Replace a wallpaper inside an app with a custom one. - General Questions and Answers

Dear developers,
I installed meebo music player. The player uses background images as its skin. However, I want to replace these images with my own. I tried with Root Explorer. But the system does not allow me to copy the files to drawable folder of the app.
Can anyone tell me how to solve this? I want my wallpapers as skin. Please help.

ceomaverick said:
Dear developers,
I installed meebo music player. The player uses background images as its skin. However, I want to replace these images with my own. I tried with Root Explorer. But the system does not allow me to copy the files to drawable folder of the app.
Can anyone tell me how to solve this? I want my wallpapers as skin. Please help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Decompile the app, change the background images to the ones you want (keeping the same file names) within the drawable folder for your phone (if they are using multiple density drawable) and recompile, but if it uses any of Google's services the certificate will be different and those parts will no longer work.

Related

Changing System Icons on WM6?

I downloaded a bunch of nice glass icon set and would like to replace the existing WM6 icons such as MEI and other programs. What is the easiest method of doing this? I did a search but found no results. Any help would be appreciate it.
To change icons in start menu you need to replace the icons on shortcuts by changing the *.lnk files in windows\start menu and its sub-folders.
Just add a ',' (coma) to the end of the text in the file followed by the name of the icon file. You could also look for apps that make shortcuts on PPC. There are even some free ones.
But if you want to change icons of today plugins and other system icons you need to unsign, res-edit then resign some DLLs and that's not an easy process.
Darn it, check this out i got these awsome icons i wanna use.
Link: http://solsie.com/glass-icons-ms-windows/
Ok so these are program icons. No problem there - just get a good graphics app to shrink them to 32x32 pixels and save as *.ico (windows icon format).
Check out GIMP, its free and supports many formats including *.ico and *.png
Then change the shortcuts in start menu.
Like I said before there are several apps (sorry, don't remember their names) that will let you do it easily.
But if you want to change icons of today plugins and other system icons you need to unsign, res-edit then resign some DLLs and that's not an easy process
The above is what I want to do, can you point me in that direction.
YES!!!!, I was able to copy the .png file to my storage card. Then using total commander, I was able to MOVE the file to the windows directory overwriting the original file. Then I did a soft reset to make sure it stuck, and it DID!!!
any chance you want to post the files that you used to overwrite the system files
thank you!
I`m intrested too! Thanks!
IronRed said:
YES!!!!, I was able to copy the .png file to my storage card. Then using total commander, I was able to MOVE the file to the windows directory overwriting the original file. Then I did a soft reset to make sure it stuck, and it DID!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you tell me what the location was that you copied to - all I can find is the hklm etc etc and it wont let me move to there

Custom Program Folders

Does anyone know of an easy way to create custom Program folders and then move applications to those folders? I want to clean up the Programs group and would prefer not to have to build me own ROM.
Thanks in advance.
jamesjsenecal said:
Does anyone know of an easy way to create custom Program folders and then move applications to those folders? I want to clean up the Programs group and would prefer not to have to build me own ROM.
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
total commander works fine and its free.
Thanks for the info. TotalCommander works great.
NP. Glad to help.
Hi, Is there a way in totalcommander to change the folder icon to a "fancy" one such as a "multimedia" folder with different icon?
lindsaydr said:
Hi, Is there a way in totalcommander to change the folder icon to a "fancy" one such as a "multimedia" folder with different icon?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not easily. If the folder contains a file called "icon.lnk" that points to a particular icon within a DLL, then WM will display that icon rather than the "normal" folder icon under Start > Programs.
I've stolen the icons from Dutty's excellent ROMs, and cooked them into my little one. I've just tried to convert that into a cab that will install the icons into the Multimedia, Tools, and Apps folders under Start > Programs. I haven't tested it, and I think you'll end up with blank folders if you don't have Multimedia, Tools and Apps, but it should work!
Dutty - I know I haven't asked your permission to use your icons, so if you would rather I didn't, then please let me know and I'll delete this post and the attachment immediately. Thanks.
C'mon, man...
It's actually easier than people make it sound. All you need is a resource editor. You create your own .dll library or edit an existing one, I like to use Gconvert.
You will notice that any of the programs or folders that have "Custom Icons" have a specified path to the .exe usually followed by something like this: ?resource.dll -1001
This tells the system what library holds trhe icon & it's position within that library. You can modify existing libraries or create your own.
Just look for GConvert & PHMicon.dll (To use as a base)
GSLEON3 said:
C'mon, man...
It's actually easier than people make it sound. All you need is a resource editor. You create your own .dll library or edit an existing one, I like to use Gconvert.
You will notice that any of the programs or folders that have "Custom Icons" have a specified path to the .exe usually followed by something like this: ?resource.dll -1001
This tells the system what library holds trhe icon & it's position within that library. You can modify existing libraries or create your own.
Just look for GConvert & PHMicon.dll (To use as a base)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cheers GSLEON!
I'll have to have a play around with that. I love this forum - you learn something new every day.
Confused Stu said:
Not easily. If the folder contains a file called "icon.lnk" that points to a particular icon within a DLL, then WM will display that icon rather than the "normal" folder icon under Start > Programs.
I've stolen the icons from Dutty's excellent ROMs, and cooked them into my little one. I've just tried to convert that into a cab that will install the icons into the Multimedia, Tools, and Apps folders under Start > Programs. I haven't tested it, and I think you'll end up with blank folders if you don't have Multimedia, Tools and Apps, but it should work!
Dutty - I know I haven't asked your permission to use your icons, so if you would rather I didn't, then please let me know and I'll delete this post and the attachment immediately. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thats ok mate, well done

[Q] Editing .XML files within an Android device

Wondering if anyone has tried to edit .XML files within the android txt editor... I just noticed that i can open them, modify and save them with no issues using Root Explorer but i havnt been able to try them after putting back into an .APK
Has anyone successfully done this?
Side note: Reason im trying to do it is, i want to try and set ADW Launcher default settings they way i like it. so when i replace the standard launcher with ADW in a ROM .ZIP before flashing it is all setup already.
Thanks
did you find a way to do this? I want to make some apps (launcher, dialer) to always run in background too.

[Q] Anatomy of a clock widget

I bought a clock widget (Ohio State Clock), and I like almost all i see, except that it is a 4x2 and I really wish it were 4x1... I like to see my wallpaper. I have extracted the apk and searched through the files within to find the images I want to edit. I edited the size of them slightly in Photoshop and saved and zipped it back up, but it wont install on the handset. I didn't assume that it would, but it was worth a shot.
Inside the .apk I have:
Assets folder:
-Schedules XML (I assume this is the football/basketball schedules and scores)
MET-INF folder:
-anddev_k.rsa
-anddev_k.sf
-manifest.mf
Res folder:
-Drawable folder
-----All images and numbers are separate
-----btn XML
-Layout folder: (all XML's)
-----countdown_popup
-----loading
-----main
-----scoreboard
-----transparent
-----w_widget
-----w_widget_analog
-----w_widget_flip
-----widget
-----widget_analog
-----widget_flip
XML folder:
-Widget provider
Android Manifest XML
Classes.dex
Resources.arsc
My question, if possible, is there any way that I can make this clock work with the updated background image i adjusted, or can I piece together a separate clock from these files? Even if anyone knows what any of these files are could share with me so I can figure it out would be greatly appreciated.
ChrisAult2004 said:
I bought a clock widget (Ohio State Clock), and I like almost all i see, except that it is a 4x2 and I really wish it were 4x1... I like to see my wallpaper. I have extracted the apk and searched through the files within to find the images I want to edit. I edited the size of them slightly in Photoshop and saved and zipped it back up, but it wont install on the handset. I didn't assume that it would, but it was worth a shot.
Inside the .apk I have:
Assets folder:
-Schedules XML (I assume this is the football/basketball schedules and scores)
MET-INF folder:
-anddev_k.rsa
-anddev_k.sf
-manifest.mf
Res folder:
-Drawable folder
-----All images and numbers are separate
-----btn XML
-Layout folder: (all XML's)
-----countdown_popup
-----loading
-----main
-----scoreboard
-----transparent
-----w_widget
-----w_widget_analog
-----w_widget_flip
-----widget
-----widget_analog
-----widget_flip
XML folder:
-Widget provider
Android Manifest XML
Classes.dex
Resources.arsc
My question, if possible, is there any way that I can make this clock work with the updated background image i adjusted, or can I piece together a separate clock from these files? Even if anyone knows what any of these files are could share with me so I can figure it out would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a tool available online called "apksigner" it essentially "reseals" an opened apk and allows it to be installed on android again.
1. Open the APK
2. Navigate to the /res/drawable folder
3. Delete the .pngs you want replaced
4. Drag and drop the png you edited into that folder
5. Delete the META-INF folder inside the APK
6. Close your archiving application.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Link to apk resigner: http://www.mediafire.com/?uwzjjydnm2r
Link to the orginal thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=503007
Be sure to thank me if I helped
Thanks man, that helps a lot!

Theming for dummies - replace the icons inside themes from Samsung's Store - no root

So this is a simple how to aimed to people with unrooted phones that still want to replace the icons inside Samsung Themes.
First of all, just a bit of theory
1) Samsung Thems are simple apk files, so you can edit them and re-install without any trouble, they don't need a particular signature by Samsung.
2) The icons inside such themes are in qmg format, which is a proprietary format that cannot be converted without Samsung Theme designer's kit or by using the built-in converter which is in our phones... It's something that packs a png file and an xml one andnot even imagemagick for Linux can convert it.... No problem, you can replace qmg files in themes with png files flawlessly, you just need to rename them as png
So, you need apk extractor (see play store) which can extract installed apk very easily (even system files) without root and apkeditor pro (see play store as well) wich is a very handy tool for minimal decompiling. I am not affiliated to apk editor pro and you can obviously do the same thing with apk tool and a pc, though this simple how to is for 'noob dummy themers' and it makes more sense to use just your phone than apktool.
Once you have installed such apps, open apk extractor and look for the apk you must edit. Let's say you want to edit the material theme by Cambunch (see galaxy store). So, you will find two apk files with cambunch etc.... Choose the first one, the one with the words appicon inside and extract it. It will be placed into the folder ExtractedApk
I don't like, in such theme, the icons for calendar and messages, which are green and yellow, so I replaced them with google original ones. Just download them somewhere and rename them to qmg. I mean, if the original file was named message.png, just rename it to message.qmg for example.
Now open apk editor pro and choose to edit an apk file, go to ExtractedApk folder, choose the theme you have extracted and choose simple edit....
You should see a partially decompiled apk.... Go to res folder and then open the drawable etc.. folder
Inside that folder you'll see several qmg files... Look for the one that refers to message (the names are quite self explanatory) and click the 'pen' option, then use the file manager to choose the icon message.qmg you've saved as said above and replace the original one with the new icon. It can obviously been done with any icon inside that folder.
Now follow the steps suggested by the app itself and install the new apk over the former and your theme will have been updated.
If the theme had already been applied, move to a different one (even the default one) and then apply it back to see the changes.
Very simple
Just as a sample, this is the apk modded with calendar and message icon respectively in blue and light blue like the original ones by Google. It must be installed as an update of the nice theme by Cameron Bunch
How can you pull out the keyboard from a theme and apply without root?
AnThOnY- S7 Edge
iTouch24 said:
How can you pull out the keyboard from a theme and apply without root?
AnThOnY- S7 Edge
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is not so simple, you need apktool and a pc. Apk editor is unable to fully decompile the apk files of samsung themes.
To be honest, I haven't played with themes yet and I don't exactly know how they are applied to keyboard, notification bar and so on.
Cool! Thanks for posting this. I used this to edit the soft keys on my last LG, but didn't realize it would work for themes, too. Got some editing to do when I get back from my next trip.
meyerweb said:
Cool! Thanks for posting this. I used this to edit the soft keys on my last LG, but didn't realize it would work for themes, too. Got some editing to do when I get back from my next trip.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad you appreciate it
I googled a little bit and saw that you can't make a theme from scratch without Samsung's proprietary software which is reserved to approved designers only, but still it should be possible to edit a free theme and changing it into something different. I mean, not only the icons, even the Ui. At least for the things that this theme engine allows to be themed.
I would like a ubuntu touch theme or a Sony xperia one, which are not available in the theme store, but atm I have just been able to replace the icons... I have to get some spare time to decompile a theme on my pc
Why several APK files inside?
Hi,
Followed the procedure. But when choose simple edit, it shows several apk files inside the main apk file. how to replace the images?
I replied to your PM. It depends on the theme.
jisharka said:
Hi,
Followed the procedure. But when choose simple edit, it shows several apk files inside the main apk file. how to replace the images?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lucaoldb said:
I replied to your PM. It depends on the theme.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same issue with sd-Black theme. Only apk files in assets folder, no res folder. Any way to do it?
I am sorry, but I am now on Echoerom note 7 port which has the new theme store, so I can't directly check the old themes for the s7.
Anyway, when I posted this thread, I had had a look only at a couple of themes, which were very simple do as the ones by Cameronbunch. In the following day I realised that in the theme store there a basically to kind of themes and the ones of the second kind are much more complicated to edit.
To be honest, after opening this short thread, I haven't spent any time in editing themes, but I don't think apk editor is powerful enough for the themes of the second kind. You'd better go with apktool, since you need to decompile not only the main apk, but even the ones inside it.
Sorry for not being very helpful.
I have req for someone with root, can you share here themes from store: Athletics sports and Sparkle. I want to mix it and change some things. Thanks in advance.
the easiest way: use "awesome icons" app from google play (free); than, install any icon pack that you like (I prefer Note 7 icon pack), open the mentioned app and it will give you the possibility to change any icon from each app installed in the phone, keeping the functionality (eg: unread count badge for emails); you can opt for an icon in the icon pack or a picture or any .png/.jpg etc file

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