Develop Reference

Saving Text Files - Scoped Storage Android 11

Is there a way to create and save text files outside of the Android/data folder in external storage? I am creating a music app and I added a preset manager so users can save, load, and edit preset files (which worked great before Android 11), I don’t want these files to be automatically removed if the app is uninstalled. That would be like if Photoshop deleted all of your Photoshop documents when Photoshop is uninstalled, that’s terrible! These are files that the user saves and they can be deleted separately if the user wants to.
There has to be a way around this but I haven’t been able to find anything that works. ACTION_OPEN_DOCUMENT_TREE looked very promising, until I saw that Android has removed this option too.
https://developer.android.com/about/versions/11/privacy/storage
You can no longer use the ACTION_OPEN_DOCUMENT_TREE intent action to
request access to the following directories:
The root directory of the internal storage volume.
The root directory of each SD card volume that the device manufacturer considers to be reliable, regardless of whether the card
is emulated or removable. A reliable volume is one that an app can
successfully access most of the time.
The Download directory.
I’ve read Google Play only allows MANAGE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE in apps that need it (like file browsers, or anti-virus, etc) which likely will not work in my case. I don’t want to rely on only targeting older API’s so requestLegacyExternalStorage won’t work either.
Everything I’ve looked into appears to be a dead end. Is there anything else I can do?
Here is a short test program (I’m using LibGDX), which at the moment can only save to the root location:
Android/data/com.mygdx.filetest/files/
[core] FileTest.java
package com.mygdx.filetest;
import com.badlogic.gdx.ApplicationListener;
import com.badlogic.gdx.Files;
import com.badlogic.gdx.Gdx;
import com.badlogic.gdx.files.FileHandle;
import com.badlogic.gdx.utils.ScreenUtils;
public class FileTest implements ApplicationListener {
private NativePermissions permissions;
private Files.FileType fileType;
private String directory = "TestDir/";
private String name = "text.txt";
public FileTest(final NativePermissions permissions){
this.permissions = permissions;
}
#Override
public void create(){
fileType = getFileType();
if (permissions != null){
permissions.checkExternalStoragePermission();
} else {
permissionGranted();
}
}
private Files.FileType getFileType(){
switch(Gdx.app.getType()) {
case Android:
return Files.FileType.External;
default:
return Files.FileType.Local;
}
}
#Override public void render(){ ScreenUtils.clear(0.4f, 0.4f, 0.4f, 1); }
#Override public void resize(int width, int height) {}
#Override public void pause(){}
#Override public void resume(){}
#Override public void dispose (){}
public void permissionGranted() {
FileHandle fileHandle = Gdx.files.getFileHandle(directory+name, fileType);
if (fileHandle!=null) fileHandle.writeString("test", false);
}
}
[android] AndroidLauncher.java
package com.mygdx.filetest;
import android.Manifest;
import android.app.AlertDialog;
import android.content.DialogInterface;
import android.content.pm.PackageManager;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.widget.Toast;
import androidx.core.app.ActivityCompat;
import com.badlogic.gdx.backends.android.AndroidApplication;
import com.badlogic.gdx.backends.android.AndroidApplicationConfiguration;
public class AndroidLauncher extends AndroidApplication {
private final FileTest application;
private final int STORAGE_PERMISSION_CODE = 1;
private boolean dialogBoxShowing = false;
public AndroidLauncher(){
final AndroidPermissions permissions = new AndroidPermissions(this);
application = new FileTest(permissions);
}
#Override
protected void onCreate (Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
AndroidApplicationConfiguration config = new AndroidApplicationConfiguration();
initialize(application, config);
}
#Override
public void onRequestPermissionsResult(final int requestCode, final String permissions[], final int[] grantResults) {
dialogBoxShowing = false;
if (requestCode == STORAGE_PERMISSION_CODE) {
if (grantResults.length > 0 && grantResults[0] == PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED) {
Toast.makeText(this, "Permission GRANTED", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
permissionGranted();
} else {
Toast.makeText(this, "Permission DENIED", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
}
}
public void promptExternalStoragePermission() {
if (dialogBoxShowing) return;
dialogBoxShowing = true;
this.runOnUiThread(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
final AlertDialog.Builder builder = new AlertDialog.Builder(AndroidLauncher.this);
builder.setMessage("To save user presets and custom settings, allow access to your phone’s storage.");
builder.setCancelable(false);
// reverse these buttons to put "NO" on left and "YES" on right
builder.setPositiveButton("NOT NOW", new DialogInterface.OnClickListener(){
#Override
public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which) {
dialogBoxShowing = false;
dialog.dismiss();
}
});
builder.setNegativeButton("CONTINUE", new DialogInterface.OnClickListener(){
#Override
public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which) {
ActivityCompat.requestPermissions(AndroidLauncher.this, new String[] {Manifest.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE}, STORAGE_PERMISSION_CODE);
}
});
builder.create().show();
}
});
}
public void permissionGranted(){ application.permissionGranted(); }
}
[core] NativePermissions.java
package com.mygdx.filetest;
public interface NativePermissions {
public void checkExternalStoragePermission();
}
[android] AndroidPermissions.java
package com.mygdx.filetest;
import android.Manifest;
import android.content.pm.PackageManager;
import androidx.core.content.ContextCompat;
public class AndroidPermissions implements NativePermissions {
private final AndroidLauncher context;
public AndroidPermissions(final AndroidLauncher context){
this.context = context;
}
#Override
public void checkExternalStoragePermission() {
if (ContextCompat.checkSelfPermission(context, Manifest.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE) == PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED){
context.permissionGranted();
} else {
context.promptExternalStoragePermission();
}
}
}
[android] AndroidManifest.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.mygdx.filetest">
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE"/>
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE"/>
<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="#drawable/ic_launcher"
android:isGame="true"
android:appCategory="game"
android:label="#string/app_name"
android:theme="#style/GdxTheme" >
<activity
android:name="com.mygdx.filetest.AndroidLauncher"
android:label="#string/app_name"
android:screenOrientation="fullUser"
android:configChanges="keyboard|keyboardHidden|navigation|orientation|screenSize|screenLayout">
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
</intent-filter>
</activity>
</application>
</manifest>

A lott of fuss.
You can in the classic way save your files to the public Documents directory.
Or use SAF with ACTION_OPEN_DOCUMENT_TREE for that directory.
Both dont need 'all files access'.

Binding to a remote service failure: Unable to start service Intent

I've been playing around with some Android recently and have the following setup:
I have app A, which is a service. This has no activity. Here's its manifest:
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
package="com.sandbox.sampleservice">
<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="#mipmap/ic_launcher"
android:label="#string/app_name"
android:roundIcon="#mipmap/ic_launcher_round"
android:supportsRtl="true"
android:theme="#style/Theme.SampleService">
<service
android:name=".DummyService"
android:exported="true"
android:enabled="true">
</service>
</application>
</manifest>
and here's the Java code:
package com.sandbox.sampleservice;
import android.app.Service;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.os.Handler;
import android.os.IBinder;
import android.os.Message;
import android.os.Messenger;
import android.util.Log;
public class DummyService extends Service {
private static final String TAG = "DummyService";
static class MessageHandler extends Handler {
#Override
public void handleMessage(Message msg) {
// TODO: sort this later
super.handleMessage(msg);
}
}
Messenger mMessenger = null;
#Override
public IBinder onBind(Intent intent) {
Log.i(TAG, "Binding");
mMessenger = new Messenger(new MessageHandler());
return mMessenger.getBinder();
}
#Override
public boolean onUnbind(Intent intent) {
Log.i(TAG, "No longer bound");
return false;
}
}
I then have an app B with an empty activity which I want to bind to the service in app A. This is it's MainActivity:
package com.sandbox.sampleclient;
import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity;
import android.content.ComponentName;
import android.content.Context;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.content.ServiceConnection;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.os.IBinder;
import android.util.Log;
import android.widget.Toast;
public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {
private static final String TAG = "SampleClient";
private ServiceConnection mServiceConnection = new ServiceConnection() {
#Override
public void onServiceConnected(ComponentName name, IBinder service) {
Log.i(TAG, "Bound");
}
#Override
public void onServiceDisconnected(ComponentName name) {
Log.i(TAG, "Unbound");
}
};
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
Intent intent = new Intent();
intent.setComponent(new ComponentName("com.sandbox.sampleservice", ".DummyService"));
boolean result = this.bindService(intent, mServiceConnection, Context.BIND_AUTO_CREATE);
if (result) {
Toast.makeText(this, "success", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
} else {
Toast.makeText(this, "failed", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
}
}
I'm running on the default emulator that comes with Android Studio - API 30/x86.
I've installed the service using the installDebug Gradle task and can see the app in the Settings. But running app B, the call to bindService() returns false (it shows the failure toast). And I have the following message in logcat:
2021-04-03 20:33:59.743 500-1764/system_process W/ActivityManager: Unable to start service Intent { cmp=com.sandbox.sampleservice/.DummyService } U=0: not found
I've tried a few things - using the app context rather than the activity one when binding, using the fully qualified class name, and more. No change in behaviour, and the error in logcat is always the same.

Why is my accessibility service not being started?

I have created an accessibility service to see if I can perform gesture navigation with my app. The problem is my accessibility service is not being started at all. A possible hint into this problem is that I do not see my app in the accessibility portion of the settings page. I have added the proper permission in my Manifest file, and do not see where I am going wrong.
Here is my Manifest file:
<service
android:name=".AccessibilityService"
android:enabled="true"
android:exported="true"
android:permission="android.permission.BIND_ACCESSIBILITY_SERVICE"
android:label="#string/accessibility_service_label">
<meta-data
android:name="android.accessibilityservice"
android:resource="#xml/accessibility_service_config" />
</service>
Here is my accessibility service configuration XML file:
<accessibility-service xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:accessibilityEventTypes="typeAllMask"
android:accessibilityFeedbackType="feedbackAllMask"
android:accessibilityFlags="flagDefault"
android:canRequestEnhancedWebAccessibility="true"
android:canRetrieveWindowContent="true"
android:packageNames="com.example.adtry3"
android:canRequestTouchExplorationMode="true"
android:settingsActivity="com.example.adtry3.MainActivity" />
Here is my accessibility service class:
package com.example.adtry3;
import android.accessibilityservice.AccessibilityServiceInfo;
import android.annotation.TargetApi;
import android.os.Build;
import android.view.accessibility.AccessibilityEvent;
import android.view.accessibility.AccessibilityNodeInfo;
import androidx.annotation.RequiresApi;
import java.util.List;
#TargetApi(Build.VERSION_CODES.DONUT)
public class AccessibilityService extends android.accessibilityservice.AccessibilityService {
#Override
public void onServiceConnected(){
System.out.println("ONSERVICECONNECTED");
AccessibilityServiceInfo info = getServiceInfo();
info.feedbackType = AccessibilityServiceInfo.FEEDBACK_ALL_MASK;
info.eventTypes = AccessibilityEvent.TYPES_ALL_MASK;
info.packageNames = new String[] {"com.example.adtry3"};
info.notificationTimeout = 100;
setServiceInfo(info);
}
#RequiresApi(api = Build.VERSION_CODES.JELLY_BEAN_MR2)
#Override
public void onAccessibilityEvent(AccessibilityEvent event) {
System.out.println("Testing");
}
#Override
public void onInterrupt() {
}
public void onUnbind(){ //service is being terminated, do final one-time operations here
}
}
Lastly, this is the OnCreate method of my MainActivity.java:
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
Intent intent = new Intent(android.provider.Settings.ACTION_ACCESSIBILITY_SETTINGS);
startActivityForResult(intent, 0);
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
}
If I am missing something, or if you know what is going on, please let me know. I have search on other StackOverflow answers and have had no luck. Thank you.

add this filter to your <service declaration in manifest
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.accessibilityservice.AccessibilityService" />
</intent-filter>
also you may have to add these lines in your service config xml
android:description="#string/accessibility_service_desc"
android:notificationTimeout="25"

Geocoder IntentService is not being called

I understand this questions has been asked many times, for each question that has already been asked, the implementation is different from mine. The method I used create and call the intentService for a geocoder, was used from the android dev tutorial site.
https://developer.android.com/training/location/display-address.html.
I have gone over the the tutorial 3 times over to make sure I wasn't missing anything, but it is clear that I am.
Here is my manifest file, I have added the location and internet permissions.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />
<application
android:allowBackup="true"
android:icon="#mipmap/ic_launcher"
android:label="#string/app_name"
android:supportsRtl="true"
android:theme="#style/AppTheme">
<activity android:name=".selectRouteAndTransportMethod">
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
</intent-filter>
<service
android:name=".FetchAddressIntentService"
android:exported="false"/>
</activity>
<!--
The API key for Google Maps-based APIs is defined as a string resource.
(See the file "res/values/google_maps_api.xml").
Note that the API key is linked to the encryption key used to sign the APK.
You need a different API key for each encryption key, including the release key that is used to
sign the APK for publishing.
You can define the keys for the debug and release targets in src/debug/ and src/release/.
-->
<meta-data
android:name="com.google.android.geo.API_KEY"
android:value="#string/google_maps_key" />
<activity
android:name="user.com.commuterapp.MapsActivity"
android:label="#string/title_activity_maps"></activity><!-- ATTENTION: This was auto-generated to add Google Play services to your project for
App Indexing. See https://g.co/AppIndexing/AndroidStudio for more information. -->
<meta-data
android:name="com.google.android.gms.version"
android:value="#integer/google_play_services_version" />
</application>
Here is my main activity: All I am doing here is using a buttonClick to create the intent and to start the intent.
package user.com.commuterapp;
import android.app.PendingIntent;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.net.Uri;
import android.support.v7.app.AppCompatActivity;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.util.Log;
import android.view.View;
import com.google.android.gms.common.ConnectionResult;
import com.google.android.gms.common.api.GoogleApiClient;
import com.google.android.gms.location.LocationServices;
import user.com.commuterapp.R;
import static java.lang.Boolean.TRUE;
public class selectRouteAndTransportMethod extends AppCompatActivity {
Intent mIntent;
PendingIntent mPendingIntent;
myLocation mCurrentLocation;
private AddressResultReceiver mResultReceiver;
public static final String TAG = selectRouteAndTransportMethod.class.getSimpleName();
/**
* ATTENTION: This was auto-generated to implement the App Indexing API.
* See https://g.co/AppIndexing/AndroidStudio for more information.
*/
private GoogleApiClient client;
#Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_select_route_and_transport_method);
mIntent = new Intent(this, selectRouteAndTransportMethod.class);
mPendingIntent = PendingIntent.getActivity(this, 0, mIntent, 0);
mCurrentLocation = new myLocation(this, this, mPendingIntent);
// ATTENTION: This was auto-generated to implement the App Indexing API.
// See https://g.co/AppIndexing/AndroidStudio for more information.
}
#Override
protected void onStart() {
super.onStart();
Log.d(TAG, "On Start");
mCurrentLocation.connect();
boolean connecting = mCurrentLocation.mGoogleApiClient.isConnecting();
boolean registered = mCurrentLocation.mGoogleApiClient.isConnectionCallbacksRegistered(mCurrentLocation);
//ConnectionResult connectionResult = mCurrentLocation.mGoogleApiClient.getConnectionResult(LocationServices.API);
if (connecting == TRUE) {
Log.d(TAG, "Connecting");
}
if (registered == TRUE) {
Log.d(TAG, "registered");
}
}
#Override
protected void onResume() {
super.onResume();
mCurrentLocation.connect();
}
#Override
protected void onPause() {
super.onPause();
// mCurrentLocation.disconnect();
}
protected void buttonOriginClick(View view)
{
Log.d(TAG,"retrieving address");
retrieveAddress();
}
protected void retrieveAddress() {
Intent geoCoderIntent = new Intent(this, FetchAddressIntentService.class);
geoCoderIntent.putExtra(FetchAddressIntentService.Constants.RECIEVER, mResultReceiver);
geoCoderIntent.putExtra(FetchAddressIntentService.Constants.LOCATION_DATA_EXTRA, mCurrentLocation.mCurrentLocation);
startService(geoCoderIntent);
}
}
And lastly here is the intentService class. This was straight out of the android dev tutorial site, nothing original here.
package user.com.commuterapp;
import android.app.IntentService;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.location.Address;
import android.location.Geocoder;
import android.location.Location;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.support.v4.os.ResultReceiver;
import android.text.TextUtils;
import android.util.Log;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.Locale;
import static android.content.ContentValues.TAG;
/**
* Created by User on 1/21/2017.
*/
public class FetchAddressIntentService extends IntentService {
public final class Constants{
public static final int SUCCESS_RESULT = 0;
public static final int FAILURE_RESULT = 1;
public static final String PACKAGE_NAME =
"user.com.commuterapp";
public static final String RECIEVER = PACKAGE_NAME +
".RECIEVER";
public static final String RESULT_DATA_KEY = PACKAGE_NAME + ".RESULT_DATA_KEY";
public static final String LOCATION_DATA_EXTRA = PACKAGE_NAME +
".LOCATION_DATA_EXTRA";
}
protected ResultReceiver mReceiver;
public FetchAddressIntentService()
{
super("FetchAddressIntentService");
}
private void deliverResultToReceiver(int resultCode, String message){
Bundle bundle = new Bundle();
bundle.putString(Constants.RESULT_DATA_KEY, message);
mReceiver.send(resultCode,bundle);
}
#Override
protected void onHandleIntent (Intent intent) {
Log.d(TAG, "GeoCoder Service Started");
Geocoder geocoder = new Geocoder(this, Locale.getDefault());
String errorMessage = "";
Location location = intent.getParcelableExtra(Constants.LOCATION_DATA_EXTRA);
List<Address> addresses = null;
try {
addresses = geocoder.getFromLocation(
location.getLongitude(),
location.getLatitude(),
1);
}catch (IOException ioException) {
//catch network or other I/O Problems
errorMessage = getString(R.string.service_not_available);
Log.e(TAG, errorMessage);
} catch (IllegalArgumentException illegalArgumentException){
//catch invalid latitude or longitude values
errorMessage = getString(R.string.invalid_lat_long_used);
Log.e(TAG, errorMessage + "." + "Latitude =" + location.getLatitude()
+ ", Longitude = " + location.getLongitude(),
illegalArgumentException);
}
//handle cases where no addresses was foudn
if (addresses == null || addresses.size() == 0)
{
if(errorMessage.isEmpty()){
errorMessage = getString(R.string.no_address_found);
Log.e(TAG,errorMessage);
}
deliverResultToReceiver(Constants.FAILURE_RESULT, errorMessage);
}else
{
Address address = addresses.get(0);
ArrayList<String> addressFragments = new ArrayList<String>();
//Fetch the address lines using getAddressLine
//join them and send them to the thread
for(int i = 0; i < address.getMaxAddressLineIndex(); i++){
addressFragments.add(address.getAddressLine(i));
}
Log.i(TAG, getString(R.string.address_found));
deliverResultToReceiver(Constants.SUCCESS_RESULT,
TextUtils.join(System.getProperty("line.seperator"), addressFragments));
}
}
}
EDIT: I have tried rewriting the geocoder following the instructions from the android dev site again, but no success.
EDIT2: I noticed in the manifest I declared the service, within the application declaration, instead of outside, I made the change but to no avail, any insights will be appreciated

How to start NotificationListenerService?

Today I started writing for android. I want a simple (I think) app that waits for notification with specified title and then does something. I tried this code for service
import android.app.NotificationManager;
import android.content.Context;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.service.notification.NotificationListenerService;
import android.service.notification.StatusBarNotification;
import android.util.Log;
import android.support.v4.content.LocalBroadcastManager;
import android.widget.Toast;
public class NotificationListener extends NotificationListenerService {
Context context;
public int onStartCommand(Intent intent, int flags, int startId) {
// Let it continue running until it is stopped.
Toast.makeText(this, "Service Started", Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
return START_STICKY;
}
#Override
public void onCreate() {
Toast.makeText(this, "onCreate", Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
super.onCreate();
context = getApplicationContext();
}
#Override
public void onNotificationPosted(StatusBarNotification sbn) {
String pack = sbn.getPackageName();
Toast.makeText(this,"NOTIFICATION",Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
String text = "";
String title = "";
if (android.os.Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= android.os.Build.VERSION_CODES.KITKAT) {
Bundle extras = extras = sbn.getNotification().extras;
text = extras.getCharSequence("android.text").toString();
title = extras.getString("android.title");
}
Log.i("Package",pack);
Log.i("Title",title);
Log.i("Text",text);
}
#Override
public void onNotificationRemoved(StatusBarNotification sbn) {
Toast.makeText(this,"NOTIFICATION removed",Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
Log.i("Msg","Notification was removed");
}
}
Then added this to manifest:
<service
android:name=".NotificationListener"
android:enabled="true"
android:label="#string/app_name"
android:permission="android.permission.BIND_NOTIFICATION_LISTENER_SERVICE">
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.service.notification.NotificationListenerService" />
</intent-filter>
</service>
finally started the service in MainActivity onCreate() startService(new Intent(context, NotificationListener.class));
onNotificationPosted does not work. It seems like service was started correctly, because toasts from onStartCommand and onCreate were shown. I tried on emulator and real device. I also allowed notification access in settings. Please help, I wasted 5 hours on that.