How to Activate an Android App by Calling an Intent

Overview

This guide explains how to launch and interact with an external Android application by calling an Intent while an interview is running.

Using intents, you can start another Android application, pass information to it, and process the returned result when the application closes.

Steps

Step 1: Create an IIntentInfo Object

Begin by creating an intent object that contains the information required to launch the external application.

Use the CreateIntentInfo() function, which returns an object implementing the IIntentInfo interface.

An intent can be configured to:

• Launch a general Android action by specifying an Action name.

• Launch a specific application by specifying its Package Name and Class Name.

• Pass additional parameters (Extras) that the target application can use and optionally return when it finishes.

The sample survey includes examples showing how to create an IIntentInfo object and configure its properties.

Step 2: Launch the Intent

After configuring the intent, call it from your survey script.

The intent can be launched from either a Start Script or an End Script, depending on when you want the external application to open.

Step 3: Handle the Returned Result

When the external application closes, SurveyToGo calls the OnIntentDone() callback function.

Implement this callback in the Advanced Script to process any value or data returned by the external application.

For example, SurveyToGo uses this mechanism for multimedia questions. When a camera intent is launched to capture a photo, the camera application returns the captured image when it closes, and the survey script can then continue processing.

Sample Survey

The attached sample survey demonstrates how to launch the device's camera application using an Android intent. After the camera is closed, the survey updates a question with the returned result.