Resolve "feat:implementing the back button in mobile app"
#238 Description:
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Type of Change:
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Bug Fix -
Feature Development -
Documentation
Testing:
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Tested on desktop -
Tested on mobile -
Tested in different browsers
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Checklist:
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Code follows project style guidelines -
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TypeScript types are correct
Back Button Navigation Implementation – Android (Capacitor App)
Issue Description
In the Android version of the Capacitor-based mobile application, pressing the device hardware back button or using the system back gesture caused the application to exit instead of navigating to the previous screen.
Root Cause
Capacitor does not automatically integrate Android’s native back button behavior with React Router navigation. By default, when the Android back button is pressed:
- The WebView activity is closed.
- The application exits.
- No routing history handling occurs.
Since no custom back button listener was implemented, the system default behavior was triggered, resulting in abrupt app exits.
Impact
- Poor user experience.
- Users were unable to navigate back between screens.
- Application exited unexpectedly during normal navigation.
- Increased risk of accidental data loss.
Solution Implemented
A custom back button handler was implemented using the @capacitor/app plugin to properly control navigation behavior within the application.
Implementation Logic
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Added a back button event listener using:
CapacitorApp.addListener('backButton') -
Implementation Logic
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Checked the current route using
useLocation()from React Router. -
If the user is not on the home route (
'/'):- Navigates back using:
navigate(-1)
- Navigates back using:
-
If the user is on the home route:
- Requires double back press within 2 seconds to exit the app.
- Displays a confirmation message:
"Press back again to exit"
3.Behavior After Implementation
| Scenario | Result |
|---|---|
| User on inner pages | Navigates to previous page |
| User on home page (first press) | Shows exit confirmation message |
| User on home page (second press within 2 sec) | Exits application |