Bit by bit? The move to mobile was like getting hit in the face with an inaccessibility bat. I hate mobile OSes with a passion. Unfortunately, they’re overwhelmingly the way through which people interact with the Internet or do any kind of tech stuff anymore. I do a lot of audio work, and Android lacks even simple routing software. It just uses the last audio device plugged into it. Never mind you only want to use the mic on that and not the output. Forget using multiple devices. It’s infuriating. You’ll pry my desktop away from me through my cold, dead hands.
Sounds like you should install Ubuntu touch on your phone
Doesn’t work on all devices though
Then install linage OS or get a fair phone 4
_
Don’t you know? Users being told the exact location of a file is not user-friendly!
There are not files. There are only vibes. If your surf the vibe ocean well enough, you will find what you were looking for.
I miss when computers did what you wanted them to do and not what the corporation wants you to do.
We call it Linux.
Android is built in the Linux kernel. That’s actually some of what causes this - Android’s permissions model takes the Linux model and amplifies it. Apps are treated like users to prevent them from messing with each other’s files. If an app uses Android’s downloads manager it can write to the downloads directory, but it can only see the files that it put there.
obviously
Sorry, best we can offer is renaming Control Panel again and shuffling around the place you can find certain settings
deleted by creator
deleted by creator
Android? you mean iphone maybe. i can directly access the file directory of Android both from an app or from my PC with a USB connection.
That file directory is a hot mess, though.
yeah, i figure I’d kill myself if my PC was structured like that. but for a phone it does the job and if you need something it’s not that hard to find it really.
I mean, your phone (or at least mine) has Documents, Downloads, Photos etc. just like windows (and linux) have. The Android folder is akin to windows’s AppData folder too, there is a lot of overlap in folder structures imo
I really lost my shit when Firefox downloaded some Belfort & Lupin subtitles and I could not for the fucking live of me find them.
Turns out it put them in the “Movies” folder instead of “Downloads” where it actually put the corresponding video files.
sounds like your pitiful mind cant understand the unix file oriented philosophy and you should stay 10 feet away from all information technology /sarcasm
Technology and sarcasm?!?!
I’ve got a bad feeling this might catch on…
Luckily, we technology enthusiasts are all special snowflakes and don’t engage in anything as banal as copying other people.
Luckily, we technology enthusiasts are all special snowflakes and don’t engage in anything as banal as copying other people and sarcasm :)
Luckily, we technology enthusiasts are all special snowflakes and don’t engage in anything as banal as copying other people and sarcasm :) :)
I’m never sarcastic.
Well said, o7
now look here you little… oh actually it would be nice to get away from tech honestly…
It has very little to do with unix philosophy
yo that’s the joke i was making XD
It used to be so much simpler. I remember having a Galaxy S3 and whenever I saved a file I knew exactly where it went. There was a file explorer built in, and downloads went to the downloads folder.
Is that not how it still works? When I download a file, it either goes straight to the Downloads folder, or to an app-specific subfolder within Downloads. And there’s a Files app that lets you go through the file system (although I’m sure there are some system folders that aren’t accessible without rooting). I don’t think I’ve ever been confused about where a file is saved.
i think there’s lots of different flavors of android or something, such that different phones handle the user-facing file system totally differently. it might also be that nicer phones the devs put more effort into making UX have a more forgiving learning curve but because android isn’t truly open source those developments are inaccessible to other users
Thats my experience too.
That was Samsung doing the work of dumbing things down for you. Stock Android has always been fast and loose with the locality of saved files. Especially if you are doing anything with an image processing app. They tend to make their own dump folders and don’t bother telling you that they e made them in their own directory under the .data folder or someplace in .bin
You say ‘dumbing things down’ I say ‘that’s kinda condescending talk that implies that anything else isn’t shut when it clearly is’
My 2022 android still has a file explorer. But it seems to randomly drop files all over into multiple download folders it created
Literally exactly how it still works.
dont forget on some phones OS, you can actually pick and choose the download location. After you downloaded though, the files arent there…
Had to question my sanity many times…
I thought I was losing it because this app wanted to save things to a “downloads” folder. Only to find out it saves it in something like
documents/app name/downloads Instead of
Downloads/
Yeah, it can be hard to find files sometimes. File Navigator solves this problem perfectly.
Solid Explorer has always been my go to. I never understood why basic file explorer functions essentially required the use of a separate app, but it’s functionality is superb and the now-baked-in-but-terrible file explorer in android can never hope to match it.
If you think about it, its always a separate app. WIndows Explorer is an app and so is Dolphin on KDE.
lsis an app.
Android just has a bit of an identity problem with how to present files. Considering its made for the most common denominator, and everything revolves around ‘apps’ now, the concept of files, what they are and what they do is new to many. Most people wont even consider the photo they took is a file. Its a photo, not a file, what are you talking about?. So I’m not surprised the representation of files is on the lower priority list.
I’m old school, I want to know where everything is in the file system and this part of android messes with me.“Akshually, photo is not a file” is how iOS did it. Blew my mind when I tried to sync my files (Syncthing/Möbius) and it would not show any of the photos in file lists. Apparently it’s for “security reasons”.
This was several years ago so IDK if it’s the same still.
I guess I meant that it shouldn’t require a 3rd party app. When I discovered and began using Solid Explorer, there wasn’t even a viable system app for file management in Android, you had to use a 3rd party app. They did eventually add a system app, but it’s next to useless.
Oh, Samsung has a files app. I just assumed all vendors provide one. I dont consider this third party though.
I guess it would be similar if you used GNOME and it didnt come with the app ‘Files’. Linux isnt a desktop so there wouldnt be any system app for files either, just the CLI. Does stock Android provide a system files app? I cant find it.I’m using a Samsung device now as well, but as I recall, my last Pixel phone did have a very basic files app. But stock Android didn’t always - I was using ES File Explorer and eventually Solid Explorer on my HTC phones back in the day to restore basic functionality.
I prefer Material Files.
Yeah, I feel you on that. It’s my go to file manager as well.
There’s a “recent files” list in most file managers
File manager > Recent files
literally I’ve had files that file manager cannot see or interact with at all. I think they always came from termux, which is what I used to unzip zip files. Definitely in the right directory but just plain invisible to file manager and other apps.
Mes fichiers » fichiers récent
For any francos looking for this application.
Recent files > move file where you want itfrom there
Seriously, this thread has me very confused about how a social media platform seemingly inundated with nerds can’t open a file manager (which often comes pre-installed) to find a downloads folder.
It was a bigger problem when they first instituted private app storage and limited apps access to other apps data.
Eg. My dashcam app had an export button. The files went into that apps private storage which was unavailable to non-root file explorers even with permissions. The app had to change significantly.
Everything’s more or less playing well together now but people still have PTSD.
That’s an interesting point about OneDrive automatically backing up folders. It reminds me of the time I was messing around with a weird game concept, something like a chicken jockey clicker, and I accidentally saved all the game files to a cloud folder without realizing it. Took forever to sort out the mess.
I use a little app called X-plore. Gives me treed lists of folder contents and allows moving, copying, and deleting stuff.
Total Commander with LAN, FTP and WebDAV Plugin enabled is really useful (if you’re using Android)
For me Files shows recent files right on top as the first thing you see when you open the app. X-Plore has a Recent Files section too. Moreover most apps that save something usually show a toast with the file/folder path when done. I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Beeing able to access the file doest mean you know where it is. What happens if that file isnt recent any more? Android hides the file system from the user. “Recent files” is a prime example of that.
How is you not even aware of what a file system is LMAO 🤣
I swear to God, how is it possible that people who can access the fediverse have such trouble finding a download folder.
It’s like their brains fold instantly at the thought of searching through it.
“Hurr durr, where file”
In the downloads folder
My brother in Christ, please open the fucking file explorer
This is you, it’s how you look like:
That’s the entire point of the post, my guy. Some apps use the Downloads folder. Some use their own. Some use a folder you set a year ago when you first got the app but don’t remember anymore.
The interface abstracts away from the actual file system so finding a file becomes guesswork. Doubly so if you then want to use the downloaded file in a different app that also doesn’t give access to the file system.
perhaps OP thinks you’re a goof if you don’t invest in a proprietary software stack.
must be hard to find the download folder
- the upload widget when trying to find that PDF you just saved
