Get IntentSender object for createChooser method in Android

Question

I would like to use new version of Intent.createChooser method which uses IntentSender.

Documentation states only that I can grab it from PendingIntent instance. In my case it seems that PendingIntent won't have any other use.

Is there another way to obtain IntentSender or do I need create PendingIntent?

Answer 1

The chooser target intent is not a PendingIntent. For instance, in the following snippet, I am declaring intent for ACTION_SEND, with type text/plain, and this is the my target intent for the Intent.createChooser. Then I am creating another Intent, receiver, and a handler, the PendingIntent, which will invoke onReceive of my BroadcastReceiver after the user picks something from the chooser.

// Set up the broadcast receiver (preferably as a class member)
BroadcastReceiver broadcastReceiver = new BroadcastReceiver() {
     @Override
     public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
         // Unregister self right away
         context.unregisterReceiver(this);

         // Component will hold the package info of the app the user chose
         ComponentName component = intent.getParcelableExtra<ComponentName>(Intent.EXTRA_CHOSEN_COMPONENT);
         // Do something with component
     }
}


Intent intent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_SEND);
intent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_TEXT, "This is my text to send.");
intent.setType("text/plain");

// Use custom action only for your app to receive the broadcast
final String shareAction = "com.yourdomain.share.SHARE_ACTION";
Intent receiver = new Intent(shareAction);
receiver.putExtra("test", "test");
PendingIntent pendingIntent = PendingIntent.getBroadcast(this, 0, receiver, PendingIntent.FLAG_UPDATE_CURRENT);
Intent chooser = Intent.createChooser(intent, "test", pendingIntent.getIntentSender());

// Before firing chooser activity, register the receiver with our custom action from above so that we receive the chosen app
context.registerReceiver(broadcastReceiver, new IntentFilter(SHARE_ACTION));

startActivity(chooser);

Edit:

The information, in the case of the BroadcastReceiver is embedded in the intent you get as parameter. After you selected one of the option, retrieve the Bundle's extras and using the key Intent.EXTRA_CHOSEN_COMPONENT, you should be able to find what the user picked.

Try adding as simple Log.d to onReceive

for (String key : intent.getExtras().keySet()) {
    Log.d(getClass().getSimpleName(), " " + intent.getExtras().get(key));
}

In my example I got

ComponentInfo{org.telegram.messenger/org.telegram.ui.LaunchActivity}

for Telegram and

ComponentInfo{com.google.android.apps.inbox/com.google.android.apps.bigtop.activities.ComposeMessageActivity}

for InBox

Answer 2

Another way to do it.

    /**
     * Receiver to record the chosen component when sharing an Intent.
     */
    static class TargetChosenReceiver extends BroadcastReceiver {
        private static final String EXTRA_RECEIVER_TOKEN = "receiver_token";
        private static final Object LOCK = new Object();

        private static String sTargetChosenReceiveAction;
        private static TargetChosenReceiver sLastRegisteredReceiver;

        static boolean isSupported() {
            return Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.LOLLIPOP_MR1;
        }

        @TargetApi(Build.VERSION_CODES.LOLLIPOP_MR1)
        static void sendChooserIntent(Activity activity, Intent sharingIntent) {
            synchronized (LOCK) {
                if (sTargetChosenReceiveAction == null) {
                    sTargetChosenReceiveAction = activity.getPackageName() + "/"
                            + TargetChosenReceiver.class.getName() + "_ACTION";
                }
                Context context = activity.getApplicationContext();
                if (sLastRegisteredReceiver != null) {
                    context.unregisterReceiver(sLastRegisteredReceiver);
                }
                sLastRegisteredReceiver = new TargetChosenReceiver();
                context.registerReceiver(
                        sLastRegisteredReceiver, new IntentFilter(sTargetChosenReceiveAction));
            }

            Intent intent = new Intent(sTargetChosenReceiveAction);
            intent.setPackage(activity.getPackageName());
            intent.putExtra(EXTRA_RECEIVER_TOKEN, sLastRegisteredReceiver.hashCode());
            final PendingIntent callback = PendingIntent.getBroadcast(activity, 0, intent,
                    PendingIntent.FLAG_CANCEL_CURRENT | PendingIntent.FLAG_ONE_SHOT);
            Intent chooserIntent = Intent.createChooser(sharingIntent,
                    activity.getString(R.string.share_link_chooser_title),
                    callback.getIntentSender());
            activity.startActivity(chooserIntent);
        }

        @Override
        public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
            synchronized (LOCK) {
                if (sLastRegisteredReceiver != this) return;
                context.getApplicationContext().unregisterReceiver(sLastRegisteredReceiver);
                sLastRegisteredReceiver = null;
            }
            if (!intent.hasExtra(EXTRA_RECEIVER_TOKEN)
                    || intent.getIntExtra(EXTRA_RECEIVER_TOKEN, 0) != this.hashCode()) {
                return;
            }

            ComponentName target = intent.getParcelableExtra(Intent.EXTRA_CHOSEN_COMPONENT);
            if (target != null) {
                setLastShareComponentName(context, target);
            }
        }
    }