Thursday, February 14, 2013

What's New in PhoneGap Android 2.4.0

Well PhoneGap 2.4.0 has been released. So here are couple of the new things you can look forward to:

1. Support Reading Slices of Text Files.

The File object now has a slice method. Suppose the file we're reading contains the text:

"All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost." 

Then...

  • f.slice(4, 8) would result in "that" 
  • f.slice(9) would be "is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost." 
  • f.slice(-5, -1) would be "lost"


2. Added input type=file support

Now if you specify an input field of type file you will get a "Choose File" button:


Then when you click the button you will launch an intent that can handle file picking:


Now the value of your input tag will be the file you selected.

3. Additional preferences in config.xml

I completely missed this one so Joe Bowser wrote it up.
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10 comments:

  1. UnknownFebruary 27, 2013 at 5:49 PM

    Hello Simon,

    I am using cordova 2.4.0. I am trying open pdf/ppt/doc files that are stored in my Android phone filesystem through a phonegap application using the InAppBrowser, but no success there. Is it actually possible to do it this way?

    The code line I use for this is:

    window.open('file:///mnt/sdcard/file.pdf','_blank','location=yes');

    Any suggestions of how to do this?
    Thank you in advance.

    BR,
    Gjoko

    ReplyDelete
  2. ArjunFebruary 28, 2013 at 11:40 PM

    hi, Android Back button not working when we open INAppBrowser in Android ICS tablet...

    Plz help me

    ReplyDelete
  3. Simon MacDonaldMarch 3, 2013 at 11:40 PM

    @arjun t raj

    Reproduction scenario?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Simon MacDonaldMarch 3, 2013 at 11:44 PM

    @Gjoko Grkov

    Try using:

    window.open('file:///mnt/sdcard/file.pdf','_system');

    instead. The InAppBrowser doesn't have the facility to view PDF files.

    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownMarch 4, 2013 at 11:28 AM

    Hello Simon

    Thank you for your reply.

    I tried what you suggested but I received this error message:

    No Activity found to handle Intent
    {act=android.intent.action.VIEW dat=file:///mnt/sdcard/file.pdf}

    Do I need to change or add something in the ActivityManifest.xml ?

    PS: I am also trying to open ppt files as well.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Simon MacDonaldMarch 4, 2013 at 11:36 AM

    @Gjoko Grkov

    You need to have apps installed that can handle that mime type and are registered to view them.

    ReplyDelete
  7. UnknownMay 14, 2013 at 12:23 PM

    Hi Simon,

    Thanks for adding the file input feature.

    Is there a way for this to respect the "accept" attribute?

    input id="photo-load" type="file" accept="image/jpeg" capture="camera"

    The intent that is fired seems to be a generic file intent and ignores the mime type specified.

    I also noticed that cordova does not provide the camera as an option for file input. Is there a way to get around that without using the camera plugin?

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Simon MacDonaldMay 15, 2013 at 1:52 PM

    @Arvind Menon

    Not yet, hoping to some good news with the Google IO going on right now.

    ReplyDelete
  9. jcesarNovember 8, 2013 at 7:41 AM

    Hi Simon,
    I think the input type=file support is broken on android 4.4.

    Can you check it?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Simon MacDonaldNovember 10, 2013 at 11:55 AM

    @jcaesar

    Yes, definitely broken with the new Chromium WebView.

    https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/CB-5294

    ReplyDelete