How to programmatically insert call log entries WITH display name and photo?

Question

I am able to programmatically insert an entry into the Android call log with a number, date, duration & type BUT I cannot figure out how to also include a photo, label and name? The entry I'm adding is for an existing Contact with the exact same number. I've noticed on a Motorola device the name & pic appears if the number matches an existing Contact but on my HTC Incredible something is missing?

I do the following.. (didn't know what to even try for the photo)

ContentValues values = new ContentValues();
values.put(CallLog.Calls.NUMBER, number);
values.put(CallLog.Calls.CACHED_NAME, name);
values.put(CallLog.Calls.CACHED_NUMBER_LABEL, label);
values.put(CallLog.Calls.DATE, date);
values.put(CallLog.Calls.DURATION, duration);
values.put(CallLog.Calls.TYPE, myCallType);
context.getContentResolver().insert(CallLog.Calls.CONTENT_URI, values);

Answer 1

You cannot insert photos into the call log itself; those are stored in the Contact that is linked to the call log entry. See ContactsContract.Data for more information about how to do that.

As far as the HTC device not updating the call log with an existing photo, it could be tied to the way that HTC Sense caches call log entries; I have seen similar issues that only appear on Sense devices.

Call log entries are typically stored in the calls table in the Contacts app database (/data/data/com.android.providers.contacts/databases/contacts2.db). For some reason, it appears that HTC Sense does not update existing call log entries if contact data changes, but other ROMs do.

For example, if I use an HTC EVO LTE with stock Sense 5.0 to place a call to someone I have saved as "Jenny Smith", an entry is created in the calls table, which includes a name field -- where it stores Jenny Smith. If I update her contact information to "Jenny Jones" and place a new call to her, a new entry is stored in the calls table with the name Jenny Jones, but the previous entry is not changed. The actual Call History screen shows all of the calls as Jenny Jones, but the database itself has old name.

Other devices I have tested (including an Nexus 5) update previous entries in the calls table when the Call Log is viewed. Your Motorola device likely behaves like the Nexus 5, refreshing the data as needed.

I am not a database wizard, but have a reasonable amount of familiarity with them. From a database structure perspective, it seems odd to me that any contact-specific information is stored in that calls table (it contains a raw_contacts_id field that is linked to the same field in the contacts table of that database where all of the actual contact information is stored), but that's how it is implemented.

Answer 2

The only reasonable way of doing it (that works for me anyway) is to add a contact directly to the handset and then add your call log pointing at that contact, afterwards you can then remove the contact from the handset. The only issue with this is if your app gets killed before removing the contact so you would have to implement some sort of clean up on next app launch. It's all very messy for what should be a simple task.