Database Info

Theming files?

Sorry about the first post. I was wondering where the png files are located in the rom so I can start theming
Sent from my HERO200 using XDA App

If this has been addressed sorry. I searched but didn't find it. If it's been addressed please point me in the right direction. Thanks
Sent from my HERO200 using XDA App

abadasstanker69 said:
If this has been addressed sorry. I searched but didn't find it. If it's been addressed please point me in the right direction. Thanks
Sent from my HERO200 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ull find all the PNG in the individual apps in the system/app, system/framework, and data/app.

Papa Smurf151 said:
Ull find all the PNG in the individual apps in the system/app, system/framework, and data/app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks bro! All I see is apk files though. Where are the images?? Also, is there anything specific I have to do in order to export/import the files in Photoshop? I read something somewhere about a .9 PNG or something like that....what does this mean? BTW great work on your theme! It looks awesome! I love it!

Ok I'm a douche bad. lol I renamed the apk to .zip and extracted with winrar. Now I'm in to where I want to be! I'm looking for the little android guy when you make a phone call but, I can't seem to find him in the HTCdialer.apk. Am I looking in the wrong place? Thanks again for the help!

They are in the apk's.
http://developer.android.com/index.html
Good luck.

Ok found the little droid man! This is gonna be awesome!! Any more useful places I should mess around in? This is gonna be FUN!!!!!!!

Ok so I have edited some files and rezipped them. Now do I flash the updated files through recovery or do I have to rename it to .apk and stick it in the rom and re-flash?

abadasstanker69 said:
Ok so I have edited some files and rezipped them. Now do I flash the updated files through recovery or do I have to rename it to .apk and stick it in the rom and re-flash?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I may be wrong but I have done the same thing, all I did when I was finished was push them via adb to their respective places and then reboot and it worked fine for me. Nandroid before you push so if it boot loops you can recover. Then the easiest thing at that point would be to save your work in the ROM you modded, push to sd root, wipe and flash it. I am creating a themed version of Darchoid 2.7 but taking my sweet time as I dont have a lot of it to begin with.

For my HTC Keyboard modifications, I just dropped my new images into the APK that was open in 7zip and pushed it to the /system/app/ dir and launched the keyboard, and BAM, my new keyboard.

abadasstanker69 said:
Ok so I have edited some files and rezipped them. Now do I flash the updated files through recovery or do I have to rename it to .apk and stick it in the rom and re-flash?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have to sign it too. If you want to flash it. If you wanna just push it through adb then then put your edited .apk in AndroidSDK\tools and push it.
Go to command prompt:
Code:
cd C:\android-sdk-windows\tools
adb remount
adb push xxxxx.apk /system/app/
exit
C:\android-sdk-windows\tools is assuming thats where your sdk\tools folder is
xxxxx.apk is the name of the .apk
/system/app/ is assuming that's where you got the .apk from

Thanks for all the help guys. I appreciate it but, I was attempting to make an update.zip so people could then flash them once I complete them. I like to make things idiot proof
So I did some looking and found an autosigner. Problem is, now it wants boot scripts? WTF? I know I could push them through adb and simply tell others to do the same. I was just wondering if there was an easy way of doing this? I'm currently using avabox. Thanks again guys!!

abadasstanker69 said:
Thanks for all the help guys. I appreciate it but, I was attempting to make an update.zip so people could then flash them once I complete them. I like to make things idiot proof
So I did some looking and found an autosigner. Problem is, now it wants boot scripts? WTF? I know I could push them through adb and simply tell others to do the same. I was just wondering if there was an easy way of doing this? I'm currently using avabox. Thanks again guys!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just use a mod or update.zip any will do and add ur files and delete the originals in the zip. Keep the meta file and such. Then u can autosign with avabox. It gets tricky with scripts when making a rom. The update.zip script is very basic

Check This Out
You can just take one from a working zip if you want
Otherwise you will be making a file (i use notepad++) called "update-script" *notice-there is no file extension like .txt or anything*
In general they ususally just have:
Code:
show_progress 0.1 0
copy_dir PACKAGE:system SYSTEM:
show_progress 0.1 10
(but may be different depending on where you want the zip's contents to be put in)
Which will be placed into a folder directory META-INF/com/google/android/update-script
You can also add things such as:
Code:
delete SYSTEM:app/contacts.apk
*or whatever you want deleted*
After you make the update-script, just sign it and flash
See my attachment for a template

[/QUOTE]You can also add things such as:
Code:
delete SYSTEM:app/contacts.apk
*or whatever you want deleted*
After you make the update-script, just sign it and flash
See my attachment for a template[/QUOTE]
What would be the purpose in doing that? Would it actually delete people's contacts if they flashed my theme? That's kinda cool but, I'm not trying to be a **** like that! lol
Also, are you guys referring to an update.zip that's all ready out as in a theme file? Or as in a rom? I understand I can use the work that's all ready there and I actually tried that. I zipped the file back up.Then signed with avabox. Renamed it to .apk. Stuck it back in the rom. Attempted to flash and got the boot script error

abadasstanker69 said:
What would be the purpose in doing that? Would it actually delete people's contacts if they flashed my theme? That's kinda cool but, I'm not trying to be a **** like that! lol
Also, are you guys referring to an update.zip that's all ready out as in a theme file? Or as in a rom? I understand I can use the work that's all ready there and I actually tried that. I zipped the file back up.Then signed with avabox. Renamed it to .apk. Stuck it back in the rom. Attempted to flash and got the boot script error
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
haha i just used contacts.apk as an example, it could be anything you wanted really. But its generally only used for when making an update.zip for boot screens.
And yes, you could take an already existing zip... but i was a little confused as to what you were doing sorry.
Correct me if I'm misunderstanding you again lol, but you're editing images within .apks and want to make a flashable-update.zip once you finish?
Easiest way, as stated before would be to use 7-zip.
Open the .apk Directly with 7-zip (no renaming the .apk to .zip or anything) and drag the replacement images into the .apk - overwriting the older images
Test it by pushing the apk to your phone, if it works without any problems great
If it doesn't then use something like Apk Manager to extract the apk/edit the files/and zip them back up < generally what I do
Put the .apk into the apps folder in my "template update.zip" file
Delete the framework folder and readme.txt file
Sign the .zip
Flash

kyouko said:
haha i just used contacts.apk as an example, it could be anything you wanted really. But its generally only used for when making an update.zip for boot screens.
And yes, you could take an already existing zip... but i was a little confused as to what you were doing sorry.
Correct me if I'm misunderstanding you again lol, but you're editing images within .apks and want to make a flashable-update.zip once you finish?
Easiest way, as stated before would be to use 7-zip.
Open the .apk Directly with 7-zip (no renaming the .apk to .zip or anything) and drag the replacement images into the .apk - overwriting the older images
Test it by pushing the apk to your phone, if it works without any problems great
If it doesn't then use something like Apk Manager to extract the apk/edit the files/and zip them back up < generally what I do
Put the .apk into the apps folder in my "template update.zip" file
Delete the framework folder and readme.txt file
Sign the .zip
Flash
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL I really appreciate the help! You guys kick ass!!!! BUT I tried this method MINUS the renaming part and it didn't work. Sooooo....I'm assuming the renaming caused the issue.
Also, I was using winrar. I read somewhere that 7zip should be used instead of winrar but I just don't think this should matter considering the compression method is no different. Am I wrong? Also, will my theme have to vary from rom to rom? If I create this theme for people will I have to specify what rom I'm on?
Thanks again SOOOOOOOOOO much for the help guys...I know working with noobs can be a headache. I did it in the WinMo world for YEARS till I came to the "Dark Side"

abadasstanker69 said:
LOL I really appreciate the help! You guys kick ass!!!! BUT I tried this method MINUS the renaming part and it didn't work. Sooooo....I'm assuming the renaming caused the issue.
Also, I was using winrar. I read somewhere that 7zip should be used instead of winrar but I just don't think this should matter considering the compression method is no different. Am I wrong? Also, will my theme have to vary from rom to rom? If I create this theme for people will I have to specify what rom I'm on?
Thanks again SOOOOOOOOOO much for the help guys...I know working with noobs can be a headache. I did it in the WinMo world for YEARS till I came to the "Dark Side"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes 7zip works better for theming and roming. I tried winrar and it was a pain in the ass.
Yes u will have to specify which roms it will work on. Files on darchdroid r different than our 2.1 roms and so forth. So they wont work right.
Download avabox and use the signing tool in there to sign ur zips.
Make sure in ur zip if ur editing an app it's in the right place...ie system/app or system/framework or data/app. Then make sure ur Meta file is in there. After that sign it and then u can change the name and flash it

Papa Smurf151 said:
Yes 7zip works better for theming and roming. I tried winrar and it was a pain in the ass.
Yes u will have to specify which roms it will work on. Files on darchdroid r different than our 2.1 roms and so forth. So they wont work right.
Download avabox and use the signing tool in there to sign ur zips.
Make sure in ur zip if ur editing an app it's in the right place...ie system/app or system/framework or data/app. Then make sure ur Meta file is in there. After that sign it and then u can change the name and flash it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm such a freaking noob....what's the meta file for? This seems like alot to do for a theme :/

abadasstanker69 said:
I'm such a freaking noob....what's the meta file for? This seems like alot to do for a theme :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Meta file is for the update script. It has other uses but for ur purpose its for the update script which is the instructions the recovery uses to flash the theme. Like I stated before just use an existing one from a different theme or mod. Creating ur own is possible but not needed. Hit me up on gtalk if u want to ask me questions.
[email protected]
I don't mind teaching if anyone wants to learn

[How To] Basic Themeing

This is a very basic guide to beginning themeing. It is not meant to be all-inclusive, just some simple steps that can be taken to make your own custom theme fairly easily. This guide should allow anyone to be able to grab images they like from any ROM and incorporate them into their own.
I SUGGEST YOU ALWAYS MAKE A BACKUP OF ANY FILE BEFORE YOU THEME IT AND NANDROID FIRST BEFORE FLASHING
Here is a basic overview of changing images in an apk:
1. Get your base file to theme – framework-res.apk, com.htc.resources.apk, phone.apk ect.
2. “Open” apk archive with 7-zip (don’t unzip!) and drag and drop the new images into the appropriate folder.
3. Flash new file.
Now some details:
1. The first step is to obtain the file you are going to theme. The file you are themeing ( i.e. going to flash to your phone) must come from the ROM you are currently running. Always use files from your current ROM as a base, however the images you want to change can come from other ROMs, or you can edit existing ones or make your own from scratch. You can obtain your theme base through an ADB pull of the files from your phone, or simply downloading the ROM zip file and extracting the files you need.
2. Now that you have the file to theme, don’t touch it! OK, more specifically, you won’t unzip or do anything to this file except “open” it with 7-zip (unless this is a market app, but more on that later). You are going to drag and drop the new icons into this file by “opening” it and navigating to the appropriate folder. The images you want to change are stored in the apk under /res/drawable-hdpi. Once you have your new icons from other sources, open your base file and navigate to this folder and drop them in.
3. Now you can flash this new file. I have provided empty zip files that you can place your themed files into and flash in recovery. Place your framework-res.apk and/or com.htc.resources.apk into the /system/framework folder located in the zip file provided. Now highlight the META-INF and system folders and zip them up. You can now place this file on the root of your SD card and flash. System apps can be placed under /system/app in the zip file.
Some more info on common themeable files:
Framework-res.apk – this is the meat and potatoes of a theme. On an AOSP ROM it will contain almost everything you want to theme aside from individual apps themselves. Sense ROMs have another file com.htc.resources.apk, as well as framework-res.apk. Both of these files are located in a ROM under /system/framework.
System apps: These apps come packaged in a ROM under /system/apps. They can be themed in the same manner as a framework apk. Some of these apps include Gmail, browser, camera, ect. Place them in your flashable zip under the folder /system/app.
Market apps: These apps are downloaded from the market and are can be pulled from your phone from /data/app. These files require a bit more to theme. They don’t share the same signature as the system apps and you must resign them using a program such as apkmanger. Place them in your flashable zip under /data/app.
If there are any errors, or if anyone has suggestions please let me know. I may have over looked some details, ect.
Thanks to everyone on XDA who has shared their knowledge and made this a great community!

Thanks that will be helpful
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

so using this guide we can pull parts and what not from other elements of themes we like and create our own framework to push back? Also, based on what you have, shouldn't it be easy to put this up on bid for hire (?) website to create a program to automate that?

xlGmanlx said:
so using this guide we can pull parts and what not from other elements of themes we like and create our own framework to push back? Also, based on what you have, shouldn't it be easy to put this up on bid for hire (?) website to create a program to automate that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes the idea of this guide was to help people pick and choose icons they like in other ROMs and add it to their own. I'm not sure what bid for hire is?

its a website where you can load your requirements and folks can bid to do your work
linky
nukedukem said:
Yes the idea of this guide was to help people pick and choose icons they like in other ROMs and add it to their own. I'm not sure what bid for hire is?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

xlGmanlx said:
its a website where you can load your requirements and folks can bid to do your work
linky
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting. Didn't know anything like this existed.
Sent from my EVO (CM6.1) using XDA App

Thank you, thank you!!!! I've been looking for something like this for a while.

evolishesh said:
Thank you, thank you!!!! I've been looking for something like this for a while.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No prob. Let me know if it works for you.

I couldn't get the auto signing to work, but the manual way of doing it worked.

Hmm, I got a boot loop on first try and doing this. Does that mean something went wrong with the signing, or that what I created for the theme was wrong? I used the empty .zip folder and re-zipped it, so I don't think that is the issue.

JasonK75 said:
Hmm, I got a boot loop on first try and doing this. Does that mean something went wrong with the signing, or that what I created for the theme was wrong? I used the empty .zip folder and re-zipped it, so I don't think that is the issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The signing should be ok. If you are using Amon_ra recovery it wont let you flash an unsigned zip I believe. Are you on sense or AOSP? Are you editing images or just copying from other ROMs?
What you might want to do is just create a simple test file. Change just one image and then flash that. That should let you know that your process is correct.

I using Amon Ra and using AOSP. I was moving some items out of a sense ROM so I guess that is where I might have went wrong. I think I'll take your advice and move just a single image and see how that works for me. Thanks!

I tried again this time I ended up stuck at the EVO white screen. I'm guessing it doesn't like the sense part I'm trying to throw in there. I'll have to try again with a AOSP theme instead.
Sent from my EVO (CM6.1.1) using XDA App

A couple things to look out for when swapping sense/CM icons - some file names are slightly different between sense and AOSP. Rename any sense icons to their AOSP counterparts and vice versa. Also, double check the image size of the icon is the same in both, i.e. 70x70 pixels, ect. and make sure you are not adding images that don't exist normally in the framework. For example there wont be any 4G icons in CM framework.
Also, make sure you aren't unzipping the new framework-res.apk you want to theme and flash, or trying to resign it. Only sign the flashable zip, not the individual files inside. The only thing you want to do with the framework-res.apk you will package and flash is open (not unzip) with 7-zip and navigate to the res/drawable-hdpi folder so you can drag and drop the new icons into it, overwriting the old.
I hope that helps!

How important is it to re-sign? I have modified the Framework and Resources apks with 7zip by switching images out. I have also modified the Rosie.apk. I put everything back where it was supposed to go, backed out of 7-zip and flashed. I have never had an issue with it, nor have I re-signed it. Just wondering.

spence341 said:
How important is it to re-sign? I have modified the Framework and Resources apks with 7zip by switching images out. I have also modified the Rosie.apk. I put everything back where it was supposed to go, backed out of 7-zip and flashed. I have never had an issue with it, nor have I re-signed it. Just wondering.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AFAIK if you are on clockwork recovery, I don't think it checks for signatures. I think Amon_ra requires a signed file to flash. I think it's just added protection against flashing any old junk. If you can flash in amon_ra without a signature and you don't have problems then I wouldn't worry about it. It's the signature of the framework-res.apk ( or com.htc.resources.apk) that's important. That's why you don't unzip it.

I think that
1.7.0.2 = yes
1.8 = no
nukedukem said:
AFAIK if you are on clockwork recovery, I don't think it checks for signatures. I think Amon_ra requires a signed file to flash. I think it's just added protection against flashing any old junk. If you can flash in amon_ra without a signature and you don't have problems then I wouldn't worry about it. It's the signature of the framework-res.apk ( or com.htc.resources.apk) that's important. That's why you don't unzip it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

nukedukem said:
A couple things to look out for when swapping sense/CM icons - some file names are slightly different between sense and AOSP. Rename any sense icons to their AOSP counterparts and vice versa. Also, double check the image size of the icon is the same in both, i.e. 70x70 pixels, ect. and make sure you are not adding images that don't exist normally in the framework. For example there wont be any 4G icons in CM framework.
Also, make sure you aren't unzipping the new framework-res.apk you want to theme and flash, or trying to resign it. Only sign the flashable zip, not the individual files inside. The only thing you want to do with the framework-res.apk you will package and flash is open (not unzip) with 7-zip and navigate to the res/drawable-hdpi folder so you can drag and drop the new icons into it, overwriting the old.
I hope that helps!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, any advice does help.
I did make sure the the icons I was swapping out were named the same thing in the CM ROM, but I didn't check the size of it at all.
I didn't unzip the famework-res.apk but instead just went into it with 7-Zip and dragged the icons into that. Then I backed out of 7-Zip so that it would save and close everything properly - know that does work because that is how I add the Fold transistions to the ROM - and then I put the famework-res.apk into the folder and zip it up per your instructions above. Then I manually sign it (still haven't been able to get the auto-signing to work) and then flash.
I'll have to try again moving a CM theme to the CM framework-res.apk and see if it is working. What I was attempting to do was take, from the Batman Theme for sense, the drop down notification shade with the Bat Icon and put it into the CM ROM. I don't know if you have time to try it yourself to see if it works, or if you get the same issues that I had.
Either way, thanks for the help! I know I'll get this theming down at some point!

nukedukem said:
No prob. Let me know if it works for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey buddy.
I’m stuck. I had to download and install Eclipse with the sdk plus java. I don’t know where to go from there. Every time I open the rom that I want to theme and get the framework.apk and edit the PNG’s , how do I go about saving them? Do I just used the same name as the old ones or I have to save them with a new name.
Or pm Me.

xlGmanlx said:
I think that
1.7.0.2 = yes
1.8 = no
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So the new amon_ra doesn't require a signed file to flash? I'll make a note off that. Thanks.
JasonK75 said:
Thanks, any advice does help.
I did make sure the the icons I was swapping out were named the same thing in the CM ROM, but I didn't check the size of it at all.
I didn't unzip the famework-res.apk but instead just went into it with 7-Zip and dragged the icons into that. Then I backed out of 7-Zip so that it would save and close everything properly - know that does work because that is how I add the Fold transistions to the ROM - and then I put the famework-res.apk into the folder and zip it up per your instructions above. Then I manually sign it (still haven't been able to get the auto-signing to work) and then flash.
I'll have to try again moving a CM theme to the CM framework-res.apk and see if it is working. What I was attempting to do was take, from the Batman Theme for sense, the drop down notification shade with the Bat Icon and put it into the CM ROM. I don't know if you have time to try it yourself to see if it works, or if you get the same issues that I had.
Either way, thanks for the help! I know I'll get this theming down at some point!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK I'll try and do what you are trying to do and see if it works...
evolishesh said:
Hey buddy.
I’m stuck. I had to download and install Eclipse with the sdk plus java. I don’t know where to go from there. Every time I open the rom that I want to theme and get the framework.apk and edit the PNG’s , how do I go about saving them? Do I just used the same name as the old ones or I have to save them with a new name.
Or pm Me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So now you have an unzipped framewor-res.apk with a bunch of images. This framework should be the one that you want to take icons from. If not, start over with the ROM you want to copy images from. You will want to copy the images you want to put into another ROM so that you can dump them into the new framework-res.apk. After you figure out what icons you want to bring to your new framework, get a clean version of framework/com.htc from the ROM you are actually running - i.e. if you are running myn ROM on your phone, download the myn ROM and pull out the framework-res.apk or com.resources.apk that you are going to theme.
Now with this fresh clean framework you will "open" it with 7-zip to navigate to the /res/drawable-hdpi folder so you can now drag and drop the images you want to copy over into it. Then the close the 7zip window and your framework-res.apk is all set to flash. You don't need to rename if the file names are the same, you can just drag and drop and the files will be overwritten in the new framework.

Changing System Fonts (easy way)

I've seen posts on this topic, but nothing in one place.
This will help you to just switch out the basic overall system fonts (without any apps, aside from root explorer)...
0. (optional) using root explorer, navigate to /system/fonts and copy the current Clockopia.ttf, DroidSans-Bold.ttf, and DroidSans.ttf files to your sd card for safe-keeping (note that if you are on any custom roms, these are most likely not the actual font names - if you're curious, copy it to your computer and preview the .ttf file or just hold your cursor over the font and it should tell you the actual font name)
1. get the .ttf files that you want (maybe from here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1194202 <-- these are font packs with a lot more stuff in there than you need - just unzip and grab the three .ttf files only) you really only need to grab the unique files - usually clockopia and droidsans are the exact same file with different names, and sometimes all three are the same when there is no actual bold type of a specific font)
2. put the .ttf files on your sd card (i have a folder with different fonts on my sd, i named the .ttf files the actual font name to keep everything straight, and copy and rename when i want to switch fonts)
3. using root explorer, copy the 3 .ttf files (or only the unique files and make additional copies as needed) to your /system folder - make sure to mount r/w first (we need to make a layover here so we can change the permissions)
4. rename the files (you could do the renaming at any stage really, just sometime before you put them in the /system/fonts folder) - change the regular font types to Clockopia and DroidSans, and the bold font type to DroidSans-Bold (that's what your system is looking for when calling fonts)
5. change permissions of the 3 files to chmod 644 (see attached pic)
6. multi-select the 3 files and MOVE (do not copy) to the /system/fonts folder. it will ask you if you want to overwrite, check the box to do it for all files, and hit ok.
7. exit. reboot. done. cheers!
Disclaimer - I am not responsible for what you do to your phone. It is advised to install the CWM on Boot mod (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1554579) before messing with any of the system files.

Thanks man, easy as pie!
Before
After

916x10 said:
Thanks man, easy as pie!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No prob. I learned quick after taking a misstep trying to copy them to the fonts folder w/ no cwm on boot - fc's, followed by a boot loop, followed by rsd lite... you know where this goes... anyway, i thought i'd share..
...Still not sure what all the other fonts in there do.. heck, i got no idea what the clockopia font is even for. I've changed it to different fonts separately, and notice no difference anywhere... you probably don't need to even change it. Someone else please feel free to post if you can add to the topic
Sent from my mind using XDA

Guys, I just did what I didn't suppose to and ended up in bootloop during font change! I know, am a stupid noob...
But, can't get the phone to CWM either. What should I do?
Running Victory rom if that helps. Thank you very much for the responses.
EDIT: nevermind, now I know what to do. Sorry for trolling, moderators can now delete my stupid post...

Don't beat yourself up my brother.... We've all been there.
Some, like me, more than others. That's the way I learned.
ATRIX 2 / Victory Rom

Yup - been there. And, learned from it..
Try and keep that CWM on Boot installed if you're messing around, and a backup on your sd card to restore if you start looping..

Thanks for your support guys, you're awesome
The thing is that i did have CWM on boot installed, and I did make all important backups. I just couldn't get anywhere but in regular fastboot mode only...
Anyway, RSDLite will do the thing I hope...
Thanks again boys, cheers from OZ

Back to CM7 fonts
How I can back to CM7 fonts or reinstall it?
Thanks in advance

Mobeca said:
How I can back to CM7 fonts or reinstall it?
Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow.. I forgot about this thread!
Anyway, you would need you to find the fonts from cm7 and move those as described above.
I am not familiar with CM roms, but I assume the fonts are in the same /system/fonts folder - grab them from a CM7 rom and follow the steps..
Note: there are also apps that change system fonts (like Font Changer) - but I prefer to do things manually..
Sent from my phone's mind

Thanks man, that;s easy to setup

Anybody try this on ICS yet?
Sent from my phone's mind

alteredlikeness said:
Anybody try this on ICS yet?
Sent from my phone's mind
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good read : http://rootzwiki.com/topic/15077-how-to-make-font-packs-that-work-in-icsjb/

Archmag3 said:
Good read : http://rootzwiki.com/topic/15077-how-to-make-font-packs-that-work-in-icsjb/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! That is a good read... and, so it looks like you could possibly still use the method in my OP, but you need to replace the four Roboto font files instead of the DroidSans ones.. I'll give it a try sometime when I get back on ICS and update the OP accordingly.

alteredlikeness said:
Thanks! That is a good read... and, so it looks like you could possibly still use the method in my OP, but you need to replace the four Roboto font files instead of the DroidSans ones.. I'll give it a try sometime when I get back on ICS and update the OP accordingly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a application called LCfont changer. It works via CWM / Recovery..but i didnt work for me.Can you just try out and let me know ?

How to create your own tw rom on your phone using root explorer

In this tutorial I will show you how to create your own T.W. rom using your GS3 and Root Explorer. There are many ways you can create a rom but not everyone has the time to sit at a computer every night. However, your phone is always on you and can find a few minutes here and there to create your own masterpiece.
For the sake of this tutorial, we will name our new rom "SLICK".
Here are a few things you will need...
1. The rom base from Scottsroms. I'm NOT talking about Cleanrom but the unmodified stock rooted rom.
2. Root Explorer.
3. Script Manager
4. Any mod you can flash or come up with on your own.
1. GET STARTED!
Download the base rom to your phones EXT-sdcard and extract it using Root Explorer. After it's extracted the new unziped rom will be located in /storage/sdcard0/SpeedSoftware/Extracted. The extracted rom is now your new base. At this point it would be a great idea to move it to your EXT-sdcard and create a new project folder for it and label the folder "Project SLICK". inside the folder is your rom. lets rename that rom "SLICK".
Lets open your new SLICK rom. You should have some folders...
BOOT IMAGE
DATA
META-INF
SYSTEM
3. THE SYSTEM FOLDER
/SYSTEM/APP
Most of your work will done in the System folder so lets open that up. This is the heart of your rom! There are many folders here but lets start with the app folder. This folder has every app installed in your rom. This is a good time to remove the bloat you don't want in your rom. Go ahead and delete the apk's you don't want or need.
/SYSTEM/BIN
Here you can speed up your system or make it more battery efficient by deleting things like "mpdecision" and things like that. Be careful what you delete though. In general you won't do much in here.
/SYSTEM/BUILD.PROP
Here you can change values or add values. The one value we are concerned with is "ro.build.display.id" This build property's value will be displayed in the end users settings menu under "about phone". So let's give this property the correct value "ro.build.display.id=SLICK ROM v1.0" The rest of the build properties you can do as you wish. Build.prop is simply a text file. You can use the text editor built into Root Explorer.
/SYSTEM/CSC
Open this file and you will see more files. Listed is "feature.xml". Here you can edit values for various items for texting and mms.
/SYSTEM/ETC
Here is where you will find a folder called "init.d". Located in this folder are various text files. The text files are scripts that are told to run when your phone boots. You can add or modify to the existing scripts or create a new text file.
So we went over a few of the basics of modding your new rom and molding it into something you can call your own but does it work??
4. TESTING YOUR NEW BASE.
So we have already modified our rom a considerable amount and should have a good solid base. Before we go any further we should really test things out first. If we did something wrong earlier we will at least have an idea where to look. So lets flash our new rom. Go to you EXT-sdcard and find our project folder. you should still have your SLICK file. Zip this file with Root Explorer. Make sure you have a good battery and a cool environment because it's going to take your GS3 about 30min of hard work to zip this file. When that is finally completed, flash your new rom located in /storage/sdcard0/SpeedSoftware/Archives. Flash it just like you would any other rom.
Test your new rom out on your GS3 and see how things are running. Check your existing modifications you did earlier. If everything looks good, we can continue modding. If not you will need to go back to your base to see where you went wrong. This is also a great time to check your init.d scripts. One way to do this is to download "Script manager" from the market and click on your init scripts to read there log. It will tell you if something went wrong.
If everything is looking good, we can continue modding...

5. THE MODS
So we have that nice clean base but what about all them mods in the roms we download and flash everyday? There are a few different ways we can do this and we will start with the easiest but first, do a nandroid backup of your new base. If one of your mods you perform next goes bad it's simply quicker to recover. Now, If you have flashable zips of some of the mods you like then you can flash them now and make sure they are working the way they should in your rom. Remember, just cause we have the d2vzw does not mean mods from the sprint or T-mobile won't work on our devices. Sometimes it's worth a try. It's all about which firmware they are on and what has changed with the firmware.
So we flashed a few mods but don't have everything we wanted. At this point you are left with only one option and that is to get on that PC of yours and learn to decompile a APK. I may touch on this subject later as it is a bit more involved for someone new to this sort of thing.
6. UNDERSTANDING THE FLASHABLE ZIP
The alternate method of a flashable zip is to extract your flashable using Root Explorer and picking it apart. For example we will use "Lean Kernel" and kill 2 topics with one stone. If you unzip the kernel you will see...
BOOT.IMG
META-INF
SYSTEM
As you can see there are some familiar files to us just like when we extracted our base rom in the beginning. Basically when you flash a mod like this or any flashable for that matter, it installs files into your rom in certain places. In this example we will be installing in BOOT.IMG and SYSTEM. But what? And what is that META-INF file for? Well this META-INF file is what tells your rom what files and what to do with those files. Inside META-INF is a text file called an "updater script".
Here is what it looks like...
Code:
show_progress(0.500000, 0);
mount("ext4", "EMMC", "/dev/block/mmcblk0p14", "/system");
package_extract_dir("system", "/system");
set_perm(0, 0, 0777, "/system/etc/init.d/00leanKernel");
unmount("/system");
assert(package_extract_file("boot.img", "/cache/boot.img"),
write_raw_image("/cache/boot.img", "/dev/block/mmcblk0p7"),
delete("/cache/boot.img"));
show_progress(0.100000, 0);
Line 2 shows it mounting the system so we can write to it.
Line 3 shows us extracting the entire directory of the system file in the flashable into the system file of our rom.
Line 4 shows we are setting permissions for one of the system files we just installed in the rom. In this case it is an INIT.D file.
Line 5 shows us returning the system to an un-writable state.
Line 6 shows we are now installing the other file called BOOT.IMG.
So we installed BOOT.IMG and the SYSTEM file. The BOOT.IMG file is usually only found in a rom or kernel zip so most of the time you won't see this file in a flashable but I wanted to use this as an example to show a bit about the kernel side of things.
Ok, so lets get back to the original files of this flashable zip. The updater script stated we installed a new system file into the rom so whats in there? If we open the SYSTEM file from our flashable with Root Explorer you will find a file hierarchy...
SYSTEM
-- ETC
--- INIT.D
---- "00LEANKERNEL"
-- LIB
--- MODULES
---- Listed here are a bunch of ".ko" modules and i'm not listing them all.
So whats the point of all this? Well lets say when we originally debloated our rom in the begining we could of included some of our flashable mods like a custom kernel before we zip the rom to test the base. So in this case we can manually install this kernel before we zip the base. We can take the BOOT.IMG from our extracted kernel and replace the BOOT.IMG in our extracted rom. We only need the files from the flashable so we need to copy and paste the "00LEANKERNEL" file from our flashable to our roms /system/etc/init.d folder. We can also take those ".ko" files from the flashable and dump those into the /system/lib/module folder and we are done. You have now manually installed a kernel into your base rom before you zipped it. Now when you zip your rom and flash it, your new base rom will boot with your custom kernel. Since we manually installed the kernel we don't need the META-INF file provides an auto install script for installing through recovery. Technically we could take all of our flashable mods, extract them, look at the file hierarchy and copy and paste the those files to our extracted base rom. That way we can zip our rom and test it with the mods right off the bat. You can really make things quicker this way and is in general the way to go.
I think it's rather important to fully understand a flashable zip. How it's built and how it completes it's task. It's used so often and makes mods so incredibly easy to install but it is also what installs our rom! One of the files we see when we open "slick" is a META-INF and there inside is the updater script to flash the rom. Again we are doing the same thing as we do with the flashable mod but this time we are installing a lot more files with a lot more permissions. It is the exact same thing as shown above just a bit more extensive.

7. PUT THE PIECES TOGETHER
Ok so we have our base rom running on our phone and possibly a few mods installed. We also have our extracted and debloated "slick" rom on the EXT-sdcard inside our project folder. The next part is rather easy if you understand how those flashable mods were installed. If you understand the whole flashable and its files, your better off just extracting them and then copy and paste them where they need to go. After you have all your mod files in place you can now zip your official "Slick" rom using Root Explorer of course. Prepare yourself for another 30 minutes for it to zip. After it's zipped your done. You have now created your first fully modded rom! However...
Lets say you don't get the whole flashable thing and or you had made some other changes to the rom while you were testing. Lets say you flashed some mods and created a few init.d scripts or the build.prop along the way. NO WORRIES! We can put the rom together another way. A lot of the mods you flash will install files in some usual areas of the rom like your Framework folder and such. Lets just say we don't know though. You can actually copy complete folders from the rom you are running right there and now and paste them into your extracted "Slick" base rom using Root Explorer. So you can take "/system/framework" from your currently running rom, copy it, and paste it in "/storage/EXT-sdcard/project folder/slick/system/framework". In short just take your copy of the framework file and put it in your extracted base and paste it. Root Explorer will then ask you if you want to replace this file and click yes. You have just transferred any modded file that might have been in framework to your extracted rom. Any folder you may think was modded, simply copy and paste it to your extracted base rom on your EXT-sdcard. Once you think you have it all the modded files transferred you can zip your new "Slick rom! Flash and enjoy!!

FINISHED
So we have now completed our own rom on the device itself. It's really not too difficult just a bit more time consuming with zipping and that. However, you may need to do a bit more research on how to decompile and recompile an APK. This is one of things that can really be a pain to setup. It's again the basics that will kill you. The whole PITA is not decompiling or making changes to a framework file, it's setting up the environment that sucked for me. You have to get the Java and files in order and all the little crap to get it to work. IMO, if you haven't decompiled an APK yet it's really not difficult at all. Like I said. It's the basics. I encourage you to learn this because it's so freakin easy after it's all setup and you will be able to do so much more with your rom. Once you get this APK thing down don't be afraid to take someone elses work and reverse engineer it. Try to figure out what that developer did to accomplish what he wanted. It's a great way to learn and thats what it's about.
I may add to this somewhere down the road but for now it's all I have. I hope this helped and motivated someone to create a rom and begin there journey to become developer someday! We can all use fresh ideas for development. There is so much more to come for Android so get your hands dirty and share!
Thanks guys!

Ha never really thought of doing this on the fly with my phone. Even though all the right stuff was sitting in my face thanks for opening my eyes razz1
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

dincdoes.me said:
Ha never really thought of doing this on the fly with my phone. Even though all the right stuff was sitting in my face thanks for opening my eyes razz1
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's another way. May not be the fastest way but it's another option. I also wanted to write this as a general rom creation and learning some basics. It's always the basics that will kill a project and motivation. I would like to see a complete newb to be able to complete a rom with this tutorial. Then I accomplished something. Going to have to finish this tomorrow though. It's taking longer than I thought lol.

Yea I mean I'm a newb at doing it from my phone if that counts =) .. What explorer do you like to use to repack the zips. I'm sure I'll try this method soon to play while bored at work. Rom tool box will help with boot animations, fonts and transition animations too take care thanks for giving our community some new skills I'm sure it will help out down the road.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

Thank you for this post. This will definitely get me to try and make my own ROM the way I like, also I might just learn some new stuff. Great post thanks again
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

Nice tutorial.
It's a great way to show what can be done just from your phone.
:good:

Right on man. Been waiting for this. Thank you.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

dincdoes.me said:
Yea I mean I'm a newb at doing it from my phone if that counts =) .. What explorer do you like to use to repack the zips. I'm sure I'll try this method soon to play while bored at work. Rom tool box will help with boot animations, fonts and transition animations too take care thanks for giving our community some new skills I'm sure it will help out down the road.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use androzip man.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

More added

So would I make, say ROM manager a system app? Just copy the apk into the /System/App folder?

Evil Genius Jr. said:
So would I make, say ROM manager a system app? Just copy the apk into the /System/App folder?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, but not all apps you download from google play work in /system/app. Some want to be installed into /data/app. However /data/app doesn't exist till after the rom is booted. You would need to add the folder to your extracted rom and modify the updater script.

razz1 said:
Yes, but not all apps you download from google play work in /system/app. Some want to be installed into /data/app. However /data/app doesn't exist till after the rom is booted. You would need to add the folder to your extracted rom and modify the updater script.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are the fu**ing man razz1.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

That's about all I have for now. OP completed!:sly:

Hello. Ok so I created a ROM what I call MyTWGE (Tuchwiz Google Edition). Followed the instructions, unzipped the stock Verizon OS went into the -app- folder deleted all the Verizon, Samsung and Google apps (only the ones that are download able from Google Play). Replaced the stock launcher with the 5x6 version that I extracted from another zip, replaced the camera with the Google edition camera (download able from GP), replaced the keyboard with the Note2 keyboard (also unzipped from another zip). Looked around and deleted a few more files I found that were connected to some Samsung apps and zipped it up. Flashed the zip yesterday onto the phone and it's ALIVE working.
Thank you for your patience to write up all these instructions. I previously used TB to debloat my phone and that was it, learned a few thing thanks again
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

Lehocki said:
Hello. Ok so I created a ROM what I call MyTWGE (Tuchwiz Google Edition). Followed the instructions, unzipped the stock Verizon OS went into the -app- folder deleted all the Verizon, Samsung and Google apps (only the ones that are download able from Google Play). Replaced the stock launcher with the 5x6 version that I extracted from another zip, replaced the camera with the Google edition camera (download able from GP), replaced the keyboard with the Note2 keyboard (also unzipped from another zip). Looked around and deleted a few more files I found that were connected to some Samsung apps and zipped it up. Flashed the zip yesterday onto the phone and it's ALIVE working.
Thank you for your patience to write up all these instructions. I previously used TB to debloat my phone and that was it, learned a few thing thanks again
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol the whole time I was reading this I was waiting for you to say something didn't work out for you but it all did I guess. Nice!!

Yeah running for the past 24h no problems everything works. Thanks
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
---------- Post added at 02:24 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:07 AM ----------
Only thing that that's annoying is the wifi in the taskbar. I read in one of the posts that I have to go into systemui and some other files within n delete lines 12 through 21 but that didn't work , am guessing I need to decompile systemui to do that. The person in the post didn't clarify and I'm not ready to do that yet. Reason is I don't know anything about programming or linux or decompiler or anything like that. Deleting files I can do replacing some sure. But I'm happy my first attempt to mix something together worked and I'll keep doing it till I actually figure out what it is that I am doing. Thanks again for the post
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

Yea. Follow Didacts write ups to get you through it. It's all in framework res apk.

Modyfying existing ROM

Hi,
I decided to try to make a modification of an existing ROM which would suit me better right after flashing. Nothing large, only adding some apps and stuff. But Ive got a couple of questions:
1) Ive read some apps cant run from /system partition. Looks like that (at least) one of mine is one of them - it FCs when in /system/apps or /system/priv-apps. Is there any workaround to make this work? I dont want to lose it when doing factory reset (or to flash the ROM again after every factory reset).
2) I wanted to add langunages (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2602704) but according to forums those files are odexed. How could I deodex them to make them run on an deodexed ROM?
3) I want to include the faux kernel but Im not sure if simply copying those files into the ROM would do ... in the other cases it went ok but Im not sure about the kernel - Im afraid I could break something.
4) Can I also use the ROM file to store other files? I mean - if I put files into the ROM in /data/media/0/ would it simply appear in my home directory or could this break anything - by which I mean to destroy my existing files?
Thanks for any leads!

michalurban said:
Hi,
I decided to try to make a modification of an existing ROM which would suit me better right after flashing. Nothing large, only adding some apps and stuff. But Ive got a couple of questions:
1) Ive read some apps cant run from /system partition. Looks like that (at least) one of mine is one of them - it FCs when in /system/apps or /system/priv-apps. Is there any workaround to make this work? I dont want to lose it when doing factory reset (or to flash the ROM again after every factory reset).
2) I wanted to add langunages (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2602704) but according to forums those files are odexed. How could I deodex them to make them run on an deodexed ROM?
3) I want to include the faux kernel but Im not sure if simply copying those files into the ROM would do ... in the other cases it went ok but Im not sure about the kernel - Im afraid I could break something.
4) Can I also use the ROM file to store other files? I mean - if I put files into the ROM in /data/media/0/ would it simply appear in my home directory or could this break anything - by which I mean to destroy my existing files?
Thanks for any leads!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) What is the app? on system/app they should work fine since kitkat update, i think
2) To deodex i used a kitchen i got out of foro nexus (cant get the link atm) that only worked on linux. If you want to translate things in your rom, i think it can be done without deodexing, im not sure.
3) Copy paste should work fine but if you take a look at faux's meta inf, see what's there, merge it with your rom's meta inf. But it should work with cp
4) You can use the meta inf to link files to storage like your sdcard, yes. However, if you try to put a wallpaper somewhere inside the rom it wont show up

anerik said:
1) What is the app? on system/app they should work fine since kitkat update, i think
2) To deodex i used a kitchen i got out of foro nexus (cant get the link atm) that only worked on linux. If you want to translate things in your rom, i think it can be done without deodexing, im not sure.
3) Copy paste should work fine but if you take a look at faux's meta inf, see what's there, merge it with your rom's meta inf. But it should work with cp
4) You can use the meta inf to link files to storage like your sdcard, yes. However, if you try to put a wallpaper somewhere inside the rom it wont show up
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks very much for your reply! Now:
1) The app is a game, Traffic Racer. When I flash a ROM where this app has been put in /data/app it runs fine. In /system/app or /system/priv-app it FCs. As you say it should work Ill try to do it again - but I tried it twice in /system/priv-app and once in /system/app already so I dont believe it would work. BTW I use APKs from update.zip created by TiBa if it could be relevant.
2) Linux is not a problem so Ill try to find the link here.
3) Ill try only to copy the files first before messing with meta files.
4) I only want to store some apps config backup files (for Apex launcher and Agenda widget mainly).

michalurban said:
Thanks very much for your reply! Now:
1) The app is a game, Traffic Racer. When I flash a ROM where this app has been put in /data/app it runs fine. In /system/app or /system/priv-app it FCs. As you say it should work Ill try to do it again - but I tried it twice in /system/priv-app and once in /system/app already so I dont believe it would work. BTW I use APKs from update.zip created by TiBa if it could be relevant.
2) Linux is not a problem so Ill try to find the link here.
3) Ill try only to copy the files first before messing with meta files.
4) I only want to store some apps config backup files (for Apex launcher and Agenda widget mainly).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, games could cause issues, yes. Better leave it on data app. Messing with meta inf is totally easier than it sounds anyways and could help fixing any possible bugs, you gotta try it. Backup files i dont think they'll work on the rom but you can store them into storage/emulated/legacy which is the storage, though you could do this any other easier way

anerik said:
Oh, games could cause issues, yes. Better leave it on data app. Messing with meta inf is totally easier than it sounds anyways and could help fixing any possible bugs, you gotta try it. Backup files i dont think they'll work on the rom but you can store them into storage/emulated/legacy which is the storage, though you could do this any other easier way
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks again! Ive got one more question about including the faux kernel. The updater-script is supposed to run this command during the installation in CWM:
Code:
package_extract_file("boot.img", "/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/boot");
... which I dont know how to implement. If I would only copy all files it would overwrite the original boot.img (Kitkat+ 1.1 original anyway) - which im not sure is the same. So Im not sure if it wont screw something up ...
Or is this extraction the same as copying it? Does the "/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/boot" just mean - "its a block device on first SD, partition name boot"?

michalurban said:
Thanks again! Ive got one more question about including the faux kernel. The updater-script is supposed to run this command during the installation in CWM:
Code:
package_extract_file("boot.img", "/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/boot");
... which I dont know how to implement. If I would only copy all files it would overwrite the original boot.img (Kitkat+ 1.1 original anyway) - which im not sure is the same. So Im not sure if it wont screw something up ...
Or is this extraction the same as copying it? Does the "/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/boot" just mean - "its a block device on first SD, partition name boot"?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Put faux's boot.img on the rom first, then on updater script go to the line that refers to extracting boot.img (should be like the last one) and replace that with the command on faux's updater script. That means it will extract it in that directory, nothing else. Be sure to copy modules aswell and set the perms

Q&A threads should be created in the Q&A forum... not the Development forum.
Thread moved.

One more question - is there a special way how to pack the ZIP file? Cause I unpacked a ROM, added some apks, packed it but it didnt work (no error, just ended at "opening rom" or what the CWM message is) ... but when I modified existing ZIP it went fine ...