Icon Packs

[pbrennan42]

How do you make them?

Ok, what I know so far: Most icons seem to be in 48x48 resolution as .png files with transparency (i.e., in the gimp when you save them as .png uncheck the "save background colour" option so that transparencies are preserved).

This much I know and can go ahead and make a load of nice icons.

It's all the other stuff that I need to know:

Naming conventions of programs so that the icons match up with the program that they are intended for automatically.

How to stick them all into an apk file so that they can be uploaded to Android Market and sold/given away. This includes directory structure within the apk files so that the icons get dumped into the right place.

I have Eclipse btw, but am unfamiliar with that IDE. At least I have managed to get some theme kits and the Android SDKs from Cupcake to Eclair associated with Eclipse so that is a start...

How to sign the aforementioned apk files.

Thanks,

Phil.

 

[Jerry Hildenbrand]

How do you make them?

Ok, what I know so far: Most icons seem to be in 48x48 resolution as .png files with transparency (i.e., in the gimp when you save them as .png uncheck the "save background colour" option so that transparencies are preserved).

This much I know and can go ahead and make a load of nice icons.

It's all the other stuff that I need to know:

Naming conventions of programs so that the icons match up with the program that they are intended for automatically.

How to stick them all into an apk file so that they can be uploaded to Android Market and sold/given away. This includes directory structure within the apk files so that the icons get dumped into the right place.

I have Eclipse btw, but am unfamiliar with that IDE. At least I have managed to get some theme kits and the Android SDKs from Cupcake to Eclair associated with Eclipse so that is a start...

How to sign the aforementioned apk files.

Thanks,

Phil.

1. Naming conventions - I'll use the alarm clock app from vanilla as an example -
/system/app/AlarmClock/res/drawable/ic_launcher_alarmclock.png
ic_launcher_alarmclock.png would be your png file you intend to use as an icon.

4shared.com - online file sharing and storage - download Eclair_icons-signed.zip

is a signed zip file that would replace all Android application icons with the icons from 2.1. It has all the stock applications broken down in the correct folders.

2. I've no idea how to migrate this into a stand alone .apk that could be installed, or if that's even possible without using a home replacement app. Using the file above, the icons could be replaced and the zip file could be flashed like a custom ROM and the icons would be replaced in the Vanilla or HTC home. I've no idea if it works the same way with other 'stock' home apps - ie MotoBlur, RachaelUI, etc., but in theory it should be the same. HTC simply replaced the icons in the standard stock location with their own. I would assume Home replacement applications look for icons from a different resource folder, using their own naming convention for the individual app.

3. Signing
[Tool] Droid Explorer - 0.8.3.0 [12/30/09] - The Decade Edition - xda-developers
is a link to a C#/.Net utility for Windows that you might find handy. One if it's uses is the ability to sign files (with test keys) from the right click context menu.

I've replicated the right-click to sign menu entry in Nautilus for Linux users, if you (or anyone) has interest in that I'd be happy to explain as well.

Hope this is useful in some way.

 

[pbrennan42]

The Busybox page gives installation instructions for Android 2.1 but I have seen it on MoDaCo's cupcake ROMs for the pulse, so it's fine to install this to cupcake, right?

Just checking...

 

[pbrennan42]

OK new question: Some icons in the pack are 72x72 and others are 48x48. Does the android render them at the size it wants or do some have to be at the larger size and others do not?

Thanks,

Phil.

 

[Jerry Hildenbrand]

The Busybox page gives installation instructions for Android 2.1 but I have seen it on MoDaCo's cupcake ROMs for the pulse, so it's fine to install this to cupcake, right?

Just checking...

Depends on the build of busybox. If built 'standard'-

push busybox to /system/xbin (may have to create directory)
abd shell into device, and cd to /system/xbin
run the busybox symlink installer -
busybox --install /system/xbin

More than likely that will work, unless the site you got the busybox binary from has different directions. As long as busybox was compiled for the arm arch., it should work. It's just a series of symlinks that point back to the busybox binary.

OK new question: Some icons in the pack are 72x72 and others are 48x48. Does the android render them at the size it wants or do some have to be at the larger size and others do not?

Thanks,

Phil.

As long as they are .png at a 1-1 ratio, Android will resize. They are rendered at 48x48 on the 'desktop' and app tray. Some dialogs render them smaller, some larger. The longpress>add shortcut method on the homescreen can and will render larger icons, but they all must be the same size or it defaults to the smallest size icon.


One thing I neglected to mention earlier - you can open any third party .apk as if it were a zip file. You can browse the file and change the icon in the res/drawable folders for them as well. As long as your new icon is the same resolution, you should be able to re-assemble the apk without signing it and push it to your phone. ALL drawable resources in a third party app can be re-worked this way...so someone with artistic talent could re-skin third party widgets easily. The exception is '.9.png' files. These are special graphics files and need handled differently:
.9.pngs figured out. New thread! - xda-developers

I for one, can't wait to see what you come up with.

 

[pbrennan42]

You may have to wait a while coz I am a very slow worker...

Phil.

 

[fixxxer1022]

1. Naming conventions - I'll use the alarm clock app from vanilla as an example -
/system/app/AlarmClock/res/drawable/ic_launcher_alarmclock.png
ic_launcher_alarmclock.png would be your png file you intend to use as an icon.

4shared.com - online file sharing and storage - download Eclair_icons-signed.zip

is a signed zip file that would replace all Android application icons with the icons from 2.1. It has all the stock applications broken down in the correct folders.

2. I've no idea how to migrate this into a stand alone .apk that could be installed, or if that's even possible without using a home replacement app. Using the file above, the icons could be replaced and the zip file could be flashed like a custom ROM and the icons would be replaced in the Vanilla or HTC home. I've no idea if it works the same way with other 'stock' home apps - ie MotoBlur, RachaelUI, etc., but in theory it should be the same. HTC simply replaced the icons in the standard stock location with their own. I would assume Home replacement applications look for icons from a different resource folder, using their own naming convention for the individual app.

3. Signing
[Tool] Droid Explorer - 0.8.3.0 [12/30/09] - The Decade Edition - xda-developers
is a link to a C#/.Net utility for Windows that you might find handy. One if it's uses is the ability to sign files (with test keys) from the right click context menu.

I've replicated the right-click to sign menu entry in Nautilus for Linux users, if you (or anyone) has interest in that I'd be happy to explain as well.

Hope this is useful in some way.

hey i love these icons. i have a cdma hero and i tried to flash this via recovery and it gave me an error about missing the google update. is there anyway to do this?

 

[fixxxer1022]

anybody? id really love to have these on my phone.

 

[obannvi]

1. Naming conventions - I'll use the alarm clock app from vanilla as an example -
/system/app/AlarmClock/res/drawable/ic_launcher_alarmclock.png
ic_launcher_alarmclock.png would be your png file you intend to use as an icon.

4shared.com - online file sharing and storage - download Eclair_icons-signed.zip

is a signed zip file that would replace all Android application icons with the icons from 2.1. It has all the stock applications broken down in the correct folders.

2. I've no idea how to migrate this into a stand alone .apk that could be installed, or if that's even possible without using a home replacement app. Using the file above, the icons could be replaced and the zip file could be flashed like a custom ROM and the icons would be replaced in the Vanilla or HTC home. I've no idea if it works the same way with other 'stock' home apps - ie MotoBlur, RachaelUI, etc., but in theory it should be the same. HTC simply replaced the icons in the standard stock location with their own. I would assume Home replacement applications look for icons from a different resource folder, using their own naming convention for the individual app.

3. Signing
[Tool] Droid Explorer - 0.8.3.0 [12/30/09] - The Decade Edition - xda-developers
is a link to a C#/.Net utility for Windows that you might find handy. One if it's uses is the ability to sign files (with test keys) from the right click context menu.

I've replicated the right-click to sign menu entry in Nautilus for Linux users, if you (or anyone) has interest in that I'd be happy to explain as well.

Hope this is useful in some way.

Yo gb, will these work on the Hero? The icon pack that is...Sig failed on install...

 

[fixxxer1022]

Yo gb, will these work on the Hero? The icon pack that is...Sig failed on install...

same here, id really like to have these on my hero.

 

[Jerry Hildenbrand]

This won't work as is. It was just something I whipped up from a metamorph package to give Phil a headstart to create some icon packs. The purpose was to show where the individual files and signing keys are inside an apk or zip image.

I don't want to trash Phil's thread. One of you guys start a thread about custom icon packs in the Hero ROM forum and PM me the link. I'd be happy to walk you through step by step to make your own Icon theme ROM that can be flashed to the phone.

Sorry, but I don't have time to edit all the apk's myself and create one. Working on the kernel and already have more on the plate that I can eat

 

[fixxxer1022]

This won't work as is. It was just something I whipped up from a metamorph package to give Phil a headstart to create some icon packs. The purpose was to show where the individual files and signing keys are inside an apk or zip image.

I don't want to trash Phil's thread. One of you guys start a thread about custom icon packs in the Hero ROM forum and PM me the link. I'd be happy to walk you through step by step to make your own Icon theme ROM that can be flashed to the phone.

Sorry, but I don't have time to edit all the apk's myself and create one. Working on the kernel and already have more on the plate that I can eat

oh i see, i misunderstood you then. i thought you said the zip could be flashed.

 

[gruppler]

I've replicated the right-click to sign menu entry in Nautilus for Linux users, if you (or anyone) has interest in that I'd be happy to explain as well.

I'd like to do this. Please explain =]