Put any application in the background in Android

Question

I know how to put any application in the foreground but I would now put any application in the background. Ie, each application i want. I searched a lot on google but I have not found a solution. Have you any idea how? I tried to display the home but it does not work :

Intent i = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_MAIN);
i.addCategory(Intent.CATEGORY_HOME);
startActivity(i);

Thank you very much in advance.

Here is my all code (its a test code), i launch map app and i want just after, puting it in backgroud:

    List<ResolveInfo> pkgAppsList =  retreivedAllApplicationsInstalled();      

    ActivityManager actMngr = (ActivityManager) getSystemService(ACTIVITY_SERVICE);
    List<RunningAppProcessInfo> runningAppProcesses = actMngr.getRunningAppProcesses();
    for (RunningAppProcessInfo pi : runningAppProcesses) {

        String[] testPklist = pi.pkgList;

        if(pi.importance == RunningAppProcessInfo.IMPORTANCE_BACKGROUND){
            for(String tp : testPklist){
                if(tp.equals("com.google.android.apps.maps")){

                       //launch map application
                       Intent i = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_MAIN);
                       PackageManager manager = getPackageManager();
                       i = manager.getLaunchIntentForPackage("com.google.android.apps.maps");
                       i.addCategory(Intent.CATEGORY_LAUNCHER);
                       startActivity(i);

                }
            }

        }

    }
    //try to put back all applications on displaying home
    Intent back = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_MAIN);
    back.addCategory(Intent.CATEGORY_HOME);
    startActivity(back);

Answer 1

If you want your app to run in the background you should use something called a Service. You can find more information on the link. But remember that background process drain battery, so use it with care.

Hope that helps.

Answer 2

I think I understand the problem in my code: I run a activity 'map', which execute and then my code below (to put in background) is never launched.......