Related
I would like to develop a new lockscreen for the my Vibrant. I've looked at some of the app versions. I like the concepts, but it seems like a lot of people complain about battery life and lag of the screen. I would like to make an actual lockscreen, not an overlay.
I am currently running Bionix 1.2.1. I would like to either add the lockscreen as an option on the menu provided in the Bionix Rom or flash the lockscreen in clockwork.
My first questions is, is this possible? Second question is how, or where is there somewhere i can look to get started?
I've looked around in the forums and I haven't seen any guides or any good info on this.
This would be my first jump into development for Android, but I'm willing to put in the time and effort as long as I can find a starting point in this area or get some help.
If this is built deep into the ROM and a difficult process I can find a different project, but I'm always up for a challenge. Any help would be appreciated.
MechDan said:
I would like to develop a new lockscreen for the my Vibrant. I've looked at some of the app versions. I like the concepts, but it seems like a lot of people complain about battery life and lag of the screen. I would like to make an actual lockscreen, not an overlay.
I am currently running Bionix 1.2.1. I would like to either add the lockscreen as an option on the menu provided in the Bionix Rom or flash the lockscreen in clockwork.
My first questions is, is this possible? Second question is how, or where is there somewhere i can look to get started?
I've looked around in the forums and I haven't seen any guides or any good info on this.
This would be my first jump into development for Android, but I'm willing to put in the time and effort as long as I can find a starting point in this area or get some help.
If this is built deep into the ROM and a difficult process I can find a different project, but I'm always up for a challenge. Any help would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's built-in quite deep, a lot of files need to be edited. Whitehawkx actually PMed me on how to do this the other day, and it sounds quite complicated.
You'll first obviously need to create your .png's to dictate the lockscreens appearance. Then you will have to have coding knowledge, along with knowledge of smali/baksmali and editing .xmls. Thats a VERY brief overview until someone more knowledgable jumps in.
I can do some programming. I've done C++ and I have done some visual basic for work. I just haven't done any Java. I think with all the information here and on Google's developers page I could work my way though it. I would just need a general guideline. I can edit the .png's. I don't think that would be much of a problem.
It might be easier if I could edit an existing one. I like the concept of the puzzle lock. I just think it is kind of hokey. It would also be nice to have a little be more info on the screen and to have emails show up.
Would you be willing to send me what Whitehawkx sent to you? I'm not sure if that is ok.
I don't mind researching my way through it and learning as I go, I was just hoping someone had done something similar.
MechDan said:
I can do some programming. I've done C++ and I have done some visual basic for work. I just haven't done any Java. I think with all the information here and on Google's developers page I could work my way though it. I would just need a general guideline. I can edit the .png's. I don't think that would be much of a problem.
It might be easier if I could edit an existing one. I like the concept of the puzzle lock. I just think it is kind of hokey. It would also be nice to have a little be more info on the screen and to have emails show up.
Would you be willing to send me what Whitehawkx sent to you? I'm not sure if that is ok.
I don't mind researching my way through it and learning as I go, I was just hoping someone had done something similar.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
modifying would be the way to go... and unfortunately it has nothing to do with java coding, but dalvik bytecode (which is a major pain... untermensch & whitehawk are heroes with that bytecode).
Anyways, I believe it's in services.jar. You'd have to pull out classes.dex from it and decompile. check this post on how to decompile. and you're going to need the smali & baksmali jars...
anyways after you decompile you're stuck with lots of .smali files which contains the bytecode you would need to modify... it's really difficult to understand it heh
Whitehawkx said:
So you are using the other four lockscreens but want to get the rotary to work as well and are looking for what files are necessary for that to happen, correct?
The files I changed to get the rotary working on KB1 are as follows
Framework-res.apk
~public.xml
~strings.xml [I think one change here]
~Images are already in stock frameworks and already in place
android.policy.jar
~New smali used for rotary. All have "rotary" in their title
~changes to LockPatternKeyGuardView.smali
Settings.apk
~Changes to DisplaySettings.smali
~Changes to arrays.xml
I believe these are all the files I had to modify to get the rotary working.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
heres what he said when i inquired. unfortunately he didnt go into much detail, i did send him another PM....but keep in mind these are the steps to simply inject an outside lockscreen into your current ROM, not necessarily how to build one from scratch
hopefully these steps may still give you an idea of where everything is located
I always wanted one that opens from the middle of the screen like a matinee curtain. That would be awesome.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Thanks guys! I'll start working with that and see what I can come up with. It looks like I have a lot to learn about it.
I'll try working through it and hopefully I will come up with some more specific questions that may be easier to answer.
Also, if you think of something that may help, let me know. I would appreciate it very much.
With the starting points already given i would build the lockscreen using aosp then port it to your rom. Once compiled you can decompile then different it
Sent from my Incredible using Tapatalk
I would like to edit the "Android unlock" lockscreen that is included with Project-V, I have found the smali file (LockScreen.smali in android.policy.jar) that I believe contains the code for elements I want to remove, but I have zero java coding experience.
I want to remove the next alarm and battery charging notifications that show below the clock on the AOSP lockscreen.
Can anyone help? Or point me to some resources/guides for learning the language?
No expert here or anything but I would think that would be a smali file somewhere in android.policy.jar and not xml.
Sent from my GT-I9000
jneal9 said:
No expert here or anything but I would think that would be a smali file somewhere in android.policy.jar and not xml.
Sent from my GT-I9000
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ya, I have started looking in there, but so far I'm not finding anything
Yeah smali is pretty low level java and tough to understand. Maybe try and PM Romanbb. He seems be very good with java.
Have you had any luck with this? I want to do pretty much the same thing, except I want to keep the alarm details. I know a bit about Java but lockscreen.smali just gives me a headache..
Ticklefish said:
Have you had any luck with this? I want to do pretty much the same thing, except I want to keep the alarm details. I know a bit about Java but lockscreen.smali just gives me a headache..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's what Roman said:
"Removing them via smali will be a huge pain. They are defined an XML layout file in framework-res.apk, you could try and modify them to shove them off the screen, or make the dimensions small enough to where it's not visible. Don't try and remove it from the XML file though, it'll throw smali errors."
WidgetLocker is fulfilling my needs.
Ah, well..I suppose it depends on how much of a stubborn nerd you are.
I've tried WidgetLocker and it does seem to be a decent app, but it's not for me. I started out wanting to modify the stock lockscreen and, dammit, I'm going to do it. I've done some fiddling with the smali code and I've got a pretty good idea what to do, I just need some free time in which to do it.
Free time? Around Christmas? Nah..
Thanks for your tip about removing them from the layout files. This was the first thing I tried and I ended up with all sorts of errors once I'd pushed the framework back to the phone.
Hello guys, I am very interested on modding some roms, I've already managed to modify devilsking's TheMythICS Lite. I've managed to change stuff like, overglow color, icons and some text colors
But I am not really familiar with scripts and stuff like that. So can anyone enlighten me here?
Btw, I have experience on XML programming
If you have experience in xml,try modding apk files
You know changing icons and pngs
you are good in xml then what you want to know
Prawesome said:
If you have experience in xml,try modding apk files
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've already modded the SystemUI.apk and framework-res.apk and managed to change the icons and text colors
nims11 said:
You know changing icons and pngs
you are good in xml then what you want to know
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Idk. lol there's so much to do and deal with, I don't know where to start
Lead me?
hey u can try making lockscreens me to finding a tutorial about it.....
I have tried UOT Kitchen before, always was unlucky at having flashing errors.
My question is this... If I take a flashable theme, with permission from the creator, I should be able to use the scripts that they include for flashing? I am savvy with un-APKing zipping, signing and what not, is that all I would have to do to recreate a theme using my own images?
Thanks to everyone here!
Yes, the script you see other themes using can be changed out with your own, as well as the content. You can also just use the UOT Kitchen script. Credit given where credit is due, of course, but the script itself (IMHO) is not something you really need permission for.
Another tip, this from firsthand experience, when you're zipping everything up getting ready to flash, make sure you're zipping the contents of the theme folder (/META-INF/ & /system/) vs zipping the theme folder.
It sounds really stupid, but it took me forever to figure out why everything I did in UOT Kitchen perfectly but everything I did, using the same damn script, just froze. But ya gotta learn somewhere, right?
Remember when using the kitchen make sure u click amend scripting in the area where u load the apks... x2 uses 2. Something recovery.. if u don't click that there will be errors everytime
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Thank you, I think I've tried UOT 5 times but never had success.
Kevin, I tried the amend scripting, it solo didn't work.
I would much rather use my own images then those offered in uot kitchen.
I'm going to try to put a theme together this weekend, I haven't modded anything since BF2 wake island air show
Dee Ex Two - See Em Seven
Ok, how much do you know about themeing? Because if you are wanting to edit just the images(.pngs) you will need some info first...
You can "simply" take the framework-res.apk and systemUI.apk and go to the HDPI folder(or wherever the images are) and "drag n drop" to your desktop and edit those... OR you can take a .png that you wanna use(say one from another theme) and just drag n drop in the HDPI folder. And then, simply make a flashable .zip and your good to go.
.9s !!!
These are a PAIN if you dont know what you are doing.
If you are going to try and get into themeing, download APKManager and decompile the framework-res.apk ... go to a .9 image(i think its .png.9 or something of the like). When you load the image(say in GIMP) you will see black squares on the OUTSIDE of the image(like near the edges of the ACTUAL picture edge)... DONT TOUCH THOSE!!!! leave them there and make edits how you choose to the rest of the image. Once you are finished, just recompile(DONT SIGN AND YES! THESE ARE SYSTEM APPS!). Put in a flashable .zip and your set.
NOW Please note:
When you are doing the drag and drop method, make sure you are REPLACING an image and not ADDING more images.. catch the drift?
this is quick how to, hope it helps and good luck. let me know if you need anything else.
All the themes rock! I have poor eye sight (far sight) so my main concern always is status bar and the battery icon. I love being able to see the percentage, but some themes use smaller battery percentage text.
.9 seem like the stretchable area I'm beautiful widget... I understand that
Thanks Peperm1nt
Dee Ex Two - See Em Seven
I was thinking of trying out theming. That is until I looked at the crap load of images just thrown into one directory. lol. It may not be as hard as it looks but I havent looked any further than that yet. I still want to try something out though. Is there an easy way of figuring out what image does what on the phone? Like if I want to change some things, I have to know the name of the image. Well, to me, it looks like they aren't named plain and simple. Plus when they are just thrown into one directory its kinda hard to distinguish what is what. It was so much easier theming for webOS. lol
Js if u really look at the framework u will see all the images in the drawable hdpi folder are really a lot of the presses..tabs. status bar icons... over scroll glow theming takes a lot of time to build straight from scratch... any .9 PNG can be edited when it is decompiled in apk manager or apk multi tool just don't edit the black patch as peppermint said or u will not compile...
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Kevin3328 said:
Js if u really look at the framework u will see all the images in the drawable hdpi folder are really a lot of the presses..tabs. status bar icons... over scroll glow theming takes a lot of time to build straight from scratch... any .9 PNG can be edited when it is decompiled in apk manager or apk multi tool just don't edit the black patch as peppermint said or u will not compile...
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, one of these days ill download the tools and play with it. I've always enjoyed theming.
Sent from my MB870 using Tapatalk
I'm just trying to figure out the script to flash, is it the one in the google folder?
Dee Ex Two - See Em Seven
@js I know what you are saying about the desire to do it but the system isn't really what I would say themer friendly! Admittedly I am not the sharpest tool in the shade when it comes to some things (like the Android OS), so I would imagine that plays a big role in my intimidation of the whole thing.
What got me was the De-Compiling and Recompiling of everything just to change something. Not to mention the signatures and etc... perhaps one day someone will write a piece of software (be it windows based or Android in a shell on a PC) that will make it all pretty simple on that part. Till then I will prob. just enjoy and appreciate the work of others.
GL, Slim!
SlimMan said:
@js I know what you are saying about the desire to do it but the system isn't really what I would say themer friendly! Admittedly I am not the sharpest tool in the shade when it comes to some things (like the Android OS), so I would imagine that plays a big role in my intimidation of the whole thing.
What got me was the De-Compiling and Recompiling of everything just to change something. Not to mention the signatures and etc... perhaps one day someone will write a piece of software (be it windows based or Android in a shell on a PC) that will make it all pretty simple on that part. Till then I will prob. just enjoy and appreciate the work of others.
GL, Slim!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I agree about the decompiling and recompiling thing. When I had a webOS phone I created my own theme just by simply replacing the images and restarting the phone. With android, it seems you have to take the whole framework out, theme it and recompile the package file and flash it to the phone. Just seems a bit overwhelming.
Sent from my MB870 using Tapatalk
It's not that bad if you are just changing the images... Just timely. I suggest gimp to do the work. Another tip, some of the images are indexed. In gimp change from indexed to rgb...back to indexed, then rgb. Reason being that you are now able to add any color and doing it twice clears the pixelation...
What gets hard is smali editing and .xml editing. Let me know if you need help there.
Tapin' the Talk on the xSquared
Send a PM to "KTT16" on the Motorola Photon Forums, he is a great themer, let him know what you need help with, tell him you are running stock on the X2, he'll ask you for whatever files he needs, and he will help out.
By the way, if you are at all interested in a signature image, I can create one for you, just PM me, and I'll get on it.
Peperm1nt said:
It's not that bad if you are just changing the images... Just timely. I suggest gimp to do the work. Another tip, some of the images are indexed. In gimp change from indexed to rgb...back to indexed, then rgb. Reason being that you are now able to add any color and doing it twice clears the pixelation...
What gets hard is smali editing and .xml editing. Let me know if you need help there.
Tapin' the Talk on the xSquared
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can batch process in PS.....and what is this bout clearing the pixelation...lol
Thanks I'll check it out
Dee Ex Two - See Em Seven
When you find a indexed image going to rgb pixelates the image...going back to indexed and then to rgb fixes this.
Tapin' the Talk on the xSquared
Peperm1nt said:
When you find a indexed image going to rgb pixelates the image...going back to indexed and then to rgb fixes this.
Tapin' the Talk on the xSquared
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was p playing with you, all my online gaming and forum names have always had pixel, pixelated, pixelation, pixelized or any variety of pixel
Edit: swyponese
Dee Ex Two - See Em Seven
I am trying this out for the 1st time. My main goal is to create a transparent status bar for CM7. Will this make that "patch" I need for this?
Kevin3328 said:
Js if u really look at the framework u will see all the images in the drawable hdpi folder are really a lot of the presses..tabs. status bar icons... over scroll glow theming takes a lot of time to build straight from scratch... any .9 PNG can be edited when it is decompiled in apk manager or apk multi tool just don't edit the black patch as peppermint said or u will not compile...
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i seem to be a complete idiot lol
im sitting here trying to use apk manager and have no clue how to go about it
i cant get it to friggin pull files, i have no clue what im doing tho lol
i been trying to find info on how to use it with the x2 but cant find jack that is actually useful.
time to go eat, clear my head, and get back to researching, im probably just missing something extremely easy i knoow, but hey, i havent had a working computer in years so yea, im kinda learning on the fly here, lol
Lol @ash
In apkm select the apk you want, then decompile... Make edits, recompile.
Tapin' the Talk on the xSquared
Hey anyone out there good at themeing some things, got any ideas on what i (a TOTAL 100% Noob) would have to do to edit some of the things in sense 5? possibly create a theme?
I dont need like a super long drawn out tutorial on EVERYTHING id have to do, unless youd be so kind as to provide one.
Just general bits and pieces and ill put together something from a collab of information given here ive been thinking about making a theme for a while but TOTALLY lack the skills lol
any information you can give as to what might work, what worked in sense 4.5, and what will very likely work in sense 5.0 id love to hear it. Even if its just somethin small my ears and eyes are WIDE open.
Ok so luckily for you skins have been removed in Sense 5, so the theming process is a bit easier (no need to extract m10 files and such). Basically though, you'd take the apk you want to edit, and decompile (extract) it. This can be done using apktool. To get that working, use these tools and this guide. Once your done editing your apk file, recompile (compress) it using "apktool b decompiled_folder_name" (or by reading the guide). Once it has successfully been compiled, sign it with this (copy the PPC Geeks folder to the /Program Files directory on your c: drive, and create a shortcut of the .exe file on your desktop) or you can alternitavely use this tool, which includes an option to zipalign (optimize?) the apk as well as sign it. However, if you use the latter, make sure to sign with test, not private keys.
Also I should mention that the majority of the images you will be editing within the apks are located in /res/drawable-xxhdpi, and the color of most of the text in the apk will probably be located in either /res/values/colors.xml, or /res/values/styles.xml. You may stumble upon a few ".9" images, which are special images that will only stretch along the places that are overlapped by the 1px tall border surrounding them. I recommend using this program to create your own .9 images, or you can edit pre-existing .9s in an image editor progam like photoshop or gimp, just make sure that you do not touch the black 1px border (9patch).
That's all! Good luck, have fun, and you're welcome
ssojyeti2 said:
Ok so luckily for you skins have been removed in Sense 5, so the theming process is a bit easier (no need to extract m10 files and such). Basically though, you'd take the apk you want to edit, and decompile (extract) it. This can be done using apktool. To get that working, use these tools and this guide. Once your done editing your apk file, recompile (compress) it using "apktool b decompiled_folder_name" (or by reading the guide). Once it has successfully been compiled, sign it with this (copy the PPC Geeks folder to the /Program Files directory on your c: drive, and create a shortcut of the .exe file on your desktop) or you can alternitavely use this tool, which includes an option to zipalign (optimize?) the apk as well as sign it. However, if you use the latter, make sure to sign with test, not private keys.
Also I should mention that the majority of the images you will be editing within the apks are located in /res/drawable-xxhdpi, and the color of most of the text in the apk will probably be located in either /res/values/colors.xml, or /res/values/styles.xml. You may stumble upon a few ".9" images, which are special images that will only stretch along the places that are overlapped by the 1px tall border surrounding them. I recommend using this program to create your own .9 images, or you can edit pre-existing .9s in an image editor progam like photoshop or gimp, just make sure that you do not touch the black 1px border (9patch).
That's all! Good luck, have fun, and you're welcome
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey thanks alot i will definitly check this out, looking to add some transparency throughout the rom. Does anyone know what blinkfeeds apk is named o.o
Prizm something
Sent From My Sweet Ass EVO LTE
dased14 said:
Prizm something
Sent From My Sweet Ass EVO LTE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
guys if i wasnt outta thanks today id throw you both one (EDIT: Aparantly xda thinks that the middle of the day is the time for renewing thanks -_-) thanks a bunch. Not too sure how to edit XML files now, all im trying to do at the moment is make blinkfeed's background transparent, however i am lost as to how to even read XML files at the moment, dont have a program on my computer that displays it correctly.. I found how to do the new weatherclock, and steal25 is working on the App drawer, and Sysui pull down.
Well theres vts(can decompile and recompile)and has a notepad++ type thing built in and notepad++ is a must for any themer to read xmls, smali (but need apktool, or something like it to decompile and recompile)
Sent From My Sweet Ass EVO LTE
dased14 said:
Well theres vts(can decompile and recompile)and has a notepad++ type thing built in and notepad++ is a must for any themer to read xmls, smali (but need apktool, or something like it to decompile and recompile)
Sent From My Sweet Ass EVO LTE
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What he said Notepad++ is the best.
And Prism.apk is what you're looking for.
Gumby63 said:
What he said Notepad++ is the best.
And Prism.apk is what you're looking for.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Downloading it now, thanks for the responses guys i really appreciate it especially coming from all of you recognized themers with 1000+ thanks. Wow i feel like im going to do good here.
and yeah i found the prism, and the XML file i need to edit for blinkfeed to be transparent, and i actually got some config from someone in the general thread too! ill try to have blinkfeed and some other stuff transparent by the end of the day tomorrow. (like thats gonna happen right?)
igotlostintampa said:
Downloading it now, thanks for the responses guys i really appreciate it especially coming from all of you recognized themers with 1000+ thanks. Wow i feel like im going to do good here.
and yeah i found the prism, and the XML file i need to edit for blinkfeed to be transparent, and i actually got some config from someone in the general thread too! ill try to have blinkfeed and some other stuff transparent by the end of the day tomorrow. (like thats gonna happen right?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Keep in mind that when you're editing colors, the first two digits in the hex code control transparency...also don't be surprised if edits need to be made in multiple places...sometimes both an image and a color need to be set to transparent
Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2
ssojyeti2 said:
Keep in mind that when you're editing colors, the first two digits in the hex code control transparency...also don't be surprised if edits need to be made in multiple places...sometimes both an image and a color need to be set to transparent
Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh man, if i started off thinking it was going to be easy for me, i would think you guys have it easy, and i dont. I knew this would be a difficult task when i jumped ship on this transparency thing and hope i can get it out soon because sense 5.0 is amazing as it is now, and i wanna add that touch of beauty its missing.
Feel free though guys, if anyone wants to get this going without me go for it. Ill be on it for like 3-4 days (possibly straight) figuring this stuff out before i have a even possibly close version of this looking right is my guess.
igotlostintampa said:
Oh man, if i started off thinking it was going to be easy for me, i would think you guys have it easy, and i dont. I knew this would be a difficult task when i jumped ship on this transparency thing and hope i can get it out soon because sense 5.0 is amazing as it is now, and i wanna add that touch of beauty its missing.
Feel free though guys, if anyone wants to get this going without me go for it. Ill be on it for like 3-4 days (possibly straight) figuring this stuff out before i have a even possibly close version of this looking right is my guess.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would love to help but pc crashed about a week ago so im sidelined until i save enough for new one, but good luck
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk HD
igotlostintampa said:
Oh man, if i started off thinking it was going to be easy for me, i would think you guys have it easy, and i dont. I knew this would be a difficult task when i jumped ship on this transparency thing and hope i can get it out soon because sense 5.0 is amazing as it is now, and i wanna add that touch of beauty its missing.
Feel free though guys, if anyone wants to get this going without me go for it. Ill be on it for like 3-4 days (possibly straight) figuring this stuff out before i have a even possibly close version of this looking right is my guess.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm in the same boat as you. I want to get into learning this stuff too. Hopefully after this week is over, I will have a little more free time to learn.
Sent from my EVO using xda app-developers app
Its so good to see people want to learn. Keep it up bro. We need all the contributors we can get.
Only if everyone was like this
Thumbs up
Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2
igotlostintampa said:
Feel free though guys, if anyone wants to get this going without me go for it. Ill be on it for like 3-4 days (possibly straight) figuring this stuff out before i have a even possibly close version of this looking right is my guess.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well if you need any help just ask away
Actually I haven't been able to start just yet as I've been a bit busy with errands and when I get on xda the forum is packed with things I needs throw in the sense 5.0 q/a thread. I'll start working on it soon and if I need any help I'll definitely post back here. Thanks a lot for your help and support guys
Sent from my EVO using xda app-developers app
igotlostintampa said:
Actually I haven't been able to start just yet as I've been a bit busy with errands and when I get on xda the forum is packed with things I needs throw in the sense 5.0 q/a thread. I'll start working on it soon and if I need any help I'll definitely post back here. Thanks a lot for your help and support guys
Sent from my EVO using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The intro to themeing thread in evo 3d themes and apps is a great place to start.
Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2