Get/pick an image from Android's built-in Gallery app programmatically

I am trying to open an image / picture in the Gallery built-in app from inside my application.

I have a URI of the picture (the picture is located on the SD card).

Do you have any suggestions?

This is a complete solution. I've just updated this example code with the information provided in the answer below by @mad. Also check the solution below from @Khobaib explaining how to deal with picasa images.

Update

I've just reviewed my original answer and created a simple Android Studio project you can checkout from github and import directly on your system.

https://github.com/hanscappelle/SO-2169649

(note that the multiple file selection still needs work)

Single Picture Selection

With support for images from file explorers thanks to user mad.

public class BrowsePictureActivity extends Activity {

    // this is the action code we use in our intent, 
    // this way we know we're looking at the response from our own action
    private static final int SELECT_PICTURE = 1;
    
    private String selectedImagePath;
    
    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    	super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    	setContentView(R.layout.main);
    
    	findViewById(R.id.Button01)
    			.setOnClickListener(new OnClickListener() {
    
    				public void onClick(View arg0) {
    
    					// in onCreate or any event where your want the user to
    					// select a file
    					Intent intent = new Intent();
    					intent.setType("image/*");
    					intent.setAction(Intent.ACTION_GET_CONTENT);
    					startActivityForResult(Intent.createChooser(intent,
    							"Select Picture"), SELECT_PICTURE);
    				}
    			});
    }
    
    public void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) {
    	if (resultCode == RESULT_OK) {
    		if (requestCode == SELECT_PICTURE) {
    			Uri selectedImageUri = data.getData();
    			selectedImagePath = getPath(selectedImageUri);
    		}
    	}
    }
    
    /**
     * helper to retrieve the path of an image URI
     */
    public String getPath(Uri uri) {
            // just some safety built in 
            if( uri == null ) {
                // TODO perform some logging or show user feedback
                return null;
            }
            // try to retrieve the image from the media store first
            // this will only work for images selected from gallery
            String[] projection = { MediaStore.Images.Media.DATA };
            Cursor cursor = managedQuery(uri, projection, null, null, null);
            if( cursor != null ){
        	    int column_index = cursor
    			.getColumnIndexOrThrow(MediaStore.Images.Media.DATA);
                cursor.moveToFirst();
                String path = cursor.getString(column_index);
                cursor.close();
                return path;
            }
            // this is our fallback here
            return uri.getPath();
    }

}

Selecting Multiple Pictures

Since someone requested that information in a comment and it's better to have information gathered.

Set an extra parameter EXTRA_ALLOW_MULTIPLE on the intent:

intent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_ALLOW_MULTIPLE, true);

And in the Result handling check for that parameter:

if (Intent.ACTION_SEND_MULTIPLE.equals(data.getAction()))
        && Intent.hasExtra(Intent.EXTRA_STREAM)) {
    // retrieve a collection of selected images
    ArrayList<Parcelable> list = intent.getParcelableArrayListExtra(Intent.EXTRA_STREAM);
    // iterate over these images
    if( list != null ) {
       for (Parcelable parcel : list) {
         Uri uri = (Uri) parcel;
         // TODO handle the images one by one here
       }
   }
} 

Note that this is only supported by API level 18+.

Here is an update to the fine code that hcpl posted. but this works with OI file manager, astro file manager AND the media gallery too (tested). so i guess it will work with every file manager (are there many others than those mentioned?). did some corrections to the code he wrote.

public class BrowsePicture extends Activity {

	//YOU CAN EDIT THIS TO WHATEVER YOU WANT
	private static final int SELECT_PICTURE = 1;

	private String selectedImagePath;
	//ADDED
	private String filemanagerstring;

	public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
		super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
		setContentView(R.layout.main);

		((Button) findViewById(R.id.Button01))
		.setOnClickListener(new OnClickListener() {

			public void onClick(View arg0) {

				// in onCreate or any event where your want the user to
				// select a file
				Intent intent = new Intent();
				intent.setType("image/*");
				intent.setAction(Intent.ACTION_GET_CONTENT);
				startActivityForResult(Intent.createChooser(intent,
						"Select Picture"), SELECT_PICTURE);
			}
		});
	}

	//UPDATED
	public void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) {
		if (resultCode == RESULT_OK) {
			if (requestCode == SELECT_PICTURE) {
				Uri selectedImageUri = data.getData();

				//OI FILE Manager
				filemanagerstring = selectedImageUri.getPath();

				//MEDIA GALLERY
				selectedImagePath = getPath(selectedImageUri);

				//DEBUG PURPOSE - you can delete this if you want
				if(selectedImagePath!=null)
					System.out.println(selectedImagePath);
				else System.out.println("selectedImagePath is null");
				if(filemanagerstring!=null)
					System.out.println(filemanagerstring);
				else System.out.println("filemanagerstring is null");

				//NOW WE HAVE OUR WANTED STRING
				if(selectedImagePath!=null)
					System.out.println("selectedImagePath is the right one for you!");
				else
					System.out.println("filemanagerstring is the right one for you!");
			}
		}
	}

	//UPDATED!
	public String getPath(Uri uri) {
		String[] projection = { MediaStore.Images.Media.DATA };
		Cursor cursor = managedQuery(uri, projection, null, null, null);
		if(cursor!=null)
		{
			//HERE YOU WILL GET A NULLPOINTER IF CURSOR IS NULL
			//THIS CAN BE, IF YOU USED OI FILE MANAGER FOR PICKING THE MEDIA
			int column_index = cursor
			.getColumnIndexOrThrow(MediaStore.Images.Media.DATA);
			cursor.moveToFirst();
			return cursor.getString(column_index);
		}
		else return null;
	}

hcpl's methods work perfectly pre-KitKat, but not working with the DocumentsProvider API. For that just simply follow the official Android tutorial for documentproviders: https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/providers/document-provider.html -> open a document, Bitmap section.

Simply I used hcpl's code and extended it: if the file with the retrieved path to the image throws exception I call this function:

private Bitmap getBitmapFromUri(Uri uri) throws IOException {
        ParcelFileDescriptor parcelFileDescriptor =
             getContentResolver().openFileDescriptor(uri, "r");
        FileDescriptor fileDescriptor = parcelFileDescriptor.getFileDescriptor();
        Bitmap image = BitmapFactory.decodeFileDescriptor(fileDescriptor);
        parcelFileDescriptor.close();
        return image;
}

Tested on Nexus 5.

basis with the above code, I reflected the code like below, may be it's more suitable:

public String getPath(Uri uri) {
	String selectedImagePath;
	//1:MEDIA GALLERY --- query from MediaStore.Images.Media.DATA
	String[] projection = { MediaStore.Images.Media.DATA };
	Cursor cursor = managedQuery(uri, projection, null, null, null);
	if(cursor != null){
		int column_index = cursor.getColumnIndexOrThrow(MediaStore.Images.Media.DATA);
		cursor.moveToFirst();
		selectedImagePath = cursor.getString(column_index);
	}else{
		selectedImagePath = null;
	}

	if(selectedImagePath == null){
		//2:OI FILE Manager --- call method: uri.getPath()
		selectedImagePath = uri.getPath();
	}
	return selectedImagePath;
}

I went through the solution from @hcpl & @mad. hcpl's solution supports well for local image in the gallery & mad provided a better solution on top of that - it helps to load OI/Astro/Dropbox image as well. But in my app, while working on picasa library that's now integrated in Android Gallery, both solution fail.

I searched & analyzed a bit & eventually have come with a better & elegant solution that overcomes this limitation. Thanks to Dimitar Darazhanski for his blog, that helped me in this case, I modified a bit to make it easier to understand. Here is my solution goes -

public class BrowsePicture extends Activity {

//YOU CAN EDIT THIS TO WHATEVER YOU WANT
private static final int SELECT_PICTURE = 1;

private String selectedImagePath;
//ADDED
private String filemanagerstring;

public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    setContentView(R.layout.main);

    ((Button) findViewById(R.id.Button01))
    .setOnClickListener(new OnClickListener() {

        public void onClick(View arg0) {

            // in onCreate or any event where your want the user to
            // select a file
            Intent intent = new Intent();
            intent.setType("image/*");
            intent.setAction(Intent.ACTION_GET_CONTENT);
            startActivityForResult(Intent.createChooser(intent,
                    "Select Picture"), SELECT_PICTURE);
        }
    });
}

public void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) {
    if (resultCode == RESULT_OK) {
        if (requestCode == SELECT_PICTURE) {
            Uri selectedImageUri = data.getData();
            Log.d("URI VAL", "selectedImageUri = " + selectedImageUri.toString());
            selectedImagePath = getPath(selectedImageUri);

            if(selectedImagePath!=null){         
				// IF LOCAL IMAGE, NO MATTER IF ITS DIRECTLY FROM GALLERY (EXCEPT PICASSA ALBUM),
				// OR OI/ASTRO FILE MANAGER. EVEN DROPBOX IS SUPPORTED BY THIS BECAUSE DROPBOX DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE 
				// IN THIS FORM - file:///storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.dropbox.android/...
                System.out.println("local image"); 
            }
            else{
                System.out.println("picasa image!");
                loadPicasaImageFromGallery(selectedImageUri);
            }
        }
    }
}


// NEW METHOD FOR PICASA IMAGE LOAD
private void loadPicasaImageFromGallery(final Uri uri) {
    String[] projection = {  MediaColumns.DATA, MediaColumns.DISPLAY_NAME };
    Cursor cursor = getContentResolver().query(uri, projection, null, null, null);
    if(cursor != null) {
        cursor.moveToFirst();

        int columnIndex = cursor.getColumnIndex(MediaColumns.DISPLAY_NAME);
        if (columnIndex != -1) {
            new Thread(new Runnable() {
				// NEW THREAD BECAUSE NETWORK REQUEST WILL BE MADE THAT WILL BE A LONG PROCESS & BLOCK UI
				// IF CALLED IN UI THREAD 
                public void run() {
                    try {
                        Bitmap bitmap = android.provider.MediaStore.Images.Media.getBitmap(getContentResolver(), uri);
						// THIS IS THE BITMAP IMAGE WE ARE LOOKING FOR.
                    } catch (Exception ex) {
                        ex.printStackTrace();
                    }
                }
            }).start();
        }
    }
    cursor.close();
}


public String getPath(Uri uri) {
    String[] projection = {  MediaColumns.DATA};
    Cursor cursor = getContentResolver().query(uri, projection, null, null, null);
    if(cursor != null) {
        //HERE YOU WILL GET A NULLPOINTER IF CURSOR IS NULL
        //THIS CAN BE, IF YOU USED OI FILE MANAGER FOR PICKING THE MEDIA
        cursor.moveToFirst();
        int columnIndex = cursor.getColumnIndexOrThrow(MediaColumns.DATA);
        String filePath = cursor.getString(columnIndex);
        cursor.close();
        return filePath;
    }
    else 
		return uri.getPath();				// FOR OI/ASTRO/Dropbox etc
}

Check it & let me know if there's some issue with it. I have tested it & it works well in every case.

Hope this will help everyone.

Assuming you have an image folder in your SD card directory for images only.

Intent intent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_GET_CONTENT);
// tells your intent to get the contents
// opens the URI for your image directory on your sdcard
intent.setType("file:///sdcard/image/*"); 
startActivityForResult(intent, 1);

Then you can decide with what you would like to do with the content back in your activity.

This was an example to retrieve the path name for the image, test this with your code just to make sure you can handle the results coming back. You can change the code as needed to better fit your needs.

protected final void onActivityResult(final int requestCode, final int
                     resultCode, final Intent i) {
    super.onActivityResult(requestCode, resultCode, i);

  // this matches the request code in the above call
  if (requestCode == 1) {
      Uri _uri = i.getData();

    // this will be null if no image was selected...
    if (_uri != null) {
      // now we get the path to the image file
     cursor = getContentResolver().query(_uri, null,
                                      null, null, null);
     cursor.moveToFirst();
     String imageFilePath = cursor.getString(0);
     cursor.close();
     }
   }

My advice is to try to get retrieving images working correctly, I think the problem is the content of accessing the images on the sdcard. Take a look at Displaying images on sd card.

If you can get that up and running, probably by the example supplying a correct provider, you should be able to figure out a work-around for your code.

Keep me updated by updating this question with your progress. Good luck

this is my revisit to this topic, gathering all the information here, plus from other relevant stack overflow questions. It returns images from some provider, while handling out-of-memory conditions and image rotation. It supports gallery, picasa and file managers, like drop box. Usage is simple: as input, the constructor receives the content resolver and the uri. The output is the final bitmap.

/**
 * Creates resized images without exploding memory. Uses the method described in android
 * documentation concerning bitmap allocation, which is to subsample the image to a smaller size,
 * close to some expected size. This is required because the android standard library is unable to
 * create a reduced size image from an image file using memory comparable to the final size (and
 * loading a full sized multi-megapixel picture for processing may exceed application memory budget).
 */

public class UserPicture {
    static int MAX_WIDTH = 600;
    static int MAX_HEIGHT = 800;
    Uri uri;
    ContentResolver resolver;
    String path;
    Matrix orientation;
    int storedHeight;
    int storedWidth;

    public UserPicture(Uri uri, ContentResolver resolver) {
        this.uri = uri;
        this.resolver = resolver;
    }

    private boolean getInformation() throws IOException {
        if (getInformationFromMediaDatabase())
            return true;

        if (getInformationFromFileSystem())
            return true;

        return false;
    }

    /* Support for gallery apps and remote ("picasa") images */
    private boolean getInformationFromMediaDatabase() {
        String[] fields = { Media.DATA, ImageColumns.ORIENTATION };
        Cursor cursor = resolver.query(uri, fields, null, null, null);

        if (cursor == null)
            return false;

        cursor.moveToFirst();
        path = cursor.getString(cursor.getColumnIndex(Media.DATA));
        int orientation = cursor.getInt(cursor.getColumnIndex(ImageColumns.ORIENTATION));
        this.orientation = new Matrix();
        this.orientation.setRotate(orientation);
        cursor.close();

        return true;
    }

    /* Support for file managers and dropbox */
    private boolean getInformationFromFileSystem() throws IOException {
        path = uri.getPath();

        if (path == null)
            return false;

        ExifInterface exif = new ExifInterface(path);
        int orientation = exif.getAttributeInt(ExifInterface.TAG_ORIENTATION,
                                               ExifInterface.ORIENTATION_NORMAL);

        this.orientation = new Matrix();
        switch(orientation) {
            case ExifInterface.ORIENTATION_NORMAL:
                /* Identity matrix */
                break;
            case ExifInterface.ORIENTATION_FLIP_HORIZONTAL:
                this.orientation.setScale(-1, 1);
                break;
            case ExifInterface.ORIENTATION_ROTATE_180:
                this.orientation.setRotate(180);
                break;
            case ExifInterface.ORIENTATION_FLIP_VERTICAL:
                this.orientation.setScale(1, -1);
                break;
            case ExifInterface.ORIENTATION_TRANSPOSE:
                this.orientation.setRotate(90);
                this.orientation.postScale(-1, 1);
                break;
            case ExifInterface.ORIENTATION_ROTATE_90:
                this.orientation.setRotate(90);
                break;
            case ExifInterface.ORIENTATION_TRANSVERSE:
                this.orientation.setRotate(-90);
                this.orientation.postScale(-1, 1);
                break;
            case ExifInterface.ORIENTATION_ROTATE_270:
                this.orientation.setRotate(-90);
                break;
        }

        return true;
    }

    private boolean getStoredDimensions() throws IOException {
        InputStream input = resolver.openInputStream(uri);
        Options options = new Options();
        options.inJustDecodeBounds = true;
        BitmapFactory.decodeStream(resolver.openInputStream(uri), null, options);

        /* The input stream could be reset instead of closed and reopened if it were possible
           to reliably wrap the input stream on a buffered stream, but it's not possible because
           decodeStream() places an upper read limit of 1024 bytes for a reset to be made (it calls
           mark(1024) on the stream). */
        input.close();

        if (options.outHeight <= 0 || options.outWidth <= 0)
            return false;

        storedHeight = options.outHeight;
        storedWidth = options.outWidth;

        return true;
    }

    public Bitmap getBitmap() throws IOException {
        if (!getInformation())
            throw new FileNotFoundException();

        if (!getStoredDimensions())
            throw new InvalidObjectException(null);

        RectF rect = new RectF(0, 0, storedWidth, storedHeight);
        orientation.mapRect(rect);
        int width = (int)rect.width();
        int height = (int)rect.height();
        int subSample = 1;

        while (width > MAX_WIDTH || height > MAX_HEIGHT) {
            width /= 2;
            height /= 2;
            subSample *= 2;
        }

        if (width == 0 || height == 0)
            throw new InvalidObjectException(null);

        Options options = new Options();
        options.inSampleSize = subSample;
        Bitmap subSampled = BitmapFactory.decodeStream(resolver.openInputStream(uri), null, options);

        Bitmap picture;
        if (!orientation.isIdentity()) {
            picture = Bitmap.createBitmap(subSampled, 0, 0, options.outWidth, options.outHeight,
                                          orientation, false);
            subSampled.recycle();
        } else
            picture = subSampled;

        return picture;
    }
}

References:

• http://developer.android.com/training/displaying-bitmaps/index.html
• https://stackoverflow.com/questions/2169649/get-pick-an-image-from-androids-built-in-gallery-app-programmatically
• https://stackoverflow.com/questions/477572/strange-out-of-memory-issue-while-loading-an-image-to-a-bitmap-object/
• https://stackoverflow.com/questions/19753912/set-image-orientation-using-exifinterface
• https://gist.github.com/9re/1990019
• https://stackoverflow.com/questions/17774442/how-to-get-bitmap-information-and-then-decode-bitmap-from-internet-inputstream/

There are two useful tutorials about image picker with downloadable source code here:

How to Create Android Image Picker

How to Select and Crop Image on Android

However, the app will be forced to close sometime, you can fix it by adding android:configChanges attribute into main activity in Manifest file like as:

<activity android:name=".MainActivity"
                  android:label="@string/app_name" android:configChanges="keyboardHidden|orientation" >

It seems that the camera API lost control with orientation so this will help it. :)

To display images and videos try this:

    Intent intent = new Intent();
    intent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_PICK, android.provider.MediaStore.Images.Media.EXTERNAL_CONTENT_URI);
    startActivityForResult(intent, 1);
    startActivityForResult(Intent.createChooser(intent,"Wybierz plik"), SELECT_FILE);

> Below solution work for 2.3(Gingerbread)-4.4(Kitkat), 5.0(Lollipop) and 6.0(Marshmallow) also:-

Step 1 Code for opening the gallery to select pics:

public static final int PICK_IMAGE = 1;
private void takePictureFromGalleryOrAnyOtherFolder() 
{
    Intent intent = new Intent();
	intent.setType("image/*");
	intent.setAction(Intent.ACTION_GET_CONTENT);
	startActivityForResult(Intent.createChooser(intent, "Select Picture"), PICK_IMAGE);
}

Step 2 Code for getting data in onActivityResult:

 @Override
 protected void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) {
    		super.onActivityResult(requestCode, resultCode, data);
            if (resultCode == Activity.RESULT_OK) {
               if (requestCode == PICK_IMAGE) {
    				Uri selectedImageUri = data.getData();
                    String imagePath = getRealPathFromURI(selectedImageUri);
                   //Now you have imagePath do whatever you want to do now
                 }//end of inner if
             }//end of outer if
      }

 public String getRealPathFromURI(Uri contentUri) {
		//Uri contentUri = Uri.parse(contentURI);
		
		String[] projection = { MediaStore.Images.Media.DATA };
		Cursor cursor = null;
		try {
			if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT > 19) {
				// Will return "image:x*"
				String wholeID = DocumentsContract.getDocumentId(contentUri);
				// Split at colon, use second item in the array
				String id = wholeID.split(":")[1];
				// where id is equal to
				String sel = MediaStore.Images.Media._ID + "=?";

				cursor = context.getContentResolver().query(
						MediaStore.Images.Media.EXTERNAL_CONTENT_URI,
						projection, sel, new String[] { id }, null);
			} else {
				cursor = context.getContentResolver().query(contentUri,
						projection, null, null, null);
			}
		} catch (Exception e) {
			e.printStackTrace();
		}

		String path = null;
		try {
			int column_index = cursor
					.getColumnIndex(MediaStore.Images.Media.DATA);
			cursor.moveToFirst();
			path = cursor.getString(column_index).toString();
			cursor.close();
		} catch (NullPointerException e) {
			e.printStackTrace();
		}
		return path;
	}

Just in case it helps; I do this to get the Bitmap:

InputStream is = context.getContentResolver().openInputStream(imageUri);
Bitmap bitmap = BitmapFactory.decodeStream(is);

Above Answers are correct. I faced an different issue where in HTC M8 my application crashes when selecting an image from gallery. I'm getting null value for image path. I fixed and optimized with the following solution. in onActivityResult method

protected void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) {
	super.onActivityResult(requestCode, resultCode, data);
	if ((requestCode == RESULT_LOAD_IMAGE) && (resultCode == RESULT_OK)) {
     if (data != null) {

			Uri selectedImageUri = null;
			selectedImageUri = data.getData();
			String[] filePathColumn = { MediaStore.Images.Media.DATA };

			Cursor imageCursor = mainActivity.getContentResolver().query(
					selectedImageUri, filePathColumn, null, null, null);

			if (imageCursor == null) {
				return;
			}

			imageCursor.moveToFirst();
			int columnIndex = imageCursor.getColumnIndex(filePathColumn[0]);
			picturePath = imageCursor.getString(columnIndex);
			if (picturePath == null) {
				picturePath = selectedImageUri.getPath();
				String wholeID = DocumentsContract
						.getDocumentId(selectedImage);

				// Split at colon, use second item in the array
				String id = wholeID.split(":")[1];

				String[] column = { MediaStore.Images.Media.DATA };

				// where id is equal to
				String sel = MediaStore.Images.Media._ID + "=?";

				Cursor cursor = mainActivity.getContentResolver().query(
						MediaStore.Images.Media.EXTERNAL_CONTENT_URI,
						column, sel, new String[] { id }, null);

				columnIndex = cursor.getColumnIndex(column[0]);

				if (cursor.moveToFirst()) {
					picturePath = cursor.getString(columnIndex);
				}

				cursor.close();
			}
			picturePathAbs = new File(picturePath).getAbsolutePath();
			imageCursor.close();
		}

}

package com.ImageConvertingDemo;

import java.io.BufferedInputStream;
import java.io.FileInputStream;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.graphics.Bitmap;
import android.graphics.BitmapFactory;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.util.Log;
import android.widget.EditText;
import android.widget.ImageView;

public class MyActivity extends Activity {
    /** Called when the activity is first created. */
    @Override
    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.main);
        EditText tv = (EditText)findViewById(R.id.EditText01);
        ImageView iv = (ImageView)findViewById(R.id.ImageView01);
        FileInputStream in;
        BufferedInputStream buf;
        	try 
        	{
        		in = new FileInputStream("/sdcard/smooth.png");
        		buf = new BufferedInputStream(in,1070);
        		System.out.println("1.................."+buf);
        		byte[] bMapArray= new byte[buf.available()];
        		tv.setText(bMapArray.toString());
        		buf.read(bMapArray);
        		Bitmap bMap = BitmapFactory.decodeByteArray(bMapArray, 0, bMapArray.length);
        		
        		/*for (int i = 0; i < bMapArray.length; i++) 
        		{
        		System.out.print("bytearray"+bMapArray[i]);
        		}*/
        		iv.setImageBitmap(bMap);
        		//tv.setText(bMapArray.toString());
        		//tv.setText(buf.toString());
        		if (in != null) 
        		{
        			in.close();
        		}
        		if (buf != null) 
        		{
        			buf.close();
        		}

        	} 
        	catch (Exception e) 
        	{
        		Log.e("Error reading file", e.toString());
        	}
   	}
}

public class BrowsePictureActivity extends Activity {

    // this is the action code we use in our intent, 
    // this way we know we're looking at the response from our own action
    private static final int SELECT_PICTURE = 1;

    private String selectedImagePath;

    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.main);

        ((Button) findViewById(R.id.Button01))
                .setOnClickListener(new OnClickListener() {

                    public void onClick(View arg0) {

                        // in onCreate or any event where your want the user to
                        // select a file
                        Intent intent = new Intent();
                        intent.setType("image/*");
                        intent.setAction(Intent.ACTION_GET_CONTENT);
                        startActivityForResult(Intent.createChooser(intent,
                                "Select Picture"), SELECT_PICTURE);
                    }
                });
    }

    public void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) {
        if (resultCode == RESULT_OK) {
            if (requestCode == SELECT_PICTURE) {
                Uri selectedImageUri = data.getData();
                selectedImagePath = getPath(selectedImageUri);
            }
        }
    }

    /**
     * helper to retrieve the path of an image URI
     */
    public String getPath(Uri uri) {
            // just some safety built in 
            if( uri == null ) {
                // TODO perform some logging or show user feedback
                return null;
            }
            // try to retrieve the image from the media store first
            // this will only work for images selected from gallery
            String[] projection = { MediaStore.Images.Media.DATA };
            Cursor cursor = managedQuery(uri, projection, null, null, null);
            if( cursor != null ){
                int column_index = cursor
                .getColumnIndexOrThrow(MediaStore.Images.Media.DATA);
                cursor.moveToFirst();
                return cursor.getString(column_index);
            }
            // this is our fallback here
            return uri.getPath();
    }

}

---

Retrieve a specific type of file

This example will get a copy of the image.

static final int REQUEST_IMAGE_GET = 1;

public void selectImage() {
    Intent intent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_GET_CONTENT);
    intent.setType("image/*");
    if (intent.resolveActivity(getPackageManager()) != null) {
        startActivityForResult(intent, REQUEST_IMAGE_GET);
    }
}

@Override
protected void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) {
    if (requestCode == REQUEST_IMAGE_GET && resultCode == RESULT_OK) {
        Bitmap thumbnail = data.getParcelable("data");
        Uri fullPhotoUri = data.getData();
        // Do work with photo saved at fullPhotoUri
        ...
    }
}

Open a specific type of file

When running on 4.4 or higher, you request to open a file that's managed by another app

static final int REQUEST_IMAGE_OPEN = 1;

public void selectImage() {
    Intent intent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_OPEN_DOCUMENT);
    intent.setType("image/*");
    intent.addCategory(Intent.CATEGORY_OPENABLE);
    // Only the system receives the ACTION_OPEN_DOCUMENT, so no need to test.
    startActivityForResult(intent, REQUEST_IMAGE_OPEN);
}

@Override
protected void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) {
    if (requestCode == REQUEST_IMAGE_OPEN && resultCode == RESULT_OK) {
        Uri fullPhotoUri = data.getData();
        // Do work with full size photo saved at fullPhotoUri
        ...
    }
}

Original source

Additional to previous answers, if you are having problems with getting the right path(like AndroZip) you can use this:

  public String getPath(Uri uri ,ContentResolver contentResolver) {
        String[] projection = {  MediaStore.MediaColumns.DATA};
        Cursor cursor;
        try{
            cursor = contentResolver.query(uri, projection, null, null, null);
        } catch (SecurityException e){
            String path = uri.getPath();
            String result = tryToGetStoragePath(path);
            return  result;
        }
        if(cursor != null) {
            //HERE YOU WILL GET A NULLPOINTER IF CURSOR IS NULL
            //THIS CAN BE, IF YOU USED OI FILE MANAGER FOR PICKING THE MEDIA
            cursor.moveToFirst();
            int columnIndex = cursor.getColumnIndexOrThrow(MediaStore.MediaColumns.DATA);
            String filePath = cursor.getString(columnIndex);
            cursor.close();
            return filePath;
        }
        else
            return uri.getPath();               // FOR OI/ASTRO/Dropbox etc
    }

    private String tryToGetStoragePath(String path) {
        int actualPathStart = path.indexOf("//storage");
        String result = path;

        if(actualPathStart!= -1 && actualPathStart< path.length())
            result = path.substring(actualPathStart+1 , path.length());

        return result;
    }

Please find the answer for the selecting single image from gallery

import android.app.Activity;
import android.net.Uri;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.graphics.Bitmap;
import android.graphics.BitmapFactory;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.Button;
import android.widget.ImageView;
import android.widget.TextView;

import java.io.ByteArrayOutputStream;
import java.io.FileNotFoundException;
import java.io.InputStream;

public class PickImage extends Activity {

    Button btnOpen, btnGet, btnPick;
    TextView textInfo1, textInfo2;
    ImageView imageView;

    private static final int RQS_OPEN_IMAGE = 1;
    private static final int RQS_GET_IMAGE = 2;
    private static final int RQS_PICK_IMAGE = 3;

    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.image_pick);
        btnOpen = (Button)findViewById(R.id.open);
        btnGet = (Button)findViewById(R.id.get);
        btnPick = (Button)findViewById(R.id.pick);
        textInfo1 = (TextView)findViewById(R.id.info1);
        textInfo2 = (TextView)findViewById(R.id.info2);
        imageView = (ImageView) findViewById(R.id.image);

        btnOpen.setOnClickListener(btnOpenOnClickListener);
        btnGet.setOnClickListener(btnGetOnClickListener);
        btnPick.setOnClickListener(btnPickOnClickListener);
    }

    View.OnClickListener btnOpenOnClickListener = new View.OnClickListener() {
        @Override
        public void onClick(View v) {
            Intent intent = new Intent();
            intent.setAction(Intent.ACTION_OPEN_DOCUMENT);
            intent.addCategory(Intent.CATEGORY_OPENABLE);
            intent.setType("image/*");

            startActivityForResult(intent, RQS_OPEN_IMAGE);
        }
    };

    View.OnClickListener btnGetOnClickListener = new View.OnClickListener() {
        @Override
        public void onClick(View v) {
            Intent intent = new Intent();
            intent.setAction(Intent.ACTION_GET_CONTENT);
            intent.addCategory(Intent.CATEGORY_OPENABLE);
            intent.setType("image/*");

            startActivityForResult(intent, RQS_OPEN_IMAGE);
        }
    };

    View.OnClickListener btnPickOnClickListener = new View.OnClickListener() {
        @Override
        public void onClick(View v) {
            Intent intent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_PICK,
                    android.provider.MediaStore.Images.Media.EXTERNAL_CONTENT_URI);
            startActivityForResult(intent, RQS_PICK_IMAGE);
        }
    };

    @Override
    protected void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) {
        if (resultCode == Activity.RESULT_OK) {


            if (requestCode == RQS_OPEN_IMAGE ||
                    requestCode == RQS_GET_IMAGE ||
                    requestCode == RQS_PICK_IMAGE) {

                imageView.setImageBitmap(null);
                textInfo1.setText("");
                textInfo2.setText("");

                Uri mediaUri = data.getData();
                textInfo1.setText(mediaUri.toString());
                String mediaPath = mediaUri.getPath();
                textInfo2.setText(mediaPath);

                //display the image
                try {
                    InputStream inputStream = getBaseContext().getContentResolver().openInputStream(mediaUri);
                    Bitmap bm = BitmapFactory.decodeStream(inputStream);

                   ByteArrayOutputStream stream = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
                    byte[] byteArray = stream.toByteArray();
                    
                    imageView.setImageBitmap(bm);
                    
                } catch (FileNotFoundException e) {
                    e.printStackTrace();
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

Quickest way to open image from gallery or camera.

Original reference : get image from gallery in android programmatically

Following method will receive image from gallery or camera and will show it in an ImageView. Selected image will be stored internally.

code for xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent"
    android:orientation="vertical"
    tools:context="com.exampledemo.parsaniahardik.uploadgalleryimage.MainActivity">
 
    <Button
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:id="@+id/btn"
        android:layout_gravity="center_horizontal"
        android:layout_marginTop="20dp"
        android:textAppearance="?android:attr/textAppearanceLarge"
        android:text="Capture Image and upload to server" />
 
    <TextView
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:text="Below image is fetched from server"
        android:layout_marginTop="5dp"
        android:textSize="23sp"
        android:gravity="center"
        android:textColor="#000"/>
 
    <ImageView
        android:layout_width="300dp"
        android:layout_height="300dp"
        android:layout_gravity="center"
        android:layout_marginTop="10dp"
        android:scaleType="fitXY"
        android:src="@mipmap/ic_launcher"
        android:id="@+id/iv"/>
 
</LinearLayout>

JAVA class

import android.content.Intent;
import android.graphics.Bitmap;
import android.media.MediaScannerConnection;
import android.os.Environment;
import android.support.v7.app.AppCompatActivity;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.util.Log;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.Button;
import android.widget.ImageView;
import android.widget.Toast;
import com.androidquery.AQuery;
import org.json.JSONException;
import java.io.ByteArrayOutputStream;
import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileOutputStream;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.Calendar;
import java.util.HashMap;
 
public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity implements AsyncTaskCompleteListener{
 
    private ParseContent parseContent;
    private Button btn;
    private ImageView imageview;
    private static final String IMAGE_DIRECTORY = "/demonuts_upload_camera";
    private final int CAMERA = 1;
    private AQuery aQuery;
 
    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
 
        parseContent = new ParseContent(this);
        aQuery = new AQuery(this);
 
        btn = (Button) findViewById(R.id.btn);
        imageview = (ImageView) findViewById(R.id.iv);
 
        btn.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
            @Override
            public void onClick(View v) {
                Intent intent = new Intent(android.provider.MediaStore.ACTION_IMAGE_CAPTURE);
                startActivityForResult(intent, CAMERA);
            }
        });
 
    }
 
    @Override
    public void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) {
 
        super.onActivityResult(requestCode, resultCode, data);
        if (resultCode == this.RESULT_CANCELED) {
            return;
        }
        if (requestCode == CAMERA) {
            Bitmap thumbnail = (Bitmap) data.getExtras().get("data");
            String path = saveImage(thumbnail);
            try {
                uploadImageToServer(path);
            } catch (IOException e) {
                e.printStackTrace();
            } catch (JSONException e) {
                e.printStackTrace();
            }
        }
    }
 
    private void uploadImageToServer(final String path) throws IOException, JSONException {
 
        if (!AndyUtils.isNetworkAvailable(MainActivity.this)) {
            Toast.makeText(MainActivity.this, "Internet is required!", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
            return;
        }
 
        HashMap<String, String> map = new HashMap<String, String>();
        map.put("url", "https://demonuts.com/Demonuts/JsonTest/Tennis/uploadfile.php");
        map.put("filename", path);
        new MultiPartRequester(this, map, CAMERA, this);
        AndyUtils.showSimpleProgressDialog(this);
    }
 
    @Override
    public void onTaskCompleted(String response, int serviceCode) {
        AndyUtils.removeSimpleProgressDialog();
        Log.d("res", response.toString());
        switch (serviceCode) {
 
            case CAMERA:
                if (parseContent.isSuccess(response)) {
                    String url = parseContent.getURL(response);
                    aQuery.id(imageview).image(url);
                }
        }
    }
 
    public String saveImage(Bitmap myBitmap) {
        ByteArrayOutputStream bytes = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
        myBitmap.compress(Bitmap.CompressFormat.JPEG, 90, bytes);
        File wallpaperDirectory = new File(
                Environment.getExternalStorageDirectory() + IMAGE_DIRECTORY);
        // have the object build the directory structure, if needed.
        if (!wallpaperDirectory.exists()) {
            wallpaperDirectory.mkdirs();
        }
 
        try {
            File f = new File(wallpaperDirectory, Calendar.getInstance()
                    .getTimeInMillis() + ".jpg");
            f.createNewFile();
            FileOutputStream fo = new FileOutputStream(f);
            fo.write(bytes.toByteArray());
            MediaScannerConnection.scanFile(this,
                    new String[]{f.getPath()},
                    new String[]{"image/jpeg"}, null);
            fo.close();
            Log.d("TAG", "File Saved::--->" + f.getAbsolutePath());
 
            return f.getAbsolutePath();
        } catch (IOException e1) {
            e1.printStackTrace();
        }
        return "";
    }
}

here is my example, might not be as your case exactly.

---

assuming that you get base64 format from your API provider, give it a file name and file extension, save it to certain location in the file system.

public static void shownInBuiltInGallery(final Context ctx, String strBase64Image, final String strFileName, final String strFileExtension){

new AsyncTask<String, String, File>() {
    @Override
    protected File doInBackground(String... strBase64Image) {

        Bitmap bmpImage = convertBase64StringToBitmap(strBase64Image[0], Base64.NO_WRAP);

        if(bmpImage == null) {
            cancel(true);
            return null;
        }

        byte[] byImage = null;

        if(strFileExtension.compareToIgnoreCase(FILE_EXTENSION_JPG) == 0) {
            byImage = convertToJpgByte(bmpImage); // convert bitmap to binary for latter use
        } else if(strFileExtension.compareToIgnoreCase(FILE_EXTENSION_PNG) == 0){
            byImage = convertToPngByte(bmpImage); // convert bitmap to binary for latter use
        } else if(strFileExtension.compareToIgnoreCase(FILE_EXTENSION_BMP) == 0){
            byImage = convertToBmpByte(bmpImage); // convert bitmap to binary for latter use
        } else {
            cancel(true);
            return null;
        }

        if(byImage == null) {
            cancel(true);
            return null;
        }

        File imageFolder = ctx.getExternalCacheDir();

        if(imageFolder.exists() == false){
            if(imageFolder.mkdirs() == false){
                cancel(true);
                return null;
            }
        }

        File imageFile = null;

        try {
            imageFile = File.createTempFile(strFileName, strFileExtension, imageFolder);
        } catch (IOException e){
            e.printStackTrace();
        }

        if(imageFile == null){
            cancel(true);
            return null;
        }

        if (imageFile.exists() == true) {
            if(imageFile.delete() == false){
                cancel(true);
                return null;
            }
        }

        FileOutputStream fos = null;

        try {
            fos = new FileOutputStream(imageFile.getPath());
            fos.write(byImage);
            fos.flush();
            fos.close();
        } catch (java.io.IOException e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        } finally {
            fos = null;
        }

        return imageFile;
    }

    @Override
    protected void onPostExecute(File file) {
        super.onPostExecute(file);

            String strAuthority = ctx.getPackageName() + ".provider";
            Uri uriImage = FileProvider.getUriForFile(ctx, strAuthority, file);

            Intent intent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW);
            intent.setDataAndType(uriImage, "image/*");
            intent.setFlags(Intent.FLAG_GRANT_READ_URI_PERMISSION);
            ctx.startActivity(intent);

    }
}.execute(strBase64Image);}

---

Don't forget to set up a proper file provider at first place in AndroidManifest.xml

        <provider
        android:name="android.support.v4.content.FileProvider"
        android:authorities="${applicationId}.provider"
        android:exported="false"
        android:grantUriPermissions="true">

        <meta-data
            android:name="android.support.FILE_PROVIDER_PATHS"
            android:resource="@xml/file_paths"/>
    </provider>

---

where the file path is a xml in .../res/xml/file_path.xml

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

http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">

<external-files-path name="external_files" path="Accessory"/>

<external-path name="ex_Download" path="Download/" />
<external-path name="ex_Pictures" path="Pictures/" />

<external-files-path name="my_Download" path="Download/" />
<external-files-path name="my_Pictures" path="Pictures/" />
<external-cache-path name="my_cache" path="." />

<files-path name="private_Download" path="Download/" />
<files-path name="private_Pictures" path="Pictures/" />
<cache-path name="private_cache" path="." />

---

Long story short, have file provider ready at first, pass Uri to Intent for known and accessible picture source, otherwise, save the picture in desired location and then pass the location (as Uri) to Intent.