Android Academy · Lesson

Intents & Navigation

Navigate between Activities with explicit Intents, pass data with putExtra/getExtra, and launch external apps with implicit Intents.

Lesson 5 of 711 steps

Intents & Navigation is a free Android Academy lesson on CoddyKit. This is lesson 5 of 7. Any 3 lessons of this learning path are free to read in full — after that, CoddyKit PRO unlocks every lesson, plus hands-on practice with a built-in code editor and a 24/7 AI tutor. It is part of the Android Academy learning path, and your progress syncs across the web and the CoddyKit app. The Android Academy course includes 7 lessons in total.

What Is an Intent?

An Intent is a message that tells Android to do something:

Explicit Intent — launch a specific Activity in your app
Implicit Intent — ask Android to find an app that can handle the action (open a URL, call a number, share text)

Intents are the primary way Activities communicate with each other.

Explicit Intent: Open a Screen

Launch another Activity in your app:

// In your button click listener:
binding.btnGoToDetail.setOnClickListener {
    val intent = Intent(this, DetailActivity::class.java)
    startActivity(intent)
}

// To also close the current screen after navigating:
binding.btnLogin.setOnClickListener {
    val intent = Intent(this, HomeActivity::class.java)
    startActivity(intent)
    finish() // removes LoginActivity from back stack
}

Passing Data with Extras

Use extras to pass data to the next Activity:

intent.putExtra("key", value) — attach data
intent.getStringExtra("key") — retrieve String
intent.getIntExtra("key", defaultValue) — retrieve Int

Use constants for keys to avoid typos.

Passing & Receiving Extras

Send data from one Activity and read it in the next:

// Sending Activity:
val intent = Intent(this, DetailActivity::class.java)
intent.putExtra("PRODUCT_ID", 42)
intent.putExtra("PRODUCT_NAME", "Laptop")
startActivity(intent)

// DetailActivity — receiving:
class DetailActivity : AppCompatActivity() {
    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_detail)

        val id = intent.getIntExtra("PRODUCT_ID", -1)
        val name = intent.getStringExtra("PRODUCT_NAME") ?: ""
        // Use id and name to load data
    }
}

Implicit Intents

Implicit Intents let your app use features from other installed apps without knowing which app handles them:

Open a web URL in the browser
Dial a phone number
Send an email
Share text to any app

Android shows a chooser if multiple apps can handle the intent.

Common Implicit Intents

Launch system actions with implicit Intents:

import android.content.Intent
import android.net.Uri

// Open a web page
val webIntent = Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW,
    Uri.parse("https://developer.android.com"))
startActivity(webIntent)

// Dial a phone number
val dialIntent = Intent(Intent.ACTION_DIAL,
    Uri.parse("tel:+15551234567"))
startActivity(dialIntent)

// Share text
val shareIntent = Intent(Intent.ACTION_SEND).apply {
    type = "text/plain"
    putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_TEXT, "Check out this app!")
}
startActivity(Intent.createChooser(shareIntent, "Share via"))

Getting Results Back

When you need a result from another screen (e.g. an image picker or form), use the Activity Result API:

Register a launcher with registerForActivityResult
Launch it when needed
Handle the result in a callback

This replaces the old startActivityForResult / onActivityResult pattern.

Result API Example

Request a photo from the gallery and get it back:

import androidx.activity.result.contract.ActivityResultContracts

class MainActivity : AppCompatActivity() {

    private val pickImage = registerForActivityResult(
        ActivityResultContracts.GetContent()
    ) { uri ->
        // 'uri' is the selected image URI, or null if cancelled
        if (uri != null) {
            binding.ivPhoto.setImageURI(uri)
        }
    }

    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
        // ...
        binding.btnPickPhoto.setOnClickListener {
            pickImage.launch("image/*")
        }
    }
}

Deep Links

A deep link is a URL that opens a specific screen in your app directly — useful for push notifications and marketing links.

Declare deep links in AndroidManifest.xml using intent-filter with a data tag specifying the URL scheme and host.

Quick Check

Which type of Intent would you use to open a website in the user's browser?

Answer it in the interactive lesson

Recap: Intents & Navigation

You can now navigate between screens and launch system features:

Explicit Intent — launch a specific Activity in your app
putExtra / getExtra — pass data between Activities
Implicit Intent — open URLs, dial numbers, share content
Activity Result API — receive data back from another Activity

Next up: displaying dynamic lists with RecyclerView.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is the “Intents & Navigation” lesson free?

Yes — any 3 lessons of the Android Academy learning path, including “Intents & Navigation”, are free to read in full here on the web. After that, CoddyKit PRO unlocks every lesson, plus interactive practice with a built-in code editor and a 24/7 AI tutor. The Android Academy course includes 7 lessons in total.

What will I learn in “Intents & Navigation”?

Navigate between Activities with explicit Intents, pass data with putExtra/getExtra, and launch external apps with implicit Intents. You practise Android Academy with hands-on code you run directly in the browser, and a 24/7 AI tutor answers your questions as you work through the lesson.

Do I need any experience to start Android Academy?

No prior experience is required. Android Academy on CoddyKit is structured for beginners through advanced learners, so you can start here or from the beginning and move at your own pace. This is lesson 5 of 7.

How long does the “Intents & Navigation” lesson take?

Most CoddyKit lessons take about 5–10 minutes. Each one is bite-sized and interactive, so you make steady progress and pick up exactly where you left off across the web and the app.

Can I write and run code in this Android Academy lesson?

Yes. Every Android Academy lesson includes a built-in code editor, so you write and run real code right in your browser and get instant AI feedback — no local setup required.

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