docs/html/work/managed-configurations.jd

page.title=Set up Managed Configurations
page.metaDescription=Learn how to implement managed configurations that can be changed by other apps on the same device.
page.image=images/work/cards/briefcase_600px.png

@jd:body

<div id="qv-wrapper">
  <div id="qv">
    <h2>In this document</h2>
    <ol>
      <li><a href="#define-configuration">Define Managed Configurations</a></li>
      <li><a href="#check-configuration">Check Managed Configurations</a></li>
      <li><a href="#listen-configuration">Listen for Managed Configuration Changes</a></li>
    </ol>
  </div>
</div>

<p>
  If you are developing apps for the enterprise market, you may need
  to satisfy particular requirements set by a company's policies.
  Managed configurations, previously known as <em>application restrictions</em>,
  allow the enterprise administrator to remotely specify settings for
  apps. This capability is particularly useful for enterprise-approved
  apps deployed to a managed profile.
</p>

<p>For example, an enterprise might require that approved apps allow the
enterprise administrator to:</p>

<ul>
  <li>Whitelist or blacklist URLs for a web browser</li>
  <li>Configure whether an app is allowed to sync content via cellular, or just
    by Wi-Fi</li>
  <li>Configure the app's email settings</li>
</ul>

<p>
  This guide shows how to implement these configuration settings in your app.
</p>

<p class="note">
  <strong>Note:</strong> For historical reasons, these configuration settings are known as
  <em>restrictions,</em> and are implemented with files and classes that use this
  term (such as {@link android.content.RestrictionsManager}). However, these
  restrictions can actually implement a wide range of configuration options,
  not just restrictions on app functionality.
</p>

<h2 id="overview">
  Remote Configuration Overview
</h2>

<p>
  Apps define the managed configuration options that can be remotely
  set by an administrator. These are arbitrary settings that can be
  changed by a managed configuration provider. If your app is running on an
  enterprise device's managed profile, the enterprise administrator
  can change your app's managed configuration.
</p>

<p>
  The managed configurations provider is another app running on the same device.
  This app is typically controlled by the enterprise administrator. The
  enterprise administrator communicates configuration changes to the managed
  configuration provider app. That app, in turn, changes the configurations on your app.
</p>

<p>
  To provide externally managed configurations:
</p>

<ul>
  <li>Declare the managed configurations in your app manifest. Doing
  so allows the enterprise administrator to read the app's
  configurations through Google Play APIs.
  </li>

  <li>Whenever the app resumes, use the {@link
    android.content.RestrictionsManager} object to check the current
    managed configurations, and change your app's UI and behavior to
    conform with those configurations.
  </li>

  <li>Listen for the
  {@link android.content.Intent#ACTION_APPLICATION_RESTRICTIONS_CHANGED
  ACTION_APPLICATION_RESTRICTIONS_CHANGED} intent. When you receive this
  broadcast, check the {@link android.content.RestrictionsManager} to see what
  the current managed configurations are, and make any necessary changes to your
  app's behavior.
  </li>
</ul>

<h2 id="define-configuration">
  Define Managed Configurations
</h2>

<p>
  Your app can support any managed configuration you want to define. You declare the
  app's managed configurations in a <em>managed configurations file</em>, and declare the
  configurations file in the manifest. Creating a configurations file allows other
  apps to examine the managed configurations your app provides. Enterprise Mobility
  Management (EMM) partners can read your app's configurations by using Google
  Play APIs.
</p>

<p>
  To define your app's remote configuration options, put the following element
  in your manifest's
  <a href="{@docRoot}guide/topics/manifest/application-element.html">
  <code>&lt;application&gt;</code></a> element:
</p>

<pre>&lt;meta-data android:name="android.content.APP_RESTRICTIONS"
    android:resource="@xml/app_restrictions" /&gt;
</pre>

<p>
  Create a file named <code>app_restrictions.xml</code> in your app's
  <code>res/xml</code> directory. The structure of that file is described in
  the reference for {@link android.content.RestrictionsManager}. The file has a
  single top-level <code>&lt;restrictions&gt;</code> element, which contains
  one <code>&lt;restriction&gt;</code> child element for every configuration
  option the app has.
</p>

<p class="note">
  <strong>Note:</strong> Do not create localized versions of the
  managed configuration file. Your app is only allowed to have a
  single managed configurations file, so configurations will be
  consistent for your app in all locales.
</p>

<p>
  In an enterprise environment, an EMM will typically use the managed
  configuration schema to generate a remote console for IT
  administrators, so the administrators can remotely configure your
  application.
</p>

<p>
  For example, suppose your app can be remotely configured to allow or forbid
  it to download data over a cellular connection. Your app could have a
  <code>&lt;restriction&gt;</code> element like this:
</p>

<pre>
&lt;?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?&gt;
&lt;restrictions xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" &gt;

  &lt;restriction
    android:key="downloadOnCellular"
    android:title="App is allowed to download data via cellular"
    android:restrictionType="bool"
    android:description="If 'false', app can only download data via Wi-Fi"
    android:defaultValue="true" /&gt;

&lt;/restrictions&gt;
</pre>

<p>
  The supported types for the <code>android:restrictionType</code> element are
  documented in the reference for {@link android.content.RestrictionsManager}.
</p>

<p>
  You use each configuration's <code>android:key</code> attribute to
  read its value from a managed configuration bundle. For this reason,
  each configuration must have a unique key string, and the string
  <em>cannot</em> be localized. It must be specified with a string literal.
</p>

<p class="note">
  <strong>Note:</strong> In a production app, <code>android:title</code> and
  <code>android:description</code> should be drawn from a localized resource
  file, as described in <a href=
  "{@docRoot}guide/topics/resources/localization.html">Localizing with
  Resources</a>.
</p>

<p>
  The managed configuration provider can query the app to find details
  on the app's available configurations, including their description
  text. Configurations providers and enterprise administrators can
  change your app's managed configurations at any time, even when the
  app is not running.
</p>

<h2 id="check-configuration">
  Check Managed Configurations
</h2>

<p>
  Your app is not automatically notified when other apps change its
  configuration settings. Instead, you need to check what the managed
  configurations are when your app starts or resumes, and listen for a
  system intent to find out if the configurations change while your
  app is running.
</p>

<p>
  To find out the current configuration settings, your app uses a
  {@link android.content.RestrictionsManager} object. Your app should
  check for the current managed configurations at the following times:
</p>

<ul>
  <li>When the app starts or resumes, in its
  {@link android.app.Activity#onResume onResume()} method
  </li>

  <li>When the app is notified of a configuration change, as described in
    <a href="#listen-configuration">Listen for Managed Configuration
    Changes</a>
  </li>
</ul>

<p>
  To get a {@link android.content.RestrictionsManager} object, get the current
  activity with {@link android.app.Fragment#getActivity getActivity()}, then
  call that activity's {@link android.app.Activity#getSystemService
  Activity.getSystemService()} method:
</p>

<pre>RestrictionsManager myRestrictionsMgr =
    (RestrictionsManager) getActivity()
        .getSystemService(Context.RESTRICTIONS_SERVICE);</pre>

<p>
  Once you have a {@link android.content.RestrictionsManager}, you can get the
  current configuration settings by calling its
  {@link android.content.RestrictionsManager#getApplicationRestrictions
  getApplicationRestrictions()} method:
</p>

<pre>Bundle appRestrictions = myRestrictionsMgr.getApplicationRestrictions();</pre>

<p class="note">
  <strong>Note:</strong> For convenience, you can also fetch the current
  configurations with a {@link android.os.UserManager}, by calling
  {@link android.os.UserManager#getApplicationRestrictions
  UserManager.getApplicationRestrictions()}. This method behaves exactly the
  same as {@link android.content.RestrictionsManager#getApplicationRestrictions
  RestrictionsManager.getApplicationRestrictions()}.
</p>

<p>
  The {@link android.content.RestrictionsManager#getApplicationRestrictions
  getApplicationRestrictions()} method requires reading from data storage, so
  it should be done sparingly. Do not call this method every time you need to
  know the current configuration. Instead, you should call it once when your app
  starts or resumes, and cache the fetched managed configurations bundle. Then listen
  for the {@link android.content.Intent#ACTION_APPLICATION_RESTRICTIONS_CHANGED
  ACTION_APPLICATION_RESTRICTIONS_CHANGED} intent to find out if the configuration
  change while your app is active, as described in
  <a href="#listen-configuration">Listen for Managed Configuration Changes</a>.
</p>

<h3 id="read-configurations">
  Reading and applying managed configurations
</h3>

<p>
  The {@link android.content.RestrictionsManager#getApplicationRestrictions
  getApplicationRestrictions()} method returns a {@link android.os.Bundle}
  containing a key-value pair for each configuration that has been set. The
  values are all of type <code>Boolean</code>, <code>int</code>,
  <code>String</code>, and <code>String[]</code>. Once you have the
  managed configurations {@link android.os.Bundle}, you can check the current
  configuration settings with the standard {@link android.os.Bundle} methods for
  those data types, such as {@link android.os.Bundle#getBoolean getBoolean()}
  or
  {@link android.os.Bundle#getString getString()}.
</p>

<p class="note">
  <strong>Note:</strong> The managed configurations {@link android.os.Bundle}
  contains one item for every configuration that has been explicitly set by a
  managed configurations provider. However, you <em>cannot</em> assume that a
  configuration will be present in the bundle just because you defined a default
  value in the managed configurations XML file.
</p>

<p>
  It is up to your app to take appropriate action based on the current
  managed configuration settings. For example, if your app has a
  configuration specifying whether it can download data over a
  cellular connection, and you find that the configuration is set to
  <code>false</code>, you would have to disable data download except when
  the device has a Wi-Fi connection, as shown in the following example code:
</p>

<pre>
boolean appCanUseCellular;

if appRestrictions.containsKey("downloadOnCellular") {
    appCanUseCellular = appRestrictions.getBoolean("downloadOnCellular");
} else {
    // here, cellularDefault is a boolean set with the restriction's
    // default value
    appCanUseCellular = cellularDefault;
}

if (!appCanUseCellular) {
    // ...turn off app's cellular-download functionality
    // ...show appropriate notices to user
}</pre>

<h2 id="listen-configuration">
  Listen for Managed Configuration Changes
</h2>

<p>
  Whenever an app's managed configurations are changed, the system fires the
  {@link android.content.Intent#ACTION_APPLICATION_RESTRICTIONS_CHANGED
  ACTION_APPLICATION_RESTRICTIONS_CHANGED} intent. Your app has to listen for
  this intent so you can change the app's behavior when the configuration settings
  change.</p>

<p class="note">
  <strong>Note:</strong> The {@link
  android.content.Intent#ACTION_APPLICATION_RESTRICTIONS_CHANGED
  ACTION_APPLICATION_RESTRICTIONS_CHANGED} intent is sent only to listeners
  that are dynamically registered, <em>not</em> to listeners that are declared
  in the app manifest.
</p>
<p>
  The following code shows how to dynamically register a broadcast receiver for
  this intent:
</p>

<pre>IntentFilter restrictionsFilter =
    new IntentFilter(Intent.ACTION_APPLICATION_RESTRICTIONS_CHANGED);

BroadcastReceiver restrictionsReceiver = new BroadcastReceiver() {
  &#64;Override public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {

    // Get the current configuration bundle
    Bundle appRestrictions = myRestrictionsMgr.getApplicationRestrictions();

    // Check current configuration settings, change your app's UI and
    // functionality as necessary.
  }
};

registerReceiver(restrictionsReceiver, restrictionsFilter);
</pre>
<p class="note">
  <strong>Note:</strong> Ordinarily, your app does not need to be notified
  about configuration changes when it is paused. Instead, you should unregister
  your broadcast receiver when the app is paused. When the app resumes, you
  first check for the current managed configurations (as discussed in
  <a href="#check-configuration">Check Managed Configurations</a>), then register
  your broadcast receiver to make sure you're notified about configuration changes
  that happen while the app is active.
</p>