Say I want to define that an URI such as:
myapp://path/to/what/i/want?d=This%20is%20a%20test
must be handled by my own application, or service. Notice that the scheme is "myapp" and not "http", or "ftp". That is precisely what I intend: to define my own URI schema globally for the Android OS. Is this possible?
This is somewhat analogous to what some programs already do on, e.g., Windows systems, such as Skype (skype://) or any torrent downloader program (torrent://).
This is very possible; you define the URI scheme in your AndroidManifest.xml, using the <data> element. You setup an intent filter with the <data> element filled out, and you'll be able to create your own scheme. (More on intent filters and intent resolution here.)
Here's a short example:
<activity android:name=".MyUriActivity">
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.BROWSABLE" />
<data android:scheme="myapp" android:host="path" />
</intent-filter>
</activity>
As per how implicit intents work, you need to define at least one action and one category as well; here I picked VIEW as the action (though it could be anything), and made sure to add the DEFAULT category (as this is required for all implicit intents). Also notice how I added the category BROWSABLE - this is not necessary, but it will allow your URIs to be openable from the browser (a nifty feature).
Complementing the #DanielLew answer, to get the values of the parameteres you have to do this:
URI example: myapp://path/to/what/i/want?keyOne=valueOne&keyTwo=valueTwo
in your activity:
Intent intent = getIntent();
if (Intent.ACTION_VIEW.equals(intent.getAction())) {
Uri uri = intent.getData();
String valueOne = uri.getQueryParameter("keyOne");
String valueTwo = uri.getQueryParameter("keyTwo");
}
I strongly recommend that you not define your own scheme. This goes against the web standards for URI schemes, which attempts to rigidly control those names for good reason -- to avoid name conflicts between different entities. Once you put a link to your scheme on a web site, you have put that little name into entire the entire Internet's namespace, and should be following those standards.
If you just want to be able to have a link to your own app, I recommend you follow the approach I described here:
How to register some URL namespace (myapp://app.start/) for accessing your program by calling a URL in browser in Android OS?
Another alternate approach to Diego's is to use a library:
https://github.com/airbnb/DeepLinkDispatch
You can easily declare the URIs you'd like to handle and the parameters you'd like to extract through annotations on the Activity, like:
#DeepLink("path/to/what/i/want")
public class SomeActivity extends Activity {
...
}
As a plus, the query parameters will also be passed along to the Activity as well.
As the question is asked years ago, and Android is evolved a lot on this URI scheme.
From original URI scheme, to deep link, and now Android App Links.
Android now recommends to use HTTP URLs, not define your own URI scheme. Because Android App Links use HTTP URLs that link to a website domain you own, so no other app can use your links. You can check the comparison of deep link and Android App links from here
Now you can easily add a URI scheme by using Android Studio option: Tools > App Links Assistant.
Please refer the detail to Android document: https://developer.android.com/studio/write/app-link-indexing.html
Related
I need to know if there is a way to override deepLinking mechanism to take url based action. I actually need a way to figure out whether url has query parameter or not. (Assume url doesn't have prefix) If url has query parameter i'll run app if not will redirect user to the browser)
As quoted in the Android Developer Documentation,
<data>
Add one or more tags, each of which represents a URI format that resolves to the activity. At minimum, the tag must include
the android:scheme attribute.
You can add more attributes to further refine the type of URI that the activity accepts.
android:pathPrefix
This attribute can be used to differentiate between different URL's
For example the intent filter for the URL
http://www.example.com/endpoint1
would be
<intent-filter>
<data
android:host="www.example.com"
android:pathPrefix="/endpoint1"
android:scheme="http" />
</intent-filter>
android:pathPattern
This attribute can be used to specify a regular expression for the path pattern making it suitable for path with parameters.
For example for the URL
https://www.example.com/endpoint1?param=1
android:pathPattern=".param=."
I want to register an intent-filter exclusively for the share in the Youtube app.
So far I'm able to receive the intent from Youtube successfully. The problem is my intent filer is not specific enough. My app is displayed as available for other share features in other apps (not only for Youtube).
This is what I'm using right now:
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.SEND" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
<data android:mimeType="text/plain" />
</intent-filter>
I have reviewed several questions (most are much like this one) the problem is there is an inaccuracy in those types of answers:
<data android:host="www.youtube.com" ... />
According to the data documentation the scheme most be provided in order for the host to be valid. So in those answers simply adding the host, doesn't make the intent-filter specific for Youtube, because there is no scheme, therefore, the host is ignored.
So I have been trying to figure this out by using the available methods of the intent when the Activity is started:
Intent intent = getIntent();
Bundle bundle = intent.getExtras();
for (String key : bundle.keySet()) {
Log.d("KEY", key);
}
//The above loop will log
//... D/KEY: android.intent.extra.SUBJECT
//... D/KEY: android.intent.extra.TEXT
//This is are the same keys than above, but using the available constants
String subject = getIntent().getStringExtra(Intent.EXTRA_SUBJECT);
String text = getIntent().getStringExtra(Intent.EXTRA_TEXT);
//The subject is the video title
Log.d("SUBJECT", subject);
//The text is the video url, example: https://youtu.be/p6qX_lg4wTc
Log.d("TEXT", text);
//Action is consistent with the intent-filter android.intent.action.SEND
Log.d("ACTION", intent.getAction());
//This is consistent with the intent-filter data mime type text/plain
Log.d("TYPE", intent.getType());
/*
This is the problem.
The scheme is null (that is why I'm using String value of).
*/
Log.d("scheme", String.valueOf(intent.getScheme()));
So, when the available information in the intent is checked, everything seems to be in order, but not the scheme. So, based on what is gotten, I have done some blind attempts to figure it out:
<data android:scheme="http" android:mimeType="text/plain"/>
//I'm adding youtu.be here because is the url format in the text extra
<data android:scheme="http" android:host="youtu.be" android:mimeType="text/plain"/>
Adding http or https won't work, it makes the app is no longer available in the chooser. This means it will neither work the other attempt adding the host.
Doe's anybody knows how to create an intent-filter exclusively for Youtube share?
PS: I know I could validate the url to see if it match a Youtube url, but having my app in every chooser matching SEND doesn't seem user friendly
tldr: You can't make an intent-filter exclusively for Youtube app, the intent for sharing a video doesn't have anything to narrow it down.
So I got really obsessed about this, the only way to find out seems to check the Youtube app code. I found the apk here and then decompile with this. I think I found the code in this file (the text error seems to confirm my finding).
So, if my deductions are correct, then what is going on is Youtube app make an intent with no scheme or nothing else to make it specific. It only uses SEND.
This not answer your specific question, but I think achieves the same you want.
You can use the youtube android player api library and the YouTubeIntents
Like this:
Intent youtubeIntent =
YouTubeIntents.createPlayVideoIntent(getApplicationContext(), VIDEO_ID);
startActivity(youtubeIntent);
Is there a way to define some kind of handling mechanism in Android and iOS that would allow me to do intercept either of the following:
myapp:///events/3/
- or -
http://myapp.com/events/3/
I'd like to 'listen' for either the protocol or the host, and open a corresponding Activity / ViewController.
I'd like too if these could be as system wide as possible. I imagine this will be more of an issue on iOS, but I'd ideally be able to click either of those two schemes, as hyperlinks, from any app. Gmail, Safari, etc.
EDIT 5/2014, as this seems to be a popular question I've added much detail to the answer:
Android:
For Android, refer to Intent Filter to Launch My Activity when custom URI is clicked.
You use an intent-filter:
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.BROWSABLE" />
<data android:scheme="myapp" />
</intent-filter>
this is attached to the Activity that you want launched. For example:
<activity android:name="com.MyCompany.MyApp.MainActivity" android:label="#string/app_name">
<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" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.BROWSABLE" />
<data android:scheme="myapp" android:host="com.MyCompany.MyApp" />
</intent-filter>
</activity>
Then, in your activity, if not running, the activity will be launched with the URI passed in the Intent.
Intent intent = getIntent();
Uri openUri = intent.getData();
If already running, onNewIntent() will be called in your activity, again with the URI in the intent.
Lastly, if you instead want to handle the custom protocol in UIWebView's hosted within your native app, you can use:
myWebView.setWebViewClient(new WebViewClient()
{
public Boolean shouldOverrideUrlLoading(WebView view, String url)
{
// inspect the url for your protocol
}
});
iOS:
For iOS, refer to Lauching App with URL (via UIApplicationDelegate's handleOpenURL) working under iOS 4, but not under iOS 3.2.
Define your URL scheme via Info.plist keys similar to:
<key>CFBundleURLTypes</key>
<array>
<dict>
<key>CFBundleURLName</key>
<string>com.yourcompany.myapp</string>
</dict>
<dict>
<key>CFBundleURLSchemes</key>
<array>
<string>myapp</string>
</array>
</dict>
</array>
Then define a handler function to get called in your app delegate
- (BOOL)application:(UIApplication *)application openURL:(NSURL *)url sourceApplication:(NSString *)sourceApplication annotation:(id)annotation
{
// parse and validate the URL
}
If you want to handle the custom protocol in UIWebViews hosted within your native app, you can use the UIWebViewDelegate method:
- (BOOL)webView:(UIWebView *)webView shouldStartLoadWithRequest:(NSURLRequest *)request navigationType:(UIWebViewNavigationType)navigationType
{
NSURL *urlPath = [request URL];
if (navigationType == UIWebViewNavigationTypeLinkClicked)
{
// inspect the [URL scheme], validate
if ([[urlPath scheme] hasPrefix:#"myapp"])
{
...
}
}
}
}
For WKWebView (iOS8+), you can instead use a WKNavigationDelegate and this method:
- (void)webView:(WKWebView *)webView decidePolicyForNavigationAction:(WKNavigationAction *)navigationAction decisionHandler:(void (^)(WKNavigationActionPolicy))decisionHandler
{
NSURL *urlPath = navigationAction.request.URL;
if (navigationAction.navigationType == WKNavigationTypeLinkActivated)
{
// inspect the [URL scheme], validate
if ([[urlPath scheme] hasPrefix:#"myapp"])
{
// ... handle the request
decisionHandler(WKNavigationActionPolicyCancel);
return;
}
}
//Pass back to the decision handler
decisionHandler(WKNavigationActionPolicyAllow);
}
Update: This is a very old question, and things have changed a lot on both iOS and Android. I'll leave the original answer below, but anyone working on a new project or updating an old one should instead consider using deep links, which are supported on both platforms.
On iOS, deep links are called universal links. You'll need to create a JSON file on your web site that associates your app with URLs that point to parts of your web site. Next, update your app to accept a NSUserActivity object and set up the app to display the content that corresponds to the given URL. You also need to add an entitlement to the app listing the URLs that the app can handle. In use, the operating system takes care of downloading the association file from your site and starting your app when someone tries to open one of the URLs your app handles.
Setting up app links on Android works similarly. First, you'll set up an association between your web site(s) and your app, and then you'll add intent filters that let your app intercept attempts to open the URLs that your app can handle.
Although the details are obviously different, the approach is pretty much the same on both platforms. It gives you the ability to insert your app into the display of your web site's content no matter what app tries to access that content.
Original answer:
For iOS, yes, you can do two things:
Have your app advertise that it can handle URL's with a given scheme.
Install a protocol handler to handle whatever scheme you like.
The first option is pretty straightforward, and described in Implementing Custom URL Schemes. To let the system know that your app can handle a given scheme:
update your app's Info.plist with a CFBundleURLTypes entry
implement -application:didFinishLaunchingWithOptions: in your app delegate.
The second possibility is to write your own protocol handler. This works only within your app, but you can use it in conjunction with the technique described above. Use the method above to get the system to launch your app for a given URL, and then use a custom URL protocol handler within your app to leverage the power of iOS's URL loading system:
Create a your own subclass of NSURLProtocol.
Override +canInitWithRequest: -- usually you'll just look at the URL scheme and accept it if it matches the scheme you want to handle, but you can look at other aspects of the request as well.
Register your subclass: [MyURLProtocol registerClass];
Override -startLoading and -stopLoading to start and stop loading the request, respectively.
Read the NSURLProtocol docs linked above for more information. The level of difficulty here depends largely on what you're trying to implement. It's common for iOS apps to implement a custom URL handler so that other apps can make simple requests. Implementing your own HTTP or FTP handler is a bit more involved.
For what it's worth, this is exactly how PhoneGap works on iOS. PhoneGap includes an NSURLProtocol subclass called PGURLProtocol that looks at the scheme of any URL the app tries to load and takes over if it's one of the schemes that it recognizes. PhoneGap's open-source cousin is Cordova -- you may find it helpful to take a look.
For the second option in your question:
http://myapp.com/events/3/
There was a new technique introduced with iOS 9, called Universal Links which allows you to intercept links to your website, if they are https://
https://developer.apple.com/library/content/documentation/General/Conceptual/AppSearch/UniversalLinks.html
While doing some R&D I found a code using the following statement
Uri uri = (Uri) getIntent().getExtras().get("android.intent.extra.STREAM");
I have scanned the whole project to find whether the activity was called from any other activity, but did'nt find any. Can any one tell me what will this statement return and what is the statement "android.intent.extra.STREAM" doing in the code, whether it is a constant, if yes what is its value?
Thanks in advance.
Happy Coding
This statement will return the extra named "android.intent.extra.STREAM". Whatever activity issued the intent set that value, and there's no easy way to tell what that data is without seeing how it is used, or where/how it was set. Don't forget that the intent could be issued by any activity or application.
Found your answer:
public static final String EXTRA_STREAM Since: API Level 1
A content: URI holding a stream of data associated with the Intent, used with
ACTION_SEND to supply the data being sent.
Constant Value: "android.intent.extra.STREAM"
So, I would posit that it's the result of poor coding (using the value rather than the defined static constant) for an intent designed to share images. The intent includes the Intent.EXTRA_STREAM extra as the data stream for the image (in this case) to be shared. IMO, the code should have been:
Uri uri = (Uri) getIntent().getExtras().get(Intent.EXTRA_STREAM);
But regardless, it appears to be the documented/standardized way of attaching a binary datastream to an intent.
Continued research seems to indicate that it adds Campyre (a Campfire client) as a "Share" option. So from Gallery, if you choose to Share an image, Campyre shows up as one of the options.
Google and the Android dev site are your friends. It took me all of about 2 minutes total to get all that information. Not as long as it took to type the replies and subsequent edits...
More elaboration:
Here is the relevant section from AndroidManifest.xml:
<activity android:name=".ShareImage"
android:theme="#android:style/Theme.Dialog"
android:label="#string/app_name">
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.SEND" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
<data android:mimeType="image/*" />
</intent-filter>
</activity>
Which indicates that the Activity can handle Intents for sharing where the item being shared is an image.
guys. I am trying to build a voip app for android. I want to make use of the built-in android phone dialer. Can you guys give me some reference to it. I have been googling with no luck. Thanks
What you need to do is setup an Intent filter on the Activity you want to make the call. You do this inside your AndroidManifest.xml file. Modify your activity definition to include this intent filter:
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.CALL" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
<data android:scheme="tel" />
</intent-filter>
Note: there are some alternative ways to call people (which can be seeing in the AndroidManifest.xml of the source I linked bellow, however this is the main one
Adding this will give the user the option to use your app when making a call, and this can be set as the default app if the user wishes.
You can then get the phone number by adding something like this code to your onCreate() method of your activity:
final Intent i = getIntent();
final Uri phoneUri = i.getData();
phoneUri now contains tel:00000000000 and you can easily get the number out of the Uri object
If you have problems in to future take a look at the android source. I got these bits of code from the phone app source if you want to take a look.
This should open the dialer with new special permissions:
Intent i = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_DIAL, Uri.parse("tel:0000000000"));
startActivity(i);
That should open the dialer with the required telephone number already inserted.