Tutorial
Updated
How to make a custom Wii Menu theme using ThemeMii
I'm sorry if the formatting is broken, I am on mobile and this guide was originally written on my Reddit account
Hey all! Since I struggled to find guides for this topic when I was figuring it out. I wanted to make a guide on custom Wii Menu themes using ThemeMii.
I am more than happy for someone to contribute to this guide, so if there's anything you feel is worth adding or any corrections; comment or dm it to me!
DISCLAIMER: USE BRICK PROTECTION, EVERYTHING YOU DO FROM NOW ON IS AT YOUR OWN RISK! I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY BRICKS, LOST SAVE DATA OR IF YOUR CONSOLE SETS ITSELF ON FIRE.
This guide is for Wii only! DO NOT ATTEMPT ON WII U (vWii)
Download the following:
- ThemeMii
- Wiimms Image tool (aka wimgt)
- Wii NUS downloader
You will need:
- A modern Windows computer
- A photo editing program (GIMP is free and open source if you don't have photoshop!)
- Microsoft .NET framework 3.5
- Some knowledge with command prompt
- A brain
Step 1. Download and launch NUS Downloader
Step 2. In NUS downloader, select 'database', in the drop-down menu select 'system' > System Menu > \[Your system menu version\]
Step 3. Check the 'Create Decrypted Contents (.app)' box
Step 4. Start NUS download!
Step 5. Your downloaded files will be stored in 'titles', which is in the same folder as nus downloader
Step 6. Find the base .app based on your system menu version, for me (4.3e) this was 0000009a .app. put it somewhere safe, this is your base .app for theming
**You can also grab this file off a Wii NAND dump!**
Step 1. Put your base .app file into the same folder as ThemeMii, then launch it.
Step 2. In ThemeMii, select Options > System Menu > \[Select your system menu version\]
ThemeMii will automatically find the base .app file and extract it.
Step 3. Click tools > browse base .app
Step 4. Locate the 'layout' folder, this is where a majority of the Wii Menu's texture files are located.
Step 5. Find and locate the .tpl file of the texture you would like to modify and extract it.
Step 6. Convert the .tpl file to a png (scroll down to the next guide to learn how)
Step 7. Edit the png in your chosen photo editing program (GIMP or Photoshop is recommended!)
Step 8. Go back to ThemeMii and click the '+' button, then click 'static image',
Step 9. You should see your new static image entry on thememii, click on it, then click the three dots next to 'file'. Select the TPL of the texture you would like to modify
Step 10. Click the three dots next to the 'filepath' section, and select your edited PNG
Step 11. Repeat steps 3 to 10 until you have modified all the textures you want!
Step 12. Now to export your newly made theme! If you would like to share your theme with others on the internet, select 'save mym' to save it as a mym file.
If you want to install this theme on your Wii, select 'save csm' to create an installable .csm file for your Wii
Step 1. Download and install Wiimms Image tools
Step 2. Open command prompt and cd to the program location (by default it is located at C:\\Program Files\\Wiimm\\SZS)
Step 3. Type the command 'wimgt.exe decode path/to/file' (if wimgt has issues finding your file, add quotation marks to the filepath, and ensure you have sufficient permissions)
Step 4. Your newly decoded PNG will be in the same folder as the TPL by default
Congrats! You got this far into the guide! Now how the heck do we install this newly made theme..?
Note: you will need to have the Homebrew Channel installed...obviously
Step 1. Save your theme as a .csm file
Step 2. Insert your Wii's SD Card into your PC and create a folder on the root of the drive called 'themes'
Step 3. Download csm-installer and put it in your apps folder on the SD card (MyMenuify works too)
Step 4. Put your csm file into the 'themes' folder
Step 5. Put your SD card back in your Wii and launch the homebrew channel. Launch csm-installer
Step 6. Use your Wii Remote to select your csm file, press A to select it
Step 7. Press + on your wiimote to confirm and install the theme
Step 8. Cross your fingers and pray you don't brick your system
Step 9. Once the installation is complete, reboot your Wii
If everything has been done correctly, you should now have your custom theme installed on your Wii!
I would highly recommend installing your theme on an emulator to ensure nothing went wrong! If Dolphin shows any errors, you messed something up and you should not install it on your real system
Hey all! Since I struggled to find guides for this topic when I was figuring it out. I wanted to make a guide on custom Wii Menu themes using ThemeMii.
I am more than happy for someone to contribute to this guide, so if there's anything you feel is worth adding or any corrections; comment or dm it to me!
DISCLAIMER: USE BRICK PROTECTION, EVERYTHING YOU DO FROM NOW ON IS AT YOUR OWN RISK! I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY BRICKS, LOST SAVE DATA OR IF YOUR CONSOLE SETS ITSELF ON FIRE.
This guide is for Wii only! DO NOT ATTEMPT ON WII U (vWii)
Preparations
(i had to remove the links due to the anti spam)Download the following:
- ThemeMii
- Wiimms Image tool (aka wimgt)
- Wii NUS downloader
You will need:
- A modern Windows computer
- A photo editing program (GIMP is free and open source if you don't have photoshop!)
- Microsoft .NET framework 3.5
- Some knowledge with command prompt
- A brain
Downloading the needed files
Step 1. Download and launch NUS Downloader
Step 2. In NUS downloader, select 'database', in the drop-down menu select 'system' > System Menu > \[Your system menu version\]
Step 3. Check the 'Create Decrypted Contents (.app)' box
Step 4. Start NUS download!
Step 5. Your downloaded files will be stored in 'titles', which is in the same folder as nus downloader
Step 6. Find the base .app based on your system menu version, for me (4.3e) this was 0000009a .app. put it somewhere safe, this is your base .app for theming
**You can also grab this file off a Wii NAND dump!**
Creating your theme
Step 1. Put your base .app file into the same folder as ThemeMii, then launch it.
Step 2. In ThemeMii, select Options > System Menu > \[Select your system menu version\]
ThemeMii will automatically find the base .app file and extract it.
Step 3. Click tools > browse base .app
Step 4. Locate the 'layout' folder, this is where a majority of the Wii Menu's texture files are located.
Step 5. Find and locate the .tpl file of the texture you would like to modify and extract it.
Step 6. Convert the .tpl file to a png (scroll down to the next guide to learn how)
Step 7. Edit the png in your chosen photo editing program (GIMP or Photoshop is recommended!)
Step 8. Go back to ThemeMii and click the '+' button, then click 'static image',
Step 9. You should see your new static image entry on thememii, click on it, then click the three dots next to 'file'. Select the TPL of the texture you would like to modify
Step 10. Click the three dots next to the 'filepath' section, and select your edited PNG
Step 11. Repeat steps 3 to 10 until you have modified all the textures you want!
Step 12. Now to export your newly made theme! If you would like to share your theme with others on the internet, select 'save mym' to save it as a mym file.
If you want to install this theme on your Wii, select 'save csm' to create an installable .csm file for your Wii
Decode TPL files
Step 1. Download and install Wiimms Image tools
Step 2. Open command prompt and cd to the program location (by default it is located at C:\\Program Files\\Wiimm\\SZS)
Step 3. Type the command 'wimgt.exe decode path/to/file' (if wimgt has issues finding your file, add quotation marks to the filepath, and ensure you have sufficient permissions)
Step 4. Your newly decoded PNG will be in the same folder as the TPL by default
Installing your theme
Congrats! You got this far into the guide! Now how the heck do we install this newly made theme..?
Note: you will need to have the Homebrew Channel installed...obviously
Step 1. Save your theme as a .csm file
Step 2. Insert your Wii's SD Card into your PC and create a folder on the root of the drive called 'themes'
Step 3. Download csm-installer and put it in your apps folder on the SD card (MyMenuify works too)
Step 4. Put your csm file into the 'themes' folder
Step 5. Put your SD card back in your Wii and launch the homebrew channel. Launch csm-installer
Step 6. Use your Wii Remote to select your csm file, press A to select it
Step 7. Press + on your wiimote to confirm and install the theme
Step 8. Cross your fingers and pray you don't brick your system
Step 9. Once the installation is complete, reboot your Wii
If everything has been done correctly, you should now have your custom theme installed on your Wii!
I would highly recommend installing your theme on an emulator to ensure nothing went wrong! If Dolphin shows any errors, you messed something up and you should not install it on your real system
Last edited by VLCInsanityPlayer,
