[Epic 4G Apps] jkrough0728:
First off, I take no credit in doing this, this is meant to help people if they want to try it. And I am only making thread at request of others members.

If you break your phone I am not responsible, if you have questions though I am more than willing to help as much as I can but this was the first project I did.

There may be easier ways to do this but this is how I did it. If there is, feel free to comment the other ways!

I would like to say thanks to maddoggin and illinois08 for there help in getting mine figured out!

Requirements:

winrar (this is what I prefer but you can use any of your choice)

Original Swype.apk (included in thread and swype needs to be already installed)

image editing software (I personally used gimp and coreldraw) and experience in them.

common sense :)

What you are actually changing:

To change the look of swype is fairly simple, meaning all you are changing is some .png files in the apk itself to whatever you want them to be.

The only downside is trying to make sure the letter spacing is correct. That is the reason I used coreldraw first to do the spacing and then the background with my flames was in gimp.

First Step:

Using winrar (7zip, etc) open up Swype.apk (I placed on desktop for easier use).

The first folder should say assets. Open up assets. After you open assets, there should be a folder named keyboards. Drag the keyboards folder to desktop.

Once you open the keyboards folder, you will see multiple image files. You have found the files we need to edit! Make sure every png stays in there even if you decided not to edit one of them.

Files SwypeRef_LS_Blue_Shifted_WVGA.png (LS is landscape keyboard) through SwypeRef_PT_Standard_wBlue_VGA.png (PT is portrait, most important for me)

I only edited 4 of the images because these are the main 4 I use and don't use landscape. If you wish you can edit all of them or just 1 :).

Second Step:

Using Gimp/or CorelDRAW, you will need to make new images that are 480x320 pixels. At this point, it is totally up to you to get the placements correct and make the image how you want it displayed.

I personally imported the images I was editing to Corel, and basically started a fresh one on top of it so I could get the letter placements correct. You need to make sure when you are done that the image is still 480x320 with the letters not being the end of the size. I made an outline that was 480x320 and placed the letters inside and exported the image that way so it stayed the right size. I would also try to keep the images around 50 kb because mine are around 90 and you noticed some lag when it switched between pngs...

As you are exporting your images, make sure to name them their appropriate names (shifted, capitals, lower case, etc.) which makes it easier to rename them after wards.

Third Step

Once you have all of your images done how you want, I would place them all in their own separate folder.

Now, you will need to open the keyboards folder from earlier and match the images you edited to where they go in "keyboards" and rename your files to the appropriate name and delete its' counter part. Meaning make sure only your image is in keyboards with it renamed to what mode your png represents. And make sure the folder contains every png it did before. They all serve a purpose.

After you have removed all the old pngs and replaced with your renamed images, you will need to open Swype.apk back up and go to assets-> and delete the original keyboards folder. After deleting, move your keyboards folder with your images under assets.

Swype is now edited with your keyboards how you want them!!

Fourth Step:

The only thing left is either adb push Swype.apk to system/app or place on sd card and install with astro,ez,etc.

Another way that is very easy and the way I do it. If you are using a theme, open up on your desktop with winrar. Go to folder system/app and place Swype.apk in app folder. Now flash from recovery and your new and improved swype is ready for action.

I have attached what I made mine look like. Some people may not like how basic it looks and how some of the things are not sized or off correctly but I like it and it works!!

I also added a picture of my custom dropdown which I made in Gimp. If you would like to know how to do one like this send me a PM.

And if you have any questions, feel free to ask. I may not be the best at explaining things thoroughly :)!