Remove icons from PocketBook desktop and app drawer

[jrw174]

Hi all,

Please see this link for a guide to customizing your PocketBook desktop and icons:
https://github.com/jjrrw174/PocketBo...Customizations

The spoiler below is my initial findings. This is out of date. Please following the github link.

Thanks to everyone who helped on this thread

Spoiler:

This requires root
BACK UP THE FILE BEFORE CHAGES

1. Ssh to your PocketBook as root
2. Enter the following commands:
su - (allows sudo)
mount -o unmount,rw /ebrmain (This remount ebrmain as writable since it's read only)
chmod -R 775 /ebrmain (allows file to be modified)
vi /ebrmain/config/desktop/apps_db.json(opens file to edit)
3. If you don't know how to use VI there are plenty of tutorials online for this but you need to enter insert mode (press I on keyboard) and edit the file to set the visible flag on apps you don't want to see as "1" instead of "0". When changes are complete press ESC and type :wq
6. Type reboot
4. Please feel free to use my file attached here as a guide. My apps_db.json has everything but settings, library, and dictionary hidden. I had to upload as .txt please remove the .txt when you use the file.


Notes
1. VI is what I use but I believe the root install is suppose to have installed Nano
2. If you make changes and the home screen doesn't open on your device anymore, don't be alarmed, it's just a mistake made in the file. Run the changed file through a JSON validator but ignore the duplicate keys errors

[jrw174]

I can't seem to find where thr configs are for custom apps(KoReader). If anyone knows where these are found. I'm looking at this to remove them from the user apps category and chnage the icons and app names. Any help would be appreciated

[neil_swann80]

Nice one.

Where do the app icons themselves live? Can they be swapped out or modified?

[jrw174]

Originally Posted by neil_swann80

Nice one.

Where do the app icons themselves live? Can they be swapped out or modified?

I'll get back to you on that. I believe I saw something related to device icons in /ebrmain/config/global.cfg

[neil_swann80]

Useful info though... I may have another bash at trying to locate and remove the cutesy sleep screen icon, the one with the ZZzzzz

[jrw174]

Originally Posted by neil_swann80

Useful info though... I may have another bash at trying to locate and remove the cutesy sleep screen icon, the one with the ZZzzzz

Haven't found anything yet. For the standy by image take a look here
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=355272

[nhedgehog]

Originally Posted by neil_swann80

Nice one.

Where do the app icons themselves live? Can they be swapped out or modified?

In the Theme file (line.pbt), for which no compiler for newer firmware version exists. But seeing the trick with the zzzZ picture I guess there probably can be found a workaround.

[jrw174]

Something I have found:

1. Found a decompiler for Line.pbt which is the pocketbook theme located in /ebrmain/themes. I downloaded the Windows zip version from this this link https://github.com/Lighting/pbtheme/releases/tag/v2.2.0

2. Ran this command in CMD to decompile the file Line.pbt
pbtheme -e Line.pbt >output.txt

3. In the output.txt file I found
desktop.launcher.shortcut.1.position=99,1304,384,1 14
desktop.launcher.shortcut.1.text=@Library
desktop.launcher.shortcut.1.path=/ebrmain/bin/explorer.app
desktop.launcher.shortcut.1.icon=desktop_launcher_ library
desktop.launcher.shortcut.1.icon.focus=desktop_lau ncher_library_f

Getting closer. Going to see if I can make changes and re-compile

[nhedgehog]

Yeah, decompile was mostly working. The trouble I had was recompiling it. For that I found no software working but I guess we don't need it if the trick with the Theme folder is working.

[jrw174]

In the thread I linked another fourm post that has a user saying themes work and I asked for some details but haven't heard anything back yet :/ would be good to know if they have any info

[jrw174]

I quickly tried creating the system/resources/Line directory and putting a BMP with the same name of the library icon in the theme config but no changes

[nhedgehog]

Its just try and error. I'm quite certain that those BMP files have to follow some rules, though I did not try it. But following the logic of other PB hacks, files in this aformentioned directory should have priority over files in the lines.pbt archive.

[jrw174]

I spent a large part of today trying to get pbres(https://github.com/Enyby/pbres) working again since it has the built in -d option to decompile pbt.

I am a programmer but not for C so this was a bit of undertaking. I have the pbres script working now except the decompressed images all come out black.

I'll attach the Pbres I edited here incase someone with more knowledge can work it out.

The steps I took to have this working on Windows 11.

1. Install msys2
2. Launch msys2 32 bit
3. Run pacman -Syu and accept the updates
4. Run pacman -Syu again and accept anymore updates
5. Run pacman -S mingw-w64-i686-toolchain to have GCC libraries
6. Put the Pbres.c file the home directory you installed msys2. Ex: C:\msys64\home
7. Put the Line.pbt file in the same home directory
8. In msys2 32 command window, CD to the home folder
9. Run gcc pbres.c -lz -static -o pbres.exe
10. Run the command ./Pbres -d Line.pbt
11. Let the script run, when complete go to the home folder and you will have the results. Theme.cfg is the resources of the theme itself and res4bpp folder is the bmp files. All black for some reason

[jrw174]

Forgot to upload the files lol. Here they are

[nhedgehog]

From the dephts of my hdd, don't remember the source:

By the way, the original pbres has the -u option for decompilation. If you specify a dash - pulls the config. Or you need to specify the file name from the topic. Names can be viewed with -l.
Pictures are drawn in the internal format, not bmp. So they need to be converted.
But it is already easier. You can use this scheme to unpack:
Get the list of files via -l, and then pull out and convert each of them with its utility.

All this is necessary then that there are two versions of pbres. The first one that does not support the -2 and -4 key at compilation, and the second one that supports.
The source is the first. There is no second source. You can decompile through the IDA, and then bring to mind, based on differences, but the pleasure is so-so.
So if there are glitches, then it may make sense to do it using the -u switch and a third-party utility.

By the way, precisely because there is no source for the second version, I had to fence a garden of two versions in the archive above. It is assembled by the second version, and understands the mod of the first version.