Share raw resources android

Issue

I have .mp3, .mp4 and .jpg files in my raw resources. I want to share those files with social apps. I have tried to set up a file provider for that reason, but it didn't work.

Manifest:

<provider
  android:name="androidx.core.content.FileProvider"
  android:authorities="com.my.packagename.fileprovider"
  android:exported="false"
  android:grantUriPermissions="true">
  <meta-data
      android:name="android.support.FILE_PROVIDER_PATHS"
      android:resource="@xml/paths" />
</provider>

paths.xml:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<paths>

<files-path name="file_path" path="."/>

<external-files-path name="external_path" path="/" />

</paths>

This is how I try to share the files (in this case audio):

File file = new File(mAudio.getSoundUri().getEncodedPath());
Uri soundUri = FileProvider.getUriForFile(
                getContext(),
                "com.my.packagename.fileprovider",
                file);
Intent sharingIntent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_SEND);
sharingIntent.setType("audio/mp3");
sharingIntent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_STREAM, mAudio.getSoundUri());
startActivity(Intent.createChooser(sharingIntent, "Send"));

The mAudio object's getSoundUri() returns a Uri like this: android.resource://com.my.packagename/raw/sound.mp3

When I run this I either don't get any error but the intent doesn't show up and my activity is rebuilt or I get this:

java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: Failed to find configured root that contains /raw/sound.mp3

I have tried to remove /raw from the Uri but I get the same error:

java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: Failed to find configured root that contains /sound.mp3

Why is this happening?

Solution

Why is this happening?

Resources are files on your development machine. They are not files on the device. There is no filesystem path on the device for a resource, and so FileProvider cannot serve them.

Your two main options are:

1. Copy the resources to files (e.g., in getCacheDir()), then use FileProvider to serve the files

2. Write your own ContentProvider to serve the raw resources directly (use getResources() on a Context to get a Resources object, and from there you can get an InputStream on a raw resource)

Answered By - CommonsWare