How can I return to a parent activity correctly?

Question

I have 2 activities (A and B) in my android application and I use an intent to get from activity A to activity B. The use of parent_activity is enabled:

 <activity
        android:name=".B"
        android:label="B" >
        <meta-data
            android:name="android.support.PARENT_ACTIVITY"
            android:value="com.example.app_name.A" />
  </activity>

I also use a theme which provides an UP-button.

So after I called activity B I can use the UP-button to get back to the activity A. The problem is that the application seems to call the onCreate()-function of activity A again and this is not the behaviour I need. I need activity A to look the same way like it looked before I called activity B.

Is there a way to achieve this?

EDIT

I didn't write any code to start activity B from activity A. I think it is auto-generated by Eclipse.

Class B looks like:

    @Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    setContentView(R.layout.activity_b);
    getActionBar().setDisplayHomeAsUpEnabled(true);
}

@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
    getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.activity_b, menu);
    return true;
}


@Override
public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item) {
    switch (item.getItemId()) {
        case android.R.id.home:
            NavUtils.navigateUpFromSameTask(this);
            return true;
    }
    return super.onOptionsItemSelected(item);
}

If I understand you right, you can use startActivityForResult() and return a resultCode or something. — Lawrence Gimenez, Sep 05 '12 at 07:02
Please update your tagged correct answer! The CORRECT answer is coming from LorenzCK - not from user......! Tagging this as correct is misleading and makes even more programmers misunderstand up navigation as opposed to back navigation! — Zordid, Mar 25 '14 at 18:24
Gee, so many wrong answers here, could you please help in cleaning this up...? — Zordid, Mar 25 '14 at 18:26
@ashiaka - Correct answer as per your code design is updated. — user370305, Mar 26 '14 at 07:33
Note that NavUtils.navigateUpFromSameTask(this); will work correctly only for API level 15 and lower. For higher API levels, it recreates the Parent Activity. This is explained beautifully here, http://stackoverflow.com/a/14792752/238768 — kpsfoo, Apr 17 '14 at 12:51
Try this solution in the child activity: https://stackoverflow.com/a/49980835/7308789 — Houssin Boulla, Apr 23 '18 at 12:28

score 348 · Accepted Answer · edited Dec 26 '14 at 13:45

348

You declared activity A with the standard launchMode in the Android manifest. According to the documentation, that means the following:

The system always creates a new instance of the activity in the target task and routes the intent to it.

Therefore, the system is forced to recreate activity A (i.e. calling onCreate) even if the task stack is handled correctly.

To fix this problem you need to change the manifest, adding the following attribute to the A activity declaration:

android:launchMode="singleTop"

Note: calling finish() (as suggested as solution before) works only when you are completely sure that the activity B instance you are terminating lives on top of an instance of activity A. In more complex workflows (for instance, launching activity B from a notification) this might not be the case and you have to correctly launch activity A from B.

edited Dec 26 '14 at 13:45

palindrom

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answered Apr 10 '13 at 18:43

LorenzCK

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**Here is the explanation from Android docs,** The "standard" and "singleTop" modes differ from each other in just one respect: Every time there's a new intent for a "standard" activity, a new instance of the class is created to respond to that intent. Each instance handles a single intent. Similarly, a new instance of a "singleTop" activity may also be created to handle a new intent. However, if the target task already has an existing instance of the activity at the top of its stack, that instance will receive the new intent (in an onNewIntent() call); a new instance is not created. – kpsfoo Oct 26 '13 at 20:50
Note that according to [the documentation](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/support/v4/app/NavUtils#navigateupfromsametask) `navigateUpFromSameTask(...)` should be adding `FLAG_ACTIVITY_CLEAR_TOP` to `upIntent` (via [`navigateUpTo(...)`](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/support/v4/app/NavUtils#navigateupto) which should result in same behavior (according to [this guide](https://developer.android.com/training/implementing-navigation/ancestral#NavigateUp)), but the flag is never set - and therefore this answer makes sense – Anigif Oct 02 '18 at 12:23

user370305 · Answer 2 · 2014-03-26T07:36:27.147

Updated Answer: Up Navigation Design

You have to declare which activity is the appropriate parent for each activity. Doing so allows the system to facilitate navigation patterns such as Up because the system can determine the logical parent activity from the manifest file.

So for that you have to declare your parent Activity in tag Activity with attribute

android:parentActivityName

Like,

<!-- The main/home activity (it has no parent activity) -->
    <activity
        android:name="com.example.app_name.A" ...>
        ...
    </activity>
    <!-- A child of the main activity -->
    <activity
        android:name=".B"
        android:label="B"
        android:parentActivityName="com.example.app_name.A" >
        <!-- Parent activity meta-data to support 4.0 and lower -->
        <meta-data
            android:name="android.support.PARENT_ACTIVITY"
            android:value="com.example.app_name.A" />
    </activity>

With the parent activity declared this way, you can navigate Up to the appropriate parent like below,

@Override
public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item) {
    switch (item.getItemId()) {
    // Respond to the action bar's Up/Home button
    case android.R.id.home:
        NavUtils.navigateUpFromSameTask(this);
        return true;
    }
    return super.onOptionsItemSelected(item);
}

So When you call NavUtils.navigateUpFromSameTask(this); this method, it finishes the current activity and starts (or resumes) the appropriate parent activity. If the target parent activity is in the task's back stack, it is brought forward as defined by FLAG_ACTIVITY_CLEAR_TOP.

And to display Up button you have to declare setDisplayHomeAsUpEnabled():

@Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    ...
    getActionBar().setDisplayHomeAsUpEnabled(true);
}

Old Answer: (Without Up Navigation, default Back Navigation)

It happen only if you are starting Activity A again from Activity B.

Using startActivity().

Instead of this from Activity A start Activity B using startActivityForResult() and override onActivtyResult() in Activity A.

Now in Activity B just call finish() on button Up. So now you directed to Activity A's onActivityResult() without creating of Activity A again..

I don' know where startActivity() in activity B is called. I've posted the source code of activity B... — ashiaka, Sep 05 '12 at 07:12
Instead of code line `NavUtils.navigateUpFromSameTask(this);` write `finish()` . — user370305, Sep 05 '12 at 07:15
It begs the question, how come Google doesn't mention anything about `finish()` or `startActivityForResult()` in their documentation on Navigation (http://developer.android.com/design/patterns/navigation.html) ? — wired00, Feb 01 '14 at 00:09
this sounds like a laborious workaround. @LorenzCK answer seems to be much better. — Carmen, Feb 14 '14 at 11:15
Thanks a lot for using NavUtils.navigateUpFromSameTask(this). Big plus! I have been looking for a method like this to replace finish() which does not return to the parent activity under some circumstances. finish() is essentially going back to the previous activity that is not necessarily the parent activity. — Hong, Apr 05 '14 at 13:05
Note that the AppCompatActivity class now has a `onSupportNavigateUp` method which handles everything. It should be better to use that instead of the NavUtils methods. — Vincent Mimoun-Prat, Jan 22 '16 at 08:56

score 24 · Answer 3 · edited Aug 14 '18 at 22:24

24

I had pretty much the same setup leading to the same unwanted behaviour. For me this worked: adding the following attribute to an activity A in the Manifest.xml of my app:

android:launchMode="singleTask"

See this article for more explanation.

edited Aug 14 '18 at 22:24

aleksandrbel

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answered Mar 17 '13 at 10:29

androidnewbie

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From my point of view the correct solution to the problem. This will behave just like if you called finish() if the Activity exists in the task stack. If that is not the case it will be created and started. – Johan Jul 30 '13 at 07:21
5

This is not the correct way as it will create a new task unnecessarily every time, you should instead use the launchMode="singleTop". – kpsfoo Oct 26 '13 at 20:49

score 21 · Answer 4 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:18

Although an old question, here is another (imho the cleanest and best) solution as all the previous answeres didn't work for me since I deeplinked Activity B from a Widget.

public void navigateUp() {
final Intent upIntent = NavUtils.getParentActivityIntent(this);
if (NavUtils.shouldUpRecreateTask(this, upIntent) || isTaskRoot()) {
    Log.v(logTag, "Recreate back stack");
        TaskStackBuilder.create(this).addNextIntentWithParentStack(upIntent).startActivities();
  } else {
    NavUtils.navigateUpTo(this, upIntent);
  }
}

[https://stackoverflow.com/a/31350642/570168 ]

But also see: https://speakerdeck.com/jgilfelt/this-way-up-implementing-effective-navigation-on-android

donald · Answer 5 · 2013-09-22T14:55:54.543

A better way to achieve this is by using two things: call:

NavUtils.navigateUpFromSameTask(this);

Now, in order for this to work, you need to have your manifest file state that activity A has a parent activity B. The parent activity doesn't need anything. In version 4 and above you will get a nice back arrow with no additional effort (this can be done on lower versions as well with a little code, I'll put it below) You can set this data in the manifest->application tab in the GUI (scroll down to the parent activity name, and put it by hand)

Support node:

if you wish to support version below version 4, you need to include metadata as well. right click on the activity, add->meta data, name =android.support.PARENT_ACTIVITY and value = your.full.activity.name

to get the nice arrow in lower versions as well:

getSupportActionBar().setDisplayHomeAsUpEnabled(true);

please note you will need support library version 7 to get this all working, but it is well worth it!

Hammad Nasir · Answer 6 · 2017-07-28T10:45:54.073

What worked for me was adding:

    @Override
    public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item) {

        switch (item.getItemId()) {
            case android.R.id.home:
                onBackPressed();
                return true;
            default:
                return super.onOptionsItemSelected(item);
        }
    }

    @Override
    public void onBackPressed() {
        finish();
    }

to TheRelevantActivity.java and now it is working as expected

and yeah don't forget to add:

getSupportActionbar.setDisplayHomeAsUpEnabled(true); in onCreate() method

score 4 · Answer 7 · answered Mar 04 '15 at 08:20

4

I tried android:launchMode="singleTask", but it didn't help. Worked for me using android:launchMode="singleInstance"

answered Mar 04 '15 at 08:20

Pnemonic

1,685
17
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Adding android:launchMode="singleInstance" to parent activity solved problem for me – emir Jan 07 '17 at 20:06

score 4 · Answer 8 · answered Mar 22 '16 at 19:13

Adding to @LorenCK's answer, change

NavUtils.navigateUpFromSameTask(this);

to the code below if your activity can be initiated from another activity and this can become part of task started by some other app

Intent upIntent = NavUtils.getParentActivityIntent(this);
if (NavUtils.shouldUpRecreateTask(this, upIntent)) {
    TaskStackBuilder.create(this)
            .addNextIntentWithParentStack(upIntent)
            .startActivities();
} else {
    NavUtils.navigateUpTo(this, upIntent);
}

This will start a new task and start your Activity's parent Activity which you can define in Manifest like below of Min SDK version <= 15

<meta-data
        android:name="android.support.PARENT_ACTIVITY"
        android:value="com.example.app_name.A" />

Or using parentActivityName if its > 15

Note: Do declare `parentActivityName` for SDK >15 or else it'll give you some random crashes — Sourabh, Jul 14 '17 at 07:42

Patrick Bergthold · Answer 9 · 2014-10-29T16:35:09.210

I had a similar problem using android 5.0 with a bad parent activity name

<activity
        android:name=".DisplayMessageActivity"
        android:label="@string/title_activity_display_message"
        android:parentActivityName=".MainActivity" >
        <meta-data
            android:name="android.support.PARENT_ACTIVITY"
            android:value="com.example.myfirstapp.MainActivity" />
    </activity>

I removed the com.example.myfirstapp from the parent activity name and it worked properly

score 3 · Answer 10 · answered May 28 '16 at 07:39

In Java class :-

    toolbar = (Toolbar) findViewById(R.id.apptool_bar);
    setSupportActionBar(toolbar);

    getSupportActionBar().setTitle("Snapdeal");

    getSupportActionBar().setHomeButtonEnabled(true);
    getSupportActionBar().setDisplayHomeAsUpEnabled(true);

In Manifest :-

<activity
            android:name=".SubActivity"
            android:label="@string/title_activity_sub"
            android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >
            <meta-data android:name="android.support.PARENT_ACTIVITY" android:value=".MainActivity"></meta-data>
    </activity>

It will help you

score 2 · Answer 11 · edited Mar 08 '14 at 06:32

2

Add to your activity manifest information with attribute

android:launchMode="singleTask"

is working well for me

edited Mar 08 '14 at 06:32

Prahalad Gaggar

11,389
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answered Mar 08 '14 at 06:11

Pravesh Kumar

23
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1

Comlete flow is like that @Override public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item) { switch (item.getItemId()) { case android.R.id.home: NavUtils.navigateUpFromSameTask(this); return true; } return super.onOptionsItemSelected(item); } – Pravesh Kumar Mar 08 '14 at 06:11
Add to your manifest – Pravesh Kumar Mar 08 '14 at 12:55

score 1 · Answer 12 · edited Jan 22 '20 at 23:09

try this:

Intent intent;
@Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    intent = getIntent();   
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    setContentView(R.layout.activity_b);
    getActionBar().setDisplayHomeAsUpEnabled(true);
}

@Override
public boolean onCreateOptionsMenu(Menu menu) {
    getMenuInflater().inflate(R.menu.activity_b, menu);
    return true;
}  

@Override
public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item) {
    switch (item.getItemId()) {
        case android.R.id.home:
            NavUtils.navigateUpTo(this,intent);
            return true;
    }
    return super.onOptionsItemSelected(item);
}

score 1 · Answer 13 · answered Aug 05 '17 at 10:54

    @Override
public boolean onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item) {
   switch (item.getItemId()) {
// Respond to the action bar's Up/Home button
    case android.R.id.home:
        finish();
        return true;
}
return super.onOptionsItemSelected(item);

like a Back press

score 0 · Answer 14 · answered Feb 18 '16 at 23:47

Going into my manifest and adding android:launchMode="singleTop" to the activity did the trick for me.

This specifically solved my issue because I didn't want Android to create a new instance of the previous activity after hitting the Up button in the toolbar - I instead wanted to use the existing instance of the prior activity when I went up the navigation hierarchy.

Reference: android:launchMode

score 0 · Answer 15 · answered Apr 23 '18 at 12:29

0

Try this solution use NavUtils.navigateUpFromSameTask(this); in the child activity: https://stackoverflow.com/a/49980835/7308789

answered Apr 23 '18 at 12:29

Houssin Boulla

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1
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score 0 · Answer 16 · answered Apr 27 '22 at 11:06

In any context, If you want's to open parent activity on onBackPressed

protected fun navigateToParent() {
        NavUtils.getParentActivityIntent(this)?.let { upIntent ->
            if (NavUtils.shouldUpRecreateTask(this, upIntent) || isTaskRoot) {
                Timber.d("navigateToParent: sourceActivity should recreate")
                startActivity(upIntent)
            } else {
                Timber.d("navigateToParent: sourceActivity in stack, just finish")
            }
        }
        super.onBackPressed()
    }

Set android:parentActivityName in manifest

 <activity
            android:name=".feature.signup.SignUpActivity"
            android:parentActivityName=".feature.welcome.WelcomeActivity"
            android:windowSoftInputMode="adjustResize" />

How can I return to a parent activity correctly?

EDIT

16 Answers16

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