Bitmap Factory throws FileNotFoundException

Issue

I am having a weird problem. I am trying to use a PNG file from my res/drawable folder within my Android project, and to use such a PNG file in a ImageButton (which has the method "setImageBitmap(Bitmap bm)") I need to decode the PNG image which I have in my res/drawable file. However, when I copy the path and try to decode it like such:

public Bitmap getBitMap() {
    return BitmapFactory.decodeFile("drawable/bishop00.png");
}

I saw some threads that said that I could also use the "decodeResources" method of BitmapFactory, but this code is not in an activity, and I do not wish to use an activity as a parameter to just use that method, seeing as this should work. I have also tried using the absolute path to this (copying the path which shows the entire hierarchy of my system) but I still get the following exception:

Unable to decode stream: java.io.FileNotFoundException

Really hope to get some help, seeing as I am completely sure the file exists.

Solution

I am trying to use a PNG file from my res/drawable folder within my Android project

That is a file on your development machine. It is not a file on the Android device.

seeing as this should work

No, it should not.

I saw some threads that said that I could also use the "decodeResources" method of BitmapFactory

That is the correct answer, assuming that this content should be a drawable resource in the first place. While there are some valid reasons for using decodeResource(), it is not that commonly used overall. There may be other ways of using the drawable resource that are more appropriate, or perhaps this should not be a drawable resource in the first place.

but this code is not in an activity

decodeResource() takes a Context. It does not have to be an Activity, though that usually is a likely candidate. All of your code is executed along some code path that started with a Context; you should have no problems having one for use here.

Answered By - CommonsWare