Database Info

[REQ] a non-rooted themer

After seeing the Gloss Suite I have to make a plea for the non-rooted (don't hate, just don't want to risk it till I know for DURN sure how the warranty issue shakes out or the bootloader can be relocked) for a SIMPLE Themer... don't take away the Nexus UI style, leave the number of screens alone, don't add extra docks or task bars...
... just a way to change the icons/clock/wallpaper (ok maybe multiple wallpapers). Don't add in another layer of complexity. There are PLENTY of Home Replacements out there that make it look like a Hero, iPhone or whatever, and add extra crash-able things.
Icons/Clock/Wallpaper(s)... and maybe the Weather/News widget.

It isn't really feasible without using a home replacement that has its own version of each app that you want to theme, so that the themer can theme the home replacements version of it.

Well then, just a simple HOME that leaves the Nexus UI intact and does the iconography

ilanad said:
Well then, just a simple HOME that leaves the Nexus UI intact and does the iconography
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Are you talking about Icons within the tray? Or icons on the screen? If on the screen, you could just use bettercut.

david1171 said:
It isn't really feasible without using a home replacement that has its own version of each app that you want to theme, so that the themer can theme the home replacements version of it.
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Wait. No. (thats' what I get for being asleep when reading these).. no you mean things like OpenHome, Home++, PandaHome are carrying a full compliment of apps? Or just stubs.. cause on my G1's, when Google Maps got updated, the Icon's in their themes got updated..
No, I'm just looking for a dirt, dumb simple Home replacement then, that LEAVES the Nexus UI alone (the HOUSE, the scrolling of the apps there, etc.. ) just let me make an Icon/Wallpaper set and don't add tons of extra things..
and AnyCut/BetterCut, maybe.. but then would have to do it on every icon, every time...

Now that the 2.1 source is out you could alter the launcher2 source to reroute the resource calls. You have to refactor the namespace as well though as a non-rooted phone wouldn't allow you to install a second com.android.launcher2. Though like openhome/dxtop/ahome that would only alter app icons in the launcher, app icons elsewhere (long press home/settings/etc) would still have their "real" icons
Not hard, but not really fun either.

This is, at best, ridiculously difficult and, at worst, impossible.
It's not worth the effort because rooting is dirt simple, so if you want it done, you'll probably have to do it yourself.
Buy BetterCut and replace shortcuts on the homescreen - they'll still be the original in the launcher, but it's the closest you will get without root.

Casao said:
This is, at best, ridiculously difficult and, at worst, impossible...... but it's the closest you will get without root.
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Then how do OpenHome, aHome, Home++, Freshface, et.al. do it ... without root.

ilanad said:
Then how do OpenHome, aHome, Home++, Freshface, et.al. do it ... without root.
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They completely replace home, and I'm not aware of any of them changing the actual icons for the .apk files. They might be creating custom shortcuts, which is possible, and if you reprogram the launcher you can do whatever you want. That's not a skin though, that's a completely redone launcher.

Replacing stock launcher

Hi all,
I'm currently using LauncherPro and I was wondering if the stock launcher still runs in the background when LauncherPro is active, or if it's completely shut down.
Basically, I'm trying to find out if the stock launcher would take up any RAM/CPU when you're running a different launcher on top.
Thanks
/Mot

anyone?
/Mot

Interesting question. I think the easiest way to get an answer to this, is simply to ask one of the creators of the home screen replacements apps. I'll try to get in touch with them and get back as soon as I can.

swipee said:
Interesting question. I think the easiest way to get an answer to this, is simply to ask one of the creators of the home screen replacements apps. I'll try to get in touch with them and get back as soon as I can.
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Thanks swipee

In the mean time, it can't hurt to remove all widgets and things from the stock launcher homescreens. This way it won't use resources.

OrganizedFellow said:
In the mean time, it can't hurt to remove all widgets and things from the stock launcher homescreens. This way it won't use resources.
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not a bad tip

I'm pretty sure it doesn't.
Even if it does it would get killed after residing in memory long enough.
There can only be one default launcher and you'll notice if you switch between launchers, each time you do the launcher you load has to redraw everything on the home screen. Thus it's not residing in memory.
Heck, the default launchers don't stay in memory very long without some tweeks so I can say with confidence that launchers not actively running aren't gonna be taking up resources.

That's my observation as well, but I'm no expert
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

It's not used unless it is called, typically by another app using an intent, or it's set as your default launcher.
So, if it's not set as your default launcher the only resources it consumes is storage space EXCEPT until it is called by another app. For example, the stock launcher has a wallpaper picker intent so when you open the wallpaper picker it will "launch" that function (not the whole app) of the stock launcher because the stock launcher is registered (in androidmanifest.xml) to respond to such calls.
In reality it will sit idle for most of the time and use a tiny amount of resource if it's needed. It would be a measurable use of resources but probably not perceptible to a human.

[Q] How to create home screens, themes, etc?

Hello all,
New to the forums and I'm pretty much a complete newb to smart phones as well (I haven't had a cell phone in close to 5 years lol). Anyway, got a Galaxy S2 a couple weeks ago, started wondering about customization, etc and ran into this site.
Looking at some of the home screens you guys come up with, they are amazing.
But, I honestly have no idea where to start to make my own. Do I need to root my phone to do this stuff? Or, is it as simple as downloading some themes and icons and installing them?
I don't mind reading and/or teaching myself how to do it, but, if someone could just point me the right direction I would appreciate it.
Thanks in advance for any help. Cheers.

actually , you have no need to root your phone if you just want to change some icons or themes , but you may change your launcher so you can use those themes or dock icons that you have download in xda .

Try different launchers to replace your standard home, they're all good. Adw is what I normally use, launcher pro is good, go launcher also.
sinkster

I was actually curious about this too. I like PyroMod, but I think the Opacity of the windows should be closer to 80% and the notification fonts should be white instead of black. What specifically do I need to modify for this to work?

Thanks for the replies.
I downloaded and installed Launcher Pro, just to try...I have read about ADW and a couple others that I will try as well once I get the hang of this thing.
Are there any problems that may pop up with the phone using 2 launchers? I guess not or you guys wouldn't be using them.

im using launcher pro and zeam launcher and i had no problems so far

Without rooting, you can change icons on your homescreen (using a home replacement app and/or Desktop Visualizer), use modified widgets as long as they're not system apps, customize your lock screen with WidgetLocker, and of course change your wallpaper. You can also use something like Multipicture LWP to do a bit more creative stuff - like embedding icons on the wallpaper in PS and stuff.
With rooting you can do all of those things, plus modify your status bar & notification icons, change icons for apps officially (not just on the homescreen), modify system apps or remove them, etc etc. If you have no reason to root, don't. It's a common misconception that you have to root to make your phone look good. While it definitely helps, it's not necessary.
If you do plan on rooting and are interested in theming, see if MIUI is available for your device. You may like it, and the theming possibilities are endless. If you don't like it or it isn't available, other roms have theming built in as well - CM7 is one that comes to mind.
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

plainjane said:
Without rooting, you can change icons on your homescreen (using a home replacement app and/or Desktop Visualizer), use modified widgets as long as they're not system apps, customize your lock screen with WidgetLocker, and of course change your wallpaper. You can also use something like Multipicture LWP to do a bit more creative stuff - like embedding icons on the wallpaper in PS and stuff.
With rooting you can do all of those things, plus modify your status bar & notification icons, change icons for apps officially (not just on the homescreen), modify system apps or remove them, etc etc. If you have no reason to root, don't. It's a common misconception that you have to root to make your phone look good. While it definitely helps, it's not necessary.
If you do plan on rooting and are interested in theming, see if MIUI is available for your device. You may like it, and the theming possibilities are endless. If you don't like it or it isn't available, other roms have theming built in as well - CM7 is one that comes to mind.
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
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Rooting might be something I would think about down the road, but, being so new to this I will probably hold off for now. I wouldn't mind unlocking it at some point though as I do travel to the States a couple times a year and would like the freedom that provides for my trips.
Thanks for the detailed reply, it is appreciated and I will look into some of those apps that you mentioned.

[App Request] Launcher settings converter

Hi there,
first off, sorry if this is in the right forum. Please move it to the right one in that case.
Then:
I originally posted this in the Apex Launcher thread but some users pointed out (correctly) that this is probably an idea that should deserve its own app and is not limited to Apex alone. Here goes:
Android has the great ability that you can change launchers quite freely, allowing you to change the look and feel of the main GUI with a few clicks. Unfortunately, every launcher has a different way to store their settings and when you switch to a new one, you will lose the settings from the old one. I personally switched from GO Launcher EX to Nova Launcher when I upgraded my Desire to ICS but would now like to switch to Apex - but after taking all the time and effort to recreate half a dozen of folders with 50+ apps sorted, I don't feel like doing that again.
My idea would thus be to have an app that can detect a backup you made with one launcher (almost all of them allow backups these days) and convert it to the backup-format of another launcher, allowing the user to import it into the new launcher. That way stuff like folders and settings could be transferred, allowing people to switch launchers more easily.
I'm not a dev, so I have no idea whether this is possible and if so, how hard it would be to develop it, but I wanted to request it here in case someone might be able to do it.
TIA
SoWhy

Nova-Launcher already does it!
Even if this is an older request: I would also appreciate, if there would be an app which can do that. And: In general this conversion is for sure possible. The Nova-Launcher already has this function of transferring already implemented. But it would be better, if there's an independant app for this, 'cause at the moment it's only "one way", from another launcher to Nova, but not the other way round.

[Q] Is there a way to automatically sort my apps?

I've gotten so many apps the only way to keep track of them all is to have them sorted alphabetically... except its an incredible pain to manually maintain that. Any way to get them autosorted?

Download Go launcher and in App drawer press menu, sorting, then Choose whatever u like!
Sent from my S+

or download Apex launcher, if you running 4.0.4

Will these conflict with MIUI?

I suppose I should clarify.. I don't particularly care to replace the MIUI launcher (which is what I have, and quite prefer to other 'drawer' based launchers), I just want to get my icons automagically sorted.