Android Manifest file in Visual Studio Xamarin Android

Every Android application will have an XML file called the Android Manifest AndroidManifest.xml. AndroidManifest.xml contains basic information about the application like application name, version, and so on.

To enter the data for AndroidManifest.xml, right-click on the project and select Properties. Select Android Manifest on the right as shown below.

Here we discuss some of the settings in the Android manifest file.

Application name: This is the title of the application which displays along with an icon, and this is not same as the name selected on Google play.

Package name: This is the unique name to identify your application. It must begin with lower case letter and with one character within it. Use reverse domain style with your company name at the beginning. For example, you can use package name as com.techinfocorner.firstandroidapp.

Application icon: This is the application icon displayed on Android mobile screen.

Install location: Here you can select a different location to install your Android application. The value can be Internal Only, Prefer Internal, and Prefer External.

Version number: This represents the version of your application, and it should be one digit. Increasing the version indicates the newer version on Google play. You can mention Version number like 1 or 2 or 3 or ….so on.

Version name: This is user-friendly version string of the Android application.

Minimum Android Version: This is minimum version of the Android that your application requires. The value can be Android 4.1, Android 4.2,….so on.

Target Android Version: This is the version of Android SDK against which your application compiles. By selecting the higher version, you will get the access to new API’s.

Required permissions: Here you have to select the permissions which required for your application on mobile. These permissions displayed on Google Play before the application installed.

There are lot permissions available in Android manifest file as shown below.

Here we discuss some of the necessary permissions.

  • Camera – Required to access camera

  • Read_Contacts – Required to access mobile contacts

  • Read_External_Storage – Required to access mobile external storage

  • Write_Contacts – required to modify or write contacts on mobile

  • Write_External_Storage – Required to write the data to SD card on mobile

  • Internet – Required to make web requests over the Internet from your application

Let’s enter the values for these settings as below.

Application name: FirstAndroidApp

Package name: com.techinfocorner.firstandroidapp

Version number: 1

Version name: This can be any string, but better to use something resembling the version number like 1.0.0

Install location: Internal Only

Minimum Android Version: Android 4.1 (API Level – Jelly Bean)

Target Android Version: Android 7.1 (API Level 25 - Nougat)

Required permissions: Select Camera & Read_Contacts

Once you save the manifest file, it saves settings in AndroidManifest.xml file as shown below.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" package="FirstAndroidApp.FirstAndroidApp" android:versionCode="1" android:versionName="1.0" android:installLocation="auto">

                <uses-sdk android:minSdkVersion="16" android:targetSdkVersion="25" />

                <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.CAMERA" />

                <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_CONTACTS" />

                <application android:label="FirstAndroidApp"></application>

</manifest>