I have been working on this issue for most of the day over in the Vibrant forums.
I am posting here in hopes of getting someone who knows more about apk editing and fonts then I do to help out.
Link to the post on the XDA Vibrant forum here
Please post your response there. Once the issue is solved I will repost a walk-through on all Galaxy S forums.
Here is the start of my thread, please read the link to see the progress.
I am aware that there are other ways to edit the fonts on our phone, by replacing renaming the default font. This is NOT what I would like to accomplish.
Since the Galaxy S is the first android phone to use Flipfont, I think we should take advantage of it. It gives us a nice preview of the font in the built in menu option and is thus superior to the other methods.
I originally purchased the Bauhaus font from the market and made a backup of it through ASTRO. After pulling the file from my phone and putting it on the computer I started editing the file with Apk Manager 4.8 found here
Steps preformed
Copied original apk into place-apk-here-for-modding folder
Run script.bat and choose option 9 ***this maybe where the issue is as I may need to choose option 10 and include the dependancy if there is one for the flipfont apk.
replace bauhaus.ttf with a .ttf font of my choosing
edit all XML, yml and smali files to include the font name or font.ttf depending on the entry in the original file *** I did not change any of the other coding so again this maybe where the problem is, as I may need to change something else to have the font act properly.
Edit the last folder name in the smali folder tree from bauhaus to the name of my font
Replace font with custom font and replace the preview image with my own
Compile apk
Sign apk
Rename apk
install apk on my phone
After putting the apk on my phone and installing the file, it shows up as expected in settings>Sound and Display>Font style. The font thumbnail shows up properly as does the font preview. The preview does show up a little larger then the other fonts and may be a sign that the font is not optimized properly or that I missed something in the XML.
After applying the font and restarting, the phone is extremely slow, freezing quite often and the font does not show up, it shows the default font instead.
If anyone that knows more about XML or apk editing/creation can help it would be great.
I have included the edited font apk if you would like to download it and run it through Apk Manager 4.8. If you want to try it with the bauhaus or one of the other fonts you will need to buy it from the market and back it up. (trying not to break any rules here.)
[EDIT][More info] Ok I took a closer look at the font that came with the Bauhaus akp
In the discription of the font it list:
OpenType Layout, Digitally Signed, TrueType Outlines
I know that opentype is a new format and that alot of the fonts for OpenType that I find are made by Monotype, the same people that make the fonts available for download. I think this may have something to do with it or maybe Im just grasping. :ºp
Any font guys out there have any info on this?
CAUTION THE FOLLOWING FILE IS NOT MEANT FOR USE AND WILL CAUSE YOUR PHONE TO RUN SLOW!!!
Download Font APK
Hi All,
This is a small guide or may just information to most devs out there.. But this is for people who wanna mess around with thier fonts..
But they end up using Font Changer or Font Installer or ROM Toolbox to change the fonts.. And still end up stuck with Roboto Bold coming here and there..
And changing would cause a bootloop in ICS (Trust me. .Nandroid backup will be ur friend once you start changing the Roboto Bold Font)
So i googled and saw this RootzWiki thread..
[How to] Make Font Packs that Work on ICS/JB
Well essentially after reading that thread I found out that in ICS.. The Fonts actually read meta data unlike in GB.. So that why changing Roboto Bold/Bold Italic/Italic Fonts give a bootloop.. We need to change the fonts at metadata level for ICS to accept it..
So in order to over come this.. We need to change the metadata of the Font using any Font Changer App..
Here are the steps from the Rootzwiki thread in a nutshell
1.) Open the .ttf file
2.) Go to Format > Settings
3.) Under the Classification tab, make sure the weight is correct
Normal(Regular) for Regular and Italic
Bold for Bold and Bold Italic
4.) Make sure the Font Design (Windows) and Mac Style are correct
Regular for Regular,
Bold for Bold,
Italic for Italic,
Bold AND Italic for Bold Italic
5.) Click OK.
6.) Go to Format > Naming.
Make sure all the fonts you want to use use the same Font Family ("Roboto" in the case of Roboto, etc).
Make sure Full Font Name and Postscript Name are correct ("Roboto Regular" for Roboto Regular, etc., "Roboto-Regular" etc. for Postscript Name)
And after that is done. We just need to create a folder called system and then we need to create another Folder named fonts and place the fonts that you have edited under these names
Roboto-Bold.ttf
Roboto-BoldItalic.ttf
Roboto-Italic.ttf
Roboto-Regular.ttf
So its like Normal font in Regular, Bold font in Bold, So on and so forth..
Put the "system" folder in the same folder as your META-INF folder (use an updater-script made for ICS).
Zip up the META-INF and system folders into a normal ZIP file.
Flash the zip using CWM..
And Viola.. You're new font is here..
For some fonts you get a Symbol '[]' like this in some places.. The guy in the rootzwiki thread also gave an answer to this (Awesome Guy ).. Its cause of the glyph for .notdef. It will show up in places where the item gets abbreviated.
So once you're making mods for your fonts.. Make sure to remove that glyph. (For better user experience)
And there you go.. You're own custom fonts.. Entirely.. :good::good:
Credits to ThugEsquire from RootzWiki
EDIT:: If you want to modify the clock that comes in the lockscreen. then you should modify the AndroidClock*.ttf.
But make sure you fonts are proper, otherwise it will cause a distortion in the lockscreen. Specially if you use AOKP and have the carrirer label.
I attached one of my Font Mods. Its only normal font without Italics. So if you like Italics, then i suggest you dont use this.
The Font is Romance Fatal Serif
If you found this post helpful.. Please hit thanks
Hello guys
As we all know, Samsung uses the FlipFont library in system fonts, which provides a new way of font customizations. But in the same time, this library does not give us the benefit of having two desired fonts together (unless we build our custom font). Samsung has also replaced the stock Android ICS Arabic font with an ugly looking font type.
Samsung uses a system Arabic font stored within "/system/fonts" folder under the name of "GS45_Arab_AndroidOS" as their stock Arabic font, which is the classical font in even older Samsung phones.
Here, I am posting this thread to those people who would like to install their custom "English FlipFont" whether from the market or internet and in the same time want a permanent good Arabic font. This procedure needs root!
1- Choose a TTF font that you would like to use as Arabic font. In this tutorial, I have used the "Adobe Arabic" font. You can find it in the attachments.
2- Rename this file into "GS45_Arab_AndroidOS.ttf".
3- Copy this font into your mobile SD Card (whether internal or external).
4- Using a root explorer on the device, navigate to the font. Copy the font.
5- Navigate now to "/system/fonts" and paste the font there.
6- Fix file permissions into "rw-r--r--".
7- Reboot your device.
8- Enjoy!
Some TTF fonts may fail. If you have an Open-Type Font (OTF), you may use an online font converter to convert it to TTF.
Screenshots are provided.
I hope I could help
tried this without succes and then i tried to include the fonts before flashing the rom that works well.
Don_Zakaria said:
tried this without succes and then i tried to include the fonts before flashing the rom that works well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried the font included herein?
Some TTF fonts do not work. You should follow exactly the aforementioned steps.
What have you exactly done?
tweetatoo said:
Have you tried the font included herein?
Some TTF fonts do not work. You should follow exactly the aforementioned steps.
What have you exactly done?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i followed all the steps with the included font but the Original file seems to be read only so it can't be replaced. What i did is:
1. unpack the rom.zip
2. put the ttf in the fonts folder (system - fonts) -as you mentioned it has to be renamed into "GS45_Arab_AndroidOS.ttf"-
3. zipped it again.
4. flashed the rom
Don_Zakaria said:
i followed all the steps with the included font but the Original file seems to be read only so it can't be replaced. What i did is:
1. unpack the rom.zip
2. put the ttf in the fonts folder (system - fonts) -as you mentioned it has to be renamed into "GS45_Arab_AndroidOS.ttf"-
3. zipped it again.
4. flashed the rom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why don't you just use Root Explorer? Just navigate to / System / fonts folder. Mount the folder as R/W and paste the file there. As simple as that!
tweetatoo said:
Why don't you just use Root Explorer? Just navigate to / System / fonts folder. Mount the folder as R/W and paste the file there. As simple as that!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's an easier way that's true but had to flash a new rom anyway.
Some fonts
tweetatoo if you don't mind here are some fonts already renamed. Those are much better than the default (ugly) one.
Don_Zakaria said:
tweetatoo if you don't mind here are some fonts already renamed. Those are much better than the default (ugly) one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wonderful collection
Thank you very much
tweetatoo said:
Wonderful collection
Thank you very much
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have actually applied all the steps mentioned by tweetatoo to install a new font instead of the default one shipped on Samsung Galaxy Note 2. In fact I couldn't paste the new font in /fonts/ directory since it is a system file that cannot be changed. I tried to change permissions of font directory, but still in vain. Therefore, pasting the new font which has the same name of the old one, could not be completed and no replacement of the old font with the new one has taken place.
Do you have any idea how I can allow pasting the new font in /fonts/ directory?
Many thanks.
T.
terryhenderson said:
I have actually applied all the steps mentioned by tweetatoo to install a new font instead of the default one shipped on Samsung Galaxy Note 2. In fact I couldn't paste the new font in /fonts/ directory since it is a system file that cannot be changed. I tried to change permissions of font directory, but still in vain. Therefore, pasting the new font which has the same name of the old one, could not be completed and no replacement of the old font with the new one has taken place.
Do you have any idea how I can allow pasting the new font in /fonts/ directory?
Many thanks.
T.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have root? Did you use root-mode in file explorer?
Chief_Death said:
Do you have root? Did you use root-mode in file explorer?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes of course, I use root explorer, otherwise how would I be able to get to /fonts/ directory?
It's very good ! Thanks very much !
i'll do it soon
terryhenderson said:
Yes of course, I use root explorer, otherwise how would I be able to get to /fonts/ directory?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Getting into a protected system folder does not need root actually. Any folder explorer can reach the topmost folder in the system. But writing to a system folder requires root permissions.
Use this root explorer: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.speedsoftware.rootexplorer&hl=en
Google for downloadable versions
Open this program, copy the font file, then navigate to /system/fonts/ folder. After that, you will find on the top side of the screen "Mount R/W". Click on it and paste now.
After that, reboot and enjoy
Is this applicable for Samsung only?
Sent from my LG-E975 using Tapatalk 2
Hi,
I followed your steps and used the file you attached and now all the arabic shows as rectangles. Any ideas? Also, could I have the original font back for now until I sort this out, its my mums phone and shes upset lol.
tweetatoo said:
Hello guys
As we all know, Samsung uses the FlipFont library in system fonts, which provides a new way of font customizations. But in the same time, this library does not give us the benefit of having two desired fonts together (unless we build our custom font). Samsung has also replaced the stock Android ICS Arabic font with an ugly looking font type.
Samsung uses a system Arabic font stored within "/system/fonts" folder under the name of "GS45_Arab_AndroidOS" as their stock Arabic font, which is the classical font in even older Samsung phones.
Here, I am posting this thread to those people who would like to install their custom "English FlipFont" whether from the market or internet and in the same time want a permanent good Arabic font. This procedure needs root!
1- Choose a TTF font that you would like to use as Arabic font. In this tutorial, I have used the "Adobe Arabic" font. You can find it in the attachments.
2- Rename this file into "GS45_Arab_AndroidOS.ttf".
3- Copy this font into your mobile SD Card (whether internal or external).
4- Using a root explorer on the device, navigate to the font. Copy the font.
5- Navigate now to "/system/fonts" and paste the font there.
6- Reboot your device.
7- Enjoy!
Some TTF fonts may fail. If you have an Open-Type Font (OTF), you may use an online font converter to convert it to TTF.
Screenshots are provided.
I hope I could help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
---------- Post added at 04:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:18 PM ----------
Oh crap, I thought this was the s4 section. I have an international s4 gt-i9500 and I just replaced the font with the adobe arabic font. What should I do now?
3alaawi said:
Hi,
I followed your steps and used the file you attached and now all the arabic shows as rectangles. Any ideas? Also, could I have the original font back for now until I sort this out, its my mums phone and shes upset lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
keikai25 said:
Is this applicable for Samsung only?
Sent from my LG-E975 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is supposed to work on your device, since it supports Arabic natively. Just locate the Arabic font used by your LG device. Personally, I am a Samsung professional, and not an LG professional. Sorry
3alaawi said:
Hi,
I followed your steps and used the file you attached and now all the arabic shows as rectangles. Any ideas? Also, could I have the original font back for now until I sort this out, its my mums phone and shes upset lol.
---------- Post added at 04:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:18 PM ----------
Oh crap, I thought this was the s4 section. I have an international s4 gt-i9500 and I just replaced the font with the adobe arabic font. What should I do now?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After replacing the font, it is better to fix permissions back into rw-r--r-- instead of the rw-rw-rw. Then, reboot your phone
The rectangles should now appear good. In case the problem persists:
1- Try to make your phone language "English".
2- Reboot the phone.
3- Replace the font again and fix permissions.
4- Reboot again.
Arabic should now work perfectly.
Logically, even if you use Galaxy S 4, this method shall work perfectly, since the method uses a universal Android trick instead of the FlipFont library.
tweetatoo said:
This is supposed to work on your device, since it supports Arabic natively. Just locate the Arabic font used by your LG device. Personally, I am a Samsung professional, and not an LG professional. Sorry
After replacing the font, it is better to fix permissions back into rw-r--r-- instead of the rw-rw-rw. Then, reboot your phone
The rectangles should now appear good. In case the problem persists:
1- Try to make your phone language "English".
2- Reboot the phone.
3- Replace the font again and fix permissions.
4- Reboot again.
Arabic should now work perfectly.
Logically, even if you use Galaxy S 4, this method shall work perfectly, since the method uses a universal Android trick instead of the FlipFont library.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, Will this solution work with the galaxy tab 3.8.0 ?
i followed your steps exactly. Arabic is still showing on my device but the problem is not in the font, it's in the size of the font.
is this supposed to be solved with the replacement of the font? or the size has nothing to do with the font?
Characters disconnected in the stock browser
Hi,
Thank you for the tip.
The characters appear disconnected in the stock browser Jb 4.3.
In Chrome everything is fine. Did not test other browsers.
tweetatoo said:
Hello guys
As we all know, Samsung uses the FlipFont library in system fonts, which provides a new way of font customizations. But in the same time, this library does not give us the benefit of having two desired fonts together (unless we build our custom font). Samsung has also replaced the stock Android ICS Arabic font with an ugly looking font type.
Samsung uses a system Arabic font stored within "/system/fonts" folder under the name of "GS45_Arab_AndroidOS" as their stock Arabic font, which is the classical font in even older Samsung phones.
Here, I am posting this thread to those people who would like to install their custom "English FlipFont" whether from the market or internet and in the same time want a permanent good Arabic font. This procedure needs root!
1- Choose a TTF font that you would like to use as Arabic font. In this tutorial, I have used the "Adobe Arabic" font. You can find it in the attachments.
2- Rename this file into "GS45_Arab_AndroidOS.ttf".
3- Copy this font into your mobile SD Card (whether internal or external).
4- Using a root explorer on the device, navigate to the font. Copy the font.
5- Navigate now to "/system/fonts" and paste the font there.
6- Reboot your device.
7- Enjoy!
Some TTF fonts may fail. If you have an Open-Type Font (OTF), you may use an online font converter to convert it to TTF.
Screenshots are provided.
I hope I could help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this excellent job.
However, I did everything by the book on my gnote3,but I keep getting error message:
"copy action error". Can you help, please?
Hello I created custom header image to use with omnistyle. But I realised I need a full apk to get it work. There is no option in pure nexus ROM to use custom header image (my own image). So how do I create an app (like this https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dirtyunicorns.headers&hl=en )for omnistyle? I tried googling but could not find an answer. I am not a developer but some guidance or template would help.
Hello, i don't know if you still need this? I can make a template for Android Studio with a little guide if this is still relevant.
PONYMODZ said:
Hello, i don't know if you still need this? I can make a template for Android Studio with a little guide if this is still relevant.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you happen to know where to go to change the OmniStyle QS image collection names? For example, I've replace all of the "Nature" images with pictures of sharks. That was easy enough and the new images show up and work, but the image collection in the list still says "Nature." I would like to change it to say "Sharks." I've dug through the OminStyle.apk up and down, but I can't find where those names are set. I see them in the AndroidManifest.xml, but changing the android:label in the androidmanifest.xml has no effect.
sharkie405 said:
Do you happen to know where to go to change the OmniStyle QS image collection names? For example, I've replace all of the "Nature" images with pictures of sharks. That was easy enough and the new images show up and work, but the image collection in the list still says "Nature." I would like to change it to say "Sharks." I've dug through the OminStyle.apk up and down, but I can't find where those names are set. I see them in the AndroidManifest.xml, but changing the android:label in the androidmanifest.xml has no effect.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The names are set in the androidmanifest.xml i have no clue why it does not work for you. But it would be easier if you just add your images with an apk or add them directly to the Omnistyle.apk if you need help with that just contact me.
PONYMODZ said:
The names are set in the androidmanifest.xml i have no clue why it does not work for you. But it would be easier if you just add your images with an apk or add them directly to the Omnistyle.apk if you need help with that just contact me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've already added my images to the OmniStyle.apk, and that works. I just want the image group text to say what the actual images are rather than whatever the text is by default.
I'd rather work it out in the thread, if that's alright. This way others can find it should they need it.
I'm about to go to bed now, but tomorrow I can upload the AndroidManifest.xml, or the APK I'm working with, if you want to have a look. Let me know how to proceed.
Thank you so much for being willing to help me out with this!
Sent from my moto g(6) using XDA Labs
So here's what I have so far:
- You can see in the attached screenshot (AndroidManifext-xml_Changes.png) that I've changed the text in the "android:lable" section of each activity.
- You can see in the attached screenshot (Screenshot_MiXplorer_20190612-122940.png) taken from the OmniStyle.apk on my phone that the AndroidManifest.xml is there on my phone with my new text changes.
- However, you can see in the attached screenshot (HeaderImageCollectionTitle-NoChange.png) that the changed labels did not actually change anything.
More Information:
- This is the OmniStyle.apk from the 6-4-19 release of the Havoc ROM for the Pixel 2 XL. I've also check this ROM's Setting.apk and SystemUI.apk in case the text was set there, but I don't see any reference to those words anywhere in Settings or SystemUI. The link to that ROM is: https://forum.xda-developers.com/pixel-2-xl/development/pie-havoc-os-t3851780
- Here's a link where you can download my already modded apk as well in case you wanted to have a look at it (It's too big to upload directly): https://drive.google.com/open?id=1N-ivQSa3In1LbD8LZ4QrVrzo1HAB0giT
Let me know what else you need, if anything.
@sharkie405
So i have checked the apk and the Androidmanifest.xml is correct but when i tested the apk, for me it wasn't working at all. I use the same ROM as you on my S7(herolte) and when i replace my apk with yours there it cant be loaded at all i just see my custom Headers, maybe it's an issue with your ROM or the apk itself. Try to update your ROM and edit the new apk again, but best would be to restore your Omnistyle.apk and make custom headers with the Android Studio Template from me, if you need help with it just ask
I'd like to add a font to my device for use with apps like Tasker and Minimalistic Text. From what I have read on the forum it looks like a matter of adding the font file to /system/fonts and (perhaps) rebooting.
Of course this does not work or I would not be writing this thread. Font files (I'm using TTF) handled in this manner do not appear anywhere. I cannot access them through Tasker (I can access each of the stock fonts that are present in the folder). Minimalistic Text is probably a separate issue and I may need to try and contact the developer on that one.
So...is there something else? Is there a font "table" somewhere that needs to be updated? Is there something special about TTF fonts for the NST/G which makes TTF fonts from other sources unrecognizable to the system?
I'd have to look how those apps access their fonts.
Normally in Android you only have serif, sans-serif, monospace.
They get mapped through /system/etc/system_fonts.xml
For fallback there is /system/etc/fallback_fonts.xml
For older B&N Reader, the fonts are selected directly by path in /system/fonts from a preset list of fonts.
For newer B&N Reader, the fonts are selected from raw resource assets (in Vendor.apk) from a preset list of fonts.
Renate NST said:
I'd have to look how those apps access their fonts.
Normally in Android you only have serif, sans-serif, monospace.
They get mapped through /system/etc/system_fonts.xml
For fallback there is /system/etc/fallback_fonts.xml
For older B&N Reader, the fonts are selected directly by path in /system/fonts from a preset list of fonts.
For newer B&N Reader, the fonts are selected from raw resource assets (in Vendor.apk) from a preset list of fonts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, on the original NST there is no /system/etc/system_fonts.xml, just the fonts in the /system/fonts folder and, I guess, some mysterious fixed list somewhere.
What I discovered by trial and error is that one sure way to get a new font is to rename the new font as one of the existing fonts. This, of course, eliminates the original font. I learned this the hard way when a "font installer" app did it without warning. Luckily I have two NSTs so I was able to restore the font.
Tasker cannot access anything but the three basic font types unless the text is in HTML format, but even there it can only access the fonts in /system/fonts and only those in the secret list. So no just dropping the font into the folder and rebooting.
Minimalistic Text turned out to be more amenable. Its issue is a generally poor install on the device. Perhaps there are permissions that need fixing. I corrected initial problems when I first got it by copying the settings.xml file from an installation of the same version on a KitKat device. The file from installation on the NST seemed to be malformed in some way. With the fonts (which are simply dropped into any folder you like), it would not create a global.xml file where the "where are they?" information was stored. So I did the same trick again and now that is fixed. In the end, this is an acceptable result for me because the purpose of the custom font is for a widget and the only remaining app through which this ancient version of Tasker can actually make a widget is Minimalistic Text.
Someone asked in another thread about adding fonts. This thread was first in the search I guess as one of the recent about this issue. I know that problem exist with limited choice of fonts for this device that people circumvent by renaming the font of their preferred choice as already existing one on device after safely backing up existing font. Just out of curiosity did someone tried adding these recently published fonts from respected source?