[support] use ANDROID_SCHEME and ANDROID_HOST instead of URL_SCHEME

[guirip]

Hello

This plugin is great, really, but... we need a web fallback. To achieve this, I would rather use the variables ANDROID_SCHEME and ANDROID_HOST also managed by this plugin. e.g: cordova plugin add cordova-plugin-customurlscheme --variable ANDROID_SCHEME=http --variable ANDROID_HOST=mywebsite.com --variable URL_SCHEME=idontcare

It works and is very powerful because if a user shares a link (e.g http://mywebsite.com/blabla/bla) when the link is clicked :

• if the app is installed, then android suggests to launch it
• else the browser is launched and opens the url

Pretty awesome! We've nearly achieved our goal, but...

• minor problem 1: URL_SCHEME is mandatory, why?
• major problem 2: handleOpenUrl is not called

@EddyVerbruggen have you any suggestion please?

[JerryBels]

Hello, have you also tested how it behaves on ios ? Also, have you made any progress since ?

[guirip]

Hello @JerryBels I haven't tested yet on iOS, but I managed to make it work on android.

The solution is to remove Custom-URL-scheme plugin from your project and do it yourself.

For Android

config.xml Add this:

<config-file parent="/manifest/application/activity[@android:name='MainActivity']" target="AndroidManifest.xml">
    <intent-filter>
        <action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW" />
        <category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
        <category android:name="android.intent.category.BROWSABLE" />
        <data android:host="yourwebsite.com" android:scheme="http" />
        <data android:scheme="https" />
    </intent-filter>
</config-file>

If you set attribute android:autoVerify="true" on the <intent-filter>, then you will have to deploy a .well-known/assetlinks.json. See https://developer.android.com/training/app-links/verify-site-associations

Get the intent value Create a small cordova plugin that exposes a function to get the intent. You will call this function from your javascript, it can return:

• the query string (allowing you to parse it and navigate to the appropriate content)
• or null (e.g if the user simply launched the app himself by tapping the icon)

I can't speak for iOS now, but for android this is how to get the query string:

package com.yourcompany;

import org.apache.cordova.CordovaInterface;
import org.apache.cordova.CordovaPlugin;
import org.apache.cordova.CordovaWebView;
import org.apache.cordova.CallbackContext;

import org.json.JSONArray;

import android.content.Intent;
import android.content.res.Resources;
import android.content.res.Configuration;
import android.util.Log;

public class YourIntentPluginName extends CordovaPlugin {

    private static final String LOG_TAG = "YourIntentPluginName";

    @Override
    public void initialize(CordovaInterface cordova, CordovaWebView webView) {
        super.initialize(cordova, webView);
        Log.d(LOG_TAG, "initialize");
    }

    @Override
    public boolean execute(String action, JSONArray args, CallbackContext callbackContext) {
        Log.d(LOG_TAG, "executing action "+action);

        switch (action) {
            case "getIntent":
                callbackContext.success(this.getIntentUri());
                break;

            default:
                callbackContext.error("Invalid action: " + action);
                return false;
        }

        return true;
    }

    private String getIntentUri() {
        // see https://developer.android.com/training/app-links/deep-linking#java
        // javadoc:
        // see https://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/Activity
        // see https://developer.android.com/reference/android/content/Intent.html
        Intent intent = this.cordova.getActivity().getIntent();

        Log.i(LOG_TAG, "intent data string: "+intent.getDataString());
        return intent.getDataString();
    }

}

(Would be even better with a try/catch, to call callbackContext.error if any exception is raised.)

Finally:

• create the js interface file, see https://cordova.apache.org/docs/en/8.x/guide/hybrid/plugins/index.html
• then in plugin.xml:
  • declare the js interface with <js-module> and <clobbers>
  • and the java source file

...
<js-module src="www/YourIntentPluginInterface.js" name="YourIntentPluginInterface">
    <clobbers target="window.YourIntentPluginName" />
</js-module>

<platform name="android">
    <config-file target="res/xml/config.xml" parent="/*">
        <feature name="YourIntentPluginName">
            <param name="android-package" value="com.yourcompany.YourIntentPluginName"/>
            <param name="onload" value="true" />
        </feature>
    </config-file>

    <source-file src="src/android/YourIntentPluginName.java" target-dir="src/com/yourcompany" />
    ...

In your webapp, you can now call window.YourIntentPluginName.getIntent(successCb, failureCb)

I haven't tested it in production but on a dev environment (using cordova 8.1.2 and cordova-android 7.1.4) it works like a charm.

Send an email with a link: http://yourwebsite.com/... Click on it from the device, if your app is installed then android suggests you to launch the app, if not, then android directly starts the browser with specified url.

[guirip]

For iOS

You need to follow Universal Links documentation: https://developer.apple.com/library/archive/documentation/General/Conceptual/AppSearch/UniversalLinks.html

Procedure includes:

• deployment of a json file on the website (similar to android's .well-known/assetlinks.json I suppose)
• configuration of App Capabilities (Associated Domains section), I hope this can be achieved from config.xml
• native code

I won't have the time now but if anyone has feedback on this you're welcome to share!