Cordova-Open Plugin

Description

Plugin used to open files using a native application on a mobile device.

Discussion

The Cordova genie now exposes the Cordova-Open plugin. This plugin allows you to open files using their associated native application. For example, if you open a file with a .pdf extension the plugin will open the file using the native PDF application on the device. If you open a file with a .mov extension, the plugin will open the file using the native video player on the device.

The Cordova Open plugin is selected in the Cordova genie as shown in the image below.

There are many use cases for the Cordova-Open plugin, but PDF files is perhaps the most compelling use case. Displaying PDF files in a mobile application can be tricky because the browsers on mobile devices do not have built-in PDF viewers as is typical with desktop browsers.

Another great use case for this plugin is a mobile app that downloads multiple files (pdf, video, audio, excel, word, etc.) and then stores these files in the filesystem on the device so that they can be viewer later when the device is no longer connected to the internet. For more information on techniques for downloading files to a mobile device, see Downloading Files to a Mobile Device.

A new action in Action Javascript (PhoneGap - Open File with Native Application) makes it easy to use the Cordova-Open plugin in mobile applications.

The image below shows how a PDF file appears in the Native PDF viewer on an iPhone (in this case the PDF file was created by generating a report and saving the report output to a PDF file). Notice the Done button that will return you to the app when you close the Native Viewer.

Limitations

PhoneGap Applications Only