This little bit of code is going to be useful to those of you developing a “singe page” app inside of PhoneGap. This applies to Sencha Touch (big fan), but doesn’t as much to jQuery mobile and jQTouch, as it’s a multi-page/navigation based event framework (it uses the app’s url string to do things like move around to different link anchors). This is really important on these single page apps because the Android hardware back button will send the PhoneGap app to the background. You need some way to intercept it so you can start building your own history management mechanism. Sounds fun, right? It’s actually not that hard.
On app initialization, add an event listener for Android’s back button, and the callback to handle it. PhoneGap takes care of the interface between Android and your app.
document.addEventListener("backbutton", backKeyDown, true);
function backKeyDown() {
// Call my back key code here.
alert('go back!');
}
That’s enough to get you started, and it should be pretty apparent if it works or not.
How about history management? It will depend on the app and what makes sense, BUT you’ll probably want to create a history array, and pop off some value that directs the app each time you hit the hardware back button. Here’s another idea: change the destination of the back button depending on the view. I personally like the idea of the latter because apps built on Sencha Touch are going to have easy tie-ins through predefined listeners JS Objects that define screen elements like buttons.
I did a copy-paste of those four lines of code and the back button still exits my app. :-(
I think it’s only available in newer versions of PhoneGap. That could be your problem
I can’t make it work either. I’m using the latest version of Phonegap (0.9.4). When running on the device I get a console.log message saying “JSCallback Error: Request failed. at file:///android_assets/www/lib/phonegap.0.9.4.js:711″
Any ideas of how to make it work?
try
document.addEventListener(“backKeyDown”, backKeyDown, true);
Thanks, this is what i was looking for. I just copied and pasted, i put it inside the onReady function in sencha touch.
Do you have any idea how can we handle the back button click in a single page webapp using PhoneGap. I am just animating the div tags based on the menu / navigation options selected by the user.
Thanks.
Sure. Add whatever code you need inside of backKeyDown() to accomplish the task. All this listener is doing is waiting for you to hit the key – it doesn’t necessarily have to go “back” to another page. The simplest implementation is leaving it empty so hitting the back button doesn’t exit the user out of your app.
Hello there,
is there any posibility to to this only with javascripts (no Phonegap)?
Thanks
Mathias
I don’t believe so because the back button isn’t a keyboard button. The back button function is managed at the app level.
Over #hashes you can go back with the back button on a single html-page:
http://jquerymobile.com/demos/1.0b2/docs/pages/multipage-template.html
That’s what I was searchin for ;)
That really doesn’t happen in my case, using the #hashe :( Plus that it also hangs when I actually press a button pointing in the reverse direction :/
Do you know what could that be?
If you use senchatouch with phonegap, you can also use the routing system of senchatouch.
I had a few hints about how it works here :
http://www.sencha.com/forum/showthread.php?179816-help-with-history-back-and-router.draw&p=731461#post731461
Check out this blog post for how to use Sencha Touch built in Routes functionality and thereby handling the back button on Android devices.
http://railsdevtricksofthetrade.blogspot.com/2012/04/sencha-touch-2-routes-and-back-button.html
I am using jqueryMobile(1.0.1) and phonegap(1.5.0). Everytime I launched the app, on clicking device “Back Button”, back button handler calls but when i moves to next div and then after I clicks on device back button nothing happens.
My code is like this – I am calling onLoad function in body tag.
function onLoad()
{
document.addEventListener(“deviceready”, onDeviceReady, false);
}
function onDeviceReady()
{
document.addEventListener(“backbutton”, onBackKeyDown, false);
}
function onBackKeyDown()
{
alert(‘onBackKeyDown’);
}
What I am doing wrong? Please do reply.
had this problem too. Phoenagp is not handling device events on every pages. see here : http://stackoverflow.com/questions/9631933/override-android-backbutton-behavior-only-works-on-the-first-page-with-phonegap/9739986#9739986
how to run apps in background using phonehap
This my code not working my android phone and tab plz help me
function Load() {
alert(’22′);
document.addEventListener(“deviceready”, onDeviceReady, false);
}
function onDeviceReady() {
document.addEventListener(“backbutton”, onBackKeyDown, false);
}
function onBackKeyDown() {
alert(‘Back Button!’);
navigator.app.exitApp();
}
Hi friends, how is all, and what you wish for to say about this post, in my view its in fact awesome in support of me.
I fix back button issue in android mobile and tab plz use below code
plz put this code to device defined page
do’nt put the code to index.html
function onload() { // onload function cal to home.html
try {
document.addEventListener(“deviceready”, onDR, false);
}
catch (ex) {
}
}
function onDR(){
document.addEventListener(“backbutton”, backKeyDown, true);
}
function backKeyDown() {
alert(‘go back’);
navigator.app.exitApp();
}
any query plz mail to christopher.jul@gmail.com