How to use support FileProvider for sharing content to other apps

Question

I m looking for a way to correctly share  not OPEN  an internal file with external application using Android Support library s FileProvider    Following the example on the docs    lt provider     android name  android support v4 content FileProvider      android authorities  com example android supportv4 my files      android grantUriPermissions  true      android exported  false  gt       lt meta-data         android name  android support FILE PROVIDER PATHS          android resource   xml my paths    gt   lt  provider gt    and using ShareCompat to share a file to other apps as follows   ShareCompat IntentBuilder from activity   setStream uri     uri from FileProvider  setType  text html    getIntent    addFlags Intent FLAG GRANT READ URI PERMISSION    does not work  since the FLAG GRANT READ URI PERMISSION only grants permission for the Uri specified on the data of the intent  not the value of the EXTRA STREAM extra  as was set by setStream    I tried to compromise security by setting android exported to true for the provider  but FileProvider internally checks if itself is exported  when so  it throws an exception

User · Answer

As far as I can tell this will only work on newer versions of Android, so you will probably have to figure out a different way to do it. This solution works for me on 4.4, but not on 4.0 or 2.3.3, so this will not be a useful way to go about sharing content for an app that's meant to run on any Android device.

In manifest.xml:

<provider
    android:name="android.support.v4.content.FileProvider"
    android:authorities="com.mydomain.myapp.SharingActivity"
    android:exported="false"
    android:grantUriPermissions="true">
    <meta-data
        android:name="android.support.FILE_PROVIDER_PATHS"
        android:resource="@xml/file_paths" />
</provider>

Take careful note of how you specify the authorities. You must specify the activity from which you will create the URI and launch the share intent, in this case the activity is called SharingActivity. This requirement is not obvious from Google's docs!

file_paths.xml:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<paths xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
    <files-path name="just_a_name" path=""/>
</paths>

Be careful how you specify the path. The above defaults to the root of your private internal storage.

In SharingActivity.java:

Uri contentUri = FileProvider.getUriForFile(getActivity(),
"com.mydomain.myapp.SharingActivity", myFile);
Intent shareIntent = new Intent();
shareIntent.setAction(Intent.ACTION_SEND);
shareIntent.setType("image/jpeg");
shareIntent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_STREAM, contentUri);
shareIntent.addFlags(Intent.FLAG_GRANT_READ_URI_PERMISSION);
startActivity(Intent.createChooser(shareIntent, "Share with"));

In this example we are sharing a JPEG image.

Finally it is probably a good idea to assure yourself that you have saved the file properly and that you can access it with something like this:

File myFile = getActivity().getFileStreamPath("mySavedImage.jpeg");
if(myFile != null){
    Log.d(TAG, "File found, file description: "+myFile.toString());
}else{
    Log.w(TAG, "File not found!");
}

User · Answer

Since as Phil says in his comment on the original question  this is unique and there is no other info on SO on in google  I thought I should also share my results   In my app FileProvider worked out of the box to share files using the share intent   There was no special configuration or code necessary  beyond that to setup the FileProvider   In my manifest xml I placed        lt provider         android name  android support v4 content FileProvider          android authorities  com my apps package files          android exported  false          android grantUriPermissions  true   gt           lt meta-data             android name  android support FILE PROVIDER PATHS              android resource   xml my paths    gt       lt  provider gt    In my paths xml I have    lt paths xmlns android  http   schemas android com apk res android  gt       lt files-path name  files  path       gt   lt  paths gt    In my code I have       Intent shareIntent   new Intent        shareIntent setAction Intent ACTION SEND       shareIntent setType  application xml         Uri uri   FileProvider getUriForFile this   com my apps package files   fileToShare       shareIntent putExtra Intent EXTRA STREAM  uri        startActivity Intent createChooser shareIntent  getResources   getText R string share file       And I am able to share my files store in my apps private storage with apps such as Gmail and  google drive without any trouble

User · Answer

This solution works for me since OS 4 4  To make it work on all devices I added a workaround for older devices  This ensures that always the safest solution is used   Manifest xml        lt provider         android name  androidx core content FileProvider          android authorities  com package name fileprovider          android exported  false          android grantUriPermissions  true  gt           lt meta-data             android name  android support FILE PROVIDER PATHS              android resource   xml file paths    gt       lt  provider gt    file paths xml    lt paths gt       lt files-path name  app directory  path  directory    gt   lt  paths gt    Java   public static void sendFile Context context        Intent intent   new Intent Intent ACTION SEND       intent setType  text plain        String dirpath   context getFilesDir     File separator    directory       File file   new File dirpath   File separator    file txt        Uri uri   FileProvider getUriForFile context   com package name fileprovider   file       intent putExtra Intent EXTRA STREAM  uri       intent setFlags Intent FLAG GRANT READ URI PERMISSION          Workaround for Android bug         grantUriPermission also needed for KITKAT         see https   code google com p android issues detail id 76683     if  Build VERSION SDK INT  lt   Build VERSION CODES KITKAT            List lt ResolveInfo gt  resInfoList   context getPackageManager   queryIntentActivities intent  PackageManager MATCH DEFAULT ONLY           for  ResolveInfo resolveInfo   resInfoList                String packageName   resolveInfo activityInfo packageName              context grantUriPermission packageName  attachmentUri  Intent FLAG GRANT READ URI PERMISSION                       if  intent resolveActivity context getPackageManager       null            context startActivity intent            public static void revokeFileReadPermission Context context        if  Build VERSION SDK INT  lt   Build VERSION CODES KITKAT            String dirpath   context getFilesDir     File separator    directory           File file   new File dirpath   File separator    file txt            Uri uri   FileProvider getUriForFile context   com package name fileprovider   file           context revokeUriPermission uri  Intent FLAG GRANT READ URI PERMISSION             The permission is revoked with revokeFileReadPermission   in the onResume and onDestroy   methods of the Fragment or the Activity

User · Answer

In my app FileProvider works just fine  and I am able to attach internal files stored in files directory to email clients like Gmail Yahoo etc   In my manifest as mentioned in the Android documentation I placed    lt provider         android name  android support v4 content FileProvider          android authorities  com package name fileprovider          android grantUriPermissions  true          android exported  false  gt           lt meta-data             android name  android support FILE PROVIDER PATHS              android resource   xml filepaths    gt       lt  provider gt    And as my files were stored in the root files directory  the filepaths xml were as follows      lt paths gt   lt files-path path     name  name    gt      Now in the code    File file new File context getFilesDir    test txt      Intent shareIntent   new Intent android content Intent ACTION SEND MULTIPLE     shareIntent putExtra android content Intent EXTRA SUBJECT                                        Test      shareIntent setType  text plain      shareIntent putExtra android content Intent EXTRA EMAIL                                   new String     email-address you want to send the file to         Uri uri   FileProvider getUriForFile context  com package name fileprovider                                                      file                    ArrayList lt Uri gt  uris   new ArrayList lt Uri gt                     uris add uri                    shareIntent  putParcelableArrayListExtra Intent EXTRA STREAM                                                          uris                     try                      context startActivity Intent createChooser shareIntent    Email    addFlags Intent FLAG ACTIVITY NEW TASK                                                                                              catch ActivityNotFoundException e                        Toast makeText context                                      Sorry No email Application was found                                      Toast LENGTH SHORT  show                                      This worked for me Hope this helps

User · Answer

If you get an image from camera none of these solutions work for Android 4 4  In this case it s better to check versions   Intent intent   new Intent MediaStore ACTION IMAGE CAPTURE   if  intent resolveActivity getContext   getPackageManager       null        if  Build VERSION SDK INT  lt  Build VERSION CODES LOLLIPOP            uri   Uri fromFile file         else           uri   FileProvider getUriForFile getContext    getContext   getPackageName       provider   file             intent putExtra MediaStore EXTRA OUTPUT  uri       startActivityForResult intent  CAMERA REQUEST

User · Answer

Using FileProvider from support library you have to manually grant and revoke permissions at runtime  for other apps to read specific Uri  Use Context grantUriPermission and Context revokeUriPermission methods    For example     grant permision for app with package  packegeName   eg  before starting other app via intent context grantUriPermission packageName  uri  Intent FLAG GRANT WRITE URI PERMISSION   Intent FLAG GRANT READ URI PERMISSION      revoke permisions context revokeUriPermission uri  Intent FLAG GRANT WRITE URI PERMISSION   Intent FLAG GRANT READ URI PERMISSION     As a last resort  if you can t provide package name you can grant the permission to all apps that can handle specific intent     grant permisions for all apps that can handle given intent Intent intent   new Intent    intent setAction Intent ACTION SEND       List lt ResolveInfo gt  resInfoList   context getPackageManager   queryIntentActivities intent  PackageManager MATCH DEFAULT ONLY   for  ResolveInfo resolveInfo   resInfoList        String packageName   resolveInfo activityInfo packageName      context grantUriPermission packageName  uri  Intent FLAG GRANT WRITE URI PERMISSION   Intent FLAG GRANT READ URI PERMISSION       Alternative method according to the documentation         Put the content URI in an Intent by calling setData       Next  call the method Intent setFlags   with either FLAG GRANT READ URI PERMISSION    or FLAG GRANT WRITE URI PERMISSION   or both     Finally  send the Intent to another app  Most often  you do this by calling setResult         Permissions granted in an Intent remain in effect while the stack   of    the receiving Activity is active  When the stack finishes  the   permissions are automatically removed  Permissions granted to one   Activity in a client app are automatically extended to other   components of that app       Btw  if you need to  you can copy source of FileProvider and change attachInfo method to prevent provider from checking if it is exported

User · Answer

just to improve answer given above  if you are getting NullPointerEx    you can also use getApplicationContext   without context                  List lt ResolveInfo gt  resInfoList   getPackageManager   queryIntentActivities takePictureIntent  PackageManager MATCH DEFAULT ONLY                   for  ResolveInfo resolveInfo   resInfoList                        String packageName   resolveInfo activityInfo packageName                      grantUriPermission packageName  photoURI  Intent FLAG GRANT WRITE URI PERMISSION   Intent FLAG GRANT READ URI PERMISSION

User · Answer

Here is my blog post about why we need to use FileProvider and how to use it correctly  Fully updated to the latest versions of Android

User · Answer

Fully working code sample how to share file from inner app folder  Tested on Android 7 and Android 5   AndroidManifest xml   lt  application gt               lt provider         android name  androidx core content FileProvider          android authorities  android getqardio com gmslocationtest          android exported  false          android grantUriPermissions  true  gt           lt meta-data             android name  android support FILE PROVIDER PATHS              android resource   xml provider paths   gt       lt  provider gt   lt  application gt    xml provider paths   lt  xml version  1 0  encoding  utf-8   gt   lt paths gt       lt files-path         name  share          path  external files   gt   lt  paths gt    Code itself      File imagePath   new File getFilesDir     external files        imagePath mkdir        File imageFile   new File imagePath getPath     test jpg            Write data in your file      Uri uri   FileProvider getUriForFile this  getPackageName    imageFile        Intent intent   ShareCompat IntentBuilder from this                   setStream uri     uri from FileProvider                  setType  text html                    getIntent                    setAction Intent ACTION VIEW    Change if needed                  setDataAndType uri   image                      addFlags Intent FLAG GRANT READ URI PERMISSION       startActivity intent

User · Answer

grantUriPermission  from Android document   Normally you should use Intent FLAG GRANT READ URI PERMISSION or Intent FLAG GRANT WRITE URI PERMISSION with the Intent being used to start an activity instead of this function directly  If you use this function directly  you should be sure to call revokeUriPermission Uri  int  when the target should no longer be allowed to access it   So I test and I see that   If we use grantUriPermission before we start a new activity  we DON T need FLAG GRANT READ URI PERMISSION or FLAG GRANT WRITE URI PERMISSION in Intent to overcome SecurityException  If we don t use grantUriPermission  We need to use FLAG GRANT READ URI PERMISSION or FLAG GRANT WRITE URI PERMISSION to overcome SecurityException but  Your intent MUST contain Uri by setData or setDataAndType else SecurityException still throw   one interesting I see  setData and setType can not work well together so if you need both Uri and type you need setDataAndType  You can check inside Intent code  currently when you setType  it will also set uri  null and when you setUri it will also set type null

User · Answer

I want to share something that blocked us for a couple of days  the fileprovider code MUST be inserted between the application tags  not after it   It may be trivial  but it s never specified  and I thought that I could have helped someone   thanks again to piolo94

[android] How to use support FileProvider for sharing content to other apps?

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