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Hey all-
I am very new to developing (and Java). Currently working on my 2nd android app so be gentle here. Is there a way, or a good work-around to display web-based pdf files with android? Basically I am trying to have one of the buttons in my program pull up a website that happens to be a web-based pdf. I don't believe WebView will support that.
I have tried converting the pdf files to .png but I loose all the resolution I need as I need the user to be able to zoom in and see the detail.
Is there anyway to either host the pdf file on-line as something else and/or convert it to something else to make it available off-line?
Thanks for any help
Just throwing this out there, but why not have the link download the PDF file to the user's phone.
Only downside I see to this is in the even that the user doesn't have a PDF "viewer."
Otherwise, I'm not aware of any real way to display a PDF within the browser.
If someone can work this out, I'd be interested in learning his/her technique as well.
Thanks for the reply- I did think of doing it that way but I didn't want to make use of my app dependent on another app- It sounds like that's what I will have to do though as I have searched high and low without finding a solution. I had wanted to make two versions of the app- in the free version the user would need web access, in the paid version the user could have off-line access.
With Adobe's pdf viewer on the market for free and most new phones coming stock with pdf viewers, I suppose it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. Is there no graphic format I can convert a pdf to and then host on-line? Thank you again
OREGONMX said:
Thanks for the reply- I did think of doing it that way but I didn't want to make use of my app dependent on another app- It sounds like that's what I will have to do though as I have searched high and low without finding a solution. I had wanted to make two versions of the app- in the free version the user would need web access, in the paid version the user could have off-line access.
With Adobe's pdf viewer on the market for free and most new phones coming stock with pdf viewers, I suppose it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. Is there no graphic format I can convert a pdf to and then host on-line? Thank you again
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Yeah, I know exactly what you are saying. Having an app-to-app dependency can cause quite a hysteria with users. They'll complain that the app is faulty and rate it 1 star.
My other suggestion would be to screenshot the PDF, page by page, and paste them into Photoshop and save the files as jpg's with the highest resolution. It will definitely take up a lot of your time if you have a lot of PDFs with many pages. Granted, you'll be taking up much more space, and the image will be loading a lot slower but you'll have pretty neat quality.
You'll have to weigh the factors on what you find more important - speed or quality.
If you don't mind me asking, what type of app are you making.
Thanks again- well just a few minutes ago my friend who is a bit more proficient with the whole coding thing came up with an idea that might just work-
he suggested taking the PDF and splitting it up into several different images and just creating an arrow button on the sides or top or bottom (depending on where in the image you are looking) and then applying an onClickListener to the buttons which will call up a different image view, which would be the next corresponding image/area of the pdf. I'm hoping that by cutting the pdf into small pieces like that and saving them as either jpg or png files I can retain the resolution I am after AND host them on-line myself for the free-app and give users the option to download the pdf to their SD card in the paid version- which would make my original idea a possibility.
My app is a program aimed at dirtbiking enthusiasts- surprisingly there is not a lot of crossover between the dirtbiking community and the developing community- I am all alone Ha!
I don't imagine I stand to make a bajillion dollars but learning android and java and actually seeing what I am doing work (sometimes) has been a fantastically gratifying experience. Just wish I had more time to do it- a 4-year-old and 5-year-old + wife + full-time job make it hard. I'm in no hurry though
That sounds fairly similar to what Facebook has on their "Touch" version of their site (touch.facebook.com)
If you view pictures within an album, you'll notice you get the arrows on the bottom left and right to keep switching between pictures.
Sounds like that would definitely work.
Keep me posted on your app. I give you props for even being on your 2nd app, as I've seen many people in your same situation (wife, kids, job) just give up after downloading the SDK.
But yeah, I'm interested to see how it turns out.
Thanks hopefully my vision will come together sooner rather than later. I'll keep you posted
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
So, here is the situation:
I'm a Magic: the Gathering player and I love to design cards for fun. There is a bit of software called Magic Set Edtior that lets you make and store collections of custom made cards on the PC. My goal is to make a similar program for android. However, I'm relatively unfamiliar with how android apps are developed, and I have one major problem starting out:
Basically, the program needs to be able to open, create, edit, and save sets of cards that each have a few features. How do I store data for these sets? How would I accomplish that sort of file system? Should I just have the app create a internal database for each set the user makes? Are there limits to how many databases can be created by a single app? I'm probably not being as clear as I could be, and I realize that this project is probably (far) beyond my abilities - but I'd appreciate any help and would be happy to clarify anything that doesn't make sense. I'll post progress once I get this off the ground!
Check out the notepad demo at developer.android.com, it should be a good starting point for what you are trying to do
Sweet! I'll take a look. Thanks for your help ^_^
One more thing about databases, then: If the app has an internal database and I release an update for the app that modifies fields in the database, does the information get wiped? (for example, say that the tables in the db have three fields: name, cost, rules, and i issue an update that adds a "stats" field. Would that clear out the current cards in the database?)
Basically, I just want to be sure that using databases to store the sets of cards is the best, most efficient way to do this (So I won't end up having to re-code that entire bit of app).
So, databases are confusing... At least, how android works with them sure as hell is @[email protected]
So, what ive got now is that I need to make a database to store the individual card data... however, I also need to store general information about the set as well. So, do I make one new writeable database per set created, or is there a way to just use one database, and one table per set? (though I dont think you can store general info about a table that applies to each row, can you?)
Or apply for appinventor from googlelabs. Its fast and easy, should suite your purpose. Also has ability to communicate via web.
goodluck
I did apply. I'm hoping they get it too me soon.
Roid1 said:
Or apply for appinventor from googlelabs. Its fast and easy, should suite your purpose. Also has ability to communicate via web.
goodluck
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I've got accepted like a week ago. Sad part is. You can't upload apps made to the market
sent from my pimp hero running Froyo CM6 and the XDA app
Hi all!
I'm in my final year and we're supposed to do a project which is worth 200 marks overall. Most of us in our field have chosen to develop either android or iphone applications. My group and I have chosen adnroid.
Now, I'm in need of simple ideas for the apps. We have absolutely no idea on how to go about with the process. I've seen lots of people here develop stunning applications here! We're in need of ideas for developing simple apps.. which can be completed in a max of 2-3 months (considering the fact that we don't have any background knowledge on android development/programming. All we know is Java)
I'd initially suggested an automatic mobile credit recharge system, where in the app monitors you prepaid account balance from time to time and recharges the account once the credit falls below a user set value.
Although this seemed interesting at first, it can only be simulated with 2 databases (one for the mobile credit and another for the bank account)
After going through the type of apps here, I really want to develop something much better than this.
I'm open to all ideas, in fact, we don't mind developing an app that is already existing (for instance a profile manager or a data wallet etc) All we want is to have a fully complete app at the end of 2 months.
Please assist.
Thanks!
Secret Santa?
That's something that I thought up over winter break and whipped it up over a few days in the App Inventor. If you guys take your time, you can probably learn Android programming and design/code it in a month or so.
There are some "special" features that I added to make the app more useful but I'll leave that for you to think up.
I'll post back if I come up with anything else. I also need some app ideas, but just for recreational programming.
Thanks! I'm currently checking out appInventer.. I somehow find it hard to come up with ideas which is why I'm trying to find help from here :|
I think the credit recharger is a pretty cool idea, personally. But I understand that you might want something with more "impact"
I think part of the key to this would be figuring out what has not already been done to death. There are so many apps with 5, 6, 7, etc versions of the basically the same thing. I would try to find something to develop with less competition, even if it's more of a niche product. I'm trying to think of the things I've previously thought "I wish I had an app for ____" but I'm drawing a blank right now.
If I think of anything I'll be sure to post it back in here
DrDubzz said:
I think the credit recharger is a pretty cool idea, personally. But I understand that you might want something with more "impact"
I think part of the key to this would be figuring out what has not already been done to death. There are so many apps with 5, 6, 7, etc versions of the basically the same thing. I would try to find something to develop with less competition, even if it's more of a niche product. I'm trying to think of the things I've previously thought "I wish I had an app for ____" but I'm drawing a blank right now.
If I think of anything I'll be sure to post it back in here
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Thanks! I checked out google appInventer tutorials.. theres one which says "no text while driving" -- basically sends back an sms to the sender that ur driving.. It seems interesting so I'm gonna see how best i can use it and pack some more useful stuff along with it.. and see how it all works out.
The reason why I'm giving the auto recharge a back seat is because it can't be implemented in real time.. it can only be simulated in a virtual environment.
You might want to think about doing something that takes advantage of the maps api. It's easy to do but it looks impressive and might help you get high marks.
A great idea?!
Graphics artist here,
Something I just thought of and just started searching for (literally) when I came across your thread, would be: Using the phone as a touch sensitive.. control for editing software, ie photoshop or paint.net. Basically turn the phone into a touchpad control for a computer.
Just an idea!
mirrorhelix said:
Graphics artist here,
Something I just thought of and just started searching for (literally) when I came across your thread, would be: Using the phone as a touch sensitive.. control for editing software, ie photoshop or paint.net. Basically turn the phone into a touchpad control for a computer.
Just an idea!
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Click to collapse
This would be great! I'd definitely pay a couple/few dollars for something along these lines if it was user-friendly
Thats a really awesome idea!! Converting the touchscreen into a tablet input for PS or any other photo manipulation software.. But the problem is that I don't know where to begin! :|
This is a college project so the idea isn't to make a unique and sell-able application... it's to demonstrate that you can work as part of a team to make an application from design to completion.
I'd try and think of a fun app (i wouldnt care if it's been done 100 times before) that everyone on your team wants to contribute to. If it's unique, brilliant, if not nevermind you've got some good experience working as a team and making an android app.
I do like the sound of the phone touchpad app, it's been done on iPhone by Logitech but i've not seen something for android. If it helps, http://blog.logitech.com/2010/01/29...-touch-into-a-wireless-trackpad-and-keyboard/ .
There are a ton of them on the market: Gmote, MyRemote, UnifiedRemote, etc.
It might be a good idea to email this developers to get a better picture of what to do.
Problem is that all of those tools rely heavily on WiFi so you'll have to understand networking.
biggler said:
This is a college project so the idea isn't to make a unique and sell-able application... it's to demonstrate that you can work as part of a team to make an application from design to completion.
I'd try and think of a fun app (i wouldnt care if it's been done 100 times before) that everyone on your team wants to contribute to. If it's unique, brilliant, if not nevermind you've got some good experience working as a team and making an android app.
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Bingo!! Which is exactly what my instructor said. I tried out the tutorials on appInventer.. I was toying with the idea of integrating more features into those itself. Is that a good idea? Although the concept is from Google, would it be ok to build on it? i'm particularly interested in "No texting while driving" and "Broadcast Hub" -- both these apps are awesome! Are there any notable features that I can add to make them better.
How about an app for the quick oil change places. It could show your last service and what was done. Show any upcoming maintenance and when your next oil change is due.
Maybe integrate Google Maps to show locations of service centers. Maybe offer a "e-coupon" if they use the app. Pretend they offer online scheduling and maybe show them "2 customers in bay, one waiting" - Estimated wait time 20 minutes" yada, yada
As an "older" programmer with 2 degrees, it's nice to see your college offering the mobile platform as a programming choice. Hell, all we got to write were COBOL and CICS mainframe applications and some semi-cool C++ projects.
Good Luck and Congratulations on getting your degree!!
What about a bluetooth hack to where u would be able to hack into someones phone and use their service for texting and calling. I heard of something like that when i was on my blackberry and was really into it. But it would be nice to get something like that on my Incredible
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
I think it would be a good idea to make an app that uses an existing web api for a popular website, could be facebook, ebay(do they have an api?) etc etc.
It's a good way to learn a lot of aspects of android development, with a useful product as the outcome.
It doesn't matter if there is already an app for that site, think of a different way of using the site on the mobile, and go from there.
I would like to see a program that reads the weather API and reflects the current weather and location on the wallpaper. This app would require graphics design, code to parse the weather feed, writing to the OS. When I was on Windows Mobile there was a skin for Weather Panel that did this but with Android's live walpaper it could be really cool.
Thanks for the ideas you guys! I really appreciate it. Everything seems interesting.. but the problem is we don't know where to begin or how to go about it.
I did the broadcast hub tutorial present in the app inventer page. It turned out good. Is there any way I can add functionality to this itself?
blueren said:
Thanks for the ideas you guys! I really appreciate it. Everything seems interesting.. but the problem is we don't know where to begin or how to go about it.
I did the broadcast hub tutorial present in the app inventer page. It turned out good. Is there any way I can add functionality to this itself?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do all the tutorials and learn the blocks, you can create lots of stuff. There is a app in the market that adds more features to the app inventor, app inventor extender
XDA App
A couple of suggestions:
- A chess PGN editor
- A simple picture/document management app where you take a photo using the camera, add some tags or other info, and save all details in a database. You can also provide search functionality and a viewer to retrieve pictures using the index you've built.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
I did some homework on topics and came across this.. A multilingual speech translator.
Talk in a language, it converts the speech to text, translates that text to a target language, and reads the translated text aloud.
Is this feasible? What is the difficulty level?
Also, is it possible to develop a call blocker app? I looked around but wherever I search, I only find fully built apps but not pointers on how to go about creating one by yourself.
Please assist.
Need an apk that signs my update.zip files from titanium blackup.
I don't understand why it hasn't been done. The code to do it is already in java! Search the forums for testsign.jar
I know everything you need to do to get it done but I don't have a development environment at my disposal. Help me out and I'll show you how to convert your jarred up code libraries to run on android!
Please and Thank You.
* edit - this question has been solved by brainmaster! ZipSigner if you find this application helpful please thank him below.
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New application proposal: ZeroNetAccess (ZeNA?)
Concept: an app that can block other apps network access.
Market alternative: DroidWall (root only, low market potential)
Methods: Maybe by modifying the apk manifest and resigning? Im not sure if there is a framework you could subclass for this.
Why: i turned off stats reporting for an app and i saw it writing reports to the web from logcat. Google took our rights away by not letting us do this from the application settings. Its my device and i have to pay the bill not google or the rude ppl who made the app. I will never understand why we were not given the right to administer mobile data access rights.
Potential: highly lucrative. People want to save money nowadays. In that respect voiding phone warranty for root access may not sit well with potential customer.
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Avid Droidery said:
New application proposal: ZeroNetAccess (ZeNA?)
Concept: an app that can block other apps network access.
Methods: Maybe by modifying the apk manifest and resigning? Im not sure if there is a framework you could subclass for this.
Why: i turned off stats reporting for an app and i saw it writing reports to the web from logcat. Google took our rights away by not letting us do this from the application settings. Its my device and i have to pay the bill not google or the rude ppl who made the app. I will never understand why we were not given the right to administer mobile data access rights.
Potential: highly lucrative. People want to save money nowadays.
- Posted via mobile
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For rooted devices try DroidWall
Application Proposal: Web Page to PDF/HTML Safari Plug-In
Concept: Seriously?
Why: Cant save pages from the browser I safari always reloads the page when you come back to it from other activities (pointless nethog!) whats the friggin cache for anyway? It is better to save an article copy that you could view on the computer later or add to your info library if you write books or do any kinda technical research than it is to save a bookmark that may become 404 not found. Researchers nightmare!
Methods: execute shell command wget on page source. Use regular expression to get media list. Build directory tree. For each media call wget. Done.
Potential: medium. Not many people are so technically inclined.
Usefulness: extremely high, especially with zip/+email caps.. Roundabout source code viewer for nosy/curious folks.
Average potential, stream lehigh usefulness I would sell for a buck 99. Free (1 ad per saved page, no zip email)
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3rdstring said:
For rooted devices try DroidWall
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Thank you! Will do!
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Application proposal: WarBastard
Concept: wardriving app featuring google my maps! Maps are shared globally by locale. Signals can be pinpointed by triangulation through cross reference of mac address, signal strength and previously detected locations in a global locale based database. While we are at, throw in a google navigation intent, and a compass with distance to closest accesible AP! Dont stop there! I wonder where that cell tower is located?
Purpose: to aid weary travellers and cheap bastards to connect with their loved ones and services over open networks. Services could also be used for cellular network signal diagnostics across hundreds of thousands of devices.
Potential: astronomical I would pay 5 bux. Better yet 12 bucks per year. Free (1 ad per download of database, 1 ad per connect to AP. Possibly integrated with APs for increased revenue potential across the board.) The map data can also be used to find good places to set up an advertising AP 4 even more potential earnings.
Anybody wanna pay me to sit around and do this all day? Lol.
SERIOUSLY you are looking at my qualifications. Asking 50k p. yr. to start Project Mgr./Analyst/Sr. Developer. consulting options available. Willing to relocate. Pm for inquiries/proposals.
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Avid Droidery said:
Need an apk that signs my update.zip files from titanium blackup.
I don't understand why it hasn't been done. The code to do it is already in java! Search the forums for testsign.jar
I know everything you need to do to get it done but I don't have a development environment at my disposal. Help me out and I'll show you how to convert your jarred up code libraries to run on android!
Please and Thank You.
- Posted via mobile
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Click to collapse
You should use the search function: ZipSigner.
It implements in the Titanium Backup and signs it on your wish.
brainmaster said:
You should use the search function
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are correct. I should never have assumed that this wasn't already in the market. Actually I didn't really plan to use this to sign titanium backups. For my purpose however the concept is the same.
* edit Human beings arent the fastest search engine but collectively we are the most accurate information sources on the planet. feel free to quote me on this
I thought that it would be better to ask someone who might know than it would be to search for something that may not exist. If I had access to a computer I would have no questions to post. Only answers! Being that I am stuck on my android for the time being, I appreciate all the help I can get!
Thank you for providing me with another helpful for resource!
* Edit: Dear brainmaster, words cannot express my level of gratitude! I am truly overjoyed by the passing of this shortcoming. Signapktic is exactly what I was looking for and I never would have found this application had it not been for your assistance. The topic of this thread is kick ass apps wanted. Even though this is an application that no longer needs to be developed (because real developers don't reinvent the wheel unless absolutely necessary,) you have met or exceeded the topic issue with flying colors!
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New application proposal: Launchpad Homescreen Widget
Concept: a widget that will pop up an on screen menu (complete with icons) onClick similar to pc desktop start menus. Customizable shortcuts Horizontal or vertical (and scrollable) layouts by preference and Customizable folders.
Why: I would rather have a feature like this than an app drawer any day. This would allow individuals to organize launcher short cuts by task. It would also be great if it were possible to open files in the system such as pdf, video, music or text files with appropriate application. Another great feature would be the ability to launch shell scripts. I have searched the market and nothing like this was found.
Potential: high. will save customer time allow them to become more visually organized and task oriented as well as adding more visual appeal to the home screens. $5.99 I would buy it! Time limited trial only.
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Dear XDA community,
First I apologize for the long post, if you want to see only my actual question, just skip the next 2 paragraphs.The stuff before is for context on why your help will be so crucial to us!
Friends and I have started a non-profit organization with the aim of bringing Nooks Touch loaded with literature and DIY books to Kenya (the website is readandprosper.org) The idea is to provide children in their last two years of secondary education with choice and easy access to both Kenyan, pan-African, and US/European literature, as well as replace their textbooks with electronic versions. Currently, up to 5 children share a single textbook (generally in bad shape as well). We also would like to include lots of Do It Yourself books to encourage children to learn useful trades (carpentry, irrigation, mechanical repair, etc).
We have made significant progress in our work, identified the school where we will pilot the project, identified the books we'd like to use (though publishers are giving us a hard time; shocker!) etc. Right now, we are working on the monitoring and evaluation plan and are looking into collecting data about the use of the devices by children and professors. This is where the XDA community's help would be crucial!
Our hope is that there is a way to record what books are being read and also basic information about basic reading patterns, like how many pages are being read in sequence vs. just browsing through the book. Do you guys and gals know any way this can be done via a script/app?
I have a pretty good understanding of Android, having rooted and tested lots of roms on my G2x and having done some basic customization work in the guts so I'm OK with a not super simple and easy solution. It would be really helpful for us to understand use patterns and what books have the most value so we can better tailor our approach!
Thank you so much for any suggestions/help!
Depending on how in-depth you wanted the info, this could get complicated.
You'd need to modify the reader.
You'd have to safeguard against logging as read when somebody holds down a side button continuously.
You can look in the Nook and check the content provider content://media/external/docs and see if a book was ever opened.
If you took occasional snapshots of this you might make some sense of reading.
There's also content://com.bn.nook.reader.providers.lastreadingpointprovider/
It's not what you want, but the easiest data that you can get is if people are using Adobe Digital Editions to borrow from libraries.
You can look in C:\Users\Whoever\My Documents\My Digital Editions and see all the books ever borrowed.
Renate NST said:
Depending on how in-depth you wanted the info, this could get complicated.
You'd need to modify the reader.
You'd have to safeguard against logging as read when somebody holds down a side button continuously.
You can look in the Nook and check the content provider content://media/external/docs and see if a book was ever opened.
If you took occasional snapshots of this you might make some sense of reading.
There's also content://com.bn.nook.reader.providers.lastreadingpointprovider/
It's not what you want, but the easiest data that you can get is if people are using Adobe Digital Editions to borrow from libraries.
You can look in C:\Users\Whoever\My Documents\My Digital Editions and see all the books ever borrowed.
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Click to collapse
Thank you for the info Renate!
I think our first interest is in finding out which books are read most often. Number of pages read would be interesting, but as you said, it will be difficult to collect the data without getting a lot of "noise" or some kind of access to the reader's innards.
We are also open to installing a different reader than the Nook standard, like Moon+ or Aldiko (after root of course). Do any of these third party readers provide an API-type access that would enable more extensive data collection? Otherwise we might try to talk to the app makers and see if they might be able to cook up something for us.
The ADE aspect doesn't really work for us, there is no WiFi where the e-readers are going and we will be sideloading all the books.
We'll continue to think about all this. I got one of our refurbished Nook yesterday to play with, and so far I haven't really gone the rooting route just yet, but I think it will be happening pretty soon.
I just wanted to revive this thread on logging how students use their e-readers.
Since my last post, I haven't really been able to find much more information, which is incredible frustrating.
School libraries, public libraries, and so forth are all using or at least beginning to use e-readers and I can't believe that there exist no app or reading software that tracks reading habits or use. I understand there are some privacy issues, but anonymized data would carry incredibly useful information. In our case, we will have multiple kids using each reader, and no log-in so the privacy issues is essentially void. Plus the data will inform what books we should load up on our readers in the future.
Does anybody on XDA have any clue about an app that can collect reading data? I know Moon+ Pro has some reading statistics for example, but do you guys/gals know what data is available?