Getting application data using SharedPreferences in Xamarin.Android

Question

I need to extract the application data using SharedPreferences in Xamarin.Android.

Here is what I have tried in android.

public static void SetAuthentication(bool authenticationValue)
    {
        var localSettings = Application.Context.GetSharedPreferences ("Hello", FileCreationMode.Private);
        localSettings.Edit ().PutBoolean ("ValidUser", authenticationValue).Commit ();

    }

    public static bool GetAuthentication()
    {
        var retValue = false;
        object value;
        var localSettings = Application.Context.GetSharedPreferences ("Hello", FileCreationMode.Private);
        localSettings.GetBoolean ("ValidUser", out value);
    }

But somehow I feel this is not the right approach. Any guidance is appreciated. Thanks

What makes you feel this is the wrong approach? – Richard Le Mesurier Oct 31 '14 at 07:16 — Richard Le Mesurier, Oct 31 '14 at 07:16

score 0 · Answer 1 · edited May 23 '17 at 11:50

On the Android platform, preferences are stored in a text file in the private folders of the Android application - there are 2 ways to access these SharedPreferences data files.

You can either use the "default" file for the application, or you can use a named file, using any name you want.

This second approach is what you have chosen to do by calling GetSharedPreferences with a filename.

I would suggest to just use the "default" preferences. This way has some advantages:

the code is simpler
the preferences can be accessed more easily in a PreferenceActivity later on

To do this, create your ISharedPreferences instance using:

ISharedPreferences localSettings = 
        PreferenceManager.GetDefaultSharedPreferences (mContext);

Once you have your "default" shared preferences in this manner, the rest of your code stays the same.

For more info, check out related questions:

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Feb 10 '15 at 18:17

I agree with Richard so just to be clear and complete I would do like this:

public static void SetAuthentication(Context ctx, bool authenticationValue)
{
    ISharedPreferences pref = ctx.GetSharedPreferences("your_app_preferences", FileCreationMode.Private);
    ISharedPreferencesEditor edit = pref.Edit();
    edit.PutBoolean("ValidUser", authenticationValue);
    return edit.Commit();
}

public static bool GetAuthentication(Context ctx)
{
    ISharedPreferences pref = ctx.GetSharedPreferences("your_app_preferences", FileCreationMode.Private);
    return pref.GetBoolean("ValidUser"), null);
}

I hope this will make you feel happier.

Getting application data using SharedPreferences in Xamarin.Android

2 Answers2