Bad notification crash

[Phil Bilton]

Hi pent,

Recently for no reason my app factory creation has started to crash and will not open. I ran a debug version and the crash log is as follows:

Bad notification posted from package com.gmail.pbilton.footballscoreswatchmaker: Couldn't create icon: StatusBarIcon(icon=Icon(typ=RESOURCE pkg=com.gmail.pbilton.footballscoreswatchmaker id=0x7f020138) visible user=0 )
android.app.ActivityThread$H.handleMessage(ActivityThread.java:1775)
android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:105)
android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:164)
android.app.ActivityThread.main(ActivityThread.java:6541)
java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Native Method)
com.android.internal.os.Zygote$MethodAndArgsCaller.run(Zygote.java:240)

I've tried changing all my icons for the notification to a material one, originally they were the invisible icon. I'm not sure what else I can do to rectify this issue.

This has only started happening after exporting the app following the recent tasker update.

Cheers
Phil

[Phil Bilton]

I've now removed the set tasker icon action from my tasks and still the issue remains. I've removed all icons for the tasks as well.

I really don't know where to go from here.

[Phil Bilton]

I've just uninstalled and reinstalled a version I made on the 29th of October before the tasker update on the 1st of November and my app works.

The only action I added after the tasker update was a variable set action.

My app crashes straight away upon trying to open it and the crash report is as above, yet I've deleted all actions relating to set icons.

[Rich D]

Double check that your Tasker Version is the same as your app factory. I recently had a strange situation from the play store where the app factory updated but Tasker did not. Even when I viewed Tasker in the play store it still showed the old version and did not have the update option.

 I have all apps set to auto update but for some reason in my play store notification it said Tasker was waiting to update. So clicking update from the play store 'notification' then updated tasker.  This has never happened before. 

[Phil Bilton]

Hi Rich,

Both are 5.0u7. It seems to me as if it's the run in foreground that I have when my tasks are triggered that is causing the crash. The thing is I can't remove this from my tasks otherwise the app will not run.

Unfortunately the only option I can see is to down grade to the previous version. Would you happen to know if I can do that and if so, how?

Cheers

[Phil Bilton]

Hi pent, all.
Can anyone advise on how to revert back to 5.0u6 for tasker and app factory.
I only request this as pent has stated he will not be looking at issues for the next 30 days due to the recent Google changes and I would like to carry on progressing my projects which I can't do because of 5.0u7
Cheers
Phil

[Pent]

Sorry, I don't publish current Play Store versions on the website, so you won't
be able to revert Tasker to 5.0u6.

>I've now removed the set tasker icon action from my tasks and still the issue remains. I've removed all icons for the tasks as well.

>I really don't know where to go from here.

Perhaps you're stuck with a bad icon still (from the last Set Tasker Icon), try uninstalling and

generate-install again with 5.0u7 and not setting the icon.

Pent

[Phil Bilton]

I've gone through my tasks and removed everything that relates to setting icons. Uninstalled my app, restarted my phone, exported my app as APK, reinstalled the new version and still the crash happens.

The next thing I'm going to remove is the run in foreground option and see how that changes anything.

[Phil Bilton]

I have removed the run in foreground action from the task and no change.
I added flash actions in-between every action to try and determine what is causing it to fail.

The very first action is now a flash to say opened app. That is not even showing before the crash.

[Phil Bilton]

Pent I found what is causing it to crash but I don't why it's doing it.

It's the app icon that is set to a local image. If I select a tasker icon the app then works.

What is strange is if I set the icon of another app I made to the icon in question, that app still works.

It will only not work on the app I need it to work on. I've resized the icon and it's now 7kb.

If I set the icon to any local images, the app crashes. It will only work with tasker icons.

[Alexander Graetz]

I've had the same a while back but didn't find a solution. I now just use no icon and thus the icon of my app is displayed in notifications.

This bug came with the material update. What was weird is that notification actions created before the update still worked but new ones would cause the app to crash as soon as the notification action was performed.

[Phil Bilton]

Is that the same for the app launch icon? It has been working fine for months even after the material update but the update at the start of November has caused it.

Will be gutted if we can't get this fixed as got the icon done professionally to finish my app off.

[Pent]

It's the app icon that is set to a local image. If I select a tasker icon the app then works.

You mean in Set Tasker Icon, right ?

Pent

[Phil Bilton]

No I mean the main icon that is used for app icon.

I only stumbled across it after removing every set icon action, run in foreground option etc from my app. That was the only thing left to try and change.

[Michele Ottone]

Malfunction confirmed, here.

I guess that there is a problem with notifications icons.

The app icon can be chosen from local files and will work as long as "run in foreground" setting is not set.

When "Run in foreground" is set, android forces an unmoveable notification in notification drawer.

For some reason, local pictures cannot be assigned to notifications, and in fact, nowhere in tasker you can define a local file as a notification icon.

This scenario represents an unhandled exception.

I wonder if @pent can do anything to solve this issue.

BTW: using a local image as app icon would be great, it is the only way to give an app a professional look. Built-in icons are OK for buttons or status bar, but cannot do as app icons.

Cheers

Michele

[Phil Bilton]

Glad I'm not the only one experiencing this issue. Have you always had this issue or did it only start effecting you after a recent update like it did for me?

I fully agree with you about the need to use local images for app icons, especially if your selling/listing the app on the play store.

Unfortunately I can't get rid of run in the foreground from my app to get around this.

[Pent]

No I mean the main icon that is used for app icon.

I only stumbled across it after removing every set icon action, run in foreground option etc from my app. That was the only thing left to try and change.

OK, can reproduce that now, thanks.

Pent

[Pent]

Are you absolutely sure that it was possible to use a local media image for
the app icon, and it would appear in the permanent notification without
problem ?

Pent

[Phil Bilton]

I wasn't using local image for the set tasker icon. I was using the blank icon so that it didn't show in the navigation bar.

I was using local image for my app icon that is shown on the home screen and app draw.

But using local image for app icon, was causing the error above.

[Michele Ottone]

Hi Pent,

First off, I want to be clear about one thing. I am referring to an app compiled with Tasker Factory.

I'd rather say I am sure of the opposite.

If you use a local image as app icon, it works UNLESS the app is configured to run in foreground.

When the app runs in background, no notification icon is displayed, hence the app icon is correctly used as app launch icon.

If the app is configured to run in foreground, the icoun would be used as a notification icon, leading to an app crash.

Michele

[Michele Ottone]

Hi Phil,

I don't know when this issue first showed up. I had to have an app running in foreground. It was the first time I faced suach a need, so I am quite sure that the issue is connected with the "Run in foreground" setting.

[Pent]

First off, I want to be clear about one thing. I am referring to an app compiled with Tasker Factory.

I'd rather say I am sure of the opposite.

If you use a local image as app icon, it works UNLESS the app is configured to run in foreground.

When the app runs in background, no notification icon is displayed, hence the app icon is correctly used as app launch icon.

If the app is configured to run in foreground, the icoun would be used as a notification icon, leading to an app crash.

Yes, that's the conclusion I have come to.

But it's never been possible to specify local media icons for the permanent monitor notification (either in Tasker or

App Factory), so this should not be a new issue.

Anyway, I will look at the possibilities, minimally fixing the crash and using a warning icon.

Pent

[Michele Ottone]

Thanks, Pent.

The ideal would be that a local image could be used as the app launch icon (this is already an option for backroun apps), and a generic/alternative builtin icon would be used as a permanent notification icon (in case of apps running in foreground).

[Pent]

I found the problem. From next update, the app icon will appear in the status bar
if you set the kid foreground without having used Set Tasker Icon.

Pent

[Michele Ottone]

Great!

Thank you so much, Pent!

[Phil Bilton]

Thank you pent!