[Galaxy Note GT-N7000 General] toxicthunder:
What to edit?

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Let us begin by extracting the ROM package to a directory.

When you open this new directory, you will find that it contains the following 3 components -

A folder called META-INF

A folder called system

Another file named boot.img

It is the folder named system, that we are concerned with. But when you open this folder, you again find yourself looking at numerous other folders.

For our purpose, we require only the folders named app and framework.

Let us begin with the app folder.

The app folder evidently contains the apk files that you have chosen to package with the ROM. It is inside these apk files that our images reside.

As stated earlier, for the purpose of this tutorial we do not need any tools to de-compile the apk files. We treat them as simple archives.

We choose Contacts.apk to start with. This is the apk file that we would want to edit for changing our dialer background.

Open this apk file as you would open any other archive using WinRAR, 7-Zip etc. You should now see the following inside -

Folder named META-INF

Folder named res

XML file named AndroidManifest

Two other files namely, classes.dex and resources.arsc

Now enter the res folder and you find several more folders with prefix drawable, layout, menu and mipmap. Without going into details as to what each folder is for, I would just say that it is the bunch of folders having the prefix drawable and mipmap that we are concerned with.

:good: The mipmap folders usually contain the app's icon which appears in the app drawer, or other places as relevant. The images are usually the same in all folders - xhdpi, hdpi, mdpi.​

The xhdpi icons are somewhere around 96-100px. This is completely upto you to decide how you want your app icon to look like.

The hdpi icons are usually about 75% of the size of xhdpi, while mdpi are a further 66% of hdpi icons in size.

The images are all in PNG format. To edit them you would require a suitable program. I personally use Adobe Photoshop. Other useful ones are GIMP, Pixlr Studio, fotographiX, Corel Photopaint, Microsoft Picture Manager - or any combination that suits you.

In case you want to work with vectors (graphics that use vectors and mathematical functions to describe images rather than fixed bitmaps. As a result the images can be cleanly scaled to any size without losing fidelity.) there is nothing better than Adobe Illustrator or Corel Draw.

Once you are done with creating your custom icons, save them in PNG format and rename them to the exact name of the stock PNG that you are substituting.

:good: It is always advisable to keep your PNGs the same dimensions as the ones you are replacing. Try not to over-do them. I am sure you wouldn't want a 500 kB PNG file :)​

Once you are through creating icons for the xhdpi folder - just copy them all and paste inside the other folders - hdpi, mdpi. Take care that you don't forget to re-size them!

hdpi ~ 75% xhdpi

mdpi ~ 66% hdpi

Now time to edit other elements. We first start with the dialer background. So where exactly is the image for this?

:good: Dialer Background can be found at /res/drawable-nodpi/

The image we want to edit is background_dial_holo_dark.png​

This image is usually 512 X 512 px in dimension. In my experience, this works well if your image is a texture or a pattern (nothing better than a seamless texture). However, if your idea of a dialer image involves using distinct entities etc, you would like to keep your dimensions around the same ratio as the Galaxy Note screen resolution. Otherwise, you will find that the image actually gets stretched vertically once on the phone, and looks really bad.

Next comes the drawable-xhdpi folder. In almost all apk files, this is one folder that you don't want to miss with regards to graphical customization.

You will find loads of PNG images here - each of which can be modified as per your whims and fancies.

You could get started with a few prominent PNGs - ones which you come across or ones that you 'notice' more than the rest. I have tried to list a few that would be worth starting on -

contacts_widget_preview.png

dial_num_9_wht.png (and other digits)

ic_contact_picture_180_holo_dark.png (and the other 'light' counterpart)

:good: Have a look at the other drawable folders. Experimenting is the only way you can know what changes what :)​

You can follow the same procedure to customize images inside the Mms.apk, Phone.apk or any other apk for that matter! All you need to do is open the apk file as you would any archive, look for the drawable and mipmap folders under /res

Here I would like to discuss a bit about 2 important apk files -

Settings.apk and SystemUI.apk

These 2 apk files contain the bulk of images that we look to customize. And hence the special mention. The methods remain the same. We look for the same folders as discussed previously. I would just be helping to speed-up things and tell you which image appears where.

SETTINGS.APK

As before, we look for the drawable and the mipmap folders.The mipmap folders will contain the apk icon that represents the module. It is named as ic_launcher_settings.png

Start with the mipmap-xhdpi folder and simply duplicate your custom image into the other mipmap folders. DO NOT FORGET to re-size and rename.

Next we come to the all-important drawable-xhdpi folder, which again contains the bulk of the images we would like to customize. You will find icons here that are find elsewhere too. So which one is which? Where does it appear on your device?

This being the Settings apk that you are editing, the images in the drawable-xhdpi folder appear when you are inside the System Settings menu. This is where we usually set our -

Wireless and Network Preferences (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Data Usage etc.)

[*]Interface Preferences (Launcher, Lock screen, Themes etc)

[*]Device Options (Sound, Display, Storage, Battery, Apps etc.)

Here is how the menu looks when customized using graphics from the Cobalt Theme. (Though this was achieved by explicitly applying the theme, the same can be done by replacing those files in the ROM itself)

The images usually have the prefix ic_settings before them, which should make it easy for you to identify which ones you want to edit.

...to be continued....

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