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So..You wanna learn how to theme *UPDATED 9/16/13

Themeing tips & tricks How to

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#41 jayrod

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Posted 12 September 2013 - 06:46 PM

i remember wanting to theme certain parts of my phone but didnt know where the images where...i searched and searched...i found a thread a guy did about 3 or 4 years ago where he showed what all the apks did and what xml and images where....its where i started....then ics and jb came out and things where different....whole new ball game....i didnt have threads like this(none i found anyway) i even asked for help and never got a response...so i had to learn on my own....hopefully this thread is that thread that someone is looking for and will find it.....if theres something you want to know about something specific like stausbar,dialer,or whatever...post it here and me or jay(dont want to put words in his mouth) but it is his thread haha...we will share what we know

Just to put this out there..it's not MY thread...it's for anyone who wants to post tricks or to ask questions. I never found a thread like what you found..I figured out a few things and asked questions. I've answered a few questions and still don't know everything ! That is what this thread and the others I started are for and why I have no problem giving credit where it's due! 


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#42 Bama

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Posted 12 September 2013 - 06:52 PM

you know what i meant...dont make me drive up there lol


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#43 Captain Crypto

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Posted 13 September 2013 - 06:05 PM

I read through the entire thread just to give myself a general idea of what I'm getting myself into. Next will be to follow Memnoch's link and the others. I'm happy to say that so far it doesn't look intimidating. Not easy, but not something I'll shy away from. That's a testament to Jay's great write-ups!

But before I start anything I'll do another nand. I'd still love a VM on my phone!

Sent from my SCH-I545 DEV


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#44 jayrod

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Posted 13 September 2013 - 06:21 PM

I read through the entire thread just to give myself a general idea of what I'm getting myself into. Next will be to follow Memnoch's link and the others. I'm happy to say that so far it doesn't look intimidating. Not easy, but not something I'll shy away from. That's a testament to Jay's great write-ups!

But before I start anything I'll do another nand. I'd still love a VM on my phone!

Sent from my SCH-I545 DEV

Thanks! Once you start changing stuff you'll start looking at your phone closer..and want to change more. It becomes addicting!


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#45 useltonm

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Posted 14 September 2013 - 01:18 AM

Okay, first question from me, and it's a noob question (naturally).  I understand the reason for working on the theme on the phone, for testing purposes, etc.  Is there a way to do the work in a development environment?  For example, is it possible to maybe create a virtual environment on a rooted phone and then switch back and forth?  I know that VMWare is looking to release a mobile VM capability, and I was wondering if anyone else has done this for dev/testing purposes.
 
I've also read that someone claimed he was able to use Virtual Box to run Android on the PC.  If that is indeed the case, do you think we would be able to create an environment where we can do the theming/coding on the PC, then transfer it to a phone for testing?
 
Sorry for the noob questions...

 

 

Definitely not noob questions! I have hoped that such a thing was available to basically try stuff out realtime..an Android visualizer if you will.. but if it does exist, I have no idea where it is!
It truly would make things so much easier!

Sent from my Platyraptor extreme ultra maxxxx 4gLTE/GSM/ABC/123 Nick Knack Pattywack Ermegherd GED, MD,RNA,DNA,YMCA Edition S4! Via the 4th dimension....NOW RUNNING ECLIPSE

 

 

Is there any reason you couldn't use the android sdk to set up your virtual device? Set up the sdk like you would to build and test apps.  Is there a reason that wouldn't work?

 

 

 

Jayrod, thanks for all your hard work on this.  I didn't realize how much effort it requires to do some simple theming.  Looks like I'm going to through some Photoshop tutorials first to figure that stuff out before I can even begin to theme anything.

 

#1 How do I determine which drawable folder I start to edit? Is it best to play around starting with the lowest resolution folder and testing to see what changes appear on the phone? 

 

#2 Is the reason for changing the hue in an image instead of filling (paint bucket) parts of an image to prevent having to resign the apk?  If not, what is the reason? (At least for your example) (I'm trying to keep my initial theme attempts very simple to get the hang of it before moving on to more complex and I want to make sure I'm jumping in the ocean before I'm able to get through the puddle.  I'm assuming it's easiest to change fonts and background colors before moving on to editing images to really change the look of an app.)

 

#3 If I pull an apk from a flashable zip (such as the PAC rom nightly) how do I kick the apk back into the zip once I've edited the apk? Do I just copy the apk from the binary folder under the applicable projects and apk folders back into the zip? Is the apk in the binary folder created when I click build project?



#46 usmcamgrimm

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Posted 14 September 2013 - 02:04 AM

Decided to give VTS another try. Actually read the tutorials and stuff on their website this time too!

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 4


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#47 jayrod

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Posted 14 September 2013 - 05:30 AM

Is there any reason you couldn't use the android sdk to set up your virtual device? Set up the sdk like you would to build and test apps.  Is there a reason that wouldn't work?

 

 

 

Jayrod, thanks for all your hard work on this.  I didn't realize how much effort it requires to do some simple theming.  Looks like I'm going to through some Photoshop tutorials first to figure that stuff out before I can even begin to theme anything.

 

#1 How do I determine which drawable folder I start to edit? Is it best to play around starting with the lowest resolution folder and testing to see what changes appear on the phone? 

 

#2 Is the reason for changing the hue in an image instead of filling (paint bucket) parts of an image to prevent having to resign the apk?  If not, what is the reason? (At least for your example) (I'm trying to keep my initial theme attempts very simple to get the hang of it before moving on to more complex and I want to make sure I'm jumping in the ocean before I'm able to get through the puddle.  I'm assuming it's easiest to change fonts and background colors before moving on to editing images to really change the look of an app.)

 

#3 If I pull an apk from a flashable zip (such as the PAC rom nightly) how do I kick the apk back into the zip once I've edited the apk? Do I just copy the apk from the binary folder under the applicable projects and apk folders back into the zip? Is the apk in the binary folder created when I click build project?

Making me think this morning! Hahaha 
I haven't seen any type of Virtual Android setup that would show changes on the fly.Setting up the SDK to create an apk and editing an existing one are 2 different things. I'm sure that there has to be some sort of setup somewhere for Google coders to know what everything does...that would be the holy grail!

 

 


#1 How do I determine which drawable folder I start to edit? Is it best to play around starting with the lowest resolution folder and testing to see what changes appear on the phone? 

 

 

 

As far as which folder does what , it is easy on devices like the Bionic/RAZR because there is only 1 dpi (hdpi) folder to work from. So far the S4 has been a crapshoot! I haven't discovered an actual pattern because I am having to change images in drawable- hdpi ,drawable-xhdpi and drawable-xxhdpi! A lot seems to be dependent on the ROM though.

 

 

 

#2 Is the reason for changing the hue in an image instead of filling (paint bucket) parts of an image to prevent having to resign the apk?  If not, what is the reason? (At least for your example) (I'm trying to keep my initial theme attempts very simple to get the hang of it before moving on to more complex and I want to make sure I'm jumping in the ocean before I'm able to get through the puddle.  I'm assuming it's easiest to change fonts and background colors before moving on to editing images to really change the look of an app.)

 

 

 

 

 

Changing the hue of an image is the easiest change .The hue is basically, 'how balanced the RGB is'. All digital photos are made up of the 3 primary colors- red, green and blue. When changing the hue balance, you're changing which colors are seen more than others. If you use the paint bucket or any styles,you are basically throwing out all the original color info and making it a solid color.I guess the best way to understand is that with a hue change you are rearranging the color info and not creating a new image..the size stays the same. Anything else is a new image.

 

 

#3 If I pull an apk from a flashable zip (such as the PAC rom nightly) how do I kick the apk back into the zip once I've edited the apk? Do I just copy the apk from the binary folder under the applicable projects and apk folders back into the zip? Is the apk in the binary folder created when I click build project?

 

 

 


You can either push the .apk to your phone or make a flashable .zip and flash it. With a .zip,just drag the .apk into the corresponding folder. I have mixed results with pushing,especially sysUI and framework..I have had fun trying to get a reboot while the phone is going into a FC loop! That is a big reason I just flash everything. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A BACKUP!!!  Also,you are using PAC as an example. If memory serves,you will have to fix the framework-res.apk prior to editing as it will fail on test decompile/recompile....If memory serves..I can't remember if I tested it. 


 

 

 


#48 jayrod

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Posted 14 September 2013 - 05:31 AM

Decided to give VTS another try. Actually read the tutorials and stuff on their website this time too!

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 4


I'm still using the version I made the tutorial from..it works just fine for me! I absolutely LOVE VTS!



 

 

 


#49 Memnoch73

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Posted 15 September 2013 - 08:13 PM

I guess I'll try and add to this... While this is the lazy way to change stuff I don't discount all the hard hours put in by our fellow themers.

 

For the record I am running official CM 10-2 for the Droid DNA.

 

 

Lets' talk about Xposed Framework. This allows you to make changes to your phone/rom without having to pull the rom apart. I have not tested all the stuff this can do yet but what I have seen so far and read about it, I will say I'm impressed.

 

LInk to Xposed installer This is an APK. Install like normal, open the shortcut, install the framework, and reboot

 

Now you will need modules. Xblast Tools is my first one. It allows changed to the status bar and other misc changes.

 

Download the latest APK and install. You will get a notification that Xblast is not activated. Click it and then check the box for it when Xposed Framework opens. Reboot.

 

Now open Xblast Tools... Change what you like. Exit the app and reboot. You should see you changes upon reboot.

 

I changed the status bar transparency, background of the Notification panel transparency and centered the clock. When I rebooted it all was there and perfect.

 

 

Please note: Be sure to have a backup on your SD card in case this causes issues....

 

Here's a good Tutorial vid from XDA


Edited by Memnoch73, 17 September 2013 - 06:39 AM.
Added You Tube Vid..

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#50 jayrod

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Posted 16 September 2013 - 07:54 AM

I guess I'll try and add to this... While this is the lazy way to change stuff I don't discount all the hard hours put in by our fellow themers.

 

For the record I am running official CM 10-2 for the Droid DNA.

 

 

Lets' talk about Xposed Framework. This allows you to make changes to your phone/rom without having to pull the rom apart. I have not tested all the stuff this can do yet but what I have seen so far and read about it, I will say I'm impressed.

 

LInk to Xposed installer This is an APK. Install like normal, open the shortcut, install the framework, and reboot

 

Now you will need modules. Xblast Tools is my first one. It allows changed to the status bar and other misc changes.

 

Download the latest APK and install. You will get a notification that Xblast is not activated. Click it and then check the box for it when Xposed Framework opens. Reboot.

 

Now open Xblast Tools... Change what you like. Exit the app and reboot. You should see you changes upon reboot.

 

I changed the status bar transparency, background of the Notification panel transparency and centered the clock. When I rebooted it all was there and perfect.

 

 

Please note: Be sure to have a backup on your SD card in case this causes issues....

Xposed is a very cool app.The modules that are being made are pretty sweet. It is close to Theme manager with changing stuff on the fly but has a few issues with some XML changes,which I'm sure will be figured out soon! If I understood java/smali I'd be all over it! Added to the OP.Thanks Memnoch!


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#51 jl90

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Posted 22 September 2013 - 07:42 AM

Where the heck have I been?..lol! Grimm told me to check this thread out and man am I glad I did! I will be using this as a resource as I continue learning the finer points of theming. Thank you jayrod and all the contributors to this thread.Very very cool!! :D
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