Database Users

Reduce LCD Density Setting in Build.Prop For Higher Res Look

Update: I installed Spare Parts, as mentioned by appelflap later in this thread, disabled compatibility mode, then followed the directions in this post, and I have a working status bar, good resolution, and in a better place in most cases.
Update: Check out appelflap's APK that makes this whole process a lot easier. Note that some users are reporting a black screen after using the file, so be prepared in case you have to use adb shell to put your original build.prop file in place. If you do not want to risk it, Notepad++ makes for an easy edit once you pull the file to your PC. If you have fallen prey to the black screen problem, lpsi2000 found a solution that uses an update.zip approach.
In the /system/build.prop file, I changed this line:
ro.sf.lcd_density=240
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
to this:
ro.sf.lcd_density=160
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Click to collapse
This is a setting that Google normally recommends if you have a larger screen (like Dell's Streak), but the side effect of using it on the 800x480 screen of the captivate is that everything is smaller.
With this, menus have smaller text (more options on screen), in-app buttons are smaller, and it just has the same feeling of being on a PC and moving from a low resolution LCD monitor to a high resolution LCD monitor.
There are a couple of glitches so far. It appears that some apps want to render in the previous resolution. For example, Skyfire and Root Explorer would not render in full screen, Android Market renders full screen but the search is in the old resolution, and the status bar is slightly garbled but still usable. Also, the dial pad is smaller (as you would expect showing a picture made for a low res display on a high res display) but the rest of the phone app is fine. The camera app fills the screen just like it did before.
With this setting, I really feel like I'm getting some use out of the high resolution display on this phone.
The apps that are rending in the low res mode of the original setting seem to be pulling their setting from somewhere else. Does anybody have an idea where that setting may be? After trying this, I can't imagine going back to what almost seems like an "accessibility mode".
I've only used LauncherPro with this setting, so no idea how the Samsung launcher looks. I attached screenshots of what some things look like. I can put some game screenshots in another post if anybody is interested. 3D games look sharper to me in this mode, but I have no scientific way of testing if it is because it is rendering in higher res or if my own excitement is clouding my vision.
Update: I suspect the missing setting is found in the /system.prop file. It has the ro.sf.lcd_density=240 setting. I tried changing it to 160, but it keeps going back to 240 after a reboot of the phone. Any ideas how to make this stick?
Warning:: TWLauncher does not play well with these changes. Make sure to have LauncherPro set up as your default launcher before trying this.

So you're pulling it off the cappy then editing putting back....do you need to change permissions?

The way that I pulled it out to edit on my PC was with this:
adb pull /system/build.prop
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Click to collapse
You will need root access in order to put the changed file back. What I did was
adb push build.prop /sdcard
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Click to collapse
I then used Root Explorer to copy the build.prop from /sdcard to /system. I didn't change any permissions other than just copying the file and rebooting.

Wow man that's pretty cool, it's got a few little glitches but nothing serious. One of the things I wish I could so though is make my Beautiful widgets clock go all the way across the top. I'm not sure if this is a placebo effect (I donno if that's possible since this should have nothing to do with it) but it seems like my soft buttons respond more often....I'm prolly nuts but it doesn't seem like I need to push....push...%$^&*^ PUSH.....and back to home.

I'm hoping someone will have a great idea on how to keep the /system.prop file from updating itself on boot. I'm thinking that if we can get the ro.sf.lcd_density=240 setting to stick to 160 after a reboot, that might fix the few instances where an app won't render full screen.
I've tried chmod 666 system.prop and chown root.root system.prop but it still gets returned to normal after rebooting.

Wow I'm excited to test this out. Couldn't we get someone to code this into the startup script theoretically?
Edit: Tried it out. Really really nice. If only we could get the rest of the apps to work the right way... right res.

One thing also that's cool is in launcherpro you can add more columns to the drawer so you can fit an insane amount of apps on screen.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk

Also out of curiosity, have you tried any other DPI like 200? Our does it need to be either or to keep it proportional?
Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk

Lower resolution works as well. Here are some comparisons. 160, 240, 320. 200, since someone asked.

wow, this could REALLY be nice.. Just need to fix everything, but like others have said no HUGE things that cause it to be unusable, but I would love to see everything correct.

Also out of curiosity, have you tried any other DPI like 200? Our does it need to be either or to keep it proportional?
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Click to collapse
No, the only reason I chose 160 was because it is listed as "MDPI" in the Android SDK. (We were using "HDPI" with 240.)
I only figured it was a "supported" number, so I started there, but most any number will do. You can see a chart where it recommends certain numbers based on resolution or screen size, but I think these recommendations are to cover everybody, which includes folks who can't (easily) see small text or icons.
The chart that shows Google's recommendations is here.

reading around, it seems that the files need to be put back to read only.

phlunkie said:
reading around, it seems that the files need to be put back to read only.
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I thought so also, but you don't need to. All I'm doing is copying it with root explorer to sd, then using astro to edit the line and root explorer to put it back. Reboot and your GTG. Everything works fine.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk

So the settings are sticking after a reboot? I will have to try this when I get home.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

phlunkie said:
So the settings are sticking after a reboot? I will have to try this when I get home.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After I edited the build.prop and the build.prop.bak files in the /system directory it works fine after reboot. A problem that I have is that TouchWiz force closes after editing the files.

Using this on SGS made:
- notification bar unreadable (kindof text overlap@240160 setting).
- Launcher pro works.
- Market scales nice.
- big list's buttons are now nice
//edit: changed to 200 - seems to be great compromise.
@up
Bad practice. U shouldnt have edited ur build.prop.bak file, becouse it is actually a backup of original build.prop, made by RootExplorer (guess). In case u want to revert to original content, u just delete edited file and delete .bak from this one.

xan said:
Using this on SGS made:
- notification bar unreadable (kindof text [email protected] setting).
- Launcher pro works.
- Market scales nice.
- big list's buttons are now nice
//edit: changed to 200 - seems to be great compromise.
@up
Bad practice. U shouldnt have edited ur build.prop.bak file, becouse it is actually a backup of original build.prop, made by RootExplorer (guess). In case u want to revert to original content, u just delete edited file and delete .bak from this one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any pics? Love to see the difference.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App

Here they are.

I'm trying to figure out how to make those other applications also use the full screen when at a different resolution. I tried the method here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=739647
to run a script that rewrites the /system.prop file, and it didn't fix anything, so either that is not where the applications are getting the property from, or we need to rewrite the file earlier in the boot process.

Are you sure those apps are graphically able to scale? Maybe touchwiz does not take scaling into account (at least with native apps) because the screens are all 4 inches.

[REQ] Custom rom for high pixel density

I'm finding the standard LCD density too small and prefer a setting of at least 200 on my Streak. I also find that 3rd party widgets tend to look better on a setting of at least 200 and best on 240.
Only issue I have is various stock apps no longer look right at the higher setting e.g. the Gallery doesn't display the buttons at the top correctly, the dialer shortcut doesn't appear correctly in the Stage launcher, when receiving an incoming call in landscape mode the number is not fully visible, dialer looks weird and I'm sure I will find more things.
Basically, the two biggest annoyances for me are the dialer and the gallery. Can versions of these apps be baked into a rom that is designed to be used at the higher LCD dencity?
THANKS!!!
Krisbo

agreed the high density looks very sharp, I like it.
but trying to enter text in some fields, you cant even see the input field, Dialer incall buttons and contact names become b0rked, among other things,
Can anyone fix this so they dont get so blown out of proportion?
Thanks. The highest I went is 200, but back to 160 on djsteves 1.5.1 because of issues mentioned above.

I do believe you'd have to open up each apk and completely redo all the graphics so they don't look out of proportion blown up. I guess all you'd have to do is make them all smaller but it will probably be much more complicated than that!
So yes, it can be done. But i doubt anyone will do it.

Could you copy an apk from another phone with a higher pixel density? E.g. nexus one I think has 252ppi.

nexus by default is 240 yes, ill have a look at doing a 1.5.1 huge version wen i get a sec

You are awesome!
Could you possibly make it no baseband because I use a rebel sim?
Thanks

Before flashing the zip, unpack the whole thing and open system/build.prop with a text editor (like notepad or your favorite IDE). Then search for "ro.sf.lcd_density=160" and change it to a value you like. Save the file and repack it into the zip file (with WinRAR for example). Flash the ROM using StreakMod or ClockWorkMod and have fun with it!
Another option is to get Root Explorer - or a similar program - and go to system/build.prop. Set the permissions to r+w. Now you can edit this file using Root Explorer or copy it to your MicroSD and edit it like I said before. After the edit copy it back if you have too or save it. Then set the permissions back to r+o and reboot.
I have mine set to 220, which is a great size but I guess 200 is nice too!

alex3305 said:
Before flashing the zip, unpack the whole thing and open system/build.prop with a text editor (like notepad or your favorite IDE). Then search for "ro.sf.lcd_density=160" and change it to a value you like. Save the file and repack it into the zip file (with WinRAR for example). Flash the ROM using StreakMod or ClockWorkMod and have fun with it!
Another option is to get Root Explorer - or a similar program - and go to system/build.prop. Set the permissions to r+w. Now you can edit this file using Root Explorer or copy it to your MicroSD and edit it like I said before. After the edit copy it back if you have too or save it. Then set the permissions back to r+o and reboot.
I have mine set to 220, which is a great size but I guess 200 is nice too!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think we understand that, the issue we have is that anything higher than stock 160 and apps get blown out of proportion, escpecially phone app for me, 180 is the highest /usable/ for me. I would love to have to cranked to the max, after owning an iphone 4 for a while, sweet display; but software is too simple.
Thanks DJ_Steve for looking into this,
please see if you can sort out the blurry contact pictures in-call, they look horrible even on stock 160, is it just me?

chrisrotolo said:
I think we understand that, the issue we have is that anything higher than stock 160 and apps get blown out of proportion, escpecially phone app for me, 180 is the highest /usable/ for me. I would love to have to cranked to the max, after owning an iphone 4 for a while, sweet display; but software is too simple.
Thanks DJ_Steve for looking into this,
please see if you can sort out the blurry contact pictures in-call, they look horrible even on stock 160, is it just me?
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Click to collapse
Exactly. I'm running mine at 220 but if the phone happens to put itself in landscape mode while it's ringing (happens sometimes) I can't see who is calling.

sorry i don't get it. how is the pixel density supposed to increase if the resolution of the LCD screen is fixed (480 by 800 pixels, not one more not one less)? to clarify, I am not denigrating, I just do not understand

Very frustrating. I dont have "ro.sf.lcd_density=160" in my build prop. Im on official ota update from a couple days ago

Hi Steve,
Any news on this?
Krisbo

carhigh said:
Very frustrating. I dont have "ro.sf.lcd_density=160" in my build prop. Im on official ota update from a couple days ago
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Me neither.
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App

deekdeek said:
Me neither.
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App
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Click to collapse
I don't think this line is in the stock build.prop. Just add it under #other edits. If that's not their either, look for either debug.sf.hw=1 or debug.sf.hw=0 and add it after that.

You can use Incoming Call Plus (beta) as a replacement for incoming calls. This works great and has no negative side-effects for me.

Krisbo said:
I don't think this line is in the stock build.prop. Just add it under #other edits. If that's not their either, look for either debug.sf.hw=1 or debug.sf.hw=0 and add it after that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Adding it worked. Thanks, i can read more now

alex3305 said:
You can use Incoming Call Plus (beta) as a replacement for incoming calls. This works great and has no negative side-effects for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not bad although the answer/reject buttons are UGLY!!! Does the job though and I can see who is calling

Any progress Steve?

I took this Gallery apk out from the Cyanogen Mod HTC Evo zip. It should scale properly when you change your DPI although stuff becomes real small when you go back to stock 160 DPI. It also fixes the "this is an audio file only" or whatever the hell that is if that wasn't already fixed.
It seems Dell changed the DPI of the dialer and gallery app to make use of the screen real estate while also using 160 dpi for the rest of the system.

Tried that apk n didn't do **** for me but I might have done it wrong...no biggy 1.5.3 looks like it might have this area sown up
Sent from xda app Dell streak dj 1.5.2
1190=1861qrdnt

[Q] Decrease font size in Message thread in GB stock room on X10

Dear all,
I am having problem with the font size of message thread view since updating to Gingerbread, the font size is now quite big.
Is there any way to decrease it?
PS: I search the forum and try to find settings in the phone, but could not get one solutions.
Thanks you in advance.
Fantisto

I was also looking for some settings on this but with no luck, maybe just install Handcent and be done with it eh XD
I think the font size is standard among their current devices, for better visibility
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk

It can only be done by decompiling the apk and changing some xml values.
If anyone is interested, I can do it pretty easily.
Just send me the apk.

If u've got root you can make everything on ur phone smaller.
Edit /system/build.prop
Change ro.sf.lcd_density=240 to
ro.sf.lcd_density=200
It may cause some graphical glighes in badly programmed apps that expect the same screen size including some of the android pop up boxes and some stock SE apps. For example gaps may appear or not all the screen is used but most apps work fine and its def worth it for me at least.

Everything (font) seems to be fine besides message threadview... It cannot fit many message in one screen...
Sent from my X10i using XDA App

Need bigger icons for StreakDroid GingerStreak 2.4.4

Hi,
I like StreakDroid GingerStreak 2.4.4 very much. I would like to have bigger icon size. Is there any option to set within StreakDroid GingerStreak 2.4.4 ROM?
It is amazing that there is hundred of similar question of how to increas the font size and icon size within the android world, however there is no such universal solution. People then have to tie back to specific ROM on their specific phone. some ROM has font size control, some don't.
As far as I know there is no ROM has icon size setting available for the user.
Few app on the market offer font size or icon size management, however those only work for specific application (SMS for example) or for icons for home screen only ( BIG ICON app for example but it only work for a specific launcher)
I am not looking for universal way to adjust the font size or icon size for android OS ROM in general because I know it is unrealistic, even thought these functions suppose to be really trivial for MS Windows or MAC.
Since I am using StreakDroid GingerStreak 2.4.4 ROM, my question is just about looking a way to increas the icon size for this ROM.
Thanks

You can edit your /system/build.prop to achieve what you are looking for. Look for a line that starts with so.rf.lcd_density and adjust that to what you want. If there is no such line, put one in there. The default is 160. I have mine at 240 and like it, seems more phone-like rather than tablet-like.. There have been some reports of incompatibilities with some apps and such if you change it to anything but 160 or 240. Make a backup of your current build.prop first.

As @lord said
It is that simple
If you use streakdroid then read whole OP of it

lordmorphous said:
You can edit your /system/build.prop to achieve what you are looking for. Look for a line that starts with so.rf.lcd_density and adjust that to what you want. If there is no such line, put one in there. The default is 160. I have mine at 240 and like it, seems more phone-like rather than tablet-like.. There have been some reports of incompatibilities with some apps and such if you change it to anything but 160 or 240. Make a backup of your current build.prop first.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yay! Thanks for much for the info. I got what I want. Below is what has been done:
Download File Manager (free app) from Market
Set permission R/W for /system folder as well as write permission for /system/build.prop file for owner and all other parties
Open the prop file and add this line: ro.sf.lcd_density=240
Save the file and reboot
It works...
Thanks again.

Kolteabhiman said:
As @lord said
It is that simple
If you use streakdroid then read whole OP of it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dear, what stand for OP? Can you give me info where to find OP to read more?
I like to digg into system files and properties...
Thanks

Original Post. He is referring to the original post for streakdroid. Glad you got it working.
Sent from my Dell Streak using xda premium

[BOUNTY] DPI Spoofing tool for individual Tablet & Phone Apps

I created a bounty thread for this tool in the i717 Galaxy Note General forums but wanted to make it know to the n7000 users too as it should work on all Galaxy Note models (And hopefully many other phones).
The Goal: A tool to spoof DPI at a per-app level to enable use of both Tablet and Phone apps without changing the default system DPI​
Please keeping pledging in the original thread...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1594559
Thanks

Why would you want to use an app not designed for a certain dpi to work in a crippled way ??
It would be much wiser to find a way to change the dpi 'on the fly' as you can do in windows for example. Maybe Google will make it possible one day, as we can already run apps in 'window mode' in ICS

friedje said:
Why would you want to use an app not designed for a certain dpi to work in a crippled way ??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're looking at it the wrong way around.
Telling apps like Gmail, YouTube and tablet specific Apps you have a Tablet DPI enables UI layouts specifically designed for tablet viewing, they are not crippled, they are enhanced.
The Note's display resolution makes it a perfectly capable mini tablet that can run UI layouts designed for tablets. Samsung insist the Note is a phone and have gimped the system by removing tablet support despite the device having a 1280x800 screen.
Some may prefer using tablet mode, others may say it's too small, this tool is for the former rather than the latter.
I have attached pics of the awesome tablet views of Gmail, Youtube and BeyondPod running on my Note.

yes but it makes no sense to run them in tablet ui if you are set on a dpi of 320 even in 1280x800...

friedje said:
yes but it makes no sense to run them in tablet ui if you are set on a dpi of 320 even in 1280x800...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In Android DPI is an arbritrary measurement, dont get it mixed up with PPI, all you have to do is tell the App you are at 200 DPI and it will display that way

If that were true, then there would be no need to reboot when changing dpi, it could be done on application level which is, as far as i know, not possible.
However I could be mistaking, i will catch up on it....
As I see it now you would just only get your Gmail in tablet UI, displaying only half of it's content because the rest will fall beside the screen.

I think its a great idea +1
Gmail tablet UI is awesome.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk

DOGSofDOOM said:
I think its a great idea +1
Gmail tablet UI is awesome.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't get me wrong, i think it is a great idea as well.
But i doubt it is actually possible in the current android architecture

I don't care about UI differences. I want the stupid apps to install from the market.
So, far, they all look the same even when they're "incompatible". Typical lame crap.

It is done in the Asus Padfone, so it can't be impossible.

And how do you cope when the apps try scaling to the different LCD Density and half of the display is off the side of the screen, or things are bunched up in the corner of the display?

Wow, this is extremely needed thing! I realy like Tablet Mode on my Note, but can't use it because of many FCs. Sometimes I prefer Tablet Mode (Opera Mobile, Apex Launcher, File managers, Aquamail, Youtube official app and others), and sometimes standart "Phone" mode (Phone apps, S Memo, some small script apps, some games and others). Don't listen to those fools who say that this program is not needed.

This is exactly what I'm longing to see but I don't think it's possible for now as it's rather an OS related issue then just a software issue. I belive Asus padfone works only in low tablet dpi too. Apps only open in tablet mode . You can't change resolution on the fly
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium

The problem is not changing the resolution on the fly,
but changing the dpi on the fly, keeping the same resolution

Totaly agree. I'd love to use those apps in tablet mode with spoofed DPI:
- Poeple
- Calendar
- Mail
- Music
- Calculator
- Settings
But the rest ? I really prefer phone UI for messaging, lockscreen, homescreen and the keyboard cause tablet keyboard is a nightmare to use.
There are some mods to force Settings.apk to work in tablet mode while in phone ui - but that's just wrong cause everything is ugly-huge and not readable. Would be great to force those apps to work AND display like in 180-200dpi while the phone ( and the rest ) works in 320dpi.
But is that even possible ?

That's it!
That is exactly waht I want for the Note!