Android: open activity without save into the stack

Question

I have 2 activities: Main and List.

From Main you can open List; from List you can open Main.

I'd like it so that every opening of List does not get saved into the 'history'. So, pressing back from Main cannot return to List.

Is it possible?

Solution 1

When starting your list's Activity, set its Intent flags like so:

Intent i = new Intent(...); // Your list's Intent
i.setFlags(i.getFlags() | Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NO_HISTORY); // Adds the FLAG_ACTIVITY_NO_HISTORY flag
startActivity(i);

The FLAG_ACTIVITY_NO_HISTORY flag keeps the new Activity from being added to the history stack.

NB: As @Sam points out, you can use i.addFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NO_HISTORY); instead. There is no functional difference.

Solution 2

In the manifest file add:

android:noHistory="true" 

to the activity that you don't want to keep on the stack.

Solution 3

Use the new task with clearing. This worked in my case when the other options didnt.

intent.setFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK | Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_CLEAR_TASK);

Clear the entire history stack and start a new activity on Android

Solution 4

It seems, if you call finish() on your activity right after you have opened another, the one that is finished is removed from the stack.

for example:

Intent intent = new Intent(this, NextActivity.class);
startActivity(intent);
finish();

Solution 5

In my particular case FLAG_ACTIVITY_NO_HISTORY did not work. Neither did FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK or FLAG_ACTIVITY_CLEAR_TASK alone by themselves work.

However FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK and FLAG_ACTIVITY_CLEAR_TASK together did work.

Intent intent = new Intent(FooActivity.this, MainActivity.class);
intent.addFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK | Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_CLEAR_TASK);
startActivity(intent);

View more solutions

Comments

[VinceFR]

Just a little comment on this method:this one will work perfectly if there is only 2 Activity. But if the list Activity is able to launch another Activity( let say third Activity), a press to the back button in the third Activity will return to the main Activity and not the list Activity

[Cat]

Indeed. Unfortunately, there is no way to avoid that. There is no Intent flag which states "only adds to history if not returning to the Activity of origin".

[VinceFR]

no but the FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK flag will do the job, list Activity will be added to the history but always at the top, so a back press from main Activity will not display the list Activity

[Squonk]

Don't do this. It is acceptable to intercept BACK for specific purposes but to do it purely to consume the BACK press silently and preventing termination of an Activity is not good practice.

[Cat]

@VinceFR I don't think that's right. It starts a new task (set of Activitys) that operate independently of the previous Activity. So, if you started the main Activity from within this new task, it would also count as part of that new task. If FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK was instead applied to the main Activity, that may solve the issue.

[Broak]

Agree entirely ^ just an option.

[Sam]

Is there any particular reason you used setFlags() with getFlags() instead of Intent.addFlags()?

[Cat]

@Sam Habit, probably. That's just how I'm used to doing bit flags. Good catch.

[realtebo]

@VinceFR it's exactly what I want ! a -> b -> c and return directly to c-

[realtebo]

is thre any difference from starting activity with flag no_history?

[Marcin S.]

Like you said in your question "every opening of list DOES NOT be saved into 'history'" Therefore whenever you open your application again that will bring you to the main activity

[Ajit Kumar Dubey]

@MarcinS. when app is not in recent app list it is not working. Can you please explain about it why this is happening

[Fred]

There is OnBackPressed for that.

[Nolan]

If your phone is no so fast you'll see as previous activity is moving off.

[Henrik Bøgelund Lavstsen]

@Nolan that is only if you finish before you start activity

[androidguy]

This would be great, but is there a way to stop the system's sweeping "changing task" animation? Adding FLAG_ACTIVITY_NO_ANIMATION doesn't prevent it, unfortunately!

[pumbosha]

So what is the difference between those 2 approaches (manifest and flag) ?

[NRR]

Add the following empty method to your next activity to prevent exiting the app on clicking back button: @Override public void onBackPressed() { }

[AdamHurwitz]

Unfortunately the FLAG_ACTIVITY_NO_HISTORY did not work for me. In my example I launch an intent with the above flag, then when clicking to go back the app previously launched with the intent is still in the back stack.

[John Crawford]

@pumbosha Manifest approach will always leave the activity out of the history. The flag approach lets you control that behavior at runtime.

[ghita]

I have a crash with no log when I add this and then ask for some permissions in that activity (Kotlin)

[Acauã Pitta]

this impacts on the application speed?

[4ndro1d]

More of a Kotlin way: Intent(this, MainActivity::class.java).apply { addFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK or Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_CLEAR_TASK) }.also { startActivity(it) }

[Daveloper]

Not the answer to this question, but exactly what I was looking for!

[user2297550]

this is the best answer!! c'mon accept it instead!

[user2297550]

please see the answer that says to finish() current activity after starting the next one!