Is it a bad idea to use printStackTrace() in Android Exceptions like this?
} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
Yes, it is a bad idea. You should instead use Android's built-in log class specifically designed for these purposes: http://developer.android.com/reference/android/util/Log.html
It gives you options to log debug messages, warnings, errors etc.
Logging errors with:
Log.e(TAG, "message", e) where the message can be an explanation of what was being attempted when the exception was thrown
or simply Log.e(TAG, e) if you do not wish to provide any message for context
You can then click on the log console at the bottom while running your code and easily search it using the TAG or log message type as a filter