Develop Reference

Add custom action to Android Share-Sheet

I have an app where the user should be able to share some text. Now I want to provide the default sharing options for plain text that Android provides. I do so with the following code:
Intent sendIntent = new Intent();
sendIntent.setAction(Intent.ACTION_SEND);
sendIntent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_TEXT, text);
sendIntent.setType("text/plain");
Intent chooser = Intent.createChooser(sendIntent, "Share");
startActivity(chooser);
This will look a bit like that:
Source: http://developer.android.com/training/basics/intents/sending.html
But now I also would like to be able to have one more option in the Share-Service-Picker Dialog that triggers a custom action in my own code. Namely I want the user to be able to favourite an entry. So beside sharing via SMS, Email, FB, whatever, I'd like there to be one more item on the top of that list, saying "Add to favourites" (Including an icon if possible).
So my question is if that's possible?!? And if, how :)
Any tips are appreciated!

Intent filters inform the system what intents an application component is willing to accept. Similar to how you constructed an intent with action ACTION_SEND in the Sending Simple Data to Other Apps lesson, you create intent filters in order to be able to receive intents with this action. You define an intent filter in your manifest, using the element. For example, if your application handles receiving text content, a single image of any type, or multiple images of any type, your manifest would look like:
<activity android:name=".ui.MyActivity" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.SEND" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
<data android:mimeType="image/*" />
</intent-filter>
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.SEND" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
<data android:mimeType="text/plain" />
</intent-filter>
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.SEND_MULTIPLE" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
<data android:mimeType="image/*" />
</intent-filter>
</activity>
from Receiving Simple Data from Other Apps:Update Your Manifest

Android unable to display chooser

When calling startActivity with a configured chooser intent, the Android chooser is not displaying any list of applications which can handle the intent. I suspect my handling activity is not configured correctly, but not combination of intent-filters has cause it to display.
Disclaimer: This is for an online course.
static private final String URL = "http://www.google.com";
Intent baseIntent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW, Uri.parse(URL));
Intent chooserIntent = Intent.createChooser(baseIntent, CHOOSER_TEXT);
startActivity(chooserIntent);
The handling activity:
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW" />
<data android:scheme="http" />
</intent-filter>
A chooser never displays. Android launches chrome instead.
This happens both on emulator, and on my touchpad.

Edit your intent-filter as below:
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW" />
<data android:scheme="http" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
</intent-filter>

Android Intent with Cordova - New app instance launched for every share. Should be only one

I want to share url's from other apps to mine.
I am using this Phonegap Plugin to implement the intents:
https://github.com/chrisekelley/olutindo-app/tree/master/plugins/com.borismus.webintent
Intents are working, but everytime i share an intent from another app, a new instance of my app is launched, but i want to use one instance. If the app is already opened, it should be reinitialized and brought to front or restarted with the shared intent initialization.
I tryed android:launchMode="singleTop", but the same behavior occurs, app would be opened multiple times.
My manifest entry:
<activity android:configChanges="orientation|keyboardHidden|screenSize"
android:name=".StartActivity"
android:label="#string/app_name"
android:launchMode="singleTop" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
</intent-filter>
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW"></action>
<category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT"></category>
<category android:name="android.intent.category.BROWSABLE"></category>
<data android:mimeType="text/plain" />
</intent-filter>
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.SEND" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
<data android:mimeType="text/plain" />
</intent-filter>
</activity>
These is no initialization in my MainActivity because the intents would be initialized from javascript with a own function (See PG plugin above).
Edit: I tryed to use android:launchMode="singleInstance". Now on every share request my app would be brought to top, but the intent is not initialized. How can i initialize the incoming intent request again with cordova, if the app is already started?
Thank you!

I'm not sure how to workaround this. But i'm pretty sure that even if your code is launchMode="singleInstance" or singleTask, the OS will open an different Instance for each intent.action.
The only way to workaround i did find is creating a empty activity that calls your activity with a unique intent.action.
final Intent myIntent = new Intent(this,
MainActivity.class);
myIntent.setAction("android.intent.action.MAIN"); //myIntent.setAction(Intent.ACTION_MAIN);
startActivity(myIntent);
You can do a listening service. When you try to share the service get launched and it opens your activity if one intent.action aways.

Android Intent-filter problem

I'm trying to write an intent-filter to select a contact from the list of contacts (for purely educational purposes... I'm learning about intents). After calling startActivity on an implicit intent, android should find my custom activity as well as the default activity as candidate Activities and let me choose which one I want to use (intent resolution).
However, with my current setup, it opens android's default contact picker without giving me the choice. Here is my intent-filter.
<activity android:name=".ContactPicker" android:label="PICKER" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.PICK" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
<data android:scheme="content" android:host="com.android.contacts" android:path="contacts" />
</intent-filter>
</activity>
and here is how I am calling the implicit intent on the main activity:
Intent intent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_PICK, Uri.parse("content://com.android.contacts/contacts"));
startActivityForResult(intent, PICK_CONTACT);

Try:
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.PICK"/>
<category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT"/>
<data android:mimeType="vnd.android.cursor.dir/contact"/>
</intent-filter>

Launch Skype from an App Programmatically & Pass Number - Android

Trying to launch and pass tel. no. to skype by this code from my app:
PackageManager packageManager = getPackageManager();
Intent skype = packageManager.getLaunchIntentForPackage("com.skype.raider");
skype.setData(Uri.parse("tel:65465446"));
startActivity(skype);
Skype is launched but it can't catch the number.

This code works for me to start a call between two Skype users:
Intent sky = new Intent("android.intent.action.VIEW");
sky.setData(Uri.parse("skype:" + user_name));
startActivity(sky);
To find this (and others), use apktool to open up the Skype APK. Look at the AndroidManifest.xml and you'll see all the intent filters they know about. If you want to trigger one of those intent filters, you need to make an intent that will match one. Here's the intent filter that the code above is matching:
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
<data android:scheme="skype" />
</intent-filter>
You get the category "android.intent.category.DEFAULT" for free from new Intent(), so all that remains is to set the action and the URI.
The intent filter for tel: URIs looks like this:
<intent-filter android:icon="#drawable/skype_blue" android:priority="0">
<action android:name="android.intent.action.CALL_PRIVILEGED" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
<data android:scheme="tel" />
</intent-filter>
So you set to the action and give the Intent a tel: URI and "the right thing happens". What happens is that Android finds the correct provider for the tel: URI. It might get the user's input to choose between the Phone App and Skype. The priority for Skype to handle tel: URIs zero, which is lowest. So if the Phone App is installed, it will probably get the Intent.

In case you want to trigger a video call you will have to add "?call&video=true" to your Skype URI.
Intent skypeVideo = new Intent("android.intent.action.VIEW");
skypeVideo.setData(Uri.parse("skype:" + "<username>" + "?call&video=true"));
startActivity(skypeVideo);
More information about Skype URIs are documented at:
http://developer.skype.com/skype-uris-program/skype-uri-ref
EDIT :
Direct Skype call without any intent chooser :
If you want direct skype call without any intent chooser, add these lines in your manifest file...
<intent-filter
android:icon="#drawable/skype"
android:priority="0" >
<action android:name="android.intent.action.CALL_PRIVILEGED" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
<data android:scheme="tel" />
</intent-filter>
<intent-filter>
<intent-filter
android:icon="#drawable/skype"
android:priority="0" >
<action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW" />
<action android:name="android.intent.action.CALL" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.BROWSABLE" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
<data android:scheme="skype" />
</intent-filter>
</intent-filter>

Use this code for Skype version 2:
Intent skype_intent = new Intent("android.intent.action.VIEW");
skype_intent.setClassName("com.skype.raider", "com.skype.raider.Main");
skype_intent.setData(Uri.parse("skype:skypeusername"));
startActivity(skype_intent);

With this code you will get the intent of the Skype activity not the caller activity. So you have to find the intent for the activity which has the intent filter for action CALL. But more clearly Skype uses the action android.intent.action.CALL_PRIVILEGED, so find by this filter.
Just for information that caller activity is cmp=com.skype.raider.contactsync.ContactSkypeOutCallStartActivity.

Skype 2.X has significantly different manifest then Skype 1.X. There is no ContactSkypeOutCallStartActivity there. New manifest contains code:
<activity android:name="com.skype.raider.Main" android:launchMode="singleTask" android:configChanges="keyboardHidden|orientation" android:windowSoftInputMode="adjustResize">
...
<intent-filter android:icon="#drawable/skype_blue" android:priority="0">
<action android:name="android.intent.action.CALL_PRIVILEGED" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
<data android:scheme="tel" />
</intent-filter>
...
</activity>
So you should write:
Intent skype_intent = new Intent("android.intent.action.CALL_PRIVILEGED");
skype_intent.setClassName("com.skype.raider", "com.skype.raider.Main");
skype_intent.setData(Uri.parse("tel:65465446"));
context.startActivity(skype_intent);
Please note, that this method doesn't allow you to start call/chat using Skype. It works with Skype Out only.

I found that the code above did not work...
Intent i = packageManager.getLaunchIntentForPackage("com.skype.raider");
// i.setAction("android.intent.cation.CALL_PRIVILEGED");
// i.setClassName("com.skype.raider", "com.skype.raider.contactsync.ContactSkypeOutCallStartActivity");
// i.setData(Uri.parse("tel:5551234"));
startActivity(i);
The commented out lines either stopped it functioning, or did nothing!
The code as presented will call Skype and arrive at a page where you can choose Skype contacts
More information will be most welcome
John