Android – Select multiple photos from Gallery

Paresh MayaniOctober 23rd, 2012Last Updated: November 21st, 2022

12 484 4 minutes read

Today i am going to discuss about implementation of selecting multiple photos from Photo Gallery. You know, i have searched enough to find out a solution for selecting multiple images from android’s native gallery. There are 2 ways to implement multi selection of images in gallery: 1) Intent for getting multiple images

2) Define custom gallery with fetching and loading photos from native gallery.

1. Intent for getting multiple images:

As being native lover, i tried to find out a solution by implementing solution provided same like we select single image from gallery, by using below code:

Intent intent = new Intent();
intent.setType('image/*');
intent.setAction(Intent.ACTION_GET_CONTENT);
startActivityForResult(Intent.createChooser(intent, 'Select Picture'), PICK_IMAGE);

But i am unable to implement a solution for selecting multiple images using the above way. Yes i came to know we can use SEND_MULTIPLE intent but i am sure how do we implement this and select mutiple images. I will try to implement it and share with you if i will get success.

2. Define custom gallery with fetching and loading photos from native gallery:

As we dont know about the Intent way solution, this is the good idea for selecting multiple photos. One of my friend Vikas Kanani is already done with this solution earlier. I did thorough testing and came to know about the below issues:

Images are loading very slow if we are having larger number of images, lets say 2000-5000
Crashing if we load more images

For resolving above issues, what i did? I have implemented Asynchronous image loading so that every image gets loaded asynchronously.

Now, lets implement improved solution

Step 1: Download Image loader library from Here.

Step 2: Add the library inside the libs folder, right click on the jar file -> Select Add to Build Path

Step 3: Define row layout for image item
row_multiphoto_item.xml

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>
<RelativeLayout xmlns:android='http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android'
    android:layout_width='fill_parent'
    android:layout_height='fill_parent' >
 
    <ImageView
        android:id='@+id/imageView1'
        android:layout_width='100dp'
        android:layout_height='100dp'
        android:src='@drawable/ic_launcher' />
 
    <CheckBox
        android:id='@+id/checkBox1'
        android:layout_width='wrap_content'
        android:layout_height='wrap_content'
        android:layout_alignRight='@+id/imageView1'
        android:layout_centerVertical='true'/>
 
</RelativeLayout>

Step 4: Define activity layout with GridView
ac_image_grid.xml

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>
<RelativeLayout xmlns:android='http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android'
    android:layout_width='fill_parent'
    android:layout_height='fill_parent' >
 
    <GridView
        android:id='@+id/gridview'
        android:layout_width='fill_parent'
        android:layout_height='fill_parent'
        android:columnWidth='100dip'
        android:gravity='center'
        android:horizontalSpacing='4dip'
        android:numColumns='auto_fit'
        android:stretchMode='columnWidth'
        android:layout_above='@+id/button1'
        android:verticalSpacing='2dip' />
 
    <Button
        android:id='@+id/button1'
        android:layout_alignParentBottom='true'
        android:layout_width='wrap_content'
        android:layout_height='wrap_content'
        android:layout_centerHorizontal='true'
        android:onClick='btnChoosePhotosClick'
        android:text='Select Photos' />
 
</RelativeLayout>

Step 5: Define a UILApplication to declare application level configuration settings
UILApplication.java

package com.technotalkative.multiphotoselect;
 
import android.app.Application;
 
import com.nostra13.universalimageloader.cache.disc.naming.Md5FileNameGenerator;
import com.nostra13.universalimageloader.core.ImageLoader;
import com.nostra13.universalimageloader.core.ImageLoaderConfiguration;
 
/**
 * @author Paresh Mayani (@pareshmayani)
 */
public class UILApplication extends Application {
 
 @Override
 public void onCreate() {
  super.onCreate();
 
  // This configuration tuning is custom. You can tune every option, you may tune some of them, 
  // or you can create default configuration by
  //  ImageLoaderConfiguration.createDefault(this);
  // method.
  ImageLoaderConfiguration config = new ImageLoaderConfiguration.Builder(getApplicationContext())
   .threadPoolSize(3)
   .threadPriority(Thread.NORM_PRIORITY - 2)
   .memoryCacheSize(1500000) // 1.5 Mb
   .denyCacheImageMultipleSizesInMemory()
   .discCacheFileNameGenerator(new Md5FileNameGenerator())
   .enableLogging() // Not necessary in common
   .build();
  // Initialize ImageLoader with configuration.
  ImageLoader.getInstance().init(config);
 }
}

Step 6: Define a base activity to create a singleton instance of ImageLoader class.
BaseActivity.java

package com.technotalkative.multiphotoselect;
 
import android.app.Activity;
 
import com.nostra13.universalimageloader.core.ImageLoader;
 
/**
 * @author Paresh Mayani (@pareshmayani)
 */
public abstract class BaseActivity extends Activity {
 
 protected ImageLoader imageLoader = ImageLoader.getInstance();
 
}

Step 7: Now, Its time to define a main activity where we can write a logic for fetching photos from native gallery. Here i have also defined an ImageAdapter for the GridView.
MultiPhotoSelectActivity.java

package com.technotalkative.multiphotoselect;
 
import java.util.ArrayList;
 
import android.content.Context;
import android.database.Cursor;
import android.graphics.Bitmap;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.provider.MediaStore;
import android.util.Log;
import android.util.SparseBooleanArray;
import android.view.LayoutInflater;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.ViewGroup;
import android.view.animation.Animation;
import android.view.animation.AnimationUtils;
import android.widget.BaseAdapter;
import android.widget.CheckBox;
import android.widget.CompoundButton;
import android.widget.Toast;
import android.widget.CompoundButton.OnCheckedChangeListener;
import android.widget.GridView;
import android.widget.ImageView;
 
import com.nostra13.universalimageloader.core.DisplayImageOptions;
import com.nostra13.universalimageloader.core.assist.SimpleImageLoadingListener;
 
/**
 * @author Paresh Mayani (@pareshmayani)
 */
public class MultiPhotoSelectActivity extends BaseActivity {
 
 private ArrayList<String> imageUrls;
 private DisplayImageOptions options;
 private ImageAdapter imageAdapter;
 
 @Override
 public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
  super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
  setContentView(R.layout.ac_image_grid);
 
  final String[] columns = { MediaStore.Images.Media.DATA, MediaStore.Images.Media._ID };
  final String orderBy = MediaStore.Images.Media.DATE_TAKEN;
  Cursor imagecursor = managedQuery(
    MediaStore.Images.Media.EXTERNAL_CONTENT_URI, columns, null,
    null, orderBy + ' DESC');
 
  this.imageUrls = new ArrayList<String>();
 
  for (int i = 0; i < imagecursor.getCount(); i++) {
   imagecursor.moveToPosition(i);
   int dataColumnIndex = imagecursor.getColumnIndex(MediaStore.Images.Media.DATA);
   imageUrls.add(imagecursor.getString(dataColumnIndex));
 
   System.out.println('=====> Array path => '+imageUrls.get(i));
  }
 
  options = new DisplayImageOptions.Builder()
   .showStubImage(R.drawable.stub_image)
   .showImageForEmptyUri(R.drawable.image_for_empty_url)
   .cacheInMemory()
   .cacheOnDisc()
   .build();
 
  imageAdapter = new ImageAdapter(this, imageUrls);
 
  GridView gridView = (GridView) findViewById(R.id.gridview);
  gridView.setAdapter(imageAdapter);
  //gridView.setOnItemClickListener(new OnItemClickListener() {
  // @Override
  //public void onItemClick(AdapterView<?> parent, View view, int position, long id) {
  // startImageGalleryActivity(position);
  // }
  //});
   
 }
 
 @Override
 protected void onStop() {
  imageLoader.stop();
  super.onStop();
 }
 
 public void btnChoosePhotosClick(View v){
 
  ArrayList<String> selectedItems = imageAdapter.getCheckedItems();
  Toast.makeText(MultiPhotoSelectActivity.this, 'Total photos selected: '+selectedItems.size(), Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
  Log.d(MultiPhotoSelectActivity.class.getSimpleName(), 'Selected Items: ' + selectedItems.toString());
 }
 
 /*private void startImageGalleryActivity(int position) {
  Intent intent = new Intent(this, ImagePagerActivity.class);
  intent.putExtra(Extra.IMAGES, imageUrls);
  intent.putExtra(Extra.IMAGE_POSITION, position);
  startActivity(intent);
 }*/
 
 public class ImageAdapter extends BaseAdapter {
 
  ArrayList<String> mList;
  LayoutInflater mInflater;
  Context mContext;
  SparseBooleanArray mSparseBooleanArray;
 
  public ImageAdapter(Context context, ArrayList<String> imageList) {
   // TODO Auto-generated constructor stub
   mContext = context;
   mInflater = LayoutInflater.from(mContext);
   mSparseBooleanArray = new SparseBooleanArray();
   mList = new ArrayList<String>();
   this.mList = imageList;
 
  }
 
  public ArrayList<String> getCheckedItems() {
   ArrayList<String> mTempArry = new ArrayList<String>();
 
   for(int i=0;i<mList.size();i++) {
    if(mSparseBooleanArray.get(i)) {
     mTempArry.add(mList.get(i));
    }
   }
 
   return mTempArry;
  }
 
  @Override
  public int getCount() {
   return imageUrls.size();
  }
 
  @Override
  public Object getItem(int position) {
   return null;
  }
 
  @Override
  public long getItemId(int position) {
   return position;
  }
 
  @Override
  public View getView(int position, View convertView, ViewGroup parent) {
 
   if(convertView == null) {
    convertView = mInflater.inflate(R.layout.row_multiphoto_item, null);
   }
 
   CheckBox mCheckBox = (CheckBox) convertView.findViewById(R.id.checkBox1);
   final ImageView imageView = (ImageView) convertView.findViewById(R.id.imageView1);
 
   imageLoader.displayImage('file://'+imageUrls.get(position), imageView, options, new SimpleImageLoadingListener() {
    @Override
    public void onLoadingComplete(Bitmap loadedImage) {
     Animation anim = AnimationUtils.loadAnimation(MultiPhotoSelectActivity.this, R.anim.fade_in);
     imageView.setAnimation(anim);
     anim.start();
    }
   });
 
   mCheckBox.setTag(position);
   mCheckBox.setChecked(mSparseBooleanArray.get(position));
   mCheckBox.setOnCheckedChangeListener(mCheckedChangeListener);
 
   return convertView;
  }
 
  OnCheckedChangeListener mCheckedChangeListener = new OnCheckedChangeListener() {
 
   @Override
   public void onCheckedChanged(CompoundButton buttonView, boolean isChecked) {
    // TODO Auto-generated method stub
    mSparseBooleanArray.put((Integer) buttonView.getTag(), isChecked);
   }
  };
 }
}

Download this example from here: Android – Select multiple photos from Gallery

Reference: Android – Select multiple photos from Gallery from our JCG partner Paresh N. Mayani at the TechnoTalkative blog.

Paresh MayaniOctober 23rd, 2012Last Updated: November 21st, 2022

12 484 4 minutes read

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12 Comments

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Kyle Clegg

12 years ago

This is excellent. Thank you!

Paresh Mayani

Reply to Kyle Clegg

Thanks much. Please give feedback on original thread :)

hina

11 years ago

i got a error when i export it…….

conversion to dalvic format failed..:(

-1

hardik

Good article.
Is it possible to show image gallery in fragment Activity?

-2

koko

Can you reupload the source code. 4shared is having serious issues/

yateesh

10 years ago

When i scroll for more images, I get out of memory exception. I added jar file to build path.

05-01 00:37:00.731: E/ImageLoader(13442): java.lang.OutOfMemoryError
05-01 00:37:00.731: E/ImageLoader(13442): at android.graphics.BitmapFactory.nativeDecodeStream(Native Method)
05-01 00:37:00.731: E/ImageLoader(13442): at android.graphics.BitmapFactory.decodeStream(BitmapFactory.java:530)
05-01 00:37:00.731: E/ImageLoader(13442): at com.nostra13.universalimageloader.core.ImageDecoder.decode(ImageDecoder.java:83)
05-01 00:37:00.731: E/ImageLoader(13442): at com.nostra13.universalimageloader.core.LoadAndDisplayImageTask.decodeWithOOMHandling(LoadAndDisplayImageTask.java:187)
05-01 00:37:00.731: E/ImageLoader(13442): at com.nostra13.universalimageloader.core.LoadAndDisplayImageTask.decodeImage(LoadAndDisplayImageTask.java:170)
05-01 00:37:00.731: E/ImageLoader(13442): at com.nostra13.universalimageloader.core.LoadAndDisplayImageTask.tryLoadBitmap(LoadAndDisplayImageTask.java:126)
05-01 00:37:00.731: E/ImageLoader(13442): at com.nostra13.universalimageloader.core.LoadAndDisplayImageTask.run(LoadAndDisplayImageTask.java:72)
05-01 00:37:00.731: E/ImageLoader(13442): at java.util.concurrent.Executors$RunnableAdapter.call(Executors.java:390)
05-01 00:37:00.731: E/ImageLoader(13442): at java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.run(FutureTask.java:234)
05-01 00:37:00.731: E/ImageLoader(13442): at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:1080)
05-01 00:37:00.731: E/ImageLoader(13442): at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:573)
05-01 00:37:00.731: E/ImageLoader(13442): at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:841)

Mainak

how to select picture from gallery,Recent image folder and Download Folder in android. When use ACTION_GET_CONTENT . this function only get picture from gallery only. I show my code in below—- Intent intent = new Intent(); intent.setType(“image/*”); intent.setAction(Intent.ACTION_GET_CONTENT); startActivityForResult(Intent.createChooser(intent, “Complete action using”), 1); @Override protected void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) { if (requestCode == 1 && resultCode == RESULT_OK) { Uri selectedImageUri = data.getData(); if(selectedImageUri != null){ imagepath = getPath(selectedImageUri); Bitmap bitmap=BitmapFactory.decodeFile(imagepath); SelectImg.setImageBitmap(bitmap); selectText.setText(imagepath); } } } public String getPath(Uri uri) { String filePath =””; String[] projection = { MediaColumns.DATA }; Cursor cursor = managedQuery(uri, projection, null, null,… Read more »