I am aware that there are other ways to edit the fonts on our phone, by replacing renaming the default font. This is NOT what I would like to accomplish.
Since the Galaxy S is the first android phone to use Flipfont, I think we should take advantage of it. It gives us a nice preview of the font in the built in menu option and is thus superior to the other methods.
I originally purchased the Bauhaus font from the market and made a backup of it through ASTRO. After pulling the file from my phone and putting it on the computer I started editing the file with Apk Manager 4.8 found here
Steps preformed
Copied original apk into place-apk-here-for-modding folder
Run script.bat and choose option 9 ***this maybe where the issue is as I may need to choose option 10 and include the dependancy if there is one for the flipfont apk.
replace bauhaus.ttf with a .ttf font of my choosing
edit all XML, yml and smali files to include the font name or font.ttf depending on the entry in the original file *** I did not change any of the other coding so again this maybe where the problem is, as I may need to change something else to have the font act properly.
Edit the last folder name in the smali folder tree from bauhaus to the name of my font
Replace font with custom font and replace the preview image with my own
Compile apk
Sign apk
Rename apk
install apk on my phone
After putting the apk on my phone and installing the file it shows up as expected in settings>Sound and Display>Font style. The font thumbnail shows up properly as does the font preview. The preview does show up a little larger then the other fonts and may be a sign that the font is not optimized properly or that I missed something in the XML.
After applying the font and restarting, the phone is extremely slow and the font does not show up, it shows the default font instead.
If anyone that knows more about XML or apk editing/creation can help it would be great.
I have included the edited font apk if you would like to download it and run it through Apk Manager 4.8. If you want to try it with the bauhaus or one of the other fonts you will need to buy it from the market and back it up. (trying not to break any rules here.)
CAUTION THE FOLLOWING FILE IS NOT MEANT FOR USE AND WILL CAUSE YOUR PHONE TO RUN SLOW!!!
Download Font APK
here is my contribution to the fonts package. I find these to be usable fonts in the Vibrant Android system.
When you wrote the apk and after installing a font, how it had slowed down the system on you and didn't change the font, well did you try writing a different font into it? i ran into a couple of fonts that said were applied using typefresh, but when the phone rebooted, it was just slow, and had gone back to the default system font.
renegadedj said:
here is my contribution to the fonts package. I find these to be usable fonts in the Vibrant Android system.
When you wrote the apk and after installing a font, how it had slowed down the system on you and didn't change the font, well did you try writing a different font into it? i ran into a couple of fonts that said were applied using typefresh, but when the phone rebooted, it was just slow, and had gone back to the default system font.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I have tried two different fonts so far, both .ttf and they both caused the system to slow down/hang when applied and restarted.
I will try some of the fonts you supplied and see if it makes a difference.
There must be something about certain fonts that causes the problem. I need to see if I can track that down as it will be important for writing the tutorial.
[EDIT][More info] Ok I took a closer look at the font that came with the Bauhaus akp
In the discription of the font it list:
OpenType Layout, Digitally Signed, TrueType Outlines
I know that opentype is a new format and that alot of the fonts for OpenType that I find are made by Monotype, the same people that make the fonts available for download. I think this may have something to do with it or maybe Im just grasping. :ºp
ritalin said:
Well I have tried two different fonts so far, both .ttf and they both caused the system to slow down/hang when applied and restarted.
I will try some of the fonts you supplied and see if it makes a difference.
There must be something about certain fonts that causes the problem. I need to see if I can track that down as it will be important for writing the tutorial.
[EDIT][More info] Ok I took a closer look at the font that came with the Bauhaus akp
In the discription of the font it list:
OpenType Layout, Digitally Signed, TrueType Outlines
I know that opentype is a new format and that alot of the fonts for OpenType that I find are made by Monotype, the same people that make the fonts available for download. I think this may have something to do with it or maybe Im just grasping. :ºp
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well you may be on to something, because TypeFresh does not allow me to see ANY OpenType Fonts (.otf) and only TrueType. :-D
Ok so I was curious and did a little test. I took the bauhaus font from the apk and opened it up in FontCreator 5. I then took on of the fonts that had previously given me an issue and opened it up as well. Then I copied all of the fonts for each key from the problematic one and replaced the fonts in bauhaus with them. I saved the file with a new name and then went through all of the steps to create the APK file.
After the file was installed, I selected it and then rebooted. HAZA, it works. Well it kinda works. The font size is way too big, and its still running slow. I have a feeling that the proformance hit is caused by the size of the font.
I am going to resize all of the letters, numbers and symbols in FontCreater and try again. Will post back with results.
Few steps forward, few steps back.
First off I will say that the font is a little hard to read and too light, but this is just for testing so its not that big a deal right now.
Ok so I got hold of a font that about the same size as the Bauhaus font. After doing everything in the above posts and installing the font, the restart was a LITTLE bit faster. It still seems to choke for about a minute or so after the desktop first appears and the pass based lock screen is sometimes unresponsive on first try. Overall its running much better, but still not perfect.
Also some words see to get clipped off for no reason as you can see in the image attached on the text for the Astro bluetooth icon. Not sure why this is happening.
After reading from articles , now more or less I got some idea on how to create a theme for a custom rom , but still there's something I don't know .
1) First , I extract files from a rom using 7zip . Then , I extract out the content of framework-res.apk and make some modifies / changes to those .png files . So , after completed those modifies , I just open archieve on the original framework-res.apk , drag and drop the one I modified to replace the original one ? After that , how do I pack it in .zip file that can be updated in open recovery ? .xml file shouldn't be modified right ?
2) What if I do this , I get a theme.zip made for the rom , and then I extract the contents of the theme.zip using 7zip , then again I modify the .png files and after completed , I packed it again by open archieve on the original theme.zip , drag and drop the one I modified to replace the original one ? Does this works ?
3) What if I modify other system apps such as calender.apk ? Using the same method , extract , modify , drag and drop , replace , then again how do I pack it in .zip file that can be updated in open recovery ? Is there any "bond" between those system apps and framework-res.apk ? Can I just modify anyone of both ? Or I have to modify both system apps and framework-res.apk to get it works ?
Thanks
nikctsh said:
After reading from articles , now more or less I got some idea on how to create a theme for a custom rom , but still there's something I don't know .
1) First , I extract files from a rom using 7zip . Then , I extract out the content of framework-res.apk and make some modifies / changes to those .png files . So , after completed those modifies , I just open archieve on the original framework-res.apk , drag and drop the one I modified to replace the original one ? After that , how do I pack it in .zip file that can be updated in open recovery ? .xml file shouldn't be modified right ?
2) What if I do this , I get a theme.zip made for the rom , and then I extract the contents of the theme.zip using 7zip , then again I modify the .png files and after completed , I packed it again by open archieve on the original theme.zip , drag and drop the one I modified to replace the original one ? Does this works ?
3) What if I modify other system apps such as calender.apk ? Using the same method , extract , modify , drag and drop , replace , then again how do I pack it in .zip file that can be updated in open recovery ? Is there any "bond" between those system apps and framework-res.apk ? Can I just modify anyone of both ? Or I have to modify both system apps and framework-res.apk to get it works ?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's what I know so far. I'm still trying to learn as much as I can:
1) If you are making a theme by trying to replace pngs in an existing framework-res.apk file, you can do this: open the apk file within your zip program, and edit the apk there (so you'll have two zip windows open. Once the apk is updated, close the most recent zip window. The first zip window should recognize that you've updated the apk file, and ask you to update the first zip window.
I've been playing around with this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1432152
What it allows you to do is modify the files in Windows Explorer (or whatever file explorer you're using), and then let the script do the rest of the work for you. The actions it can do are: decompile apk, recompile apk, sign apk, created update.zip.
The xml files need to be edited if you want to achieve certain effects. For example, in the Gingerbread theme there are some edits that have to be made to a few xml files in order to achieve white text on black backgrounds on the popup menus. The nice thing about the framework flasher link from above is that it 'compiles' the files (meaning it will check if the .9.pngs are correct, and if your xml files point to correct assets), so you can go about doing xml edits and stuff without fear of bootlooping.
2) Yes, this should work.
3) If the updater script is a generic script (that is, it moves everything from the /system folder to /system, and /data to /data), then you can create directories in the update.zip that refer to whatever apk you want to replace, with the same structure as in Android. The cool thing about Metamorph, from what I gather, is that you can create folder structures with just the assets you want to replace, rather than the entire apk. This means that if you want to replace just a few images in Phone.apk, for example, you create a directory in the Metamorph script under /system/app/Phone/res/drawable-hdpi and add the images you want to replace in there. I think that's the way I want to create my themes from now on, I just need to figure out how to do it correctly
I tried the framework flasher , after located the framework-res.apk and run RunMe , it shows echo is off , the log process shows 'java' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
Do you have Java installed?
Mioze7Ae said:
Do you have Java installed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No , I have no Java installed . Tried to install before but couldn't get the right version .
Java
I've yet to find one all inclusive theming reference. Just a lot of searching & reading & trial & error. This might be a good place to get started.
Edit: You'll also want to get the Android SDK
3rdstring said:
Java
I've yet to find one all inclusive theming reference. Just a lot of searching & reading & trial & error. This might be a good place to get started.
Edit: You'll also want to get the Android SDK
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
BTW , since I'm still too new to theming , I'm thinking of making my first step by changing the colour of a completed theme . This is what I'm currently doing : I extracted the files content of your DarkFroyo.zip and then extracted it's framework-res.apk . ( IT'S YOUR THEME , CAN YOU GIVE ME THE PERMISSION TO DO THIS ? ) I'm changing the original orange colour of all those icon to light pink using photoshop , then replace the original one . The files type are .png . Also , I changed the battery status icon and status bar background . However , I haven't touch those .xml files , I just leave it there . So after I complete , do I just flash it right away in my phone or I need to doing something like "sign" ? As for now , I don't have any idea about "sign" .
nikctsh said:
BTW , since I'm still too new to theming , I'm thinking of making my first step by changing the colour of a completed theme . This is what I'm currently doing : I extracted the files content of your DarkFroyo.zip and then extracted it's framework-res.apk . ( IT'S YOUR THEME , CAN YOU GIVE ME THE PERMISSION TO DO THIS ? ) I'm changing the original orange colour of all those icon to light pink using photoshop , then replace the original one . The files type are .png . Also , I changed the battery status icon and status bar background . However , I haven't touch those .xml files , I just leave it there . So after I complete , do I just flash it right away in my phone or I need to doing something like "sign" ? As for now , I don't have any idea about "sign" .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Changing the color in Photoshop is fine for normal ".png"s but ".9.png"s are special, they have a 1 pixel border with guides that define how they are stretched to fill a space (& are only visible is a decompiled state). Just editing a .9.png in Photoshop might break the .9 patch. Since you are trying to modify my theme it might also be wise to grab the "undo.zip" so if (when) something you try bootloops the phone you can flash the undo to get back to stock. I know had numerous bootloops when I was first starting out (still do occasionally).
3rdstring said:
Changing the color in Photoshop is fine for normal ".png"s but ".9.png"s are special, they have a 1 pixel border with guides that define how they are stretched to fill a space (& are only visible is a decompiled state). Just editing a .9.png in Photoshop might break the .9 patch. Since you are trying to modify my theme it might also be wise to grab the "undo.zip" so if (when) something you try bootloops the phone you can flash the undo to get back to stock. I know had numerous bootloops when I was first starting out (still do occasionally).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey 3rdstring. I noticed you release a new version of your theme for the ODEXED version of CM6. For APKs that have ODEX files (such as Phone), are you deodexing them using apktool, then reodexing them? A brief pointer would be nice!
molohov said:
Hey 3rdstring. I noticed you release a new version of your theme for the ODEXED version of CM6. For APKs that have ODEX files (such as Phone), are you deodexing them using apktool, then reodexing them? A brief pointer would be nice!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No the only thing I'm changing in any of the odexed apks are images. I use a Metamorph file with ZipThemer to build the update.zip (& undo) after I've decompiled / recomfiled framework-res for the white menu text & 10% battery increments.
3rdstring said:
No the only thing I'm changing in any of the odexed apks are images. I use a Metamorph file with ZipThemer to build the update.zip (& undo) after I've decompiled / recomfiled framework-res for the white menu text & 10% battery increments.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The reason I ask is b/c I tried pushing a modified Phone.apk to CM6, but it didn't pick up any of the changes I added (images only). It made me think that the assets were already prebuilt in the odex file, so changing the apk wouldn't do anything unless the odex file was changed too.
I also tried applying a metamorph script on top of the odex ROM, but it caused a lot of fcs. I think it's b/c of the ODEXing too.
EDIT: My bad. Phone.apk is the calling screen, Contacts.apk is the dialer + contacts. DOH!!!
My edits are pushed correctly
Hello. I'm using a Galaxy Y and no one there from the boards seems to know exactly how this stuff works so I thought I'd ask here. So I've picked a few icons from the Galaxy Ace which I think would look briliant and I thought I'd try replacing only the png files instead of downloading the apk file, replacing the icons with 7zip and such, signing (if needed?) and then sending back.
I'm asking how this works because I've stumbled upon a flashable zip which seems to only replace png's inside the apk files instead of replacing the whole apk file.
Here is an example of what I'm talking about:
http://www.mediafire.com/?xycxo8vvvwqr29t
^ I saw some apkreplacer file in there.
Now I removed all the icons there and only left the ones I want to use and I also edited the Icon.sh file and left out only the lines for the icons that I want to be replaced. Saved, signed, flashed, no changes. (Tried both CWM and stock Recovery)
Any tips on how to do this? All I want is the Touchwiz blue icon changed, the Phone icon and the SMS/MMS.
I tried installing a new flip font apk on the phone but it is not showing on the list of fonts to change it to. Is there something I am missing to get this to work? Thanks
vince2398 said:
I tried installing a new flip font apk on the phone but it is not showing on the list of fonts to change it to. Is there something I am missing to get this to work? Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me clarify:
You installed a font changing .apk, and can't find it in the system settings>display>font type?
If that is the case, it wouldn't show up there because the .apk you installed should be in your app drawer, you would use that app the change your fonts instead of the system menu.
Or you put a font .ttf/.otf in the system/font folder and it doesn't show in the list?
If it is this one, I have a bunch in that folder that don't show up in the list either, it seems it only picks the stock fonts to display.
If you have tried using the font changing .apk to change the font and it isn't working, my guess is because LG lets you choose between multiple fonts it isn't using the default Android system font name (I don't remember the name off the top of my head) but instead using one of the custom font names.
If you want to change it yourself, you could try to replace the font you currently have the settings set to in the system/font folder with one of your choice (rename the stock font with a .bak at the end and rename the new font the same name as the old font, then make sure it is the same font your settings are set to).
All this is just speculation though, LG may have implemented the custom fonts differently, but I know they are in that system/font folder, so I think it could work. This is assuming you are rooted of course.
does anyone have detailed information about showing custom fonts in native font menu
So I have a Redmi Note 4 with Cardinal-AOSP ROM based on Android 8.0 installed. Now I am trying to change font using TypeFace app on Play Store using root method. It is able to change font successfully but I get a weird ? on lockscreen in place of : (using slade 27px font, but happens with almost all non-roboto fonts). So I reverted back to Roboto font using flashable zip and the : was back. So I modified the zip containing original font files and just created a copy of each ttf file and renamed it to <filename>Fallback.ttf. In other words, I added Fallback font files to /system/fonts for each Roboto font. After flashing the zip, I tried applying another font using typeface but faced the same issue of ? character. Does anyone have any idea why I am facing this issue even when I have added Fallback font files?? Note that I already tried flashing the unsupported font file form here which I got from this thread: https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/themes/fonts-flashable-zips-t3219827 but it didn't solve anything.. I have also attached the modified zip file which I created by adding Fallback fonts..