Question

I am new to Android development using eclipse, although not new to software development in general.

For my first real project, I am trying to modify the example SoftKeyboard that is supplied with the SDK. I want to modify one of the keys to act as a function key, when followed by a single letter key it will enter a canned string – performing a macro function.

So far so good. I have the key and graphics modified, and found where to respond. I would like to put the canned strings in an editable Properties file stored where the keyboard can find them.

That is where I’m having trouble. It seems that I can’t to create and save a file. I don’t know if it’s read/write permission problem, whether the keyboard (it runs as a service) is not allowed to create a file, or my code is just plain wrong.

Can someone help me out – point me in the right direction?

Thank you very much.
Barry.

Answer 1

If these are canned files that come with the APK you install to the device and only need to read (not write), you can place them in the assets folder of your project. Then use the resource manager to load them:

Resources resources = getResources();
InputStream moduleSearchTemplateIn = resources.getAssets().open("file/name/here.properties");

If you want to read/write files on the SD card, you’ll need to add a permission to your manifest. Though, for this purpose, I’d probably prefer a SQLite table.