[TUT] Modify your E-mail tab (CHT 1.8.5)

Search This thread

Doodkapje

Member
Apr 19, 2010
18
1
First, I have to credit and thank the creators of CHT 1.8.5. Hands down for the masters and thank you for making the HD2 much more enjoyable. Thanks to brent372 for the tip on Total Commander.
Inspirational support (does that exist? Yah, from today on it does) came from snowblindman2142, conantroutman and Paten from the today screen topic.

We are going to tweak this white background and the text:
SS1.jpg


Prior to editing I would advise you to copy all your manila files from your \window root and save it in a folder in which you do not edit your files. If you mess up or are fed up with your adapted manila files, you can alwas revert to the old ones.

Things we’re going to do:
Extract stuff
Edit stuff
Upload stuff

Programs we’ll need:
Image editing software
CFC GUI (to extract/convert manila files; can also do this with m9editor)
M9editor (to adapt XML-parameters)
Total Commander CE (to place manila files back into your \windows root of your HD2)

These programs are part of the Manila Kitchen http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=528548.
Total Commander CE is freeware and can be found at http://www.ghisler.com/ce.htm

Extract stuff:

-Backing up files and make a work-file
So let’s say you make a backup file called D:\OML\ and D:\AML\ (original manila list and adapted manila list, respectively). Copy all the manila files from your device you can find :). You don’t touch the OML-file EVER unless you want the old file. Instead we are going to use the AML-file in CFC GUI and m9editor. Make an additional folder D:\AML\PNG\ for the edited images.

-Load work list in CFC GUI
Start CFC GUI and click File > Select folder. Select D:\AML\
The program now displays a list of manila files on the left side and scroll down till you find 32820efc_manila. Select and then click on “Save as…” in the lower right corner. Now, save this as 32820efc_manila.png in the D:\AML\PNG\ folder.

Edit stuff:

-Edit your mail background
Basically you need the plain ‘white note’ with the two lines as a template for the upper box (name of the sender, date and subject), body text, and lower box (account name and mailcount). For simplicity’s sake, we just let the position of the text in these boxes in the same place. If you want to, you can change the positions using mode9, but this takes a higher level of extreme geeking.

In this case we use Photoshop CS2 and I use a simple three-bubble layout. I won’t go into much detail about designing your lay-out, just a way to keep the correct boundaries for the texts in those three areas.
Open D:\AML\PNG\32820efc_manila.png and you will see the white note. Let’s put up some horizontal guides:
1. make a new guide and tick horizontal and place them at, say, 2 cm
2 and 3. use the selector tool to move the guides over the lines
Mail_01.jpg


Now go frenzy on your design; mine is just dark blue for the top and bottom bubble and a light background for the body text in the middle big bubble.
Mail_02.jpg


Save your file with the same name (you can always get the old one from the back-up file) and go back to CFC GUI. Select again 32820efc_manila in the list on the left and now click on “Replace with…” Select your adapted file in the D:\AML\PNG\ folder and you’ll see the background has changed. Hoorah… Now click on “Pad”
Copy this new 32820efc_manila from your D:\AML\ folder to your SD-card of your HD2. Startup Total Commander and copy it to your \windows root folder. Restart your device and you should end up with this:
SS2.jpg


…but the black characters on a dark background are hard to read, so let’s change the font color.

-Edit your mail font color
To change these parameters we use m9editor. Open it and probably you’ll get an error. Just click “Ok” and when asked for work paths fill in D:\AML\

You’ll see it resembles CFC GUI, but in here you can also edit mode9 files. The parameters we have to change are in 3da9711b_manila so double click on it in the list.
You will see a tree opening in the upper panel. Now expand D:\AML\3da9711b_manila > movie > library manager > library and expand the fifth <character…>

Now take a look in the picture below what we have to change:
m9_01.jpg


If you’re a bit of a programmer the Instance Names give away what object controls which text line so for instance <Property> Name=Instance Name Value=“SenderText” controls the parameters for the name of the sender (selected in picture above). We also have to repeat this for the other four lines (date, subject, account name and mail count)

So let’s change the RGB values for this one to make it more visible. Let’s change this in white and the RGB codes are 255,255,255 for white (look it up on the internet or in Photoshop).
m9_02.jpg


Once you’ve clicked ok, you can move to the next line. When finished editing, save your manila file (you might need to remove your old manila file, since it’s read-only).

As mentioned earlier, copy the D:\AML\3da9711b_manila to your SD card and with Total Commander to your \windows root. Reboot device and your mail now should look like this:
SS3.jpg



Happy editing!

=====

UPDATE August 23rd, 2010

You can edit the landscape view by adapting 0656d327_manila the same way (Thanks to mickael91210!)
http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=7759297&postcount=38
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: BHS Interceptor

Paten

Senior Member
Apr 16, 2010
638
38
Tampa, FL
Good Job!

For those people who don't have Photoshop, I use Gimp, which is free, to edit my image files. I'm no expert in creating any designs but for simple things it gets the job done for me.
 

snowblind2142

Senior Member
Jan 20, 2010
1,326
316
Manchester
Aww.. Im Flattered =]

I'm Glad this thread has opened as I'm sure plenty of people will want to jazz up their mail tab!

Great Tutorial!

Cant wait to see what people come up with!

Don't forget to post your screens! :D

Thanks again for the mention Doodkapje ;)

Wouldn't of had my awesome mailtab with out conantroutman & Paten, Thanks again lad's :)

Here's my mail tab to get you started ------>

attachment.php


Have fun Peeps! :cool:
 
Last edited:

conantroutman

Retired Senior Moderator - XDA Portal Team
Dec 10, 2009
14,182
7,374
I'm Glad this thread has opened as I'm sure plenty of people will want to jazz up their mail tab!

Great Tutorial!

Cant wait to see what people come up with!

Don't forget to post your screens! :D

Thanks again for the mention Doodkapje ;)

Wouldn't of had my awesome mailtab with out conantroutman & Paten, Thanks again lad's :)

Here's my mail tab to get you started ------>


Have fun Peeps! :cool:

You might want to swap that screenshot for a new one....... with Green Tab Names.... :D it will change all the tabs btw......

Doodkapje, I'll post the manila mode9 file for changing the tab titles in case you want to include that in your tutorial.....
Its just a case of opening up the file tree and changing the two colour values to whatever you want..

Thanks to poyensa and paten for that one :D
 

Attachments

  • 3a8e04af_manila.zip
    4.5 KB · Views: 47

rterblanche

Member
Apr 30, 2008
18
1
Can somebody add a delete button or option in the E-Mail Tab menu. That is my only mod I am hoping somebody will find a solution for at the moment.

Like deleting spam without having to open the inbox.
 

Doodkapje

Member
Apr 19, 2010
18
1
You might want to swap that screenshot for a new one....... with Green Tab Names.... :D it will change all the tabs btw......

Doodkapje, I'll post the manila mode9 file for changing the tab titles in case you want to include that in your tutorial.....
Its just a case of opening up the file tree and changing the two colour values to whatever you want..

Thanks to poyensa and paten for that one :D

Superb! Awesome, thanks!

Conan, I cannot find the right object that easily. I can try to look into it in more detail later or, if you wish, make a post yourself with your tutorial and I'll put a link to it in the opening post :D
 
Last edited:

snowblind2142

Senior Member
Jan 20, 2010
1,326
316
Manchester
Cheer mate! =]

You might want to swap that screenshot for a new one....... with Green Tab Names.... :D it will change all the tabs btw......

Doodkapje, I'll post the manila mode9 file for changing the tab titles in case you want to include that in your tutorial.....
Its just a case of opening up the file tree and changing the two colour values to whatever you want..

Thanks to poyensa and paten for that one :D

Spot on! Just tested, all but a couple work..

People-Green!
Messages-Geen!
Mail-Green! <--looks soo cool mow :D
Internet-White :( (might be down to a cab I use that removes all the bits around the search bar and leaves just the search window)
Calender-Green!
Stocks-Green!
Photos&Videos-Green!
Music-Green untill the album art loads then goes white.. :confused:
Twitter-Green!
Footprints-Green!
Settings-Green!

So nearly all of them :D
 

Hatefly

Senior Member
May 26, 2010
229
11
Huntington Beach
This is amazing. Prob the best TUT I have seen on this. I head read some others, but let's face it, not everyone knows how to give instructions.

Questions:

* Is there anything that has a list of all Manila files and what they do?
* Do you know of any other TUTS on Manila mods or Theme Creation? (I have a bunch of Theme Ideas i would love to try
* Any TUTs on editing task bars, soft bars, or quick links? How about Toggle switches :)

Once again, TY TY TY!
 

conantroutman

Retired Senior Moderator - XDA Portal Team
Dec 10, 2009
14,182
7,374
Medievil Mail......
:D
ScreenShot38.jpg


@snowblind.....
I didnt notice that, but I tested all the colours I did and they all do that.....
Either those tabs are affected by a different manila file or I need to add "color" values in somewhere in the file Im using.......

If I figure it out I'll let you know........
 

snowblind2142

Senior Member
Jan 20, 2010
1,326
316
Manchester
Medievil Mail......
:D
ScreenShot38.jpg


@snowblind.....
I didnt notice that, but I tested all the colours I did and they all do that.....
Either those tabs are affected by a different manila file or I need to add "color" values in somewhere in the file Im using.......

If I figure it out I'll let you know........

Cheers buddy.

Quick question, the font on your medievil mail tab, is that local to the tab or is it all over the phone?
 

conantroutman

Retired Senior Moderator - XDA Portal Team
Dec 10, 2009
14,182
7,374
Cheers buddy.

Quick question, the font on your medievil mail tab, is that local to the tab or is it all over the phone?

Its all over the phone Im afraid..........
However, from what I saw when I was changing the mode9 file there were things related to fonts. Im hoping that I might be able to assign certain fonts to certain tabs, Im not sure if it would be possible to restrict it to just one tab or if it would have to be on all (except music and internet) of them.......

I have no knowledge of programming at all so looking through those mode9 files means nothing to me, its easy enough to pick out where the colours / fonts / sizes are but I have no idea which part they relate to or where I would need to add in new values to change things.........
 

snowblind2142

Senior Member
Jan 20, 2010
1,326
316
Manchester
Its all over the phone Im afraid..........
However, from what I saw when I was changing the mode9 file there were things related to fonts. Im hoping that I might be able to assign certain fonts to certain tabs, Im not sure if it would be possible to restrict it to just one tab or if it would have to be on all (except music and internet) of them.......

I have no knowledge of programming at all so looking through those mode9 files means nothing to me, its easy enough to pick out where the colours / fonts / sizes are but I have no idea which part they relate to or where I would need to add in new values to change things.........

Shame, thought it might of been. Interesting about the mode9 files tho. Be interested in seeing what you find.

I'm just having a nosey at mode9 for the first time.. so much to figure out but hope to join you big boy's soon :D

Want to return the favor some day ;)
 

Top Liked Posts

  • There are no posts matching your filters.
  • 1
    First, I have to credit and thank the creators of CHT 1.8.5. Hands down for the masters and thank you for making the HD2 much more enjoyable. Thanks to brent372 for the tip on Total Commander.
    Inspirational support (does that exist? Yah, from today on it does) came from snowblindman2142, conantroutman and Paten from the today screen topic.

    We are going to tweak this white background and the text:
    SS1.jpg


    Prior to editing I would advise you to copy all your manila files from your \window root and save it in a folder in which you do not edit your files. If you mess up or are fed up with your adapted manila files, you can alwas revert to the old ones.

    Things we’re going to do:
    Extract stuff
    Edit stuff
    Upload stuff

    Programs we’ll need:
    Image editing software
    CFC GUI (to extract/convert manila files; can also do this with m9editor)
    M9editor (to adapt XML-parameters)
    Total Commander CE (to place manila files back into your \windows root of your HD2)

    These programs are part of the Manila Kitchen http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=528548.
    Total Commander CE is freeware and can be found at http://www.ghisler.com/ce.htm

    Extract stuff:

    -Backing up files and make a work-file
    So let’s say you make a backup file called D:\OML\ and D:\AML\ (original manila list and adapted manila list, respectively). Copy all the manila files from your device you can find :). You don’t touch the OML-file EVER unless you want the old file. Instead we are going to use the AML-file in CFC GUI and m9editor. Make an additional folder D:\AML\PNG\ for the edited images.

    -Load work list in CFC GUI
    Start CFC GUI and click File > Select folder. Select D:\AML\
    The program now displays a list of manila files on the left side and scroll down till you find 32820efc_manila. Select and then click on “Save as…” in the lower right corner. Now, save this as 32820efc_manila.png in the D:\AML\PNG\ folder.

    Edit stuff:

    -Edit your mail background
    Basically you need the plain ‘white note’ with the two lines as a template for the upper box (name of the sender, date and subject), body text, and lower box (account name and mailcount). For simplicity’s sake, we just let the position of the text in these boxes in the same place. If you want to, you can change the positions using mode9, but this takes a higher level of extreme geeking.

    In this case we use Photoshop CS2 and I use a simple three-bubble layout. I won’t go into much detail about designing your lay-out, just a way to keep the correct boundaries for the texts in those three areas.
    Open D:\AML\PNG\32820efc_manila.png and you will see the white note. Let’s put up some horizontal guides:
    1. make a new guide and tick horizontal and place them at, say, 2 cm
    2 and 3. use the selector tool to move the guides over the lines
    Mail_01.jpg


    Now go frenzy on your design; mine is just dark blue for the top and bottom bubble and a light background for the body text in the middle big bubble.
    Mail_02.jpg


    Save your file with the same name (you can always get the old one from the back-up file) and go back to CFC GUI. Select again 32820efc_manila in the list on the left and now click on “Replace with…” Select your adapted file in the D:\AML\PNG\ folder and you’ll see the background has changed. Hoorah… Now click on “Pad”
    Copy this new 32820efc_manila from your D:\AML\ folder to your SD-card of your HD2. Startup Total Commander and copy it to your \windows root folder. Restart your device and you should end up with this:
    SS2.jpg


    …but the black characters on a dark background are hard to read, so let’s change the font color.

    -Edit your mail font color
    To change these parameters we use m9editor. Open it and probably you’ll get an error. Just click “Ok” and when asked for work paths fill in D:\AML\

    You’ll see it resembles CFC GUI, but in here you can also edit mode9 files. The parameters we have to change are in 3da9711b_manila so double click on it in the list.
    You will see a tree opening in the upper panel. Now expand D:\AML\3da9711b_manila > movie > library manager > library and expand the fifth <character…>

    Now take a look in the picture below what we have to change:
    m9_01.jpg


    If you’re a bit of a programmer the Instance Names give away what object controls which text line so for instance <Property> Name=Instance Name Value=“SenderText” controls the parameters for the name of the sender (selected in picture above). We also have to repeat this for the other four lines (date, subject, account name and mail count)

    So let’s change the RGB values for this one to make it more visible. Let’s change this in white and the RGB codes are 255,255,255 for white (look it up on the internet or in Photoshop).
    m9_02.jpg


    Once you’ve clicked ok, you can move to the next line. When finished editing, save your manila file (you might need to remove your old manila file, since it’s read-only).

    As mentioned earlier, copy the D:\AML\3da9711b_manila to your SD card and with Total Commander to your \windows root. Reboot device and your mail now should look like this:
    SS3.jpg



    Happy editing!

    =====

    UPDATE August 23rd, 2010

    You can edit the landscape view by adapting 0656d327_manila the same way (Thanks to mickael91210!)
    http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=7759297&postcount=38
    1
    Thank you for the filename!

    Tahnk you for the landscape filename! :D

    Works perfect!
    I feel free to upload a new cab with both in it, Normal and Landscape mode.
    Hope its no problem.