Hello, i have an query regarding registForActivityResult, when to get the URI for the file selected

# android

[Deepak Gahlot]

Hello, i have an query regarding registForActivityResult, when to get the URI for the file selected

[Deepak Gahlot]

val registerTakeFile = registerForActivityResult(
    ActivityResultContracts.OpenDocument()
) { uri ->
    File(uri.path)
    if (uri != null) {
        var file = File(uri.path!!).name
        fileNames.value = file
    } else {
        fileNames.value = ""
    }
}

[Deepak Gahlot]

The path that i'm getting is something like /document/msf:27

[Deepak Gahlot]

how to i get the real path from the URI, is there something that i'm missing here

[Ian Lake]

You do not get access to the file at all, just the Uri. Use the ContentResolver methods like openInputStream to access the file contents from the Uri

[Deepak Gahlot]

I was using it in Composable Method. How do i get the ContentResolver instance in a composable function

[Ian Lake]

LocalContext.current.contentResolver

[ephemient]

add Intent.CATEGORY_OPENABLE to request only URIs that can be read with ContentResolver.openFileDescriptor() and support ContentResolver.query(arrayOf(OpenableColumns.DISPLAY_NAME, OpenableColumns.SIZE)) to retrieve more info

[Ian Lake]

Note that ActivityResultContracts.GetContent and GetMultipleContents already add CATEGORY_OPENABLE for you, as per the docs

[Deepak Gahlot]

@Ian Lake I was able to get the size of the file, But how do i get the path and other details of the file

[Deepak Gahlot]

val registerTakeFile = registerForActivityResult(
    ActivityResultContracts.OpenDocument()
) { uri ->
    File(uri.path)
    if (uri != null) {
        var inputStream: InputStream? = null
        val fileReader = ByteArray(4096)
        var fileSizeDownloaded: Long = 0
        inputStream = context.contentResolver.openInputStream(uri)
        while (true) {
            val read = inputStream!!.read(fileReader)
            if (read == -1) {
                break
            }
            fileSizeDownloaded += read
        }
     }
}

[Ian Lake]

There is no path; there is no access to the file

[Ian Lake]

The Uri could be pointing to a file on a cloud server or Google Drive

[Deepak Gahlot]

So if i want to get the Path of a file in the device storage, there is no way to that.

[Ian Lake]

You don't have access to the file even if you did have a path

[Ian Lake]

Particularly on later versions of Android

[Deepak Gahlot]

okay

[Deepak Gahlot]

I guess then i need to file a way around in building this functionality. I have to send the file, path and some other details for any particular file that user selects from the device FileExplorer to an post api

[Deepak Gahlot]

because i remember we were able to do this before the changes in the storage access framework.

[Ian Lake]

Using a File has always been the wrong abstraction for any library. InputStream or FileDescriptor was what any library should have used as input

[Deepak Gahlot]

Okay thank your help. 🙏