Argthtjtr

The Problem:

In Android, there does not seem to be a way to specify individual folders within the DCIM folder that you wish to sync to the cloud. The Facebook app saves images to DCIM/Facebook, thus any image that I save is automatically synced to the cloud. I can resolve this by place a .NOMEDIA file within the folder but this now means I can't browse the files without going into a file explorer so I lose easy access to send these images in messages, for instance.

I am working on an Android application at the moment to automatically move files, other than the .NOMDEIA file, from DCIM/Facebook to Pictures/Facebook. I currently have code that will do this in a MainActivity class and I am looking to convert this to a service that will run automatically.

In short, I want this service to start at boot and always run without displaying an activity so it takes away any manual effort on my part. Again, I don't want to have to manually launch anything and I see no need for an activity as I do not want any user interaction. I have read many pages, gotten lost in the documentation, and been to seemingly countless posts concerning Service, IntentService, JobScheduler, etc. and I am currently spinning my wheels on both implementation and correct approach.

Is this a good case for a JobSchedule that runs every few seconds? Should it be a Service that runs the code over and over in a loop that waits a few seconds in each iteration? Is it possible to trigger the service whenever something is added to the folder?

As mentioned above, I've struggled with implementation. At this point, the only thing I've managed to do is call the service from within MainActivity but this happens as the activity briefly opens and closes. This is undesired behavior. Things are getting a bit messy at this point so I've opted not to include any code in hopes that someone can either point me to the right documentation/tutorial or provide a proper skeleton that I can work with. I'd rather not muddy the waters from the start.

Important note: The implementation I have with an activity requests permission for READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE (it is my understanding that you do not need to request permission for WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE; my code works without requesting that permission) but I am also uncertain how to ensure this is done for a service as the method to request permissions seems to want an activity as one of the parameters.

Edit: Adding manifest and code for receiver and service

FacebookImageListener.java

public class FacebookImageListener extends BroadcastReceiver {





    @Override

    public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {

        context.startService(new Intent(context, FacebookImageMoverService.class));

        Log.i("FacebookImageMoverService", "started");

    }

}

FacebookImageMoverService.java

public class FacebookImageMoverService extends Service {



    @Override

    public int onStartCommand(Intent intent, int flags, int startId) {



        while (true) {



            //TODO remove this

            Log.i("imagemover", "DELETE THIS");



//            String path = this.getExternalFilesDir(Environment.DIRECTORY_DCIM).getAbsolutePath() + "/Facebook";

            String path = Environment.getExternalStoragePublicDirectory(Environment.DIRECTORY_DCIM).getAbsolutePath() + "/Facebook";

            Log.d("Files", "Path: " + path);

            File directory = new File(path);

            File files = directory.listFiles();



            Log.d("Files", "Size: " + files.length);

            for (int i = 0; i < files.length; i++) {

                Toast toast = Toast.makeText(this.getApplicationContext(), "FileName:" + files[i].getName(), Toast.LENGTH_LONG);

                toast.show();

                Log.d("Files", "FileName:" + files[i].getName());



                if (!files[i].getName().equals(".NOMEDIA")) {

//                    moveFile(path + "/", files[i].getName(), this.getExternalFilesDir(Environment.DIRECTORY_PICTURES).getAbsolutePath() + "/Facebook/");

                    moveFile(path + "/", files[i].getName(), Environment.getExternalStoragePublicDirectory(Environment.DIRECTORY_PICTURES).getAbsolutePath() + "/Facebook/");

                }

            }



            try {

                Thread.sleep(5000);

            } catch (InterruptedException e) {

                e.printStackTrace();

            }



        }



        //TODO check this out

//        return Service.START_NOT_STICKY;

    }



    @Override

    public IBinder onBind(Intent intent) {

        //TODO for communication return IBinder implementation

        return null;

    }



    private void moveFile(String inputPath, String inputFile, String outputPath) {



        InputStream in = null;

        OutputStream out = null;

        try {



            //create output directory if it doesn't exist

            File dir = new File(outputPath);

            if (!dir.exists()) {

                dir.mkdirs();

            }





            in = new FileInputStream(inputPath + inputFile);

            out = new FileOutputStream(outputPath + inputFile);



            byte buffer = new byte[1024];

            int read;

            while ((read = in.read(buffer)) != -1) {

                out.write(buffer, 0, read);

            }

            in.close();

            in = null;



            // write the output file

            out.flush();

            out.close();

            out = null;



            // delete the original file

            new File(inputPath + inputFile).delete();





        } catch (FileNotFoundException fnfe1) {

            Log.e("tag", fnfe1.getMessage());

        } catch (Exception e) {

            Log.e("tag", e.getMessage());

        }



    }

}

AndroidManifest.xml

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

<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"

    package="shogg.facebookimagemover"

    >



    <!--<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />-->

    <!--<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />-->

    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED" />





    <application android:label="@string/app_name"

        android:icon="@mipmap/ic_launcher"

        android:roundIcon="@mipmap/ic_launcher_round">



        <receiver android:name=".FacebookImageListener"

            android:icon="@mipmap/ic_launcher"

            android:exported="true"

            android:permission="android.permission.RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED">

            <intent-filter>

                <action android:name="android.intent.action.BOOT_COMPLETED" />

                <action android:name="android.intent.action.QUICKBOOT_POWERON" />

                <category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />

            </intent-filter>

        </receiver>



        <service android:enabled="true" android:name=".FacebookImageMoverService" />

    </application>





</manifest>

Register a BroadcastReceiver in your AndroidManifest.xml and request the permission to listen for device boot broadcasts by adding this permission to your manifest:

android:permission="android.permission.RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED">

You can then start your service in the onReceive() method of your BroadcastListerner without starting the main activity of your app of obstructing the user in any way.