• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Noob Android File Organization Question

jos2f

Lurker
New to the Android scene - have been using this site to answer all my questions, so thanks for that.

One thing I'm completely baffled by is how Android 2.2 organizes files/folder/shortcuts.

Basically, here is what I want to do:

I'd like to create a folder (which I did on my "main" launcher page) but then be able to put subfolders inside that main folder. The files and folders I'd be moving to the main folder are currently on my SD Card. I don't care where the parent folder is stored, as long as I can access it from my launcher

So far, through the use of various file management and file explorer apps, I can browse files but can't get a grasp on how to easily move them.
If I can somehow organize all of this while my device is connected to my computer, all the better.

Any advice, app recommendations, etc would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
 
On my phone I can just plug it into the computer and access all the folders etc through my computer. I'm not sure how your launcher works or what phone you have but those might effect it.

Apps: Game Dev Story!, ultimatejiuice, gmote2.0, widget locker
 
Thanks for the quick reply.
I'm running 2.2 on a Tablet device (Nook Color).
When I hook it up to a PC and enable mass storage, I can see all my SD files/folders. However, I see nothing for the internal memory.

If there is an easy way to put one of the folders off my SD Card on to my main screen, that would probably resolve my issue.
Any thoughts on that?
 
I'm not sure what you are trying to do or why you would want to "put one of the folders off my SD Card to my main screen."

In Android, as in many mobile OSes, you don't deal directly with files, but rather deal with them through applications. For example, if you have a .jpg file on the SD card, you would use it by an application that knows how to deal with/display .jpg files, such as the Gallery.

You can put shortcuts to those applications on the desktop. You don't need to deal directly with the data files themselves.

If you want to browse the files, you can use one of the many excellent file browsers (Astro, ES File Explorer, File Expert, etc.).

To see the files in internal memory, you must be rooted, but even then, you would need a file browser to see them.

I hope this helps, I fear it doesn't, but at least I tried :)
 
jimdroid, that actually does get me closer to where I need to be, thank you.

As mentioned, I can indeed see my files on my SDcard through File Manager.
I was just looking for a way to easily pull those files/folders up from my home screen.

Any suggestions on an easy way to create a shortcut to point to my /mnt/sdcard/android/ folder?

Thanks again
 
jos2f,
Why do you want such a shortcut? What are you trying to access?

Some of the file managers have bookmarks; that might be what you are looking for. You can launch, for example, File Expert, then go quickly to the folder of your choice by making a bookmark to it.

I don't know of any file managers that allow you to create a desktop shortcut to a folder. Most file managers do allow you to set the folder which they open by default, so you could set that up, then, by launching the file manager, you would see that folder.

Hope this helps
 
Jim,
I finally got it where I'm ok with it. I used a combo of File Manager and Smart Shortcuts. This allowed me to bookmark my file folder, then create a shortcut on my desktop which opens straight to the folder I wanted.

As to why I was wanting it, I have a set of documents I will reference often and wanted a quick way to pull these PDFs up, as opposed to manually browsing to them each time.

Thanks again for the help!

Josh
 
You might also want to check out Folder Organizer Lite. It allows you to categorize your apps on install and build dynamic folders on your home pages.
 
If it is only PDF files that you need to open, you can get to them by directly opening the Adobe Reader app and use the "Recently Viewed" or "PDF Files" tabs to see the PDF files on your device.
 
Back
Top Bottom