How To Create Flashlight App Android

Today i am going to demonstrate developing a simple android application. This application is about turning on and off device flashlight / torchlight with simple touch. Please note that this app is targeted to mobile devices only, i am not sure how this app looks in tablet devices.

android developing torchlight application

Designing the application

This app contains not too complex design. You can design the application using graphic editor software like photoshop. Please find the PSD of the app in the source code folder of this tutorial. I am not covering the steps involved in designing the application as it is not the part of the tutorial.

Thanks to Keith Sereby for providing beautiful switch image. Check out his profile on dribble and twitter

Following is the screenshot of the app which we are going to develop in this tutorial.

android flashlight app tutorial

Resize and save each switch image in multiple dimensions for both on and off states. See the following image for your reference

android flashlight switch dimensions

Once you are done with designing part you can move to coding part by starting a new project.

Creating new project

1. Create a new project in Eclipse IDE by going to File ⇒ New ⇒ Android Application Project . I named my package as com.androidhive.flashlight and main activity as MainActivity.java

2. Open your AndroidManifest.xml file and add required permissions. I also disabled landscape mode in manifest file by using android:screenOrientation="portrait" property.

android.permission.CAMERA – required to access the camera device
android.hardware.camera – required to access camera hardware features

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"     package="com.androidhive.flashlight"     android:versionCode="1"     android:versionName="1.0" >      <uses-sdk         android:minSdkVersion="8"         android:targetSdkVersion="17" />          <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.CAMERA" />     <uses-feature android:name="android.hardware.camera" />      <application         android:allowBackup="true"         android:icon="@drawable/ic_launcher"         android:label="@string/app_name"         android:theme="@style/AppTheme" >         <activity             android:name="com.androidhive.flashlight.MainActivity"             android:label="@string/app_name"              android:screenOrientation="portrait">             <intent-filter>                 <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />                  <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />             </intent-filter>         </activity>     </application>  </manifest>

3. Place all the switch image files under drawable-hdpi, drawable-mdpi, drawable-ldpi folders. I named switch image files as btn_switch_off.png and btn_switch_on.png

4. Create a new xml file named radial_background.xml under res ⇒ drwable-hdpi folder and paste the following code. This file is used to create radial gradient background for the app.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <shape xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">     <gradient             android:type="radial"             android:startColor="#343030"             android:endColor="#151515"             android:gradientRadius="300"             android:angle="270"             android:centerY="0.3"/> </shape>

5. Now open activity_main.xml file located under res ⇒ layout folder and type the following code. This layout file acts as main screen of the application.

In the following code first we applied a gradient background using radial_background.xml file which we created earlier. After that we placed an Image button with the switch image.

<RelativeLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"     xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"     android:layout_width="match_parent"     android:layout_height="match_parent"     android:background="@drawable/radial_background"     tools:context=".MainActivity" >      <ImageButton         android:id="@+id/btnSwitch"         android:layout_width="wrap_content"         android:layout_height="wrap_content"         android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"         android:layout_marginTop="100dip"         android:src="@drawable/btn_switch_on"         android:background="@null"         android:contentDescription="@null"          />    </RelativeLayout>

6. Open your MainActivity.java file and do the following changes. Here we just declared required variables.

package com.androidhive.flashlight;  import android.app.Activity; import android.app.AlertDialog; import android.content.DialogInterface; import android.content.pm.PackageManager; import android.hardware.Camera; import android.hardware.Camera.Parameters; import android.media.MediaPlayer; import android.media.MediaPlayer.OnCompletionListener; import android.os.Bundle; import android.util.Log; import android.view.View; import android.widget.ImageButton;  public class MainActivity extends Activity {  	ImageButton btnSwitch;  	private Camera camera; 	private boolean isFlashOn; 	private boolean hasFlash; 	Parameters params; 	MediaPlayer mp;  	@Override 	protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) { 		super.onCreate(savedInstanceState); 		setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);  		// flash switch button 		btnSwitch = (ImageButton) findViewById(R.id.btnSwitch);  }

Detecting whether device supporting flashlight or not

The important step is to notify user if the device doesn't support flashlight by showing an alert message or some other means, then we'll simply close the application.

7. Open MainActivity.java and add the following code. In the following code we are checking availability of the flashlight and if the device doesn't support it, we'll show alert dialog and close the application by calling finish().

          /* 		 * First check if device is supporting flashlight or not 		 */ 		hasFlash = getApplicationContext().getPackageManager() 				.hasSystemFeature(PackageManager.FEATURE_CAMERA_FLASH);  		if (!hasFlash) { 			// device doesn't support flash 			// Show alert message and close the application 			AlertDialog alert = new AlertDialog.Builder(MainActivity.this) 					.create(); 			alert.setTitle("Error"); 			alert.setMessage("Sorry, your device doesn't support flash light!"); 			alert.setButton("OK", new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() { 				public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which) { 					// closing the application 					finish(); 				} 			}); 			alert.show(); 			return; 		}

android flashlight no flash support

Turning on Flashlight

8. Turning on flashlight can be done by setting camera flash mode to FLASH_MODE_TORCH. The following two functions getCamera() and turnOnFlash() will do that for us. Add these functions to your MainActivity.java file

          // getting camera parameters 	private void getCamera() { 		if (camera == null) { 			try { 				camera = Camera.open(); 				params = camera.getParameters(); 			} catch (RuntimeException e) { 				Log.e("Camera Error. Failed to Open. Error: ", e.getMessage()); 			} 		} 	}  	 /* 	 * Turning On flash 	 */ 	private void turnOnFlash() { 		if (!isFlashOn) { 			if (camera == null || params == null) { 				return; 			} 			// play sound 			playSound(); 			 			params = camera.getParameters(); 			params.setFlashMode(Parameters.FLASH_MODE_TORCH); 			camera.setParameters(params); 			camera.startPreview(); 			isFlashOn = true; 			 			// changing button/switch image 			toggleButtonImage(); 		}  	}

Turning off Flashlight

9. Flashlight can be turned off by setting flash mode to FLASH_MODE_OFF.

          /* 	 * Turning Off flash 	 */ 	private void turnOffFlash() { 		if (isFlashOn) { 			if (camera == null || params == null) { 				return; 			} 			// play sound 			playSound(); 			 			params = camera.getParameters(); 			params.setFlashMode(Parameters.FLASH_MODE_OFF); 			camera.setParameters(params); 			camera.stopPreview(); 			isFlashOn = false; 			 			// changing button/switch image 			toggleButtonImage(); 		} 	}

Finally call these functions in button click event

          /* 		 * Switch click event to toggle flash on/off 		 */ 		btnSwitch.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {  			@Override 			public void onClick(View v) { 				if (isFlashOn) { 					// turn off flash 					turnOffFlash(); 				} else { 					// turn on flash 					turnOnFlash(); 				} 			} 		});

Toggle switch images on flashlight on / off

10. When user touches the switch we need to toggle the switch image to on and off state just to indicate flashlight status. toggleButtonImage() has been called in turnOnFlash() and turnOffFlash() functions.

          /* 	 * Toggle switch button images 	 * changing image states to on / off 	 * */ 	private void toggleButtonImage(){ 		if(isFlashOn){ 			btnSwitch.setImageResource(R.drawable.btn_switch_on); 		}else{ 			btnSwitch.setImageResource(R.drawable.btn_switch_off); 		} 	}

Playing switch sound

If you are done with all the previous steps, your app will work perfectly. Here we can add an enhancement to our app by playing switch sound when user touches the switch. I downloaded two sound files from free sound libraries for switch on / switch off states and named them as light_switch_on.mp3 and light_switch_off.mp3

11. Under res folder create a new folder called raw and place these sound files in it. (res ⇒ raw ⇒ light_switch_on.mp3, light_switch_off.mp3)

12. Add the following function playSound() to your MainActivity.java file.

This function has been called in turnOnFlash() and turnOffFlash() functions.

          /* 	 * Playing sound 	 * will play button toggle sound on flash on / off 	 * */ 	private void playSound(){ 		if(isFlashOn){ 			mp = MediaPlayer.create(MainActivity.this, R.raw.light_switch_off); 		}else{ 			mp = MediaPlayer.create(MainActivity.this, R.raw.light_switch_on); 		} 		mp.setOnCompletionListener(new OnCompletionListener() {              @Override             public void onCompletion(MediaPlayer mp) {                 // TODO Auto-generated method stub                 mp.release();             }         });  		mp.start(); 	}

13. Importantly don't forgot to release the camera once our app entered into background state as other apps might need to access camera. Add following code to your MainActivity.java file.

In onPause() method we turned off the flashlight as app entered in background state
In onResume() method we turned on the flashlight back again
In onStop() method we released the camera by calling camera.release() method.

          @Override 	protected void onDestroy() { 		super.onDestroy(); 	}  	@Override 	protected void onPause() { 		super.onPause(); 		 		// on pause turn off the flash 		turnOffFlash(); 	}  	@Override 	protected void onRestart() { 		super.onRestart(); 	}  	@Override 	protected void onResume() { 		super.onResume(); 		 		// on resume turn on the flash 		if(hasFlash) 			turnOnFlash(); 	}  	@Override 	protected void onStart() { 		super.onStart(); 		 		// on starting the app get the camera params 		getCamera(); 	}  	@Override 	protected void onStop() { 		super.onStop(); 		 		// on stop release the camera 		if (camera != null) { 			camera.release(); 			camera = null; 		} 	}

Setting the app icon

Finally design an icon for the app and place the image in drawable-hdpi (72 x 72 px), drawable-mdpi (48 x 48 px) and drawable-ldpi (36 x 36 px) folders.

Final Code

Final code of MainActivity.java is as follows

package com.androidhive.flashlight;  import android.app.Activity; import android.app.AlertDialog; import android.content.DialogInterface; import android.content.pm.PackageManager; import android.hardware.Camera; import android.hardware.Camera.Parameters; import android.media.MediaPlayer; import android.media.MediaPlayer.OnCompletionListener; import android.os.Bundle; import android.util.Log; import android.view.View; import android.widget.ImageButton;  public class MainActivity extends Activity {  	ImageButton btnSwitch;  	private Camera camera; 	private boolean isFlashOn; 	private boolean hasFlash; 	Parameters params; 	MediaPlayer mp;  	@Override 	protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) { 		super.onCreate(savedInstanceState); 		setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);  		// flash switch button 		btnSwitch = (ImageButton) findViewById(R.id.btnSwitch);  	 		// First check if device is supporting flashlight or not		 		hasFlash = getApplicationContext().getPackageManager() 				.hasSystemFeature(PackageManager.FEATURE_CAMERA_FLASH);  		if (!hasFlash) { 			// device doesn't support flash 			// Show alert message and close the application 			AlertDialog alert = new AlertDialog.Builder(MainActivity.this) 					.create(); 			alert.setTitle("Error"); 			alert.setMessage("Sorry, your device doesn't support flash light!"); 			alert.setButton("OK", new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() { 				public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which) { 					// closing the application 					finish(); 				} 			}); 			alert.show(); 			return; 		}  		// get the camera 		getCamera(); 		 		// displaying button image 		toggleButtonImage(); 		 		 		// Switch button click event to toggle flash on/off 		btnSwitch.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {  			@Override 			public void onClick(View v) { 				if (isFlashOn) { 					// turn off flash 					turnOffFlash(); 				} else { 					// turn on flash 					turnOnFlash(); 				} 			} 		}); 	}  	 	// Get the camera 	private void getCamera() { 		if (camera == null) { 			try { 				camera = Camera.open(); 				params = camera.getParameters(); 			} catch (RuntimeException e) { 				Log.e("Camera Error. Failed to Open. Error: ", e.getMessage()); 			} 		} 	}  	 	 // Turning On flash 	private void turnOnFlash() { 		if (!isFlashOn) { 			if (camera == null || params == null) { 				return; 			} 			// play sound 			playSound(); 			 			params = camera.getParameters(); 			params.setFlashMode(Parameters.FLASH_MODE_TORCH); 			camera.setParameters(params); 			camera.startPreview(); 			isFlashOn = true; 			 			// changing button/switch image 			toggleButtonImage(); 		}  	}   	// Turning Off flash 	private void turnOffFlash() { 		if (isFlashOn) { 			if (camera == null || params == null) { 				return; 			} 			// play sound 			playSound(); 			 			params = camera.getParameters(); 			params.setFlashMode(Parameters.FLASH_MODE_OFF); 			camera.setParameters(params); 			camera.stopPreview(); 			isFlashOn = false; 			 			// changing button/switch image 			toggleButtonImage(); 		} 	} 	  	 // Playing sound 	 // will play button toggle sound on flash on / off 	private void playSound(){ 		if(isFlashOn){ 			mp = MediaPlayer.create(MainActivity.this, R.raw.light_switch_off); 		}else{ 			mp = MediaPlayer.create(MainActivity.this, R.raw.light_switch_on); 		} 		mp.setOnCompletionListener(new OnCompletionListener() {              @Override             public void onCompletion(MediaPlayer mp) {                 // TODO Auto-generated method stub                 mp.release();             }         });  		mp.start(); 	} 	 	/* 	 * Toggle switch button images 	 * changing image states to on / off 	 * */ 	private void toggleButtonImage(){ 		if(isFlashOn){ 			btnSwitch.setImageResource(R.drawable.btn_switch_on); 		}else{ 			btnSwitch.setImageResource(R.drawable.btn_switch_off); 		} 	}  	@Override 	protected void onDestroy() { 		super.onDestroy(); 	}  	@Override 	protected void onPause() { 		super.onPause(); 		 		// on pause turn off the flash 		turnOffFlash(); 	}  	@Override 	protected void onRestart() { 		super.onRestart(); 	}  	@Override 	protected void onResume() { 		super.onResume(); 		 		// on resume turn on the flash 		if(hasFlash) 			turnOnFlash(); 	}  	@Override 	protected void onStart() { 		super.onStart(); 		 		// on starting the app get the camera params 		getCamera(); 	}  	@Override 	protected void onStop() { 		super.onStop(); 		 		// on stop release the camera 		if (camera != null) { 			camera.release(); 			camera = null; 		} 	}  }

Hi there! I am Founder at androidhive and programming enthusiast. My skills includes Android, iOS, PHP, Ruby on Rails and lot more. If you have any idea that you would want me to develop? Let's talk: [email protected]