someone posted something about a decompiled image that had extra dots around the edge and one a one pixel line on two sides or something. I didn't break anything, because I put in an untouched png and it fixed things, so it's just the image.
Any ideas? I'm headed out to watch a movie, but I'm determined.
Look for a brush diameter or feathering option in Gimp and change it to the smallest one you have. I've had to do that in both Photoshop and Gimp before to get the apk changes I've made to look right and not have that outlining that you're referring to.
I understand what you mean, but this is different.The .9.png looks exactly the same when I edit it. I'm just making it darker. The .9.png files are made of 9 sections taht are stretched individually so the image is not distorted. In my case, Gimp is destroying that ability and the image is getting stretched the wrong way when displayed. For example, if you stretch a line along its lengt it still looks like the same line only longer, which is what they do. But if you stretch it across its width, it becomes this fat line, which is what is happening in my case.
I think you're editig just .png and not .9.png files?
CodeRedDewd said:
I understand what you mean, but this is different.The .9.png looks exactly the same when I edit it. I'm just making it darker. The .9.png files are made of 9 sections taht are stretched individually so the image is not distorted. In my case, Gimp is destroying that ability and the image is getting stretched the wrong way when displayed. For example, if you stretch a line along its lengt it still looks like the same line only longer, which is what they do. But if you stretch it across its width, it becomes this fat line, which is what is happening in my case.
I think you're editig just .png and not .9.png files?
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Do you think some information in this tutorial could be of any help? There's also a video tutorial available.
Yes it's possible that would be very helpful. I found either that or another tutorial last night. It was interesting how the .9.png files are sectioned. I conda figured that out on my own, because it would have to be to get bigger and not distort fine lines. I'll have to find that tutorial itself, because that post you linked has no links in it. I went to a 9patch website or something that had all the stuff, but it got too deep pretty quickly. In the short time I studied it, I had no clue how to even begin to install and use the program.
What baffles me is how Paint didn't screw up the .9.png. It worked fine with my edits, only it had no transparency so there was a white border. It was able to scale fine to landscape and portrait. It looked great. I totally though I had it figured out. :/ Have you looked at how to do .9.png files?
CodeRedDewd said:
Yes it's possible that would be very helpful. I found either that or another tutorial last night. It was interesting how the .9.png files are sectioned. I conda figured that out on my own, because it would have to be to get bigger and not distort fine lines. I'll have to find that tutorial itself, because that post you linked has no links in it. I went to a 9patch website or something that had all the stuff, but it got too deep pretty quickly. In the short time I studied it, I had no clue how to even begin to install and use the program.
What baffles me is how Paint didn't screw up the .9.png. It worked fine with my edits, only it had no transparency so there was a white border. It was able to scale fine to landscape and portrait. It looked great. I totally though I had it figured out. :/ Have you looked at how to do .9.png files?
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The tutorial is contained in the OP of that post I linked to. It contains links for all the tools you need and a short description of the process to follow. And then I think the video tutorial might just guide you through the OP of that first link.
But yea, that's really interesting how Paint worked so well. Did you happen to take any screenshots of the Paint-edited apk running on your phone?
And no, I actually have never looked into editing .9.png files. Didn't really even know how they worked until you explained them a little bit in one of the above posts.
I attached an image. I'm not sure if it's going to show up in the post as an image; we'll see.
There is a white box around what is suppose to be shown as the editor. In the center of the black box it's not true black as the black surrounding it that I changed in the .9.png. The center must be another image.
I'm thinking I'm just going to make the white black, find the other gray images the buttons are on and make that one black. Who needs transparancy when it's all black, which is what I want anyway. lol
I'm going to look into the 9patch some more... It just seems so complicated with how to install and get working. It would be nice to work with someone who is actively editing .9.png's to get me on track....
Do you have an interest in editing those png's? lol

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