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Root Attempting to Learn, Help Appreciated

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xenotype

Newbie
So about a month ago I got my first android phone (droid X). I was content with it, fascinated by all the things it could do until I stumbled upon this website. After seeing all the themes and other customizations that people have created I have to say I was no longer happy with my droid and I wish I hadn't come across this website, because I am now never satisfied with how it looks :).

Some of you can probably understand where I am coming from. I went through the phase of downloading all the apps I could find, and moved on to downloading all the icon sets and wallpapers and such. I find myself now more intrigued by the guts of the whole theming and ROM operation, framework and .apks I guess are what are being modified.

I just broke my pelvis in a skiing accident so I have a lot of downtime coming up. I want to make use of my time instead of wasting it on the television so I would like to learn how android works and how to create themes.

I have photoshop experience but am a bit rusty, that is the easy part and will come back with time. I have no background in coding or programming other than a very cursory knowledge, but am a quick learner.

Basically what I am looking for is someone to point me in the direction of some guides/tutorials/information or personal suggestions to help me get started. I posted this here because it seems like the friendliest of all the forums I have visited.

Thanks a bunch --Justin/xeno


PS. I have rooted and am running Liberty 1.5 on the DX, so I know how to use the basic functions of clockwork
 
http://androidforums.com/droid-x-all-things-root/246462-theme-help-tutorial.html
http://androidforums.com/droid-x-al...-zip-file-change-clock-wifi-signal-icons.html
Check those threads out. I have found that its best to open up a theme using 7-zip after renaming the framework-res.apk to .zip and then seeing what's inside. Most of your icons are going to be in res/drawable-hdpi. Faber goes in depth in his tutorial about different things. A lot of the text stuff is in xml formats. Good luck and keep asking questions.
 
You have the two most important things; time and interest.
Get well.
And you're right, this forum is great.
Do some searching, ask when you get stumped.
 
Thanks guys, I've been reading through the material you linked and more. Honestly theres so much involved it is kind of intimidating, don't really know where to start. Probably doesnt help that I usually work on this stuff late at night and that I use my phone most of the day and am aprehensive of having to SBF and set everything back up everytime I test something and it fails.

Might hold off until I can get my hands on another device or just grow the balls to go through with it.

On another note, Someone could make a killing if they designed a GUI which would automate the whole process. Create your images drag and drop, select menu/text colors/fonts, click go -- pop out comes your .zip. Wishful thinking but I would pay for it.
 
there is a guy who has a site that does changes on here somewhere, ive never used it.
hopefully someone can post a link.

i wouldnt panic to much. ive sbf'd maybe 5 times and ive really, really dug in to a lot of stuff. basic changes are gonna be easy once you know where everything goes.

my tutorial touches on some more complicated things that you may get in to as you go deeper in order to help you on through them.

it takes me from total brick to phone back up and running (not including apps getting freshly downloaded automatically again from the market) maybe 45 min. to sbf.
but i know how, the first time it was scary and took a bit. most important thing to remember is HAVE YOUR PHONE CHARGED when you really get to messing around in case things go down hill.

you could relatively start small and safe if you wanted.

for example;

find two themes that are approved for your rom or whatever you are running.
then find an aspect of one that you want with the other. say for example you like the dialers looks better on one, but the theme better on the other.
- open both inside 7 zip, go in to the apps folder (take some time and look around through the themes and find folders), then drag drop the phone.apk and contacts.apk from the theme you want the dialer in straight over to the same location in the theme you want to keep. close 7zip and accept any changes. flash theme.
you have a new dialer in the other theme. pretty easy once you do it.
just remember to use themes approved for whatever you are running.

anyway, if your gonna go deep in to it; i dont blame you for worrying a bit, but its not as bad as you might think. really just takes time to learn. basic things usually go well if done right.
 
xenotype said:
Thanks guys, I've been reading through the material you linked and more. Honestly theres so much involved it is kind of intimidating, don't really know where to start. Probably doesnt help that I usually work on this stuff late at night and that I use my phone most of the day and am aprehensive of having to SBF and set everything back up everytime I test something and it fails.
Click to expand...

With a nandroid backup made in clockwork you will always be able to put your phone back exactly how it was when you made the backup even if you have to SBF.. no setup required aside from re-rooting (Z4 makes this very easy) and installing bootstrapper..
 
xenotype said:
I guess I will continue using this thread for my questions so as to not clutter the forums and to make it an easy reference point for myself.

Will this mod: [MOD][11th-Feb] ★ Super Circle Battery with % ★ Version A-N & Z (Custom) ★ Desire ROM - xda-developers work with my Liberty 1.5 Rom? I am currently using the Revolution Theme out of the Liberty Toolbox.
Click to expand...
im unsure, hopefully someone who knows will answer.
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my way of installing it would be to download it, open it up in 7zip, copy all the icons to a new folder, then open up a theme i wanted it in and rename appropriate files to match the already existant theme named battery icon files, then drag drop them in so they overwrite the old. then add the two battery .xml's found with them from somewhere that already has a circle bat. or if they exist in the original download; from there.
then throw on sd card, boot, and test.

you may find in the course of doing that, that the download has say 1% increments where your theme they are going in to have only 10% or whatever; the end result being to utilize the appropriate fitting new icons so it functions correctly (may depend on which .xml are being used) by renaming them to match the originals in the theme, as needed.
 
Awesome! I've been playing around with 7-zip and roaming through the frameworks of different themes from different roms just to see how everything it layed out and the differences between them. Starting to figure out the hierarchy of the folders.

Another Question:

I just dropped a bunch of icons and docks on my SD card for use with Desktop Visualizer and Folder Organizer and LP Pro. Unfortunately, when it asks you to choose a .png using the Gallery, all folder hierarchy is gone. My gallery is now cluttered with close to 500 folders. Is there a way to remedy this. I can use andExplorer just fine in Desktop Visualizer to get to the files easily with hierarchy but I dont get to see the preview that way until I select it.

I would love to know how to arrange my Gallery hierarchically. I have done forum searches but I am obviously not entering the correct search strings to find what I need.
 
No one knows how to get hierarchical/nested folders in gallery?

Being able to use File Manager or File Expert when trying to change launcher pro docks and dock icons instead of the gallery would be a legitimate substitute as well. Is there a way to get those programs to appear in the popup window asking you which program to use?
 
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