Launch URLs Seamlessly with Flutter's url_launcher Plugin

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Launch URLs Seamlessly with Flutter's url_launcher Plugin

The url_launcher plugin for Flutter empowers developers to effortlessly launch URLs from their applications. With comprehensive support across various platforms, this plugin makes it a breeze to open web pages, send emails, initiate phone calls, or perform other URL-based actions.

Installation and Usage

To incorporate the url_launcher plugin into your Flutter project, add the following dependency to your pubspec.yaml file:

dependencies:
  url_launcher: ^6.1.0

Once the plugin is installed, you can start launching URLs with just a few lines of code:

import 'package:url_launcher/url_launcher.dart';

Future launchUrl(String url) async {
  if (await canLaunchUrl(Uri.parse(url))) {
    await launchUrl(Uri.parse(url));
  } else {
    throw 'Could not launch $url';
  }
}

Supported URL Schemes

The supported URL schemes vary depending on the platform and installed applications. Some commonly used schemes include:

  • https://: Opens a web page in the default browser
  • mailto:: Creates an email in the default email app
  • tel:: Initiates a phone call using the default phone app
  • sms:: Sends an SMS message using the default messaging app
  • file:: Opens a file or folder using the default app association (supported on desktop platforms)

Handling Unsupported URLs

If you need to determine whether a specific URL scheme is supported before launching it, you can use the canLaunchUrl function:

if (await canLaunchUrl(Uri.parse(url))) {
  // URL scheme is supported
} else {
  // URL scheme is not supported
}

Customizing Launch Behavior

On some platforms, web URLs can be launched either in an in-app web view or in the default browser. The launchUrl function provides a LaunchMode parameter to specify the desired behavior:

await launchUrl(Uri.parse(url), mode: LaunchMode.inAppWebView);

Additional Notes

  • For non-http or https schemes, use encodeQueryParameters to properly encode query parameters, as shown below:
String encodeQueryParameters(Map params) {
  return params.entries.map((MapEntry e) => '${e.key}=${e.value}').join('&');
}

// ...

final Uri emailLaunchUri = Uri(
  scheme: 'mailto',
  path: '[email protected]',
  query: encodeQueryParameters({
    'subject': 'Example Subject & Symbols are allowed!',
  }),
);

launchUrl(emailLaunchUri);
  • For SMS encoding, use the following approach:
final Uri smsLaunchUri = Uri(
  scheme: 'sms',
  path: '0118 999 881 999 119 7253',
  queryParameters: {
    'body': Uri.encodeComponent('Example Subject & Symbols are allowed!'),
  },
);
  • If you need to launch URLs that cannot be expressed by Uri, use the alternate APIs provided by importing url_launcher_string.dart, but only as a last resort.
  • On macOS, ensure you have the necessary entitlements to access files outside your application's sandbox.

By leveraging the url_launcher plugin, you can seamlessly launch URLs from your Flutter applications, enhancing user interactions and broadening your app's functionality.

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