We have an Android application that we have developed and are testing with ARC. Part of the functionality is to share Word/PDF and other documents with other applications on an Android device and then have them pass the content back to us when done. However, since ARC applications run in their own sandbox instance of Android there are no other applications to share with using the standard intents. I know that Chrome Extensions can message each other, but is there a way to access this functionality from an Android APP running arc. Ideally we'd like to share a document have it open in say Google Drive, and then be able to get it back from there using the standard Android intents. Is this possible, or do we have to look at other ways to accomplish this (i.e. SDKs.)
Update: Here is the code we use to launch external activities to have them open files for editing:
Uri uri = Uri.fromFile(attachmentFile);
Intent intentUrl = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW);
intentUrl.setDataAndType(uri, applicationType);
intentUrl.setFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_CLEAR_TOP);
getContext().startActivity(externalActivityIntent);
You can get the file from Google Drive or any other file provider available on the chromeOS using the new intent: ACTION_OPEN_DOCUMENT
Related
My app backs up its data in a zip file that uses Share.RequestAsync to store the file. This works great because it presents all the possible sharing options including email, messaging, and cloud devices like Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.
In order to load that zip file from wherever it was stored I use FilePicker.PickAsync. The problem is that this presents a very limited number of options for selecting the file. It offers either the local device or a single cloud service (iCloud on iOS or Drive on Android). What if I want to restore the zip file from Drive in my app on my iPhone?
Why is there such a difference in the xamarin share options when it comes to saving and loading files? It seems like the Share class should offer a method to load files that presents the same options that it does for sharing. Or at least the FilePicker.PickAsync should present the same interface as Share.RequestAsync for load options. Am I missing something?
Here is what the share dialog looks like compared to the file picker on iOS. It is similar on Android. The share offers access to iCloud, Drive and Dropbox while the picker only offers access to iCloud.
My app setup is a basic new app with default viewController with the default classes for share extension on iOS 11.2.
The host AppDelegate class FinishedLaunching never gets called.
Just shows the launch screen and closes the app.
The sample Xamarin app provided also has the same issue.
Link to the sample app:
Share Extension sample
Any idea whats going wrong?
Do you want to open the app which you created with the share extension, when user clicks the share button to use this share extension? If so, this app should be called Containing App.
But unfortunately, there's no way to do this on iOS8.3+ except Today Extension. From this post we know that:
The intended approach for share extensions is that they handle all of
the necessary work themselves.
Also from the Apple documentation about extension:
An extension’s UI should be simple, restrained, and focused on
facilitating a single task.
Apple doesn't recommend us to open its containing app from extensions, actually it avoids that. If you want to retrieve data in containing app, you can set up an app group so that data can be shared between these two apps.
Most iOS analytics tools (flurry, new relics) use the standard uiapplication delegate methods to upload events in batch, every minute or when the application terminate. I haven't seen any dedicated solution for extension (today, photo...) from these guys. What do you do for analytics in extension in ios8?
For now, I used two work arounds
1 - I used app group shared data https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/General/Conceptual/ExtensibilityPG/ExtensionScenarios.html and I log the event when the user open the containing app
2 - My today extension allow user to openURL to open the containing app, I pass data in the params of the url.
In my WatchKit app, I use openParentApplication:reply: to pass a request to the host app and log my analytics from there.
Flurry has announced support for Apple Watch extensions. You can find out more in the developer documentation here:
https://developer.yahoo.com/flurry/docs/analytics/gettingstarted/technicalquickstart/applewatch/
It's possible that this will open the door for tracking activity within other extensions, but I haven't seen anything about it yet.
I wrote a web site with google earth api and it is working fine.
I want to open this site via mobile browser, and it's giving me the following error:
"the plug-in of google earth is available only for win and mac".
How can i get through it?
Thanks.
:)
I am having a similar issue. I wish to try and use Android WebView instead of setting up GooglePlayServices at this time for an art project
I have the example loading just fine on Windows and Mac, but I need this for my Android art project.
My source code can be viewed at this link below:
www.rennakanote.com/earthdraw
I will attempt to see what I can try from Google Maps V3 APIs as per your instruction JasonM1 and see if I find a way to load this in Android.
Unfortunately, the Google Earth Plugin and Google Earth API is currently only supported on the Windows and Mac platforms.
Full list of which OS versions and browsers are supported can be found here:
https://developers.google.com/earth/documentation/index#installing_the_google_earth_plugin
The mobile version as well as the Linux version of Google Earth does not currently support the Google Earth plugin.
If you redesign your web site using Google Maps V3 APIs then it would be supported by mobile and desktop web browsers. Google Earth is a thick desktop and has restrictions especially with respect to mobile devices that a pure web application such as using Google Maps APIs can avoid.
Although the Google Earth plugin doesn't work on mobile devices, both Android and iOS devices have a Google Earth app available for them.
Thus a good way to show your data on both desktop and mobile devices is simply to publish it as a KML file, which will load in all versions of the program. The mobile devices don't actually offer a "load file" option, but instead rely on the fact that if you present the device with a KML file with the correct mime type, then the system works out that the Google Earth app is the appropriate one to display the file.
Is there a way to make my winRT application as a screen saver in xaml?
As Jerry says, there's no straightforward way to make a Windows Store app screensaver. However, there's a roundabout solution that might work for you on Windows 8, but not Windows RT. I have it nearly working. I'll share what I have so far.
A screensaver is just an executable with a .scr extension that's kept in C:\Windows\System32. For example, look at C:\Windows\System32\Bubbles.scr. The solution I have in mind is to create a .scr screensaver whose only purpose is to launch your Windows Store application, which you say will use XAML.
You can't launch a Windows Store app from the command line directly, so you'll create a launcher app. Take a look at a blog post called Automating the testing of Windows 8 apps by Ashwin Needamangala. Partway down the article, look for the section called Automating the activation of your app. It contains a sample C++ application which can launch Windows Store apps in the following way:
C:>Win8AppLaunch.exe Microsoft.BingNews_8wekyb3d8bbwe!AppexNews
The sample launcher on that page needs to be modified, but before you do that just copy the code into a C++ console app:
You're almost ready to test it out from the command line, but you need to specify the name of the app as an AppUserModelId. The details are in Ashwin's post, but to paraphrase you first want to allow the execution of PowerShell scripts on your system with:
PS C:> Set-ExecutionPolicy AllSigned
Then run this PowerShell script:
$installedapps = get-AppxPackage
foreach ($app in $installedapps)
{
foreach ($id in (Get-AppxPackageManifest $app).package.applications.application.id)
{
$app.packagefamilyname + "!" + $id
}
}
You might like running it in the Windows PowerShell ISE. It's pretty slick. Find the AppUserModelId of your app and then test Win8AppLaunch.exe from the command line, as shown above. This should launch your Windows Store app from command line.
Next, modify the C++ launcher to hard-code the AppUserModelId of your application instead of parsing it from a command line argument. I created a Gist of this. The important part is the line where I declare myApp.
Build the new executable, rename it MyScreenSaver.scr and put it in C:\Windows\System32. It will then appear in the Screen Saver Settings Control Panel. You can preview the screensaver there, and it works. However, if you wait for the screensaver to launch, it will briefly bring up a console window and never fully launch. I'm not sure why. I tried disabling the creation of the console window by switching the project to a Windows app, but that didn't help. You can try that yourself by changing Properties | Configuration | Linker | System | SubSystem to WINDOWS. It's a little more involved, as you'll also need to change the entry point from _tMain to _tWinMain. Contact me through my blog if you want the details. My StackOverflow profile lists it.
At this point it's almost fully working. You might try starting with a blank C++ screensaver that you know works, and then copy in the above code. If I get more time, maybe I'll try this myself.
Cool idea. But, no.
If you want your application to really do something for Windows other than run as a simple app, then you write an extension app. Here's the official word:
Extensions An extension is like an agreement between an app and Windows. Extensions lets app developers extend or customize standard Windows features primarily for use in their apps and potentially for use in other apps.
There are these types of extension apps right now:
Account picture provider (extension)
When users decide to change their account picture, they can either select an existing picture or use an app to take a new one. If your app can take pictures, you can use this extension to have Windows list your app in the Account Picture Settings control panel. From there, users can select it to create a new account picture. For more info about this extension, see the UserInformation reference topic. You can also check out our Account picture name sample.
AutoPlay (extension)
When the user connects a device to a computer, Windows fires an AutoPlay event. This extension enables your app to be listed as an AutoPlay choice for the one or more AutoPlay events.
Background tasks (extension)
Apps can use background tasks to run app code even when the app is suspended. Background tasks are intended for small work items that require no interaction with the user.
Camera settings (extension)
Your app can provide a custom user interface for selecting camera options and choosing effects when a camera is used to capture photos or video. For more info about this extension, see Developing Windows Store device apps for cameras.
Contact picker (extension)
This extension enables your app to register to provide contact data. Your app is included in the list of apps that Windows displays whenever the user needs access to their contacts.
For more info about this extension, see the Windows.ApplicationModel.Contacts.Provider reference topic. You can also check out Managing user contacts.
File activation (extension)
Files that have the same file name extension are of the same file type. Your app can use existing, well known file types, such as .txt, or create a new file type. The file activation extension enables you to define a new file type or register to handle a file type.
Game Explorer (extension)
Your app can register with Windows as a game. To do this, you must create a Game Definition File (GDF), build it as a binary resource in your app, and declare that resource in the package manifest.
Print task settings (extension)
You can design an app that displays a custom print-related user interface and communicates directly with a print device. When you highlight the features that are specific to a particular make and model of print device, you can provide a richer, more enhanced user experience.
Protocol activation (extension)
Your app can use existing protocols for communication, such as mailto, or create a custom protocol. The protocol activation extension enables you to define a custom protocol or register to handle an existing protocol.
SSL/certificates (extension)
Digital certificates are used to authenticate one entity to another. For example, certificates are often used to authenticate a user to web services over SSL. This extension enables you to install a digital certificate with your app.
cite: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/hh464906.aspx
Unfortunately, nothing has to do with screen savers. The technical reason, at this time, you cannot write a Windows 8 app that functions as a screensaver is because Windows 8 apps are fundamentally tied to run inside the WinRT execution environment. That shell does not extend out past the Start menu in this current version of Windows. So, there's no way to execute outside - like as a screen saver. Screen savers are still built the "old fashion way".