In practice, you won't interact with this class directly, as search * services are provided through methods in {@link android.app.Activity Activity} * methods and the the {@link android.content.Intent#ACTION_SEARCH ACTION_SEARCH} * {@link android.content.Intent Intent}. This class does provide a basic * overview of search services and how to integrate them with your activities. * If you do require direct access to the SearchManager, do not instantiate * this class directly; instead, retrieve it through * {@link android.content.Context#getSystemService * context.getSystemService(Context.SEARCH_SERVICE)}. * *
Topics covered here: *
The ability to search for user, system, or network based data is considered to be * a core user-level feature of the Android platform. At any time, the user should be * able to use a familiar command, button, or keystroke to invoke search, and the user * should be able to search any data which is available to them. * *
To make search appear to the user as a seamless system-wide feature, the application * framework centrally controls it, offering APIs to individual applications to control how they * are searched. Applications can customize how search is invoked, how the search dialog looks, * and what type of search results are available, including suggestions that are available as the * user types. * *
Even applications which are not searchable will by default support the invocation of * search to trigger Quick Search Box, the system's 'global search'. * * *
Unless impossible or inapplicable, all applications should support * invoking the search UI. This means that when the user invokes the search command, * a search UI will be presented to them. The search command is currently defined as a menu * item called "Search" (with an alphabetic shortcut key of "S"), or on many devices, a dedicated * search button key. *
If your application is not inherently searchable, the default implementation will cause * the search UI to be invoked in a "global search" mode known as Quick Search Box. As the user * types, search suggestions from across the device and the web will be surfaced, and if they * click the "Search" button, this will bring the browser to the front and will launch a web-based * search. The user will be able to click the "Back" button and return to your application. *
In general this is implemented by your activity, or the {@link android.app.Activity Activity} * base class, which captures the search command and invokes the SearchManager to * display and operate the search UI. You can also cause the search UI to be presented in response * to user keystrokes in your activity (for example, to instantly start filter searching while * viewing a list and typing any key). *
The search UI is presented as a floating * window and does not cause any change in the activity stack. If the user * cancels search, the previous activity re-emerges. If the user launches a * search, this will be done by sending a search {@link android.content.Intent Intent} (see below), * and the normal intent-handling sequence will take place (your activity will pause, * etc.) *
What you need to do: First, you should consider the way in which you want to * handle invoking search. There are four broad (and partially overlapping) categories for * you to choose from. *
How to define a search menu. The system provides the following resources which may * be useful when adding a search item to your menu: *
How to invoke search directly. In order to invoke search directly, from a button * or menu item, you can launch a generic search by calling * {@link android.app.Activity#onSearchRequested onSearchRequested} as shown: *
* onSearchRequested();* *
How to implement type-to-search. While setting up your activity, call * {@link android.app.Activity#setDefaultKeyMode setDefaultKeyMode}: *
* setDefaultKeyMode(DEFAULT_KEYS_SEARCH_LOCAL); // search within your activity * setDefaultKeyMode(DEFAULT_KEYS_SEARCH_GLOBAL); // search using platform global search* *
How to start global search. In addition to searching within * your activity or application, you can also use the Search Manager to invoke a platform-global * search, which uses Quick Search Box to search across the device and the web. * Override {@link android.app.Activity#onSearchRequested} and call * {@link android.app.Activity#startSearch} with {@code globalSearch} set to {@code true}. * *
How to disable search from your activity. Search is a system-wide feature and users * will expect it to be available in all contexts. If your UI design absolutely precludes * launching search, override {@link android.app.Activity#onSearchRequested onSearchRequested} * as shown: *
* @Override
* public boolean onSearchRequested() {
* return false;
* }
*
* Managing focus and knowing if search is active. The search UI is not a separate * activity, and when the UI is invoked or dismissed, your activity will not typically be paused, * resumed, or otherwise notified by the methods defined in * Application Fundamentals: * Activity Lifecycle. The search UI is * handled in the same way as other system UI elements which may appear from time to time, such as * notifications, screen locks, or other system alerts: *
When the search UI appears, your activity will lose input focus. *
When the search activity is dismissed, there are three possible outcomes: *
This list is provided in order to clarify the ways in which your activities will interact with * the search UI. More details on searchable activities and search intents are provided in the * sections below. * * *
The following steps are necessary in order to implement search. *
Code snippet showing handling of intents in your search activity: *
* @Override
* protected void onCreate(Bundle icicle) {
* super.onCreate(icicle);
*
* final Intent queryIntent = getIntent();
* final String queryAction = queryIntent.getAction();
* if (Intent.ACTION_SEARCH.equals(queryAction)) {
* doSearchWithIntent(queryIntent);
* }
* }
*
* private void doSearchWithIntent(final Intent queryIntent) {
* final String queryString = queryIntent.getStringExtra(SearchManager.QUERY);
* doSearchWithQuery(queryString);
* }
*
*
* A powerful feature of the search system is the ability of any application to easily provide * live "suggestions" in order to prompt the user. Each application implements suggestions in a * different, unique, and appropriate way. Suggestions be drawn from many sources, including but * not limited to: *
Once an application is configured to provide search suggestions, those same suggestions can * easily be made available to the system-wide Quick Search Box, providing faster access to its * content from one central prominent place. See * Exposing Search Suggestions to Quick Search * Box for more details. * *
The primary form of suggestions is known as queried suggestions and is based on query * text that the user has already typed. This would generally be based on partial matches in * the available data. In certain situations - for example, when no query text has been typed yet - * an application may also opt to provide zero-query suggestions. * These would typically be drawn from the same data source, but because no partial query text is * available, they should be weighted based on other factors - for example, most recent queries * or most recent results. * *
Overview of how suggestions are provided. Suggestions are accessed via a * {@link android.content.ContentProvider Content Provider}. When the search manager identifies a * particular activity as searchable, it will check for certain metadata which indicates that * there is also a source of suggestions. If suggestions are provided, the following steps are * taken. *
Simple Recent-Query-Based Suggestions. The Android framework provides a simple Search * Suggestions provider, which simply records and replays recent queries. For many applications, * this will be sufficient. The basic steps you will need to * do, in order to use the built-in recent queries suggestions provider, are as follows: *
For complete implementation details, please refer to * {@link android.content.SearchRecentSuggestionsProvider}. The rest of the information in this * section should not be necessary, as it refers to custom suggestions providers. * *
Creating a Customized Suggestions Provider: In order to create more sophisticated * suggestion providers, you'll need to take the following steps: *
Configuring your Content Provider to Receive Suggestion Queries. The basic job of * a search suggestions {@link android.content.ContentProvider Content Provider} is to provide * "live" (while-you-type) conversion of the user's query text into a set of zero or more * suggestions. Each application is free to define the conversion, and as described above there are * many possible solutions. This section simply defines how to communicate with the suggestion * provider. * *
The Search Manager must first determine if your package provides suggestions. This is done * by examination of your searchable meta-data XML file. The android:searchSuggestAuthority * attribute, if provided, is the signal to obtain & display suggestions. * *
Every query includes a Uri, and the Search Manager will format the Uri as shown: *
* content:// your.suggest.authority / your.suggest.path / SearchManager.SUGGEST_URI_PATH_QUERY ** *
Your Content Provider can receive the query text in one of two ways. *
Providing access to Content Providers that require permissions. If your content * provider declares an android:readPermission in your application's manifest, you must provide * access to the search infrastructure to the search suggestion path by including a path-permission * that grants android:readPermission access to "android.permission.GLOBAL_SEARCH". Granting access * explicitly to the search infrastructure ensures it will be able to access the search suggestions * without needing to know ahead of time any other details of the permissions protecting your * provider. Content providers that require no permissions are already available to the search * infrastructure. Here is an example of a provider that protects access to it with permissions, * and provides read access to the search infrastructure to the path that it expects to receive the * suggestion query on: *
* <provider android:name="MyProvider" android:authorities="myprovider" * android:readPermission="android.permission.READ_MY_DATA" * android:writePermission="android.permission.WRITE_MY_DATA"> * <path-permission android:path="/search_suggest_query" * android:readPermission="android.permission.GLOBAL_SEARCH" /> * </provider> ** *
Handling empty queries. Your application should handle the "empty query" * (no user text entered) case properly, and generate useful suggestions in this case. There are a * number of ways to do this; Two are outlined here: *
The Format of Individual Suggestions. Your suggestions are communicated back to the * Search Manager by way of a {@link android.database.Cursor Cursor}. The Search Manager will * usually pass a null Projection, which means that your provider can simply return all appropriate * columns for each suggestion. The columns currently defined are: * *
| Column Name | Description | Required? |
|---|---|---|
| {@link #SUGGEST_COLUMN_FORMAT} | *Unused - can be null. | *No | *
| {@link #SUGGEST_COLUMN_TEXT_1} | *This is the line of text that will be presented to the user as the suggestion. | *Yes | *
| {@link #SUGGEST_COLUMN_TEXT_2} | *If your cursor includes this column, then all suggestions will be provided in a * two-line format. The data in this column will be displayed as a second, smaller * line of text below the primary suggestion, or it can be null or empty to indicate no * text in this row's suggestion. | *No | *
| {@link #SUGGEST_COLUMN_ICON_1} | *If your cursor includes this column, then all suggestions will be provided in an * icons+text format. This value should be a reference to the icon to * draw on the left side, or it can be null or zero to indicate no icon in this row. * | *No. | *
| {@link #SUGGEST_COLUMN_ICON_2} | *If your cursor includes this column, then all suggestions will be provided in an * icons+text format. This value should be a reference to the icon to * draw on the right side, or it can be null or zero to indicate no icon in this row. * | *No. | *
| {@link #SUGGEST_COLUMN_INTENT_ACTION} | *If this column exists and this element exists at the given row, this is the * action that will be used when forming the suggestion's intent. If the element is * not provided, the action will be taken from the android:searchSuggestIntentAction * field in your XML metadata. At least one of these must be present for the * suggestion to generate an intent. Note: If your action is the same for all * suggestions, it is more efficient to specify it using XML metadata and omit it from * the cursor. | *No | *
| {@link #SUGGEST_COLUMN_INTENT_DATA} | *If this column exists and this element exists at the given row, this is the * data that will be used when forming the suggestion's intent. If the element is not * provided, the data will be taken from the android:searchSuggestIntentData field in * your XML metadata. If neither source is provided, the Intent's data field will be * null. Note: If your data is the same for all suggestions, or can be described * using a constant part and a specific ID, it is more efficient to specify it using * XML metadata and omit it from the cursor. | *No | *
| {@link #SUGGEST_COLUMN_INTENT_DATA_ID} | *If this column exists and this element exists at the given row, then "/" and * this value will be appended to the data field in the Intent. This should only be * used if the data field has already been set to an appropriate base string. | *No | *
| {@link #SUGGEST_COLUMN_INTENT_EXTRA_DATA} | *If this column exists and this element exists at a given row, this is the * data that will be used when forming the suggestion's intent. If not provided, * the Intent's extra data field will be null. This column allows suggestions to * provide additional arbitrary data which will be included as an extra under the * key {@link #EXTRA_DATA_KEY}. | *No. | *
| {@link #SUGGEST_COLUMN_QUERY} | *If this column exists and this element exists at the given row, this is the * data that will be used when forming the suggestion's query. | *Required if suggestion's action is * {@link android.content.Intent#ACTION_SEARCH ACTION_SEARCH}, optional otherwise. | *
| {@link #SUGGEST_COLUMN_SHORTCUT_ID} | *This column is used to indicate whether a search suggestion should be stored as a * shortcut, and whether it should be validated. Shortcuts are usually formed when the * user clicks a suggestion from Quick Search Box. If missing, the result will be * stored as a shortcut and never refreshed. If set to * {@link #SUGGEST_NEVER_MAKE_SHORTCUT}, the result will not be stored as a shortcut. * Otherwise, the shortcut id will be used to check back for for an up to date * suggestion using {@link #SUGGEST_URI_PATH_SHORTCUT}. Read more about shortcut * refreshing in the section about * exposing search suggestions to * Quick Search Box. | *No. Only applicable to sources included in Quick Search Box. | *
| {@link #SUGGEST_COLUMN_SPINNER_WHILE_REFRESHING} | *This column is used to specify that a spinner should be shown in lieu of an icon2 * while the shortcut of this suggestion is being refreshed in Quick Search Box. | *No. Only applicable to sources included in Quick Search Box. | *
| Other Columns | *Finally, if you have defined any Action Keys and you wish * for them to have suggestion-specific definitions, you'll need to define one * additional column per action key. The action key will only trigger if the * currently-selection suggestion has a non-empty string in the corresponding column. * See the section on Action Keys for additional details and * implementation steps. | *No | *
Clearly there are quite a few permutations of your suggestion data, but in the next section * we'll look at a few simple combinations that you'll select from. * *
The Format Of Intents Sent By Search Suggestions. Although there are many ways to * configure these intents, this document will provide specific information on just a few of them. *
This list is not meant to be exhaustive. Applications should feel free to define other types * of suggestions. For example, you could reduce long lists of results to summaries, and use one * of the above intents (or one of your own) with specially formatted Data Uri's to display more * detailed results. Or you could display textual shortcuts as suggestions, but launch a display * in a more data-appropriate format such as media artwork. * *
Suggestion Rewriting. If the user navigates through the suggestions list, the UI * may temporarily rewrite the user's query with a query that matches the currently selected * suggestion. This enables the user to see what query is being suggested, and also allows the user * to click or touch in the entry EditText element and make further edits to the query before * dispatching it. In order to perform this correctly, the Search UI needs to know exactly what * text to rewrite the query with. * *
For each suggestion, the following logic is used to select a new query string: *
Once your application is set up to provide search suggestions, making them available to the * globally accessable Quick Search Box is as easy as setting android:includeInGlobalSearch to * "true" in your searchable metadata file. Beyond that, here are some more details of how * suggestions interact with Quick Search Box, and optional ways that you may customize suggestions * for your application. * *
Important Note: By default, your application will not be enabled as a suggestion * provider (or "searchable item") in Quick Search Box. Once your app is installed, the user must * enable it as a "searchable item" in the Search settings in order to receive your app's * suggestions in Quick Search Box. You should consider how to message this to users of your app - * perhaps with a note to the user the first time they launch the app about how to enable search * suggestions. This gives your app a chance to be queried for suggestions as the user types into * Quick Search Box, though exactly how or if your suggestions will be surfaced is decided by Quick * Search Box. * *
Source Ranking: Once your application's search results are made available to Quick * Search Box, how they surface to the user for a particular query will be determined as appropriate * by Quick Search Box ranking. This may depend on how many other apps have results for that query, * and how often the user has clicked on your results compared to the other apps - but there is no * guarantee about how ranking will occur, or whether your app's suggestions will show at all for * a given query. In general, you can expect that providing quality results will increase the * likelihood that your app's suggestions are provided in a prominent position, and apps that * provide lower quality suggestions will be more likely to be ranked lower and/or not displayed. * *
Search Settings: Each app that is available to Quick Search Box has an entry in the * system settings where the user can enable or disable the inclusion of its results. Below the * name of the application, each application may provide a brief description of what kind of * information will be made available via a search settings description string pointed to by the * android:searchSettingsDescription attribute in the searchable metadata. Note that the * user will need to visit this settings menu to enable search suggestions for your app before your * app will have a chance to provide search suggestions to Quick Search Box - see the section * called "Important Note" above. * *
Shortcuts: Suggestions that are clicked on by the user may be automatically made into * shortcuts, which are suggestions that have been copied from your provider in order to be quickly * displayed without the need to re-query the original sources. Shortcutted suggestions may be * displayed for the query that yielded the suggestion and for any prefixes of that query. You can * request how to have your app's suggestions made into shortcuts, and whether they should be * refreshed, using the {@link #SUGGEST_COLUMN_SHORTCUT_ID} column: *
Searchable activities may also wish to provide shortcuts based on the various action keys * available on the device. The most basic example of this is the contacts app, which enables the * green "dial" key for quick access during searching. Not all action keys are available on * every device, and not all are allowed to be overriden in this way. (For example, the "Home" * key must always return to the home screen, with no exceptions.) * *
In order to define action keys for your searchable application, you must do two things. * *
Updating metadata. For each keycode of interest, you must add an <actionkey> * element. Within this element you must define two or three attributes. The first attribute, * <android:keycode>, is required; It is the key code of the action key event, as defined in * {@link android.view.KeyEvent}. The remaining two attributes define the value of the actionkey's * message, which will be passed to your searchable activity in the * {@link android.content.Intent Intent} (see below for more details). Although each of these * attributes is optional, you must define one or both for the action key to have any effect. * <android:queryActionMsg> provides the message that will be sent if the action key is * pressed while the user is simply entering query text. <android:suggestActionMsgColumn> * is used when action keys are tied to specific suggestions. This attribute provides the name * of a column in your suggestion cursor; The individual suggestion, in that column, * provides the message. (If the cell is empty or null, that suggestion will not work with that * action key.) *
See the Searchability Metadata section for more details * and examples. * *
Receiving Action Keys Intents launched by action keys will be specially marked * using a combination of values. This enables your searchable application to examine the intent, * if necessary, and perform special processing. For example, clicking a suggested contact might * simply display them; Selecting a suggested contact and clicking the dial button might * immediately call them. * *
When a search {@link android.content.Intent Intent} is launched by an action key, two values * will be added to the extras field. *
Every activity that is searchable must provide a small amount of additional information * in order to properly configure the search system. This controls the way that your search * is presented to the user, and controls for the various modalities described previously. * *
If your application is not searchable, * then you do not need to provide any search metadata, and you can skip the rest of this section. * When this search metadata cannot be found, the search manager will assume that the activity * does not implement search. (Note: to implement web-based search, you will need to add * the android.app.default_searchable metadata to your manifest, as shown below.) * *
Values you supply in metadata apply only to each local searchable activity. Each * searchable activity can define a completely unique search experience relevant to its own * capabilities and user experience requirements, and a single application can even define multiple * searchable activities. * *
Metadata for searchable activity. As with your search implementations described * above, you must first identify which of your activities is searchable. In the * manifest entry for this activity, you must * provide two elements: *
Here is a snippet showing the necessary elements in the * manifest entry for your searchable activity. *
* <!-- Search Activity - searchable --> * <activity android:name="MySearchActivity" * android:label="Search" * android:launchMode="singleTop"> * <intent-filter> * <action android:name="android.intent.action.SEARCH" /> * <category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" /> * </intent-filter> * <meta-data android:name="android.app.searchable" * android:resource="@xml/searchable" /> * </activity>* *
Next, you must provide the rest of the searchability configuration in * the small XML file, stored in the ../xml/ folder in your build. The XML file is a * simple enumeration of the search configuration parameters for searching within this activity, * application, or package. Here is a sample XML file (named searchable.xml, for use with * the above manifest) for a query-search activity. * *
* <searchable xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" * android:label="@string/search_label" * android:hint="@string/search_hint" > * </searchable>* *
Note that all user-visible strings must be provided in the form of "@string" * references. Hard-coded strings, which cannot be localized, will not work properly in search * metadata. * *
Attributes you can set in search metadata: *
| Attribute | Description | Required? | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| android:label | *This is the name for your application that will be presented to the user in a * list of search targets, or in the search box as a label. | *Yes | *||||||||
| android:icon | *This is deprecated. The default * application icon is now always used, so this attribute is * obsolete. |
* No | *||||||||
| android:hint | *This is the text to display in the search text field when no text * has been entered by the user. | *No | *||||||||
| android:searchMode | *If provided and non-zero, sets additional modes for control of the search
* presentation. The following mode bits are defined:
*
|
*
* No | *||||||||
| android:inputType | *If provided, supplies a hint about the type of search text the user will be * entering. For most searches, in which free form text is expected, this attribute * need not be provided. Suitable values for this attribute are described in the * inputType attribute. | *No | *||||||||
| android:imeOptions | *If provided, supplies additional options for the input method. * For most searches, in which free form text is expected, this attribute * need not be provided, and will default to "actionSearch". * Suitable values for this attribute are described in the * imeOptions attribute. | *No | *
Styleable Resources in your Metadata. It's possible to provide alternate strings * for your searchable application, in order to provide localization and/or to better visual * presentation on different device configurations. Each searchable activity has a single XML * metadata file, but any resource references can be replaced at runtime based on device * configuration, language setting, and other system inputs. * *
A concrete example is the "hint" text you supply using the android:searchHint attribute. * In portrait mode you'll have less screen space and may need to provide a shorter string, but * in landscape mode you can provide a longer, more descriptive hint. To do this, you'll need to * define two or more strings.xml files, in the following directories: *
For more complete documentation on this capability, see * Resources and * Internationalization: Alternate Resources. * *
Metadata for non-searchable activities. Activities which are part of a searchable * application, but don't implement search itself, require a bit of "glue" in order to cause * them to invoke search using your searchable activity as their primary context. If this is not * provided, then searches from these activities will use the system default search context. * *
The simplest way to specify this is to add a search reference element to the * application entry in the manifest file. * The value of this reference should be the name of your searchable activity. * It is typically prefixed by '.' to indicate that it's in the same package. * *
Here is a snippet showing the necessary addition to the manifest entry for your * non-searchable activities. *
* <application> * <meta-data android:name="android.app.default_searchable" * android:value=".MySearchActivity" /> * * <!-- followed by activities, providers, etc... --> * </application>* *
You can also specify android.app.default_searchable on a per-activity basis, by including * the meta-data element (as shown above) in one or more activity sections. If found, these will * override the reference in the application section. The only reason to configure your application * this way would be if you wish to partition it into separate sections with different search * behaviors; Otherwise this configuration is not recommended. * *
Additional metadata for search suggestions. If you have defined a content provider * to generate search suggestions, you'll need to publish it to the system, and you'll need to * provide a bit of additional XML metadata in order to configure communications with it. * *
First, in your manifest, you'll add the * following lines. *
* <!-- Content provider for search suggestions --> * <provider android:name="YourSuggestionProviderClass" * android:authorities="your.suggestion.authority" />* *
Next, you'll add a few lines to your XML metadata file, as shown: *
* <!-- Required attribute for any suggestions provider --> * android:searchSuggestAuthority="your.suggestion.authority" * * <!-- Optional attribute for configuring queries --> * android:searchSuggestSelection="field =?" * * <!-- Optional attributes for configuring intent construction --> * android:searchSuggestIntentAction="intent action string" * android:searchSuggestIntentData="intent data Uri" />* *
Elements of search metadata that support suggestions: *
| Attribute | Description | Required? |
|---|---|---|
| android:searchSuggestAuthority | *This value must match the authority string provided in the provider section * of your manifest. | *Yes | *
| android:searchSuggestPath | *If provided, this will be inserted in the suggestions query Uri, after the authority * you have provide but before the standard suggestions path. This is only required if * you have a single content provider issuing different types of suggestions (e.g. for * different data types) and you need a way to disambiguate the suggestions queries * when they are received. | *No | *
| android:searchSuggestSelection | *If provided, this value will be passed into your query function as the * selection parameter. Typically this will be a WHERE clause for your database, * and will contain a single question mark, which represents the actual query string * that has been typed by the user. However, you can also use any non-null value * to simply trigger the delivery of the query text (via selection arguments), and then * use the query text in any way appropriate for your provider (ignoring the actual * text of the selection parameter.) | *No | *
| android:searchSuggestIntentAction | *If provided, and not overridden by the selected suggestion, this value will be * placed in the action field of the {@link android.content.Intent Intent} when the * user clicks a suggestion. | *No | * *
| android:searchSuggestIntentData | *If provided, and not overridden by the selected suggestion, this value will be * placed in the data field of the {@link android.content.Intent Intent} when the user * clicks a suggestion. | *No | *
Elements of search metadata that configure search suggestions being available to Quick Search * Box: *
| Attribute | Description | Required? |
|---|---|---|
| android:includeInGlobalSearch | *If true, indicates the search suggestions provided by your application should be * included in the globally accessible Quick Search Box. The attributes below are only * applicable if this is set to true. | *Yes | *
| android:searchSettingsDescription | *If provided, provides a brief description of the search suggestions that are provided * by your application to Quick Search Box, and will be displayed in the search settings * entry for your application. | *No | *
| android:queryAfterZeroResults | *Indicates whether a source should be invoked for supersets of queries it has * returned zero results for in the past. For example, if a source returned zero * results for "bo", it would be ignored for "bob". If set to false, this source * will only be ignored for a single session; the next time the search dialog is * invoked, all sources will be queried. The default value is false. | *No | *
| android:searchSuggestThreshold | *Indicates the minimum number of characters needed to trigger a source from Quick * Search Box. Only guarantees that a source will not be queried for anything shorter * than the threshold. The default value is 0. | *No | *
Additional metadata for search action keys. For each action key that you would like to * define, you'll need to add an additional element defining that key, and using the attributes * discussed in Action Keys. A simple example is shown here: * *
<actionkey * android:keycode="KEYCODE_CALL" * android:queryActionMsg="call" * android:suggestActionMsg="call" * android:suggestActionMsgColumn="call_column" />* *
Elements of search metadata that support search action keys. Note that although each of the * action message elements are marked as optional, at least one must be present for the * action key to have any effect. * *
| Attribute | Description | Required? |
|---|---|---|
| android:keycode | *This attribute denotes the action key you wish to respond to. Note that not
* all action keys are actually supported using this mechanism, as many of them are
* used for typing, navigation, or system functions. This will be added to the
* {@link android.content.Intent#ACTION_SEARCH ACTION_SEARCH} intent that is passed to
* your searchable activity. To examine the key code, use
* {@link android.content.Intent#getIntExtra getIntExtra(SearchManager.ACTION_KEY)}.
* Note, in addition to the keycode, you must also provide one or more of the action * specifier attributes. |
* Yes | *
| android:queryActionMsg | *If you wish to handle an action key during normal search query entry, you * must define an action string here. This will be added to the * {@link android.content.Intent#ACTION_SEARCH ACTION_SEARCH} intent that is passed to your * searchable activity. To examine the string, use * {@link android.content.Intent#getStringExtra * getStringExtra(SearchManager.ACTION_MSG)}. | *No | *
| android:suggestActionMsg | *If you wish to handle an action key while a suggestion is being displayed and * selected, there are two ways to handle this. If all of your suggestions * can handle the action key, you can simply define the action message using this * attribute. This will be added to the * {@link android.content.Intent#ACTION_SEARCH ACTION_SEARCH} intent that is passed to * your searchable activity. To examine the string, use * {@link android.content.Intent#getStringExtra * getStringExtra(SearchManager.ACTION_MSG)}. | *No | *
| android:suggestActionMsgColumn | *If you wish to handle an action key while a suggestion is being displayed and * selected, but you do not wish to enable this action key for every suggestion, * then you can use this attribute to control it on a suggestion-by-suggestion basis. * First, you must define a column (and name it here) where your suggestions will * include the action string. Then, in your content provider, you must provide this * column, and when desired, provide data in this column. * The search manager will look at your suggestion cursor, using the string * provided here in order to select a column, and will use that to select a string from * the cursor. That string will be added to the * {@link android.content.Intent#ACTION_SEARCH ACTION_SEARCH} intent that is passed to * your searchable activity. To examine the string, use * {@link android.content.Intent#getStringExtra * getStringExtra(SearchManager.ACTION_MSG)}. If the data does not exist for the * selection suggestion, the action key will be ignored. | *No | *
Additional metadata for enabling voice search. To enable voice search for your * activity, you can add fields to the metadata that enable and configure voice search. When * enabled (and available on the device), a voice search button will be displayed in the * Search UI. Clicking this button will launch a voice search activity. When the user has * finished speaking, the voice search phrase will be transcribed into text and presented to the * searchable activity as if it were a typed query. * *
Elements of search metadata that support voice search: *
| Attribute | Description | Required? | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| android:voiceSearchMode | *If provided and non-zero, enables voice search. (Voice search may not be
* provided by the device, in which case these flags will have no effect.) The
* following mode bits are defined:
*
|
* No | *||||||
| android:voiceLanguageModel | *If provided, this specifies the language model that should be used by the voice * recognition system. * See {@link android.speech.RecognizerIntent#EXTRA_LANGUAGE_MODEL} * for more information. If not provided, the default value * {@link android.speech.RecognizerIntent#LANGUAGE_MODEL_FREE_FORM} will be used. | *No | *||||||
| android:voicePromptText | *If provided, this specifies a prompt that will be displayed during voice input. * (If not provided, a default prompt will be displayed.) | *No | *||||||
| android:voiceLanguage | *If provided, this specifies the spoken language to be expected. This is only * needed if it is different from the current value of * {@link java.util.Locale#getDefault()}. * | *No | *||||||
| android:voiceMaxResults | *If provided, enforces the maximum number of results to return, including the "best" * result which will always be provided as the SEARCH intent's primary query. Must be * one or greater. Use {@link android.speech.RecognizerIntent#EXTRA_RESULTS} * to get the results from the intent. If not provided, the recognizer will choose * how many results to return. | *No | *
In order to improve search experience, an application may wish to specify * additional data along with the search, such as local history or context. For * example, a maps search would be improved by including the current location. * In order to simplify the structure of your activities, this can be done using * the search manager. * *
Any data can be provided at the time the search is launched, as long as it * can be stored in a {@link android.os.Bundle Bundle} object. * *
To pass application data into the Search Manager, you'll need to override * {@link android.app.Activity#onSearchRequested onSearchRequested} as follows: * *
* @Override
* public boolean onSearchRequested() {
* Bundle appData = new Bundle();
* appData.put...();
* appData.put...();
* startSearch(null, false, appData, false);
* return true;
* }
*
* To receive application data from the Search Manager, you'll extract it from * the {@link android.content.Intent#ACTION_SEARCH ACTION_SEARCH} * {@link android.content.Intent Intent} as follows: * *
* final Bundle appData = queryIntent.getBundleExtra(SearchManager.APP_DATA);
* if (appData != null) {
* appData.get...();
* appData.get...();
* }
*
*
* Many users consider their activities on the phone, including searches, to be private * information. Applications that implement search should take steps to protect users' privacy * wherever possible. This section covers two areas of concern, but you should consider your search * design carefully and take any additional steps necessary. * *
Don't send personal information to servers, and if you do, don't log it. * "Personal information" is information that can personally identify your users, such as name, * email address or billing information, or other data which can be reasonably linked to such * information. If your application implements search with the assistance of a server, try to * avoid sending personal information with your searches. For example, if you are searching for * businesses near a zip code, you don't need to send the user ID as well - just send the zip code * to the server. If you do need to send personal information, you should take steps to avoid * logging it. If you must log it, you should protect that data very carefully, and erase it as * soon as possible. * *
Provide the user with a way to clear their search history. The Search Manager helps * your application provide context-specific suggestions. Sometimes these suggestions are based * on previous searches, or other actions taken by the user in an earlier session. A user may not * wish for previous searches to be revealed to other users, for instance if they share their phone * with a friend. If your application provides suggestions that can reveal previous activities, * you should implement a "Clear History" menu, preference, or button. If you are using * {@link android.provider.SearchRecentSuggestions}, you can simply call its * {@link android.provider.SearchRecentSuggestions#clearHistory() clearHistory()} method from * your "Clear History" UI. If you are implementing your own form of recent suggestions, you'll * need to provide a similar a "clear history" API in your provider, and call it from your * "Clear History" UI. */ public class SearchManager implements DialogInterface.OnDismissListener, DialogInterface.OnCancelListener { private static final boolean DBG = false; private static final String TAG = "SearchManager"; /** * This is a shortcut definition for the default menu key to use for invoking search. * * See Menu.Item.setAlphabeticShortcut() for more information. */ public final static char MENU_KEY = 's'; /** * This is a shortcut definition for the default menu key to use for invoking search. * * See Menu.Item.setAlphabeticShortcut() for more information. */ public final static int MENU_KEYCODE = KeyEvent.KEYCODE_S; /** * Intent extra data key: Use this key with * {@link android.content.Intent#getStringExtra * content.Intent.getStringExtra()} * to obtain the query string from Intent.ACTION_SEARCH. */ public final static String QUERY = "query"; /** * Intent extra data key: Use this key with * {@link android.content.Intent#getStringExtra * content.Intent.getStringExtra()} * to obtain the query string typed in by the user. * This may be different from the value of {@link #QUERY} * if the intent is the result of selecting a suggestion. * In that case, {@link #QUERY} will contain the value of * {@link #SUGGEST_COLUMN_QUERY} for the suggestion, and * {@link #USER_QUERY} will contain the string typed by the * user. */ public final static String USER_QUERY = "user_query"; /** * Intent extra data key: Use this key with Intent.ACTION_SEARCH and * {@link android.content.Intent#getBundleExtra * content.Intent.getBundleExtra()} * to obtain any additional app-specific data that was inserted by the * activity that launched the search. */ public final static String APP_DATA = "app_data"; /** * Intent extra data key: Use {@link android.content.Intent#getBundleExtra * content.Intent.getBundleExtra(SEARCH_MODE)} to get the search mode used * to launch the intent. * The only current value for this is {@link #MODE_GLOBAL_SEARCH_SUGGESTION}. * * @hide */ public final static String SEARCH_MODE = "search_mode"; /** * Intent extra data key: Use this key with Intent.ACTION_SEARCH and * {@link android.content.Intent#getIntExtra content.Intent.getIntExtra()} * to obtain the keycode that the user used to trigger this query. It will be zero if the * user simply pressed the "GO" button on the search UI. This is primarily used in conjunction * with the keycode attribute in the actionkey element of your searchable.xml configuration * file. */ public final static String ACTION_KEY = "action_key"; /** * Intent extra data key: This key will be used for the extra populated by the * {@link #SUGGEST_COLUMN_INTENT_EXTRA_DATA} column. */ public final static String EXTRA_DATA_KEY = "intent_extra_data_key"; /** * Boolean extra data key for {@link #INTENT_ACTION_GLOBAL_SEARCH} intents. If {@code true}, * the initial query should be selected when the global search activity is started, so * that the user can easily replace it with another query. */ public final static String EXTRA_SELECT_QUERY = "select_query"; /** * Intent extra data key: Use this key with Intent.ACTION_SEARCH and * {@link android.content.Intent#getStringExtra content.Intent.getStringExtra()} * to obtain the action message that was defined for a particular search action key and/or * suggestion. It will be null if the search was launched by typing "enter", touched the the * "GO" button, or other means not involving any action key. */ public final static String ACTION_MSG = "action_msg"; /** * Uri path for queried suggestions data. This is the path that the search manager * will use when querying your content provider for suggestions data based on user input * (e.g. looking for partial matches). * Typically you'll use this with a URI matcher. */ public final static String SUGGEST_URI_PATH_QUERY = "search_suggest_query"; /** * MIME type for suggestions data. You'll use this in your suggestions content provider * in the getType() function. */ public final static String SUGGEST_MIME_TYPE = "vnd.android.cursor.dir/vnd.android.search.suggest"; /** * Uri path for shortcut validation. This is the path that the search manager will use when * querying your content provider to refresh a shortcutted suggestion result and to check if it * is still valid. When asked, a source may return an up to date result, or no result. No * result indicates the shortcut refers to a no longer valid sugggestion. * * @see #SUGGEST_COLUMN_SHORTCUT_ID */ public final static String SUGGEST_URI_PATH_SHORTCUT = "search_suggest_shortcut"; /** * MIME type for shortcut validation. You'll use this in your suggestions content provider * in the getType() function. */ public final static String SHORTCUT_MIME_TYPE = "vnd.android.cursor.item/vnd.android.search.suggest"; /** * Column name for suggestions cursor. Unused - can be null or column can be omitted. */ public final static String SUGGEST_COLUMN_FORMAT = "suggest_format"; /** * Column name for suggestions cursor. Required. This is the primary line of text that * will be presented to the user as the suggestion. */ public final static String SUGGEST_COLUMN_TEXT_1 = "suggest_text_1"; /** * Column name for suggestions cursor. Optional. If your cursor includes this column, * then all suggestions will be provided in a two-line format. The second line of text is in * a much smaller appearance. */ public final static String SUGGEST_COLUMN_TEXT_2 = "suggest_text_2"; /** * Column name for suggestions cursor. Optional. This is a URL that will be shown * as the second line of text instead of {@link #SUGGEST_COLUMN_TEXT_2}. This is a separate * column so that the search UI knows to display the text as a URL, e.g. by using a different * color. If this column is absent, or has the value {@code null}, * {@link #SUGGEST_COLUMN_TEXT_2} will be used instead. */ public final static String SUGGEST_COLUMN_TEXT_2_URL = "suggest_text_2_url"; /** * Column name for suggestions cursor. Optional. If your cursor includes this column, * then all suggestions will be provided in a format that includes space for two small icons, * one at the left and one at the right of each suggestion. The data in the column must * be a resource ID of a drawable, or a URI in one of the following formats: * *
The search manager will open a search widget in an overlapping * window, and the underlying activity may be obscured. The search * entry state will remain in effect until one of the following events: *
Most applications will not use this interface to invoke search. * The primary method for invoking search is to call * {@link android.app.Activity#onSearchRequested Activity.onSearchRequested()} or * {@link android.app.Activity#startSearch Activity.startSearch()}. * * @param initialQuery A search string can be pre-entered here, but this * is typically null or empty. * @param selectInitialQuery If true, the intial query will be preselected, which means that * any further typing will replace it. This is useful for cases where an entire pre-formed * query is being inserted. If false, the selection point will be placed at the end of the * inserted query. This is useful when the inserted query is text that the user entered, * and the user would expect to be able to keep typing. This parameter is only meaningful * if initialQuery is a non-empty string. * @param launchActivity The ComponentName of the activity that has launched this search. * @param appSearchData An application can insert application-specific * context here, in order to improve quality or specificity of its own * searches. This data will be returned with SEARCH intent(s). Null if * no extra data is required. * @param globalSearch If false, this will only launch the search that has been specifically * defined by the application (which is usually defined as a local search). If no default * search is defined in the current application or activity, global search will be launched. * If true, this will always launch a platform-global (e.g. web-based) search instead. * * @see android.app.Activity#onSearchRequested * @see #stopSearch */ public void startSearch(String initialQuery, boolean selectInitialQuery, ComponentName launchActivity, Bundle appSearchData, boolean globalSearch) { if (globalSearch) { startGlobalSearch(initialQuery, selectInitialQuery, appSearchData); return; } ensureSearchDialog(); mSearchDialog.show(initialQuery, selectInitialQuery, launchActivity, appSearchData); } private void ensureSearchDialog() { if (mSearchDialog == null) { mSearchDialog = new SearchDialog(mContext, this); mSearchDialog.setOnCancelListener(this); mSearchDialog.setOnDismissListener(this); } } /** * Starts the global search activity. */ /* package */ void startGlobalSearch(String initialQuery, boolean selectInitialQuery, Bundle appSearchData) { ComponentName globalSearchActivity = getGlobalSearchActivity(); if (globalSearchActivity == null) { Log.w(TAG, "No global search activity found."); return; } Intent intent = new Intent(INTENT_ACTION_GLOBAL_SEARCH); intent.addFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK); intent.setComponent(globalSearchActivity); // TODO: Always pass name of calling package as an extra? if (appSearchData != null) { intent.putExtra(APP_DATA, appSearchData); } if (!TextUtils.isEmpty(initialQuery)) { intent.putExtra(QUERY, initialQuery); } if (selectInitialQuery) { intent.putExtra(EXTRA_SELECT_QUERY, selectInitialQuery); } try { if (DBG) Log.d(TAG, "Starting global search: " + intent.toUri(0)); mContext.startActivity(intent); } catch (ActivityNotFoundException ex) { Log.e(TAG, "Global search activity not found: " + globalSearchActivity); } } /** * Gets the name of the global search activity. * * @hide */ public ComponentName getGlobalSearchActivity() { try { return mService.getGlobalSearchActivity(); } catch (RemoteException ex) { Log.e(TAG, "getGlobalSearchActivity() failed: " + ex); return null; } } /** * Gets the name of the web search activity. * * @return The name of the default activity for web searches. This activity * can be used to get web search suggestions. Returns {@code null} if * there is no default web search activity. * * @hide */ public ComponentName getWebSearchActivity() { try { return mService.getWebSearchActivity(); } catch (RemoteException ex) { Log.e(TAG, "getWebSearchActivity() failed: " + ex); return null; } } /** * Similar to {@link #startSearch} but actually fires off the search query after invoking * the search dialog. Made available for testing purposes. * * @param query The query to trigger. If empty, request will be ignored. * @param launchActivity The ComponentName of the activity that has launched this search. * @param appSearchData An application can insert application-specific * context here, in order to improve quality or specificity of its own * searches. This data will be returned with SEARCH intent(s). Null if * no extra data is required. * * @see #startSearch */ public void triggerSearch(String query, ComponentName launchActivity, Bundle appSearchData) { if (!mAssociatedPackage.equals(launchActivity.getPackageName())) { throw new IllegalArgumentException("invoking app search on a different package " + "not associated with this search manager"); } if (query == null || TextUtils.getTrimmedLength(query) == 0) { Log.w(TAG, "triggerSearch called with empty query, ignoring."); return; } startSearch(query, false, launchActivity, appSearchData, false); mSearchDialog.launchQuerySearch(); } /** * Terminate search UI. * *
Typically the user will terminate the search UI by launching a * search or by canceling. This function allows the underlying application * or activity to cancel the search prematurely (for any reason). * *
This function can be safely called at any time (even if no search is active.)
*
* @see #startSearch
*/
public void stopSearch() {
if (mSearchDialog != null) {
mSearchDialog.cancel();
}
}
/**
* Determine if the Search UI is currently displayed.
*
* This is provided primarily for application test purposes.
*
* @return Returns true if the search UI is currently displayed.
*
* @hide
*/
public boolean isVisible() {
return mSearchDialog == null? false : mSearchDialog.isShowing();
}
/**
* See {@link SearchManager#setOnDismissListener} for configuring your activity to monitor
* search UI state.
*/
public interface OnDismissListener {
/**
* This method will be called when the search UI is dismissed. To make use of it, you must
* implement this method in your activity, and call
* {@link SearchManager#setOnDismissListener} to register it.
*/
public void onDismiss();
}
/**
* See {@link SearchManager#setOnCancelListener} for configuring your activity to monitor
* search UI state.
*/
public interface OnCancelListener {
/**
* This method will be called when the search UI is canceled. To make use if it, you must
* implement this method in your activity, and call
* {@link SearchManager#setOnCancelListener} to register it.
*/
public void onCancel();
}
/**
* Set or clear the callback that will be invoked whenever the search UI is dismissed.
*
* @param listener The {@link OnDismissListener} to use, or null.
*/
public void setOnDismissListener(final OnDismissListener listener) {
mDismissListener = listener;
}
/**
* Set or clear the callback that will be invoked whenever the search UI is canceled.
*
* @param listener The {@link OnCancelListener} to use, or null.
*/
public void setOnCancelListener(OnCancelListener listener) {
mCancelListener = listener;
}
/**
* @deprecated This method is an obsolete internal implementation detail. Do not use.
*/
@Deprecated
public void onCancel(DialogInterface dialog) {
if (mCancelListener != null) {
mCancelListener.onCancel();
}
}
/**
* @deprecated This method is an obsolete internal implementation detail. Do not use.
*/
@Deprecated
public void onDismiss(DialogInterface dialog) {
if (mDismissListener != null) {
mDismissListener.onDismiss();
}
}
/**
* Gets information about a searchable activity.
*
* @param componentName The activity to get searchable information for.
* @return Searchable information, or null if the activity does not
* exist, or is not searchable.
*/
public SearchableInfo getSearchableInfo(ComponentName componentName) {
try {
return mService.getSearchableInfo(componentName);
} catch (RemoteException ex) {
Log.e(TAG, "getSearchableInfo() failed: " + ex);
return null;
}
}
/**
* Gets a cursor with search suggestions.
*
* @param searchable Information about how to get the suggestions.
* @param query The search text entered (so far).
* @return a cursor with suggestions, or null the suggestion query failed.
*
* @hide because SearchableInfo is not part of the API.
*/
public Cursor getSuggestions(SearchableInfo searchable, String query) {
return getSuggestions(searchable, query, -1);
}
/**
* Gets a cursor with search suggestions.
*
* @param searchable Information about how to get the suggestions.
* @param query The search text entered (so far).
* @param limit The query limit to pass to the suggestion provider. This is advisory,
* the returned cursor may contain more rows. Pass {@code -1} for no limit.
* @return a cursor with suggestions, or null the suggestion query failed.
*
* @hide because SearchableInfo is not part of the API.
*/
public Cursor getSuggestions(SearchableInfo searchable, String query, int limit) {
if (searchable == null) {
return null;
}
String authority = searchable.getSuggestAuthority();
if (authority == null) {
return null;
}
Uri.Builder uriBuilder = new Uri.Builder()
.scheme(ContentResolver.SCHEME_CONTENT)
.authority(authority)
.query("") // TODO: Remove, workaround for a bug in Uri.writeToParcel()
.fragment(""); // TODO: Remove, workaround for a bug in Uri.writeToParcel()
// if content path provided, insert it now
final String contentPath = searchable.getSuggestPath();
if (contentPath != null) {
uriBuilder.appendEncodedPath(contentPath);
}
// append standard suggestion query path
uriBuilder.appendPath(SearchManager.SUGGEST_URI_PATH_QUERY);
// get the query selection, may be null
String selection = searchable.getSuggestSelection();
// inject query, either as selection args or inline
String[] selArgs = null;
if (selection != null) { // use selection if provided
selArgs = new String[] { query };
} else { // no selection, use REST pattern
uriBuilder.appendPath(query);
}
if (limit > 0) {
uriBuilder.appendQueryParameter(SUGGEST_PARAMETER_LIMIT, String.valueOf(limit));
}
Uri uri = uriBuilder.build();
// finally, make the query
return mContext.getContentResolver().query(uri, null, selection, selArgs, null);
}
/**
* Returns a list of the searchable activities that can be included in global search.
*
* @return a list containing searchable information for all searchable activities
* that have the android:includeInGlobalSearch attribute set
* in their searchable meta-data.
*/
public List