android-share simple data

Sending and receiving data between applications with intents is most commonly used for social sharing of content. Intents allow users to share information quickly and easily, using
their favorite applications.

Note: The best
way to add a share action item to an

ActionBar

is
to use

ShareActionProvider

,
which became available in API level 14.

ShareActionProvider

is
discussed in the lesson about Adding an Easy
Share Action.

> send text content

Intent sendIntent = new Intent();
sendIntent.setAction(Intent.ACTION_SEND);
sendIntent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_TEXT, "This is my text to send.");
sendIntent.setType("text/plain");
startActivity(Intent.createChooser(sendIntent, getResources().getText(R.string.send_to)));

> send binary content

Intent shareIntent = new Intent();
shareIntent.setAction(Intent.ACTION_SEND);
shareIntent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_STREAM, uriToImage);
shareIntent.setType("image/jpeg");
startActivity(Intent.createChooser(shareIntent, getResources().getText(R.string.send_to)));

>Send Multiple Pieces of Content

ArrayList<Uri> imageUris = new ArrayList<Uri>();
imageUris.add(imageUri1); // Add your image URIs here
imageUris.add(imageUri2);

Intent shareIntent = new Intent();
shareIntent.setAction(Intent.ACTION_SEND_MULTIPLE);
shareIntent.putParcelableArrayListExtra(Intent.EXTRA_STREAM, imageUris);
shareIntent.setType("image/*");
startActivity(Intent.createChooser(shareIntent, "Share images to.."));

> if your application handles receiving text content, a single image of any type, or multiple images of any type, your manifest would look like:

<activity android:name=".ui.MyActivity" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.SEND" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
<data android:mimeType="image/*" />
</intent-filter>
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.SEND" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
<data android:mimeType="text/plain" />
</intent-filter>
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.SEND_MULTIPLE" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
<data android:mimeType="image/*" />
</intent-filter>
</activity>

> Keep in mind that if this activity can be started from other parts of the system, such as the launcher, then you will need to take this into consideration when examining the
intent.

void onCreate (Bundle savedInstanceState) {
...
// Get intent, action and MIME type
Intent intent = getIntent();
String action = intent.getAction();
String type = intent.getType();

if (Intent.ACTION_SEND.equals(action) && type != null) {
if ("text/plain".equals(type)) {
handleSendText(intent); // Handle text being sent
} else if (type.startsWith("image/")) {
handleSendImage(intent); // Handle single image being sent
}
} else if (Intent.ACTION_SEND_MULTIPLE.equals(action) && type != null) {
if (type.startsWith("image/")) {
handleSendMultipleImages(intent); // Handle multiple images being sent
}
} else {
// Handle other intents, such as being started from the home screen
}
...
}

void handleSendText(Intent intent) {
String sharedText = intent.getStringExtra(Intent.EXTRA_TEXT);
if (sharedText != null) {
// Update UI to reflect text being shared
}
}

void handleSendImage(Intent intent) {
Uri imageUri = (Uri) intent.getParcelableExtra(Intent.EXTRA_STREAM);
if (imageUri != null) {
// Update UI to reflect image being shared
}
}

void handleSendMultipleImages(Intent intent) {
ArrayList<Uri> imageUris = intent.getParcelableArrayListExtra(Intent.EXTRA_STREAM);
if (imageUris != null) {
// Update UI to reflect multiple images being shared
}
}

Updating the UI can be as simple as populating an

EditText

,
or it can be more complicated like applying an interesting photo filter to an image. It's really specific to your application what happens next.

Note:

ShareActionProvider

is
available starting with API Level 14 and higher.

private ShareActionProvider mShareActionProvider;
...

@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
// Inflate menu resource file.
getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.share_menu, menu);

// Locate MenuItem with ShareActionProvider
MenuItem item = menu.findItem(R.id.menu_item_share);

// Fetch and store ShareActionProvider
mShareActionProvider = (ShareActionProvider) item.getActionProvider();

// Return true to display menu
return true;
}

// Call to update the share intent
private void setShareIntent(Intent shareIntent) {
if (mShareActionProvider != null) {
mShareActionProvider.setShareIntent(shareIntent);
}
}

You may only need to set the share intent once during the creation of your menus, or you may want to set it and then update it as the UI changes. For example, when you view photos full screen in the Gallery app, the sharing intent changes as you flip between
photos.