Develop Reference

Do any widely used Android apps have Facebook sharing with pre-populated text field?

I'm creating an Android app for a small business owner. I've implemented social sharing with a ShareActionProvider, and I have discovered that Facebook purposely does not allow apps to pre-populate posts. The user must enter their own text. (See this S.O. post and then this S.O. post ).
Multiple S.O. answers have indicated that by using the Facebook SDK, it is possible to achieve this result (pre-populating Facebook posts).
On the other hand, I learned that Facebook has [https://developers.facebook.com/docs/apps/review/prefill] (a policy) against doing this.
My questions are:
1) Is this really possible?
If so, how difficult is it to implement compared to the SharActionProvider?
2) Are there any popular or major apps whose Facebook sharing feature pre-populates text for the user?
3) Has Facebook been known to crack down on this policy? What has been their action towards people who break this policy?
This is the first Android app I've created and the first project I've done in 'real life'. I'm trying to figure out if adding this feature would be worth it for his business. He indicated he would like this feature to create an easy way to users to share content.

In my app I share the quotes from various famous personalities to social media. I have integrated Facebook SDK to enable user share it on their wall. I have not faced any crackdown from Facebook. App is being used over by 5K people as of now.
So to answer your questions,
Yes, it is possible. Not difficult to implement
I am not aware of other popular apps that use this feature
No crackdown or action from FB
This is what I do to share the quote on user's FB wall.
public void onClickFBShare(View view) {
quotview = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.MainText);
line = quotview.getText().toString(); //converting the text to String
Intent FBIntent = new Intent("android.intent.action.SHAREHELPER");
FBIntent.putExtra("quote", line);
startActivity(FBIntent);
}
The code to post the content is in Sharehelper.Java
import java.security.MessageDigest;
import java.security.NoSuchAlgorithmException;
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.List;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.content.pm.PackageInfo;
import android.content.pm.PackageManager;
import android.content.pm.PackageManager.NameNotFoundException;
import android.content.pm.Signature;
import android.graphics.Bitmap;
import android.graphics.BitmapFactory;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.support.v7.app.ActionBarActivity;
import android.util.Base64;
import android.util.Log;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.View.OnClickListener;
import android.widget.Button;
import android.widget.TextView;
import android.widget.Toast;
import com.facebook.Request;
import com.facebook.Response;
import com.facebook.Session;
import com.facebook.SessionState;
import com.facebook.UiLifecycleHelper;
import com.facebook.model.GraphUser;
import com.facebook.widget.LoginButton;
import com.facebook.widget.LoginButton.UserInfoChangedCallback;
public class ShareHelper extends ActionBarActivity{
private LoginButton loginBtn;
private Button updateStatusBtn;
private TextView fbquote;
private TextView userName;
private UiLifecycleHelper uiHelper;
private static final List<String> PERMISSIONS = Arrays.asList("publish_actions");
private String message;
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
// Add code to print out the key hash
try {
PackageInfo info = getPackageManager().getPackageInfo(
"com.facebook.samples.hellofacebook",
PackageManager.GET_SIGNATURES);
for (Signature signature : info.signatures) {
MessageDigest md = MessageDigest.getInstance("SHA");
md.update(signature.toByteArray());
Log.d("KeyHash:", Base64.encodeToString(md.digest(), Base64.DEFAULT));
}
} catch (NameNotFoundException e) {
} catch (NoSuchAlgorithmException e) {
}
Intent intent = getIntent();
message = intent.getStringExtra("quote");
uiHelper = new UiLifecycleHelper(this, statusCallback);
uiHelper.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.sharehelper_activity);
fbquote = (TextView)findViewById(R.id.FbTextView);
fbquote.setText(message);
userName = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.user_name);
loginBtn = (LoginButton) findViewById(R.id.fb_login_button);
loginBtn.setUserInfoChangedCallback(new UserInfoChangedCallback() {
#Override
public void onUserInfoFetched(GraphUser user) {
if (user != null) {
userName.setText("Hello, " + user.getName());
} else {
userName.setText("You are not logged");
}
}
});
updateStatusBtn = (Button) findViewById(R.id.update_status);
updateStatusBtn.setOnClickListener(new OnClickListener() {
#Override
public void onClick(View v) {
postStatusMessage();
}
});
buttonsEnabled(false);
}
private Session.StatusCallback statusCallback = new Session.StatusCallback() {
#Override
public void call(Session session, SessionState state,
Exception exception) {
if (state.isOpened()) {
buttonsEnabled(true);
Log.d("FacebookSampleActivity", "Facebook session opened");
} else if (state.isClosed()) {
buttonsEnabled(false);
Log.d("FacebookSampleActivity", "Facebook session closed");
}
}
};
public void buttonsEnabled(boolean isEnabled) {
updateStatusBtn.setEnabled(isEnabled);
}
public void postStatusMessage() {
if (checkPermissions()) {
Request request = Request.newStatusUpdateRequest(
Session.getActiveSession(), message,
new Request.Callback() {
#Override
public void onCompleted(Response response) {
if (response.getError() == null)
Toast.makeText(ShareHelper.this,
"Quote Shared successfully",
Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
}
});
request.executeAsync();
} else {
requestPermissions();
}
}
public boolean checkPermissions() {
Session s = Session.getActiveSession();
if (s != null) {
return s.getPermissions().contains("publish_actions");
} else
return false;
}
public void requestPermissions() {
Session s = Session.getActiveSession();
if (s != null)
s.requestNewPublishPermissions(new Session.NewPermissionsRequest(
this, PERMISSIONS));
}
#Override
public void onResume() {
super.onResume();
uiHelper.onResume();
buttonsEnabled(Session.getActiveSession().isOpened());
}
#Override
public void onPause() {
super.onPause();
uiHelper.onPause();
}
#Override
public void onDestroy() {
super.onDestroy();
uiHelper.onDestroy();
}
#Override
public void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) {
super.onActivityResult(requestCode, resultCode, data);
uiHelper.onActivityResult(requestCode, resultCode, data);
}
#Override
public void onSaveInstanceState(Bundle savedState) {
super.onSaveInstanceState(savedState);
uiHelper.onSaveInstanceState(savedState);
}
}

It is possible to prefill the data, however it's really not recommended and support for it is non-existent. Facebook have explicitly highlighted it in their terms.
Pre-fill the user message parameter with any content the user didn't enter themselves, even if they can edit or delete that content before sharing. This applies to posts, comments, photo captions, and photo album captions.
While I've not seen Facebook crack down on it personally that doesn't mean that should do it. If it was a grey area you'd have grounds to fight a Facebook fight (i.e. removing a business page, blocking API access...) however it's very clear about not doing it.

Facebook Android Integration: Should not pass a read permission error

I am developing an android app, where the user should be able to log in with a Facebook account. The application has worked in the first 5-10 min. I could see the layout where i was prompted to give/deny permissions.
When i try to log in, it shows me the "Loading" message from Facebook API but then returns to the previous layout.
The error message i receive is: "Should not pass a read () permission to a request for publish or manage authorization".
I appreciate any help to resolve this issue..
package com.kampusbilisim.sencebence;
import java.io.*;
import java.net.*;
import org.json.*;
import com.facebook.android.*;
import com.facebook.android.AsyncFacebookRunner.RequestListener;
import com.facebook.android.Facebook.DialogListener;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.SharedPreferences;
import android.graphics.Typeface;
import android.os.*;
import android.util.Log;
import android.view.*;
import android.widget.*;
#SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
public class FullscreenActivity extends Activity {
String TAG = "SenceBence";
private static String APP_ID = "659712077445489";
private Facebook facebook;
String FILENAME = "AndroidSSO_data";
private SharedPreferences mPrefs;
Button btnFbLogin;
private AsyncFacebookRunner mAsyncRunner;
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
requestWindowFeature(Window.FEATURE_NO_TITLE);
getWindow().setFlags(WindowManager.LayoutParams.FLAG_FULLSCREEN, WindowManager.LayoutParams.FLAG_FULLSCREEN);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_fullscreen);
facebook = new Facebook(APP_ID);
mAsyncRunner = new AsyncFacebookRunner(facebook);
btnFbLogin = (Button) findViewById(R.id.button1);
btnFbLogin.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
#Override
public void onClick(View view) {
loginToFacebook();
Toast.makeText(FullscreenActivity.this, "Logging in.. ", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
});
TextView tv = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.girisyazisibeyaz);
tv.setTypeface(Typeface.createFromAsset(getAssets(),"fonts/AvenirNextLTPro-Bold.otf"));
}
#SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
public void loginToFacebook() {
mPrefs = getPreferences(MODE_PRIVATE);
String access_token = mPrefs.getString("access_token", null);
long expires = mPrefs.getLong("access_expires", 0);
if (access_token != null) {
facebook.setAccessToken(access_token);
}
if (expires != 0) {
facebook.setAccessExpires(expires);
}
if (!facebook.isSessionValid()) {
facebook.authorize(this, new String[] { "email" , "publish_actions", "publish_checkins", "publish_stream" },
new DialogListener() {
#Override
public void onCancel() {
// Function to handle cancel event
}
#Override
public void onComplete(Bundle values) {
// Function to handle complete event
// Edit Preferences and update facebook acess_token
SharedPreferences.Editor editor = mPrefs.edit();
editor.putString("access_token", facebook.getAccessToken());
editor.putLong("access_expires", facebook.getAccessExpires());
editor.commit();
}
#Override
public void onError(DialogError error) {
// Function to handle error
}
#Override
public void onFacebookError(FacebookError fberror) {
// Function to handle Facebook errors
}
});
}
}
#Override
protected void onPostCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onPostCreate(savedInstanceState);
}
}

Android Facebook integration does not log out

I am developing a Facebook Android integration using the below code, but once I log-in through this app then it does not logout from facebook even if I logout from Facebook app or browser both from my device. So this android app can still post on my Facebook wall. How do I logout from this app if I logout from my facebook app or facebook on browser.
package com.facebook.androidhive;
import java.io.FileNotFoundException;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.net.MalformedURLException;
import org.json.JSONException;
import org.json.JSONObject;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.content.SharedPreferences;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.util.Log;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.Button;
import android.widget.TextView;
import android.widget.Toast;
import com.facebook.android.AsyncFacebookRunner;
import com.facebook.android.AsyncFacebookRunner.RequestListener;
import com.facebook.android.DialogError;
import com.facebook.android.Facebook;
import com.facebook.android.Facebook.DialogListener;
import com.facebook.android.FacebookError;
public class AndroidFacebookConnectActivity extends Activity {
// Your Facebook APP ID
private static String APP_ID = "APP_ID"; // Replace with your App ID
// Instance of Facebook Class
private Facebook facebook = new Facebook(APP_ID);
private AsyncFacebookRunner mAsyncRunner;
String FILENAME = "AndroidSSO_data";
private SharedPreferences mPrefs;
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.main);
mAsyncRunner = new AsyncFacebookRunner(facebook);
loginToFacebook();
postToWall();
}
/**
* Function to login into facebook
* */
public void loginToFacebook() {
mPrefs = getPreferences(MODE_PRIVATE);
String access_token = mPrefs.getString("access_token", null);
long expires = mPrefs.getLong("access_expires", 0);
if (access_token != null) {
facebook.setAccessToken(access_token);
Log.d("FB Sessions", "" + facebook.isSessionValid());
}
if (expires != 0) {
facebook.setAccessExpires(expires);
}
if (!facebook.isSessionValid()) {
facebook.authorize(this,
new String[] { "email", "publish_stream" },
new DialogListener() {
#Override
public void onCancel() {
// Function to handle cancel event
}
#Override
public void onComplete(Bundle values) {
// Function to handle complete event
// Edit Preferences and update facebook acess_token
SharedPreferences.Editor editor = mPrefs.edit();
editor.putString("access_token",
facebook.getAccessToken());
editor.putLong("access_expires",
facebook.getAccessExpires());
editor.commit();
}
#Override
public void onError(DialogError error) {
// Function to handle error
}
#Override
public void onFacebookError(FacebookError fberror) {
// Function to handle Facebook errors
}
});
}
}
#Override
public void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) {
super.onActivityResult(requestCode, resultCode, data);
facebook.authorizeCallback(requestCode, resultCode, data);
}
/**
* Function to post to facebook wall
* */
public void postToWall() {
// post on user's wall.
facebook.dialog(this, "feed", new DialogListener() {
#Override
public void onFacebookError(FacebookError e) {
}
#Override
public void onError(DialogError e) {
}
#Override
public void onComplete(Bundle values) {
}
#Override
public void onCancel() {
}
});
}
/**
* Function to Logout user from Facebook
* */
public void logoutFromFacebook() {
mAsyncRunner.logout(this, new RequestListener() {
#Override
public void onComplete(String response, Object state) {
Log.d("Logout from Facebook", response);
if (Boolean.parseBoolean(response) == true) {
runOnUiThread(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
}
});
}
}
#Override
public void onIOException(IOException e, Object state) {
}
#Override
public void onFileNotFoundException(FileNotFoundException e,
Object state) {
}
#Override
public void onMalformedURLException(MalformedURLException e,
Object state) {
}
#Override
public void onFacebookError(FacebookError e, Object state) {
}
});
}
}

You can't force a logout from your app if you logout of the Facebook app, at least no API that we support with our SDK.
In theory, you could find a way to attach some sort of uninstall intent or to parse logs for any messages regarding facebook logout, but it generally is not recommended as best practice to force a logout of another app when another app logs out (its not intuitive to the user that this is going to happen).

try remove this code
if (access_token != null) {
facebook.setAccessToken(access_token);
Log.d("FB Sessions", "" + facebook.isSessionValid());
}

Facebook SSO not working in android

I used the following code to Login through Facebook in my app. I need to do this with Facebook SSO. I have the correct app_id.
package com.fb.sso;
import java.io.FileNotFoundException;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.net.MalformedURLException;
import com.facebook.android.AsyncFacebookRunner;
import com.facebook.android.AsyncFacebookRunner.RequestListener;
import com.facebook.android.DialogError;
import com.facebook.android.Facebook;
import com.facebook.android.Facebook.DialogListener;
import com.facebook.android.FacebookError;
import com.facebook.android.Util;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.content.SharedPreferences;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.os.Handler;
import android.util.Log;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.MenuInflater;
import android.view.MenuItem;
import android.widget.TextView;
public class FBSSOActivity extends Activity {
/** Called when the activity is first created. */
public static final String APP_ID = "my_app_id";
private static final String[] PERMISSIONS = new String[] {
"publish_stream", "read_stream", "offline_access" };
private TextView mText;
private Handler mHandler = new Handler();
private Facebook mFacebook;
private AsyncFacebookRunner mAsyncRunner;
byte[] raw;
private SharedPreferences mPrefs;
/** Called when the activity is first created. */
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
if (APP_ID == null) {
Util.showAlert(this, "Warning",
"Facebook Applicaton ID must be set...");
}
// Initialize the content view
setContentView(R.layout.main);
// Initialize the Facebook session
mFacebook = new Facebook(APP_ID);
mAsyncRunner = new AsyncFacebookRunner(mFacebook);
mPrefs = getPreferences(MODE_PRIVATE);
String access_token = mPrefs.getString("access_token", null);
long expires = mPrefs.getLong("access_expires", 0);
if (access_token != null) {
mFacebook.setAccessToken(access_token);
}
if (expires != 0) {
mFacebook.setAccessExpires(expires);
}
}
public void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) {
super.onActivityResult(requestCode, resultCode, data);
Log.d("FB Sample App", "onActivityResult(): " + requestCode);
mFacebook.authorizeCallback(requestCode, resultCode, data);
}
private class LogoutRequestListener implements RequestListener {
#Override
public void onComplete(String response, Object state) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
Log.v("comes here>>.","sucess");
// Only the original owner thread can touch its views
FBSSOActivity.this.runOnUiThread(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
mText.setText("Thanks for using FB Sample App. Bye bye...");
}
});
// Dispatch on its own thread
mHandler.post(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
}
});
}
#Override
public void onIOException(IOException e, Object state) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
}
#Override
public void onFileNotFoundException(FileNotFoundException e,
Object state) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
}
#Override
public void onMalformedURLException(MalformedURLException e,
Object state) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
}
#Override
public void onFacebookError(FacebookError e, Object state) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
Log.v("facebook error","fb error");
}
}
#Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
MenuInflater inflater = getMenuInflater();
inflater.inflate(R.menu.main_menu, menu);
return true;
}
#Override
public boolean onPrepareOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
MenuItem loginItem = menu.findItem(R.id.login);
if (mFacebook.isSessionValid()) {
loginItem.setTitle("Logout");
} else {
loginItem.setTitle("Login");
}
loginItem.setEnabled(true);
return super.onPrepareOptionsMenu(menu);
}
#Override
public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item) {
switch (item.getItemId()) {
// Login/logout toggle
case R.id.login:
if (!mFacebook.isSessionValid()) {
mFacebook.authorize(this, new DialogListener() {
#Override
public void onComplete(Bundle values) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
Log.v("Entered ", "No ERRRRRRRRRRRR");
SharedPreferences.Editor editor = mPrefs.edit();
editor.putString("access_token",
mFacebook.getAccessToken());
editor.putLong("access_expires",
mFacebook.getAccessExpires());
editor.commit();
Intent i=new Intent(FBSSOActivity.this,second.class);
startActivity(i);
}
#Override
public void onFacebookError(FacebookError e) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
}
#Override
public void onError(DialogError e) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
}
#Override
public void onCancel() {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
}
});
}else{
mFacebook.setAccessToken(null);
mFacebook.setAccessExpires(0);
AsyncFacebookRunner asyncRunner = new AsyncFacebookRunner(mFacebook);
asyncRunner.logout(this.getBaseContext(), new LogoutRequestListener());
}
break;
default:
return false;
}
return true;
}
}
I logged in to preinstalled Facebook app in my device. And I got this screen only.
And in my Logcat this line appears.
09-28 15:18:24.652: E/ActivityThread(1201): Failed to find provider info for com.facebook.katana.provider.AttributionIdProvider
If I logged out from my preinstalled Facebook app, my application prompts me to login, asking the credentials. That time also, the empty screen appears.But in the preinstalled Facebook app, I can see my updates.( I get Logged in).
Update:
Right now I'm checking the app only. I have not published it to market. I got the key by referring this site http://sean.lyn.ch/2011/07/android-the-facebook-sdk-sso-and-you/. And I added it to the app, like this.
Update 2:
Now I got these lines in logcat:
09-29 12:00:12.552: I/ActivityManager(73): Starting activity: Intent { cmp=com.facebook.katana/.ProxyAuth (has extras) }
09-29 12:00:13.022: I/ActivityManager(73): Displayed activity com.facebook.katana/.ProxyAuth: 436 ms (total 436 ms)
09-29 12:00:15.032: W/InputManagerService(73): Starting input on non-focused client com.android.internal.view.IInputMethodClient$Stub$Proxy#434b2e88 (uid=10031 pid=2233)
09-29 12:00:15.032: W/IInputConnectionWrapper(2233): showStatusIcon on inactive InputConnection

facebook activity in background

I am using facebook sdk to let the user post a message to his wall.
I was using the existing facebook tutorial:
Facebook tutorial
Here the main code which I use:
package com.greatapp;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.content.SharedPreferences;
import android.os.Bundle;
import com.facebook.android.*;
import com.facebook.android.Facebook.*;
public class MyGreatActivity extends Activity {
Facebook facebook = new Facebook("YOUR_APP_ID");
String FILENAME = "AndroidSSO_data";
private SharedPreferences mPrefs;
#Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.main);
/*
* Get existing access_token if any
*/
mPrefs = getPreferences(MODE_PRIVATE);
String access_token = mPrefs.getString("access_token", null);
long expires = mPrefs.getLong("access_expires", 0);
if(access_token != null) {
facebook.setAccessToken(access_token);
}
if(expires != 0) {
facebook.setAccessExpires(expires);
}
/*
* Only call authorize if the access_token has expired.
*/
if(!facebook.isSessionValid()) {
facebook.authorize(this, new String[] {}, new DialogListener() {
#Override
public void onComplete(Bundle values) {
SharedPreferences.Editor editor = mPrefs.edit();
editor.putString("access_token", facebook.getAccessToken());
editor.putLong("access_expires", facebook.getAccessExpires());
editor.commit();
}
#Override
public void onFacebookError(FacebookError error) {}
#Override
public void onError(DialogError e) {}
#Override
public void onCancel() {}
});
}
}
#Override
public void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) {
super.onActivityResult(requestCode, resultCode, data);
facebook.authorizeCallback(requestCode, resultCode, data);
}
}
I have extended this base code with a postToWall(String message) method. This is working fine.
I call this by an intent from an other activity. I want that all this facebook posting is handled in the background without showing an progressbar or something like that. Is this possible?

The facebook android SDK has two facebook classes to use: https://github.com/facebook/facebook-android-sdk/blob/master/facebook/src/com/facebook/android/AsyncFacebookRunner.java
You can use it exactly the same way as the other one, just to construct it you do this:
Facebook fb = new Facebook(appid);
AsyncFacebookRunner async = new AsyncFacebookRunner(fb);
async.request("me", new SimpleDialogListener());