Missing "Operation Canceled" Error When User Dismisses Document Viewer

[midhuntechversant]

When using viewDocument() from @react-native-documents/viewer, if a user dismisses the native popup that shows available apps to open documents, no error is thrown to indicate that the operation was canceled. This makes it impossible to handle the user cancellation scenario in the calling code.

I have searched open and closed issues for this issue.

• I have searched open and closed issues.

I have read and understood the license (link below).

• I have read and understood the license.

Minimal reproducible example

Sharing the code below.

What platform(s) does this occur on?

Android

Did you reproduce on a real device or emulator / simulator?

real device

Steps to reproduce

Code Example

import {viewDocument} from '@react-native-documents/viewer';
import {getMimeType} from '../../models/data/File';

export const fileViewer = async (
  fileURI: string,
  title?: string,
): Promise<void> => {
  try {
    if (fileURI) {
      const formattedURI = fileURI.startsWith('file://')
        ? fileURI
        : `file://${fileURI}`;

      const fileExtension = formattedURI.substring(
        formattedURI.lastIndexOf('.') + 1,
      );
      const mimeType = getMimeType(fileExtension);

      await viewDocument({
        uri: formattedURI,
        grantPermissions: 'read',
        headerTitle: title,
        presentationStyle: 'fullScreen',
        mimeType: mimeType,
      });
      
      // This code runs even when user dismisses the popup
      console.log('Document opened successfully'); // This shouldn't run on cancellation
      
    }
  } catch (error) {
    // This catch block is never reached when user cancels
    console.log('Error or cancellation:', error);
    throw error;
  }
};

Steps to Reproduce

1. Call viewDocument() with a valid file URI
2. Wait for the native pop-up to appear showing available apps
3. Dismiss/cancel the pop-up instead of selecting an app
4. Observe that no error is thrown and the promise resolves successfully
5. It should show "OPERATION_CANCELLED" error in the catch function so that we can handle that

If the issue is related to specific file(s), I have linked the files so that others can reproduce exactly what I see.

• I have attached files necessary to reproduce the problem (if applicable).

Stacktrace of the crash (if applicable)

There was no crash.

Your computer environment

System:
  OS: macOS 15.4.1
  CPU: (10) arm64 Apple M4
  Memory: 105.97 MB / 16.00 GB
  Shell:
    version: "5.9"
    path: /bin/zsh
Binaries:
  Node:
    version: 23.2.0
    path: /opt/homebrew/bin/node
  Yarn:
    version: 1.22.22
    path: /opt/homebrew/bin/yarn
  npm:
    version: 11.1.0
    path: /opt/homebrew/bin/npm
  Watchman:
    version: 2024.11.18.00
    path: /opt/homebrew/bin/watchman
Managers:
  CocoaPods:
    version: 1.15.2
    path: /opt/homebrew/bin/pod
SDKs:
  iOS SDK:
    Platforms:
      - DriverKit 24.5
      - iOS 18.5
      - macOS 15.5
      - tvOS 18.5
      - visionOS 2.5
      - watchOS 11.5
  Android SDK:
    API Levels:
      - "33"
      - "34"
      - "35"
    Build Tools:
      - 33.0.1
      - 34.0.0
      - 35.0.0
      - 35.0.0
    System Images:
      - android-30 | Google APIs ARM 64 v8a
      - android-33 | Google APIs ARM 64 v8a
      - android-34 | Intel x86_64 Atom
      - android-34 | Google APIs ARM 64 v8a
      - android-34 | Google Play ARM 64 v8a
      - android-VanillaIceCream | Google Play ARM 64 v8a
    Android NDK: Not Found
IDEs:
  Android Studio: 2024.2 AI-242.23726.103.2422.12816248
  Xcode:
    version: 16.4/16F6
    path: /usr/bin/xcodebuild
Languages:
  Java:
    version: 17.0.13
    path: /usr/bin/javac
  Ruby:
    version: 2.6.10
    path: /usr/bin/ruby
npmPackages:
  "@react-native-community/cli":
    installed: 15.0.1
    wanted: 15.0.1
  react:
    installed: 18.3.1
    wanted: 18.3.1
  react-native:
    installed: 0.76.8
    wanted: 0.76.9
  react-native-macos: Not Found
npmGlobalPackages:
  "*react-native*": Not Found
Android:
  hermesEnabled: true
  newArchEnabled: false
iOS:
  hermesEnabled: true
  newArchEnabled: false

[MikeStrunin]

Agree with @midhuntechversant . Also, there is no error thrown in same situation with pick() , like it was before

[vonovak]

Hello and thanks for reporting,
@midhuntechversant indeed the docs suggest that cancelation results in an error which is thrown and you can detect the case.

However, because the view() method doesn't really return anything - it just launches the preview and doesn't care about the rest, the cancelation detection wasn't implemented in the viewer module.

If you'd like to have this fixed, I'll accept a PR for the code that does that, or a PR that updates the docs to make it clearer.
Thank you 🙂