Develop Reference

android explicit intent by name not resolving to other activity

I have 2 apps that are used in conjunction with one another. I want to create a button that launches app A from app B so I am creating an intent like so in app B:
Intent intent = new Intent("com.org.orgmobile.android.action.ACTION_CUSTOM");
intent.setFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_SINGLE_TOP);
intent.setData(Uri.parse(url));
startActivity(intent);
where url is https://org.org.com/mobile/Support/action/org/ActionEnumValue/?a=123
the intent filter I have declared in app A's manifest is like so:
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="com.org.orgmobile.android.action.ACTION_CUSTOM"/>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW"/>
<category android:name="android.intent.category.BROWSABLE"/>
<category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT"/>
<data android:scheme="https"/>
<data android:host="org.org.com"/>
<data android:pathPrefix="/mobile/Support/action/${manifestplaceholderattr}.*/ActionEnumValue/*"/>
</intent-filter>
and manifestplaceholderattr is an empty string.
I am getting
android.content.ActivityNotFoundException: No Activity found to handle Intent { act=com.org.orgmobile.android.action.ACTION_CUSTOM dat=https://org.org.com/... flg=0x20000000 }
at android.app.Instrumentation.checkStartActivityResult(Instrumentation.java:1936)
at android.app.Instrumentation.execStartActivity(Instrumentation.java:1615)
at android.app.Activity.startActivityForResult(Activity.java:4472)
at android.app.Activity.startActivityForResult(Activity.java:4430)
at android.app.Activity.startActivity(Activity.java:4791)
at android.app.Activity.startActivity(Activity.java:4759)
What am I overlooking here? I have tried using pathPattern instead of path prefix with no success.
Edit: to provide more detail, I don't just want to launch that specific activity, I want to match the specific intent associated with that activity to launch the activity. I don't want to launch the activity directly because in the case that the user's app is out of date because it won't have the desired behavior.

Best way to do this through Package manager as below.
PackageManager manager = getPackageManager();
try {
Intent intent = manager.getLaunchIntentForPackage("app B package name here");
if (intent == null)
throw new PackageManager.NameNotFoundException();
intent.addCategory(Intent.CATEGORY_LAUNCHER);
startActivity(intent);
} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
Package manager checks if app with the given package name is installed, if exists it launches the app else it throws NameNotFoundException

You need to use pathPattern instead of pathPrefix. Also you should use .* instead of * at the end of the pattern:
<data android:pathPattern="/mobile/Support/action/${manifestplaceholderattr}.*/ActionEnumValue/.*"/>
This may also not work. If I recall, pathPattern isn't a real regular expression and you may not be able to match the URL like this. Try it and see. If this doesn't work, you'll probably need to rely on just the first part of the path. Let me know how it goes.
See the documentation on path, pathPattern and pathPrefix.

You need to use code as below to launch other App using custom action.
Intent intent = new Intent();
intent.setAction("com.org.orgmobile.android.action.ACTION_CUSTOM");
intent.setFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_SINGLE_TOP);
intent.setData(Uri.parse(url));
startActivity(intent);
Also make sure both of your application is installed. Also it is better to have check as below to make sure application exists on the phone to handle such Intent.
PackageManager packageManager = getPackageManager();
List activities = packageManager.queryIntentActivities(intent,
PackageManager.MATCH_DEFAULT_ONLY);
boolean isIntentSafe = activities.size() > 0;

Android: How to unhide app

I want to allow the users of my Android app to hide/unhide it when they want.
I already have the code to perform the hide/unhide actions, and the hiding works fine.
But now how can I call the unhide method to let the app back?
I mean, if the app is hidden, where can the user, let's say, "click a button" that calls the method to make the app unhide?
Here is my hide/unhide code:
// method to hide the app icon
public static void hideAppIcon(final Context context)
{
PackageManager p = context.getPackageManager();
// activity which is first time open in manifest file which is declare as <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
ComponentName componentName = new ComponentName(context, SplashActivity.class);
p.setComponentEnabledSetting(componentName,PackageManager.COMPONENT_ENABLED_STATE_DISABLED, PackageManager.DONT_KILL_APP);
}
// method to unhide the app icon
public static void unhideAppIcon(final Context context)
{
PackageManager p = context.getPackageManager();
// activity which is first time open in manifest file which is declare as <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
ComponentName componentName = new ComponentName(context, SplashActivity.class);
p.setComponentEnabledSetting(componentName, PackageManager.COMPONENT_ENABLED_STATE_ENABLED, PackageManager.DONT_KILL_APP);
}

Here's a way I've learned from another app. Not "hiding" the icon, instead, change the icon and label of your app. Disguise the app as some built-in apps like "Settings" or "Calculator".
Another solution (which might be closer to your need) is to add an intent-filter in your app, detecting something like phone calls. If users call a certain number, you unhide your app.
see this for more infomation.
Hope this will help.

How to disable/enable android receiver in source code?

I hava a question about Android Receiver.
I'm possible to change System app.
B is the first app, when user turns on the power. But the problem is when user chooses FACTORY Mode(like setting language, google id...), B App has to be started finishing A App setting. That's why use android:enabled="false"and A App trigger B app. But not working.
I think "android.intent.action.BOOT_COMPLETED" send just one time after booting, so after changing enable receiver B app, it's not working. Is it right?
Please can you give me some advise?
A App
PackageManager pm = getPackageManager();
ComponentName compName = new ComponentName("com.test.myapp", "com.test.myapp.receiver");
pm.setComponentEnabledSetting(compName, PackageManager.COMPONENT_ENABLED_STATE_ENABLED, 0);
B App AndoidManifest.xml
<receiver
android:name="com.test.myapp.receiver"
android:enabled="false">
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.BOOT_COMPLETED" />
</intent-filter>
</receiver>
B App
public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
if(Intent.ACTION_BOOT_COMPLETED.equals(intent.getAction())){
Intent startMainActivityIntent = new Intent(context, new.class);
startMainActivityIntent.addFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK);
context.startActivity(startMainActivityIntent);
}

Why don't you just start app B from app A directly? Yes, boot completed triggered only once. But you can start app B without any receivers, look here for example

Android: REmove icon from springboard and launch this application from other application

How to remove application icon from springboard but I don't want to uninstall, just remove icon from springboard and this app will be launched from another application. In a simple word, I want to make another springboard like this and launch application from there not from anywhere else. Is this possible?

To remove application from springboard you can try this:
PackageManager packageManager = context.getPackageManager();
ComponentName componentName = new ComponentName(context,LauncherActivity.class);
packageManager.setComponentEnabledSetting(componentName,
PackageManager.COMPONENT_ENABLED_STATE_DISABLED,PackageManager.DONT_KILL_APP);
Now to start your application from another application you can do the following steps:
1.Create an intent with action=MAIN and category=LAUNCHER
2.Get the PackageManager from the current context using context.getPackageManager
3.packageManager.queryIntentActivity(, 0) where intent has category=LAUNCHER, action=MAIN or packageManager.resolveActivity(, 0) to get the first activity with main/launcher
4.Get the ActivityInfo you're interested in
5.From the ActivityInfo, get the packageName and name
6.Finally, create another intent with with category=LAUNCHER, action=MAIN, componentName = new ComponentName(packageName, name) and setFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK)
7.Finally, context.startActivity(newIntent)

In the AndroidMainfest.xml of your application, remove the below line for the activity that you do not want to have the launcher.
<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
and change android.intent.action.MAIN action to something that is your app specific
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
For example, one can change it to below to represent custom intent action:
<action android:name="com.example.action.MAIN" />
Now, you should be able to launch this application from another application using something like this:
Intent intent = new Intent("com.example.action.MAIN");
currentActivity.startActivity(intent);
More info here: http://developer.android.com/guide/components/intents-filters.html

Remove Activity as Default Launcher

I set my activity as a default launcher to intercept home button clicks like so:
<activity
android:name=".ExampleActivity"
android:label="#string/app_name">
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.HOME" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
</intent-filter>
</activity>
When my activity, ExampleActivity is launched, if i click the home key, I get prompted to choose. If I select make this my default and chose my activity, I am stuck In my activity as desired.
The problem is, when I leave the activity, I try to remove my activity from the default launcher, but am unsuccessful.
I have tried:
ComponentName componentName = new ComponentName(
"com.example.exampleactivity",
"com.example.exampleactivity.class");
pm.setComponentEnabledSetting(componentName, PackageManager.COMPONENT_ENABLED_STATE_DEFAULT, PackageManager.DONT_KILL_APP);
And:
PackageManager pm = getActivity().getPackageManager();
ComponentName name = new ComponentName(this, "com.example.exampleactivity.class");
pm.setComponentEnabledSetting(name, PackageManager.COMPONENT_ENABLED_STATE_DISABLED, 0);
But my designation for the home is never removed.
Does anyone have a working way to fix the above?
I only wan't the home button to be default for a specific activity, not my entire application. When I leave the activity, it should be removed and restored to default.

if it's your app that you're clearing its defaults , you can simply call :
getPackageManager().clearPackagePreferredActivities(getPackageName());
then , in order to show the dialog of choosing which launcher to use , use:
final Intent intent=new Intent();
intent.setAction(Intent.ACTION_MAIN);
intent.addCategory(Intent.CATEGORY_HOME);
startActivity(intent);

This solution is a clever way of doing it:
Clearing and setting the default home application
The code in onResume() basically goes like this:
ComponentName componentName = new ComponentName(MyActivity.this, FakeHome.class);
if (!isMyLauncherDefault()) {
Log.e(TAG, "MyActivity is not default home activity!");
// toggle fake activity
PackageManager pm = getPackageManager();
int flag = ((pm.getComponentEnabledSetting(componentName) == PackageManager.COMPONENT_ENABLED_STATE_ENABLED) ? PackageManager.COMPONENT_ENABLED_STATE_DISABLED
: PackageManager.COMPONENT_ENABLED_STATE_ENABLED);
pm.setComponentEnabledSetting(componentName, flag, PackageManager.DONT_KILL_APP);
// start home activity to enable chooser
Intent selector = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_MAIN);
selector.addCategory(Intent.CATEGORY_HOME);
startActivity(selector);
}
and the method isMyLauncherDefault() is taken from here:
How to check if my application is the default launcher

You cannot override the behavior of the home key to suit your application; this is a design decision by Google, to ensure the user can always return to a static location. There may be some ways around this (if they still exist) but they are unintended bugs which an application should not rely on.
The short answer: you can have any key except the home key.

Have a look at the android.permission.SET_PREFERRED_APPLICATIONS permission. Also this method http://developer.android.com/reference/android/content/pm/PackageManager.html#clearPackagePreferredActivities(java.lang.String)