Does anyone want to do file management on a phone or tablet? Really? Despite the nerdy nature, often times employing a file management app can make your mobile gizmo more useful. Here’s a case in point:
I received a question from a reader regarding file transfer between his computer and a Nexus 7 tablet. Even though he had a Nexus 7, the problem could be something that happens on any Android gizmo:
He couldn’t access the files after copying them from his PC to the tablet.
Just as it says in my book, he connected the Nexus 7 to the PC. He dragged file icons from the computer’s storage to the tablet’s storage. Specifically, he dragged them over to the Downloads folder on the Nexus 7’s internal storage. But when he ran the Downloads app on the Nexus 7, the files he copied didn’t show up.
What gives?
First, the Downloads app apparently (my guess) has an index of the files it downloads. Just copying something to the Downloads folder on your Android device doesn’t guarantee that the Downloads app sees it. My guess (again) is that when you save something from a web page or email attachment, the Downloads app indexes that item, and it shows up in the list. Otherwise, zilch.
To prove my theory, and prevent my dear reader from going nuts, I copied an HTML and a DOCX file from my PC to the Downloads folder on my Nexus 7. As I predicted, those documents didn’t show up in the Downloads app.
I had to confirm that the files were there, which leads me to my second point.
Second, I ran the Astro File manager app to confirm that the files were there, nestled in the Downloads folder.
By using Astro, I was able to open and view both the DOCX and HTML files.
Long story short: Get the Astro file manager app and use it to view files you copy over from your PC. Or, if you’re just nuts about file management, you’ll enjoy having the same kind of tool on your Android gizmo as you do on your PC.
Click here to visit the Google Play store and download the Astro file manager to your Android device.
