A few days ago, I wrote an article about how Android users can clone an app on their phone and run two standalone versions of it. Since the cloned app has the same APK name and icon, it will be difficult for users to launch the correct app when needed. Therefore, to make things smoother, I thought to change one of the app’s names and icons using the APK editor I showed earlier.
You can still do it that way, but since that application runs on Java, it has been difficult for many users. Most of them get an error when trying to change the app name and icon, so a new, better alternative is needed.
Well, it wasn’t easy, but I landed on the APK Icon Editor open source app page and when I installed and tried it out, I was impressed. So let me show you how you can change the app name and icon using this particular app.
After you download APK Editor, installing the app is a simple task. Just follow the default on-screen instructions to set up the app. Make sure you have the latest version of Java Runtime Environment (JRE) installed on your computer. If you are not sure, you can download and install it now. Please reinstall if you already have it, it will only update to the latest version.
Change app name
Now that the application is installed, launch it. First, we’ll tackle the easier task of changing the name of the app. To get started, drag and drop the APK file on the editor, wait for it to read and unzip the package. If you get any error, see the current mode on the top right edge of the program and change it to ViaZIP.
When the application is read successfully, click Property tab to change the name. While changing the name, the application mode will be Apktool instead of ViaZIP. Once you’ve renamed it, repack the APK by clicking the option APK package.
APK Icon Changer
After renaming the APK, you need to repackage the file before changing the icon. Since both features use two different encoders, it has to be done separately. Make sure the mode is set to ViaZIP while changing icons.
Once the file is finished reading it will show you icons of all sizes used depending on the Android phone where the APK will be installed. For example, low-end phones will use the MDPI or HDPI icons while tablets will use XXHDPI.
Right click on the icon that you want to change and select the image file you want. The app will automatically resize the icon for you. If you do not want to change the icon but just need to look easy to distinguish, you can choose to add color effects to the existing icon. Pretty easy compared to changing the icon entirely.
Finally, repackage the APK, transfer it to your phone and install it manually. If you get any signature error while installing the app, uninstall the app from your phone first and then install the modified version.
Note: This tool also gives you the option to change the version number and version code, but you’re better off not touching them unless you know what you’re doing.
Conclusion
APK Editor is an easy to use tool to change the name and icon of an APK file. Supported image formats are PNG, ICO, GIF, JPG or BMP and one can also sign and optimize APKs using that format. The project is free and open source and anyone contributes to the project on the developer’s Github page. If you have any doubts, let us know.
Categories: How to
Source: thpttranhungdao.edu.vn/en/
