2024-01-18 17:54:23 +01:00
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# Android Floating WebView
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2024-01-18 18:14:12 +01:00
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A simple app, that I quickly arranged,
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for an effective way of having a WebView as a constant visual overlay on my screen,
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but that still allows touches to be directed to any other app running below it.
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2024-01-18 17:54:23 +01:00
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2024-01-18 18:14:12 +01:00
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The UX isn't the best and functionality is not optimized,
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since I only made this quick and dirty for just my specific use; that is,
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putting animations on the screen of my old smartphone that I'm upcycling into a PC touchpad,
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thanks to KDE connect (which I couldn't manage to modify for putting a WebView).
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I will probably not improve it. See <https://octospacc.altervista.org/2024/01/17/overlay-webview-su-android-a-scopi-ricreativi/>.
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2024-01-18 17:54:23 +01:00
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2024-01-18 18:14:12 +01:00
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Most of the code is taken from <https://github.com/mjlong123123/TestFloaWindow/>,
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so proper credits go to them, I just did the following things:
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2024-01-18 17:54:23 +01:00
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* Made the app overlay contain just a WebView, loading a file from private external storage.
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* Removed test code and disabled complex window overlay code.
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* The floating overlay is made visible but not touchable, and also not movable or resizable.
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* Added an ongoing notification for terminating the service.
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## Download and Usage
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2024-01-18 18:14:12 +01:00
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1. After [installing AndroidFloatingWebView.apk](dist/AndroidFloatingWebView.apk),
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start the app a first time, grant overlay permissions, then close it.
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2024-01-18 17:54:23 +01:00
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2024-01-18 18:14:12 +01:00
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2. Now, prepare an `index.html` file in the application's private external storage directory
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(which also appears on the screen if you reopen the app before this file is present);
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it usually (but not always) is `/sdcard/Android/org.eu.octt.androidfloatingwebview/files/`.
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Optionally, add any other files that you want to require from your HTML.
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2024-01-18 17:54:23 +01:00
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2024-01-18 18:14:12 +01:00
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3. Now, restarting the app will make a WebView appear on your screen,
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totally functioning except for the fact that you can't touch it;
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all of your touches will go to whatever app was running before.
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4. To close this visual overlay, open your notification drawer and
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click on the service notification ("AndroidFloatingWebView: Click to terminate service").
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You can put anything you want in the `index.html`,
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as long as your system's default WebView implementation can interpret it.
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You can either put an HTML5 application that will work offline, a document,
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or put code that redirects the browser to any website.
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Just keep in mind that you can only see, not touch.
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