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[Q] Change stock launcher(home app) to Launcher Pro or whatever. How ?

I've read about this here a bit but it's not really well documented or tutorialized.
So, how can someone change stock launcher to whatever launcher he/she wants ?
I know this is done via adb console, this is not the issue. But dunno what needs to be taken out and replaced; if something needs to be renamed or not. Where can the apk files be found for newly installed software ? and also what needs to be removed from the stock launcher ? odex & apk ? I know where to find the apk, but not the odex. and are any more files "bound" to the stock launcher except the apk and the odex file ? If say i use a filemanager to locate my desired launcher (having said launcher installed), will pushing it into the /system/app folder do the trick or do I have to rename it ? That means that basically the system/app folder is like a folder for apps that are launched automatically when phone starts.
Can someone help me & shed some light on this ? Thanks !

as few ways to do this. isntall launcherpro (or what launcher you want).
use root explorer to move com.fede.launcher.apk from /data/app to /system/app
change the name to launcherpro.apk
change the permissions to read for user, group and others. write for user only.
reboot
once you select launcherpro, use root explorer, go to /system/app, and delete launcher.apk or home.apk or whatever your rom uses as stock home/launcher.
or, use adb
Code:
abd push launcherpro.apk /system/app

Thanks man, though I have some questions:
Q1: how do I do
change the permissions to read for user, group and others. write for user only.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Q2:
once you select launcherpro, use root explorer, go to /system/app, and delete launcher.apk or home.apk or whatever your rom uses as stock home/launcher.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't I have to rename launcherpro.apk to home.apk in order for it to work @ startup time ?
Instead of deleting home.apk, perhaps moving them to the sdcard might be better (just in case).

ldq said:
Thanks man, though I have some questions:
Q1: how do I do
Q2: Don't I have to rename launcherpro.apk to home.apk in order for it to work @ startup time ?
Instead of deleting home.apk, perhaps moving them to the sdcard might be better (just in case).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can use root explorer to change permissions. just long press the apk and a submenu will pop up with permissions being an option.
whether or not you need to change the name of launcherpro will depend on your rom/device. you can leave launcherpro as is and leave home.apk in there, reboot. when it boots, it should have a popup asking which you'd like to use as the launcher.
or, install launcherpro like normal, select it to be the default launcher and it should always launch at boot.

thanks a lot ! will try this out !

How to change stock launcher with any launcher
Victory !
Step by step:
1. Backup original launcher
Code:
adb pull /system/app/Launcher.apk Launcher.apk.bak
2. Backup installed launcherpro/adw/golauncher apk's to either HDD or SDcard
2a. Use root explorer mount r/w to copy corresponding file to SDcard & after that
rename the file to Launcher.apk or whatever your stock launcher is. ( user installed apps can be found in /data/app)
2b. Pull file to HDD
Code:
adb pull /data/app/Launcher.apk Launcher.apk
3. Push file to /system/app
Code:
adb push Launcher.apk /data/app/Launcher.apk
4. Reboot & Enjoy

How to delete stock .apks?

i tried to use a free-type root explorer; it didn't have the mount as r/w button, so i went and found a program that does only that? anyway, when i delete the apk's from the system folder nothing happens.
also, i need to add dutch to the bilingual stock keyboard.. only current option is espanol. anyone can help? my chef asked me what the code for holland was, it's nl_NL, but he never said what to do with that info after i found it.

There is an app that will uninstall system apps: Root uninstaller, iirc.
Barring that, you can delete system apps by opening the <rom_install>.zip, and going to system->app, next time you flash.

yay that worked.. no wabout that dutch keyboard..

Or even titanium
Sent from my HTC Desire HD using XDA Premium App

Don't delete unless u r too sure.
U could go into /system/app folder and rename all those u don't want to .bak files.

I just use the roms who just take care of the junk stock .apks lol

[Q] Can't uninstall Arabic keyboard?

Not sure where it came from (may be part of VU ROM), but my Inspire 4G has an Arabic keyboard from Parfield Software that I would like to delete. It has no uninstall option in its settings, nor in Settings/Applications/Manage Applications.
I found and deleted a com.parfield.inputmethod.arabic folder from data/data, but the keyboard persists and the folder comes back on reboot. I found and deleted parfieldIME.apk in system/app, but that did not do the trick.
I cannot find any other apk for this keyboard (one thread said to find and delete com.parfield.inputmethod.arabic.apk in system/app, but I do not see it) on the phone, searching with Root Explorer (searched on "arabic" and "parfield").
Any help would be appreciated.

Please where did u get this software i cannot find it on the Parfield Software website, thanks

smalis said:
Not sure where it came from (may be part of VU ROM), but my Inspire 4G has an Arabic keyboard from Parfield Software that I would like to delete. It has no uninstall option in its settings, nor in Settings/Applications/Manage Applications.
I found and deleted a com.parfield.inputmethod.arabic folder from data/data, but the keyboard persists and the folder comes back on reboot. I found and deleted parfieldIME.apk in system/app, but that did not do the trick.
I cannot find any other apk for this keyboard (one thread said to find and delete com.parfield.inputmethod.arabic.apk in system/app, but I do not see it) on the phone, searching with Root Explorer (searched on "arabic" and "parfield").
Any help would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't search for it. Go to system/app folder and look in there.

Mini Applications

Is there a way to remove the mini applications? I don't really need all these appz.

I use a custom rom and no mini apps found my device is p-5100 10 inch tab2 i tried fryrom version 7, cm9 and now in cm10 no mini apps or button for screenshot in any of them
Try a custom rom that conform to you device and you will not have them see developers section and take care of model number of your tab as it will help you choose the custom rom that is designed specifically for your tab
Sent from my GT-P5100 using xda app-developers app

If you are rooted, use a file explorer that allows you to mount the system as Read/write (Root Explorer is a good one) and go into /system/app.
Remove, move, or rename everything with "mini" in the name.
Then go to /system/framework and remove minimode.jar
Reboot.
Done.

colorado_al said:
If you are rooted, use a file explorer that allows you to mount the system as Read/write (Root Explorer is a good one) and go into /system/app.
Remove, move, or rename everything with "mini" in the name.
Then go to /system/framework and remove minimode.jar
Reboot.
Done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
colorado_al said:
If you are rooted, use a file explorer that allows you to mount the system as Read/write (Root Explorer is a good one) and go into /system/app.
Remove, move, or rename everything with "mini" in the name.
Then go to /system/framework and remove minimode.jar
Reboot.
Done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just removed them from my 3113 with stock rooted Jellybean, I removed the apk and odex from system/app and the file from system/framework. Note: do not remove every file with "mini" in it on the JB OS, the taskmanager has a bunch of files with the word mini in them, it'll probably break something.
Doing just the files did not remove the arrow from the bottom right however, I had to extract SystemUI.apk and mod the button PNG files to make them transparent, just used 7zip to extract and add back to the archive, recopied in and reset permissions. I attached the transparent PNG's to this post. Only thing to note is if you press in the area where the arrow used to be, you still get the blue circle effect, there's a couple PNG's for that, doesn't bother me though so I didn't mess with them.

[Q] How to make Swype my default keyboard

I want to make Swype my default keyboard. I have have CyanogenMod's flasable zip and Swype's working apk. I want to replace default keyboard in the zip with Swype. is it possible to do it?
please help

Long pressing on any text field will open a menu..click input method, select keyboard of your choice

gaurav.mishra280295 said:
I want to make Swype my default keyboard. I have have CyanogenMod's flasable zip and Swype's working apk. I want to replace default keyboard in the zip with Swype. is it possible to do it?
please help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ur question isn't clear dude.. if u just want 2 use it as ur default keyboard,do as my friend said.but if u want to delete default keyboard, delete d keyboard apk from system/app using root explorer
Press thnx button if it was helpful(plz)
Sent from my GT-S5670 using XDA

"if u just want 2 use it as ur default keyboard,do as my friend said"
Long pressing to change the keyboard does not make the keyboard the default. Upon reboot, your stock keyboard is used or none if you have removed it. I have to change to Swype upon every boot. Very annoying. There must be a way around this. Does anyone know?

thejayjetson said:
"if u just want 2 use it as ur default keyboard,do as my friend said"
Long pressing to change the keyboard does not make the keyboard the default. Upon reboot, your stock keyboard is used or none if you have removed it. I have to change to Swype upon every boot. Very annoying. There must be a way around this. Does anyone know?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd love to hear the answer to this as well. Prior to last release of Android, Swype said that it was an Android problem and the next release would fix it. They stated on the user comments section that "we can't help sloppy Android code and it's not our fault". The problem was neither - it still comes up with the standard keyboard as default upon reboot every time

gaurav.mishra280295 said:
I want to make Swype my default keyboard. I have have CyanogenMod's flasable zip and Swype's working apk. I want to replace default keyboard in the zip with Swype. is it possible to do it?
please help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try SwiftKey.

The issue happens with all paid keyboard.
Someone says it's an os fault..someone a Play store fault..someone a bad app coding fault.
The fact is that no one had made a fix.
It's there a way to fix this without touching the alt keyboard (I mean without moving it or installing it manually so to avoid any strange future updates failure) that can prevent the default stock keyboard to stick back as default at each reboot??
I mean..if I back up the stock android keyboard and then uninstall it with Titanium Backup..could it fix?
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S3 GT-i9300 using TapaTalk2

PIRATA! said:
The issue happens with all paid keyboard.
Someone says it's an os fault..someone a Play store fault..someone a bad app coding fault.
The fact is that no one had made a fix.
It's there a way to fix this without touching the alt keyboard (I mean without moving it or installing it manually so to avoid any strange future updates failure) that can prevent the default stock keyboard to stick back as default at each reboot??
I mean..if I back up the stock android keyboard and then uninstall it with Titanium Backup..could it fix?
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S3 GT-i9300 using TapaTalk2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This issue happens with (almost) all paid keyboards, as the only available keyboards at boot are the stock and free ones, given paid apps are stored in a protected storage area that is unavailable at boot time, at least until the Google Play service is actually started.
That's why (for instance) SwiftKey Free or Smart Keyboard Free are indeed kept as default keyboards after a reboot, but their corresponding paid apps will not and hence the 1st available free/stock keyboard will be selected.
The solution (developers?) could be the paid keyboard being the same free app, working with a "license" paid app. This way, the keyboard would be available at boot time and could be enabled as default, while keeping paid/premium features.
I'm afraid this is an OS restriction (bug maybe?) not yet addressed but with a helper app. The best ones so far imho (just workarounds anyway, as they still require user intervention):
Keyboard Picker
Keyboard Swap

I managed to get it working on 2.3.7 & 2.3.8 successfully but the gesture feature doesn't work(coz it asks for license):sly:. Does anyone know where the Swype licence gets stored(somewhere in /system partition)??

swype somehow checks your build.prop file and based on that check, Swype will work or not.
steps you have to do first:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=959192
First you will need to extract the needed files from a stock ROM. If you are still running the stock software, you can use a file explorer app to make a copy onto your SD card. Just copy and paste. You can also pull the files from the stock image or from the Iced glacier ROM. Pulling from Iced Glacier is the easiest method. Just unzip the ROM file and find the needed files.
There are two files, both in the system partition. The first is "Swype.apk" and is in /system/app folder. The second is "libSwypeCore.so" and is in /system/lib/ folder.
Edit: 7/25/11
It seems you must also conciser the source ROM and destination ROM when obtaining the files. Swype does a device/licence check when running, and if it fails the check then Swype will not work. The build.prop lists "t-mobile/htc/ect" as product.brand and Swype seems to check this before running. So use a version of Swype from a ROM with the same build.prop or edit the build.prop manually.
Now to install Swype:
There are two ways to do this, ADB or root explorer. (or other file manager with RW)
Any extra info to help explain what is going on for any new guys will be in green text.
For ADB:
First put the files you extracted into the tools folder of the android SDK, then open an ADB shell to your phone. When that is done, use the following commands. (each line is a separate command)
Remember Linux commands are case sensitive.
First is to mount /system as RW. (this allows you to save files to /system)
Code:
mount -o remount,rw /dev/block/mtdblock4 /system
Then you need to push (save a copy) the files to the correct locations.
Code:
adb push Swype.apk /system/app/Swype.apk
adb push libSwypeCore.so /system/lib/libSwypeCore.so
It may give the files the wrong permissions. (how much access to the system they have) Just to be safe we need to give the files the right permissions.
Code:
chmod 644 /system/app/Swype.apk
chmod 644 /system/lib/libSwypeCore.so
sync
reboot
Your phone will reboot and then you are done.
For Root Explorer:
Extract a copy of the needed files and put them on the SD card.
Then open root explorer and open the "sdcard" folder.
Next find "Swype.apk" and long press it and select "copy" (or if you have already completed this step once, copy "libSwypeCore.so")
Use the back button to go back to the root of the folder tree (up top where it shows your current location, it will show "/" this is where you started from when opening the app)
Locate and open the "system" folder.
You then need to tap the button up top marked "Mount R/W" (this will allow you to make changes and copy the files to the right locations) (this step should not be needed if you have already done so before)
Next open the "app" folder. (or if you are moving "libSwypeCore.so" open the "lib" folder)
Hit the "paste" button to copy the file.
Next long press the file you just copied "Swype.apk" and select "permissions" (or "libSwypeCore.so" as appropriate)
You will see a bunch of check boxes. The will be labeled "read" "write" "execute" across the top and "user" "group" "others" down the left side.
For "user" select the "read" and "write" boxes
For "group" and "others" select the "read" box only. Then select "OK"
When done with the first file, repeat the above steps again with the second file. Observe any changes to the steps that are in orange text.
Next open up a "terminal emulator" app and then run the following commands.
Code:
su
sync
reboot
Your phone will reboot and then you are done.
Hope this helps someone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
however, this has not helped my with my Galaxy Ace with custom rom. I guess the build.prop files do not match.
You can try with your Fit however. You need to have the swype.apk and the libswypecore.so files from your Original rom.