CODEWITHSUNDEEP
androidpdf
Manfred Moser
Manfred Moser

Reputation: 29912

Reliably detect PDF support on Android device

I am using a method to detect pdf support on an Android device that goes like this

public boolean canDisplayPdf() {
    PackageManager packageManager = application.getPackageManager();
    Intent testIntent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW);
    testIntent.setType("application/pdf");
    if (packageManager.queryIntentActivities(testIntent, PackageManager.MATCH_DEFAULT_ONLY).size() > 0) {
        return true;
    } else {
        return false;
    }
}

And that has been working great so far. I know that at least the HTC default viewer, droidreader and adobe acrobat get reported that way and the right result is returned. However I now got a comment on the market console by a user that says that he has pdf support on the device, but from the described behaviour of the app I conclude that this method returns false.

Is there any better way to detect pdf support?

PS: I would love to be able to ask the user for details on the market.

Upvotes: 13

Views: 3794

Answers (2)

Dave MacLean
Dave MacLean

Reputation: 5173

You're doing it correctly. You could consider updating the description of your app to say that you invoke a PDF app using the Android-approved method with the application/pdf MIME type. And also mention that if users have any trouble with the app, you'd appreciate an email to [email protected] (or whatever your app support email address is setup to be). Maybe then they'd send an email instead of just leaving an anonymous comment.

Upvotes: 2

Manfred Moser
Manfred Moser

Reputation: 29912

From all sources I found and practical experience testing on a rather large variety of devices the approach I have taken is correct.

I have not had any further feedback and think there might have been user error or a bad pdf application version involved.

Upvotes: 3

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