How To Get Your Avatar In The Chat & Change the Color of the Chat Balloons

[sarah peterman]

How To Get Your Avatar In The Chat - UPDATED 07/24/09
This will get the avatars (both yours and theirs) in the lower right hand corner. If anyone can get it into the middle of the balloon please share how. For anyone who may have done this before the update, I've placed a ">" on the steps you'll need to do. For everyone else follow the tut like normal. Also, I'd suggest the gradient in the chat balloons all fading to one side. Looks much better that way ;-)
messaging_2009-15-07_193150.jpg

You will need to have your Pre rooted. Also, don't forget to back up everything you touch.

First step is to type:

cd /usr/palm/applications/com.palm.app.messaging/stylesheets

then:

sudo vi messaging.css

>Starting at line 139 you will see this:

.chatRow img.avatar-location {
	margin-top: -18px;
}

.chatRow img.avatar-overlay {
	margin-top: -21px;
}

.chatRow .avatar-container {
	vertical-align: middle;
	display: inline-block;
}

>Change the margins in location and overlay so that they look like this:

.chatRow img.avatar-location {                                                             
        margin-top: -39px;
}                                                                                                  
                       
.chatRow img.avatar-overlay {                                                                       
        margin-top: -42.5px;
}

>Now comment out the container:

/*.chatRow .avatar-container {  
        vertical-align: middle;   
        display: inline-block;                                       
}*/

>Next, scroll down to line 662. You'll see something like this:

.my-chat .chat-balloon-wrapper, 
.their-chat .chat-balloon-wrapper {
  padding: 1px 0;
  font-size: 18px;
  word-wrap: break-word !important;
}

>Add

padding-right: 40px;

.my-chat .chat-balloon-wrapper,            
.their-chat .chat-balloon-wrapper {                                                                 
  padding: 1px 0;                                                    
  font-size: 18px;                                                                            
  word-wrap: break-word !important;                                             
padding-right: 40px;                                                                                   
}

>Comment out line 668:

/*.their-chat .chat-balloon-wrapper {                           
        padding-right: 8px ;}*/

On line 676 you will see this:

/* Disabling MY avatar because we are not doing this for 1.0  2008-11-05*/
.my-chat .avatar-location,
.my-chat .avatar-overlay,
.my-chat .avatar-container {
	display: none;
    width: 40px;
    height: 40px;
}

Comment out

 /*.my-chat .avatar-overlay,*/
/*.my-chat .avatar-container*/
/*display: none;*/

Now save: SHIFT zz or ESC :qw

Type:

cd /usr/palm/applications/com.palm.app.messaging/app/controllers

sudo vi chatview-assistant.js

Scroll down to line 1286 and remove the /'s. Should look like this:

 msg.avatar = this.myAvatar || 'images/my-avatar.png';

Save: SHIFT zz or ESC :qw

Now you need to upload an avatar and find the image location

In terminal type:

cd /usr/palm/applications/com.palm.app.messaging/images/

sudo wget (url)

sudo mv (filename of the avatar you just downloaded) my-avatar.png

Now type:

sudo luna-send -n 1 palm://com.palm.applicationManager/rescan {}

You may need to do a full restart of the phone if after doing the above command does not add the avatar.


Change the Color of the Chat Balloons

The png's for the chat balloons are located here:

/usr/palm/applications/com.palm.app.messaging/images/chatview

Look for chat-balloon-right.png (your chat) and chat-balloon-left.png (friend's chat).

I have both images uploaded already.


Edit them using your favorite image editor.

Now uploaded them to where ever. Copy the image location.

Go to terminal and type:

cd /usr/palm/applications/com.palm.app.messaging/images/chatview

sudo wget (url)

Now you just need to change the name.

Type:

sudo mv (filename of url) chat-balloon-right.png

Do the same for the left chat balloon.

Now type:

sudo luna-send -n 1 palm://com.palm.applicationManager/rescan {}

Here are some pictures of edited chat balloons.

messaging_2009-15-07_202633.jpgmessaging_2009-15-07_193150.jpg1247673181554imagejpeg_2.jpgmessaging_2009-15-07_124008.jpg

Kudos goes out to DJPeterman for his help with the padding <3 and to halmo20 and lilmexx323 for help with the tut after the update.

Also thanks should go out to elryon for figuring out how to center avatars and to change the location avatar locations to the left, check out his mod on page 2.

[optik678]

Your path is wrong for the avatar :

"cd /usr/palm/applications/com.palm.app.messaging/images/chatview/"

Should be

"cd /usr/palm/applications/com.palm.app.messaging/images/"

Otherwise, it works awesomely! Thanks for finding that Can this be put in the wiki?

[sarah peterman]

Originally Posted by optik678

Your path is wrong for the avatar :

"cd /usr/palm/applications/com.palm.app.messaging/images/chatview/"

Should be

"cd /usr/palm/applications/com.palm.app.messaging/images/"

Otherwise, it works awesomely! Thanks for finding that Can this be put in the wiki?

opps you are right. Fixing it now, thanks! I would love for this to be in the wiki.

[jack87]

very well done. Now that this is in the developer section i am sure you will get a helping hand from some of the folk

[as4life]

where are your pics of edited chat balloons?

[sarah peterman]

I have a work around on getting the avatars in the balloons right now. Just trying to polish a few things up.

Update has been added...

Originally Posted by as4life

where are your pics of edited chat balloons?

I have them attached now.

[halmo20]

Awesome!!! Worked like a charm! Thanks~!

[MaSwaggSoSiQ]

i cant get past this code: sudo vi messaging.css . after i enter i get an error.. any ideas?

[as4life]

Originally Posted by MaSwaggSoSiQ

i cant get past this code: sudo vi messaging.css . after i enter i get an error.. any ideas?

what kind of error?

[MaSwaggSoSiQ]

Originally Posted by as4life

what kind of error?

/bin/sh: sudo: not found

[as4life]

Originally Posted by MaSwaggSoSiQ

/bin/sh: sudo: not found

Are you sure you cd into: /usr/palm/applications/com.palm.app.messaging/stylesheets? if so, once you cd into that directory, type ls and hit enter. Do you see the messaging.css file?

[sarah peterman]

You didn't set yourself up as root did you? If so, then you don't need the "sudo" command. Try it without the sudo command. Make one change, save it, and see if it sticks.

[as4life]

Just curious, what was the original my-avatar.png?

[sarah peterman]

Originally Posted by as4life

Just curious, what was the original my-avatar.png?

There was none, just needed to be created.

[as4life]

oh ok thanks!

[sarah peterman]

No problem :-)

[sarah peterman]

Any recent changes to the tutorial will happen here at the pre dev wiki.

[MaSwaggSoSiQ]

can someone please provide a step process from beginning to end if im already in root and dont need to use sudo. is it the same process or are the codes different?

[Ricyteach]

i wonder if someone that knows what they're doing (meaning not me ) can add this mod as a patch to the modifications available through quilt on gitorious.... that way it can easily be added and rolled back via quilt when there are OS updates from palm- just in case this mod ends up breaking something after an update.

pre dev wiki: Applying Patches

^^ that's what i'm talking about

[MaSwaggSoSiQ]

i am havin the hardest time with this. i have changed everything changeable on his phone but this coding is not workin for me. im using putty and i cannot even get to the messaging files ....