Launching Gmail app from button press using URL launcher

Other Questions Gmail
1

Hey folks, I’m trying to get my Flutter app to open the Gmail app when a button is tapped. Right now, I’m using the URL launcher, but it’s not working as expected. Here’s what I’ve got:

ElevatedButton(
  child: Text('Check Email'),
  onPressed: () async {
    const emailUrl = 'mailto:';
    if (await canLaunch(emailUrl)) {
      await launch(emailUrl);
    } else {
      print('Could not launch $emailUrl');
    }
  },
),

The problem is, when I tap the button, it opens Gmail in the web browser instead of the actual app. Any ideas on how to fix this? I’m pretty new to Flutter, so I might be missing something obvious. Thanks in advance for any help!

2

I encountered a similar challenge in my recent project. The solution lies in using the ‘intent:’ scheme for Android devices. Here’s what worked for me:

const String emailUrl = 'intent://compose/#Intent;scheme=googlegmail;package=com.google.android.gm;end';

if (await canLaunch(emailUrl)) {
  await launch(emailUrl);
} else {
  // Fallback option
  launch('https://mail.google.com');
}

This approach should launch the Gmail app directly on Android. For iOS, you might need to use a different method, possibly utilizing the ‘message:’ scheme. Remember to handle cases where the Gmail app isn’t installed by providing a fallback option, like opening the web version.

Ensure you’ve added the necessary URL scheme permissions in your app’s configuration files for both platforms.

3

I ran into a similar issue when working on a project last year. The trick is to use the right URI scheme for Gmail. Instead of ‘mailto:’, try using ‘googlegmail://’.

Here’s what worked for me:

const emailUrl = 'googlegmail://';
if (await canLaunch(emailUrl)) {
  await launch(emailUrl);
} else {
  // Fallback for devices without Gmail app
  const webUrl = 'https://mail.google.com/';
  if (await canLaunch(webUrl)) {
    await launch(webUrl);
  } else {
    print('Could not launch email client');
  }
}

This should open the Gmail app if it’s installed. If not, it falls back to the web version. Just remember to add the necessary permissions in your AndroidManifest.xml and Info.plist files for URL schemes.

Also, keep in mind that this might behave differently on iOS. You might need to use a platform-specific approach for the best results across both Android and iOS.

4

yo, have u tried using the ‘gmailapp://’ scheme? it worked for me on both android n ios. just replace ur ‘mailto:’ with that. if it don’t work, u might needa check if the gmail app is actually installed on the device first. gl with ur project!