React Native Android Navigation

Let your application feel at ease.

React Native Android Navigation is the new way to integrate JavaScript and Java/Kotlin inside React Native. With it's help you can easily handle native window or background task in your project and also interact with other applications.

• Getting started
• Installation
  • Adding the dependency
  • Linking
    • Automatic
    • Manual
• Usage
  • Intent methods
    • Initialization
    • Extras
      • Putting
      • Getting
      • Other extras methods
    • Categories and flags
  • AndroidNavigator methods
    • Activity processing
      • Starting Activity
      • Retrieving the result
      • Handling the back press
      • Other Activity methods
    • Service processing
      • Starting Service
      • Adding custom tasks
    • Catching errors

Getting started

Native Android navigation is made up of two main parts:

1. Navigation methods, available inside the native window — Activity — and inside the background task worker — Service;

2. Object with the navigation data — Intent, which is passed into the navigation methods to direct the router. It's also transferred to the destination.

Based on this, React Native Android Navigation has two classes for usage:

1. AndroidNavigator — class that wraps all the navigation methods as static properties;

2. Intent — native Intent wrapper.

Simple example:

import {
    AndroidNavigator,
    Intent
} from 'react-native-android-navigation';
 
const intent = new Intent();
intent.setClassName('your.package.name.YourActivity');
AndroidNavigator.startActivity(intent);

"your.package.name" is the path from <YourProject>/android/app/src/main/java to the directory where your Activity class is located.

Installation

Adding the dependency

yarn add react-native-android-navigation

or

npm install --save react-native-android-navigation

Linking

Automatic

react-native link react-native-android-navigation

Manual

1. Open <YourProject>/android/settings.gradle and add the following:

  include ':react-native-android-navigation'
  project(':react-native-android-navigation').projectDir = new File(rootProject.projectDir,   '../node_modules/react-native-android-navigation/android')

1. Open <YourProject>/android/app/build.gradle and add inside the dependencies block:

  compile project(':react-native-android-navigation')

1. Open <YourProject>/android/app/src/main/java/package.name/MainApplication.java:

• Add import com.navigation.NavigationPackage;
• Add new NavigationPackage() to the list returned by getPackages() method

Usage

Intent methods

Initialization

Intent has four methods for initialization. Call them separately or in combination with each other:

1. setClassName(className: string): Intent

   Use it separately if the target Activity is inside your application. Combine with setPackageName if the target Activity is inside another application.

2. setPackageName(packageName: string): Intent

   Use it separately to get the launcher Intent for the target package. Combine with setClassName if you need to start a certain Activity from the target package.

3. setAction(action: string): Intent

   Represents Android Intent method setAction. Note that JS Intent class has all the default Android Intent actions as static properties, so use them them the same way as in Android: intent.setAction(Intent.ACTION_MAIN).

4. setCustomServiceEventName(eventName: string): Intent

   Use it separately to start your custom Service. Combine with setPackageName if the target Service is inside another application.

Extras

Intent allows you to pass extra data of any type.

Putting

Putting extras is done in the same way as in Android, with the following methods:

• putExtra(key: string, extra: any): Intent
• putExtras(extras: Object): Intent

Example:

intent
    .putExtra("key1", "Hello world!")
    .putExtras(	//New data will be added to the existing
        {
            key2: 25.001,
            key3: ["pass array", true, 12345],
            key4: {key1: "object as well", key2: 69.999}
        }
    );

Getting

On Java side, extras can be obtained as usual. For primitives and strings use getBooleanExtra, getIntExtra, getDoubleExtra, getStringExtra. For arrays and objects use getSerializableExtra and cast the result to List or Map respectively. Then if needed cast each their child to its class.

Example:

String helloWorld = intent.getStringExtra("key1"));
List list = (List) intent.getSerializableExtra("key3");
boolean b = (Boolean) list.get(1);
Map map = (Map) intent.getSerializableExtra("key4");
double d = (Double) map.get("key2");

On JS side, just use the following methods:

• getExtra(key: string): any
• getExtras(): Object

Other extras methods

• removeExtra(key: string): void
• replaceExtras(extras: Object): Intent
• hasExtra(key: string): boolean

Categories and flags

To deal with categories and flags the same methods are used as in Android:

• addCategory(category: string): Intent
• removeCategory(category: string): void
• getCategories(): string[]
• hasCategory(category: string): boolean
• addFlags(flags: number): Intent
• setFlags(flags: number): Intent
• getFlags(): number[]
• removeFlags(flags: number): void

Like the actions, all the default Android Intent categories and flags are declared in JS Intent class as static properties, so use them the same way as in Android.

Example:

intent.addCategory(Intent.CATEGORY_DEFAULT).addFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK);

AndroidNavigator methods

Activity processing

Starting Activity

To start new Activity, use the same methods as in Android:

• static startActivity(intent: Intent): Promise<void>

  May trow error

• static startActivityForResult(intent: Intent, requestCode: number): Promise<void>

  Use it to get the data you need from the target Activity after it's finished. requestCode can be any integer.

  May trow error

Retrieving the result

To get the result, add event listener for the corresponding ActivityEventType:

export type ActivityResultListener = (requestCode: number, resultCode: number, data: Intent | null) => void

Example:

const myOnResult = (requestCode, resultCode, data) => {
    console.log(data.getExtras().key1);
};
AndroidNavigator.addEventListener(ActivityEventType.ACTIVITY_RESULT, myOnResult); //myOnResult will be called each time Activity result is received

Handling the back press

React Native Android Navigation allows you to pass any data from native side on back press event.

On Java side, open file <YourProject>/android/app/src/main/java/your.package.name/MainActivity.java:

• Add import com.navigation.NavigationModule;
• Add inside the Activity class:

@Override
public void onBackPressed() {
    NavigationModule.onBackPressed("My data", 123); //pass rest parameters 
}

On JS side, add event listener for the corresponding ActivityEventType:

export type BackPressListener = (...data: any) => void

Example:

const myOnBackPressed = (myData, oneTwoThree) => {
    console.log(myData);
};
AndroidNavigator.addEventListener(ActivityEventType.BACK_PRESSED, myOnBackPressed); //myOnBackPressed will be called each time back button is pressed

Other Activity methods

• static currentActivityIsRunning(): Promise<boolean>

  Checks if your app has any running Activity.

  May trow error

• static getIntent(): Promise<Intent>

  Gets the Intent with which Activity was started.

  May trow error

• setResult(resultCode: number, data?: Intent): Promise<void>

  Use it if Activity was started for result. Possible values of resultCode are included in AndroidNavigator as static properties: RESULT_CANCELED = 0, RESULT_FIRST_USER = 1, RESULT_OK = -1

  May trow error

• finish(): Promise<void>

  Closes current Activity.

  May trow error

Service processing

Starting Service

To start Service, use the same method as in Android:

• startService(intent: Intent): Promise<void>

  May trow error

Adding custom tasks

To add your custom task, add it's event listener:

export type CustomServiceEventListener = (extras: Object) => void

and then start it with startService method, passing Intent, initialized with setCustomServiceEventName.

Example:

const myServiceListener = (eventExtras) => {
    console.log(eventExtras.myData);
};
AndroidNavigator.addEventListener("myService", myServiceListener);
const intent = new Intent();
intent.setCustomServiceEventName("myService");
intent.putExtra("myData", "Hello world!");
AndroidNavigator.startService(intent);

Catching errors

The following errors can be thrown while using AndroidNavigator methods:

export class NavigationError extends Error {
    constructor(message: NavigationErrorMessage) {}
}

export enum NavigationErrorMessage {
    TARGET_CLASS_NOT_FOUND = "TARGET_CLASS_NOT_FOUND",
    TARGET_PACKAGE_NOT_FOUND = "TARGET_PACKAGE_NOT_FOUND",
    TARGET_CLASS_NOT_EXPORTED = "TARGET_CLASS_NOT_EXPORTED"
}

export class NoActivityError extends Error {
    constructor(message: string) {}
}

To catch them, add catch block on any Promise returned by AndroidNavigator method.

Example:

AndroidNavigator
    .startActivity(intent)
    .catch(
        (e) => {
            console.log(e.message);
        }
    );