Hello all,
I'm been using lately mainly cm7 and MIUI roms, un the last month im running MIUI. I love the MIUI look and feel but i also like the CM7 speed and stability. the only one thing that super-annoyed me on the CM7, and in fact in all android roms, is the icons. they are terribly non uniform and non harmonic. different sizes, different look, they actually look a little "cheap" arranged in rows.
So i thought lately, let's give CM7 another try, this time with the MIUI icons. some MIUI themes have great harminic and coherent icons, like the sense theme and the 3dview wood frames which gives the device a different cool look.
I'm trying to find out where in the sd card MIUI saves the 3d party Icons. appearntly it is not trivial.. it is nor inside framework_res.apk, i dont have a data\system folder and i can't search the root directory for *.png by connecting the phone to the computer.
I'm sure MIUI don't build the icons on the run each time, it must be saved somewhere..! Any Ideas?
Any help? Or is my intentions a non spoken taboo?
edoson said:
Hello all,
I'm been using lately mainly cm7 and MIUI roms, un the last month im running MIUI. I love the MIUI look and feel but i also like the CM7 speed and stability. the only one thing that super-annoyed me on the CM7, and in fact in all android roms, is the icons. they are terribly non uniform and non harmonic. different sizes, different look, they actually look a little "cheap" arranged in rows.
So i thought lately, let's give CM7 another try, this time with the MIUI icons. some MIUI themes have great harminic and coherent icons, like the sense theme and the 3dview wood frames which gives the device a different cool look.
I'm trying to find out where in the sd card MIUI saves the 3d party Icons. appearntly it is not trivial.. it is nor inside framework_res.apk, i dont have a data\system folder and i can't search the root directory for *.png by connecting the phone to the computer.
I'm sure MIUI don't build the icons on the run each time, it must be saved somewhere..! Any Ideas?
Any help? Or is my intentions a non spoken taboo?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can find the themes in the .mtz file of the theme. It can be openedusing winrar. Inside you'll find a file called icons. Open that with winrar and you'll find all the icons inside.
Amro90 said:
You can find the themes in the .mtz file of the theme. It can be openedusing winrar. Inside you'll find a file called icons. Open that with winrar and you'll find all the icons inside.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Already tryed that, not working
in some themes (like the ones I mentioned) the theme is doing some kind of framing to the original icons. the sense theme for example makes a nice glass frame for the original icon. so you cant find the icon in advance in the theme zip, cause the icons changes from phone to phone. Instead you have some basic frames and probably some kind of instructions on how the create the themed icon from the original ones. but still, ones it is done on the phone, it has to be stored some where... that is the question, where is it??
Related
From a comment i made on the thread mentioned below, but seemed appropriate to start a new one considering lots of people have been looking to do this.
for any of those using launcher pro, and hate the default icons, ive attached the stock froyo ones for browser and phone. if you are an htc sense user and want a stock froyo experience without root/ custom roms then downloading launcher pro and using these icons is the easiest way to do it. if u want the stock android phone/contacts app, download dailer one and link it to the froyo phone icon (by long pressing) in launcher pro. bearing in mind the launcher2 phone icon is hardlinked to the stock android phone app, which is impossible to install on htc phones. this is the closest you can get, and it does a pretty good job!
i have also tweaked the nexus icon from another thread to fit.
it was coming up very small as the app drawer icon in launcher pro. screenshot and files for all icons attached.
ive also attached the froyo stock app drawer icon, the launcher pro one is close but a bit big and doesnt quite match the style
i know no-one has directly asked for all this info but ive been reading the forums and a lot of people want to do this so thought i had to share the knowledge somewhere! i can take credit for very little, all i have done is edit an icon and congregated stuff ive found into one place. from my own experience wanting to do this i found it very frustrating that those with sense but wanting stock had to resort to 'almost but not quite' solutions. ive also found that a lot of supposedly stable roms are far from it. this ensures a bug/ fc free experience. you get complete stock functionality but with the visual appeal and the added dock buttons from froyo.
please link this info on to any forum you might think could need it, also, if some kind soul could upload mirrors to the images for those who arent members (this thread is aimed primarily at them) and embedded photos of the screen grabs would also be appreciated, i dont have the permissions. thanks a lot, hope this stuff is useful!
Peter
Before you start saying that I'm posting in the wrong section, hear me out, I'm not asking about how to make themes or how to alter existing themes
I want to know how to write an app that is completely self contained application but can have its visual appearance and behavior altered when other apps are also installed on the same phone.
I'm pretty sure this functionality can be achieved b/c there are soo many theme apps in the market for ADW Launcher.
Does anyone know how to do this, and where I can find documentation about this kind of functionality?
I'm curious about this too. My best guess at the moment though is to make sure all of your UI controls are drawables, not just stock spinners / sliders / etc. Use drawables for the graphics in the UI, and when you publish your apk, those resources should be not only visible but changeable by others. Then again, I'm not 100% sure, so don't quote me on that lol.
parabola949 said:
I'm curious about this too. My best guess at the moment though is to make sure all of your UI controls are drawables, not just stock spinners / sliders / etc. Use drawables for the graphics in the UI, and when you publish your apk, those resources should be not only visible but changeable by others. Then again, I'm not 100% sure, so don't quote me on that lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oops i quoted you... i think you are right though. It'll be links to different drawable resources
From something awesome
I have looked into some stuff, and I'm getting an idea of what my ROM is going to look like.
ROM details
Name: Entity
Theme: Entity white/blue (white/blue [very] minimalistic theme)
Based on: Cyanogenmod 7.1.0 (Android 2.3.4) - will be changed to a stable version as soon as available
Kernel: Jame Bond sabai dee 1.5.9
Features
- Revamped homescreen. I will use ADW Launcher for that.
- New pre-installed apps. I'm planning to include paid apps, but if I do, I won't be able to upload it here anymore. Haven't found a solution
- Heavily themed. EVERYTHING is themed, even all the pre-installed apps
- Revamped settings menu. New layout, removed settings I never use anyway, and added new settings. I will also change the settings menus of pre-installed apps
- Voodoo Sound
- BLN
- No ads
- More theme colors in the future!
Details
I want my ROM to be perfect for me. It resembles what I want. The reason that my theme has the same name, is because the theme is the biggest part of the ROM. My goal is to create a fresh-looking ROM. All pre-installed apps will look the same, making it more of an entity, hence the name. It will also be much clearer than stock ROM or CM7.
Because I'm making this ROM for myself, it is possible that I deleted some things you might not want me to delete. I'm sorry, but I can't do anything about that. I'm planning on uploading my ROM, but that's all. I will not take requests. What I will do, is include a list of all the things I've changed compared to CM7, so you can check if you want my ROM. If you have my taste, you will like my ROM. If not, that's not a big deal. I'm not uploading it because I want many people to use my ROM. I'm uploading it because... why not? Maybe people like it. Who knows.
I'll upload three files:
- The whole ROM, excluding Google Apps (don't know why CM and I can't include Gapps, but NSCollab can...?) and paid apps.
- The themed Gapps. Can't upload the themed paid apps.
- The theme
It might be possible with Theme Chooser to theme the paid apps. That way you can just download/buy the paid apps, and the Theme Chooser will theme them. That's something for the future though.
Cool man, im pretty much doing the same thing as you except im making a kernel
Wish you luck, ill be following this thread
Get it
Uncle Jimmy says hello
Igotsanevo4g said:
Cool man, im pretty much doing the same thing as you except im making a kernel
Wish you luck, ill be following this thread
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool, good luck to you too!
It looks like you are more experienced. I have no experience at all except for some rooting experience. I'm still suprised that I managed to root my device without much help . Other than that I installed some custom ROMs but that isn't difficult.
I saw you have experience with making some basic ROMs. Regarding the ROM making, this is what I will do:
- Experiment with the HTC Android Kitchen
- Change the settings menu (+ settings menus on pre-installed apps):
Change the text on buttons
Change the order in which the buttons are shown
Remove some buttons that I don't use anyway
Move buttons from one section to another
Add some settings (the hardest one probably). For example I would like to add the voodoo settings in the settings menu
- That's about it I guess, don't really know what I could change with my knowledge.
The thing is, I'm mainly after changing the looks and experience. My goal is to make it look like nothing you've seen before. I want it to be clean, fresh, and it must look like it's one whole. And because I'm mainly after changing the looks, what else is there to change other than settings on pre-installed apps and some things HTC Android Kitchen can do?
So that's what I wanted to ask you: what is something you did when making basic ROMs?
Updated the first post. I'm kind of getting an idea of what I want.
Androyed said:
Cool, good luck to you too!
It looks like you are more experienced. I have no experience at all except for some rooting experience. I'm still suprised that I managed to root my device without much help . Other than that I installed some custom ROMs but that isn't difficult.
I saw you have experience with making some basic ROMs. Regarding the ROM making, this is what I will do:
- Experiment with the HTC Android Kitchen
- Change the settings menu (+ settings menus on pre-installed apps):
Change the text on buttons
Change the order in which the buttons are shown
Remove some buttons that I don't use anyway
Move buttons from one section to another
Add some settings (the hardest one probably). For example I would like to add the voodoo settings in the settings menu
- That's about it I guess, don't really know what I could change with my knowledge.
The thing is, I'm mainly after changing the looks and experience. My goal is to make it look like nothing you've seen before. I want it to be clean, fresh, and it must look like it's one whole. And because I'm mainly after changing the looks, what else is there to change other than settings on pre-installed apps and some things HTC Android Kitchen can do?
So that's what I wanted to ask you: what is something you did when making basic ROMs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all i'll start by saying that putting paid apps on there and releasing it in any form is a major no-no. Do NOT do that.
Most of the stuff ive messed with is sense roms back on my Evo. Things like removing sense, zip aline on boot, deodexing, re-directing the path of some apps, and playing with some status bar mods and other stuff im probably forgetting.
Im not sure what you mean by "buttons" which buttons are you talking about? Menu buttons? As for adding apps in the settings menu, i dont think it will be to complicated. For a start you can look at a stock CM7 build and track down how they link ADW to the settings menu.
Dont worry about making a masterpiece of a rom, we all gotta start somewhere and im not much more versed in this than you
Needless to say, dont hesitate to Gtalk/G+ me [[email protected]] and ill *try* to help you out
Igotsanevo4g said:
First of all i'll start by saying that putting paid apps on there and releasing it in any form is a major no-no. Do NOT do that.
Most of the stuff ive messed with is sense roms back on my Evo. Things like removing sense, zip aline on boot, deodexing, re-directing the path of some apps, and playing with some status bar mods and other stuff im probably forgetting.
Im not sure what you mean by "buttons" which buttons are you talking about? Menu buttons? As for adding apps in the settings menu, i dont think it will be to complicated. For a start you can look at a stock CM7 build and track down how they link ADW to the settings menu.
Dont worry about making a masterpiece of a rom, we all gotta start somewhere and im not much more versed in this than you
Needless to say, dont hesitate to Gtalk/G+ me [[email protected]] and ill *try* to help you out
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I already thought paid apps wouldn't be a good idea. I'll do that only for myself then (since I already paid for them).
With buttons I mean the buttons in the settings apk. Like the button to turn on/off WiFi. But it looks you already know what I mean. Tracking down how they added ADW is an awesome idea, thanks a lot for that! That will probably also help me with the other things I want to add/change/remove in the settings apk.
I'm really excited about it, and playing around with the HTC Android ROM kitchen today gave me good hopes. When I encounter a problem, I'll contact you.
Thanks!
Updated the first post. I think the ROM name is going to be Entity.
I can't see to find the lolocation of the stock wallpapers. I ask because I'm having a lot of trouble getting any wallpaper to fit even when sized correctly. But if I simple choose the wallpapers that came with it, the tab never forces me to use tthat stupid template. I assume if I dropped my picture I want into the stock wallpaper location I will be able to set it jjust as eeasily.
probably not much help but the default lockscreen wallpaper is in system/framework/framework-res/res/mdpi
Some of the wallpapers may be stored within the launcher apk as well. You could pull it off and unzip it to check out the folder/file structure.
Not as easy as I had hoped...
its so easy if u have root explorer, as milenko said its in the launcher apk.
Can someone give me a little guidance here?
I found the .apk with root explorer, but now what? Do I extract it, put the new wallpaper in it and overwrite the stock .apk with the new one? I was hoping it'd be more of a drag-drop situation.
Kayak83 said:
I can't see to find the lolocation of the stock wallpapers. I ask because I'm having a lot of trouble getting any wallpaper to fit even when sized correctly. But if I simple choose the wallpapers that came with it, the tab never forces me to use tthat stupid template. I assume if I dropped my picture I want into the stock wallpaper location I will be able to set it jjust as eeasily.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my galaxy 3 the wallpapers have to be exactly the same size as the stock one. Could it be the case?
sent from my CM7 nokia 3210
Kayak83 said:
I can't see to find the lolocation of the stock wallpapers. I ask because I'm having a lot of trouble getting any wallpaper to fit even when sized correctly. But if I simple choose the wallpapers that came with it, the tab never forces me to use tthat stupid template. I assume if I dropped my picture I want into the stock wallpaper location I will be able to set it jjust as eeasily.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the same problem. Here is what I did, but this might not work on Stock ROM (odexed files):
Get the framework-res.apk from the ROM you use.
Open the framework-res.apk with 7ZIP (do not uncompress it, just open it with 7ZIP)
Change default_wallpaper.png in res/drawable-xlarge-nodpi
Change default_wallpaper.png in res/drawable-nodpi
Change defaultlockscreenwallpaper.jpg in res/drawbale-mdpi if you want a different lock screen wallpaper as well.
Close 7ZIP
Flash the ROM with the changed framework-res.apk, or push it with ADB to the tablet to system/framework.
I changed to different file size and picture size and had no problems.
oh my what a lot of steps involved. i will just stick with the stock one then.
Hello, everyone!
I'm new here on XDA and very, very new to modding. I was wondering if anyone could help me? I just purchased a Galaxy Note 3 and I would like to theme it but I don't particularly know how. I've used the search feature but I don't think I'm wording what I need correctly. Here's what I need help with:
1. A tutorial to edit just a theme not the whole ROM.
2. How do I preview my work so far? I don't want to flash every time I make a change.
3. Is it at all possible to create a whole theme with Eclipse? If so, is there a tutorial I can use?
Before you start grumbling, I repeat...I have used the search feature on XDA and I can't seem to find what I'm looking for. Simply links pointing me to the right place would be perfect. Thanks in advance, everyone!
kittyfantastic said:
Hello, everyone!
I'm new here on XDA and very, very new to modding. I was wondering if anyone could help me? I just purchased a Galaxy Note 3 and I would like to theme it but I don't particularly know how. I've used the search feature but I don't think I'm wording what I need correctly. Here's what I need help with:
1. A tutorial to edit just a theme not the whole ROM.
2. How do I preview my work so far? I don't want to flash every time I make a change.
3. Is it at all possible to create a whole theme with Eclipse? If so, is there a tutorial I can use?
Before you start grumbling, I repeat...I have used the search feature on XDA and I can't seem to find what I'm looking for. Simply links pointing me to the right place would be perfect. Thanks in advance, everyone!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Welcome to XDA!
1. Just use Google, many reputable themers write up good guides to get you started: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=916814 and http://xda-university.com/as-a-user/introduction-to-basic-rom-theming
2. You can just switch your themed apk's and SystemUI, then adjusting permissions on them will do fine too...except this will take more time than flashing all files at once.
3. Well you'll need Photoshop too.........for themes....
nicholaschum said:
1. Just use Google, many reputable themers write up good guides to get you started: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=916814 and http://xda-university.com/as-a-user/introduction-to-basic-rom-theming
2. You can just switch your themed apk's and SystemUI, then adjusting permissions on them will do fine too...except this will take more time than flashing all files at once.
3. Well you'll need Photoshop too.........for themes....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that link! I have Photoshop already, I had a feeling I would need it at some point, haha. As for #2... that was gibberish to me. I would love to share my theme once I'm done with it (if anyone is interested in girly white and light pink). I don't know how to switch apk's and SystemUI or adjusting permissions. Will that link you gave me explain it all? I'm sorry, this is hard for me to grasp.
kittyfantastic said:
Thanks for that link! I have Photoshop already, I had a feeling I would need it at some point, haha. As for #2... that was gibberish to me. I would love to share my theme once I'm done with it (if anyone is interested in girly white and light pink). I don't know how to switch apk's and SystemUI or adjusting permissions. Will that link you gave me explain it all? I'm sorry, this is hard for me to grasp.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
#2 meant that if you wanted to do system level modding, like modding the look of general apps like Settings, your notification bar, etc....you will have to do that. It's quite complex because you can't just use Java/Eclipse solely to do this. At the end of this though, you can make any device look "the same".
APK's are program files and the SystemUI is what makes your phone....well, a phone. The general GUI of the Statusbar, lockscreen and navigation bar (if you have one set). You will have to set your permissions back as you have to give the system the rights to access the file. If the permissions are set incorrectly, then you'll have to reflash an entire ROM, so that's why making sure you do it right in the updater-script of the flashable zip is more reliable.
If I were you, try theming launchers first, they're usually what people theme for. You could earn good money from it if you put it on Play.
nicholaschum said:
Welcome to XDA!
1. Just use Google, many reputable themers write up good guides to get you started: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=916814 and http://xda-university.com/as-a-user/introduction-to-basic-rom-theming
2. You can just switch your themed apk's and SystemUI, then adjusting permissions on them will do fine too...except this will take more time than flashing all files at once.
3. Well you'll need Photoshop too.........for themes....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nicholaschum said:
#2 meant that if you wanted to do system level modding, like modding the look of general apps like Settings, your notification bar, etc....you will have to do that. It's quite complex because you can't just use Java/Eclipse solely to do this. At the end of this though, you can make all the devices look good.
APK's are program files and the SystemUI is what makes your phone....well, a phone. The general GUI of the Statusbar, lockscreen and navigation bar (if you have one set). You will have to set your permissions back as you have to give the system the rights to access the file. If the permissions are set incorrectly, then you'll have to reflash an entire ROM, so that's why making sure you do it right in the updater-script of the flashable zip is more reliable.
If I were you, try theming launchers first, they're usually what people theme for. You could earn good money from it if you put it on Play.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would really, really like to theme the whole thing, because I absolutely hate the stock colors and the black on white hurts my eyes. I've searched for a ROM with a light theme, but to no avail, especially since the Note 3 is relatively new. I've been trying to figure it out all day and I don't know what I'm doing, haha. I have a theme that I want to modify, so I don't have to start from scratch. It is very complex, I think I have smoke coming out of my ears -_-;
kittyfantastic said:
I would really, really like to theme the whole thing, because I absolutely hate the stock colors and the black on white hurts my eyes. I've searched for a ROM with a light theme, but to no avail, especially since the Note 3 is relatively new. I've been trying to figure it out all day and I don't know what I'm doing, haha. I have a theme that I want to modify, so I don't have to start from scratch. It is very complex, I think I have smoke coming out of my ears -_-;
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand...reminds me of being on stock S5 ROMs where everything was forced to be a shade of teal or blue, made me want to puke.
You could try installing a theme, tweaking it directly on your device (in turn learning how the Android operating system works), and then doing it again on your computer to make it shareable.
May I also recommend an Xposed module called Wanam Xposed alongside your flashed theme. You can essentially change every aspect of your Samsung SystemUI there. From toggles to the notification colors, it gives you a certain amount of themeability that may satisfy some needs.
nicholaschum said:
I understand...reminds me of being on stock S5 ROMs where everything was forced to be a shade of teal or blue, made me want to puke.
You could try installing a theme, tweaking it directly on your device (in turn learning how the Android operating system works), and then doing it again on your computer to make it shareable.
May I also recommend an Xposed module called Wanam Xposed alongside your flashed theme. You can essentially change every aspect of your Samsung SystemUI there. From toggles to the notification colors, it gives you a certain amount of themeability that may satisfy some needs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your help! I'm going to try all this and see if I can figure it out. In the meantime, I'm on the hunt for a pink theme. xD
This is a good place to start.
And this is good for photoshop/Gimp processing.
B3311 said:
This is a good place to start.
And this is good for photoshop/Gimp processing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh man, thanks! I think this is just what I was looking for!!!! *insert girly squeezing here*
:victory::victory:
Due to my haste and a surfeit of whiskey, I forgot to say that Alliance ROM - my daily driver - will allow you to get your theme as pink as you need without complications. Background, text, whatever. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2571255
B3311 said:
Due to my haste and a surfeit of whiskey, I forgot to say that Alliance ROM - my daily driver - will allow you to get your theme as pink as you need without complications. Background, text, whatever. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2571255
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Shouldn't all ROMs allow for that? Wanam Xposed themes everything in the status bar without custom ROM'ming
nicholaschum said:
Shouldn't all ROMs allow for that? Wanam Xposed themes everything in the status bar without custom ROM'ming
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried Wanam Xposed, it didn't work for me at all. Nothing happened and I followed instructions.
B3311 said:
Due to my haste and a surfeit of whiskey, I forgot to say that Alliance ROM - my daily driver - will allow you to get your theme as pink as you need without complications. Background, text, whatever. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2571255
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for that ROM it looks nice
kittyfantastic said:
I tried Wanam Xposed, it didn't work for me at all. Nothing happened and I followed instructions.
Thank you for that ROM it looks nice
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you install the Xposed Framework on Xposed Installer?
It works on all devices no matter what firmware.
nicholaschum said:
Shouldn't all ROMs allow for that? Wanam Xposed themes everything in the status bar without custom ROM'ming
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alliance allows changes to backgrounds etc, either universal or per app. Same with text colours, the dialler and heaps more, not just the status bar. Other roms and associated kitchens may allow the same, I wouldn't know. But Alliance is so easy to theme on the fly and is rock solid too.
B3311 said:
Alliance allows changes to backgrounds etc, either universal or per app. Same with text colours, the dialler and heaps more, not just the status bar. Other roms and associated kitchens may allow the same, I wouldn't know. But Alliance is so easy to theme on the fly and is rock solid too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see. I'm just more used to AOSP because of its sleek professional look over TW ROMs, so I'm not up to date with the mass influx of TW custom ROMs.