Android WebViews

This guide shows how to embed a Cordova-enabled WebView component within a larger Android application. For details on how these components can communicate with each other, see Application Plugins.

If you're unfamiliar with Android, you should first familiarize yourself with the Android Platform Guide and have the latest Android SDK installed before you attempt the more unusual development option of embedding a WebView. Starting with Cordova 1.9, the Android platform relies on a CordovaWebView component, which builds on a legacy CordovaActivity component that pre-dates the 1.9 release.

1. To follow these instructions, make sure you have the latest Cordova distribution. Download it from cordova.apache.org and unzip its Android package.

2. Navigate to the Android package's /framework directory and run ant jar. It creates the Cordova .jar file, formed as /framework/cordova-3.5.0.jar.

3. Copy the .jar file into the Android project's /libs directory.

4. Add the following to the application's /res/xml/main.xml file, with the layout_height, layout_width and id modified to suit the application:

    <org.apache.cordova.CordovaWebView
        android:id="@+id/tutorialView"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="match_parent" />
   

5. Modify the activity so that it implements the CordovaInterface. It should implement the included methods. You may wish to copy them from /framework/src/org/apache/cordova/CordovaActivity.java, or else implement them on your own. The following code fragment shows a basic application that relies on the interface. Note how the referenced view id matches the id attribute specified in the XML fragment shown above:

    public class CordovaViewTestActivity extends Activity implements CordovaInterface {
        CordovaWebView cwv;
        /* Called when the activity is first created. */
        @Override
        public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
            super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
            setContentView(R.layout.main);
            cwv = (CordovaWebView) findViewById(R.id.tutorialView);
            Config.init(this);
            cwv.loadUrl(Config.getStartUrl());
        }
   

6. If the application needs to use the camera, implement the following:

    @Override
    public void setActivityResultCallback(CordovaPlugin plugin) {
        this.activityResultCallback = plugin;
    }
    /**
     * Launch an activity for which you would like a result when it finished. When this activity exits,
     * your onActivityResult() method is called.
     *
     * @param command           The command object
     * @param intent            The intent to start
     * @param requestCode       The request code that is passed to callback to identify the activity
     */
    public void startActivityForResult(CordovaPlugin command, Intent intent, int requestCode) {
        this.activityResultCallback = command;
        this.activityResultKeepRunning = this.keepRunning;
           
        // If multitasking turned on, then disable it for activities that return results
        if (command != null) {
            this.keepRunning = false;
        }
       
        // Start activity
        super.startActivityForResult(intent, requestCode);
    }   
   
    @Override
    /**
     * Called when an activity you launched exits, giving you the requestCode you started it with,
     * the resultCode it returned, and any additional data from it.
     *
     * @param requestCode       The request code originally supplied to startActivityForResult(),
     *                          allowing you to identify who this result came from.
     * @param resultCode        The integer result code returned by the child activity through its setResult().
     * @param data              An Intent, which can return result data to the caller (various data can be attached to Intent "extras").
     */
    protected void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent intent) {
        super.onActivityResult(requestCode, resultCode, intent);
        CordovaPlugin callback = this.activityResultCallback;
        if (callback != null) {
            callback.onActivityResult(requestCode, resultCode, intent);
        }
    }
   

7. Finally, remember to add the thread pool, otherwise plugins have no threads on which to run:

    @Override
    public ExecutorService getThreadPool() {
        return threadPool;
    }
   

8. Copy the application's HTML and JavaScript files to the Android project's /assets/www directory.

9. Copy the config.xml file from /framework/res/xml to the project's /res/xml directory.