Overview
The open_file package enables Flutter applications to launch native apps for opening files using platform-specific mechanisms. On Android, it uses Intents; on iOS, it leverages UTIs; on desktop platforms (macOS, Windows, Linux), it employs FFI; and on the web, it uses dart:html. It returns a string result indicating success or failure, making it ideal for handling file types like PDFs, images, and documents across platforms with minimal boilerplate.
Use cases
- Opening PDFs and documents
- Launching external apps for file viewing
- Supporting file sharing workflows
- Cross-platform file handling
- Integrating with file picker plugins
- Enabling document preview in apps
Key features
- Cross-platform file opening
- Native integration via platform channels
- String-based result feedback
- Support for iOS UTI and Android Intent
- Desktop support via FFI
- Web compatibility with dart:html
Suitable for
- Apps needing file previews
- Document management tools
- File picker integrations
- Multi-platform apps
- Developers targeting iOS, Android, Web, and desktop
Considerations
- Requires proper file path handling
- Limited to supported file types by OS
- May need additional permissions on some platforms
- Result handling depends on platform behavior
- Not suitable for file creation or editing