[GUIDE] MODDING ICS (16-May-2012) Beginners modding guide.

[civato]

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FIRST READ THIS !!!
-I will try to put it simple , and remember I don't know everything!
-I'm not a helpdesk , somethings you need to figure out yourself , don't expect me to put all my time in guiding you personal so please don't pm me about questions!!
-Second this is not a request thread , this is a do it your self thread!!!!!!
-I start with simple things and build my way up! I will also point you to the tools or upload the tools you need when it comes to that.
-All things I post here are mods I tried so if it doesn't work on your pc , IT is your pc setup not mine!
(My system is Windows 7 64bit professional.)

Mods that need no decompiling and recompiling of a APK (Difficulty Level x---)

(Only thing you need for this is WinRar or 7Zip and Graphic program)
​

1:Changing background color of the MENU on ICS.

-Extract the framework-res from the rom zip (system/framework) using a zip extracter (WinRar or 7Zip)

-You got the "framework-res.apk" , you extract that with WinRar like you would extract a zip file.

-Now you got the "framework-res" folder with his extracted content in that folder.( Remember this is not decompiling so only simple .jpg/png files can be switch this way NOT ".9.png" files)

-Now navigate to "framework-res/res/drawable-nodpi = background_holo_dark.png".

-You can use 2 sizes for it , default size is 512x512 the other size you can use is 1155x685 (for pictures with more than colors)

-Mod background_holo_dark.png the way you want.
-If finisched you select all folders and files (ctrl-a) in the "framework-res" folder and create a new zip file of it , BUT as you want to create it you change the "framework-res.zip" to "framework-res.apk " , now you create it with WinRar on store setting !

-You should have your own framework-res.apk now .

-Get the" MOD-INSTALLER.zip " I put in the attachments and you open it with WinRar (don't unpack it) , there is a folder "system/framework" , navigate to it using WinRar and now you drag the "framework-res.apk" you modded to that folder.(WinRar will ask to put it in the .zip file , you confirm this ).

-Put the "MOD-INSTALLER.zip " on your tablet and flash with CWM.

2:Changing the soft touch buttons(Home , Back , Menu , recent) and more icons like Wifi , etc.......

(This not for battery % mod , for that we need to decompile or use a SystemUI with battery % mod already build in , I will upload one that is prepared for battery% and one stock , see attachments)

(On a later stage we are going to build our own SystemUI.apk with battery% mod included and change the statusbar , but that involves decompiling , signing , and modding .9.png images and is of modding level ,xxx-)

Using the attached SystemUI =
Rename the "STOCK-SystemUI.zip" to "SystemUI.apk" before you flash it.
Rename the "%-SystemUI.zip" to "SystemUI.apk"before you flash it.

-Extract the "SystemUI.apk" from the rom zip (system/app) using a zip extracter (WinRar or 7Zip)

-You got the "SystemUI.apk" , you extract that with WinRar like you would extract a zip file.

-Now you got the "SystemUI" folder with his extracted content in that folder.( Remember this is not decompiling so only simple .jpg/png files can be switch this way NOT ".9.png" files)

-Now navigate to "SystemUI/res/drawable-mdpi = Here you can find all the Icons for the soft-touch buttons , wifi icons , AcerRing Icon and battery Icon

-Mod ....png the way you want or replace them with other icons but respect the image size as much as you can (A little of is no problem) .
-If finisched you select all folders and files (ctrl-a) in the "SystemUI" folder and create a new zip file of it , BUT as you want to create it you change the "SystemUI.zip" to "SystemUI.apk " , now you create it with WinRar on store setting !

-You should have your own SystemUI.apk now .

-Get the" MOD-INSTALLER.zip " I put in the attachments and you open it with WinRar (don't unpack it) , there is a folder "system/app" , navigate to it using WinRar and now you drag the "SystemUI.apk" you modded to that folder.(WinRar will ask to put it in the .zip file , you confirm this ).

-Put the "MOD-INSTALLER.zip " on your tablet and flash with CWM.

Changing the layout of the AcerRing.

(I added the stock AcerRing.apk in attachments , just rename it from AcerRing.zip to AcerRing.apk)

-Extract the "AcerRing.apk" from the rom zip (system/app) using a zip extracter (WinRar or 7Zip)

-You got the "AcerRingI.apk" , you extract that with WinRar like you would extract a zip file.

-Now you got the "AcerRing" folder with his extracted content in that folder.

-Now navigate to "AcerRing/res/drawable = Here you find all the .png's that you can mod to change the look of the ring.

-Mod ....png the way you want (YOU NEED TO RESPECT THE IMAGE SIZE).

-If finisched you select all folders and files (ctrl-a) in the "AcerRing" folder and create a new zip file of it , BUT as you want to create it you change the "AcerRing.zip" to "AcerRing.apk " , now you create it with WinRar on store setting !

-You should have your own AcerRing.apk now .

-Get the" MOD-INSTALLER.zip " I put in the attachments and you open it with WinRar (don't unpack it) , there is a folder "system/app" , navigate to it using WinRar and now you drag the "AcerRing.apk" you modded to that folder.(WinRar will ask to put it in the .zip file , you confirm this ).

-Put the "MOD-INSTALLER.zip " on your tablet and flash with CWM.

Note about AcerRing:
AcerRing is not supported on all ICS roms , just flashing the AcerRing.apk is not enough to make it work, that is rom building and a whole different thing

Changing the default wallpapers or creating your own:

(I added a template(created by scottw714) (A500 HD Template.psd in a zip file ) in attachments that you can use to mod wallpapers so if you put a text in the wallaper it is put in the center or you can line it out with the helping lines , you will need a graphic program that support this type of working file (I use "paint shop pro" for all my modding)

-Extract the "Launcher2.apk" from the rom zip (system/app) using a zip extracter (WinRar or 7Zip)

-You got the " Launcher2.apk " , you extract that with WinRar like you would extract a zip file.

-Now you got the " Launcher2" folder with his extracted content in that folder.

-Now navigate to " Launcher2/res/ drawable-sw600dp-nodpi = Here you find all the wallpapers.

-Mod ....wallpapers or replace the ones that are there ,but you need to keep the original name (so just adding wallpapers won't work) and you need to respect the size. You got the excual wallpaper (1920x1408) and the _small version (180x180)is the one you see when you select it in settings.

-If finisched you select all folders and files (ctrl-a) in the "Launcher2" folder and create a new zip file of it , BUT as you want to create it you change the "Launcher2.zip" to "Launcher.apk " , now you create it with WinRar on store setting !

-You should have your own Launcher2.apk now .

-Get the" MOD-INSTALLER.zip " I put in the attachments and you open it with WinRar (don't unpack it) , there is a folder "system/app" , navigate to it using WinRar and now you drag the "Launcher2.apk" you modded to that folder.(WinRar will ask to put it in the .zip file , you confirm this ).

Changing the bootanimation

You got 2 options , use the BootAnimation-Flasher or do it manualy.

Using the BootAnimation-Flasher (see attachments):
-You open the "BootAnimation-Flasher with winrar or 7-zip (don't upack).
-Go to the folder system/media = here you put your "bootanimation.zip" (and it has to have that name!!!)
-Put the "BootAnimation-Flasher on your tablet and flash with cwm ( Your current bootanimation will be overwriten)

Doing it manualy (you need to have full root):
-Use a file manager with root permission (example: EsFileExplorer)
-Navigate to system/media = Here you put your "bootanimation.zip" (and it has to have that name!!!)
-You can backup your other (if there is one already installed) bootanimation.zip in system/media by copy/past it to a other place or just by renaming it to "bootanimation.zip.bak"

Note :
If you delete the "bootanimation.zip" and don't replace it in system/media you will get the stock android bootanimation , that is present on all Stock Acer ICS roms.

More to come , I will try to do something everyday.

 

[civato]

Decompiling & recompiling apk

Decompiling and recompling APK (Difficulty level xxx-)
​

First we need



-Install android SDK and make sure when you run installation you select the tools and platform tools to install.(rest is of no use for Decompiling and recompiling a apk.
modding)

-Install Java SDK (JDK & JRE)(I install the Java SE 7.. and the SE 6.. as some tools only run on SE 6..) Make sure you install the JAVA Runtime (JRE)


-APK_MAnager_ICS that I put together so it works on ICS apk's.

You can also use APK-MultiTool , just google it but I don't like that new layout (personal I think)and the decompiling and recompiling doesn't work on ICS without problems.

We are gonna build the battery% mod into the SystemUI.apk(you can use the Stock SystemUI that I added in attachments above).
​

Extract the APK-Manager_ICS.zip and open that folder , You click on the "script.bat" , if nothing happens or you get a error (no adb) some of the Java stuff is missing or not installed correctly or the android SDK is not installed !!!!!!



Now lets begin building our SystemUI % mod

Decompiling:

-You place your APK in the folder "place-apk-here-for-modding

-Look at screenshot , make sure you use the correct apktool.jar , you find these in the APKtool-switch folder that I put in there. You put the correct apktool.jar in the folder "other" , if you use the wrong one decompiling and recompiling won't work.

You set your project

Select your project apk

Decompile

MODDING YOUR APK FOR %Battery

-Now in the "projects" folder you got to SystemUI/res/drawable-mdpi , here you add your battery icons from 0 - 100 , you can do this also for the charging icons.(I never change the charging stage icons ,I'm not interested to see a charging level in %)


-After you did that you go to SystemUI/res/drawable-sw600dp-mdpi , and here you delete all the battery icons , also the charging icons(just to save you some work)
(In this folder you also find the notify panel but these are .9.png files , that is for later but if you want to mod these now is the time)


-Now you go to SystemUI/res/drawable , here you replace the "stat_sys_battery.xml" with the one I put in the attachments (unpack the zip and use the xml file that is in it) Why use this XML , well then you don't need to mod it yourself.


If you also changed the charging level into % you need to change the "stat_sys_battery_charge.xml". Also see attachments.

RECOMPILING
-Now you go back to the Script.bat and run it , select your project (22) and choose the SystemUI (1 in this case) and select the option "11" , Recompile.


-It will start ...........


-Answer "Yes" when it asks wheter it is system file


-Answer "Yes" when it asks "would you like to copy over any additional files...?"


-Script is paused => (don't press a key) and a 'keep" folder is created.


-Go to the "keep" folder (it's in the same folder than "script.bat")

In this "Keep" Folder, (DON'T MISS A STEPP !!!)



-delete "resources.arsc" file (You always do this when you changed XML files)

-delete originals "stat_sys_battery.xml" and "stat_sys_battery_charge.xml" from the "keep\res\drawable" folder

-delete all originals battery PNGs in / res/drawable-mdpi that were meant to be edited and delete the battery icons in /res/drawable-sw600dp-mdpi .

- Go back to "script.bat" and press a key to finish the job

-Your new "SystemUI.apk" has been created in the "\place-apk-here-for-modding\" folder. It's called "unsignedSystemUIapk".. but it's not working yet.


-Unzip all the content of the "unsignedSystemUI.apk".


-Select all the files in the "unsingedSystemUI" folder (ctrl-a) and with Winrar/7zip BUT as you want to create it you change the "SystemUI.zip" to "SystemUI.apk " , now you create it with WinRar on store setting !

-Get the" MOD-INSTALLER.zip " I put in the attachments and you open it with WinRar (don't unpack it) , there is a folder "system/app" , navigate to it using WinRar and now you drag the "SystemUI.apk" you modded to that folder.(WinRar will ask to put it in the .zip file , you confirm this ).
-Put the "MOD-INSTALLER.zip " on your tablet and flash with CWM.

NOTE !!!!

If it doesn't work from the first time keep trying you missed a step , If you got a error on decompiling or recompiling is because you are not using the correct "apktool.jar" that you need to put in the "other" folder. Or you missed a step.
Or you are using a apk that is corrupted with a previous mod (that is why I decompile and recompile all my mods so I can build on them , just copy/past images like in the easy step guide can result in errors when decompiling such a copy/paste apk.).

 

[civato]

reserved2

 

[ubutnux]

Knowledge is power and this is why we share
thank you civ

 

[micky387]

You are a boss civato.


Envoyé depuis mon A500 avec Tapatalk

 

[Vintage144]

I'm not a helpdesk , somethings you need to figure out yourself , don't expect me to put all my time in guiding you personal so please don't pm me about questions!!
-Second this is not a request thread , this is a do it your self thread!!!!!!

Civato , you are now , you know that!!!!lol!!!!

 

[mattrb]

Bossman civato

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[civato]

Added soft touch button mod.

 

[CyaN1de]

Awesome!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks so much. Will have to give this a go.

Sent from my A500 using xda premium

 

[Dynam0]

Nice work, very useful

 

[civato]

Added some more stuff , enjoy.

 

[chaosking121]

Hey, great work Civato! Just wondering, will your Mod Installer zip work with Thor's ROM? Thanks for everything!

 

[civato]

Hey, great work Civato! Just wondering, will your Mod Installer zip work with Thor's ROM? Thanks for everything!

Yes.

 

[bytemehard]

civato,
Decided to post this question in your modding ics thread.

I'm using the stock Acer_AV041_A500_1.031.00_WW_GEN1-FULL-ROOT zip you posted in another thread. I am slimming it down a bit but am having trouble finding the Docs to Go apk and odex files to remove them. It use to be DTG.apk in the system/app folder in 3.2. Is it under a different name somewhere in the original zip?

After install, the apk shows in the system/vendor/app; but in the original zip the vendor folder only contains fake.txt
Any help locating these would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[civato]

civato,
Decided to post this question in your modding ics thread.

I'm using the stock Acer_AV041_A500_1.031.00_WW_GEN1-FULL-ROOT zip you posted in another thread. I am slimming it down a bit but am having trouble finding the Docs to Go apk and odex files to remove them. It use to be DTG.apk in the system/app folder in 3.2. Is it under a different name somewhere in the original zip?

After install, the apk shows in the system/vendor/app; but in the original zip the vendor folder only contains fake.txt
Any help locating these would be appreciated.

Thanks

The stock one stores it in flexrom folder. That is where Acer puts his stuff.

 

[z-control]

possible to ad "change boot animation" ?

 

[civato]

possible to ad "change boot animation" ?

yes, if i got time I do a quick write up on that.

EDIT:
Done , added the how to change bootanimation


I'm also working on the guideon how to decompiling and recompiling systemUI for battery% mod and statusbar modding , will take a few days as I'm very busy.

 

[civato]

Decompiling & recompiling apk

New , see post 2 , level xxx-

 

[micky387]

Thanks civato

Envoyé depuis mon GT-I9100 avec Tapatalk

 

[z-control]

Thanks civato