Question

In my iOS 4 application, I need to open a URL from the background, at a time specified from the user. However, for some reason, I cannot launch a URL from the background for some reason. Here is my code for opening a URL:

if (![[UIApplication sharedApplication] openURL:[NSURL URLWithString:@"http://www.stackoverflow.com"]])
{
     // the URL wasn't opened. we will ignore this for now.
}

That code is all being launched from a daemon thread created earlier. I have tested this code on the simulator, and the URL is not opened, and the method returns YES for some reason, but when I open my application again (via fast-app-switching) it opens the URL. Is there some way that I can make my application come to the foreground again at this point (not via a local notification) so that the URL may open, or is this a bug or undocumented feature. Also, if there is another way to open the URL, that will work in the background, that would be helpful too.

Answer 1

I believe I have found it (doesn’t work on simulator, because it passes commands to the terminal on the mac, as there is no command line for the simulator). Use this:

system([[NSString stringWithFormat:@"uiopen \"%@\"", myUrlToOpen] UTF8String]);

That will pass the command uiopen (found via jailbreak) to the device, forcing it to open that URL. I hope this helps others in my position.