Develop Bugs

[GUIDE] Modding (theming) Market app and others

Since there was quite pm's for on how to theme market or any other app. So decided to put one guide how to do it.
Basiclly this is for market app but can be also used for other apps.
If you like my work you can buy me a drink; cheers
For start you need:
- Apktool 1.3.1 version (don't use 1.3.2 version) or
http://code.google.com/p/android-ap...ol-install-windows-2.2_r01-3.tar.bz2&can=1&q=
http://code.google.com/p/android-apktool/downloads/detail?name=apktool-1.3.1.tar.bz2&can=1&q=
- Apk manager (I use apktool and prefere)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=695701
- Gimp or Photoshop
- Something for 9.png's (I use gimp for that and will explain later how and what)
- orginal file (watch that file isn't themed orr modded already)
- 7zip
- Notepad (for editing xml files; some use other text programs like Notepad++ but I use palin windows Notepad)
Now when you have everything you need we can start. If you have orginal file is also to have modded one so you can compare what was changed. Market had changes from 2.2x version till now so you can't just copy and paste files from one to another file or drag them from another apk to another. Basiclly few folders can be copyed into app which your modding. Rest you can see what is same and what isn't by comparing how many xml files are in each folder. (you might say it takes long time but that's the best way and only one way for start to do it; when you get hangoff it you want do it and when you see which are basic things and commen to all Market apps.)
Now let's start with de-compiling your file/files:
If you use apktool use version 1.3.1 since newer ones 1.3.2 has some bug in de-compiling and compiling.
Copy somewhere your downloaded apktool (some folder) and also copy in there apps your modding.
{
"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"
}
Open CMD (Command prompt) in Windows and go to folder where your apktool is (I think I don't have to write command how to get there.... ; but here is little trick if you don't know for windows 7 which will open cmd in folder you are >> Open apktools in your Windows Explorer next hold Shift on keyboard and while holding it click your right mouse button and when menu opens just select Open command window here; and now your in cmd where your apktool is).
So now we need to de-compile file to see what we have in there since when you open apk file in 7zip not all folder are shown!
Run command to de-compile apk
apktool d -d Vending.apk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
(Vending.apk is name of market app or it can be com.android.vending-1.apk)
Now you wait till de-compiling is finished. When finished in your apktool folder you'll see folder called Vending (that is de-compiled apk file).
In Vending folder you have this:
- res folder
- smali folder
- AndroidManifest.xml
- apktool.yml
From list we are more interested in res folder since it has what we needed rest of files/folders we don't touch.
Ok now we open res folder and we have quite number of folder in there and each folder has quite number of png files or xml files.
In res folder these folders are interesting for us:
- color (xml files)
- drawable (xml files; few png's)
- drawable-da-hdpi-v4 (png file)
- drawable-da-mdpi-v4 (png file; it for mdpi devices; some edited some not it's on you will you edit it or not)
- drawable-hdpi-v4 (png files)
- drawable-mdpi-v4 (png fiels; I didn't see anybody editing it)
- layout (xml files)
- values (xml files)
So those are folder we are editing and modding and rest we don't touch!
Now were going to start with xml folders.. Lets start with color folder. When you edit xml file with notepad for example just click on Save option in notepad menu and not Save As and file will be saved and later will won't be any problems when compiling back app. In there you have 4 xml files which you can edit colors in them for some texts. I only edit xml called header_text.xml.
In header_txt.xml file you see this line
Code:
<item android:color="@android:color/black" />
part you can change is where it says color/black and can be changed to color/white and nothing else!!! (This part is like file name says for header text in which color to show). So for color folder that's it. (If you want you can play with other xml's in there if you see something like android:color="#ffbb0000" this your color in hex code and it has to be written in hex code for example to be "gingerbread green" it should be this "#ff96d21e")
When done with color folder were moving to drawable folder and in there we only need 1 xml file called bottom_light_gradient.xml. In there you need to edit this line
Code:
<gradient android:startColor="#ff96d21e" android:endColor="#ffffffff" android:angle="90.0" android:type="linear" />
from #ff96f21e" you only change 96d21e to color you want and first 2 ff need to be there! Second color is "#ffffffff" for white background and if your market has blackbackground or transparent cahnge that color from "#ffffffff" to "#00000000".
As far as I know (didn't search and look rest of xml files in drawable folder) nothing else can be changed in other xml files in drawable folder since rest xml files contain pictures names which to use for what.
Moving on to next folder which has xml files which we need to edit; folder called layout.
In layout there is quite number of xml files you can edit colors in hex format but basiclly you need only few files to edit so you don't have trouble like white text on white background.
So for here I edit only 3 files (2 files are for widget and one is for writting review for some app.)
Files your editing are:
- widget_app.xml
- widget_no_content.xml
- write_review.xml
In first 2 files you can replace line where it says /white or /black. (I wrote before what you can write there). Also if you want you can change some of xml files in this folder but in my opinion there isn't any need for that.
Last file write_review.xml is one I had problems with it when using Neon or Black version while writting review (comment) for some app. Thanks to MikeyMike01 it's resolved. If your using normal background as main to be white (like in stock version) then you don't need to touch any of files from layout folder; or you can play with them (your decision).
Here is orginal line from write_review.xml file
Code:
<EditText android:textColor="?android:textColorPrimary" android:gravity="top" android:id="@id/comment_box" android:layout_width="fill_parent" android:layout_height="fill_parent" android:maxLines="4" android:minLines="4" android:maxLength="150" android:freezesText="true" android:inputType="textLongMessage|textCapSentences|textMultiLine" />
Here is part you have to edit when using other color for main theme background in app
Code:
<EditText android:textColor="#ff000000" android:gravity="top" android:id="@id/comment_box" android:layout_width="fill_parent" android:layout_height="fill_parent" android:maxLines="4" android:minLines="4" android:maxLength="150" android:freezesText="true" android:inputType="textLongMessage|textCapSentences|textMultiLine" />
When finished with layout folder we are moving to last xml folder we need to edit called values (for every app it's almost same and all of them have it) and in there we only are interested in 2 files called:
- colors.xml
- styles.xml
In colors.xml you can change anything you want but as long as it's in hex color code and needs to start with #ff and ends with you 6-digit hex color code like this for steel blue #ff00aeff. Not sure if I need to explain which color is which since it has quite lines in there but you can play with them to see which line is what. My advice is to set different colors to see what is changed when you run your themed app and then you'll see result of your various colors and fix them one by one in file on your computer.
Final xml file which we need to edit is styles.xml and there are only 3 lines you change. First 2 lines are colors (1st is text name of color and like written before can only be black or white and 2nd line is hex color code). Last line in file your changing is look of your app aka "theme" to be with transparent background, black or white.
This is line your looking for and this one is for white background
Code:
<style name="TallTitleBarTheme" parent="@android:style/Theme.Light.NoTitleBar">
for black or neon version line looks like this
Code:
<style name="TallTitleBarTheme" parent="@android:style/Theme.Black.NoTitleBar">
for transparent versions line looks like this
Code:
<style name="TallTitleBarTheme" parent="@android:style/Theme.Translucent.NoTitleBar">
Another on for transparent if you don't like pages to be one over other is not use Translucent; use this line
Code:
<style name="TallTitleBarTheme" parent="@android:style/Theme.Wallpaper.NoTitleBar">
WARNING: Don't copy xml files from older version of apps to newer one since there can be some changes in them; only file you can copy without any problem at all is file color.xml in values folder and file bottom_light_gradient.xml in drawable folder.
Well that's it for xml files and were moving on pictures in png format. All png's can be edited with gimp or photoshop like written before without any problem. Problematic files are called 9.png which aren't that easy to edit.
Problem with 9.png files is that they have black "dots" or lines around sides which indicate to android how will image be streched and sized to fit and look right.
Here is guide you look and read closely how and what to do on 9.png files.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=5206698
Myself I edit them with gimp using colorize function and after that I look closely how do black dots and lines look and is there any change in there color. If there is any change in color when compresing file you'll get error. So before going into editing 9png files read guide from link and if you want try my method which isn't in some way most efficent since you have to zoom and look closely every pixel in image to see if looks like orginal one!
Png files are listed in folder I wrote before on start of guide. Most of us who mod markets don't mod mdpi folders since most users use hdpi devices. But if you want you can edit.
Also one notice in market folder drawable-hdpi-v4 don't touch these 2 files since when edited on compiling you always get an error. Not sure why; tried every method to edit them but didn't work?!
Files are:
- title_bar_light_shadow.9.png
- title_bar_shadow.9.png
Also don't edit png called transparent.png.
After your done with editing and changing png files your ready to compile you new app (market).
Like written before you need again CMD (Command prompt) and run these command to compile file:
apktool b -d Vending
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you notice now there isn't .apk extension in compiling command and it because your compiling folder where you edited files. Now you have to wait for apktool to finish compiling files and it takes few minutes for that if no errors.
Little about errors little "bug" in apktool is that it doesn't create any log file so you can see which error your getting and you can't scroll windows much since it has quite lines written on screen and neither one is problematic xml or png file. So to see which error are you getting run command again to compile and when it starts to write errors hit Pause/Break key on your keyboard and YOU HAVE TO BE FAST!!!!! If you were fast enough just scroll with mouse and look for line after command where it says ERROR and there will be name of you "wrong" file and problematic part in it.
If your file is compiled and new apk is created it is in folder Vending in subfolder called dist. Now you can notice that there are 2 new subfolders created build folder and dist folder.
In build folder is your new app but not in apk format and if looking in it you can see only few folders in res folder and not all folders are listed like in res fodler where it's de-compiled. Now second folder called dist folder is folder where is created your apk file ready to be installed.
You thought it's done. Right? Well almost just a little thing and it's finished and this is where you need 7zip program. Most of apps need to be signed in order to android system can recognize them and if not signed apk file won't run if pushed with root explorer or installed if running it from zip file in CWM.
You need to open your orginal file called Vending.apk in 7zip and also open second 7zip and in it open new created Vending.apk located in Vending subfolder dist which we wrote few rows before.
When 2 apk files are opend each in it's own 7zip you can notice that your orginal file has META-INF folder and new one doesn't have it. Right?
Now in orginal apk file in 7zip select folder META-INF and file AndroidManifest.xml and drag it to 2nd 7zip with your new created apk file. In new 7zip you'll be asked if you want to copy or replace files and you just click on Yes button. (Thanks to pendo who told me about this)
Also your new apk file is smaller in size compered to orginal one and don't bother with that since it's normal. You'll see with each color edited in xml files apk will be different size.
Now your done and your file is ready to use and also signed. There are few methods about signing apk files but this for me presonally is easiest and quickest one. I know that apk manger can sign zips since I don't use it don't really know how it works and also apk manger uses most parts of apktools
but it has interface for users and creates log file for errors.
Before releasing apk file in public try it on your phone and see who it looks like; minor bugs you didn't notice you can fix later.
Your decision is do you want to use apktool or apk manager.
Hope this will help. In basic this is it and for most of apps can help but once you start it modding you'll learn few tricks. Most of us here will help if any problem like few users here helped me to get started with some basics
Guide about theming in general
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=916814
If I find any other interesting guide I'll post it and if any problem or suggestions please feel free to post or pm me.
One thing in the end. DO NOT POST OR LINK GUIDE OUTSIDE FORUM PRIOR CONTACTING ME!!!
Regards,
ante

reserved?!

00.ante said:
reserved?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great Guide... Just needed the starting point !!!!

Thanks! Just what I requested!

Hi 00.ante, i love your work for the market and i hope that your skills will be used for your new team ^^ What a great tutorial and no one click the "thanks button", amazing !!!
By the way keep your mind and have a good day
Best regards.
Edit: Voted !

First of all, great guide here! I'm sure it will help a lot of people out!
On a side note, when I edit .9.png files I just "cut" out everything within the black lines and paste onto a new layer (use "paste in place" so the image doesn't move on you), make my color changes, then "merge down" the layers until it's layer 0 again, save .png as original - done. That way you don't even have to look at the black lines, you know they are correct because you didn't edit them. Just thought I'd throw this piece of information out there to hopefully save some people some time.

Great guide and an exellent resource for future themers. I will include a link to this in my sticky thread in captivate land.
Thank you

xtremekilla09 said:
Great guide and an exellent resource for future themers. I will include a link to this in my sticky thread in captivate land.
Thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks
Sent from Steel Blue themed i9000 using blue XDA app

What a great idea... gonna have to try this out.
bdemartino said:
First of all, great guide here! I'm sure it will help a lot of people out!
On a side note, when I edit .9.png files I just "cut" out everything within the black lines and paste onto a new layer (use "paste in place" so the image doesn't move on you), make my color changes, then "merge down" the layers until it's layer 0 again, save .png as original - done. That way you don't even have to look at the black lines, you know they are correct because you didn't edit them. Just thought I'd throw this piece of information out there to hopefully save some people some time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

How do you change icon for app like you do with the market icons?

davey11 said:
How do you change icon for app like you do with the market icons?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like in amrlet I use gimp or photoshop on png's.... if you mean totally cahnge icon it can be done but it needs to be same dimensions.

00.ante said:
Like in amrlet I use gimp or photoshop on png's.... if you mean totally cahnge icon it can be done but it needs to be same dimensions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, I meant how to "push" it into the app, so it shows in app drawer and other places like TB.

davey11 said:
Sorry, I meant how to "push" it into the app, so it shows in app drawer and other places like TB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For apps if you just want to change icon then open apk file in 7zip manager and from it drag folder drawable-hdpi in res folder to lets say your desktop and find ping waht are you looking for and edit it with gimp or photoshop. But only edit this way png extensions not 9.png.
Then when your done just drag folder back to apk opened in 7zip or just png file you edited.

Thanks 00.ante. With this guide and a few hours of experimenting, I made my first themed market.

Looks great

Is there a way to change to background image on the top of the market. I know how to change the color but changing the actual image would be great...
Anyone...
thanks in advance.

theme a market app
Is it possible to theme an app you got on the market and have it still show up. I am just learning how to theme apps, don' t know much at all. The specific app I am working with is titanium backup. I changed the color of the icon, got it to work, but now the app no longer shows up in the store and I can't activate the pro version either. I'm sure you can theme an app and still have it show up in the market, I have used custom roms that have themed apps that showed up in the market. The theming disappeared after updating, which is expected. Is it possible to do this after each update, not sure about the pro version though.

Were can I find the apk in my rom are they in the data/app folder ????
Thanks
Sent from my SGH-T989

[Guide/Tutorial][17/06/12]How to make "basic" theming mods + .9.png tutorial

[Guide/Tutorial][17/06/12]How to make "basic" theming mods + .9.png tutorial
If you find this guide useful then please rate the thread, i dont really care about thanks, thanks.
Give a man a theme and he can flash for a day.
Teach him how to theme and he can flash for a lifetime.
{
"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"
}
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"What's in the guide??"
*Basic image editing
*Using UOT kitchen to change the battery icons
*Popular image names and locations (GB)
*How to decompile using apk manager4.9
*Editing .9.png's
*How to use the universal theme.zip
*Create a batch Hue action in Photoshop
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm constantly seeing people asking for minor changes to ROMS, Themes, Mods etc, so i thought i would post this to let the talented people get on with what they do best, and the rest of us can stop harassing them for simple tasks that we are all capable of ourselves.
"Could you add these images from this ROM to your theme?"
"Can you change the colour of the battery in you ROM?"
"Is it possible to have different status bar colour?"
Well people it's time to learn some basic theming/modding/skinning, whatever you want to call it.Lets say you want to change the colour of the battery....
​What you will need:
*7zip (free)
*Greenfish icon editor pro (free/ windows) or *Gimp (free/ all platforms)
Getting going:
[1]
Firstly open up your ROM/Theme/Mod with 7zip and navigate to:
"system/framework/"
*If framework-res is a folder drog and drop to a suitable location on you pc.
*If it is an .apk then extract it and unpack.
TIP: drag it out then right click>7zip>extract to "***".
TIP2: Create a copy of this folder in case you make a mistake!!
[2]
Now navigate into "framework-res/res/drawable-hdpi/", in here are your battery images named "stat_sys_battery.png"
[3]
Open up Greenfish/Gimp, and drag across the images you want to adjust.
[Greenfish] Select Filter>Hue/Saturation
In the window that opens adjust the properties until you get your desired effect.
Save and close.
[Gimp] Select tools>color tools>hue-saturation
In the window that opens adjust the properties until you get your desired effect.
Save and close.
[4]
When your happy with the results open up(NOT EXTRACT!!) the Universal Theme template provided using 7zip and navigate to-
"system/framework/framework-res.apk/res/drawable-hdpi/"
Drag the newly adjusted images across.
Close and place on your sdcard to be flashed from recovery.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Now lets say you want to use different signal images....
​[1]
Get the ROM/Theme/Mod containing the images you want to use
Open up with 7zip and navigate to "system/app/systemUI.apk/res/drawable-hdpi/"
in here are your signal images named "stat_sys_signal.png"
[2]
Open up(NOT EXTRACT!!) the Universal Theme template provided using 7zip and navigate to-
"system/app/systemUI.apk/res/drawable-hdpi/"
Drag the desired images across.
Close and place on your sdcard to be flashed from recovery.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That was easy was'nt it!
There are free software programs out there like gimp that let you batch process images but im not aware of the methods used, if anyone is then please post.
Please feel free to post helpful info and ask questions about locations of images or anything else related. Hopefully myself or anyone else in the know will help.
If you want to go deeper into theme-ing here is an amazing guide:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=916814
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>> Universal Theme empty template <<<
Thanks to JR soft and also Intronauta for universal theme http://www.htcmania.com/showthread.php?t=258333 .Based on the "VillainTheme system" tool by VillainTeam. More info etc, head to www.villainrom.co.uk.

dully79 said:
I'm constantly seeing people asking for minor changes to ROMS, Themes, Mods etc, so i thought i would post this to let the talented people get on with what they do best, and the rest of us can stop harassing them for simple tasks that we are all capable of ourselves.
"Could you add these images from this ROM to your theme?"
"Can you change the colour of the battery in you ROM?"
"Is it possible to have different status bar colour?"
Well people it's time to learn some basic theming/modding/skinning, whatever you want to call it. Ill add more info to this as necessary.
Please feel free to post helpful info and ask question about locations of images or anything else related. Hopefully myself or anyone else in the know will help.
Like i said is is a very basic guide, if you want to go deeper into it, here is an amazing guide:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=916814
>>> Universal Theme empty template <<<
Thanks to JR soft and also Intronauta for universal theme.(based on the "VillainTheme system" tool by VillainTeam. More info etc, head to www.villainrom.co.uk).
Hopefully this helps some people.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks dully .Very usefull guide indeed.I use paint.net for changing colour but i found really usefull this empty template
And a little help.The only thing i do is to make the necessary changes png's or xml's into system/app or framework is that right?
Do i need anything else eg extras?
Thanks again!!!

This will come in useful. thanks

Your very welcome.
I use "actions" in photoshop for batch processing, but i also have another program which is really good called "AbleBatchConverter", unfortunately thats paid software.
Greenfish is ideal for minor adjustments- its a small file size, easy on resources, quick and has some good features, but best of all........it's free.

siberian tiger said:
Thanks dully .Very usefull guide indeed.I use paint.net for changing colour but i found really usefull this empty template
And a little help.The only thing i do is to make the necessary changes png's or xml's into system/app or framework is that right?
Do i need anything else eg extras?
Thanks again!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you put any xml's into the framework folders there is a good chance it will break it from being "Universal"
The "XTRAS" depends on what your doing.
The "XTRAS" folder is where you put apk's to be installed instead of just images in the system folder.
Example how to use "XTRAS" folder:
Open "Vending.apk"
Goto "res/drawable-hdpi/"
Drag and drop in images with matching names
Close apk
Open UT empty template
Goto "XTRAS/app/
Drag and drop Vending.apk inside
Close and place on sdcard for flashing
When flashed this will install "Vending.apk" into "system/app/"
Hope this helps.

Always here to help and share my friend...!!!
===THANK YOU=== mate !

Universal-Flasher-tool_v3.0
Hello everyone!
This version of the template that you use (2.X) is somewhat outdated. Version 3.0 has many new features, and is much faster and safer.
http://www.multiupload.com/HOP6RWMNOB
Basically, has a new advanced configuration file (MOD.config) where you can enable / disable functions (more information inside the file).
Have also been replaced binaries zip and busybox with a new binary 7z, much faster. The process is much faster now than before.
It also supports theming non-system applications (though not recommended).
Enjoy it!!!

jrsoft said:
Hello everyone!
This version of the template that you use (2.X) is somewhat outdated. Version 3.0 has many new features, and is much faster and safer.
http://www.multiupload.com/HOP6RWMNOB
Basically, has a new advanced configuration file (MOD.config) where you can enable / disable functions (more information inside the file).
Have also been replaced binaries zip and busybox with a new binary 7z, much faster. The process is much faster now than before.
It also supports theming non-system applications (though not recommended).
Enjoy it!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does it support "sdcard"?
The last script supported "emmc", that's why I still use v.2*

dully79 said:
Does it support "sdcard"?
The last script supported "emmc", that's why I still use v.2*
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, the script autodetects the path of the sdcard. You can also manually set the path very easily to the new file MOD.config. Check this out:
Code:
[SDCARD PATH]
##########################################
default_internal_sdcard=/emmc
##########################################
##########################################
default_external_sdcard=/sdcard
##########################################
*It's not necessary to modify this
parameters unless you really need another
custom folder path for your sdcards in the
recovery. You should try before change
this!! and remember don't modify the
generic "sdcard" folder name in XTRAS.
The system will adapt the paths depending
of this values.

Cheers mate, your a legend. I could never get vrtheme to play nice but yours runs perfect.

If anyone previously downloaded the empty template, please download this version instead, it has many improvents over the old zip including speed.
Links:
>>>HERE<<<
And in the OP.
Thanks.

UOT kitchen battery
Ok lets say we want to change our battery for the new flavour of the month.
If you plan on using a battery theme from UOT kitchen then just follow "UOT Battery" instructions.
If you want to use a theme you found floating around the forums that doesn't work for your ROM then follow "Custom Battery".
UOT Battery
Here is how to gain a new battery theme using UOT kitchen:
FOR ICS AND ABOVE USE SYSTEMUI.APK
Get your "framework-res.apk", there are many methods to do this, i'll let you pick one.
Go HERE and click the "file upload" tab, select "system files" and upload your framework-res.apk. To avoid problems please us a CLEAN/UN-THEMED framework-res.apk
Now click the "battery" tab, check "use this mod", now choose whichever battery theme tickles your fancy.
Click the "summary" tab and "submit work to kitchen"
Wait for the kitchen to cook your files then flash your new battery theme from CWM
Reboot and enjoy
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Custom Battery
Here is how to gain a new custom battery using UOT kitchen:
Download and open up the battery theme you would like to use using 7zip.
Navigate to "framework-res.apk/res/drawable-hdpi/"
Count how many "stat_sys_battery_*.png" and "stat_sys_battery_charge_*.png" are inside and remember or write it down(keep this window open).
Get your "framework-res.apk", there are many methods to do this, i'll let you pick one.
Again navigate to "framework-res.apk/res/drawable-hdpi/" and count how many "stat_sys_battery_*.png" and "stat_sys_battery_charge_*.png" are inside, then close.
If there is the same number of images in both files then goto "UT.zip" below, if not continue to step 7.
Go HERE and click the "file upload" tab, select "system files" and upload your framework-res.apk. To avoid problems please us a CLEAN/UN-THEMED framework-res.apk
Now click the "battery" tab, check "use this mod", now find a battery theme on UOT that uses the same number of images as what you wrote down earlier.
If applicable scroll down to the bottom and select a charging animation style, I would reccomend hybrid.
Click the "summary" tab and "submit work to kitchen"
Once your theme is cooked open up the UOT.zip with 7zip and navigate to "framework-res.apk/res/drawable-hdpi/".
Now select all the battery images from the window you left open earlier and drag and drop them onto the UOT.zip window, click yes to confirm and close.
Now you have a modified framework-res.apk that will correctly display all the battery images, just simply flash from CWM recovery.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UT.zip
Download the empty template from the OP.
Open up the empty template and navigate to "framework-res.apk/res/drawable-hdpi/". If the directory doesn't exist just simply create the folders being case-sensitive.
Now select all the battery images from the window you left open earlier and drag and drop them onto the empty template window, click yes to confirm and close.
Now you have a universal theme.zip that will theme battery images on your ROM.
Here is a link for a esk02k's CWM flashable glass orb battery mod zip, it contains 100 discharging and 100 charging png's:
esk02k battery orb mod
Preview
And here is a link for my Power Battery mod, it contains 100 discharging and 100 charging png's:
Phone Candy Power Battery
Preview
Both links are in universal theme format.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for the guide, dully79. Got a quick question...
I am currently on a stock (but rooted) 2.3.4 rom on my international Galaxy S2. I am pretty noobish at hacking around with the Galaxy S2, so if I may.
Rather than editing framework-res.apk from a rom and then flashing the whole thing in CWM, can I just extract the framework-res.apk from the rom running on the phone at the moment, using Root Explorer, edit the PNG files that I want, save the PNGs back into framework-res.apk and then just overwrite framework-res.apk on the phone (again using Root Explorer), reboot the phone and then enjoy the changes I've made?
Or is that asking for a disaster?
I apologise for being incredibly ignorant in the ways of Android modding. I'm still getting used to all this Android modding stuff. Modding the Nokia N900 was no trouble at all!
I have made a full backup of the phone on CWM, and I have one of them USB Jigs, just in case...

I wouldn't recommend it as your framework-res.apk is constantly being called by various things. I tried it once using root explorer on my old HTC hero and ended up in a world of pain.
If you want to do edits on board the best thing would probably be:
1- copy and paste your framework-res on your sd.
2- extract your framework and make the edits you want.
3- download the UT empty template from OP and extract that, if the files are extracted individually instead of into a folder then put them into folder.
4- copy your new images into the extracted empty template in MORPH/system/framework/framework-res.apk/res/drawable-hdpi/ (if the directory doesn't exist just create it being case-sensitive).
5- zip up the files INSIDE the extracted empty template folder using store add the compression method (beware that some zip apps don't seem to play nice with cwm).
6- flash from cwm
This method will only replace the images you added into the extracted empty template.
Hope this helps, if you need anything else just ask.

Thanks for the reply
So the empty theme template will work ok with the stock (but rooted) 2.3.4 Touchwiz rom that my phone shipped with?
Will the same method you described above also work for systemui.apk so I can edit the green Wifi/Bluetooth/GPS/Sound/Auto Rotation switches in the notification tray?
Thanks again I'm looking forward to shifting the green-ness of a lot of the graphics - I'd much prefer blue!

Yes mate it will.
If you just want to change images use the MORPH folder with the correct directory to the images like described above.
And if you want to replace full apk's you place them in XTRAS.
Don't edit any .9.pngs, as in changing the hue, these need to be decompiled before editing.
You can swap compiled .9's for compiled .9's but be careful with them as these can cause force closes and boot loops. There are guides around xda about editing them.

Another thank you to you, dully79!
I've followed the instructions you laid out, and I've turned the stock battery level (and charging indicator) blue!
I'd post a picture, but I'm not allowed to yet. Gotta shift my forum training wheels.
But I assure you, it looks goooooooood...
This is only just the beginning...
I'm going to make every single graphic a different colour, with lens flare! /vomits
Thanks again for this guide, this has started me off on the journey of Android discovery!

Crugath said:
Another thank you to you, dully79!
I've followed the instructions you laid out, and I've turned the stock battery level (and charging indicator) blue!
I'd post a picture, but I'm not allowed to yet. Gotta shift my forum training wheels.
But I assure you, it looks goooooooood...
This is only just the beginning...
I'm going to make every single graphic a different colour, with lens flare! /vomits
Thanks again for this guide, this has started me off on the journey of Android discovery!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No probs mate, I'm more than happy to pass on what I've learned.
Don't hesitate to ask if you needed owt.

Seeing as you've offered, I think I'll take you up on the offer to answer more questions! lol...
I am trying to change the progress bar colour. I can find progressbar_indeterminate#.png, which is fine, but I can't find the regular solid progress bar. Do you know what that's called and where it might live?
And another, I'm trying to change the colour of the background of a slider for things like changing volume in the settings, I also can't find the PNG for that. If you know where I can look, please let me know!

That's found in progress_horizontal.xml in framework-res.apk/res/drawable.
To make edits you need to decompile first to make the xml readable, then re compile.
Here is a blue progress bar with a grey background from my phone candy theme if you don't want to edit xmls, just extract it from the zip and put it in the correct directory in the MORPH folder.

UPDATED 4.3 mods~Note 3 apps, (Air Command Themes)4.3 landscape, pen window any app

UPDATED BOTTOM OF THIS POST (2nd Half) WITH THEME ***Photos***
Decided to make a thread to show off some features and modifications brought to us by the great devs and users here at xda.....
#Note 3 apps plus 4.3 rom....
Rom: Synergy MK2 r2..Plus Note3 Apps (r3 is latest...just haven't got around to it myself)(Note3 Apps are prepacked in r3 fyi)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2090160
Wanam rotating the lockscreen & carrier name edits and multiwindow any app....
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2383484
#Pen Window mod for any app..
Pen Window Manager....add any app you have to pen window (note3 app)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2469767
#Landscape stock tw
used a note3 landscape modded launcher.....*EDIT Here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2462912
:Note After applying the launcher I was no longer able to find my accuweather widget...tried a bunch of things and then just gave up and installed Transparent weather widget from the playstore.....ACCUWEATHER issue is known...no fix yet *Edit
Oh yeah launcher is 5x4 portrait and 4x5 landscape with no parts cut-off apps And App drawer is 6x5 portrait and 3x10 landscape with no cut-off apps
*****Edit**** After clean installing "The Smoothest Rom" I was able to maintain the accuweather widget and it works fine with the landscape launcher !!
#Multiwindow 4 apps...
*Update* I'm now running multiwindow plus which allows up to four windowed apps. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2558517
#Screen mirroring with root and custom recovery. ..
*Also to be able to use screen mirroring with root and custom recovery I pushed the following file to my lib directory and fixed permissions...works 100%. File created by doandu1234 posted by user 4shared ....WARNING DO NOT FLASH !! WILL CAUSE BOOTLOOP JUST MANUALLY MOVE AND FIX PERMISSIONS. ....
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2542509
***Here is a non flashable zip with the file needed for mirroring http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2562880 post #4
EDIT---> decided to play around with the air-command icons after seeing GalaxyS4Man's thread over in at&t note 3 land....and made a few of my own little mods using most of GalaxyS4Man's files...just tweaked and added my own
Blue Ring
Hal 2001
Green- This one was a full port of GalaxyS4Man's green theme...I just modded the sizes and replaced the shadow ring
.........new pics below 3rd post !!!
***Ok here's a guide and some files to get ya going.....this is not hard or timely so don't stress no decompiling etc..
Copy your framework-res.apk from phone or from downloaded rom zip of your current rom(...just for good measure) then copy to pc and use 7zip to view the framework-res.apk . Go to the "res" folder then navigate to "drawable-xhdpi" then find the files with matching names from the zip I posted (they'll be clustered together) delete those and then select and drag and drop my files into the folder.
Next copy your modified framework-res.apk back to your phone's sdcard (int or ext) and use a root explorer program to copy and paste the new file back into the system/framework folder....NOW realize this as soon as you copy the new file into place your phone is going to reboot automatically don't panic AND DON'T DELETE YOUR CURRENT FRAMEWORK-RES.APK.....COPY AND OVERWRITE IT just do it that way...Remember after your phone reboots TO GO AND CHANGE PERMISSIONS then REBOOT MANUALLY......PROFIT !
Please hit thanks if this HELPS
If you'd like to quickly test each one my suggestion is:
Needed-----
1) computer....(guess you could use phone...but ouch!)
2 )zip file of your current rom on computer.....or just copy out the framework-res.apk from your system to sdcard then to computer
3) 7zip or other archive handler
4) about 550mb of space on int or ext sdcard
My method has been to grab the "framework-res.apk" in question and then select copy and paste an instance of the apk into each separate theme folder.....then one by one open the folder.....open the apk with 7zip...navigate to res/drawable-xhdpi and drag the icon files from the folder into the apk pressing yes to perform the operation......go through and do this to each theme then throw all the theme folders into a single folder and copy this to your phone.......
Then when ready to try use your root explorer navigate to your chosen theme select copy and then navigate to "system" folder....I then go to the "vold" folder and paste the framework-res.apk in there (temporarily) I then change the permissions and after changing the permissions I then select MOVE and move the file into "system/framework" and then select do a Hot Restart.....system loads right back up ready for testing.....follow these steps to run through and find the one that suits you the best......
******MY FILES IN POST #3******
Here is a "partial" theme Created by thermax04 over in the galaxy N3 forum, check out his thread and hit his thanks button for allowing us note 2 users access to his hard work.......http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2655984
This is just a partial theme....I will not be taking requests at this time to add or remove things (can be done yourself). I have just themed the parts of the rom that I like themed, If I do more I will add it here.
I'm posting a dropbox link that contains he modded apks...it is not flashable, however grab the files with a root explorer program and add them to their perspective locations One By One (renaming original apk by adding .bak to the filename) and then copy over modded apk and set permissions. Some of the files may cause a soft reboot before you are able to set permissions....Just be sure to go back and set permissions after it reboots.
Once you have added the files the results will be like the screens below.....Enjoy and take a moment to head to thermax04's thread and hit his thanks button.......and hit mine too as it took a while to resize this for our phone.....enough blah blah....here's pics and link ENJOY
{
"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"
}
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/76409552/Non_Flashable_Themed.zip

louforgiveno said:
decided to make a thread to show off some features and modifications brought to us by the great devs and users here at xda.....
#note 3 apps plus 4.3 rom....
Rom: Synergy mk2 r2..plus note3 apps (r3 is latest...just haven't got around to it myself)(note3 apps are prepacked in r3 fyi)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2090160
wanam rotating the lockscreen & carrier name edits and multiwindow any app....
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2383484
#pen window mod for any app..
Pen window manager....add any app you have to pen window (note3 app)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2469767
#landscape stock tw
used a note3 landscape modded launcher.....*edit here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2462912
:note after applying the launcher i was no longer able to find my accuweather widget...tried a bunch of things and then just gave up and installed transparent weather widget from the playstore.....accuweather issue is known...no fix yet *edit
oh yeah launcher is 5x4 portrait and 4x5 landscape with no parts cut-off apps and app drawer is 6x5 portrait and 3x10 landscape with no cut-off apps
#multiwindow 4 apps...
*update* i'm now running multiwindow plus which allows up to four windowed apps. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2558517
#screen mirroring with root and custom recovery. ..
*also to be able to use screen mirroring with root and custom recovery i pushed the following file to my lib directory and fixed permissions...works 100%. File created by doandu1234 posted by user 4shared ....warning do not flash !! Will cause bootloop just manually move and fix permissions. ....
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2542509
***here is a non flashable zip with the file needed for mirroring http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2562880 post #4
hit "thanks" at your own risk. Doing so may brick your phone lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
delete post please

Here are the Air-Command mod pics Enjoy.......
***Ok here's a guide and some files to get ya going.....this is not hard or timely so don't stress no decompiling etc..
Copy your framework-res.apk from phone or from downloaded rom zip of your current rom(...just for good measure) then copy to pc and use 7zip to view the framework-res.apk . Go to the "res" folder then navigate to "drawable-xhdpi" then find the files with matching names from the zip I posted (they'll be clustered together) delete those and then select and drag and drop my files into the folder.
Next copy your modified framework-res.apk back to your phone's sdcard (int or ext) and use a root explorer program to copy and paste the new file back into the system/framework folder....NOW realize this as soon as you copy the new file into place your phone is going to reboot automatically don't panic AND DON'T DELETE YOUR CURRENT FRAMEWORK-RES.APK.....COPY AND OVERWRITE IT just do it that way...Remember after your phone reboots TO GO AND CHANGE PERMISSIONS then REBOOT MANUALLY......PROFIT !
****I'm currently working on a air-command theme replacing galaxymans icons....stay tuned..........*****Edit DONE !
If you'd like to quickly test each one my suggestion is:
Needed-----
1) computer....(guess you could use phone...but ouch!)
2 )zip file of your current rom on computer.....or just copy out the framework-res.apk from your system to sdcard then to computer
3) 7zip or other archive handler
4) about 550mb of space on int or ext sdcard
My method has been to grab the "framework-res.apk" in question and then select copy and paste an instance of the apk into each separate theme folder.....then one by one open the folder.....open the apk with 7zip...navigate to res/drawable-xhdpi and drag the icon files from the folder into the apk pressing yes to perform the operation......go through and do this to each theme then throw all the theme folders into a single folder and copy this to your phone.......
Then when ready to try use your root explorer navigate to your chosen theme select copy and then navigate to "system" folder....I then go to the "vold" folder and paste the framework-res.apk in there (temporarily) I then change the permissions and after changing the permissions I then select MOVE and move the file into "system/framework" and then do a Hot Restart.....system loads right back up ready for testing.....follow these steps to run through and find the one that suits you the best......
Please hit thanks if this HELPS
*******UPDATE.....High End Car Command pics and zip file below........
Enjoy
*******.....MORE IN POST #5

louforgiveno said:
Here are the Air-Command mod pics Enjoy.......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where to dl icon mods?
ANDROID ...A New Digital Revolution Of Incredible Developers
Are you having any trouble with screen shot then writing on screen shot then saving using the screen write option of air command?

Here are some more....

louforgiveno said:
well I got the main mod here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2534720
then I manually converted the images to their correct sizes then repacked them and zipaligned them.
I'm pretty sure screen write worked for me on synergy but now I'm running http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2582027 and yes I've noticed screen write doesn't work for me either
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey check post 98 of the ROM thread you're running. I posted a fix for screen write and save!
ANDROID ...A New Digital Revolution Of Incredible Developers
I would like to have the holo air command mod if possible?

ianmb said:
Hey check post 98 of the ROM thread you're running. I posted a fix for screen write and save!
ANDROID ...A New Digital Revolution Of Incredible Developers
I would like to have the holo air command mod if possible?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah it's weird. ..still crashes after copying your fix...hmm

louforgiveno said:
Yeah it's weird. ..still crashes after copying your fix...hmm
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is weird wonder why that is. You did have the 2 FlashAnnotate.apk's? Are you running the latest of that ROM? Worked for others and me.
ANDROID ...A New Digital Revolution Of Incredible Developers

ianmb said:
That is weird wonder why that is. You did have the 2 FlashAnnotate.apk's? Are you running the latest of that ROM? Worked for others and me.
ANDROID ...A New Digital Revolution Of Incredible Developers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup and yup...I'm gonna try re downloading and playing with it more

louforgiveno said:
Yup and yup...I'm gonna try re downloading and playing with it more
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hope you get it working!
ANDROID ...A New Digital Revolution Of Incredible Developers

ianmb said:
Hope you get it working!
ANDROID ...A New Digital Revolution Of Incredible Developers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^^^^ you see the air-command guide and files? 3rd post

louforgiveno said:
^^^^ you see the air-command guide and files? 3rd post
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes thanks...I was just messing around with it on my phone but will do it tomorrow morning when I get up. It's like 4:40 am here!
ANDROID ...A New Digital Revolution Of Incredible Developers

How can I get Air Command window to pop back up again after it goes away without having to keep inserting and exerting pen?

zedmay said:
How can I get Air Command window to pop back up again after it goes away without having to keep inserting and exerting pen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hold pen close to screen then press button on side of pen.

zedmay said:
How can I get Air Command window to pop back up again after it goes away without having to keep inserting and exerting pen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting. ..having pen detach set to air-command used to cause a fc.....but yeah like was stated to manually pull up just press button on pen near screen

Hey did your icon change WORKED PERFECTLY!!!! Used the red one AWESOME!
If I could take a screenshot with the new AirCommand icons I would show you. VERY VERY easy process. Question...could you do the same process to change other icons in the ROM. I imagine you could as long as you renamed them the same. Not sure as far as resolution for icons go though.

ianmb said:
Hey did your icon change WORKED PERFECTLY!!!! Used the red one AWESOME!
If I could take a screenshot with the new AirCommand icons I would show you. VERY VERY easy process. Question...could you do the same process to change other icons in the ROM. I imagine you could as long as you renamed them the same. Not sure as far as resolution for icons go though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure I believe it 's that simple just match dimensions of stock files to modified files......I'm about to update post #3 new files and pics !!
☆☆☆☆POST #3 UPDATED......ENJOY

Thanx for this excellent MOD buddy..
I'll be testing this out...:thumbup:
SENT FROM SAMMY i317 USING TAPATALK

Post 3 updated.....

Wow... These are awesome! Any chance of a maltese cross for the firefighters in the crowd Thx!
Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

[Guide] Modding your rom.zip

Dear all,
I have recently managed to modify Lloirs SlimBean 3.1 rom to both update the apps and adjust the themes, so I thought I would take the time to share how this can be done with you all.
This guide will not tell you how to build a rom from source, but instead how to initially ruin the perfectly good rom someone else made, and then eventually customise it to your little hearts content without ever having to ./make it.
The intent of the guide is to cover
rom.zip File structure
apks & apktool
SystemUI and framework-res.apk
Anything amazing I haven't thought of yet
The first thing to realise is that both the rom file that you flash and the .apk files within it are all basically .zip files and can be opened using 7zip or other linux variants like fileroller. So if all you want to do is open up the rom and poke around, then I suggest you do just that. Its a great place to start to try and get your head around what is going on in there!
I have tried to do all of these modifications with the minimum install of tools and whatnot, as I like to be as close to what is actually being done as possible. There are a variety of all in one tools available, and a quick search of XDA will find them. In my experience these tend to become outdated quite quickly or development stops. So best to learn from the basics, which means the lowest level of tool possible.
With all that said I strongly recommend getting your mits on Gimp-2.8, fileroller and apktool.
Code:
sudo apt-get install gimp file-roller
Apktool can be found from the Git - repository or the google code site,
http://code.google.com/p/android-apktool/ I'll add install instructions and info on this tool in the specific section. There is also an excellent XDA thread covering the progress iBotPeaches is making with the tool.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1755243

rom.zip File Structure
WIP
OK lets get started with the basics. Download a flashable rom.zip file and start poking your nose where it didn't belong before. If your ready yo get down and dirty just go ahead and unzip it into its own folder. Depending on what rom.zip you have will depend on how much of the file structure below you will see:
{
"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"
}
and here we have the root of the flashable.zip starting from the top we have:
data: this contains anything that is already signed and not part of the original build but that we want to install with the rest of the rom
META-INF: Full of all the meta information you could ever dream of. This contains all the certification and signing files along with our most important file of the install script.
system: This contains all the files that actually make up our ROM so this is everything above the HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer). In here are the goodies I will describe how to play with later.
boot.img: Is the all important kernel, if you are S-OFF this will flash on install, if not you will need to use fastboot to flash it separately.
So if your unhappy with all of this and want out of the woods already then you can just re-zip the files back together and they will work fine, no harm done. If not the lets move onto the easy folder data. I say easy because we can't break anything here, if you get it wrong then the packages here just won't install.
DATA
So as we can see above, we have a folder called app, which is full of a load of packages that I wanted to include into the rom, but and this is the important part. I didn't want this apps to be system apps, this means I wanted them to be easy to remove without using root access. As you will see system apps live somewhere else, not totally unlike the system/app folder :silly:. Another important point is that the apps/packages, I will use these terms interchangeably, that get installed from here are all signed, this means they have a signature in there meta.inf files saying that they have not been messed with. Most app developers will sign there work, to help keep it safe, and stop people from pirating it with such ease. All apps from the playstore are signed in such a manner. The apps in other folders must not be signed, but we will get back to that. If you have any apps or packages you have got the .apk from XDA thread or elsewhere this is one of the best places to put them if you want them to install with your rom.zip
So the truth be told, I have no idea what other folders you can put in aside from the app one, but I am sure there are plenty, if you find any let me know.
NEXT, we have the META-INF folder:
META-INF
Here as mentioned we have or CERT.SF which is a certification file, our MANIFEST.MF which is the manifest ie list of everything going into this rom, and CERT.RSA another signature file. DON'T BE MESSING WITH THESE. They are core to the install process, and generated by the build scripts used to create the rom in the first place. You can open and look at them all, which will help your general understanding and break nothing, however No saving the files.
Above is the full expanded file structure, again there is really nothing you want to mess with in here, but I'll explain what I know about them. First up is the:
Android folder files, which these cover the Over The Air (OTA) update information, this is just some data that identifies what version etc of the rom for what phone you are using. It used to make sure you get the right ota update, in this rom I haven't set up ota as I have literally no idea how.
google folders stashed in the second android folder are the updater files, this is effectively a list of what the recovery program is to do when installing the rom, so you will even find the lovely message that gets printed as your rom installs saying its all going well.
This leaves us with the most important of all the folders, the system folder. In here as mentioned before are all the golden nuggets that make the trove that is your rom. Lets take a peek.
As we would be hoping the folder is full of goodness! Taking it from the top we have:
SYSTEM
system/addon.d This contains shell scripts (Ones that would run in your terminal) here we have the 50 - slimupdate.sh slimupdate script, again for OTA but this backs up the hosts (I'll get to this later) file so that it is re-instated after the upgrade. Secondly we have the 81-aio_gapps.sh which backs up the gapps that you had installed before the ota update. So they can be put back afterwards. Feel free to open these look around, and if your not doing any ota they are pretty useless.
APP
system/app This is a very significant folder as it contains all the apps that will run as part of the system, in here you'll find the dialer phone.apk, the google search package velvet.apk, the google play store vending.apk and your text messenger mms.apk. All of these files are important, come unsigned as they used to be unavailable on the playstore, and for other important reasons I am unaware of. The important part is that when we start to think about editing them with apktool, or you make your own they stay unsigned them.
The system folder is protect as read only (-ro) so that these files are not available to be changed during normal use of the phone. Of course using esExplorer or another root explorer you can change the -ro mount setting to -rw allowing you to write to the folder as well, and so change the files.
I will be happy to answer any questions as to what .apk file relates to what if you are stuck at any point. You can remove and re-install these as you wish, but be warned remove the sytemUI.apk will result in very limited functionality on the phone, which is why I will be talking it up a bit later. Its also worth noting that different roms use different android versions of the .apk and they won't always play nicely together. Whats more some of the .apks are reliant on each other, for instance googles gallery.apk and camera.apk have cross funstionality, as do mms.apk, phone.apk, contacts.apk, and contactsprovider.apk, as they share usage and files.
BIN
Just like in your linux file directory the bin folder holds all the functions and programs that get called throughout the day to day use of android. As an example adb and the backuptool are in here. Again I would advise not messing with these files, but be aware that when your trying to add new packages or functionality to a rom you may find yourself adding files or functions in here.
/-- OK enough for now I'll get back to this --/

apks and apktool
OK so hopefully we now know where all the lovely .apk files are hiding within the file structure of our rom. Which don't get me wrong is nice enough in itself, but what we really really wanna do is open these bad boys up and start editing them just the way we like it.
The simplest way to do this is with 7zip or fileroller, you should be able to just double click pop them open, then navigate to the res folder where you will find all the folders with the .png and .9.png s for the gui systems in the app. If your using gimp or photoshop or pretty much any paint related software you can immediately go ahead and edit the .png files. The smart thing to do here is not to replace any files but edit and save them as the same resolution, as you may have noticed that the different res folders are separated into different resolutions and upright and sideways display. For the HOV most of what we want will always be in teh HDdpi or xHDdpi folders. Do Not Edit the .9.pngs As this will result in the failure later. This method is only really useful if your lazy, and only want to grey-scale a single image or what.
If you've got this far you probably want to be able to edit the .9.png s and start opening and changing the .xml code so that you can edit default backgrounds and text colours. To do this we will want the excellent apktool,
http://code.google.com/p/android-apktool/
This tool will unpack the .apk file and allow us to rebuild it as well, however it is rom specific to some degreee, as some .apks have been created using a different aapt file (Slim, some AOKPs) and so will require a more specific version. This may sound like a pain, but it can be dealt with super easily.
The slim one can be found here and has just recently been updated to handle Slim4.4 apks
https://github.com/SlimRoms/apktool
So how do I install, and then run these tools? How do I swap between slim and aosp or other .apktool versions?
First is first, download the version of the tools you want, either through direct link on the googlecode page or from downloading as .zip from the github page. Its worth noting that the latest apktool (v2) which works with java1.7 and can be downloaded from the github works slightly differently from the guide here, but its easy to work out how and is documented on the website.
I am going to assume we are too lazy to read the website, in which case stoppit go back read the website!
That done we can now run the install.sh script in terminal which will create an apktool folder where we can run the tool to our delight.
Importantly it should also put an aapt, apktool, and apktool,jar file into our /usr/local/bin/
Please note that any file structure starting with / is from the true root of the file structure whereas any with ~/ will be starting from your root folder in my case /mcgi5sr2/
This is one place where files go that you can execute anywhere within your file structure, so you can apktool anywhere in your file structure, please not that the decompiled files will always end up in your ~/apktool/<fileName>.apk folder.
So with this knowledge we can rip the aapt, apktool and apktool.jar out of the slimapktool, rename and put them in the /usr/local/bin/ folder for safe keeping. To use them in the heat of battle we simply rename the exisitng ones to 1.5 or 2 or whatever really, then change the name of the slim files back to aapt, apktool and apktool.jar . This way we can swap between them with ease. There are other ways of doing this, but they are beyond my ken (understanding).
OK so we are now installed, and can swap between apktool versions and have an apktool folder! We can really begin.
Delve into you rom or phone and pull out systemUI.apk from your rom/system/app folder and framework-res.apk rom/system/framework/ folder. This can also be done using adb
Code:
adb pull /system/systemUI.apk /apktool/systemUI.apk
adb pull /system/framework/framework-res.apk /apktool/framework-res.apk
Should do the trick, With some HTC roms ie stock you may find you need to also pull the htc-framework-res.apk. Once this has been done then one of the most important steps takes place. We extract the file framework for the rom so that we can decompile and recompile successfully for the phone. From within the same folder as the systemUI.apk and framework-res.apk on your computer type:
Code:
apktool if systemUI.apk
apktool if framework-res.apk
this will create a framework folder within ~/apktool/ which should contain a 1.apk and normally a 127.apk these are SUPER important let them be.
Finally it seems we are ready to decompile the .apk file we wanted to edit, a good place to start is the phone.pk or mms.apk so move the file wherever, I use the ~/apktool/ folder for all this craziness. Then type:
Code:
apktool d mms.apk
The magic should happen and you will have a ~/apktool/mms folder! In which is basically a lot of the same stuff in the unzipped version we talked about earlier. This can be edited to your delight and then recompiled, in fact its worth recompiling immediately to check it all works, nothing more annoying than spending a long time working in your res and values folders only to have it not recompile! So,
Code:
apktool b mms
Note the fact that the .apk is no longer present this is because we are building using the folder as source.
We are not done! We need to make sure the certification and signing is all correct, so we need to open the original .apk file, and extract the AndroidManifest.xml and the META-INF folder and replace the ones in the ~/apktool/mms/build/apk/ folder this will make sure we have the original signatures. Then we
Code:
apktool b mms
one final time, now the finished mms.apk should be in ~/apktool/mms/dist/ folder ready for use in the rom.
Once decompiled not only can we edit the .png files in the res/drawable folders but we can edit the .9.png files and the .xml and if we are really know what we are about the .smali files. I strongly recommend staying away from smali unless you really know whats up. There is an important rule to follow when editing .9.png files as well, that you should not alter the black lines that surround the edges. Everything else can be edited bar them.
As you can see above these lines normally only a pixel or so wide, but play an important role in how the files are used, stretched, repeated etc. In fact in some cases I have found that even using black (rgb ff000000) caused problems so I used just off black (rgb ff010000). The RGB codes used in the .xml files are also slightly different to normal, the first two digits represent how transparent the colour is with ff being solid, and 00 being transparent.
.xml files of interested will undoubtedly be found in the /res/values folder, as this is where most of the colours are defined.
There are a lot of things that can go awry in this, but if you follow these instructions you should be cool. Any issues you can try me, or go for the mega thread on apktool listed at the top.
A few pointers on what you'll find in the different folders once you've decompiled the .apk can be found in the post below about SystemUI.apk and Framework-res.apk

SystemUI and Framework-res
reserved to cover these special apks

Forgotten Isle
reserved for any new important things I may want to tag onto the en of this

File Structure
Also reserved...... for a reason yet to become apparent

Awesome work mcgi5sr2. This guide is really useful..

MScorporation95 said:
Awesome work mcgi5sr2. This guide is really useful..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty busy right now, but will try and finish this for anyone else who is interested. I would add a build guide, but there are a lot of those out right now anyway.
If people are interested we could start a build and build errors thread for Primo to help each other out

Thank you!!!
---------- Post added at 09:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:55 PM ----------
Very good guide
Sent from my One V using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

HTC ONE V reflash from *ZIP
hi, could you suggest me how to flash from ZIP(official EU ROM, downloaded from htc dev site), and I won't to change below mentioned?
* bootloader - LOCKED
* have orig. ROM but UK oriented

vinm07 said:
hi, could you suggest me how to flash from ZIP(official EU ROM, downloaded from htc dev site), and I won't to change below mentioned?
* bootloader - LOCKED
* have orig. ROM but UK oriented
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have to unlock your bootloader and install a recovery to flash a rom.

FMRadio FM2 Lineage-16/AOSP themed

Since we don't have the newer FM Radio App in lineage-16 and because I don't like the "old" FM2, I recolored it for my needs
I made two flashable packages, one is the new themed FM2 and the other is the Stock FM2, if You don't like it.
INSTALLATION:
Reboot to installed TWRP
Mount ---> Select System
Install package
Reboot
Tested on my lineage-16 (20190530), might work on other AOSP Pie Roms with FM2.
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zitronenmelissa said:
Since we don't have the newer FM Radio App in lineage-16 and because I don't like the "old" FM2, I recolored it for my needs
I made two flashable packages, one is the new themed FM2 and the other is the Stock FM2, if You don't like it.
INSTALLATION:
Reboot to installed TWRP
Mount ---> Select System
Install package
Reboot
Tested on my lineage-16 (20190530), might work on other AOSP Pie Roms with FM2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
does it have RDS info ??

boe323 said:
does it have RDS info ??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's the older FM Radio APP used in CM11/CM12 too, I never had RDS with it.
I guess the newer lineage/CyanogenMod FMRadio APP since CM13 has RDS?

Is it works with stock oreo?
I have TWRP installed on my phone...

No, I don't think so. These is for Pie Roms and fmradio lib should be enabled in kernel and "libqcomfm_jni.so" should be in /system/lib64. But it's always worth a try remember to backup files, that will be overwritten, "libqcomfm_jni.so" is attached, extract from zip file (rw-r-r in /system/lib64)

zitronenmelissa said:
Since we don't have the newer FM Radio App in lineage-16 and because I don't like the "old" FM2, I recolored it for my needs
I made two flashable packages, one is the new themed FM2 and the other is the Stock FM2, if You don't like it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, do you have a version Black themed? or can you tell me how did you themed it? did you used android studio or others way? Thanks

simone81 said:
Hi, do you have a version Black themed? or can you tell me how did you themed it? did you used android studio or others way? Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use apktool:
extract FM2 and framework-res.apk from Your rom
apktool if framework-res.apk
apktool d FM2.apk
Important files are /res/values/color.xml and some in /res/drawable
Color is written in hex color code with transparency ahead: #ff000000 is black #ffffffff is white for example.
You can decompile my file and for Your needs it will be enough to edit /res/values/color.xml
Recompile: apktool b FM2 and don't forget to put Original META-INF folder and AndroidManifest.xml back in new compiled FM2.apk in /dist folder (I use 7zip Archive Manager to do that)
I'm actually on latest Stock Rom, but I can try later to make a dark version.

simone81 said:
Hi, do you have a version Black themed? or can you tell me how did you themed it? did you used android studio or others way? Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
zitronenmelissa said:
I use apktool:
extract FM2 and framework-res.apk from Your rom
apktool if framework-res.apk
apktool d FM2.apk
Important files are /res/values/color.xml and some in /res/drawable
Color is written in hex color code with transparency ahead: #ff000000 is black #ffffffff is white for example.
You can decompile my file and for Your needs it will be enough to edit /res/values/color.xml
Recompile: apktool b FM2 and don't forget to put Original META-INF folder and AndroidManifest.xml back in new compiled FM2.apk in /dist folder (I use 7zip Archive Manager to do that)
I'm actually on latest Stock Rom, but I can try later to make a dark version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks so much for the explanation!!! i can try following your guide..... but im not sure to be able to modify color because im not good with the steps you wrote... By the way, if you can make a black version i would be very happy :fingers-crossed:

simone81 said:
Thanks so much for the explanation!!! i can try following your guide..... but im not sure to be able to modify color because im not good with the steps you wrote... By the way, if you can make a black version i would be very happy :fingers-crossed:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can try. What about ... whats blue will be grey, whats grey will be black?

zitronenmelissa said:
I can try. What about ... whats blue will be grey, whats grey will be black?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, It is perfect!! I like your color idea!!
I did try to follow your way to change the color file with notepad .... but i think i did a mistake when i have to zip together with Androidmanifest and the folder META-INF ( which have inside 3 files: CERT.RSA , CERT.FS, MANIFEST.MF) instead of your version That have a folder META-INF --> com-->google-->android-->and here 2 files : updater-script and update-binary).
Then i miss also the folder named system--> app -->FM2 with apk inside. <--- But i think this folders i have to create.
I made a try but doesnt work.... and i see my radio.zip ( i made so many try) is too small compared with yours.... ( more than 1mb, mine about 650kb)
So im sure i did miss some step or i did something wrong....
Thanks again to helping me :fingers-crossed:
View attachment RadioFm.zip

simone81 said:
Wow, It is perfect!! I like your color idea!!
I did try to follow your way to change the color file with notepad .... but i think i did a mistake when i have to zip together with Androidmanifest and the folder META-INF ( which have inside 3 files: CERT.RSA , CERT.FS, MANIFEST.MF) instead of your version That have a folder META-INF --> com-->google-->android-->and here 2 files : updater-script and update-binary).
Then i miss also the folder named system--> app -->FM2 with apk inside. <--- But i think this folders i have to create.
I made a try but doesnt work.... and i see my radio.zip ( i made so many try) is too small compared with yours.... ( more than 1mb, mine about 650kb)
So im sure i did miss some step or i did something wrong....
Thanks again to helping me :fingers-crossed:
View attachment 4779785
View attachment 4779786
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The files from /original in decompiled FM2 folder have to be added to the new FM2.apk in /dist folder. You can open .apk files with 7zip too, because it's an advanced .zip file. The META-INF folder and the AndroidManifest.xml are necessary files in .apks.
The META-INF folder in flashing .zip files contains flashing script and binary to flash to correct directory for example.
You can use my FMRadio-themed.zip file as a template, if You want to. Just replace the FM2.apk in /system/FM2 folder.
I made a dark version, but it's a blind edition, could not test it on stock ROM, but it should work.
Structure of the .zip file for flashing:
/META-INF/com/google/android/update-binary
/META-INF/com/google/android/updater-script
/system/app/FM2/FM2.apk
Structure of FM2.apk:
/META-INF/CERT.RSA
/META-INF/CERT.SF
/META-INF/MANIFEST.MF
/res/...
AndroidManifest.xml
classes.dex
resources.arsc
Good luck

zitronenmelissa said:
The files from /original in decompiled FM2 folder have to be added to the new FM2.apk in /dist folder. You can open .apk files with 7zip too, because it's an advanced .zip file. The META-INF folder and the AndroidManifest.xml are necessary files in .apks.
The META-INF folder in flashing .zip files contains flashing script and binary to flash to correct directory for example.
You can use my FMRadio-themed.zip file as a template, if You want to. Just replace the FM2.apk in /system/FM2 folder.
I made a dark version, but it's a blind edition, could not test it on stock ROM, but it should work.
Structure of the .zip file for flashing:
/META-INF/com/google/android/update-binary
/META-INF/com/google/android/updater-script
/system/app/FM2/FM2.apk
Structure of FM2.apk:
/META-INF/CERT.RSA
/META-INF/CERT.SF
/META-INF/MANIFEST.MF
/res/...
AndroidManifest.xml
classes.dex
resources.arsc
Good luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks so much zitronenmelissa, i really appreciate your time for helping me, even if i could not see any changes. I tryed to flash using twrp, with original app, but no luck, then i tried hibernate ( deactivating) the original radio app and installing the zip, but nothing changed. In the end i uninstalled the original radio app and flash again your .zip but once again no luck.
Its strange, because im on Pixel experience now but before i was on RR Rom....
At least you helped me learning a little more about this apktool.
Thanks

simone81 said:
Thanks so much zitronenmelissa, i really appreciate your time for helping me, even if i could not see any changes. I tryed to flash using twrp, with original app, but no luck, then i tried hibernate ( deactivating) the original radio app and installing the zip, but nothing changed. In the end i uninstalled the original radio app and flash again your .zip but once again no luck.
Its strange, because im on Pixel experience now but before i was on RR Rom....
At least you helped me learning a little more about this apktool.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did You mount System first via twrp? In twrp ---> Mount ---> check on System? Otherwise it won't install to system ....

zitronenmelissa said:
Did You mount System first via twrp? In twrp ---> Mount ---> check on System? Otherwise it won't install to system ....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, i didnt know. Thats why it does not work. But now IT WORKS :victory::victory::victory:
Thanks really so much, i like the color :good:

Would You please make screenshots for the thread how it looks? I couldn't test it on stock Rom ...

zitronenmelissa said:
Would You please make screenshots for the thread how it looks? I couldn't test it on stock Rom ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure, I can also post "my version" where i inverted your color theme.... the rds info are pretty easy to be readed . ( if you want i can post my .zip file)
This is your version:
This is my version:
I was wondering if were possible to change the white text radio info, into for example green.... I coded the color.xml and the station_info.xml, but i got an error if i only change the string white into green :
TextView android:textSize="16.0sp" android:textStyle="bold" android:textColor="@android:color/green" <-- instead of white

simone81 said:
Sure, I can also post "my version" where i inverted your color theme.... the rds info are pretty easy to be readed . ( if you want i can post my .zip file)
This is your version:
This is my version:
I was wondering if were possible to change the white text radio info, into for example green.... I coded the color.xml and the station_info.xml, but i got an error if i only change the string white into green :
TextView android:textSize="16.0sp" android:textStyle="bold" android:textColor="@android:color/green" <-- instead of white
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WOW :good: I like Your ideas, very good. Thank You for the screenshots

You can also use every hex8 color:
android:textColor="#ff00ff00" is green
Here You can generate Your color codes:
http://www.colorscodes.com/color-code-hex/00ff00

Works on LG G2 D802 with LineageOS 18.1? Thk

When I installed it through TWRP on my Samsung Galaxy S N7000 with Lineage OS 16 - there is no any icon for this radio, but in system\system I see FM2.apk
Why?