url_launcher 6.0.17 url_launcher: ^6.0.17 copied to clipboard
Flutter plugin for launching a URL. Supports web, phone, SMS, and email schemes.
url_launcher #
A Flutter plugin for launching a URL. Supports iOS, Android, web, Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Usage #
To use this plugin, add url_launcher
as a dependency in your pubspec.yaml file.
Example #
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:url_launcher/url_launcher.dart';
const String _url = 'https://flutter.dev';
void main() => runApp(
const MaterialApp(
home: Material(
child: Center(
child: RaisedButton(
onPressed: _launchURL,
child: Text('Show Flutter homepage'),
),
),
),
),
);
void _launchURL() async {
if (!await launch(_url)) throw 'Could not launch $_url';
}
See the example app for more complex examples.
Configuration #
iOS #
Add any URL schemes passed to canLaunch
as LSApplicationQueriesSchemes
entries in your Info.plist file.
Example:
<key>LSApplicationQueriesSchemes</key>
<array>
<string>https</string>
<string>http</string>
</array>
See -[UIApplication canOpenURL:]
for more details.
Android #
Starting from API 30 Android requires package visibility configuration in your
AndroidManifest.xml
otherwise canLaunch
will return false
. A <queries>
element must be added to your manifest as a child of the root element.
The snippet below shows an example for an application that uses https
, tel
,
and mailto
URLs with url_launcher
. See
the Android documentation
for examples of other queries.
<queries>
<!-- If your app opens https URLs -->
<intent>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW" />
<data android:scheme="https" />
</intent>
<!-- If your app makes calls -->
<intent>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.DIAL" />
<data android:scheme="tel" />
</intent>
<!-- If your sends SMS messages -->
<intent>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.SENDTO" />
<data android:scheme="smsto" />
</intent>
<!-- If your app sends emails -->
<intent>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.SEND" />
<data android:mimeType="*/*" />
</intent>
</queries>
Supported URL schemes #
The launch
method
takes a string argument containing a URL. This URL
can be formatted using a number of different URL schemes. The supported
URL schemes depend on the underlying platform and installed apps.
Common schemes supported by both iOS and Android:
Scheme | Action |
---|---|
http:<URL> , https:<URL> , e.g. http://flutter.dev |
Open URL in the default browser |
mailto:<email address>?subject=<subject>&body=<body> , e.g. mailto:smith@example.org?subject=News&body=New%20plugin |
Create email to |
tel:<phone number> , e.g. tel:+1 555 010 999 |
Make a phone call to |
sms:<phone number> , e.g. sms:5550101234 |
Send an SMS message to |
More details can be found here for iOS and Android
Note: URL schemes are only supported if there are apps installed on the device that can
support them. For example, iOS simulators don't have a default email or phone
apps installed, so can't open tel:
or mailto:
links.
Encoding URLs #
URLs must be properly encoded, especially when including spaces or other special
characters. This can be done using the
Uri
class.
For example:
String? encodeQueryParameters(Map<String, String> params) {
return params.entries
.map((e) => '${Uri.encodeComponent(e.key)}=${Uri.encodeComponent(e.value)}')
.join('&');
}
final Uri emailLaunchUri = Uri(
scheme: 'mailto',
path: 'smith@example.com',
query: encodeQueryParameters(<String, String>{
'subject': 'Example Subject & Symbols are allowed!'
}),
);
launch(emailLaunchUri.toString());
Warning: For any scheme other than http
or https
, you should use the
query
parameter and the encodeQueryParameters
function shown above rather
than Uri
's queryParameters
constructor argument, due to
a bug in the way Uri
encodes query parameters. Using queryParameters
will result in spaces being
converted to +
in many cases.
Handling missing URL receivers #
A particular mobile device may not be able to receive all supported URL schemes.
For example, a tablet may not have a cellular radio and thus no support for
launching a URL using the sms
scheme, or a device may not have an email app
and thus no support for launching a URL using the mailto
scheme.
We recommend checking which URL schemes are supported using the
canLaunch
in most cases. If the canLaunch
method returns false, as a
best practice we suggest adjusting the application UI so that the unsupported
URL is never triggered; for example, if the mailto
scheme is not supported, a
UI button that would have sent feedback email could be changed to instead open
a web-based feedback form using an https
URL.
Browser vs In-app Handling #
By default, Android opens up a browser when handling URLs. You can pass
forceWebView: true
parameter to tell the plugin to open a WebView instead.
If you do this for a URL of a page containing JavaScript, make sure to pass in
enableJavaScript: true
, or else the launch method will not work properly. On
iOS, the default behavior is to open all web URLs within the app. Everything
else is redirected to the app handler.