Attention "ROM Devs"....
Pro-Tip= If your list of credits exceeds your list of modifications to your "ROM" then you might be a themer or "Thromer".
Rhetorical Questions = Why do we need additional "ROMs" from other people's base? Why can't you just create a theme using only the needed framework files? Why do you feel compelled to dazzle us with your own "ROM" when its merely an oversized theme package? Why can't you compile your own AOSP ROM from source? Do we really have to list that ROM apks are zipaligned.... Shouldn't that be a given?
Troll away and/or say thanks if you agree!!! Lol
Thank you for your opinion. Before this turns into a flame fest I will close this but will add that obviously not all themes work on all ROMs and most users here prefer to have everything in one package to flash easily at their convenience. Add to that, if all put together and tested it is nice to eliminate errors in flashing and errors of incompatible apps. Is it really so bad to have many ROM choices? XDA has provided a new section called Original Development for fine members like you to have original work and not just themed ROMs. Perhaps you can browse through that subforum and allow others to enjoy a plethora of themed ROMs and winzipped ROMs in the regular development sections.
Thank you for understanding
Friendly Neighborhood Moderator
Related
I wanted to know if there is a program that can do what you guys are talking about. I would like to make my own themes with themes made by other people. If the is no program then where would one start. Thx in advanced.
Ok I don't want to piss people off but how can I make a theme. Where do I start, is there a program to help you make themes instead of copying off of people. That's what I really like to know.
What mind of theme are you talking about? There are different methods for different types of themes.
I think u just need Photoshop and u have to edit the images then repack them to the zip for install just be sure u don't lose where the icons are placed and don't rename them... I think.... but I have no idea "/
CM7 wtf else....
Well I'm talking about themes poeple make that are in android market. I dont know what type of themes they are. Forgive me I'm new to android, I had a iPhone 4 and used winspc to change themes other people made on cydia.
Now do you just got to only use Photoshop cuz I use gimp is it the same.
You can use any image editing software. Read this thread. It pertains to the same thing that you are trying to do. You will use almost the exact same process to edit themes made by others.
Like the previous posters have mentioned, Photoshop or Gimp photo editor which is free would be your best bet, if you wanna make your own designs... If you want to theme your home screen using other people's work visit this thread, might help you out a bit.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=901649
It also has an instruction on how to change the icons after you make the design
Good luck!
If you use anything that is not yours, ask first. A lot of time goes into making a theme (even a not-so-good one) and I've seen too many people just say "credit goes to blah blah" but never asking. Please be considerate of the work of others.
As for actual theming it all depends on what you are theming. Some apps (launchers and widgets mainly) have built in theme functionality and should have a guide specific for them. Theming a ROM is a lot more time intensive and involves decompiling frameworks, setting up development tools, dealing with many possible problems, hoping compiling works, being frustrated about forgetting something, testing, etc. etc.
good info was looking for something very similar
Is making a them for a stock MT4G that uses the theme installer different than those made for custom ROMs?
It seems the androidian theme is the only one that can be installed and used on a stock MT4G. I'd love to see that exact theme with the green replaced by a dark gray.
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
If I wanted to create a Scene or a Skin for the Thunderbolt how would I go about doing this. I'm good with creating images but writing the script may be a bit hard for me. And what would be the difference between the Scene and the Skin?
Please don't bark at me, I know its a question you pros hear all the time. Its that I don't know if the sizes are the same far as docks, icons, etc....
johnny quest said:
If I wanted to create a Scene or a Skin for the Thunderbolt how would I go about doing this. I'm good with creating images but writing the script may be a bit hard for me. And what would be the difference between the Scene and the Skin?
Please don't bark at me, I know its a question you pros hear all the time. Its that I don't know if the sizes are the same far as docks, icons, etc....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I suggest looking at other themes already made. You know you can open them (the theme file) with most types of compression tools (7zip, winrar, tar, etc). Have you tried that yet and looked to see what the sizes are and what the files do?
Just download some from the app/theme forum and browse them on your computer
yareally said:
I suggest looking at other themes already made. You know you can open them (the theme file) with most types of compression tools (7zip, winrar, tar, etc). Have you tried that yet and looked to see what the sizes are and what the files do?
Just download some from the app/theme forum and browse them on your computer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks I'll do that.
Depending on how fancy you're trying to get, just using another them as a template should work out okay. If not, you can probably find more info on just generic theming for htc sense based phones in some other forums that have been around longer on xda. I honestly haven't seen anything really thunderbolt specific mentioned on the forums here. However, it should work out the same minus the sizes for any other htc phone (assuming it's for sense 2.x, which most are still).
I know however that I've seen tutorials for launcher theming around on xda. I saw one not long ago for go launcher, so I assume there are others for adw and the other launchers out there as well. Launcher theming wont let you mod everything of course (battery and those icons and such), but still quite a bit you can do and it should be something you can carry over to any phone, not just the thunderbolt.
I don't think anything theme wise should really require coding. Perhaps modding some existing xml and such, but that shouldnt be overly tricky. The hardest part is probably the graphics and that doesn't seem to be a problem for you.
I hope this is true. Below is quoted from the article.
Google has made an excellent decision concerning the UI requirement because it’s going to force manufacturers to make the skins they put on devices a choice for users, not a mandatory “this is what you get.” This should lessen the time it takes to roll out new updates to legacy devices that can support the newest versions of Android
http://www.geek.com/articles/mobile...ule-them-all-for-android-4-0-devices-2012016/
sorry to say you're mistaken. google and skin makers put a bunch of files in frameworks that apps pull from in order to look like the rest of the phone. this is why some things look different in different themes/roms inside 3rd party apps.
google is now requiring that instead of replacing their default theme, skinners just make a second one and put it in also.
app devs can choose to use either "androidholo" or "defaulttheme" or something like that by adding a line in the manifest of their apps.
and any OEM added apps will also probably be skinned.
so again im sorry to say probably not
plz correct me if im wrong on any of this i probably am.
dkdude36 said:
sorry to say you're mistaken. google and skin makers put a bunch of files in frameworks that apps pull from in order to look like the rest of the phone. this is why some things look different in different themes/roms inside 3rd party apps.
google is now requiring that instead of replacing their default theme, skinners just make a second one and put it in also.
app devs can choose to use either "androidholo" or "defaulttheme" or something like that by adding a line in the manifest of their apps.
and any OEM added apps will also probably be skinned.
so again im sorry to say probably not
plz correct me if im wrong on any of this i probably am.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No your right. Take Sense for an example HTC will most likely rewrite it so the default theme is still there but apps will still pull from the HTC resource file. This will really only effect AOSP style roms and phones.
I downloaded over a dozen themes from Samsung app on my S7, but just a couple of theme change the foreground and background colors of quick settings buttons, which is all I need. But those themes also change dozens of other things which I want unchanged!
How can I create my own theme and edit fore and back colors of quick icons?
Is it also possible to change shape of such icons without rooting?
You create your own themes by learning how. Loads of links here to help you get started. https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=41820200&postcount=2
One help is better than 1 thousand words (or links).
Your post doesn't help at all, it's just a link to a hundred links.
It helps by giving you links to the info you need. We don't spoon feed here. You will have to put in your own work to figure it out.
In the end you will have to make your own theme.
"I don't know" or "I don't want to help you, it's up to you" would have been more appropriate replies and would have saved band and disk space.
If you are looking for hand holding or spoon feeding then you came to the wrong place. This is a developers forum which means no one will really help you until you help yourself first.
My post should help anyone wanting to learn how to make mods and if you really wanted to learn you'd be spending time reading those links to guides and how-tos as well as the OP of the thread they are posted in and asking more questions instead of turning your nose up at those trying to help.