Cordova Build Error : Camera Plugin missing android.support.v4 Library dependencies

Unable to build an IBM MobileFirst 7.1 based Cordova Android App. Recently upgraded the mobilefirst cli version to 7.1.0.00.20180302-0537

Upon adding the camera plugin(org.apache.cordova.camera), android build fails with the following error mention in log below. Looking at the error it looks like the plugin now required the support library but doesn't have it indicated as a dependency. Not quite sure of what needs to be done to resolve this.

-compile:
[javac] Compiling 47 source files to /Users/dev/MFPApp/platforms/android/ant-build/classes
[javac] warning: [options] source value 1.5 is obsolete and will be removed in a future release
[javac] warning: [options] target value 1.5 is obsolete and will be removed in a future release
[javac] warning: [options] To suppress warnings about obsolete options, use -Xlint:-options.
[javac] /Users/dev/MFPApp/platforms/android/src/org/apache/cordova/camera/CameraLauncher.java:56: error: package android.support.v4.content does not exist
[javac] import android.support.v4.content.FileProvider;
[javac]                                  ^
[javac] /Users/dev/MFPApp/platforms/android/src/org/apache/cordova/camera/CordovaUri.java:25: error: package android.support.v4.content does not exist
[javac] import android.support.v4.content.FileProvider;
[javac]                                  ^
[javac] /Users/dev/MFPApp/platforms/android/src/org/apache/cordova/camera/CameraLauncher.java:278: error: cannot find symbol
[javac]         this.imageUri = new CordovaUri(FileProvider.getUriForFile(cordova.getActivity(),
[javac]                                        ^
[javac]   symbol:   variable FileProvider
[javac]   location: class CameraLauncher
[javac] /Users/dev/MFPApp/platforms/android/src/org/apache/cordova/camera/CameraLauncher.java:732: error: cannot find symbol
[javac]                         Uri tmpFile = FileProvider.getUriForFile(cordova.getActivity(),
[javac]                                       ^
[javac]   symbol:   variable FileProvider
[javac]   location: class CameraLauncher
[javac] Note: Some input files use or override a deprecated API.
[javac] Note: Recompile with -Xlint:deprecation for details.
[javac] Note: Some input files use unchecked or unsafe operations.
[javac] Note: Recompile with -Xlint:unchecked for details.
[javac] 4 errors
[javac] 3 warnings

Environment Information

OS: darwin x64
Release: 17.7.0
System Memory: 5112 MB free out of 16384 MB
Node: v0.10.36
MobileFirst CLI: 7.1.0.00.20180302-0537
Cordova:6.3.0

Plugin Information

cordova-plugin-mfp 7.1.0 "IBM MobileFirst Platform Foundation"
cordova-plugin-mfp-jsonstore 7.1.0 "IBM MobileFirst Platform Foundation - JSONStore"
cordova-plugin-mfp-push 7.1.0 "IBM MobileFirst Platform Foundation - Push Notifications"
org.apache.cordova.battery-status 0.2.12 "Battery"
org.apache.cordova.camera 0.3.4 "Camera"
org.apache.cordova.console 0.2.12 "Console"
org.apache.cordova.device 0.2.13 "Device"
org.apache.cordova.device-motion 0.2.11 "Device Motion"
org.apache.cordova.dialogs 0.2.11 "Notification"
org.apache.cordova.geolocation 0.3.11 "Geolocation"
org.apache.cordova.globalization 0.3.3 "Globalization"
org.apache.cordova.inappbrowser 0.5.4 "InAppBrowser"
org.apache.cordova.network-information 0.2.14 "Network Information"
org.apache.cordova.splashscreen 0.3.5 "Splashscreen"
org.apache.cordova.statusbar 0.1.9 "StatusBar"
org.apache.cordova.vibration 0.3.12 "Vibration"

Solution

You may be facing a known issue that starts from Android N. This has been fixed in iFix 7.1.0.0-MFPF-IF201802160539

Alternatively, try the steps mentioned in this link:

Preparing a project that uses the Cordova camera plug-in with the Android platform

The steps are:

Add the android-support-v4.jar file to your project.
- In a file explorer, browse to your Android SDK directory, which is where your Android SDK Manager downloads the updates.
- If it is not already installed, install the Android Support Repository in your Android environment.
- Browse to extras/android/m2repository/com/android/support/support-core-utils.
- Select version 24.2.0, or higher, of the support-core-utils repository.
- Extract the classes.jar file from the support-core-utils-24.2.0.aar package.If you do not have a file archive tool, you can change the .aar file extension to .zip to extract the classes.jar file.
- Add the classes.jar file to the libs directory of your Android platform.
Update the AndroidManifest.xml file.
- Open the AndroidManifest.xml file that is in the platforms/android folder.
- Add the following lines inside of the ending tag:

  <provider android:authorities="{PACKAGE_ID}.provider" android:exported="false" 
   android:grantUriPermissions="true" android:name="android.support.v4.content.FileProvider"> 
   <meta-data android:name="android.support.FILE_PROVIDER_PATHS" android:resource="@xml/provider_paths" /> 
  </provider>

Where {PACKAGE_ID} is replaced with the Android Package ID of your project.

Save the AndroidManifest.xml file.

Update the config.xml file.

Open the config.xml file that is in your project folder.

Inside the tag, add the following tag:

 <preference name="applicationId" value="{PACKAGE_ID}"/>

Where {PACKAGE_ID} is replaced by the Android Package ID of your project.

Save the config.xml file.