[App] Inverted (white text/black background) Htc Messaging Application - Mms.apk

Okay guys, at the suggestion/request of Konikub, who was told this couldn't be done, I, "Team LoneWolf" , decided to crack open the stock HTC Messaging application (Mms.apk), in order to investigate the possibility of inverting / applying a "dark theme" to the application.

It seems this has not been done before, and upon initial investigation, I can see why. Many of the HTC Sense applications share common resources (themes, styles, icons, etc), stored in com.htc.resources.apk. So, if you attempt to modify something used by Mms.apk, but stored in com.htc.resources.apk, you are going to unwittingly modify the appearance of other applications, and if other corresponding elements are not adjusted in those applications as well, you are going to have problems.

So, things that are "challenging" are the things I like to try and tackle, and inverting this application was a tough cookie, requiring extensive edits, in some cases to "undo" references to items stored / defined in com.htc.resources.apk, and rather, make them stand alone directly within Mms.apk. This required major edits to XML, Styles, Colors, local .pngs, and Smali/Java code. You wouldn't think simply themeing an app would require all of this, but Mms.apk did.

Essentially, what this mod has done, for the most part, is flip most text that was black, and made it white, and most backgrounds that were white, and made them black (inverted), giving you a bit more visual interest, as opposed to the stock "white" look.

For those running a dark theme on their phone, who prefer to use the stock messaging app (I use Handcent, lol), this should fit the bill nicely. Again, thanks to Koni-man for the "nudge" / "coaxing" to take a look at this.

Screen Shots:




Flash the attached (HtcMms.zip) via recovery. Also, let me know if I missed anything. It is certainly possible, as there are so many menu options / tasks that can be done, that I may have overlooked.

EDIT: MetaMorphs attachments added (morph_*.zip), to modify the default 'tap to compose' area from gray (shown in screen caps above), to black (screen capture), and another to return the application icon in the app drawer to stock color. DO NOT ATTEMPT to flash these. They must be applied using MetaMorph, AFTER you FIRST flash from recovery the original mod (HtcMms.zip). After applying using MetaMorph, you will need to, at a minimum, issue a Hot Restart, for the application to re-appear in the app drawer. It will disappear after applying the MetaMorph, and re-appear after a restart.

jeffsanace said:

I have to throw a thank you to Koni for the little nudge as well.

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Indeed, he's a good guy. Honestly, if someone else came to me for help on this one, especially since I use Handcent (currently, I may switch now too!), I probably would have ignored the request. But, I always like to help Koni out when possible .

TMartin03 said:

You never cease to amazing us . Do you know if we can get conversation bubbles inside each conversation?? That was something I was about to PM you about.

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Thanks. Hmmm, bubbles, that would be cool to pull off in the stock Mms as well. Maybe I'll see what it may entail. Probably pretty tough to pull off though...

pzvv said:

Very sweet I am downloading now

Might you be able to customie other apps like this? Like making the stock HTC music app and People app all black. That would make Sense even more epic.

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Probably. It's just a matter of investing/finding the time to do so. Things like this can take many hours/days to pull off...

chillenandy321 said:

Just flashed I like but needs a few details.

1. It changes the message icon at the top notification bar default.
2. Make the "Tap to Compose" section black with white like the rest.
3. Make the main message icon default color not blacked out.

Other than that very good work!!

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Lol, I made it they way you described, since that's how I like it. If you have other preferences, have at it ;-) Those are simple personal preference tweaks.


Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

raiden89 said:

Wow, JS. Nice. I want to use this, but question. Does this include any of the mods that were put into it from Calkulin. More specifically, the compression fix and 5MB limit fix. It's fine if it doesn't. They're just good to have.

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I modded this from a stock Mms.apk. I'm not familiar with the details of the mods Calkulin did, but I assumed they were to the framework, as opposed directly to the .apk. I'll have to look, as, honestly, until now, I've never really used the HTC Messaging app.

BTW, I'll probably knock out a few MetaMorphs shortly, with some "other" preferences, such as the mentioned black "tap to compose" area. I did it that way initially, but didn't like it. It looked like too much black to me and made it hard to differentiate the compose versus non-compose areas. I'll probably also do a MM to restore the stock application icon. I wanted to darken it to denote it is a changed / darkened version of the app.

Okay, FYI, I've attached 2 MetaMorphs to the end of the OP based on preference.

The first MetaMorph will change the "tap to compose" area from the modded gray in the OP, to black for those who prefer it, as shown below:



The second MetaMorph simply returns the application icon in the app drawer to stock white.

Note, after applying using MetaMorph, you will need to, at a minimum, issue a Hot Restart, for the application to re-appear in the app drawer. It will disappear after applying the MetaMorph, and re-appear after a restart.