无法打开从URL下载到Android模拟器上的doc或docx文件

Question

I'm looking to securely download or view PDF and android files within an app from a URL. I'm successfully able to download and open PDF files by using the DownloadManager or opening an intent with a URI as the argument. The same code will download a doc or docx file, but when I try to open the doc \\ docx file on the android emulator (directly from downloads), I get "can't open file".

This is the code that opens an intent and downloads the docx \\ doc file:

public void openWebPage(String url) {
    Uri webpage = Uri.parse(url);
    Intent intent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW, webpage);

    if (intent.resolveActivity(getPackageManager()) != null) {
        startActivity(intent);
    }
}

Do you know why I am unable to open these doc \\ docx files?

Answer 1

Do you have an app that can display *.doc / *.docx files? If so, there might be a problem similar to what CommonsWare pointed out in his comment, or with the proper registration of the app so that it "reacts" properly to your intent.

If you don't have an app on your emulator to display this kind of file, this means there is no application registered for your particular intent, which in turn means that it fails, eg says "can't open file".

This is the normal and expected behaviour in case no app is registered for opening this type of file.

If you do have an app to open Microsoft Word documents, maybe try to reinstall it, which might fix any problems you might have.

So, in the end it comes down to installing / reinstalling an app to view *.doc / *.docx files. There are countless viewers for Microsoft Windows documents in the app store. So if you are able to access the Play Store from within your emulator, go ahead :)

If this still doesn't fix your error, try to further explain your issue, eg which app you used and at which point exactly it fails. As far as I can tell, your intent is fine, you just don't have an app to display whatever kind of document you want to open.