[Android Software Development] Jarmezrocks:
Hey bud,

With your strings, after you have made the modifications try deleting your public XML files right before you recompile. These are auto-generated by APKtool in the building process. My guess is that some of the changes in the strings XML is causing havoc with your public XMLs.

Next thing to try after that is if you are not getting a full decompile and recompile with your settings appm and I know this is going to sound completely bogus and weird, but I was told to do this a while ago when I had no end of troubles with settings on ICS. Try installing your framework again, then when you go to decompile the apk; do it as a "decompile with dependency" and instead of dragging and dropping Rosie or twframework-res apks like you normally would with apks from non-vanila android builds....drag your SystemUI.apk file on as the dependency to install your 2.apk in user appdata ;)

Lastly if you are really chasing the issues and can't understand what the issue is from the errors being generated by apktool, try taking to it with pure smali. I found that almost always the errors get warped and lost in translations somewhere inside apktool between smali and apktool its self before reaching us as unrecognizable gibberish at best....although I have not had to try this at all since [MENTION=3924617]iBotPeaches[/MENTION] has done such a great job with the full rewrite of apktool:good: However you could always give it a try and see what errors are produced and see it can help with your situation?

Some points to remember: If you are only decompiling to change code i.e XMLs and you're having hell recompiling the apk and it seems related to some anomolies that are graphic resources (i.e. plain outright and simple sh!t you have not f*#%ed with what so ever) and apktool is chuckin a hissyfit, then don't totally decompile the apk. Better still open the apk like a zip, drag out your classes.dex and go to town on them with baksmali, make all the edits and recompile with smali and bob's ya aunty live a happy man :) Oh and a side note here: I am not suggesting that there is anything wrong here with apktool by the way, what I am saying is that not always the developers of version of android you are modding (be that Google or otherwise) are neat with their resources! Apktool could just be picking up the shoddy work done previously that somehow slipped into the build without raising flags ;) In most cases you have several options, 1) as suggested only decompile the classes.dex (and then just prey some miracle comes when it comes time for you to theme the same apk - note I have once in the past went as far as saying 'fk it! I'll throw all my images in a morph, flash in recovery and hope for the best!) cause you have not got a sh!tshow in hell of ever getting an apk like that to play nicely with apktool. 2) You can be extremely patient and 1 by 1 go through and correct every error step by step until the apk compiles! Good luck with that one.....game of chance there; sometimes a small fix fixes all tropic effects and discombobulations and you're on track in no time. More often than not though you aren't.

Very last thing I can think of is try increasing your heapsize if your PC has the resources to spare? i.e your not cutting it fine with a laptop and max 4GB of ram and 2Ghz lol.

I am running java 8 too if that is any help to ya?