Database Users

[Help] How launch an Activity or dialog from background

Hello, I'm starting with Android and I'm trying to program a timer which launch an application or an AlertDialog, even if the application is in background. I know it is very invasive for the user but is necesary cause it show an important alarm that must be handled instantly.
Thats the code I used, but only works if MainActivity is the current activity =(
Code:
Timer time=new Timer();
teme.schedule(new TimerTask() {
public void run() {
Intent dialog = new Intent(MainActivity.this., Alarm.class);
dialog.setFlags(Intent.FLAG_FROM_BACKGROUND);
startActivity(dialog);
}
}, delay);
Can someone help me please?

Going to have to run it as a Service

You have MainActivity.this is why MainActivity has to be running.
When you start an activity, update the reference, and then call:
[whateverActivityIsRunning].this

Aditionally, you may try launching another thread under your process, this however will not work if your app was force closed by system or user.
Code:
private void dodelayed(int delay, Intent someintent){
Handler handler = new Handler();
handler.postDelayed(new Runnable() {
@Override public void run(){
//If that dialog is custom class then someintent.setclass(this,classname.class);
startActivity(someintent);
}
},delay);
}

Thanks guys, starting the activity from a service works nice for my target.
Now i'm trying a new thing:
I start the service in my app, then i open another app, Angry Birds for example xD. The startActivity tiggers and my app comes to front with a Activity that shows a message and a button.
I want a button click hide the Activity and move Andry Birds back to front.
How could I do it? Thanks!

finish();

With finish() I go to the last Activity of my app before it went to background =(

Do you know what that last activity is? You could set a variable in it to call from your other activity telling it to also finish.
You could also try something like this:
http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/manifest/activity-element.html#reparent

The "Love & Hate" of Android OS.
finish(); will only pop the last Activity on it's OWN thread and not Angry Birds as it is running on it's own thread (well VM actually).
The OS was designed this way; they didn't want any old application dumping something else that was running...makes sense to me.
I don't know what you're doing, but it sounds like it's working OK to me. Say I'm in the middle of creating a text, your timer goes off (for whatever reason I don't know), I respond to it and go about my texting. I would be more than upset if your timed event blew me out of my texting!!! Your app would be in the trash bin pretty quickly.
Might need a little more info on what you're trying to do...

My app wont be comercial. It reads from a bluetooth device checking for alarms, if any, gives the user some time for cancell it, else its sent to the main server.
I want do something like whatsapp application. where, if you activate the emergent notifications. when you receive an message a alertdialog is shown. But you can cancell it and continue with your stuff
See that screenshot:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}

for such notifications, first create an activity with normal textview and buttons and remember to use layout_width and height as wrap_content, then in your application manifest use the following
Code:
<activity android:name="activity"
android:label="Title"
android:theme="@android:style/Theme.Dialog">
now when you call this activity from a service, a dialog box such as in the picture above depending on your layout xml will be shown. and when you call finish() through a button on this dialog, the focus will be passed to angry birds since this activity was launched from a parent with no UI.

Exactly what i was looking for. Thanks!

dont waste posts, hit the thanks button!

Sorry, you are limited to five thanks per day
have to wait =)

Dont worry I gave him one for ya

[Q] Play/Stop buttons to Ongoing Notifications

Hello Guys,
How can i add an ongoing notification with 2 or 3 buttons... play stop next !?
Something like this
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
...When i tap a button i want to do an url post.
android 4+
Thanks

Its actually very easy to just add an expandable button to the bottom of your notification (android 4.1+ only I believe):
Code:
Intent mIntent = new Intent();
mIntent.setClass(context, MyClass.class);
PendingIntent mPendingIntent = PendingIntent.getService(context, 0, mIntent, PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT);
mNotificationBuilder.addAction(R.drawable.icon, "Test", mPendingIntent);
This call will simply add a button at the bottom of the layout with a little icon called "icon" from your drawables, the text "Test" next to it, and when clicked on will take you to the class that you set as the pending intent.
you can add up to 3 of these (i believe, someone correct me if i'm wrong) per notification.
To get layouts that have buttons on the side (or anywhere other then just under the actual notification) is little trickier though. you'll have to create a layout and then use remote views to get the job done and I dont have an example for that! check out here at the bottom of the page though and it talks about using remote views a little bit. Just be careful with the layout that it will work for different screen sizes and devices!
as for an ongoing notification, here is what you want to call:
Code:
mNotificationBuilder.setOngoing(true)
its also a good idea to set priority for ongoing notifications in my opinion so that they appear where you want them to in the drawer.
Code:
mNotificationBuilder.setPriority(Notification.PRIORITY_MIN); // there are lots of options other then PRIORITY_MIN as well to check out
Hope that helps get you started!

@klinkdawg what you are describing are the action buttons which appear below the notification. In the Google Music app the play/stop buttons are embedded within a custom notification design. You can set a RemoveView with your layout with SetContent function:
http://developer.android.com/refere...er.html#setContent(android.widget.RemoteViews)
However all this good stuff is only available in API level 11+, and the notification with bigger content in API level 16+.

Need help with really small app

I have the Android SDK and Eclipse downloaded and I can get it work properly. However, there doesn't seem to be any commands anywhere, like, am I supposed to know all of the JAVA commands by memory to use this tool???
I only want a very simple app that does this:
- When screen is off, turn WIFI off
- When screen is on, Turn WIFI on
That's it. I don't need any fancy menu or anything, it can run in the background for what I care, it's just that Stamina mode doesn't work with these roms and bootloaders and whatever, so I need this app to save me some power.
I reckon it'd be pretty easy for anyone who knows java, so maybe I could get someone to post a code for me?
Thanks in advance

You don't need to know everything by memory but you do need to know the basics.
For example, you need to know the difference between an Activity and a Service and determine which one you would want to use.
For your app, you would need a Service and a BroadcastReceiver.
Your BroadcastReceiver would capture the intents of the screen turning on and off:
http://thinkandroid.wordpress.com/2010/01/24/handling-screen-off-and-screen-on-intents/
You would then call your service from your broadcastreceiver to do the work of turning off your wifi:
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/8863509/how-to-programmatically-turn-off-wifi-on-android-device
Be sure to add the proper permissions in your manifest file that allows you to read and change wifi state.

Ok, so now I know how the code should be, but there's just one more thing.
How in the world can anyone program a user interface with text only??? This program is certainly not easy to use, I don't even know where to put the code with all of those different folders.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Do I even need all of those commands/folders? I tried deleting all that stuff and putting in the code but I got lots of errors obviously.
So if you would please tell me:
- Where to put the code
- How to make an interface like this one with radio buttons or something, a switch might be easier
I don't want anything fancy, just a super basic app
I suppose the code would look like this:
Code:
package selecm.wwf; //your package name
import android.net.wifi.WifiManager;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.Context;
import android.view.Menu;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.Button;
public class MainActivity extends Activity {
WifiManager wm;
@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
public class ScreenReceiver extends BroadcastReceiver {
// THANKS JASON
public static boolean wasScreenOn = true;
@Override
public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
if (intent.getAction().equals(Intent.ACTION_SCREEN_OFF)) {
wm.setWifiEnabled(false)
wasScreenOn = false;
} else if (intent.getAction().equals(Intent.ACTION_SCREEN_ON)) {
wm.setWifiEnabled(true)
wasScreenOn = true;
}
}
}
And then make these in the manifest.xml file:
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_WIFI_STATE"/>
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.CHANGE_WIFI_STATE"/>
Am I right?

Your user interface is located in the "res/layout" folder. It is most likely called activity_main.xml.
Also, I would recommend keeping your BroadcastReceiver separate from your activity. It makes things cleaner to debug and easier to build on.

After doing some playing and spending more time on this then I planned, using a service does not work reliable with the broadcast receiver. I am not sure how logical google was with the thought process of requiring some intents that can only be registered in code. With that limitation, your activity would need to be running to receive the intent from the screen being turned off or on.

[Q] Set BackgroundColor but keep onTouch

Hello,
I want to set the BackgroundColor of ListView items, but I want to keep the color which appears when I click the items.
How can I do that?

Auroratic said:
Hello,
I want to set the BackgroundColor of ListView items, but I want to keep the color which appears when I click the items.
How can I do that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rather than replace a "stateListDrawable" with a color or static drawable, replace it with another state list that has the "states" you require

deanwray said:
Rather than replace a "stateListDrawable" with a color or static drawable, replace it with another state list that has the "states" you require
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've got it, but I have one problem: The colour on state_pressed should be the default system colour (this one: android.R.drawable.list_selector_background)
How can I do that?

Auroratic said:
I've got it, but I have one problem: The colour on state_pressed should be the default system colour (this one: android.R.drawable.list_selector_background)
How can I do that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure what your asking, if you have read about stateListDrawabes and have understood it, also maybe even looked at examples, then you should know ? Open that resource, or even clone it and edit it how you want.

deanwray said:
I'm not sure what your asking, if you have read about stateListDrawabes and have understood it, also maybe even looked at examples, then you should know ? Open that resource, or even clone it and edit it how you want.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the following:
Code:
StateListDrawable stateList = new StateListDrawable();
stateList.addState(new int[] {
android.R.attr.state_pressed
}, new ColorDrawable(android.R.drawable.btn_default));
stateList.addState(new int[0], new ColorDrawable(Color.YELLOW));
textView.setBackgroundDrawable(stateList);
The background is yellow, but when I press on the textView, the background turns into transparent (it should be like this when i press:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
)

Auroratic said:
I have the following:
Code:
StateListDrawable stateList = new StateListDrawable();
stateList.addState(new int[] {
android.R.attr.state_pressed
}, new ColorDrawable(android.R.drawable.btn_default));
stateList.addState(new int[0], new ColorDrawable(Color.YELLOW));
textView.setBackgroundDrawable(stateList);
The background is yellow, but when I press on the textView, the background turns into transparent (it should be like this when i press:
)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well fyi you should look at the view type "states" as not sure you want android.R.attr.state_pressed ... neways you probably want state_focused and state_enabled for an editText view, but really google should provide you with simple absolute answers
hope that clears it up neways

deanwray said:
well fyi you should look at the view type "states" as not sure you want android.R.attr.state_pressed ... neways you probably want state_focused and state_enabled for an editText view, but really google should provide you with simple absolute answers
hope that clears it up neways
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have that now:
Code:
StateListDrawable stateList = new StateListDrawable();
stateList.addState(new int[] {
android.R.attr.state_pressed
}, context.getResources().getDrawable(android.R.drawable.list_selector_background));
but when I press on the TextView, the background goes orange

Auroratic said:
I have that now:
Code:
StateListDrawable stateList = new StateListDrawable();
stateList.addState(new int[] {
android.R.attr.state_pressed
}, context.getResources().getDrawable(android.R.drawable.list_selector_background));
but when I press on the TextView, the background goes orange
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
now your setting a state with a state "list" so not sure that will ever work.. needs to be a simple drawable

How to show a map in an activity?

How would I show a map in an activity with a customized marker that shows the current location of the device?

If you're planning to use Google Maps, it's pretty easy: https://google-developers.appspot.com/maps/documentation/android/
And for the device location: http://developer.android.com/training/location/retrieve-current.html

Ianlmt said:
How would I show a map in an activity with a customized marker that shows the current location of the device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Look into using a MapFragment.
Stick one in your layout;
Code:
<fragment
class="com.google.android.gms.maps.MapFragment"
android:id="@+id/myMap"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"/>
Then in the onCreate of your activity, get a handle to the fragment and then get the map as a GoogleMap object from there;
Code:
final MapFragment mapFragment = ((MapFragment)getFragmentManager().findFragmentById(R.id.myMap));
final GoogleMap googleMap = mapFragment.getMap();
When you have the GoogleMap instance, it's easy to set positions and markers;
Code:
final LatLng position = new LatLng(100, 100);
map.setMyLocationEnabled(true);
map.moveCamera(CameraUpdateFactory.newLatLngZoomposition, 10));
map.addMarker(new MarkerOptions().title("Some place of interest").position(position));
Hope this helps.

Thank you so much! Going to play with it later today and see what I can produce!

Ianlmt said:
Thank you so much! Going to play with it later today and see what I can produce!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool, remember that you need to get you API key's sorted to get it to work.

bornander said:
Cool, remember that you need to get you API key's sorted to get it to work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do I do that (sorry so new to this whole thing)... Do you mean I need to apply for an API key?

Ok I have attached what I worked out in a zipped project file below this post, what it produces is this:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Close, but no actual map is displayed... where did I go wrong?
Thanks for all the help

never-mind it appears I have fixed it ... what I did;
was missing a bunch of code, and the keystone had to match the one that was given to google api, I also had to enable the api from google develper control panel.
Seems to be working now! I am going to keep on tinkering with it, but this is the first map activity I have created... yaaaay