things you'll need
APK MANAGER
7zip
DESCRIPTION :
Q : Basic
A : The icons are stored in the Drawable-mdpi folder in the framework.
these icons are linked to XML's in Drawable folder
if you just add the icons and don't change the xml, you'll get nothing.
Q : Why Cant we just Edit the XML files?
A : The XML files are encrypted. if you try to edit it you will get weird characters.
Q : No XML No Edits, Are we Done?
A : Yes, No XML No Edits. But we've a walkaround. The APK MANAGER
it decompiles the apk and unencrypts the xml file.
BASIC :
Extract the contents of APK MANAGER to any folder
you'll have few folders
place your apk in the place-apk-here-for-modding folder
open Script.bat
and chose option to decompile and minimize
it will create a folder namely PROJECTS
now you can edit the xml files
after your done, maximize the apkmanager window and choose comiple apk
HOW TO ADD MORE PNGS :
if you want to add pngs like the battery percentage you'll need to link the png to the xml file
this can be done by two ways
1. assigning resource_id
&
2. directly putting in the names
the 1st method is easy but complex so forget it
the second method is simpler.
just find the xml file corresponding to the png and than simply add the name.
for eg.
stat_sys_battery.xml is the battery status xml.
<item android:drawable="@drawable/stat_sys_battery_0" android:maxLevel="0" />
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
here the
android:drawable is the android code
and
@drawable/stat_sys_battery_* is the file location
check the attachment for better understanding
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THE PROBLEM & THE SOLUTION :
if you try to edit any modded framework file you'll get error while compiling.
and your phone will hang if you use that file.
SOLUTION
instead of using modded file. use the STOCK framework. Edit your files and compile your apk
now when you compile it, it will give you few options
1. is it a system file [y/n]
choose yes
2. (...blah blah.. do you wish to keep files)
choose yes
now it will extract the stock (unedited) framework in a KEEP folder
minimize the window
open the folder and delete all the files you modified.
if you had modified xml file you'll also need to delete resources.asrc
now maximize the apkmanager window and press any key.
your modded apk will be compiled in the place-apk-here-for-modding folder
PS : IT WOULD BE UNSIGNED
LAST STEP :
open the compiled unsigned apk and extract all the files you edited (including resources.asrc)
simply replace these files in the framework-res.apk you wanted to mod
only part to take care is the resources.asrc file you don't have to replace it directly
do this steps for replacing resources.asrc
1. right click the resources.asrc
2. select add to archive
3. archive format zip
4. compression method Store
5. select the path of your framework-res.apk
I know this all seems way to complex but if you read carefully and do it step by step, its all easy as a PIE
So i have this Deskclock.apk and i want to add this.
No Problem with the ".xml" Files. I can edit them easily after i decompile the apk with the "apkTool". But where will i find the ".java" Files? After decompiling the apk i only see ".smali".
So i found out that the ".java" files are in "classes.dex" from the apk.
I use "dex2jar" to get a ".jar" File.
Then i use "jd-gui" to get ".java" Files.
So i can edit it and put the needed Strings in the .java files.
But how to put them back to a "classes.dex" File which i can put back to the apk??
I hope i get a bit help here.
You can use APKTool. It will automaticly extract all the classes (.dex), resources (.asrc), then it will convert binary XML to human-readable XML, and it will also dissassemble the classes for you.
Just tell APKTool to decode the APK into a directory, then modify what you want, and finally encode it back to an APK. That's all.
Important: APKTool dissassembles. It doesn't decompile. The generated code won't be Java source. But you should be able to read it, and even edit it if you're familiar with jasmin. If you want Java source, please go over the Manual way.
Sent from my VS910 4G using XDA
Thx...I know how to use APKTool but i need to put the ".java" Files back into the "classes.dex". Thats my Problem.
There's info on the process here: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/10261147/converting-java-back-to-classes-dex
Essentially it looks like you need to compile the .java to .class files with javac and then create classes.dex with dx. Hope this link is helpful.
Hi!
Is there any way to edit the zip files without extracting? I mean replacing/deleting files without need to extract the zip/rar files!
Is there any app for that?
Thanks!!!
Powergrasp. But if you want to edit a file then you can extract that file(only that file), edit it and then copy and replace inside the zip. Hope this helps. O
use vim editor in linux/ubuntu
usage : vim filename.zip
edit the contents and save it using :x
7-Zip for Windows
Hi, let me explain.
I'm translating a gamebook app for Android. So far I've managed to decompile the .apk file, find and edit the .xml files with storyline, but I cannot find the files that contain the data about the app menu buttons (options, settings, save/load etc.). The decompiled game folder contains following folders:
- assets (.xml files with story)
- original
- smali
- smali_classes2
- unknown
- AndroidManifest XML document and apktool YML file
I tried opening random smali files with EditPlus, but couldn't find anything. Any tips how can I edit those buttons? Where to find the code? I just want to change the text to another language.
Hi guys,
Can you tell me how to decode and Encode file AndroidManifest.xml in folder Original after decompiled a apk by apk easy tool ?
Tks!
Link file : drive.google.com/file/d/1IhfDhrEBTTlQA7NzvRBLiDrR3MR8usVT/view?usp=sharing
MinhFtuer said:
Hi guys,
Can you tell me how to decode and Encode file AndroidManifest.xml in folder Original after decompiled a apk by apk easy tool ?
Tks!
Link file : drive.google.com/file/d/1IhfDhrEBTTlQA7NzvRBLiDrR3MR8usVT/view?usp=sharing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Weird, AndroidManifest.xml is supposed to be decoded. The fact that it remains in the original folder is weird, did you try doing it with apktool only ? (With apk easy tool)
Super simple, just install apktool (if not already installed and working without apk easy tool)
To test if it's working without APK easy tool open a command prompt and enter "apktool --version", if it returns something, then it's good, if not, you're good to set it up yourself in a separate folder, here is the guide from the apktool website: https://ibotpeaches.github.io/Apktool/
Enter the command "apktool d [name of the apk].apk" to decompile your apk, you should have everything.
And if you don't want to bother your with all of that, I can decompile the APK for you and send you the AndroidManifest.xml file decompiled.
Have a good day
Raiz said:
Weird, AndroidManifest.xml is supposed to be decoded. The fact that it remains in the original folder is weird, did you try doing it with apktool only ? (With apk easy tool)
Super simple, just install apktool (if not already installed and working without apk easy tool)
To test if it's working without APK easy tool open a command prompt and enter "apktool --version", if it returns something, then it's good, if not, you're good to set it up yourself in a separate folder, here is the guide from the apktool website: //ibotpeaches.github.io/Apktool
Enter the command "apktool d [name of the apk].apk" to decompile your apk, you should have everything.
And if you don't want to bother your with all of that, I can decompile the APK for you and send you the AndroidManifest.xml file decompiled.
Have a good day
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply, I have tried to decompile that apk by your way but file AndroidManifest.xml in folder ...original\AndroidManifest still be encoded. Can you help me decode it as you said that ?
Link down this apk :drive.google.com/file/d/18HjRivgkNjixCdO823CJD2mxLxr6QuEQ/view?usp=sharing .Remember that I need to decode file AndroidManifest.xml in folder original which contains both of folder META-INF
MinhFtuer said:
Thanks for your reply, I have tried to decompile that apk by your way but file AndroidManifest.xml in folder ...original\AndroidManifest still be encoded. Can you help me decode it as you said that ?
Link down this apk :drive.google.com/file/d/18HjRivgkNjixCdO823CJD2mxLxr6QuEQ/view?usp=sharing .Remember that I need to decode file AndroidManifest.xml in folder original which contains both of folder META-INF
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a huge apk, what is it? 1,2 Gb I've never seen that before. I'll just send you here the AndroidManifest.xml text. You'll then have to copy/past it into a text editor, and rename the file "AndroidManifest.xml".
Edit #1: I can't even decode the APK, can you tell me what is this file and where you got it from ? The apk file size limit is 100MB , what is this file ?
Edit #2 : Usually the AndroidManifest.xml isn't encoded at all, you just have to browse the APK with a zip explorer to find this file and read it. I personally won't do that as this file is very suspicious... 1,3 Gb for an APK... Apktool doesn't recognize it... This is really weird, I recommend you just to trash it.
@MinhFtuer
To decode a binary AndroidManifest.xml file you use axmldec: Android Binary XML Decoder.
jwoegerbauer said:
@MinhFtuer
To decode a binary AndroidManifest.xml file you use [github.com/ytsutano/axmldec"] axmldec: Android Binary XML Decoder[/url].
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great, I can do it by your way, can you teach me how to encode back it tks ?