I could not find a smart solution to my problem and that is why I decided to write to you good people. I have a question for your regarding FileProvider and ACTION_VIEW, namely, I save the html file this way:
File sdcard = getBaseContext().getExternalFilesDir(null);
File dir = new File(sdcard.getAbsolutePath() + “/MYDIR/“);
dir.mkdir();
File file = new File(dir, “MYFILE.html");
File recordFile = new File(sdcard.getAbsolutePath()+ "/MYDIR/" + "MYFILE.html");
FileOutputStream os = null;
try {
os = new FileOutputStream(file);
os.write(returnedText.getText().toString().getBytes());
os.close();
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
its path: storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.myapp/files/MYDIR/MYFILE.html
This is how I call my html file:
File sdcard = getBaseContext().getExternalFilesDir(null);
Intent intent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW);
File f = new File(sdcard.getAbsolutePath() + "/MYDIR" + "/MYFILE.html");
intent.setDataAndType(Uri.fromFile(f), "text/html");
intent.setFlags(Intent.FLAG_GRANT_READ_URI_PERMISSION|
Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NO_HISTORY|
Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK);
Intent.createChooser(intent, "File Browser");
startActivity(intent);
I want to call this MYFILE.html via Intent and open in HTML Viewer, I get this error:
ERR_ACCESS_DENIED
So I decided to try FileProvider, but I get a completely different path. What should I do, any specific idea??? Thanks in advance.
My FileProvider:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<paths xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<external-path
name="external_files"
path="." />
</paths>
<provider
android:name="androidx.core.content.FileProvider"
android:authorities="com.myapp.provider"
android:exported="false"
android:grantUriPermissions="true">
<meta-data
android:name="android.support.FILE_PROVIDER_PATHS"
android:resource="#xml/provider_paths" />
</provider>
We have an enterprise app (not play store) that installs via APK that we distribute. In that app is an auto-update procedure that worked fine until SDK 29. I've been trying to update our code to use the new methodologies for downloading and starting a new intent with the downloaded APK, but its been a frustrating whack-a-mole experience.
My current state is that I CAN download the file and can see that it exists, but if I try to start an intent with it, I get the error about the file not being accessible because its an external file. A lot of googling later, I needed to implement file provider, which I've done, but the paths don't match between where the file is downloaded and what I'm passing to the intent.
Basically, I'm really confused about FileProvider and how I'm supposed to use it to get to the downloaded file path and let Android open the APK to install. Prompting the user to install is fine, that's how its always worked for us, and we're not trying to do a "silent" install. I just want it to work.
Pared down relevant code:
private void downloadUpdate(Uri uri) {
final String filename = File.separator + uri.getLastPathSegment();
DownloadManager downloadmanager = (DownloadManager) parent.getSystemService(Context.DOWNLOAD_SERVICE);
DownloadManager.Request request = new DownloadManager.Request(uri);
request.setDescription("Downloading");
request.setNotificationVisibility(DownloadManager.Request.VISIBILITY_VISIBLE_NOTIFY_COMPLETED);
request.setDestinationInExternalFilesDir(getContext(), Environment.DIRECTORY_DOWNLOADS, filename);
try {
onDownloadComplete = new BroadcastReceiver() {
#Override
public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
long id = intent.getLongExtra(DownloadManager.EXTRA_DOWNLOAD_ID, -1);
if (downloadId == id) {
Toast.makeText(parent, "Download Completed", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
try {
Intent installIntent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW);
String filepath = getContext().getExternalFilesDir(Environment.DIRECTORY_DOWNLOADS) + filename;
File update = new File(filepath);
Uri updateUri = FileProvider.getUriForFile(context, context.getApplicationContext().getPackageName() + ".fileprovider", update);
installIntent.setDataAndType(updateUri, "application/vnd.android.package-archive");
installIntent.setFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK);
installIntent.addFlags(Intent.FLAG_GRANT_READ_URI_PERMISSION);
startActivity(installIntent);
} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
}
};
parent.registerReceiver(onDownloadComplete,new IntentFilter(DownloadManager.ACTION_DOWNLOAD_COMPLETE));
downloadId = downloadmanager.enqueue(request);
} catch (Exception ex) {
Log.e("UpdateDownload", "Update Error: " + ex.getMessage());
new ErrorLog(new Date(), "Error downloading update: " + ex.getMessage());
}
}
My provider definition in the manifest:
<provider
android:name="androidx.core.content.FileProvider"
android:authorities="${applicationId}.fileprovider"
android:exported="false"
android:grantUriPermissions="true">
<meta-data
android:name="android.support.FILE_PROVIDER_PATHS"
android:resource="#xml/filepaths" />
</provider>
And my filepaths xml:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<paths>
<external-files-path name="pictures" path="Pictures" />
<external-files-path name="Download" path="Download/" />
</paths>
Everything downloads fine, and I get all the way to the startActivity line, but then I get an error where android can't parse the package - because its not actually looking at the right file path. In debug mode if I do update.exists(), I get a true, so the file IS being downloaded, but the update filepath does not equal what is found for updateUri.
How do I get fileprovider to provide the proper filepath to the intent? I assume my XML is configured wrong, but I don't understand what exactly the FileProvider is doing here.
I have a file in my raw assets directory which I am trying to save to shared phone storage that will allow other apps to open and view this video.
Basic code to copy file from assets to local storage and generate intent
Intent in = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW);
// using getFilesDir() below causes this error:
File videoFile = new File(getExternalFilesDirs(null)[1], "talking.mp4");
// check if we have already copied file over
if (!videoFile.exists()) {
try {
InputStream is = getResources().openRawResource(R.raw.talking);
boolean newFile = videoFile.createNewFile();
if (!newFile) {
throw new Exception("Failed to create file");
}
OutputStream os = new FileOutputStream(videoFile);
byte[] data = new byte[is.available()];
is.read(data);
os.write(data);
is.close();
os.close();
} catch (IOException e) {
Log.w("ExternalStorage", "Error writing " + videoFile, e);
Toast.makeText(this, "Failed to copy talking.mp4", Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
return;
} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
and getting the file using the FileProvider.getUriForFile(Context, String, File) and creating the intent following this:
Uri uri = FileProvider.getUriForFile(getApplicationContext(), getPackageName(), videoFile);
// type of file to view
in.setDataAndType(uri, "video/*");
// ask some other app to deal with it
startActivity(in);
in addition, the following is required in my manifest:
<application ... >
//...
<provider
android:name="androidx.core.content.FileProvider"
android:authorities="${getPackageName()}"
android:exported="false"
android:grantUriPermissions="true">
<meta-data
android:name="android.support.FILE_PROVIDER_PATHS"
android:resource="#xml/paths" />
</provider>
</application>
next, to define the paths mentioned above in the FileProvider:
<paths xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<files-path name="my_files_data" path="." />
<external-files-path name="my_files_ext_data" path="." />
<external-path name="my_files_ext" path="." />
</paths>
Question:
When selecting e.g. VLC for Android as the file to handle the intent, the app doesn't play the video. If I try playing it with Google Photos, it loads forever.
This shows my there is something wrong - however I am not quite sure why this isn't working. Is it related to app permissions accessing content root of another app?
I am trying to save an image in a folder named "appFolder" using android camera.My target sdk is 25.My device is running on android nougat. However,when i click the image using "dispatchTakePictureIntent()". The image doesn't get saved in appFolder.It gets saved in DCIM/camera folder. Why is this happening and how to save this in my custom folder?
private void dispatchTakePictureIntent() {
Intent takePictureIntent = new Intent(MediaStore.ACTION_IMAGE_CAPTURE);
// Ensure that there's a camera activity to handle the intent
if (takePictureIntent.resolveActivity(getPackageManager()) != null) {
// Create the File where the photo should go
File photoFile = null;
try {
photoFile = createImageFile();
} catch (IOException ex) {
// Error occurred while creating the File
Log.i("imageCaptutreError", ex.getMessage());
}
// Continue only if the File was successfully created
if (photoFile != null) {
Uri photoURI = FileProvider.getUriForFile(this,
"com.abc.def",
photoFile);
takePictureIntent.putExtra(MediaStore.EXTRA_OUTPUT, photoURI);
startActivityForResult(takePictureIntent, REQUEST_TAKE_PHOTO);
}
}
}
private File createImageFile() throws IOException {
File folder = new File(Environment.getExternalStorageDirectory().getAbsolutePath() + File.separator + "appFolder");
if (!folder.exists()) {
folder.mkdir();
}
File tempFile = new File(folder, "temp_image.png");
/*new File(Environment.getExternalStorageDirectory().getAbsolutePath() + File.separator + "appFolder" + File.separator + "temp_image.png");*/
mCurrentPhotoPath = tempFile.getAbsolutePath();
return tempFile;
}
Provider in Mainifest
<provider
android:name="android.support.v4.content.FileProvider"
android:authorities="com.abc.def"
android:exported="false"
android:grantUriPermissions="true">
<meta-data
android:name="android.support.FILE_PROVIDER_PATHS"
android:resource="#xml/file_paths"></meta-data>
</provider>
#xml/file_paths
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<paths xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<external-path name="my_images" path="appFolder/" />
</paths>
Partly, it is because you did not call addFlags(Intent.FLAG_GRANT_WRITE_URI_PERMISSION) on the Intent. As it stands, the other app does not have write access to the location identified by your Uri.
However, do bear in mind that third-party camera apps have bugs. Ideally, they honor EXTRA_OUTPUT. Some, however, will not:
...because they ignore EXTRA_OUTPUT in general, or
...because they do not know how to deal with the content scheme on the Uri in EXTRA_OUTPUT (even Google's own camera app had this problem until mid-2016)
FWIW, this sample app shows using ACTION_IMAGE_CAPTURE together with FileProvider.
My goal is to create a XML file on internal storage and then send it through the share Intent.
I'm able to create a XML file using this code
FileOutputStream outputStream = context.openFileOutput(fileName, Context.MODE_WORLD_READABLE);
PrintStream printStream = new PrintStream(outputStream);
String xml = this.writeXml(); // get XML here
printStream.println(xml);
printStream.close();
I'm stuck trying to retrieve a Uri to the output file in order to share it. I first tried to access the file by converting the file to a Uri
File outFile = context.getFileStreamPath(fileName);
return Uri.fromFile(outFile);
This returns file:///data/data/com.my.package/files/myfile.xml but I cannot appear to attach this to an email, upload, etc.
If I manually check the file length, it's proper and shows there is a reasonable file size.
Next I created a content provider and tried to reference the file and it isn't a valid handle to the file. The ContentProvider doesn't ever seem to be called a any point.
Uri uri = Uri.parse("content://" + CachedFileProvider.AUTHORITY + "/" + fileName);
return uri;
This returns content://com.my.package.provider/myfile.xml but I check the file and it's zero length.
How do I access files properly? Do I need to create the file with the content provider? If so, how?
Update
Here is the code I'm using to share. If I select Gmail, it does show as an attachment but when I send it gives an error Couldn't show attachment and the email that arrives has no attachment.
public void onClick(View view) {
Log.d(TAG, "onClick " + view.getId());
switch (view.getId()) {
case R.id.share_cancel:
setResult(RESULT_CANCELED, getIntent());
finish();
break;
case R.id.share_share:
MyXml xml = new MyXml();
Uri uri;
try {
uri = xml.writeXmlToFile(getApplicationContext(), "myfile.xml");
//uri is "file:///data/data/com.my.package/files/myfile.xml"
Log.d(TAG, "Share URI: " + uri.toString() + " path: " + uri.getPath());
File f = new File(uri.getPath());
Log.d(TAG, "File length: " + f.length());
// shows a valid file size
Intent shareIntent = new Intent();
shareIntent.setAction(Intent.ACTION_SEND);
shareIntent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_STREAM, uri);
shareIntent.setType("text/plain");
startActivity(Intent.createChooser(shareIntent, "Share"));
} catch (FileNotFoundException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
break;
}
}
I noticed that there is an Exception thrown here from inside createChooser(...), but I can't figure out why it's thrown.
E/ActivityThread(572): Activity
com.android.internal.app.ChooserActivity has leaked IntentReceiver
com.android.internal.app.ResolverActivity$1#4148d658 that was
originally registered here. Are you missing a call to
unregisterReceiver()?
I've researched this error and can't find anything obvious. Both of these links suggest that I need to unregister a receiver.
ChooserActivity has leaked IntentReceiver
Why does Intent.createChooser() need a BroadcastReceiver and how to implement?
I have a receiver setup, but it's for an AlarmManager that is set elsewhere and doesn't require the app to register / unregister.
Code for openFile(...)
In case it's needed, here is the content provider I've created.
public ParcelFileDescriptor openFile(Uri uri, String mode) throws FileNotFoundException {
String fileLocation = getContext().getCacheDir() + "/" + uri.getLastPathSegment();
ParcelFileDescriptor pfd = ParcelFileDescriptor.open(new File(fileLocation), ParcelFileDescriptor.MODE_READ_ONLY);
return pfd;
}
It is possible to expose a file stored in your apps private directory via a ContentProvider. Here is some example code I made showing how to create a content provider that can do this.
Manifest
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.example.providertest"
android:versionCode="1"
android:versionName="1.0">
<uses-sdk android:minSdkVersion="11" android:targetSdkVersion="15" />
<application android:label="#string/app_name"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_launcher"
android:theme="#style/AppTheme">
<activity
android:name=".MainActivity"
android:label="#string/app_name">
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
</intent-filter>
</activity>
<provider
android:name="MyProvider"
android:authorities="com.example.prov"
android:exported="true"
/>
</application>
</manifest>
In your ContentProvider override openFile to return the ParcelFileDescriptor
#Override
public ParcelFileDescriptor openFile(Uri uri, String mode) throws FileNotFoundException {
File cacheDir = getContext().getCacheDir();
File privateFile = new File(cacheDir, "file.xml");
return ParcelFileDescriptor.open(privateFile, ParcelFileDescriptor.MODE_READ_ONLY);
}
Make sure you have copied your xml file to the cache directory
private void copyFileToInternal() {
try {
InputStream is = getAssets().open("file.xml");
File cacheDir = getCacheDir();
File outFile = new File(cacheDir, "file.xml");
OutputStream os = new FileOutputStream(outFile.getAbsolutePath());
byte[] buff = new byte[1024];
int len;
while ((len = is.read(buff)) > 0) {
os.write(buff, 0, len);
}
os.flush();
os.close();
is.close();
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace(); // TODO: should close streams properly here
}
}
Now any other apps should be able to get an InputStream for your private file by using the content uri (content://com.example.prov/myfile.xml)
For a simple test, call the content provider from a seperate app similar to the following
private class MyTask extends AsyncTask<String, Integer, String> {
#Override
protected String doInBackground(String... params) {
Uri uri = Uri.parse("content://com.example.prov/myfile.xml");
InputStream is = null;
StringBuilder result = new StringBuilder();
try {
is = getApplicationContext().getContentResolver().openInputStream(uri);
BufferedReader r = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(is));
String line;
while ((line = r.readLine()) != null) {
result.append(line);
}
} catch (FileNotFoundException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
} finally {
try { if (is != null) is.close(); } catch (IOException e) { }
}
return result.toString();
}
#Override
protected void onPostExecute(String result) {
Toast.makeText(CallerActivity.this, result, Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
super.onPostExecute(result);
}
}
So Rob's answer is correct I assume but I did it a bit differently. As far as I understand, with the setting in in provider:
android:exported="true"
you are giving public access to all your files?! Anyway, a way to give only access to some files is to define file path permissions in the following way:
<provider
android:authorities="com.your.app.package"
android:name="android.support.v4.content.FileProvider"
android:exported="false"
android:grantUriPermissions="true">
<meta-data
android:name="android.support.FILE_PROVIDER_PATHS"
android:resource="#xml/file_paths" />
</provider>
and then in your XML directory you define file_paths.xml file as follows:
<paths xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<files-path path="/" name="allfiles" />
<files-path path="tmp/" name="tmp" />
</paths>
now, the "allfiles" gives the same kind of public permission I guess as the option android:exported="true" but you don't really want that I guess so to define a subdirectory is the next line. Then all you have to do is store the files you want to share, there in that dir.
Next what you have to do is, as also Rob says, obtain a URI for this file. This is how I did it:
Uri contentUri = FileProvider.getUriForFile(context, "com.your.app.package", sharedFile);
Then, when I have this URI, I had to attach to it permissions for other app to use it. I was using or sending this file URI to camera app. Anyway this is the way how I got the other app package info and granted permissions to the URI:
PackageManager packageManager = getPackageManager();
List<ResolveInfo> list = packageManager.queryIntentActivities(cameraIntent, PackageManager.MATCH_DEFAULT_ONLY);
if (list.size() < 1) {
return;
}
String packageName = list.get(0).activityInfo.packageName;
grantUriPermission(packageName, sharedFileUri, Intent.FLAG_GRANT_WRITE_URI_PERMISSION | Intent.FLAG_GRANT_READ_URI_PERMISSION);
ClipData clipData = ClipData.newRawUri("CAMFILE", sharedFileUri);
cameraIntent.setClipData(clipData);
cameraIntent.setFlags(Intent.FLAG_GRANT_WRITE_URI_PERMISSION);
cameraIntent.setFlags(Intent.FLAG_GRANT_READ_URI_PERMISSION);
startActivityForResult(cameraIntent, GET_FROM_CAMERA);
I left the code for camera as I did not want to take some other example I did not work on. But this way you see that you can attach permissions to URI itself.
The camera's thing is that I can set it via ClipData and then additionally set permissions. I guess in your case you only need FLAG_GRANT_READ_URI_PERMISSION as you are attaching a file to an email.
Here is the link to help on FileProvider as I based all of my post on the info I found there. Had some trouble finding a package info for camera app though.
Hope it helps.
None of the above answers helped. My problem was the point of passing intent extras but I'll walk you through all the steps to share a file.
Step 1: Create a Content Provider
This will make the file accessible to whichever app you want to share with.
Paste the following in the Manifest.xml file inside the <application></applicatio> tags
<provider
android:name="androidx.core.content.FileProvider"
android:authorities="{YOUR_PACKAGE_NAME}.fileprovider"
android:exported="false"
android:grantUriPermissions="true">
<meta-data
android:name="android.support.FILE_PROVIDER_PATHS"
android:resource="#xml/provider_paths" />
</provider>
Step 2: Define paths accessible by the content provider
Do this by creating a file called provider_paths.xml (or a name of your choice) under res/xml. Put the following code in the file
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<paths>
<external-path
name="external"
path="." />
<external-files-path
name="external_files"
path="." />
<cache-path
name="cache"
path="." />
<external-cache-path
name="external_cache"
path="." />
<files-path
name="files"
path="." />
</paths>
Step 3: Create the Intent to share the file
Intent intentShareFile = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_SEND);
Uri uri = FileProvider.getUriForFile(getApplicationContext(), getPackageName() + ".fileprovider", fileToShare);
intentShareFile.setDataAndType(uri, URLConnection.guessContentTypeFromName(fileToShare.getName()));
//Allow sharing apps to read the file Uri
intentShareFile.addFlags(Intent.FLAG_GRANT_READ_URI_PERMISSION);
//Pass the file Uri instead of the path
intentShareFile.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_STREAM,
uri);
startActivity(Intent.createChooser(intentShareFile, "Share File"));
If you need to permission other apps to see your app's private files (for Share, or otherwise) you might be able to save some time and just use v4 compat library's FileProvider
This is what i'm using:
I combined some answers and used the current AndroidX Doku:
Sharing files Android Development
Basic Process: You change the manifest to make it possible for other apps to access your local files. the filepath's that are allowed to be accessed from outside are found in the res/xml/filepaths.xml. When sharing you create an intent to share and set a Flag that temporarily allowed the other app to access your local files. Android documentation claims this is the secure way to share files
Step1: Add FileProvider to Manifest
<provider
android:name="androidx.core.content.FileProvider"
android:authorities="com.YOUR.APP.PACKAGE.fileprovider"
android:grantUriPermissions="true"
android:exported="false">
<meta-data
android:name="android.support.FILE_PROVIDER_PATHS"
android:resource="#xml/filepaths" />
</provider>
Step2: Add filepaths.xml to res/xml (if XML folder does not exists just create it yourself)
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<paths xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
<files-path path="share/" name="share" />
</paths>
Step3: Use a function like this to start a file share. this function moves the file to the predefined share folder and creates a Url to it. the ShareDir is the File pointing to the files/share/ directory. the copy_File function copies the given file to the share directory in order to be accessible from the outside.
The function also makes it possible to Send the File as email with given header and body. if not needed just set it to empty strings
public void ShareFiles(Activity activity, List<File> files, String header, String body) {
ArrayList<Uri> uriList = new ArrayList<>();
if(files != null) {
for (File f : files) {
if (f.exists()) {
File file_in_share = copy_File(f, ShareDir);
if(file_in_share == null)
continue;
// Use the FileProvider to get a content URI
try {
Uri fileUri = FileProvider.getUriForFile(
activity,
"com.YOUR.APP.PACKAGE.fileprovider",
file_in_share);
uriList.add(fileUri);
} catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
Log.e("File Selector",
"The selected file can't be shared: " + f.toString());
}
}
}
}
if(uriList.size() == 0)
{
Log.w("StorageModule", "ShareFiles: no files to share");
return;
}
Intent intent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_SEND_MULTIPLE);
intent.addFlags(Intent.FLAG_GRANT_READ_URI_PERMISSION);
intent.setType("text/html");
intent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_SUBJECT, header);
intent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_TEXT, body);
intent.putParcelableArrayListExtra(Intent.EXTRA_STREAM, uriList);
activity.startActivity(Intent.createChooser(intent, "Share Files"));
}