Media Capture Plugin

Tested Version: 3.0.3

This document is based on the original Cordova docs available at Cordova Docs.

This plugin provides access to the device's audio, image, and video capture capabilities.

Collection and use of images, video, or audio from the device's camera or microphone raises important privacy issues. Your app's privacy policy should discuss how the app uses such sensors and whether the data recorded is shared with any other parties. In addition, if the app's use of the camera or microphone is not apparent in the user interface, you should provide a just-in-time notice before the app accesses the camera or microphone (if the device operating system doesn't do so already). That notice should provide the same information noted above, as well as obtaining the user's permission (e.g., by presenting choices for OK and No Thanks). Note that some app marketplaces may require your app to provide just-in-time notice and obtain permission from the user prior to accessing the camera or microphone. For more information, please see the Privacy Guide.

This plugin defines global navigator.device.capture object. Although in the global scope, it is not available until after the deviceready event.

document.addEventListener("deviceready", onDeviceReady, false);
function onDeviceReady() {
    console.log(navigator.device.capture);
}

Plugin ID

cordova-plugin-media-capture

Adding the Plugin in Monaca

In order to use this plugin, please enable Capture plugin in Monaca Cloud IDE.

Supported Platforms

Android
iOS

API Reference

Objects

Capture
CaptureAudioOptions
CaptureImageOptions
CaptureVideoOptions
CaptureCallback
CaptureErrorCB
ConfigurationData
MediaFile
MediaFileData

CaptureAudioOptions

Encapsulates audio capture configuration options.

Properties

limit: The maximum number of audio clips the device user can record in a single capture operation. The value must be greater than or equal to 1 (defaults to 1).
duration: The maximum duration of an audio sound clip, in seconds.

Example

// limit capture operation to 3 media files, no longer than 10 seconds each
var options = { limit: 3, duration: 10 };

navigator.device.capture.captureAudio(captureSuccess, captureError, options);

Android Quirks

The duration parameter is not supported. Recording lengths can't be limited programmatically.

iOS Quirks

The limit parameter is not supported, so only one recording can be created for each invocation.

CaptureImageOptions

Encapsulates image capture configuration options.

Properties

limit: The maximum number of images the user can capture in a single capture operation. The value must be greater than or equal to 1 (defaults to 1).

Example

// limit capture operation to 3 images
var options = { limit: 3 };

navigator.device.capture.captureImage(captureSuccess, captureError, options);

iOS Quirks

The limit parameter is not supported, and only one image is taken per invocation.

CaptureVideoOptions

Encapsulates video capture configuration options.

Properties

limit: The maximum number of video clips the device's user can capture in a single capture operation. The value must be greater than or equal to 1 (defaults to 1).
duration: The maximum duration of a video clip, in seconds.

Example

// limit capture operation to 3 video clips
var options = { limit: 3 };

navigator.device.capture.captureVideo(captureSuccess, captureError, options);

iOS Quirks

The limit property is ignored. Only one video is recorded per invocation.

Android Quirks

Android supports an additional quality property, to allow capturing video at different qualities. A value of 1 ( the default) means high quality and value of 0 means low quality, suitable for MMS messages. See here for more details.

Example ( Android w/ quality )

// limit capture operation to 1 video clip of low quality
var options = { limit: 1, quality: 0 };
navigator.device.capture.captureVideo(captureSuccess, captureError, options);

CaptureCallBack

Invoked upon a successful media capture operation.

function captureSuccess( MediaFile[] mediaFiles ) { ... };

Description

This function executes after a successful capture operation completes. At this point a media file has been captured, and either the user has exited the media capture application, or the capture limit has been reached.

Each MediaFile object describes a captured media file.

Example

// capture callback
function captureSuccess(mediaFiles) {
    var i, path, len;
    for (i = 0, len = mediaFiles.length; i < len; i += 1) {
        path = mediaFiles[i].fullPath;
        // do something interesting with the file
    }
};

CaptureError

Encapsulates the error code resulting from a failed media capture operation.

Properties

code: One of the pre-defined error codes listed below.

Constants

CaptureError.CAPTURE_INTERNAL_ERR: The camera or microphone failed to capture image or sound.
CaptureError.CAPTURE_APPLICATION_BUSY: The camera or audio capture application is currently serving another capture request.
CaptureError.CAPTURE_INVALID_ARGUMENT: Invalid use of the API (e.g., the value of limit is less than one).
CaptureError.CAPTURE_NO_MEDIA_FILES: The user exits the camera or audio capture application before capturing anything.
CaptureError.CAPTURE_PERMISSION_DENIED: The user denied a permission required to perform the given capture request.
CaptureError.CAPTURE_NOT_SUPPORTED: The requested capture operation is not supported.

CaptureErrorCB

Invoked if an error occurs during a media capture operation.

function captureError( CaptureError error ) { ... };

Description

This function executes if an error occurs when trying to launch a media capture operation. Failure scenarios include when the capture application is busy, a capture operation is already taking place, or the user cancels the operation before any media files are captured.

This function executes with a CaptureError object containing an appropriate error code.

Example

// capture error callback
var captureError = function(error) {
    navigator.notification.alert('Error code: ' + error.code, null, 'Capture Error');
};

ConfigurationData

Encapsulates a set of media capture parameters that a device supports.

Description

Describes media capture modes supported by the device. The configuration data includes the MIME type, and capture dimensions for video or image capture.

The MIME types should adhere to RFC2046. Examples:

video/3gpp
video/quicktime
image/jpeg
audio/amr
audio/wav

Properties

type: The ASCII-encoded lowercase string representing the media type. (DOMString)
height: The height of the image or video in pixels. The value is zero for sound clips. (Number)
width: The width of the image or video in pixels. The value is zero for sound clips. (Number)

Example

// retrieve supported image modes
var imageModes = navigator.device.capture.supportedImageModes;

// Select mode that has the highest horizontal resolution
var width = 0;
var selectedmode;
for each (var mode in imageModes) {
    if (mode.width > width) {
        width = mode.width;
        selectedmode = mode;
    }
}

Not supported by any platform. All configuration data arrays are empty.

MediaFile

Encapsulates properties of a media capture file.

Properties

name: The name of the file, without path information. (DOMString)
fullPath: The full path of the file, including the name. (DOMString)
type: The file's mime type (DOMString)
lastModifiedDate: The date and time when the file was last modified. (Date)
size: The size of the file, in bytes. (Number)

Methods

MediaFile.getFormatData: Retrieves the format information of the media file.

MediaFileData

Encapsulates format information about a media file.

Properties

codecs: The actual format of the audio and video content. (DOMString)
bitrate: The average bitrate of the content. The value is zero for images. (Number)
height: The height of the image or video in pixels. The value is zero for audio clips. (Number)
width: The width of the image or video in pixels. The value is zero for audio clips. (Number)
duration: The length of the video or sound clip in seconds. The value is zero for images. (Number)

Android Quirks

Supports the following MediaFileData properties:

codecs: Not supported, and returns null.
bitrate: Not supported, and returns zero.
height: Supported: image and video files only.
width: Supported: image and video files only.
duration: Supported: audio and video files only.

iOS Quirks

Supports the following MediaFileData properties:

codecs: Not supported, and returns null.
bitrate: Supported on iOS4 devices for audio only. Returns zero for images and videos.
height: Supported: image and video files only.
width: Supported: image and video files only.
duration: Supported: audio and video files only.

Methods

capture.captureAudio
capture.captureImage
capture.captureVideo
MediaFile.getFormatData

capture.captureAudio

Start the audio recorder application and return information about captured audio clip files.

navigator.device.capture.captureAudio(
    CaptureCB captureSuccess, CaptureErrorCB captureError,  [CaptureAudioOptions options]
);

Description

Starts an asynchronous operation to capture audio recordings using the device's default audio recording application. The operation allows the device user to capture multiple recordings in a single session.

The capture operation ends when either the user exits the audio recording application, or the maximum number of recordings specified by CaptureAudioOptions.limit is reached. If no limit parameter value is specified, it defaults to one (1), and the capture operation terminates after the user records a single audio clip.

When the capture operation finishes, the CaptureCallback executes with an array of MediaFile objects describing each captured audio clip file. If the user terminates the operation before an audio clip is captured, the CaptureErrorCallback executes with a CaptureError object, featuring the CaptureError.CAPTURE_NO_MEDIA_FILES error code.

Supported Platforms

Android
iOS

Example

// capture callback
var captureSuccess = function(mediaFiles) {
    var i, path, len;
    for (i = 0, len = mediaFiles.length; i < len; i += 1) {
        path = mediaFiles[i].fullPath;
        // do something interesting with the file
    }
};

// capture error callback
var captureError = function(error) {
    navigator.notification.alert('Error code: ' + error.code, null, 'Capture Error');
};

// start audio capture
navigator.device.capture.captureAudio(captureSuccess, captureError, {limit:2});

iOS Quirks

iOS does not have a default audio recording application, so a simple user interface is provided.

capture.captureImage

Start the camera application and return information about captured image files.

navigator.device.capture.captureImage(
    CaptureCB captureSuccess, CaptureErrorCB captureError, [CaptureImageOptions options]
);

Description

Starts an asynchronous operation to capture images using the device's camera application. The operation allows users to capture more than one image in a single session.

The capture operation ends either when the user closes the camera application, or the maximum number of recordings specified by CaptureImageOptions.limit is reached. If no limit value is specified, it defaults to one (1), and the capture operation terminates after the user captures a single image.

When the capture operation finishes, it invokes the CaptureCB callback with an array of MediaFile objects describing each captured image file. If the user terminates the operation before capturing an image, the CaptureErrorCB callback executes with a CaptureError object featuring a CaptureError.CAPTURE_NO_MEDIA_FILES error code.

Supported Platforms

Android
iOS

iOS Quirks

Since iOS 10 it's mandatory to provide usage description in the info.plist if trying to access privacy-sensitive data. When the system prompts the user to allow access, this usage description string will displayed as part of the permission dialog box, but if you didn't provide the usage description, the app will crash before showing the dialog. Also, Apple will reject apps that access private data but don't provide usage description.

This plugins requires the following usage descriptions:

NSCameraUsageDescription describes the reason the app accesses the user's camera.
NSMicrophoneUsageDescription describes the reason the app accesses the user's microphone.
NSPhotoLibraryUsageDescriptionentry describes the reason the app accesses the user's photo library.

To add these entries into the info.plist, you can use the edit-config tag in the config.xml like this:

<edit-config target="NSCameraUsageDescription" file="*-Info.plist" mode="merge">
    <string>need camera access to take pictures</string>
</edit-config>

<edit-config target="NSMicrophoneUsageDescription" file="*-Info.plist" mode="merge">
    <string>need microphone access to record sounds</string>
</edit-config>

<edit-config target="NSPhotoLibraryUsageDescription" file="*-Info.plist" mode="merge">
    <string>need to photo library access to get pictures from there</string>
</edit-config>

Example

// capture callback
var captureSuccess = function(mediaFiles) {
    var i, path, len;
    for (i = 0, len = mediaFiles.length; i < len; i += 1) {
        path = mediaFiles[i].fullPath;
        // do something interesting with the file
    }
};

// capture error callback
var captureError = function(error) {
    navigator.notification.alert('Error code: ' + error.code, null, 'Capture Error');
};

// start image capture
navigator.device.capture.captureImage(captureSuccess, captureError, {limit:2});

capture.captureVideo

Start the video recorder application and return information about captured video clip files.

navigator.device.capture.captureVideo(
    CaptureCB captureSuccess, CaptureErrorCB captureError, [CaptureVideoOptions options]
);

Description

Starts an asynchronous operation to capture video recordings using the device's video recording application. The operation allows the user to capture more than one recordings in a single session.

The capture operation ends when either the user exits the video recording application, or the maximum number of recordings specified by CaptureVideoOptions.limit is reached. If no limit parameter value is specified, it defaults to one (1), and the capture operation terminates after the user records a single video clip.

When the capture operation finishes, it the CaptureCB callback executes with an array of MediaFile objects describing each captured video clip file. If the user terminates the operation before capturing a video clip, the CaptureErrorCB callback executes with a CaptureError object featuring a CaptureError.CAPTURE_NO_MEDIA_FILES error code.

Supported Platforms

Android
iOS

Example

// capture callback
var captureSuccess = function(mediaFiles) {
    var i, path, len;
    for (i = 0, len = mediaFiles.length; i < len; i += 1) {
        path = mediaFiles[i].fullPath;
        // do something interesting with the file
    }
};

// capture error callback
var captureError = function(error) {
    navigator.notification.alert('Error code: ' + error.code, null, 'Capture Error');
};

// start video capture
navigator.device.capture.captureVideo(captureSuccess, captureError, {limit:2});

MediaFile.getFormatData

Retrieves format information about the media capture file.

mediaFile.getFormatData(
    MediaFileDataSuccessCB successCallback,
    [MediaFileDataErrorCB errorCallback]
);

Description

This function asynchronously attempts to retrieve the format information for the media file. If successful, it invokes the MediaFileDataSuccessCB callback with a MediaFileData object. If the attempt fails, this function invokes the MediaFileDataErrorCB callback.

Supported Platforms

Android
iOS

Android Quirks

The API to access media file format information is limited, so not all MediaFileData properties are supported.

iOS Quirks

The API to access media file format information is limited, so not all MediaFileData properties are supported.

Properties

supportedAudioModes: The audio recording formats supported by the device. (ConfigurationData[])
supportedImageModes: The recording image sizes and formats supported by the device (ConfigurationData[])
supportedVideoModes: The recording video resolutions and formats supported by the device. (ConfigurationData[])

Android Lifecycle Quirks

When capturing audio, video, or images on the Android platform, there is a chance that the application will get destroyed after the Cordova Webview is pushed to the background by the native capture application. See the Android Lifecycle Guide for a full description of the issue. In this case, the success and failure callbacks passed to the capture method will not be fired and instead the results of the call will be delivered via a document event that fires after the Cordova resume event.

In your app, you should subscribe to the two possible events like so:

function onDeviceReady() {
    // pendingcaptureresult is fired if the capture call is successful
    document.addEventListener('pendingcaptureresult', function(mediaFiles) {
        // Do something with result
    });

    // pendingcaptureerror is fired if the capture call is unsuccessful
    document.addEventListener('pendingcaptureerror', function(error) {
        // Handle error case
    });
}

// Only subscribe to events after deviceready fires
document.addEventListener('deviceready', onDeviceReady);

It is up you to track what part of your code these results are coming from. Be sure to save and restore your app's state as part of the pause and resume events as appropriate. Please note that these events will only fire on the Android platform and only when the Webview was destroyed during a capture operation.