Android Phone 7 Theme

[BMT]

Another easy was to get toggles to work is to overlap toggle widgets that you can skin (like Beautiful Widgets toggles) on top of the color tile image of a Desktop Visualizer widget. That's how I do some toggles and stuff, now... as opposed to changing the png's inside the app itself.

Hope this helps!

Not sure how that will fix this problem, because the icon itself isn't properly working, so it would still not have the proper picture, it's cut off a bit where the 'wifi' text is for example.

I cant find any toggle widgets that don't look horrible!

*FINAL EDIT*

I just bought extended controls widget. The extended controls one is great! it allows for transparent backgrounds and all sorts of other customizable things, such as selecting your own background! Now all I need to do is create a 1x1 size image with a blue background and I can set that as my background, voila!

 

[BMT]

Here she is. After much tweaking with the Extended Controls widget (For some reason transparency didn't work, I had to add a black border around the blue, and also make it considerably smaller than the 1x1 DV widgets...)

This is an HP Touchpad that I pretty much use exclusively for school, at least since I bought it. I store my lecture notes, assignments, and any other course material on this, thus clicking the courses on the left opens Astro file manager to the folder for that course. (If anyone knows of a better file manager that I can direct link from Desktop Visualizer Widgets, I'm definitely looking for one. The stock File manager that came with my CM7 always force closes when creating shortcuts.)

The other DV widgets open websites related to classes.

The widgets are self explanatory; but the 'Screen ON' widget overrides the 15 second screen timeout (battery savings!) to remain on indefinitely.

Lastly, I'm looking for suggestions for a clock/weather widget to use (preferably free but whatever). For all purposes, just clock and date would be fantastic. Since I have an android phone, I have weather and everything on there, but I'd like to be able to date my lecture notes without having to grab my phone and I don't really like the look of Minimalistic Text with this layout.

Thanks in advance.

 

[paulmz]

Here she is. After much tweaking with the Extended Controls widget (For some reason transparency didn't work, I had to add a black border around the blue, and also make it considerably smaller than the 1x1 DV widgets...)...

This came out very nice. I'm not sure about linking to a file manager, but I do use Folder Organizer to link just about anything to a Desktop Visualizer widget. Don't know if this would work for you. Maybe try the Lite Version to see if it does what you need.

For a clock, I have been using Make Your Clock Widget Beta for well over a year and I love it - extremely versatile. Another one that I just found but haven't played with is Ultimate Custom Clock Beta, which apparently lets you set anything as a background for the widget. This would have been extremely useful months ago. Instead, I have my clock overlapped onto a Desktop Visualizer widget as a background. Overlapping widgets is how I create my clock and a lot of toggles and notification tiles (see below). You may still want to look into this for your toggles since the icons are a bit small. Widgetsoid 2.0 lets you make the background of a toggle transparent (good for overlapping it onto a Desktop Visualizer background widget) as well as using custom icons (like MetroStation).

Overall, good work... and thanks for sharing!



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[BMT]

This came out very nice. You may still want to look into this for your toggles since the icons are a bit small. Widgetsoid 2.0 lets you make the background of a toggle transparent (good for overlapping it onto a Desktop Visualizer background widget) as well as using custom icons (like MetroStation).

Overall, good work... and thanks for sharing!

Thanks man, I appreciate it.

I'm still on the fence with ADW launcher. I can't overlap widgets using LauncherPro, it sort of 'has' that feature, but not in the way which you or I would need to use it for widgets.

Main reason is I can't get the DV tiles to properly look good using ADWlauncher.

I might look into it in the future if these toggles cause any grief (I agree they're almost ugly in size)

Thanks for the clock apps, I don't think the folder organizer is what I am looking for but Makeyourownclock Beta does look neat, I'll give it a whirl.

 

[kpm197]

hi, what calendar/agenda or memo/note widgets does anyone use with this theme?
(example- i tend to have on my screen an agenda showing the next 5 or so activities in my calendar, and i also make notes of things to do during the day that i like to have on my home screen)
thanks

 

[paulmz]

hi, what calendar/agenda or memo/note widgets does anyone use with this theme?
(example- i tend to have on my screen an agenda showing the next 5 or so activities in my calendar, and i also make notes of things to do during the day that i like to have on my home screen)
thanks

Unfortunately I never had a big use for an agenda widget, so I have not really tried any with this theme.

When I got my tablet I was running through every widget I could try, so maybe these would help:

Glass Widgets by Nicolai Buch-Andersen 50,000 downloads, 1878 ratings (4.2 avg)

Free

Pure Calendar widget (agenda) by Francois DESLANDES 50,000 downloads, 7888 ratings (4.6 avg)

 

[paulmz]

Just an FYI to people still using this "theme" and a Gmail notifier widget, I figured out a quick fix to "restore" an older version of Gmail to get the notifications to work:

Gmail Notification Fix

Of course I only tested this on my Rezound, but it should theoretically work on any Android (...right?).

Hope this helps!

 

[roywmf]

Hi paulmz

any way to help us find the right dimension for Galaxy nexus?

I keep trying but to no avail.
Am new to this so....

Regards
Roy

 

[paulmz]

Hi paulmz

any way to help us find the right dimension for Galaxy nexus?

I keep trying but to no avail.
Am new to this so....

Regards
Roy

Hello, Roy.

I have been trying for my Rezound as well. They both have the same resolution, so here is what I have come up with so far:

This is based on a layout of 5-columns by 8-rows with no notification bar or dock:

Widths:
1- 131px
2- 275px
3- 419px
4- 563px
5- 707px

Heights:
1- 146px
2- 305px
3- 464px
4- 623px
5- 782px
6- 941px
7- 1,100px
8- 1,259px

These work with Desktop Visualizer so far (I've only tried the 1x1 to date), but I haven't been able to reskin other apps/widgets yet (they don't seem to scale correctly on the HD display). So, on a high resolution, this theme will probably only work with OVERLAPPING widgets with transparent backgrounds on top of Desktop Visualizer widgets.

I don't plan on doing any other column/row arrangement, so if you need other dimensions, please do THE TEST. I tried a couple of other arrangements, though, and the spacing between widgets was not consistent. The 5x8 is the only one I've tried so far that works evenly.

It's a start. Gonna work on the rest of the icons next.

Hope this helps.

 

[Harper77]

I am really starting to like these huge icons and the way they look and thinking I might wanna try it on my Galaxy S2. But of course, I am feeling overwhelmed having never done it.

I have a wicked idea for the icons based on my fav show The Office - (have Michael as the email icon, Dwight as sms text, Pam as the phone icon, etc.

However, I don't have Photoshop.

-Do I need Photoshop to create my ideas?
-I am using Go Launcher - can the windows icons layout be done using Go Launcher?

 

[paulmz]

I am really starting to like these huge icons and the way they look and thinking I might wanna try it on my Galaxy S2. But of course, I am feeling overwhelmed having never done it.

I have a wicked idea for the icons based on my fav show The Office - (have Michael as the email icon, Dwight as sms text, Pam as the phone icon, etc.

However, I don't have Photoshop.

-Do I need Photoshop to create my ideas?
-I am using Go Launcher - can the windows icons layout be done using Go Launcher?

Although it is a bit easier with Photoshop, GIMP is a great free alternative to Photoshop.

I tried Go Launcher once... but I didn't really like it. If you feel the need to use Go Launcher, try THE TEST and we'll figure it out.

 

[CyberWolf1994]

Hate to be a bother, but would someone be as kind as to post the pixel dimensions for a resolution of 480 x 800 with ADW launcher, dock OFF and status bar ON?

Tried looking through the thread but couldn't really find them, Thanks in advance

 

[paulmz]

Hate to be a bother, but would someone be as kind as to post the pixel dimensions for a resolution of 480 x 800 with ADW launcher, dock OFF and status bar ON?

Tried looking through the thread but couldn't really find them, Thanks in advance

Please go to page-1/post-1 of this thread. At the bottom of the list of available dimensions there is a link to a post which shows a test to run to get the dimensions. Post your full-sized screenshot after and we'll help you figure it out.

 

[CyberWolf1994]

Post your full-sized screenshot after and we'll help you figure it out.

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

That should do it

 

[paulmz]

...That should do it

Give this a try:

Widths:
1- 109px
2- 229px
3- 349px
4- 469px

Heights:
1- 141px
2- 292px
3- 443px
4- 594px
5- 745px

You may not notice it, but apparently there is an 11-pixel horizontal gap and the standard 10-pixel vertical gap between widgets. Therefore, you may not get symmetrical spacing between widgets.

Now, if you didn't do this already you will need to do the test again, but make sure that you have "auto-fit" or "auto-stretch" widgets set in your launcher's settings. That could be causing the inconsistent gaps.

Hope this helps.

 

[CyberWolf1994]

Give this a try:

Widths:
1- 109px
2- 229px
3- 349px
4- 469px

Heights:
1- 141px
2- 292px
3- 443px
4- 594px
5- 745px

You may not notice it, but apparently there is an 11-pixel horizontal gap and the standard 10-pixel vertical gap between widgets. Therefore, you may not get symmetrical spacing between widgets.

Now, if you didn't do this already you will need to do the test again, but make sure that you have "auto-fit" or "auto-stretch" widgets set in your launcher's settings. That could be causing the inconsistent gaps.

Hope this helps.

I decided to give it a shot earlier myself and got the same dimensions and have been messing with them for a while. This is basically the result I'm getting:



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

If you look closely, there's a bit of an alignment problem

Well, i made sure the auto-stretch option was checked and did the test again:



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

[paulmz]

...Well, i made sure the auto-stretch option was checked and did the test again:...

Apparently checking that option didn't help any... sorry, the dimensions ended up the same. The only other thing that I can think of is, if you're using the desktop indicator, locate it at the bottom. ADW already attributes any difference in vertical space at the bottom, which means it already has space to spare for the indicator. If you put it at the top, it shifts everything down to compensate. Otherwise, I can't think of any reason that it would be off by 1-pixel.

Unfortunately, being off by just 1-pixel doesn't make for an easy fix. You may have to just live with it. You could also try to take the full vertical height for the widget, but leave the top blank by 1-pixel and save as a PNG with transparency (ie: if the widget is 141px-high, put a 140px-high image in it and leave a 1px-high space at the top or bottom).

Hope this helps. Let me know how it turns out.

 

[CyberWolf1994]

Apparently checking that option didn't help any... sorry, the dimensions ended up the same. The only other thing that I can think of is, if you're using the desktop indicator, locate it at the bottom. ADW already attributes any difference in vertical space at the bottom, which means it already has space to spare for the indicator. If you put it at the top, it shifts everything down to compensate. Otherwise, I can't think of any reason that it would be off by 1-pixel.

Unfortunately, being off by just 1-pixel doesn't make for an easy fix. You may have to just live with it. You could also try to take the full vertical height for the widget, but leave the top blank by 1-pixel and save as a PNG with transparency (ie: if the widget is 141px-high, put a 140px-high image in it and leave a 1px-high space at the top or bottom).

Hope this helps. Let me know how it turns out.

Okay i tried a bunch of things, but didn't get any better, the alignment was still slightly messy. So i decided to ditch the status bar and go with the adw setup you had/have (6 rows, 4 columns etc..)
used the pixel sizes you suggested and heres the result:



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Well.... it's really well aligned and stuff, except for a few tiny problems. I guess i COULD live with them (damn you OCD) but I noticed yours didnt have the same issue. So that makes me wonder, is there something im missing or something? :/

 

[Harper77]

Ok everyone - here is my first attempt at this and feel free to lend any words of wisdom. I used Go Launcher so not sure how it looks but here it is.

Besides designing my own little icons, which I have not attempted as of yet - is there a link somewhere where someone has already pre-made icon tiles?

 

[paulmz]

Okay i tried a bunch of things, but didn't get any better, the alignment was still slightly messy. So i decided to ditch the status bar and go with the adw setup you had/have (6 rows, 4 columns etc..)
used the pixel sizes you suggested and heres the result:...

Well.... it's really well aligned and stuff, except for a few tiny problems. I guess i COULD live with them (damn you OCD) but I noticed yours didnt have the same issue. So that makes me wonder, is there something im missing or something? :/

I have absolutely no idea. I just got a new Rezound and am having similar problems. Nothing lines up perfect no matter what I do.

Maybe try running the test with the red/yellow lines again to see if the pixel dimensions I use are accurate. Also, if you haven't rebooted or anything, try just resetting ADW Launcher (it's at the bottom of the main screen of settings). I had a problem where I would drag an icon from one screen to the next, and it would actually change sizes between the two screens. After I reset ADW, at least that problem was fixed.

I don't know why this has been difficult lately. But, I'm persistent. I'll figure it out eventually.

 

[paulmz]

Ok everyone - here is my first attempt at this and feel free to lend any words of wisdom. I used Go Launcher so not sure how it looks but here it is.

Besides designing my own little icons, which I have not attempted as of yet - is there a link somewhere where someone has already pre-made icon tiles?

Dude, that's crazy. I'm assuming that you mean to have everything arranged like that with overlaps and such?

 

[sentientbeing]

Thanks, for this kind of useful Post.

 

[CyberWolf1994]

I have absolutely no idea. I just got a new Rezound and am having similar problems. Nothing lines up perfect no matter what I do.

Maybe try running the test with the red/yellow lines again to see if the pixel dimensions I use are accurate. Also, if you haven't rebooted or anything, try just resetting ADW Launcher (it's at the bottom of the main screen of settings). I had a problem where I would drag an icon from one screen to the next, and it would actually change sizes between the two screens. After I reset ADW, at least that problem was fixed.

I don't know why this has been difficult lately. But, I'm persistent. I'll figure it out eventually.

Tried that, didn't help. I'll just make the lazy man's excuse that its a launcher problem

Thanks for all your help, really appreciate it and hope you find a fix

 

[Harper77]

Dude, that's crazy. I'm assuming that you mean to have everything arranged like that with overlaps and such?

U really like that?

I honestly have no clue what I am doing - the icons are from XDA - was just messing around with the way it looks and came up with that.

Any idea where I can find more icons?

I tried using Gimp to design my own after inspiration from the show The Office - USA version - but wow very time consuming to start from scratch, esp when doing this while working lol!

 

[tsmvengy]

Ok everyone - here is my first attempt at this and feel free to lend any words of wisdom. I used Go Launcher so not sure how it looks but here it is.

Besides designing my own little icons, which I have not attempted as of yet - is there a link somewhere where someone has already pre-made icon tiles?

Looks like you might need to use different image dimensions since you're using Go Launcher:
http://androidforums.com/android-themes/199936-android-phone-7-theme-27.html#post3356002