How to not restart my app when the Home button is pressed?

Question

I have an app that uses intent-filters in the AndroidManifest.xml file to start an Activity when the Home button is pressed. Thing is, if my app is on that time in a different activity, the LoginActivity is started again and the user has to log in again. I want the Home button to do nothing if my app is on top.

How could I do that?

    <activity 
        android:name="com.example.LoginActivity"
        android:label="@string/app_name" >
        <intent-filter>
            <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

            <category android:name="android.intent.category.HOME" />
            <category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
            <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
        </intent-filter>

    </activity>

maybe you could set a variable and check if it contains a number for example and if so skip over login? — Kurdish Droid, Feb 20 '15 at 12:29
May be you will tell more about your project, are you creating a launcher app? — Kirill Shalnov, Feb 20 '15 at 13:08
@KirillShalnov no, I am building a single-function device. The users should not be able to start other apps easily, so I made my app a startup app. — Bart Friederichs, Feb 20 '15 at 13:11

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Feb 20 '15 at 12:35

0

Is not advisable to change the Home button functionality, because doing so it would be a negative user experience. Instead, you could store into a variable a boolean if the user is logged in, and if true, jump directly on to the main activity.

I don't know what is your launch activity, but if it is the login activity, you could check on the onStart method what I said, and then start the other activity.

answered Feb 20 '15 at 12:35

programmer23

533
4
15

I change Home button functionality, because these phones are used as a single-function device in an industrial environment. – Bart Friederichs Feb 20 '15 at 12:38

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Feb 20 '15 at 12:36

0

You shoud to check by your own trigger (static variable?) that your app is working and user logged in early, then start another activity and finish current

OR

try this android:launchMode="singleTop" in your manifest to the activities.

answered Feb 20 '15 at 12:36

Kirill Shalnov

2,216
1
19
21

1

Thanks, but in fact, I dont' want to start anything at all. Just "don't touch the running app". – Bart Friederichs Feb 20 '15 at 12:47

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Feb 20 '15 at 12:40

There are three ways to do this:

Works between 2.3 and 4.0:

@Override
public boolean onKeyDown(int keyCode, KeyEvent event) {
    if ((keyCode == KeyEvent.KEYCODE_HOME)) {
        // do nothing                     
        return true;
    }
    return super.onKeyDown(keyCode, event);
}

Also works between 2.3 and 4.0:

@Override public void onAttachedToWindow() { 
    this.getWindow().setType(WindowManager.LayoutParams.TYPE_KEYGUARD);
    super.onAttachedToWindow(); 
}

This involves overriding the method onUserLeaveHint():

@Override
protected void onUserLeaveHint() {
    Intent intent = getIntent();
    intent.addFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_REORDER_TO_FRONT);
    ((AlarmManager) this.getSystemService(ALARM)).set(1,
            System.currentTimeMillis(),
            PendingIntent.getActivity(this, 0, intent, 0));
    }
    super.onUserLeaveHint();
}

my device is 4.3. Haven't tried number 3 though. Currently I am going towards giving the instruction "don't touch the home button" :) — Bart Friederichs, Feb 20 '15 at 13:21

How to not restart my app when the Home button is pressed?

3 Answers3