Question

I can get the file from my asset folder like this

Intent i = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW);
        i.setDataAndType(Uri.parse("file:///android_asset/help_doc.pdf"), "application/pdf");
        i.setFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_CLEAR_TOP);
        try{
            startActivity(i);
        }catch(ActivityNotFoundException e){
            Toast.makeText(this, "No Application Available to View PDF", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
        }

but when I select the application to open it, it either does not open or gives me an error saying error opening file. it does not exist or cannot be read but if i put it on my sdcard and click on it to open it I dont get this error so whats wrong with how I am doing it?

Answer 1

file://android_asset only works in your app. What you are telling these others apps to do is to read help_doc.pdf out of their assets, and they do not have such a file.

You will need to either:

• Copy the file to external storage, or
• Copy the file to internal storage and use a ContentProvider to make it available to the PDF viewing app

This sample project demonstrates the latter approach.