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Android suggests only inappropriate apps to open file

basicbro

Lurker
Dec 14, 2017
1
0
Moto X Play
Android 7.1.1

Hello,

I recently received an email with photo attachments named "[setname]_[timestamp].JPG" (file extension in capital letters). I downloaded them in my email app. I had a notification on my android header panel thing that I slide down showing the download progress. When it was done, I clicked the file and Android asked me what app I wanted to open it with.

Normally it suggests QuickPic, with the option to use it "Just Once" or "Always", where I choose the first option because that's how I roll, and various other apps listed below (all my image/video apps plus a few others).

But with this file my only options for applications to use to open the file are 1. my file manager's built-in note editor, 2. a pdf/document viewer, 3. an office suite app, and 4. three password manager apps I'm evaluating. None of these apps can open images.

I've opened .jpg, .JPG, .jpeg, .gif, and a variety of other image files directly after downloading from my email app before, including other .JPGs from other emails and a .jpg file attached to the same email. I can also open the .JPG file in question just fine by browsing to it through QuickPic or opening it from my file manager (using QuickPic or other image apps).

Why is this file different? How can I get Android to make valid suggestions for apps to open it with?

In windows you always get the option to open an unassociated MIME type with "other" app beyond the suggested ones by browsing to and selecting the program's .exe. Android limits to these 6 very stupid suggestions. And everything I googled about changing file associations talks about clearing file types for the currently associated app (none seem to exist, and if it did I wouldn't want to clear all associations for that app, just .JPG), doing it through settings (default apps only available for default browser, default phone and sms, default home app, etc), or doing it through a 3rd party file manager (and the instructions I could find for my file manager are only for a previous version.)

This is frustrating and seems like a really stupid oversight in the file handling and user configurability of Android. But most likely there's a reason and/or solution. I'd appreciate some clarification. Thanks!
 
The way android works is not that the OS chooses which apps can handle an action. Rather the apps indicate which actions they can handle (called "intents"), and when you trigger such an action (by e.g. opening a file or link) the system will look at the list of apps that have said they can handle it and either uses the default app (if there is only one, or if you have told it to always use a particular app) or asks you which you want to use.

So it's offering "inappropriate" apps because they have said they can handle this (if they are wrong that is the developer's fault). The real question is why is your download manager thinking this file is a PDF rather than a jpeg (because that's what it sounds like is happening)?
 
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