[Therion] BlueStacks 4 to run Android Cave Survey Apps

[Bruce Mutton]

Thanks Tarquin
The Android Windows space seems to involve soo much pain when it comes to managing files, and even more so when using a virtual Android device (on BlueStacks).
I have reverted to using a physical Android device connected to Windows via USB.  Bit of a pain, but at least Windows Explorer can reliably see and move and delete folders and files.
The only downside is that I cannot text edit json files on the device directly from Windows, but I can copy them back and forth, so it works out in the end.
Bruce

-----Original Message-----

>> But I have not made complete friends with the BlueStacks Media Manager yet.
>It seems like a functionally poor file manager. The only bonus is that it knows how to "import" into a virtual storage area, or see limited parts of your Windows disk (the "Windows" folder is empty when using other file manager apps). Since you said that imported files seem to be stored in "sdcard/DCIM/SharedFolder", you can also use any other file manager to get at them.

Total Command, Media Manager and Windows sometimes report the same folder contents in the various shared folders and in folders inaccessible to windows, but more often they do not.  It is completely fickle (which pretty much sums up my entire experience with Android file management).  Total Command does not entirely replace the BlueStacks Media Manager it seems, as it cannot see the same folder mappings (could be my ignorance - too me a while to decipher Total Command) so I end up having to use both for different steps the folder transfer process.
Have been careful to 'reload'/'refresh' folders and to leave a minute or so to allow for any lag in the system.  To little effect.

>> But all the Media Manager presents me with is an option to Export to 
>> Windows (from whence they were just imported!), to delete them or 
>> select all.
>See what I attached. I also think that when I first tried it ,that save icon wasn't there. Then I tried importing an image file (.png) and clicked on it to view it. Then I noticed a save icon in the photo viewer. Then I went back to look at "imported" and it had a save icon, and I felt like maybe I had been blind the first time. But maybe it wasn't there the first time...  It's there permanently now, even after I deleted files from it.

Well I tried what you suggested, restarting BlueStacks and Windows a number of times over a number of sessions and still no 'Save Icon'.  Then this morning I thought I'd have a look, and viola a 'Save Icon', and it does work, but the general unreliability of the visibility and reporting between the two Android file managers and Windows means that I am not really any further ahead.

>> How to copy/paste/move folders and files within BlueStacks?
>Files only, I think.
>But once you have imported or "saved" them onto the Android disk, you can move and delete folders with any other file manager app (Total Commander, for example, one of the most functionally complete, but also a little complex).

Works sometimes, but soo inconsistent and unreliable.

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