Android: Installed App icon is not visible in emulator - android-emulator

Question

When I run my application code, I could see the following entry in the console:
[2011-03-01 10:29:26 - mireader] Uploading mireader.apk onto device 'emulator-5554'
[2011-03-01 10:29:26 - mireader] Installing mireader.apk...
[2011-03-01 10:29:40 - mireader] Success!
[2011-03-01 10:29:41 - mireader] Starting activity com.mireader.reader on device emulator-5554
[2011-03-01 10:29:44 - mireader] ActivityManager: Starting: Intent { act=android.intent.action.MAIN cat=[android.intent.category.LAUNCHER] cmp=com.mireader/.reader }
The application's main GUI automatically runs. Until here, there is no problem. When I get back to the application list, there my app icon is not visible. I checked in settings->application->manage application, there I could see my app and it shows uninstall option too.
What is the problem?

Answer 1

probably missing
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
</intent-filter>
in your main <activity> in the manifest

Answer 2

I had the same problem in Android Studio, with API 19 and with gradle building system. We spent a couple of hours to figure this out, and we realized, if you have more library (for example you have more test app in the same project) and you have more launcher icon in separated library, than gradle cannot solve this. You don't get any error message, just you don't see the icon.
So use different names for launcher icon or just delete which you don't need.
(I just thought, maybe someone gonna have the same problem...)
There was an other scenario as well, when icon is disappear. When you use <data android:scheme="your-own-uri">
The solution is to split intent-filter.
<activity
android:name=".MainActivity"
android:label="#string/app_name" >
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
</intent-filter>
<intent-filter>
<action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
<category android:name="android.intent.category.BROWSABLE" />
<data android:scheme="your-own-uri" />
</intent-filter>
</activity>

Answer 3

Just for Android noobs like myself, putting this:
<data android:scheme="file" />
<data android:host="*" />
<data android:pathPattern=".*\\.pdf" />
between the intent filter tags of the main activity also causes an icon disappearing act. The code above is to open a file based on its extension. Remove it and the icon reappears.