Database Info

[TOOL] iAPK Suite v0.9 - Drag & Drop APK Installer

Alright, straight to it.
This is iAPK Suite 0.9. The newest incarnation of iAPK. It's functions have been vastly increased, while keeping it's sole purpose still unique.
The new version of iAPK merits it a new name, iAPK Suite. This means it not only installs APKs, it is a full fledged manager. It installs, deletes, backups, and restores APKs from your respective Android devices. Aside from being drag 'n' drop friendly, i've incorporated a tremendous amount of useful features. Hell, it even signs APKs with a simple click.
There are currently two versions. iAPK Suite and iAPK Mini. The Suite version allows full APK management, while the mini just has simple drag and drop as well as the docking panel without any other APK functions which makes the file size practically cut in half.
Mind you, the usage of this application gets a lot easier when you learn all of the shortcuts I implemented to making things a lot quicker. A wiki will be made to explore everything about iAPK and how to use every function i've built into it, even the not so obvious ones
..:: Screenshots ::..
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
..:: Features ::..
- Sleek Drag n' Drop User Interface
- Docking Panel
- File Type associations with .apk files
- APK Management
- Signs APKs
- Drag Multiple APKs for installation
- Drag Folders containing APKs for installation
..:: Wiki ::..
iAPK Suite 0.9 Wiki *DOWN*
..:: Download ::..
Download iAPK Suite for Windows (LINK UPDATED JUNE 2012)
..:: Issues/Todo ::..
- adb sometimes has an issue with apks installed from folders with spaces in their name. (Working on a fix)
- small animation glitches tend to appear depending on the environment. (Does not pose any functional problems)
- a system tray icon needs to be added to allow for easy configuration of certain adb options/switches. (Working on)
- several adb switches need to be added to allow forced apk installed (-r) and other various tags. (Working on)
- deleting apks has not been testing thoroughly. (Waiting for feedback)
- iAPK needs an installer instead of being just compiled into a zip. (Working on)
..:: Changelog ::..
v0.9
+ Added quicker docking panel
+ Added File type associations with .apk files
+ Added APK management through the Android Device Bridge (adb.exe)
+ Added APK manifest dumping using the Android Asset Packaging Tool (aapt.exe)
+ New UI built from scratch
+ New Information panel notifier
+ Added a mini version for smaller file size
v0.3
+ Added Update Checker(Now notifies the user if an update is available)
+ Added Directory APK Installing(Not tested)
+ Now checks to see if adb is in $Path or already specified instead of always making a copy of adb locally(Not tested)
+ Added a configuration panel(Intended for internal use, otherwise no use right now)
- Taken out some un-needed functions(may work a little faster for some people)
++ Will be available for Mac OSX, Linux in the next release.
++ Will incorporate a default filetype & shortcut for windows(allows auto-install on doubleclick)
v0.2
+ Added Multiple APK Installing functionality (Drag and Drop multiple APK's)
+ Cleaned up some more code
+ Operation manager for internal use (Allows for batch calculation and apk management)
+ Added small tool tip for future use
+ Added an operation summary at the end of each..operation.
- Taken out 99.9% of the popups
- Taken out clunky option gear graphic
++ Coming soon... Just mention it.
This application works globally for ANY Android Device. Posting it in here is just because i'm in this sub-forum a lot. But this application will work with ANY Android device. It would be nice if this thread was pinned for easy access

Pretty cool. Heres another alternative i use. I just created a batch file where i made it pickup a file as an argument and "adb install -r" it. I compiled it to an exe and gave it an icon and set it as a default program for apk's. Here it is for those interested. You can either set it as default program for apk filetype, or just drag an apk into it.
Link

I like it. Simple and nice interface and easy to work with it

Thanks
10 char.

qberty said:
Hey xda inhabitants!
Here's something I made to shorten APK installing. This is my take on an easy drag and drop apk installer with quick and to the point functions. It's very simple and straight forward, drag and drop your APK onto my program, and it will install it over ADB to your phone! Very simple as opposed to using the 0.04 second long browse button, Dragging and dropping saves a bunch of time!
Screenie-bo-beenie
Download-oh-...err
1.4MB RAR
1.6MB ZIP
Please let me know if you want features that adb can provide or ..just anything you want implemented.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting. Does it support multiple/batch apk files? That would be useful for a restore.

wow..nice one
if can drag multiple apk files and batch install would be nice

Binary100100 said:
Interesting. Does it support multiple/batch apk files? That would be useful for a restore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
pingy_ping said:
wow..nice one
if can drag multiple apk files and batch install would be nice
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm..You guys are right.. it does not support multiple apks... It might since it's through adbs command, not sure if that would work. But I have a method of making multiple apks work at once. Lemme throw that on the table.
...Done.

Updated, and fixed v0.2 link.

pretty sweeet

sweet, love the idea of batch installs! Save a lot of time when switching between roms

Thanks! If anyone has anything else they want added. Let me know.

color me stupid but i cant get this to work...
may be that im on a pc at work.
there is nothing fancy needed to get it to work is there?
i am able to use the sdk tools and ADB can see my phone but the app keeps saying failed
any ideas would be great.

ceasee said:
color me stupid but i cant get this to work...
may be that im on a pc at work.
there is nothing fancy needed to get it to work is there?
i am able to use the sdk tools and ADB can see my phone but the app keeps saying failed
any ideas would be great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did some quick debugging and I found out that I broke the single APK installer by adding the multiple batch one. Damn lol. Well for now, untill I release the completely working one, just drop two or more apks on it for them to properly work. That is an error on my part, must have forgot an if/then/else somewhere along the road, I'll fix it now. Should be compiled within an hour. Thanks

Terribly sorry for the confusion. I have fixed the weird problem. Everything now works as it should. Please re-download v0.2 from the original post.

This is a really Nice utility

I have a couple of requests. Feel free to make them come true
1. Make it so if set as a default app for apks, when i double click an apk it launches this program, installs the apk, then shuts the program.
2. Make it so it detects if adb is currently in $path, u can do that using something like errorlevels in batch. So if it detects it, then it shouldnt have to extract the files such as adb and the dlls.
Just my $0.02

Great!! thanks!

Daneshm90 said:
1. Make it so if set as a default app for apks, when i double click an apk it launches this program, installs the apk, then shuts the program.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This.. is not the easiest thing to do, since I would now need to make my app utilize commandlines in win shells to allow me to add apk file locations to a command to be installed quickly. It's definitely possible, but unfortunately i can't complete it within an hour so, that'll take a bit longer.
Daneshm90 said:
2. Make it so it detects if adb is currently in $path, u can do that using something like errorlevels in batch. So if it detects it, then it shouldnt have to extract the files such as adb and the dlls.
Just my $0.2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is definitely an easy task, never thought of that, consider it done as I have the exact code in my head
I'll compile everything when I get homerz.
$0.2 is actually 20 cents... wow. You put a lot thought into this one. lol
Anyway, keep in mind, I can do..just about ANYTHING with this app. So don't hold back with your suggestions.

qberty said:
This.. is not the easiest thing to do, since I would now need to make my app utilize commandlines in win shells to allow me to add apk file locations to a command to be installed quickly. It's definitely possible, but unfortunately i can't complete it within an hour so, that'll take a bit longer.
This is definitely an easy task, never thought of that, consider it done as I have the exact code in my head
I'll compile everything when I get homerz.
$0.2 is actually 20 cents... wow. You put a lot thought into this one. lol
Anyway, keep in mind, I can do..just about ANYTHING with this app. So don't hold back with your suggestions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol my bad. Typing on phone/in a hurry don't go too well
Btw wht did u write this in ? vb?

qberty said:
This.. is not the easiest thing to do, since I would now need to make my app utilize commandlines in win shells to allow me to add apk file locations to a command to be installed quickly. It's definitely possible, but unfortunately i can't complete it within an hour so, that'll take a bit longer.
This is definitely an easy task, never thought of that, consider it done as I have the exact code in my head
I'll compile everything when I get homerz.
$0.2 is actually 20 cents... wow. You put a lot thought into this one. lol
Anyway, keep in mind, I can do..just about ANYTHING with this app. So don't hold back with your suggestions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anything? Lol (I won't go there!) What is the advantage to this verses using su file manager to just copy and paste within the phone? I guess I should just try it out, but didn't want to waste my time cause I have no problems with adb commands, but some of my friends might like it! Thanks!

[APP] Formula calculator

Update: new version v1.7.1.0 is available in Android Market. It comes with several improvement and bug fixes:
Automatically use the last result as the first operand if an operator is the first input in normal mode. For example, after calc an expression, 2+3, we get 5 as the result. Now the expression box is empty and user press a + button directly, the last result 5 will be added as the first operand and the expression looks like: 5+. If there is no last result, 0.0 will be added.
Minus sign is supported. Now user can press - to add a minus sign before an operand. The following expression is supported now: -5+3 In order to add the last result for -, user need to long press the – button.
The default n-th of a root operator is a Square root. In the earlier version, the n-th of a root operator can not be omitted. It must be written as x√y. Now if the n-th (x) is absent, the operator will be recognized as a Square root operator. It is easier for some common usage.
In some scenarios, you need to do a serial calculations that only the numbers are changed, but you have to input the whole expression again and again.
You need a calc supporting variables which represent the numbers, so every time, you only need to input the numbers. You needn't to remember the formulas any more.
DaCalc is such a formula calculator. It supports composing a new formula, loading, editing, importing and exporting.
You can find more information at: http://blog.deskangel.com/?tag=dacalc
Download:
market://search?q=pname:com.deskangel.dacalc

HandyCalc eh?
Sent from my HDfied HTC Desire

[Q]
Sounds really interesting. I visited the blog hoping to get more information but there really wasn't any :-(
Is there any way to get a complete listing of all the formulas it supports (comes preloaded with)?
Will the list of formulas be updated from version to version?
Can users enter their own formulas to be saved?

dsMA said:
Can users enter their own formulas to be saved?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, that was the whole point of this

I couldnt download it could you make another way of doenloading it plz

So why does this need to know my location, go online, read my phone state, or access my SD card?
Yeah, I'm pretty sure a simple calculator doesn't need all that. No thanks.

Those permissions are usually asked by ads.

ex87 said:
Those permissions are usually asked by ads.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly! Accessing SD card is in order to import/export formulas.

Kingduphhy1 said:
I couldnt download it could you make another way of doenloading it plz
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You cannot download the attachment or cannot download it from Android market?

A new version is available on Android Market. Many bugs are fixed and new features are added.
Main Changelogs:
1. removed the ads in the main ui
2. 2 can be omit in expression like 2√x
3. long click on delete can empty the edit box
4. click "- button" will add "-" only, long click "- button" will add the last result and "-".
5. fixed the information for import and export
6. result cleared after load a formula

drmacinyasha said:
So why does this need to know my location, go online, read my phone state, or access my SD card?
Yeah, I'm pretty sure a simple calculator doesn't need all that. No thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read Phone State is either because minSdkVersion isn't set, or its set to before that permission was added (Android 1.5 or so), so it's included automatically.

new version updated. Hope you like it!

[APP][4.1+][ROOT] User Management - Simple multi user helper

User Management
Dropbox link - While it's available on Dropbox, I'd really prefer it if you would use the Google Play option, as it help me keep statistics on device usage, and allows you to send error reports in case of problems
As recently discovered, Jelly Bean contains experimental and unofficial multi user support.
I've written an app for rooted Jelly Bean devices that allows anyone to use a simple GUI interface to do the following, without even touching the command line:
Create a user
View list of existing users
Rename users
Delete users
Switch to another user
The Primary user can be renamed, but not deleted. I disabled its deletion as it near-bricks the device, as detailed here (along with fix if you somehow manage it).
There is a donate version as well, but I won't be linking to that as it seems to be against the rules.
NOTICE: The SD Card permissions are required to rename the users. I couldn't find a way to save to the file system, so I read the user's file using the cat shell command, edited it with the new name, saved it to the SD Card and then used the cat command to overwrite the initial file. It's hacky, but it works.
I'd appreciate it if you could try out the app, perhaps buy it if you like it
Comments/suggestions are always welcome
As of now, the only way to switch back to the Primary user is if you hold down the power button and select the Primary user from there. This is because root access does not persist for any app, including Superuser itself across different accounts.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}

FAQ
What commands were used?
All were executed in a # (root) shell
To create a user (leave the quotes in if the username being create has a space. Single word names don't need them):
Code:
pm create-user "user name"
To delete a user (replace <user-id> with the user's ID):
Code:
pm remove-user <user-id>
To list all users:
Code:
pm list-users
To switch to another user (replace <user-id> with the user's ID):
Code:
am switch-user <user-id>
To rename a user:
There is no command for this. I used the cat command to read the user's xml file (/data/system/users/<user-id>.xml) into a string array, replaced the user name, saved the file to the SD Card and used the cat command again to overwrite the original file. To reboot after the rename I used:
Code:
reboot

What could come handy is setting profiles for personal n General usage, most people use various call hiding, media hiding apps to hide personal stuff, the ideal way will be to unlock the phone with two patterns at the screen lock level, one pattern unlock for general profile the other for personal use where your personal call logs, media for gets unlocked automatically, there's an app call switch me, but it requires rebooting which is not practically usable
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium

sanghaviraj said:
What could come handy is setting profiles for personal n General usage, most people use various call hiding, media hiding apps to hide personal stuff, the ideal way will be to unlock the phone with two patterns at the screen lock level, one pattern unlock for general profile the other for personal use where your personal call logs, media for gets unlocked automatically, there's an app call switch me, but it requires rebooting which is not practically usable
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is really not what the app was designed for. This app was meant to be a simple GUI interface to try out the limited multi user support without having to go to a terminal emulator or adb each time you wanted to do something like create or modify a user. The features you request should be implemented by Google themselves, as they likely will be in upcoming upgrades, and not by a third party app.

Any other comments/suggestions from anybody?

cool app

Good job brotha!
Billy

Raghav Sood said:
Any other comments/suggestions from anybody?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you show a screen shot of the final build main menu (the user selection screen)? Does this show up when you first boot up your phone/tablet?
Thanks!

TBayTom said:
Could you show a screen shot of the final build main menu (the user selection screen)? Does this show up when you first boot up your phone/tablet?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The third screenshot does show the user selection screen. You can tap on any one of the users, and a Context Menu shows up allowing you to rename, switch to, and delete that user.
Here is a screenshot of the menu:
This app does not start up on boot. Once booted, you must manually use the Primary account to open the app. This is because the app is simply meant to allow you to create and manage the users without using the terminal with a nice GUI, not attempt to replace or provide functionality that can only come from Google.

One suggestion: Landscape mode
Raghav Sood said:
User Management
As recently discovered, Jelly Bean contains experimental and unofficial multi user support.
I've written an app for rooted Jelly Bean devices that allows anyone to use a simple GUI interface to do the following, without even touching the command line:
Create a user
View list of existing users
Rename users
Delete users
Switch to another user
The Primary user can be renamed, but not deleted. I disabled its deletion as it near-bricks the device, as detailed here (along with fix if you somehow manage it).
There is a donate version as well, but I won't be linking to that as it seems to be against the rules.
NOTICE: The SD Card permissions are required to rename the users. I couldn't find a way to save to the file system, so I read the user's file using the cat shell command, edited it with the new name, saved it to the SD Card and then used the cat command to overwrite the initial file. It's hacky, but it works.
I'd appreciate it if you could try out the app, perhaps buy it if you like it
Comments/suggestions are always welcome
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

dietrichmd said:
One suggestion: Landscape mode
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure. I'll push an update with it in a few hours

You may want to look at UserDetailSettings.java in the Settings app for the package manager code to enable/disable apps per user.
https://android.googlesource.com/platform/packages/apps/Settings/+/jb-release/src/com/android/settings/users/UserDetailsSettings.java

Not sure if it's easy or not but your app driven by a nfc tags open some interesting scenario like when i give the phone to my wife and she say: "oh, what a mess my iphone have few icons..."
or a shared phone usage for team ... or something like the chamaleon gui that when I arrive at home i switch the user from the profession usage to the private ones. Should be nice.
Is this doable?

Zemaree said:
Not sure if it's easy or not but your app driven by a nfc tags open some interesting scenario like when i give the phone to my wife and she say: "oh, what a mess my iphone have few icons..."
or a shared phone usage for team ... or something like the chamaleon gui that when I arrive at home i switch the user from the profession usage to the private ones. Should be nice.
Is this doable?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. Both of these are doable. However, this isn't the purpose of the app. Though considering the amount of requests I've received for such features, I'll be making another app that does all this and more very soon.

So other than creating/naming etc is there any functionality like choosing apps/restrictions for accounts at this stage?

works as advertised keeps all apps from primary user on the guest accounts they just don't see any info becuase its like just installing them. Good job.

ellesshoo said:
So other than creating/naming etc is there any functionality like choosing apps/restrictions for accounts at this stage?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, @bradymobile did post a link to the source code of a User Specific Settings screen a few posts back. However, this appears to be in accessible from the normal Settings menu, and so I'm currently looking for the correct intent to open it up. Beyond that, you can use Nova or Apex as the launcher for the guest user(s), and hide all the apps you don't want to be visible there.

on latest cm10 the user management app doesnt seem to be able to gain root. In fact, even superuser isnt granted root once you switch to an account other than the primary. suerpuser denies itself and the user mangement app.

mallman said:
on latest cm10 the user management app doesnt seem to be able to gain root. In fact, even superuser isnt granted root once you switch to an account other than the primary. suerpuser denies itself and the user mangement app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is because apparently root doesn't persist across user accounts. The only way to switch back to the primary account is by using the power menu options. I haven't quite figured out why the root won't persist. It happens to all apps that need root.

Raghav Sood said:
This is because apparently root doesn't persist across user accounts. The only way to switch back to the primary account is by using the power menu options. I haven't quite figured out why the root won't persist. It happens to all apps that need root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that is interesting. i would ask if the superuser permissions have changed upon switch but obviously you're not rooted so you cant tell. Following closely so god luck and thanks for the dev!

Hack to Enable full Flash for Any Website

I was able to work out a hack which will allow desktop level flash in the Surface browser, even on sites that are not approved by Microsoft. So if there is a site that you like, but flash doesn't work, because Microsoft hasn't deemed it worthy enough yet, here's a way to manually enable Flash. (For those who aren't aware - only Microsoft approved sites are allowed to use Flash - its not universal - a site apparently has to be approved and put on a list for Flash to work - basically Microsoft censors the content that you see based upon whether or not the site meets their "criteria")
This hack is for the desktop Surface browser, not the metro Surface browser.
The downside with this hack is that, so far it appears that it only works for one website at a time.
Major disclaimer that you've heard a million times before - Tinkering with the registry has its risks - If you screw something up don't blame me.
How to do it:
1. Start
2. Swipe up from bottom and Select: "All apps" on bottom right menu
3. Select: Command Prompt
4. type regedit at the cursor and press enter
5. User account control appears - Do you want program to make changes - Yes
6. Path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer
7. Make Sure "Internet Explorer" is selected then go to "Edit" and Select "New" and "Key" from the menu that appears.
8. The New Yellow Key folder will appear on the file tree - name it: Flash
9. If you click View and Refresh, the new Key "Flash" should be just below "Feed Discovery" in the tree.
10. Make sure your new key "Flash" is selected (the only assigned value at this point will read: "Default")
11. Now go to Edit/New and select "String Value" Name the new value DebugDomain
10. Double Click the new string value. Edit box will open. In the field: "Value Data" put the domain of your website for example "www.myflashcrippledsite.com"
11. Click OK Close Regedit and your done.
12. In the Desktop Browser Make sure the setting ActiveX Filtering is unchecked. (Right side of browser where there are the Home, Favorites and Gear icons - select the little round Gear (tools icon) and then Safety and then uncheck ActiveX Filtering
View attachment 1439531
Now try browsing your site -might have to restart the browser or refresh your page - its worked for me without a restart of the computer but you might need to restart the Surface itself (Right swipe, Settings, Power, Restart.)
If you have problems, make sure you use the right domain for your website for example www.microsoft.com not http//www.microsoft.com
Also remember this works in the Desktop version of the browser not the metro version accessed from the Start screen.
And like I said above, make sure you don't forget to uncheck "ActiveX Filtering" or Flash still won't work.
For now, to view another site, you need to change the DebugDomain value to the domain of your new site - pretty quick once the key has been made, and shouldn't require a restart of the computer. Tomorrow I'll see if there's a way to put multiple DebugDomain keys.
Sorry if this is unclear, I just figured this out then typed it at 2:30 in the morning. I've tested it on a couple of sites with success. But this is still very experimental, haven't done much testing as its too late - more tomorrow.
But I'm simultaneously thrilled and annoyed at this - because after seeing how well flash works on many crippled sites, it makes me really angry that this function isn't on by default and I have to jump through ridiculous hoops just to get flash to work.

Awesome, have a script!
Works for me with just a page reload; thanks!
I wrote some scripts to automate this (scripting being the easiest way to do third-party code on Windows RT); see the attached file. You'll either need to run the EnableFlash script as Admin every time, or run the SetFlashRegPerms script as Admin just once first. If you put the EnableFlash script in a location that is in your PATH, you can easily launch it from any cmd or Powershell prompt.
I love Love LOVE that Windows RT can be scripted, and that people can run stuff as Admin so easily.

Dear all, I have just found a better solution to this problem.
See the thread here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=33414039#post33414039
This works on all websites you manually add, as many as you would like without the hassle of going trough the registry.

Wow I go to bed at 3:00 AM and by breakfast there's already a script for my solution as well as an alternative solution - gotta love XDA.
Thank you GoodDayToDie and Marvin_S for responding so quickly. I noticed Marvin_S started a new thread to fully explore enabling flash by editing the whitelist - sounds like a good alternative.
I feel much more positive about the Surface now - Lack of Flash support was one of the biggest negatives for this device and it was really bothering me.
And its nice to see that we have easy control over the OS in terms of changes and improvements - a big plus and bodes well for the Surface's future.

[TOOL] ApkSpy v1.8 - Resurrected (APK: view manifest on PC and/or Install APK via PC)

APKSPY - RESURRECTED​
First:
I want to thank @ido for the original application -- It was his idea (and his code I've hacked :cyclops and modified.
Second:
Since Ido seems not to be active anymore I'll re-publish the application here.
Unless for some reason Ido will specifically ask me to remove it.
The original post
ido said:
ApkSpy is a simple tool I hacked up tonight which allows you to easily view the manifest of an APK (screenshots attached - not up to date though) just by double clicking it. (It can even associate with the .apk filetype, yay!)
ApkSpy relies on the aapt.exe tool from the android SDK, so you must have that installed (or just copy aapt.exe from somewhere, that's the only file needed to run ApkSpy).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Third:
Requires Microsoft©® .Net Framework v4
(Kind of since I've done it some time ago and waited for Ido [the orignal developer] to respond and allow or disallow me to re-publish... So, I don't remember all the changes I've already done...)
v1.8.19 CHANGELOG:
Fixed some Date parsing function (zipped file with no time stamp) in ZipStorer (by @Jaime Olivares) maybe causing some of the error reported here...
v1.8 CHANGELOG:
Changed Icon - CONTRIBUTED BY @Jarmezrocks
Removed unneeded tabs (System, Batch Rename, Log)
Minimize / Maximized restored back
v1.7 CHANGELOG:
(Actually 4.1.7.870, but the first and the last parts are internally used :fingers-crossed:)
Try to automatically find adb.exe and aapt.exe in ApkSPY directory or in PATH variable: If failed finding any of the executables, the user is asked to manually locate them
(★ Currently the location is not saved... ★).
Check if the ADB server is running and Start or ask if to Restart ADB server
Tidy up the code
Refining the original libraries written by Ido related to ADB and AAPT
Some more minor code updates
Revised most of the "General" tab (other tabs ware not touched) of the UI:
Grouped and ordered controls on form
Added DropDown of devices attached (★ Not automatically updating upon plugging... ★)
Added some control over ADB actions
Added status bar that some other details are shown, e.g. device type (Nexus, I9100...), OS version (4.1.2, 4.4.2...) and OS build (KOT49H, KVT49L...)
Added (nice looking) information panel with clickable links (for actions on the form) and coloring
Other changes (I can't recall right now, since I've done it some time ago and waited for a response from Ido for permission to republish)
(★ Maybe I'll add an option for this later, depending on my -- not to much -- free time and requested by users .... ★)
Known bugs:
Sometimes ADB fails to return build.prop property for the status bar (however it has not caused any critical problem, so (I think) it can be safely ignored) -- haven't been able (yet) to find the exact state it is happening
Please take the time to look at the application ABOUT tab
Any Other ideas are welcome!
If you like it, Don't forget to Thank me
If you enjoy using this application as much as I have enjoyed re-writing it
please donate to show your appreciation​

RESERVED

Nice
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

Good news
Bug report, every time I open this program, this dialog pops up, after click OK, this program works well.
PS, aapt.exe is in the same dir with ApkSpy

I got this errors:
1:
2:
Error in property: [email protected]@usrdata

cmlx said:
Good news
Bug report, every time I open this program, this dialog pops up, after click OK, this program works well.
PS, aapt.exe is in the same dir with ApkSpy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey dude,
I am not sure what you are doing wrong on your PC but it's certainly not the app as it works perfectly fine on my computer? Out of interest and for the sake or helping the new dev I thought I would raise a few points just to eliminate any finger pointing. There's a wishy-washy area when it comes to building/hacking things that were originally someone elses work...so yeah one can easily make great improvements yet open the door to bugs at the same time too. Anyway...thought I'd ask this:
Does aapt sit on your path? I know you said it is in the same directory, however just like a batch script in Windows it needs to "CD" or change directories to the %~dp0 if it is to understand what an executable is that happens to be sitting in the same directory as it's self. So this is is kinda directed at the new dev now. What I think is happening is that aapt is assumed to be in the system path when quite often it is not (i.e. those on XDA who have not yet played with the Android SDK properly). Put simply unless the application knows it is in the same directory as your executable it won't at all understand what aapt is. Does that make sense?
@dmagician , I would make sure that the apkspy app can do a check (even if it is a string search for the first few lines returned from aapt.exe), a simple if statement before throwing that error ....actually it would likely be an 'if not' statement. I don't have any of the code in front of me atm but I can help you out if you like? I was hacking this app myself sometime ago when ido first released it just using reshacker.
Note: If you are stuck and don't have source code you technically could write a full AutoIT wrapper for this app that could do all the checks and more and then bundle everything up into the one exe still. Check out the newer WinAPI stuff for AutoIT and in particular "Run binary" (yes that's correct you can just about run anything repackaged now and not need to deploy the original exe's or even libraries....they can all be stream fed to AutoIT @Compile time and need not be typically "installed" like you used to have to do. Anyway...I am waffling on shoot me a PM man.
@cmlx, to overcome your ApkSpy woes, and until dmagician can put his finger on what the cause is or what ido did when building it ages ago.....then you will firstly need to be patient (props to dmagician to figuring sh!t out so far) but till then where ever you have dumped the ApkSpy and aapt.exe on your system; just copy the address and put it on your system path. To do this 1) right click on My Computer or Computer if you are on Win 7 or 8. 2) Choose properties. 3) Advanced System settings and then at the bottom of tab you will see 'Environment Variables', click it and you will see some "User" and "System" options. Depending on your User access rights on the system you are running on (hopefully you are running as Admin surely?) then you can choose to edit your main system path or create a new variable in your user settings called 'path' Note User variables are always postfix to system variables but should always work anyhow.
Disclaimer: cmlx, if however you have already got an aapt.exe already existing on your system path but it is dodgy then you have to ensure that the good aapt.exe in your app directory is placed on path BEFORE the dodgy one....just sayin. Cause your system searches till it finds what it wants and then doesn't search anymore. Simple but can stuff people up quite often....and likely your case. Nowdays we tend to work from the known application location and not from a "Global environment path" when we know that there are going to be conflicts...and I can assure you that aapt is possibly the worst and most modified binary out there LOL. Hence this is also a note to the dev to ensure that ApkSpy reads from the current directory.....or like I am suggesting, wrap aapt up in the main application as well and that way there is no confusion EVER.
And I am done.....
Oh wait no I am not....sorry bug reports LOL :good: you thought I was all praise eh? Got another thing coming man
OK....so um the red boxes should explain everything. A picture says a thousand words (and yeah I needed at least 1 picture for this god damned long arsed post - sry). Um why in gods name would you remove the minimise and expand buttons? WTF? Anyway...it works but errrm yeah it doesn't wrap the text anymore? and it cuts the words off lol.
Other than that....I only really have one suggestion and it isn't even really a suggestion as I have kind of already made it so I can just give it to you if you want it? And that is that most people (well I can't say most as I am not speaking for everyone) tend not to like how apps take over their system. This isn't your fault at all in anyway as the first dev thought it was a good idea back then.....and back then hardly anything in Windows knew what a freakin apk was so it was a GOOD thing.....However now, every man and his dog wants to steel .apk extension for himself. I myself tend to be all over the shop with apks so I tend not to want to have any particular Windows app take it away from my control. I use WinZip as the main app for simple double click open as I want to see the contents of apks without needing to decompile them (great for theming) however I have apk shell extensions displaying the apks main icon to explorer, so if I set WinZip as default I get a nice lumping hunk of gold turd/box running rampet all over my Windoze bro ......so if you like I can show you my code that allows me to have default apps for specific tasks without interfering with anyones existing sh!t It looks neat too as you can right click any apk and just choose from a dropdown list what particular app you want at the time. If one has the need to use more apps then they need only put those apps in a list. There is nothing worse than double clicking an apk to find that Bluestacks or some other rubbish Windoze crApp has taken offf with your apk.
Lastly I thought I'd ask, Why no config file? Why store everything in memory? I know it's only small....but seeking for things everytime it is executed is a pain in the arse and not good practice. At the very least if you have no idea how to make an exe totally portable then you could reference a config file in the same directory....Or do as most do and write entries to the registry all neat and tucked away. If we get paranoid about "portable-ness" then we write to temporary space in the registry and make sure we clean up upon closing and/or inspect at runtime. simple!
I have plenty of AutoIT scripts that do exactly that too, so if you are stuck for ideas let me know. Anyway I have rambled enough, good luck and I will keep reporting bugs haha
Edit: That's waaaay too many emoticons. Oooops someone is a little high aren't they?
PS: I have attached my PNG of the icon I used for this bugger waaaaaay back....it's less generic and feel free to take it and abuse it and do as you please.

cmlx said:
Good news
Bug report, every time I open this program, this dialog pops up, after click OK, this program works well.
PS, aapt.exe is in the same dir with ApkSpy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I know of this one (and I've specifically wrote about it in the OP), it is NOT related to AAPT executable but to the way ADB is acting (sorry, out of my hands... :angel:
Explanation
The error comes from the application when trying to query the "ro.build.id" property via adb ('ADB shell getprop "ro.build.id" ') command.
I've came across this one but cannot determine the exact situation it is happening (as it can occur when first launching of the app, but after the app is loaded, clicking on refresh does not show this error)...
[ I've tried it on with the (only) two devices I own (1st dev. is stock (only the kernel is changed) 4.4.2 Nexus 4, 2nd dev. is S2-i9100 with customized RR ROM)and it seems to happen ONLY on the S2...]
It looks that in times, the getprop is being executed before the whole "build.prop" is being processed by ADB (This one I cannot control since it is happening on the ADB shell side [running on the device] -- unless MAYBE doing some [UGLY] delay after first initialization of ADB, which is, by far NOT best practice of process handling according to the literature)...

CyberianIce said:
I got this errors:
1:
2:
Error in property: [email protected]@usrdata
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which came first, the "SpkSpy spy stopped working" or the "Error in property" (if anyways related)?
Was it on the same run or two different runs?
As of the 1st one:
I do not have enough information from your post to check it up...
I'll post a new version which shows the exception details
As of the 2nd one:
Can you send me a copy of your /system/build.prop (so i'll be able to dig trough it and check it)?
It looks like my name-value splitter character exist as part of a given value in your build.prop .

Wooow, Long one! But it is nice to know people are using (trying) it!
Jarmezrocks said:
Hey dude,
I am not sure what you are doing wrong on your PC but it's certainly not the app as it works perfectly fine on my computer? Out of interest and for the sake or helping the new dev I thought I would raise a few points just to eliminate any finger pointing. There's a wishy-washy area when it comes to building/hacking things that were originally someone elses work...so yeah one can easily make great improvements yet open the door to bugs at the same time too. Anyway...thought I'd ask this:
Does aapt sit on your path? I know you said it is in the same directory, however just like a batch script in Windows it needs to "CD" or change directories to the %~dp0 if it is to understand what an executable is that happens to be sitting in the same directory as it's self. So this is is kinda directed at the new dev now. What I think is happening is that aapt is assumed to be in the system path when quite often it is not (i.e. those on XDA who have not yet played with the Android SDK properly). Put simply unless the application knows it is in the same directory as your executable it won't at all understand what aapt is. Does that make sense?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi
As I've replied to @clmx, This error is not related to AAPT (either executable [location or whatever] or results), but to the ADB command being used...
Jarmezrocks said:
@dmagician , I would make sure that the apkspy app can do a check (even if it is a string search for the first few lines returned from aapt.exe), a simple if statement before throwing that error ....actually it would likely be an 'if not' statement. I don't have any of the code in front of me atm but I can help you out if you like? I was hacking this app myself sometime ago when ido first released it just using reshacker.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry I did not understand... Check for what?
Jarmezrocks said:
Note: If you are stuck and don't have source code you technically could write a full AutoIT wrapper for this app that could do all the checks and more and then bundle everything up into the one exe still. Check out the newer WinAPI stuff for AutoIT and in particular "Run binary" (yes that's correct you can just about run anything repackaged now and not need to deploy the original exe's or even libraries....they can all be stream fed to AutoIT @Compile time and need not be typically "installed" like you used to have to do. Anyway...I am waffling on shoot me a PM man.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do not need the Auto-IT to wrap these files (although I am using it for other automation in windows), as I can do it right in the C# code (on one of my early versions these files was embedded...)
BTW, I know there are some antiviruses out in the wild that do not like the embedded executables -- but it can be done -- and probably will save some time to anyone using this app...
If it will be required / asked, I'll embed the 4 binaries (AAPT.EXE, ADB.EXE, and two DLL's AdbWinApi.dll and AdbWinUsbApi.dll [I'm not sure both are required]) needed by the application.
Jarmezrocks said:
@cmlx, to overcome your ApkSpy woes, and until dmagician can put his finger on what the cause is or what ido did when building it ages ago.....then you will firstly need to be patient (props to dmagician to figuring sh!t out so far) but till then where ever you have dumped the ApkSpy and aapt.exe on your system; just copy the address and put it on your system path. To do this 1) right click on My Computer or Computer if you are on Win 7 or 8. 2) Choose properties. 3) Advanced System settings and then at the bottom of tab you will see 'Environment Variables', click it and you will see some "User" and "System" options. Depending on your User access rights on the system you are running on (hopefully you are running as Admin surely?) then you can choose to edit your main system path or create a new variable in your user settings called 'path' Note User variables are always postfix to system variables but should always work anyhow.
Disclaimer: cmlx, if however you have already got an aapt.exe already existing on your system path but it is dodgy then you have to ensure that the good aapt.exe in your app directory is placed on path BEFORE the dodgy one....just sayin. Cause your system searches till it finds what it wants and then doesn't search anymore. Simple but can stuff people up quite often....and likely your case. Nowdays we tend to work from the known application location and not from a "Global environment path" when we know that there are going to be conflicts...and I can assure you that aapt is possibly the worst and most modified binary out there LOL. Hence this is also a note to the dev to ensure that ApkSpy reads from the current directory.....or like I am suggesting, wrap aapt up in the main application as well and that way there is no confusion EVER.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The application IS searching for AAPT and ADB executables; The order is
Application directory (where ApkSpy.exe resides)
PATH environment variable
Jarmezrocks said:
OK....so um the red boxes should explain everything. A picture says a thousand words (and yeah I needed at least 1 picture for this god damned long arsed post - sry). Um why in gods name would you remove the minimise and expand buttons? WTF?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mostly I like it this way, otherwise - No specific reason...
It will be back in the next version...
Jarmezrocks said:
Anyway... it works but errrm yeah it doesn't wrap the text anymore? and it cuts the words off lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This Tab was NOT changed by me in any way... To be honest, I've thought of removing it completely -- But -- out of respect to Ido's work -- I've left it in.
I assume it is not wrapping due to Font size changed by me globally...
I'm seriously giving it second thoughts -- if it should stay at all (It was originally meant for batch rename of multiple APK's... I haven't used it even once...)...
I'm Really, REALLY, think of removing it completely (unless someone is / will be using it -- then I'll fix it all)...
Jarmezrocks said:
Other than that....I only really have one suggestion and it isn't even really a suggestion as I have kind of already made it so I can just give it to you if you want it? And that is that most people (well I can't say most as I am not speaking for everyone) tend not to like how apps take over their system. This isn't your fault at all in anyway as the first dev thought it was a good idea back then.....and back then hardly anything in Windows knew what a freakin apk was so it was a GOOD thing.....However now, every man and his dog wants to steel .apk extension for himself. I myself tend to be all over the shop with apks so I tend not to want to have any particular Windows app take it away from my control. I use WinZip as the main app for simple double click open as I want to see the contents of apks without needing to decompile them (great for theming) however I have apk shell extensions displaying the apks main icon to explorer, so if I set WinZip as default I get a nice lumping hunk of gold turd/box running rampet all over my Windoze bro ......so if you like I can show you my code that allows me to have default apps for specific tasks without interfering with anyones existing sh!t It looks neat too as you can right click any apk and just choose from a dropdown list what particular app you want at the time. If one has the need to use more apps then they need only put those apps in a list. There is nothing worse than double clicking an apk to find that Bluestacks or some other rubbish Windoze crApp has taken offf with your apk.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The application is NOT taking over anything, Unless you've clicked the asterisk ("*") button on the System Tab...
Was it registered for you without clicking this button?
If so, I'll recheck the code (may be it's some residue from the original code).
BTW
As the previous part of the answer I've wrote -- this one was left in as of respect to @ido's work...
2nd BTW
I'd like to see that explorer extension (and [preferable] the code of it - if you are willing to share it) you ware writing about...
Jarmezrocks said:
Lastly I thought I'd ask, Why no config file? Why store everything in memory? I know it's only small....but seeking for things everytime it is executed is a pain in the arse and not good practice. At the very least if you have no idea how to make an exe totally portable then you could reference a config file in the same directory....Or do as most do and write entries to the registry all neat and tucked away. If we get paranoid about "portable-ness" then we write to temporary space in the registry and make sure we clean up upon closing and/or inspect at runtime. simple!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, I've thought of it... But... I was thinking, that (at least) everyone is as geeky as me dauuh , and the most are setting the path correctly...
It'll be added in next version (I hope... TIME, TIME!!!! :cyclops...
Jarmezrocks said:
I have plenty of AutoIT scripts that do exactly that too, so if you are stuck for ideas let me know. Anyway I have rambled enough, good luck and I will keep reporting bugs haha
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I prefer writing my own code (sorry, I'm a developer in heart and soul...) then using automation like Auto-IT...
Jarmezrocks said:
Edit: That's waaaay too many emoticons. Oooops someone is a little high aren't they?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Jarmezrocks said:
PS: I have attached my PNG of the icon I used for this bugger waaaaaay back....it's less generic and feel free to take it and abuse it and do as you please.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
(@Jarmezrocks please see my PM to you.)
PHEW...
Long Answer, BUT HEY, I'm not the only one writing longies... :angel: (and i like referencing each and every part separately)...

dmagician said:
PHEW...
Long Answer, BUT HEY, I'm not the only one writing longies... :angel: (and i like referencing each and every part separately)...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahh yes. I write long messages sometimes when my medication has kicked in and I am high....not my fault I kinda need to get all the info out of my head in one go while I am awake.....or else there would just be zeds on the response zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz lol :laugh: (ref narcolepsy).
I commend you on your efforts at responding to such gibberish and making good sense of it! :highfive:
I have responded to your PM accordingly, and hopefully covered all you need? I have attached all info and sources etc.....well most of it...actually a fair bit of it you will have to workout your self but that is part the fun. Shoot me any questions if you need to...although I have a feeling that you will have mostly all of it covered as you are streets ahead of my knowledge already. I may have misjudged a little in my previous post (although hopefully not to make you feel any less than you actually are? please excuse me if I had said anything that may offended - being naive or what ever....you ARE definitely on the right track). As for the middle menu....I think you could easily remove it and not offend the original dev. It wasn't being used as you mention...and I think it could make way for more/better functionality don't you think? (discuss). However I would ensure all the things I mentioned in my PM first before going too deep and releasing on here.
Good move on bringing the buttons back. They were functional. But I DO like the single button close GUI myself on just about everything else....It looks clean. We have similar taste in that regard. It just isn't functional for me to pressing the task notification desktop link everytime I want to minimise the app LOL.
The rest I we can discuss via PM, this is pretty much only posted here as an open area for other forum members to provide input and opinion (or complaint....like how often it usually is, eh?).

CyberianIce said:
I got this errors:
1:
2:
Error in property: [email protected]@usrdata
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd got the same error!
For me it helped to copy two files to the install dir
"adb.exe" and "AdbWinApi.dll"
Both are installed with the well known MyPhoneExplorer into "Program Files\MyPhoneExplorer\DLL"
Hope it helps!

Feature Request
I use this tool for testing new APK builds on a project I am working on it. It allows me to quickly verify the version number and push to the device. However, since I am usually installing another version of an existing installed APK, I must manually uninstall before using APKSPY. Would it be possible to add a check box that would uninstall any previous versions? It would be really helpful.
Nevermind - I didn't fully read the message presented when it fail. It say uninstall/update and it allows the installation. HOWEVER, that brings up a question... Does it uninstall or does it update? There is a difference as you know.
Thanks,
Jonathan

Hi, I try to run this on Mac via Wineskin Winery, but no luck. Do I need something like .Net, or something else to run ApkSpy?
Thank you.

Ja_som said:
Hi, I try to run this on Mac via Wineskin Winery, but no luck. Do I need something like .Net, or something else to run ApkSpy?
Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only requirement is the Microsoft .Net 4.
(I'll add this to OP)

jmo said:
I use this tool for testing new APK builds on a project I am working on it. It allows me to quickly verify the version number and push to the device. However, since I am usually installing another version of an existing installed APK, I must manually uninstall before using APKSPY. Would it be possible to add a check box that would uninstall any previous versions? It would be really helpful.
Nevermind - I didn't fully read the message presented when it fail. It say uninstall/update and it allows the installation. HOWEVER, that brings up a question... Does it uninstall or does it update? There is a difference as you know.
Thanks,
Jonathan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I know there is difference between the two (update vs uninstall and install again).
It is updating the application (like using "adb install -r apk_file_name.apk"), not doing remove and install

Removed unneeded tabs (System, Batch Rename, Log)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The unneeded Batch Rename tab was the only tab I needed really. :laugh: Luckily I found Ido's original version. It's ideal for renaming all those apk's I downloaded and still have the package name when I back them up to my PC.
I have an Asus Memo Pad 10 and an Asus Memo Pad 7 and neither are recognised by APKSpy. Not that it's a problem as I have no problem copying to and from them with Windows Exploder or Total Commander.
Other than that, it's been a handy little app for this tablet/smartphone virgin newbie.
Martin.

wolrik said:
The unneeded Batch Rename tab was the only tab I needed really. :laugh: Luckily I found Ido's original version. It's ideal for renaming all those apk's I downloaded and still have the package name when I back them up to my PC.
I have an Asus Memo Pad 10 and an Asus Memo Pad 7 and neither are recognised by APKSpy. Not that it's a problem as I have no problem copying to and from them with Windows Exploder or Total Commander.
Other than that, it's been a handy little app for this tablet/smartphone virgin newbie.
Martin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello.
1st:
I can -- if requested - re-add the Batch rename.
2nd:
I don't know why these two devices are not being recognized -- unless not being recognized by ADB itself -- since I'm spawning devices by parsing the resulting text of "ADB devices" command, So unless being unrecognized by ADB, there should be NO PROBLEM detecting ANY android device with ADB on...
if you have any exception messages thrown by the application, please post them here.

dmagician said:
Hello.
1st:
I can -- if requested - re-add the Batch rename.
2nd:
I don't know why these two devices are not being recognized -- unless not being recognized by ADB itself -- since I'm spawning devices by parsing the resulting text of "ADB devices" command, So unless being unrecognized by ADB, there should be NO PROBLEM detecting ANY android device with ADB on...
if you have any exception messages thrown by the application, please post them here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No need to re-add the tab just for me, but thanks for the offer. As I get to know my way around Android I'll probably need such things less and less.
Sorry, but I know nothing about ADB other than APKSpy needing it. As you can see from the attached pic, the Asus is recognised by Total Commander
Martin.

Hi dmagician,
Nice work, and a shout-out to Ido who originally created it.
I have a feature request:
Could you add the option to remove certain permission(s) and save the modified APK file?
There are many apps which I feel allow themselves way too much permissions, and this option could be very useful to tame them apps.
One more thing:
I noticed that APKSpy v1.8.2 doesn't work with the latest version of AAPT.exe (1432KB), from the Android SDK r24.
So I had to use a previous version of AAPT.exe (833KB), which worked.
Thanks,
Eric

Hey does anybody know where the name of the apk is in the XML files inside the apk?