Register FileObserver after mounting SD card

Question

In my application I need to increase the count of photos when one is captured. So I set a FileObserver for the DCIM directory. It watches for captured photos.

However, this FileObserver stops watching when I unmount my SD card because the DCIM directory is no longer present. When I mount the SD card, I tried to register the FileObserver once again after I got android.intent.action.EXTERNAL_APPLICATIONS_AVAILABLE intent. But the FileObserver is not getting registered.

My questions are:

1. Is there any other way to make the FileObserver watch after mounting the SD card?
2. In some devices (HTC) I don't get any intents after I mount the SD card. What method can I use in that case?

3. Is there any other method to listen to the Photo taken by user in his built in soft button camera. I don't want to built my own camera.

   fo = new FileObserver(path.toString(),
                       FileObserver.CLOSE_WRITE) {
   
                   @Override
                   public void onEvent(int event, String path) {
                       Log.d("yes", "event "+ event);
                       Log.d("operator",
                               "out side if"
                                       + Phototaken
                                       + externalStorageState
                                               .equals(Environment.MEDIA_MOUNTED));
                       if (Phototaken == 0 && event == 8){
                           String st = timeStamp();
                           Log.d("operator", "in event " + Phototaken);
                           Log.d("operator", "lat: " + MainService.lat
                                   + " " + "lng: " + MainService.lng + " "
                                   + "location: " + MainService.addre
                                   + " " + "time: " + st);
                           ptd.insert(st, String.valueOf(MainService.lat),
                                   String.valueOf(MainService.lng),
                                   MainService.addre);
                       }
   
                   }
               };
               fo.startWatching();
   

Answer 1

you can create a new BroadcastReceiver to watch for SD mount/unmount events. Then, on a mount event, tell your FileObserver to start watching again the DCIM directory.

You need to specify intent filters to watch for the events you want:

IntentFilter filter = new IntentFilter();
filter.addAction(Intent.ACTION_MEDIA_MOUNTED);
filter.addAction(Intent.ACTION_MEDIA_REMOVED);

This snippet from the official API reference shows how to monitor the state of the external storage.