Share via Email subject using text properly

Capacitor
1

Using Ionic React v7 with Capacitor v5, I am attempting to use @capacitor/share to share content via email. According to the docs and TypeScript typedocs on the share method, the title parameter should be treated as the subject if sharing via email.

I am instead experiencing the Share.share method is ignoring the title parameter, instead using the text parameter for both the email subject AND email content/

import { shareOutline } from 'ionicons/icons';

import { Share } from '@capacitor/share';
import { IonButton, IonIcon } from '@ionic/react';

export const SocialShare: React.FC<SocialShareProps> = ({}) => {
  const onShare = () => {
    return Share.share({
      title: 'This is the title', // expected subject, actually ignored
      text: 'Share text content here', // expected email content, actually email content AND email subject
      url: 'https://open.spotify.com/track/4frLb7nWtsz2ymBE6k2GRP?si=c69e60933e904d47',
    });
  };
  
  return (
    <IonButton className='m-0 text-base' fill='clear' color='primary' mode='ios' onClick={onShare}>
      Share
      <IonIcon slot='icon-only' src={shareOutline} md={shareOutline} />
    </IonButton>
  );
};

results in

image
image1179×2556 119 KB

2

Same. Shares to iOS default mail app ok. But GMail seems to be doing what you describe above.

3

That sounds like a bug/issue with Gmail itself. The Capacitor plugin is setting EXTRA_SUBJECT on the Intent here.

if (title != null) {
    intent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_SUBJECT, title);
}
4

@twestrick Ya, but the intent would be for Android, right? I’m seeing this issue on iOS (I haven’t tried Android).

5

Ahh, sorry. You didn’t mention what platform you were having issues with and I assumed Android since you mentioned Gmail.

On iOS, the plugin is setting the subject like this using UIActivityViewController.

if title != nil {
    actionController.setValue(title, forKey: "subject")
}

If it is working on iOS using the default mail app and not Gmail, I would still say that it is an issue with the Gmail app possibly not implementing this feature.

I am finding posts about this going back to 2015/2016 being a Gmail app issue on iOS. Here is a discussion on SO, here, here, and here and even over at React Native land.

There is a possible workaround here and here, both being similar. No idea if they actually work.

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