I'd like my app to be able to launch any other app - but instead of launching the other-app's main activity (as described here), I'd like to be able to launch the other-app's most recent activity.
In other words, I want to programmatically have the same user experience that the user gets when clicking on the "recent apps" system/hardware button, and selecting any app from the list.
Not sure if that's even possible with the current Android API, or perhaps I didn't use it the right way.
Thanks!
It depends of the launchModeof the other app´s activity !
Related
I am working on a fitness app which has a home activity which launches a workouts activity which launches a specific workout activity. In the workout activity, one may start a workout. Thereafter, one might want to then press the Home button and launch a music player or perhaps the web browser. At some point, one would probably launch the app again to return to the already running workout, but that ends up launching a new instance of the app. When I set the launchMode on the home activity to singleTask, it simply goes back to the existing home activity when I tap the launcher icon. What I would like is for it to go back to the workout in progress, which is where you would depart the app.
Essentially, I'm looking for behavior identical to iOS where it would simply restore the app to its current state if you "relaunched" the app and it was still running.
It is supposed to work as you've described. In most cases, it actually does work like that. However, there is a long-standing nasty Android bug which causes the behaviour you've described. This happens when you launch the app for the first time from an IDE (like Eclipse) or by clicking the "open" button on the Installer screen. To see if this is what you're seeing, just do this:
Go to Settings->Applications, choose your app and click "Force close"
Launch your app, do something, press the HOME button
Launch your app again.
You should return to where you left off. If not, something else bad is going on. If that is the case, please post your manifest in your question, because the problem is likely in these.
Don't try to use special launchModes to fix this. This just creates more problems.
See this answer for more information about the nasty long-standing Android bug.
I'm working on large project, so there is some logic for saving application state, and then opening correct activity(fragment) when it comes from background.
But anyway, I've found that if user navigates through my app and then minimize it - android opens it from background in different ways in following cases:
User taps on app icon (behavior: user see home activity, doesn't matter where he was, when application was minimized)
User select app from android "recent apps" (behavior: user see exactly what he saw, when the application was minimized)
So, what is the difference between launching application from background by this two ways? I always thought, that it is the same mechanism, but, obviously, I was wrong.
Thanks for any answers
You should pay atention on the folowing docs Activity and Tasks. In short words: if user start app from recents you will receive onRestart before onStart (without onCreate it means that your app was just "suspended"). You able to save screen state using onSaveInstanceState(). But in general starting from icon and from recents - different application behaviors and you should provide proper code for this ways.
UPD
As described below root cause of unexpected behaviour was additional lunchmode attribute.
From what I experience as an Android user, both are same.
The difference we usually see is how we close the app
Press back button until app close / finish()
On this state no matter how we open the apps it will go to the main screen
Press Home button
On this state depend on the app. If the app does not handle any Activity the app will same with the first state. But if the app handle something like when onPause() the Activity then finish() the apps, then whatever you open with app icon or recent apps will provide the same result.
Correct me if I am wrong
i just want to know how can i detect if the user opens an app so an activity of mine launches as well.
For example, the user opens the sms app and right after a kind of lockscreen appears.
You can create a service which will run int the background and you can use this API to determine which activity is visible. That's how many app lock works.
As far as I understand the Android system, it is not possible unless you are making a custom firmware.
I'm developing a Learning Application. In it, I have an Activity where the user can select some applications from a list of all the applications installed on his device.
Now, I'd like to launch my Activity whenever the user launches any of the selected applications from the app list. Basically I'd like to override the selected Activity by my activity. Once the user complete's some task, the user should be returned to the previously clicked Application.
How do I "Capture" this 'Launching other applications' part? BroadcastReceivers? Any example would be highly helpful. I'd be very grateful if anyone points me in the right direction with reference links.
This is very similar to a Lock Apps Application. But in a very badly twisted kind of way.
I know I have to use a background service to monitor the user activity.
You don't intercept arbitrary application launches, if that's what you're after. Doing this silently goes against the Android (or any reasonable) security model.
What you can do is offer an alternative Home screen.
However, if you just have a list view of available applications, nothing stops you from defining custom behaviours within that list activity.
We can launch the app in two ways, 1 is form the app, clicking on device back button till we reach the android home screen and launching the app or 2nd is from the app we can click the device home button and then we can launch.
How can we differentiate these to launches? In 2nd type launch onrestart will be called, onrestart will be called in some other cases also.
I want to do something in the 2nd type of launch.
Can any one tel me how to do this...
Thanks in advance.
When it comes to what happens when the activity is started, you may want to look at the following link in the developer site.
http://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/Activity.html#ActivityLifecycle
You may want to code based on the lifecycle of the activity rather than if the application was pushed to the background by the home key vs. by the back key. There could be different reasons the application was pushed to the background or closed. This is the expected way to handle application events.