What do you use to copy text files from Windows XP to Android over WiFi?

[Jonas Schneider]

What do you use to copy text files from WinXP over to Android over WiFi?

Not cloud. Not usb. Not email. Not SD card.
No registration or signups.
No client running on Windows.

Just WiFi.

From WinXP PC to Android.

Simple right?
Can that possibly be hard?

This suggests DoubleTwist but that's a media sync program, which is
overkill for copying just text files.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2079843/transfer-files-between-android-and-windows-devices.html

This suggests Android "WiFi Direct" but my default Android "WiFi Direct"
app says "no devices available for file sharing" when it's on the same
network as Windows XP.
http://mashtips.com/methods-to-transfer-files-between-android-and-windows/

This suggests AirDroid on a rooted phone but mine isn't rooted and there's
no reason to require an account just to transfer files from Windows to
Android.
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/transfer-files-android-pc/

This suggests WiFi File Transfer but there are lots of apps with that name
and the site doesn't even show an icon so we can choose the suggested one.
http://www.kingsoftstore.com/support-for-windows-office/3289-transfer-files-pc-android.html

This suggests uniclip which requires a client running on Windows XP.
http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/3537/how-do-i-copy-text-from-my-pc-to-my-phone

Do any of you have a simple WiFi copy method from Windows XP to Android?

[tlvp]

On Mon, 20 Mar 2017 03:18:26 +0000 (UTC), Jonas Schneider wrote:

> Do any of you have a simple WiFi copy method from Windows XP to Android?

May not be "simple" in your view, but how about using FileZilla on the XP
machine to FTP the file over to an FTP daemon on the Android device?

May not be a "WiFi copy method", but how about using sending as an email
attachment (from the XP machine) to an email account the Android device can
access and download the attachment from?

Or is that just a rhetorical question which you mean to answer "soon" :-) ?

Cheers, -- tlvp
--
Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP.

[mike[_10_]]

On 3/19/2017 8:18 PM, Jonas Schneider wrote:
> What do you use to copy text files from WinXP over to Android over WiFi?
>
> Not cloud. Not usb. Not email. Not SD card.
> No registration or signups.
> No client running on Windows.
>
> Just WiFi.
>
> From WinXP PC to Android.
>
> Simple right?
> Can that possibly be hard?

It can if you disallow all the reasonable methods.
I run a http server on windows. One click to start it.
Drag the files into the window.
Access them from browser on android.

Works with any device that has a browser. Don't need any protocols or
credentials.

Totalcommander with the lan add-on will let you copy files from windows
SMB shares...as will file expert HD.

If you want to sit at the windows terminal (from) and copy the files
to the remote android (to) as you stated, I don't know how without some
kind of server running on the machine. I think there's some kind of
ADB over wifi that may work for some machines if that floats your boat.
>
> This suggests DoubleTwist but that's a media sync program, which is
> overkill for copying just text files.
> http://www.pcworld.com/article/2079843/transfer-files-between-android-and-windows-devices.html
>
> This suggests Android "WiFi Direct" but my default Android "WiFi Direct"
> app says "no devices available for file sharing" when it's on the same
> network as Windows XP.
> http://mashtips.com/methods-to-transfer-files-between-android-and-windows/
>
> This suggests AirDroid on a rooted phone but mine isn't rooted and there's
> no reason to require an account just to transfer files from Windows to
> Android.
> http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/transfer-files-android-pc/
>
> This suggests WiFi File Transfer but there are lots of apps with that name
> and the site doesn't even show an icon so we can choose the suggested one.
> http://www.kingsoftstore.com/support-for-windows-office/3289-transfer-files-pc-android.html
>
> This suggests uniclip which requires a client running on Windows XP.
> http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/3537/how-do-i-copy-text-from-my-pc-to-my-phone
>
> Do any of you have a simple WiFi copy method from Windows XP to Android?
>

[David Taylor]

On 20/03/2017 03:18, Jonas Schneider wrote:
> What do you use to copy text files from WinXP over to Android over WiFi?
[]
> Do any of you have a simple WiFi copy method from Windows XP to Android?

I use:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rhmsoft.fm.hd&hl=en_GB

but I use Win-10. It may work on XP (using Windows Explorer to connect
to the FTP server offered by running the above on your Android phone).

--
Cheers,
David
Web: http://www.satsignal.eu

[Micky]

On Mon, 20 Mar 2017 03:18:26 +0000 (UTC), in comp.mobile.android you
wrote:

>What do you use to copy text files from WinXP over to Android over WiFi?
>
>Not cloud. Not usb. Not email. Not SD card.
>No registration or signups.
>No client running on Windows.

I'm not sure what you mean by this. You pretty much have to be
running something in Windows.

>Just WiFi.
>
>From WinXP PC to Android.
>
>Simple right?
>Can that possibly be hard?

I don't think so. I use MyPhoneExplorer, in XP and 10. I'm not sure
if it suporrts cntl-c and -v, but it supports drag and drop. Works
fine for me.

Not just wifi but cable and bluetooth too.

No rooting needed.

But you have to install sometrhing on both the phone and the pc.

Dragg and dropping is only in one direction but you should check in
preferences if your syncing is set from one, the other, or both
directlion, and if both, I couldn't understand the description of the
4 steps it takes.

Also, I did allow it to sync from phone to pc my photos and it found
more photos on he phone than I could find looking in the obvious
places ont he phone, at least more videos. If that happens to you I'd
want to understand how.


>This suggests DoubleTwist but that's a media sync program, which is

I installed Double Twist on the previous phone but I don't remember
why. The phone was small and didn't have room for much else.


>overkill for copying just text files.
>http://www.pcworld.com/article/2079843/transfer-files-between-android-and-windows-devices.html
>
>This suggests Android "WiFi Direct" but my default Android "WiFi Direct"
>app says "no devices available for file sharing" when it's on the same
>network as Windows XP.
>http://mashtips.com/methods-to-transfer-files-between-android-and-windows/
>
>This suggests AirDroid on a rooted phone but mine isn't rooted and there's
>no reason to require an account just to transfer files from Windows to
>Android.
>http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/transfer-files-android-pc/
>
>This suggests WiFi File Transfer but there are lots of apps with that name
>and the site doesn't even show an icon so we can choose the suggested one.
>http://www.kingsoftstore.com/support-for-windows-office/3289-transfer-files-pc-android.html
>
>This suggests uniclip which requires a client running on Windows XP.
>http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/3537/how-do-i-copy-text-from-my-pc-to-my-phone
>
>Do any of you have a simple WiFi copy method from Windows XP to Android?

[Paul[_32_]]

Jonas Schneider wrote:
> What do you use to copy text files from WinXP over to Android over WiFi?
>
> Not cloud. Not usb. Not email. Not SD card.
> No registration or signups.
> No client running on Windows.
>
> Just WiFi.
>
> From WinXP PC to Android.
>
> Simple right?
> Can that possibly be hard?
>
> This suggests DoubleTwist but that's a media sync program, which is
> overkill for copying just text files.
> http://www.pcworld.com/article/2079843/transfer-files-between-android-and-windows-devices.html
>
> This suggests Android "WiFi Direct" but my default Android "WiFi Direct"
> app says "no devices available for file sharing" when it's on the same
> network as Windows XP.
> http://mashtips.com/methods-to-transfer-files-between-android-and-windows/
>
> This suggests AirDroid on a rooted phone but mine isn't rooted and there's
> no reason to require an account just to transfer files from Windows to
> Android.
> http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/transfer-files-android-pc/
>
> This suggests WiFi File Transfer but there are lots of apps with that name
> and the site doesn't even show an icon so we can choose the suggested one.
> http://www.kingsoftstore.com/support-for-windows-office/3289-transfer-files-pc-android.html
>
> This suggests uniclip which requires a client running on Windows XP.
> http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/3537/how-do-i-copy-text-from-my-pc-to-my-phone
>
> Do any of you have a simple WiFi copy method from Windows XP to Android?

What about using SMB/Samba-CIFS to talk to Windows file sharing ?
As long as both devices are on the same Wifi, and have the
same workgroup setting.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=lysesoft.andsmb&hl=en

Paul

[John McGaw[_2_]]

On 3/19/2017 11:18 PM, Jonas Schneider wrote:
> What do you use to copy text files from WinXP over to Android over WiFi?
>
> Not cloud. Not usb. Not email. Not SD card.
> No registration or signups.
> No client running on Windows.
>
> Just WiFi.
>
> From WinXP PC to Android.
>
> Simple right?
> Can that possibly be hard?

Don't know. I haven't copied anything to or from XP since before Android
existed.

That said, if I was going to attempt what you describe I'd probably start
with 'ES File Explorer' on Android and regular Windows file sharing on the XP.

[R.Wieser]

Jonas,

> No client running on Windows.
....
> ...but my default Android "WiFi Direct" app says "no devices
> available for file sharing" when it's on the same network as
> Windows XP.

Than you've got a problem there: when you want to share something under
windows you will need to have *some* kind of sharing service running ...

In Windows case a build-in service is named "File and printer sharing for
Microsoft networks", and can be found under:

start -> settings -> Network connections - > local area connection -> (tab)
General -> (button) properties

After you enable that you need to pick a folder, rightclick -> sharing and
security -> (tab) sharing, and follow the guidelines there.


Ofcourse, there are a few other options available (like FTP, HTTP and others
that have been mentioned), but *all* solutions need some kind of client on
one device, and server program on the other device to be able to make use of
whatever transporting mechanism (be it WiFi, Ethernet, Bluetooth or other)
you want to use.

Regards,
Rudy Wieser


-- Origional message:
Jonas Schneider > schreef in berichtnieuws
...
> What do you use to copy text files from WinXP over to Android over WiFi?
>
> Not cloud. Not usb. Not email. Not SD card.
> No registration or signups.
> No client running on Windows.
>
> Just WiFi.
>
> From WinXP PC to Android.
>
> Simple right?
> Can that possibly be hard?
>
> This suggests DoubleTwist but that's a media sync program, which is
> overkill for copying just text files.
>
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2079843/transfer-files-between-android-and-wi
ndows-devices.html
>
> This suggests Android "WiFi Direct" but my default Android "WiFi Direct"
> app says "no devices available for file sharing" when it's on the same
> network as Windows XP.
> http://mashtips.com/methods-to-transfer-files-between-android-and-windows/
>
> This suggests AirDroid on a rooted phone but mine isn't rooted and there's
> no reason to require an account just to transfer files from Windows to
> Android.
> http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/transfer-files-android-pc/
>
> This suggests WiFi File Transfer but there are lots of apps with that name
> and the site doesn't even show an icon so we can choose the suggested one.
>
http://www.kingsoftstore.com/support-for-windows-office/3289-transfer-files-
pc-android.html
>
> This suggests uniclip which requires a client running on Windows XP.
>
http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/3537/how-do-i-copy-text-from-my-p
c-to-my-phone
>
> Do any of you have a simple WiFi copy method from Windows XP to Android?

[Big Al[_7_]]

On 03/19/2017 11:18 PM, Jonas Schneider wrote:
> This suggests WiFi File Transfer but there are lots of apps with that name
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.smarterdroid.wififiletransfer&hl=en_GB

This is the version I use. Simple. Does it via a web page on your
PC. Turn on the app on the phone, and the phone becomes a web server
of sorts and the screen supplies you with the IP address to put in the
PC's web browser. From there is point and click upload and download
like any other web site.

[Carlos E. R.[_2_]]

On 2017-03-20 10:01, Micky wrote:
> On Mon, 20 Mar 2017 03:18:26 +0000 (UTC), in comp.mobile.android you
> wrote:
>
>> What do you use to copy text files from WinXP over to Android over WiFi?
>>
>> Not cloud. Not usb. Not email. Not SD card.
>> No registration or signups.
>> No client running on Windows.
>
> I'm not sure what you mean by this. You pretty much have to be
> running something in Windows.

No, not really.

Some apps create a simple web server on the Android device. You simply
point any web browser of your choice in your computer (doesn't matter
the operating system) to an IP/port that the android app says. You get
an authorization request on the phone, accept it, and the page displays
in the computer.

Airdroid works like that, but it is not the only one.

--
Cheers,
Carlos E.R.

[Frank Slootweg]

Carlos E. R. > wrote:
> On 2017-03-20 10:01, Micky wrote:
> > On Mon, 20 Mar 2017 03:18:26 +0000 (UTC), in comp.mobile.android you
> > wrote:
> >
> >> What do you use to copy text files from WinXP over to Android over WiFi?
> >>
> >> Not cloud. Not usb. Not email. Not SD card.
> >> No registration or signups.
> >> No client running on Windows.
> >
> > I'm not sure what you mean by this. You pretty much have to be
> > running something in Windows.
>
> No, not really.

Yes, really! :-)

> Some apps create a simple web server on the Android device. You simply
> point any web browser of your choice in your computer (doesn't matter
> the operating system) to an IP/port that the android app says. You get
> an authorization request on the phone, accept it, and the page displays
> in the computer.

In that case, your web browser is the client. That it most likely is
already installed is irrelevant, it is a client.

That's the disadvantage of the client-server model, you always need a
client and a server! Bummer, heh!? :-)

[Carlos E. R.[_2_]]

On 2017-03-20 16:06, Frank Slootweg wrote:
> Carlos E. R. > wrote:
>> On 2017-03-20 10:01, Micky wrote:
>>> On Mon, 20 Mar 2017 03:18:26 +0000 (UTC), in comp.mobile.android you
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> What do you use to copy text files from WinXP over to Android over WiFi?
>>>>
>>>> Not cloud. Not usb. Not email. Not SD card.
>>>> No registration or signups.
>>>> No client running on Windows.
>>>
>>> I'm not sure what you mean by this. You pretty much have to be
>>> running something in Windows.
>>
>> No, not really.
>
> Yes, really! :-)

No, not really, in the sense that you don't have to install some
specific application or driver, created probably by the same people than
the app on Android.


>> Some apps create a simple web server on the Android device. You simply
>> point any web browser of your choice in your computer (doesn't matter
>> the operating system) to an IP/port that the android app says. You get
>> an authorization request on the phone, accept it, and the page displays
>> in the computer.
>
> In that case, your web browser is the client. That it most likely is
> already installed is irrelevant, it is a client.
>
> That's the disadvantage of the client-server model, you always need a
> client and a server! Bummer, heh!? :-)
>


--
Cheers,
Carlos E.R.

[Jonas Schneider]

On Mon, 20 Mar 2017 06:26:09 -0400, Paul > wrote:

> What about using SMB/Samba-CIFS to talk to Windows file sharing ?
> As long as both devices are on the same Wifi, and have the
> same workgroup setting.
>
> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=lysesoft.andsmb&hl=en

That's it!

Since SMB is already on Windows, by default, that's what I need!
I don't network my Windows machines so I'm not sure if I have "file
sharing" turned on, but it should be a simple matter to figure that out.

Good news. Looks like plenty of SMB clients are on Android:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=lysesoft.andsmb
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.mori.androsamba
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kitasoft.dirtag.cifs.service

[Jonas Schneider]

On 20 Mar 2017 15:06:24 GMT, Frank Slootweg > wrote:

> That's the disadvantage of the client-server model, you always need a
> client and a server! Bummer, heh!? :-)

Two things regarding that which confused me.

The first is that I was hoping to use something already on Windows but in
the end I put SCP on Windows which is an FTP client and it worked to put a
file from Windows to Android.

The second thing is that I did try to use an http server on Android but it
wasn't obvious how to put a file from Windows to Android using that web
server.

It worked fine the other way but I wanted to go from Windows to Android.

[Jonas Schneider]

On Mon, 20 Mar 2017 15:02:28 +0100, "Carlos E. R."
> wrote:

> No, not really.
>
> Some apps create a simple web server on the Android device. You simply
> point any web browser of your choice in your computer (doesn't matter
> the operating system) to an IP/port that the android app says. You get
> an authorization request on the phone, accept it, and the page displays
> in the computer.
>
> Airdroid works like that, but it is not the only one.

Carlos is right in that I was trying to just use whatever is already on
Windows.

I did try a web browser on Windows (using a web server on Android) but it
was only one way, which was from Android to Windows.

Does the web server method, using a Windows browser (which is already
there) work both ways?

[Jonas Schneider]

On Mon, 20 Mar 2017 11:01:08 +0200, Micky > wrote:

> You pretty much have to be
> running something in Windows.

I didn't realize before this thread that you have to pretty much run
something in Windows in order to transfer files over WiFi from Windows to
Android.

Once I accepted that one constraint, the puzzle fell into place, because
without loading something onto Windows, I couldn't get anything to work.

Since I have to load something onto Windows, that changes the picture.

What's the best "something" to load onto windows for file transfer?
Probably an FTP client, right?

What's the best Windows FTP client graphical user interface?

I'm not sure, but this first one I found is just fine:
WinSCP by Martin Prikryl https://winscp.net/
https://winscp.net/eng/download.php

I needed to add an FTP/SFTP/SSH server on Android, but that was pretty easy
since there are so many of them I can't even count them.

I chose AndFTP which was the first hit on Google Play:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=lysesoft.andftp
http://www.lysesoft.com/products/andftp/

But there were many other sftp/ftp/ssh servers for Android.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.theolivetree.ftpserver
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.icecoldapps.httpsftpsserver
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.kidinov.unixadmin
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.icecoldapps.ftpserverultimate
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=turbo.client&hl=en

This one even had secure telnet (which I didn't need):
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.arpaplus.adminhands

[Big Al[_7_]]

On 03/20/2017 04:53 PM, Jonas Schneider wrote:
> On Mon, 20 Mar 2017 15:02:28 +0100, "Carlos E. R."
> > wrote:
>
>> No, not really.
>>
>> Some apps create a simple web server on the Android device. You simply
>> point any web browser of your choice in your computer (doesn't matter
>> the operating system) to an IP/port that the android app says. You get
>> an authorization request on the phone, accept it, and the page displays
>> in the computer.
>>
>> Airdroid works like that, but it is not the only one.
>
> Carlos is right in that I was trying to just use whatever is already on
> Windows.
>
> I did try a web browser on Windows (using a web server on Android) but it
> was only one way, which was from Android to Windows.
>
> Does the web server method, using a Windows browser (which is already
> there) work both ways?
>
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.smarterdroid.wififiletransfer&hl=en_GB

This is the version I use. Simple. Does it via a web page on your
PC. Turn on the app on the phone, and the phone becomes a web server
of sorts and the screen supplies you with the IP address to put in the
PC's web browser. From there is point and click upload and download
like any other web site.

[Larry[_9_]]

"Paul" wrote in message ...

Jonas Schneider wrote:
> What do you use to copy text files from WinXP over to Android over WiFi?
>
> Not cloud. Not usb. Not email. Not SD card. No registration or signups.
> No client running on Windows.
>
> Just WiFi.
>
> From WinXP PC to Android.
>
> Simple right?
> Can that possibly be hard?
>
> This suggests DoubleTwist but that's a media sync program, which is
> overkill for copying just text files.
> http://www.pcworld.com/article/2079843/transfer-files-between-android-and-windows-devices.html
>
> This suggests Android "WiFi Direct" but my default Android "WiFi Direct"
> app says "no devices available for file sharing" when it's on the same
> network as Windows XP.
> http://mashtips.com/methods-to-transfer-files-between-android-and-windows/
>
> This suggests AirDroid on a rooted phone but mine isn't rooted and there's
> no reason to require an account just to transfer files from Windows to
> Android.
> http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/transfer-files-android-pc/
>
> This suggests WiFi File Transfer but there are lots of apps with that name
> and the site doesn't even show an icon so we can choose the suggested one.
> http://www.kingsoftstore.com/support-for-windows-office/3289-transfer-files-pc-android.html
>
> This suggests uniclip which requires a client running on Windows XP.
> http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/3537/how-do-i-copy-text-from-my-pc-to-my-phone
> Do any of you have a simple WiFi copy method from Windows XP to Android?

What about using SMB/Samba-CIFS to talk to Windows file sharing ?
As long as both devices are on the same Wifi, and have the
same workgroup setting.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=lysesoft.andsmb&hl=en

Paul
*******
I use this with excellent results - 'WiFi File Transfer' app
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.smarterdroid.wififiletransfer&hl=en

Larry

[Jonas Schneider]

On Mon, 20 Mar 2017 12:14:16 +0100, "R.Wieser" >
wrote:

> Than you've got a problem there: when you want to share something under
> windows you will need to have *some* kind of sharing service running ...
>
> In Windows case a build-in service is named "File and printer sharing for
> Microsoft networks", and can be found under:
>
> start -> settings -> Network connections - > local area connection -> (tab)
> General -> (button) properties
>
> After you enable that you need to pick a folder, rightclick -> sharing and
> security -> (tab) sharing, and follow the guidelines there.

Thanks for those good directions for enabling sharing on Windows XP.
I went to start -> settings -> Network connections ->
local area connection -> General -> properties ->
There I noticed that "File and Printer SHaring for Microsoft Networks" was
already checked.

So then I created a new folder:
Start -> Run -> cmd -> mkdir c:\tmp\smb
Start -> Run -> \
Then I navigated in Windows Explorer to c:\tmp\smb and right clicked on
that "smb" folder choosing "Sharing and Security".

That popped up a form with three tabs:
a. General
b. Sharing
c. Customize

There wasn't anything interesting under "General" or "Customize".
Under "Sharing" was "Share this folder on the network" where the share name
defaulted to "smb" and then it allowed me to check the option to
"Allow network users to change my files" which I checked.

That put a little cufflinked hand under my smb folder icon on Windows XP.

[Jonas Schneider]

On Mon, 20 Mar 2017 07:12:56 -0400, John McGaw > wrote:

> Don't know. I haven't copied anything to or from XP since before Android
> existed.
>
> That said, if I was going to attempt what you describe I'd probably start
> with 'ES File Explorer' on Android and regular Windows file sharing on the XP.

Thanks for that advice as I do have ES File Explorer,
When I googled, this article seems to explain how to use ES File Explorer
to connect to network shares (whatever that means in English).
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/five-apps/five-android-apps-to-help-you-connect-to-network-storage/
Five Android apps to help you connect to network storage

I think Paul's and Larry's idea of SMB/Samba is the best since it's native
for Windows and it is designed to handle file transfer with seamless
permissions and file locks and stuff like that.

Reading up on it, others suggest it too.
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/tablets-in-the-enterprise/connect-android-to-windows-and-samba-shared-directories/
Connect Android to Windows and Samba shared directories

Looks like there are lots of SMB apps for Android:
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/five-apps/five-free-android-apps-for-easy-smb-connection/
Five free Android apps for easy SMB connection

[Jonas Schneider]

On Tue, 21 Mar 2017 07:49:33 +1000, Larry > wrote:

> What about using SMB/Samba-CIFS to talk to Windows file sharing ?
> As long as both devices are on the same Wifi, and have the
> same workgroup setting.
>
> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=lysesoft.andsmb&hl=en

I agree with Paul and Larry that Samba SMB is the only solution that fits
the criteria of something already on Windows.

So, two solutions actually should work for bidirectional transfer:

1. SMB/Samba
2. FTP/SCP

The samba solution, once I get it to work, is by far, the best because it's
already on Windows, and it's designed for EXACTLY this purpose of seamless
file transfer with file locks and permissions.

FTP will work too but it's not designed for file locks and permissions and
FTP isn't native on Windows XP (AFAIK). At least I couldn't get the ftp
client on Windows XP to do anything, not even log in.

Start > Run > cmd
C:\> ftp 192.168.1.10 2121

Transfers files to and from a computer running an FTP server service
(sometimes called a daemon). Ftp can be used interactively.

FTP [-v] [-d] [-i] [-n] [-g] [-s:filename] [-a] [-w:windowsize] [-A] [host]

-v Suppresses display of remote server responses.
-n Suppresses auto-login upon initial connection.
-i Turns off interactive prompting during multiple file
transfers.
-d Enables debugging.
-g Disables filename globbing (see GLOB command).
-s:filename Specifies a text file containing FTP commands; the
commands will automatically run after FTP starts.
-a Use any local interface when binding data connection.
-A login as anonymous.
-w:buffersize Overrides the default transfer buffer size of 4096.
host Specifies the host name or IP address of the remote
host to connect to.

Notes:
- mget and mput commands take y/n/q for yes/no/quit.
- Use Control-C to abort commands.

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\> ftp
ftp> help
Commands may be abbreviated. Commands are:
! delete literal prompt send
? debug ls put status
append dir mdelete pwd trace
ascii disconnect mdir quit type
bell get mget quote user
binary glob mkdir recv verbose
bye hash mls remotehelp
cd help mput rename
close lcd open rmdir
ftp>


NOTE: What I "wanted" to do was this:
C:\> ftp 192.168.1.10 2121
> binary
> put filename.txt
> quit

[Jonas Schneider]

On Mon, 20 Mar 2017 17:18:24 -0400, Big Al > wrote:

> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.smarterdroid.wififiletransfer&hl=en_GB
>
> This is the version I use. Simple. Does it via a web page on your
> PC. Turn on the app on the phone, and the phone becomes a web server
> of sorts and the screen supplies you with the IP address to put in the
> PC's web browser. From there is point and click upload and download
> like any other web site.

I tried this method first, which puts a web (port 80) server on the phone
and a web client (browser) on Windows, but it only went from the phone to
Windows.

Maybe I need to try it again, but if I'm going to run servers on the
Android phone, I may as well run an FTP server because it is made for file
transfer (and the SCP client on Windows).

I think Paul's idea is the best answer once I test it out which is to use
the SMB (aka Samba) capability of Windows file sharing.

That should make it a file to file two way operating that even respects
file locks and permissions and all the Windows file-management stuff.

So, in the end, if it works, the ideal solution "should" be
1. Turn on Windows file sharing (however that's done)
2. Start a SMB server on Android

[Carlos E. R.[_2_]]

On 2017-03-20 21:53, Jonas Schneider wrote:

> The second thing is that I did try to use an http server on Android but it
> wasn't obvious how to put a file from Windows to Android using that web
> server.
>
> It worked fine the other way but I wanted to go from Windows to Android.

Well, because it can't be just a plain web server in Android. It needs
to have, er, a special page so that you can upload files. Same way as
when you upload a photo to some site.

--
Cheers,
Carlos E.R.

[Carlos E. R.[_2_]]

On 2017-03-21 00:02, Jonas Schneider wrote:
> On Mon, 20 Mar 2017 17:18:24 -0400, Big Al > wrote:
>
>> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.smarterdroid.wififiletransfer&hl=en_GB
>>
>> This is the version I use. Simple. Does it via a web page on your
>> PC. Turn on the app on the phone, and the phone becomes a web server
>> of sorts and the screen supplies you with the IP address to put in the
>> PC's web browser. From there is point and click upload and download
>> like any other web site.
>
> I tried this method first, which puts a web (port 80) server on the phone
> and a web client (browser) on Windows, but it only went from the phone to
> Windows.

AirDroid, for instance, goes both directions.


--
Cheers,
Carlos E.R.

[mike[_10_]]

On 3/20/2017 2:18 PM, Big Al wrote:
> On 03/20/2017 04:53 PM, Jonas Schneider wrote:
>> On Mon, 20 Mar 2017 15:02:28 +0100, "Carlos E. R."
>> > wrote:
>>
>>> No, not really.
>>>
>>> Some apps create a simple web server on the Android device. You simply
>>> point any web browser of your choice in your computer (doesn't matter
>>> the operating system) to an IP/port that the android app says. You get
>>> an authorization request on the phone, accept it, and the page displays
>>> in the computer.
>>>
>>> Airdroid works like that, but it is not the only one.
>>
>> Carlos is right in that I was trying to just use whatever is already on
>> Windows.
>>
>> I did try a web browser on Windows (using a web server on Android) but it
>> was only one way, which was from Android to Windows.
>>
>> Does the web server method, using a Windows browser (which is already
>> there) work both ways?
>>
> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.smarterdroid.wififiletransfer&hl=en_GB
>
>
> This is the version I use. Simple. Does it via a web page on your
> PC. Turn on the app on the phone, and the phone becomes a web server
> of sorts and the screen supplies you with the IP address to put in the
> PC's web browser. From there is point and click upload and download
> like any other web site.
>
I just tried it. Works for me too.

[mike[_10_]]

On 3/20/2017 4:02 PM, Jonas Schneider wrote:
> On Mon, 20 Mar 2017 17:18:24 -0400, Big Al > wrote:
>
>> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.smarterdroid.wififiletransfer&hl=en_GB
>>
>> This is the version I use. Simple. Does it via a web page on your
>> PC. Turn on the app on the phone, and the phone becomes a web server
>> of sorts and the screen supplies you with the IP address to put in the
>> PC's web browser. From there is point and click upload and download
>> like any other web site.
>
> I tried this method first, which puts a web (port 80) server on the phone
> and a web client (browser) on Windows, but it only went from the phone to
> Windows.

The default failed for me.
At the bottom of the "Transfer files to device" window it says,
"problems? try the basic upload form instead." That worked.

The optimal solution to transfer files between ONE android device
and ANY windows device might be different from if you want to transfer
from ONE windows device to ANY android device. The issue is, "which
device do you have the credentials to control?"
>
> Maybe I need to try it again, but if I'm going to run servers on the
> Android phone, I may as well run an FTP server because it is made for file
> transfer (and the SCP client on Windows).
>
> I think Paul's idea is the best answer once I test it out which is to use
> the SMB (aka Samba) capability of Windows file sharing.
>
> That should make it a file to file two way operating that even respects
> file locks and permissions and all the Windows file-management stuff.

That's the stuff I try to avoid. I want to transfer the damn file.
I don't want to worry about firewalls and logins and permissions and...
If one device doesn't support the protocols/credentials required by the
other device, you're blocked. I've got old PDA's that will never
be able to talk to a current windows network.

If your windows machine is FIXED, putting an HTTP server on it
makes a lot of sense. Anybody can access anything you drag to the
folder. Nobody can access anything else. No credentials
(unless you set them). Turn it off the 99.9% of the time you're not
using it.
>
> So, in the end, if it works, the ideal solution "should" be
> 1. Turn on Windows file sharing (however that's done)
> 2. Start a SMB server on Android
>

[tlvp]

On Mon, 20 Mar 2017 20:53:51 +0000 (UTC), Jonas Schneider wrote:

> What's the best Windows FTP client graphical user interface?

Best? No such beast. Good enough for me and many web-site administrators,
though: FileZilla. Does both insecure FTP and secure SFTP and FTPS.

And free, to boot :-) . HTH. Cheers, -- tlvp
--
Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP.

[Jonas Schneider]

On Mon, 20 Mar 2017 18:26:09 -0700, mike > wrote:

>> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.smarterdroid.wififiletransfer&hl=en_GB
>>
>>
>> This is the version I use. Simple. Does it via a web page on your
>> PC. Turn on the app on the phone, and the phone becomes a web server
>> of sorts and the screen supplies you with the IP address to put in the
>> PC's web browser. From there is point and click upload and download
>> like any other web site.
>>
> I just tried it. Works for me too.

I turned on file sharing on WinXP for C:\tmp\smb and put a text file in the
c:\tmp\smb\foobar.txt location.

I then installed the SmarterDroid WiFi File Transfer app on Android.
Opening the WiFi File Transfer app on Android cmae up with a "press button
to start" button. Pressing that "start" button, up came a "WiFi File
Transfer" information popup saying:
You can now access the files on your Android device by typing the
following address into your computer's browser:
http://192.168.1.10:1234

Then on the web page, I found the red button saying "Transfer file to
device", which there was a "Choose Files" button below that, which says
"5MB per file max", which is fine for text files (but which is not fine for
pictures or videos).

So, this method using basically an http server on Android worked to
transfer files from Windows XP to Android, but, truth be told, a web
browser (especially one limited arbitrarily to 5MB per file) is a terrible
way to transfer files.

However, what's really nice about this method is that it does not require
ANYTHING to be installed on Windows (since browsers are already there).

[Jonas Schneider]

On Mon, 20 Mar 2017 18:47:43 -0700, mike > wrote:

> The optimal solution to transfer files between ONE android device
> and ANY windows device might be different from if you want to transfer
> from ONE windows device to ANY android device. The issue is, "which
> device do you have the credentials to control?"

> That's the stuff I try to avoid. I want to transfer the damn file.
> I don't want to worry about firewalls and logins and permissions and...
> If one device doesn't support the protocols/credentials required by the
> other device, you're blocked. I've got old PDA's that will never
> be able to talk to a current windows network.
>
> If your windows machine is FIXED, putting an HTTP server on it
> makes a lot of sense. Anybody can access anything you drag to the
> folder. Nobody can access anything else. No credentials
> (unless you set them). Turn it off the 99.9% of the time you're not
> using it.

I understand what you're saying which is that a fixed-IP-address WinXP
machine "can" be an HTTP server, but that's not what I want to do (and mine
isn't fixed as to its IP address but that could be arranged so that's not
the real reason).

The reason is that I want something simpler, which can be gotten easier
ways such as
1. Turn on File Sharing on Windows & use SMB/CIFS client on Android
2. Turn on File Sharing on Windows & use WiFi "stuff" on Android
3. Turn on FTP server on Android and use WinSCP client on Windows.

I tried "WiFi Direct" on Android after turning on File Sharing in Windows
XP for c:\tmp\smb but it said "no devices found" on Android after I pressed
the "scan" button.

So it's not intuitive how to use WiFi direct on Android.

[Jonas Schneider]

On Tue, 21 Mar 2017 01:00:48 +0100, "Carlos E. R."
> wrote:

> AirDroid, for instance, goes both directions.

On WinXP, with both the Android phone and the WinXP computer attached to
the same network, I created a directory c:\tmp\smb and right clicked it and
shared it as "smb".

Then I installed AirDroid on Android.

Running AirDroid, there were a few help screens, and then a mandatory "sign
in later" button. At that point there were only three options:
1. AirDroid Web -> requires sign in which isn't what we asked for
2. My computer -> requires sign in which isn't what we asked for
3. Add device -> requires sign in which isn't what we asked for

So I uninstalled AirDroid as a dismal flop because it didn't meet the
initial requirements.

[Jonas Schneider]

On Tue, 21 Mar 2017 00:55:17 +0100, "Carlos E. R."
> wrote:

> Well, because it can't be just a plain web server in Android. It needs
> to have, er, a special page so that you can upload files. Same way as
> when you upload a photo to some site.

I understand what you're saying so thank you for clarifying.
What that means is that a web server on Android is out of the question.

What's on the table is pretty good though.
1. File Sharing on Windows, then Sanba/CIFS client on Android
1. File Sharing on Windows, then WiFi File Transfer client on Android
2. FTP server on Android, then FTP client on Windows

For #1 above, I turned on WinXP file sharing to c:\tmp\smb and then I put a
text file foobar.txt in that directory.

Then I installed AndSMB by Lyesoft on Android.
a. I clicked AndSMB settings to change the default location from:
/storage/emulated/0 to /storage/extSdCard/sddata/
b. Then I pressed the plus button, where it asked for:
* Hostname: {I got the hostname from My Computer > Properties}
* Username: {I got the username from Start > Log off usr1}
* Password: (I left this blank)
* Domain: I left this blank)
* anonymous (I left this unchecked)
* Local dir: /mnt/extSdCard/sddata
* Remote dir: /share/optionalfolder

That gave me a blue folder with the name of the WinXP computer.
I pressed that blue folder. But AndSMB found nothing.
I tried a few more things but AndSMB found nothing.

So, the fundamental thing to figure out is how to access a shared folder
from AndSMB.

[Jonas Schneider]

On Mon, 20 Mar 2017 23:38:02 -0400, tlvp > wrote:

>> What's the best Windows FTP client graphical user interface?
>
> Best? No such beast. Good enough for me and many web-site administrators,
> though: FileZilla. Does both insecure FTP and secure SFTP and FTPS.
>
> And free, to boot :-) . HTH. Cheers, -- tlvp

It looks like there are three methods that "should" work to transfer files
from Windows to Android that don't require a lot of effort on either side.

1. Best probably but I haven't gotten the syntax down yet is to turn on
file sharing for Windows (e.g., C:\tmp\smb) and then add an SMB/CIFS client
on Android.

2. Not bad because graphical FTP user interfaces exist for Windows is to
turn on an FTP server on Android and access the bidirectionsl file transfer
via a graphical FTP client on Windows.

3. Probably the worst but only because web interfaces stink for file
transfer is to run a WiFi File Transfer service on Android which allows
bidirectional file transfer (the one I tested is limited arbitrarily by
file size which is just crazy for something so trivial so I uninstalled
it).

Following your advice, I installed the FileZilla client on Windows XP from
https://filezilla-project.org/

It complained saying FileZilla 3.25.1_win32 requires as a minimum Windows
Vista. but the installer seemed to run nonetheless so I installed it into
c:\tmp\smb\filezilla_client but when I clicked on the start menu link, it
said "filezilla.exe is not a valid Win32 application".

So I uninstalled it (since I already had WinSCP working as an FTP client on
Windows).

[Jonas Schneider]

On Mon, 20 Mar 2017 23:01:56 +0000 (UTC), Jonas Schneider
> wrote:

> Thanks for that advice as I do have ES File Explorer,
> When I googled, this article seems to explain how to use ES File Explorer
> to connect to network shares (whatever that means in English).
> http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/five-apps/five-android-apps-to-help-you-connect-to-network-storage/
> Five Android apps to help you connect to network storage

Even though that article "says" ES File Explorer can connect to SMB
networks shares, it's not obvious how to do that.

On Windows, which is on the same network as my Android phone, I created
C:\tmp\smb and then shared that directory as "smb" which was easy enough to
do.

Then on Android I started ES File Explorer and then hit the top left
hamburger menu and then expanded "Network" which had a "network"
subheading.

In that Network subheading were four options:
a. LAN
b. FTP
c. Android TV
d. Search Result

You can't click on any of those lines so I hit the big blue "Scan" button
on the bottom. It says "Loading" and "scanning" for a really long time
(minutes) with only a "Cancel" and "Hide" button.

After a super long time for something so simple, up popped under "Search
Results" 3 different folders saying "SFTP" on them and an IP address below
them, for just three of my many Access Points, which is pretty much
useless.

So if there is a way for ES File Explorer to attach to a SMB share on a
WinXP computer on the same network, it's not obvious how to do that, and
even so, it's slow as can possibly be which makes what was already useless
even more so.

[mike[_10_]]

On 3/20/2017 9:45 PM, Jonas Schneider wrote:
> On Mon, 20 Mar 2017 23:38:02 -0400, tlvp > wrote:
>
>>> What's the best Windows FTP client graphical user interface?
>>
>> Best? No such beast. Good enough for me and many web-site administrators,
>> though: FileZilla. Does both insecure FTP and secure SFTP and FTPS.
>>
>> And free, to boot :-) . HTH. Cheers, -- tlvp
>
> It looks like there are three methods that "should" work to transfer files
> from Windows to Android that don't require a lot of effort on either side.
>
> 1. Best probably but I haven't gotten the syntax down yet is to turn on
> file sharing for Windows (e.g., C:\tmp\smb) and then add an SMB/CIFS client
> on Android.
>
> 2. Not bad because graphical FTP user interfaces exist for Windows is to
> turn on an FTP server on Android and access the bidirectionsl file transfer
> via a graphical FTP client on Windows.
>
> 3. Probably the worst but only because web interfaces stink for file
> transfer is to run a WiFi File Transfer service on Android which allows
> bidirectional file transfer (the one I tested is limited arbitrarily by
> file size which is just crazy for something so trivial so I uninstalled
> it).

Pay for the program to remove the limit.
It wasn't expensive. I've probably spent more on electricity to read
this thread.
>
> Following your advice, I installed the FileZilla client on Windows XP from
> https://filezilla-project.org/
>
> It complained saying FileZilla 3.25.1_win32 requires as a minimum Windows
> Vista. but the installer seemed to run nonetheless so I installed it into
> c:\tmp\smb\filezilla_client but when I clicked on the start menu link, it
> said "filezilla.exe is not a valid Win32 application".
>
> So I uninstalled it (since I already had WinSCP working as an FTP client on
> Windows).
>
>

[Jonas Schneider]

On Mon, 20 Mar 2017 23:03:18 -0700, mike > wrote:

> Pay for the program to remove the limit.
> It wasn't expensive. I've probably spent more on electricity to read
> this thread.

I understand what you're saying, which is to pay to remove the artificial
limit, but, the entire of asking the question of the experts here is to
find a good solution (and, in fact, to find the best solution).

Why would I ask experts for a good solution if all I was going to do was
pay to remove an artificial restriction on a terrible solution?

Based on what people suggested in this thread, the most valuable solution
are the two SMB-based solutions, while the second-most valuable solution is
the FTP-based solution, with the worst solution being a web-based one.

Proposed solutions ranked on value fitting initial criteria:
1. Native file sharing on WinXP. Native Wi-Fi Direct on Android.
2. Native file sharing on WinXP. SMB/CIFS client on Android.
3. Graphical FTP client on WinXP. FTP server on Android.
4. Native web browser on WinXP. HTTP server on Android.

If we can get these 4 solutions to work, then everyone will benefit who
wants to share files between Windows & Android over WiFi with little to no
software added on either platform.

So far, here where my tests are:
1. SMB: This is the best but there are SMB learning curve syntax issues.
2. SMB: This is 2nd best but there are SMB learning curve syntax issues.
3. FTP: Works just fine and is what I used to solve the initial problem.
4. HTTP: Works but stinks in the end as a solution.

So the question now, to flesh out the SMB-based solutions is whether anyone
out there has either #1 or #2 working, and if so, what syntax did you use?

In my case, here's the data:
A. Computer = 122.168.1.10 (aka "home")
B. Login = user1
C. Password = blank
D. Workgroup = HOME
E. Share = C:\tmp\smb

But every time I try to connect with method #1 or #2 from Android, it
doesn't connect, so, I think I have a SMB or Wi-Fi Direct syntax setup
problem.

Does anyone have either the #1 or #2 solution working?
Can you help advise me on the SMB syntax you used?

[Jonas Schneider]

On Mon, 20 Mar 2017 09:53:55 -0400, Big Al > wrote:

>> This suggests WiFi File Transfer but there are lots of apps with that name
> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.smarterdroid.wififiletransfer&hl=en_GB
>
> This is the version I use. Simple. Does it via a web page on your
> PC. Turn on the app on the phone, and the phone becomes a web server
> of sorts and the screen supplies you with the IP address to put in the
> PC's web browser. From there is point and click upload and download
> like any other web site.

Thanks for the pointer to the better "WiFi File Transfer" application which
was the one from SmarterDroid.

That helps narrow the testing because there were many "WiFi File Transfer"
utilities, so just the name wasn't enough to get the right one.

I did try it, and it worked, but I immediately deleted it as substandard
given the well known limitation that a web browser is a terrible way to
transfer files (compared to methods better suited for file transfer).

But here's what I did for others to benefit from the steps.

1. I start WiFi File Transfer.
2. A blue screen with a "Start" button shows up.
3. I press that large "Start" button.
4. Up pops a "WiFi File Transfer" dialog saying:
You can now access the files on your Android device by typing the
following address into your computer's browser:
http://192.168.1.10:1234
5. On Windows I brought up a browser to that URI.
6. On the web page, I found the red button saying "Transfer file to
device", which there was a "Choose Files" button below that, which says
"5MB per file max", which is fine for text files (but which is not fine for
pictures or videos).

So, this method using basically an http server on Android worked to
transfer files from Windows XP to Android, but, truth be told, a web
browser (especially one limited arbitrarily to 5MB per file) is a terrible
way to transfer files.

However, what's really nice about this method is that it does not require
ANYTHING to be installed on Windows (since browsers are already there).

But there are other methods which don't require anything to be installed on
Windows which are far better than a web page (which is just about the worst
way possible to transfer files.

1. The best way is SMB, but the syntax requires a learning curve.
2. The second-best way is FTP, which worked just fine in my tests.
3. The worst way is HTTP, which worked fine & requires no learning curve.

Currently, my recommendation is that if you're an expert, you will have the
SMB method working already. If you're a novice, the HTTP method will work
just fine. And if you're in the middle (where I am), then the FTP method
will work best (until I learn the SMB syntax).

Expert => SMB {requires network syntax knowledge)
Competent => FTP {requires little network syntax knowledge}
Novice => HTTP {requires no network syntax knowledge}

They all have their value but in different ways, where my goal in asking
the question is to obtain help from experts on the best way, which is the
SMB method.

[Jonas Schneider]

On Mon, 20 Mar 2017 06:26:09 -0400, Paul > wrote:

> What about using SMB/Samba-CIFS to talk to Windows file sharing ?
> As long as both devices are on the same Wifi, and have the
> same workgroup setting.
>
> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=lysesoft.andsmb&hl=en

Hi Paul,
The SMB suggestion is the best because it could require no software, since
apparently Android native "WiFi Direct" works with Windows file sharing.

However, I can't get the SMB syntax to work yet because both WiFi Direct
and SMB are new to me, so I must have the syntax wrong somehow.

Here is what I have by way of setup on the WinXP computer:
A. Computer = 122.168.1.10 (aka "home" in "My Computer")
B. Login = user1
C. Password = this is a single-user PC so there is no password
D. Workgroup = HOME
E. Share = C:\tmp\smb
https://s18.postimg.org/5hm65fd1l/smb.jpg

Here is what I have by way of setup on Android "AndSMB".
https://s17.postimg.org/p3hznn8rj/smb.gif

I realize it takes a network expert to know about SMB syntax so that's why
I ask if anyone here can see what's wrong with my AndSMB setup?

Does anyone here have AndSMB working with WinXP where you can tell me what
you do differently by way of setup so I can follow in your footsteps?

[Jonas Schneider]

On Mon, 20 Mar 2017 21:05:06 +0100, "Carlos E. R."
> wrote:

> No, not really, in the sense that you don't have to install some
> specific application or driver, created probably by the same people than
> the app on Android.

Of all the suggested methods (ranked by probable best to worst):
1. Native Wi-Fi Direct on Android. Native file sharing on WinXP.
2. SMB/CIFS client on Android. Native file sharing on WinXP.
3. FTP server on Android. Graphical FTP client on WinXP.
4. HTTP server on Android. Native web browser on WinXP.

Only the first one didn't require anything to be installed, but it's OK to
install software on either Android or Windows as long as that software
isn't a limitation in and of itself.

I already have the #3 and #4 methods working just fine but what I'm trying
to get working are the #1 and #2 methods where my stumbling block is that
it takes an expert in either WiFi Direct syntax or SMB syntax to figure out
how to connect.

Does anyone have either WiFi Direct or SMB working?
Can you explain what syntax you used?

Here is my WiFi Direct result where it doesn't find my WinXP computer:
https://s2.postimg.org/ga5w1dqh5/wifidirect.png

Here is how I set up my c:\tmp\smb share on Windows XP:
https://s18.postimg.org/5hm65fd1l/smb.jpg
A. Computer = 122.168.1.10 (aka "home")
B. Login = user1
C. Password = blank
D. Workgroup = HOME
E. Share = C:\tmp\smb

And here is my Android AndSMB setup to connect to that Windows XP share:
https://s17.postimg.org/p3hznn8rj/smb.gif

Does anyone have WiFi Direct or AndSMB working who can show me their setup
so that I can duplicate it on my pretty normal network?

[Jonas Schneider]

On Mon, 20 Mar 2017 03:18:26 +0000 (UTC), Jonas Schneider
> wrote:

> What do you use to copy text files from WinXP over to Android over WiFi?

These are the suggested methods:
1. Native Wi-Fi Direct on Android. Native file sharing on WinXP.
2. SMB/CIFS client on Android. Native file sharing on WinXP.
3. FTP server on Android. Graphical FTP client on WinXP.
4. HTTP server on Android. Native web browser on WinXP.

The #3 and #4 methods worked the first time, but I'm having trouble with
the syntax for the #1 and #2 methods so they aren't working yet.

Googling for a tutorial on how to wirelessly transfer files, I found an
improvement on the FTP-suggested method #3 over here.

[Tutorial] How To Wirelessly Transfer Files To/From Your Android Phone And
Your Windows PC
http://www.androidpolice.com/2010/08/02/tutorial-how-to-transfer-files-tofrom-your-android-phone-over-wlan/

That makes use of Windows "Map Network Drive", which is an improvement on
the variation of #3 because it requires no FTP software on the Windows
machine and because you manage files on Android exactly as if they're a
Windows hard disk drive.
3a. FTP server on Android. Native Map Network Drive on WinXP.
3b. FTP server on Android. Graphical FTP client on WinXP.

Here are the detailed steps so that others can follow.
1. On Android, turn on any FTP server to obtain the FTP host:port address.
Example: 192.168.1.5:12345
2. On Windows, right click on My Computer > Map Network Drive
3. Click on "Sign up for online storage or connect to a network server."
https://s24.postimg.org/43hazaag1/mnd1.jpg
4. That pops up a WinXP "Welcome to the Add Network Place Wizard".
https://s24.postimg.org/mkbpq3qe9/mnd2.jpg
5. Click Next.
6. That pops up a "Choose another network location" button.
https://s24.postimg.org/8rxaugzmp/mnd3.jpg
7. Click on that (it's your only option anyway)
8. That asks for the "internet or network address".
https://s24.postimg.org/ryahxng4h/mnd4.jpg
9. Type in "192.168.1.5:12345" and hit "Next".
10. That asks if you want to log in anonymously to which you can assent.
https://s24.postimg.org/ra1nephep/mnd5.jpg
11. It asks you to enter a name for the network place (take the default)
https://s24.postimg.org/i3ny561k1/mnd6.jpg
12. It then asks you if you want to open this network place (hit "Finish")
https://s24.postimg.org/ihpa4rlnl/mnd7.jpg

That opens up a Windows Explorer window of your Android device, which is a
pretty neat trick since there is nothing that needs to be installed on
Windows, and since I was able to copy and delete files on Android just as
if they were already mounted on Windows.
https://s24.postimg.org/6h3u41e8x/mnd8.jpg

So that makes the solutions to test the following (best to worst):
1. Native Wi-Fi Direct on Android. Native file sharing on WinXP.
2. SMB/CIFS client on Android. Native file sharing on WinXP.
3a. FTP server on Android. Native Map Network Drive on WinXP.
3b. FTP server on Android. Graphical FTP client on WinXP.
4. HTTP server on Android. Native web browser on WinXP.

I need help on method #1 & #2 syntax (method #3a,b & #4 are working ok).

[Jonas Schneider]

On Tue, 21 Mar 2017 17:19:09 +0000, David Taylor
> wrote:

> ... or just type FTP://<address> in Explorer.

I always wonder when people say "explorer" whether they mean Windows
Explorer or Windows Internet Explorer.

Nonetheless, I think you meant Windows Explorer, where I typed the
following to get a web page to my FTP server on Android:

Start > Run > ftp://192.168.1.5:12345
https://s28.postimg.org/h501uzbwt/startrunftp.jpg

But if I can get this the Microsoft Windows "net use" syntax to work, it
would be even better because that brings up the real Windows Explorer with
your Android phone showing up as just another directory in Windows.

The problem is that I don't see a "port" syntax in the description.
https://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/net_use.mspx?mfr=true

I've tried these so far, but they don't do anything yet.
net use z: \\192.168.1.5:12345 /user:anonymous\anonymous /persistent:yes
net use z: \\192.168.1.5:12345 /savecred /persistent:yes

Does anyone know how to make "net use" connect to an anonymous FTP server
on your phone?

[Jonas Schneider]

On Mon, 20 Mar 2017 03:18:26 +0000 (UTC), Jonas Schneider
> wrote:

> Do any of you have a simple WiFi copy method from Windows XP to Android?

Since multiple HTTP, FTP, and "Map Network Drive" methods worked, the
problem can't be my network so it must be the syntax I'm using.

These all work:
* Map Network Drive: https://s7.postimg.org/clnkswjd7/mapnetworkdrive.jpg
* FTP Server: https://s28.postimg.org/h501uzbwt/startrunftp.jpg
* HTTP Server: https://s11.postimg.org/73978bgdv/httpserver.jpg

Yet, neither ES File Explorer nor WiFi Direct nor AndSMB work yet.

Based on a suggestion from the Win10 group, I installed Total Commander:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ghisler.android.TotalCommander

Opening Total Commander, it's not obvious where to enter the SMB/CIFS
options as there is no "network" button in sight.

Googling, there seems to be a "LAN plugin for Total Commander"
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ghisler.tcplugins.LAN

Now when I open Total Commander, a line for "LAN (Windows shares)" shows.
* New Server = I typed 192.168.1.10
* Server name/directory = I typed 192.168.1.10/smb

I was guessing at the syntax because it doesn't indicate which way the
slashes go nor what the "directory" name is supposed to indicate but this
created a line called "192.168.1.10".

But when I tapped on that new line, up came the error:
LAN
Error connecting to server!
Reported error: Failed to connect: HOME<00>/192.168.1.10/smb/
OK

What I need is a syntax example from someone who has it working so that I
can basically copy what works from them. How is your syntax?

Does anyone on this ng have SMB/CIFS working on Windows with Android?

[Carlos E. R.[_2_]]

On 2017-03-21 05:17, Jonas Schneider wrote:
> On Tue, 21 Mar 2017 00:55:17 +0100, "Carlos E. R."
> > wrote:
>
>> Well, because it can't be just a plain web server in Android. It needs
>> to have, er, a special page so that you can upload files. Same way as
>> when you upload a photo to some site.
>
> I understand what you're saying so thank you for clarifying.
> What that means is that a web server on Android is out of the question.

But you do not have to create any page. You just need to install some
specific app on Android that works that way, transparently to you.
Airdroid is one that does it that way, but it is not the only one. I
think that MyPhoneExplorer is another, but I'm unsure.

--
Cheers,
Carlos E.R.

[Carlos E. R.[_2_]]

On 2017-03-21 05:17, Jonas Schneider wrote:
> On Tue, 21 Mar 2017 01:00:48 +0100, "Carlos E. R."
> > wrote:
>
>> AirDroid, for instance, goes both directions.
>
> On WinXP, with both the Android phone and the WinXP computer attached to
> the same network, I created a directory c:\tmp\smb and right clicked it and
> shared it as "smb".
>
> Then I installed AirDroid on Android.
>
> Running AirDroid, there were a few help screens, and then a mandatory "sign
> in later" button. At that point there were only three options:
> 1. AirDroid Web -> requires sign in which isn't what we asked for
> 2. My computer -> requires sign in which isn't what we asked for
> 3. Add device -> requires sign in which isn't what we asked for
>
> So I uninstalled AirDroid as a dismal flop because it didn't meet the
> initial requirements.
>

http://forum.airdroid.com/discussion/9427/airdroid-2-how-to-use-airdroid-without-an-account

Apparently registration is not an absolute requirement. Anyway, I
mentioned airdroid but said there are other tools that work similarly.
Reading from my notes, MyPhoneExplorer works using USB cable or WiFi.

--
Cheers,
Carlos E.R.

[Carlos E. R.[_2_]]

On 2017-03-21 16:59, Jonas Schneider wrote:
> On Mon, 20 Mar 2017 09:53:55 -0400, Big Al > wrote:
>
>>> This suggests WiFi File Transfer but there are lots of apps with that name
>> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.smarterdroid.wififiletransfer&hl=en_GB
>>
>> This is the version I use. Simple. Does it via a web page on your
>> PC. Turn on the app on the phone, and the phone becomes a web server
>> of sorts and the screen supplies you with the IP address to put in the
>> PC's web browser. From there is point and click upload and download
>> like any other web site.
>
> Thanks for the pointer to the better "WiFi File Transfer" application which
> was the one from SmarterDroid.

....

> So, this method using basically an http server on Android worked to
> transfer files from Windows XP to Android, but, truth be told, a web
> browser (especially one limited arbitrarily to 5MB per file) is a terrible
> way to transfer files.

Well, it is a good and simple way to transfer a few files quickly. You
did not say how many files you needed to transfer :-p


> However, what's really nice about this method is that it does not require
> ANYTHING to be installed on Windows (since browsers are already there).
>
> But there are other methods which don't require anything to be installed on
> Windows which are far better than a web page (which is just about the worst
> way possible to transfer files.
>
> 1. The best way is SMB, but the syntax requires a learning curve.
> 2. The second-best way is FTP, which worked just fine in my tests.
> 3. The worst way is HTTP, which worked fine & requires no learning curve.

I use SCP, but it is terribly slow. However, traffic is encrypted, so it
is best for use over internet.

My preferred method is USB cable, seems to work the fastest of any other
for big files. No need to install anything anywhere.

SMB or FTP I have not tried with Android.

MyPhoneExplorer is another method, very powerful. It needs a client app
in Android, and an application in Windows. I personally do not like it
because I don't use Windows.

--
Cheers,
Carlos E.R.

[tlvp]

On Tue, 21 Mar 2017 04:45:10 +0000 (UTC), Jonas Schneider wrote:

> ... FileZilla 3.25.1_win32 requires as a minimum Windows Vista ...

What I'm using is old FileZilla 3.0.11.1 -- on both an XP system (where it
installed w/ no complaints) and a Vista system. You ought to be able to
locate a downloadable copy of that from one of the Old Apps archives or
perhaps through the agency of the WayBack Machine (at archive.org).

The Portable Apps folks might have that on offer, too. HTH. Cheers, -- tlvp
--
Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP.

[tlvp]

On Tue, 21 Mar 2017 18:26:07 +0000 (UTC), Jonas Schneider wrote:

> Does anyone know how to make "net use" connect to an anonymous FTP server
> on your phone?

Wrong question, I'd say: build an URL, in your favorite browser, using the
FTP://... protocol as per the source cited in my prior (recent) reply.

Cheers, -- tlvp
--
Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP.

[tlvp]

On Tue, 21 Mar 2017 15:59:44 +0000 (UTC), Jonas Schneider wrote:

> ... but the syntax requires a learning curve.

You need a learning curve? Go visit The Learning Channel. They specialize
in learning curves :-) . Cheers, -- tlvp
--
Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP.

[Jonas Schneider]

On Wed, 22 Mar 2017 02:19:31 +0100, "Carlos E. R."
> wrote:

>> I understand what you're saying so thank you for clarifying.
>> What that means is that a web server on Android is out of the question.
>
> But you do not have to create any page. You just need to install some
> specific app on Android that works that way, transparently to you.
> Airdroid is one that does it that way, but it is not the only one. I
> think that MyPhoneExplorer is another, but I'm unsure.

Thanks Carlos for making sure I understood that a web server on Android can
work bidirectionally (somehow) where most of my bidirectional experience
with web servers has been using ftp to put the data onto the web server (or
telnet) and not using http bidirectionally.

It has been a long time since I have telnetted into an http server on port
80 and issued commands (get, head, etc) so I'm sure it's possible but
really, a web server is a terrible way to transfer arbitrary files
bidirectionally.

The best way is to use CIFS, but apparently I need to be root to add both
CIFS and a File Manager to Android so that it can "talk" directly to
Windows.
http://reviewlagoon.com/nexus-7-tutorial-mount-network-share-as-a-drive/

[Jonas Schneider]

On Wed, 22 Mar 2017 02:30:07 +0100, "Carlos E. R."
> wrote:

> http://forum.airdroid.com/discussion/9427/airdroid-2-how-to-use-airdroid-without-an-account
> Apparently registration is not an absolute requirement.

Thanks Carlos for explaining that there are ways to get around the AirDroid
request for an account in the three of three options it gives you.

Skimming that article, it seems that you can turn your Android into a WiFi
hotspot, and then you can use AirDroid without having to log in.

But, as we mentioned, we're not only looking to find the *best* WiFi to
Windows connection, but just the mere fact that there are artificial
requirements means that the AirDroid solution will never even be close to
the best.

Just like with the FileZilla suggestion, any app that imposes artificial
restrictions on your use of your own data from your phone to your computer,
is just anathema to the goal of the best wifi solution.

Using either FileZilla or AirDroid, even if you get around the
restrictions, is like picking up a hitchhiker who immediately asks you for
money or pot.

The best time to ditch that hitchhiker is not to pick him up in the first
place, but if you picked him up (as I did with FileZilla and AirDroid, the
next-best time to ditch them is immediately).

And then warn everyone else not to pick up those two hitchhikers, FileZilla
or AirDroid.

> Anyway, I
> mentioned airdroid but said there are other tools that work similarly.
> Reading from my notes, MyPhoneExplorer works using USB cable or WiFi.

There is this MyPhone Explorer client solution here:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fjsoft.myphoneexplorer.client

First impression is that it sure asks for a lot of permissions but it
installs extremely quickly (like a couple of seconds).

Opening it up, it says "WiFi connected to" my SOHO router SSID, and it
gives the IP address of the Android device at 192.168.1.5 and says, in
utterly miniscule red text which required my reading glasses
"Please set up a WiFi PIN so that the connection via WiFI is protected from
untrusted access" and then an "OK" button.

Up pops a "WiFi-PIN" form saying "this is not your regular WiFi password",
so I give it a PIN of 0000 (which I have to remember now as I wasn't
expecting to have to have a pin just to access my own network).

Now it says it's connected and the red warning went away but it lists the
pin of 0000 in the clear on the Android phone (so why did I do that?).

Hmmm. Now what? The only buttons on the bottom are "Exit", "Help" and
"Settings". That's it. Nothing to "connect" or do anything. Hmmm.

Pressing "Help" takes me to a web page with incredibly small text:
http://www.fjsoft.at/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11454
Which brings us to a forum thread of the name:
How to use MyPhoneExplorer with an Android Device
Which says the solution requires the following Windows software:
http://www.fjsoft.at/download.php?id=1
Which, when installed, takes up almost 50MB so now I know why the client
was so small! :)

Once installed, I rebooted the WinXP machine.
A. I started the MyPhoneExplorer client on Android
B. I started MyPhone Exploer server on Windows.
C. I went to File -> Settings > Connection > Phone Type
D. I selected Phone Type = Google Android-OS
E. I selected Connect via = Autodetect & pressed OK
F. I then selected File > Connect
G. Up popped a form asking "Verbindung wird aufgebaut..."
H. But there's nothing you can type in the server GUI and the application
hangs forever no matter what you do.

I had to control-alt-delete to kill it.
I went to Google Translate which equates that German-language form:
Verbindung wird aufgebaut = Connection is established

So I tried again, and clicked various things, where nothing happened until
about ten clicks into clicking about, a form popped up asking for the PIN
and then a sync form (which only had the option of ok or cancel so I hit
cancel).

Clicking about, I could access the phone logs from Windows, so this seems
to be like a Motorola or Samsung app where you "control" the phone from the
Windows computer, which is all well and good but that's not what I'm here
for.

Here is what the Windows user interface looks like:
https://s3.postimg.org/j3ajqn9gz/myphoneexplorerserver.jpg

Overall it looks like a decent app, but since it seems to be a proprietary
server on Windows, it doesn't meet the requirements of the "best", but if
someone wants to control their phone, their contacts, their calls, their
files, it does seem to at least work for that so it's a nice app, but a bit
of overkill for what I'm seeking.

[Jonas Schneider]

On Tue, 21 Mar 2017 22:52:43 -0400, tlvp > wrote:

>> Does anyone know how to make "net use" connect to an anonymous FTP server
>> on your phone?
>
> Wrong question, I'd say: build an URL, in your favorite browser, using the
> FTP://... protocol as per the source cited in my prior (recent) reply.

The problem with using a browser is that a browser is an absolutely
terrible way to transfer files.

Nonetheless, the FTP-server solution is still the second-best solution
suggested so far (with CIFS/SMB being the best solution).

So you're correct that there are plenty of ways to get FTP to work once I
put an "ftp server" on the phone and once I use an "ftp client" on Windows.

Since there are very many ftp servers for Android and even more ftp clients
for Windows, almost any FTP solution will work (and has already worked).

So I'm pretty much done with testing out FTP, where, on Windows, WinSCP
seems just fine as a graphical interface but the "Map Network Drive" FTP
browsing solution is even better because it's native on Windows so nothing
needs to be installed on Windows and only an FTP server needs to be
installed on the phone.

1. Start any FTP server on the phone & note the URL 192.168.1.5:12345
2. Select "Tools > Map Network Drive" in Windows Explorer
3. Select "...connect to a network server" in the Map Network Drive UI
4. Click through the wizard to enter ftp://192.168.1.5:12345
5. Click through the results (allowing anonymous login)
6. Click some more through the wizard until you can hit "Finish"

Up pops the entire file system of your Android device on Windows, as if
your entire phone internal and external memory is just a part of Windows.
https://s14.postimg.org/xffw8fpmp/ftp_windows_explorer.jpg

The only frustrating problem I'm having with this Map Network Drive
FTP-server solution is that it's not persistent.

For whatever reason, the Z: drive that I just mapped doesn't show up in
Windows XP "My Computer". So I have to run the multiple-step wizard every
time.

That's why I'm trying to get the "net use" syntax to work.
I'm just trying to get the "Map Network Drive" to be persistent.

Does anyone know how to make Map Network Drive persistent so that a Z:
shows up when I click on My Computer?

[Alek]

Jonas Schneider wrote on 3/22/2017 10:07 AM:
>
> It has been a long time since I have telnetted into an http server on port
> 80 and issued commands (get, head, etc) so I'm sure it's possible but
> really, a web server is a terrible way to transfer arbitrary files
> bidirectionally.

Why do you say that? It seems simple and clean to me. And it works!

[Alek]

Jonas Schneider wrote on 3/22/2017 12:13 PM:
> On Tue, 21 Mar 2017 22:52:43 -0400, tlvp > wrote:
>
>>> Does anyone know how to make "net use" connect to an anonymous FTP server
>>> on your phone?
>>
>> Wrong question, I'd say: build an URL, in your favorite browser, using the
>> FTP://... protocol as per the source cited in my prior (recent) reply.
>
> The problem with using a browser is that a browser is an absolutely
> terrible way to transfer files.
>
> Nonetheless, the FTP-server solution is still the second-best solution
> suggested so far (with CIFS/SMB being the best solution).
>
> So you're correct that there are plenty of ways to get FTP to work once I
> put an "ftp server" on the phone and once I use an "ftp client" on Windows.
>
> Since there are very many ftp servers for Android and even more ftp clients
> for Windows, almost any FTP solution will work (and has already worked).
>
> So I'm pretty much done with testing out FTP, where, on Windows, WinSCP
> seems just fine as a graphical interface but the "Map Network Drive" FTP
> browsing solution is even better because it's native on Windows so nothing
> needs to be installed on Windows and only an FTP server needs to be
> installed on the phone.
>
> 1. Start any FTP server on the phone & note the URL 192.168.1.5:12345
> 2. Select "Tools > Map Network Drive" in Windows Explorer
> 3. Select "...connect to a network server" in the Map Network Drive UI

What network folder would you like to map?

I said \\xps8700\h

Now what?

> 4. Click through the wizard to enter ftp://192.168.1.5:12345

Not clear.

[tlvp]

On Wed, 22 Mar 2017 14:07:43 +0000 (UTC), Jonas Schneider wrote:

> ... using ftp to put the data onto the web server ...

Remember: FTP can both PUT (upload) and GET (download). HTH.

Cheers, -- tlvp
--
Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP.

[tlvp]

On Wed, 22 Mar 2017 16:13:50 +0000 (UTC), Jonas Schneider wrote:

> ... a browser is an absolutely
> terrible way to transfer files.

Hogwash :-) ! *Http* may be as U say, but *FTP* is among the best possible.
And a browser is capable of both. Open your eyes, open your mind. HTH.

Cheers, -- tlvp
--
Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP.

[nospam]

In article >, tlvp
> wrote:

>
> > ... a browser is an absolutely
> > terrible way to transfer files.
>
> Hogwash :-) ! *Http* may be as U say, but *FTP* is among the best possible.

maybe in the 1990s it was, but certainly not now.

> And a browser is capable of both.

it may be capable, but it's one of the worst choices to transfer files.

> Open your eyes, open your mind. HTH.

you should try that sometime.

[Jonas Schneider]

On Wed, 22 Mar 2017 02:49:47 +0100, "Carlos E. R."
> wrote:

> Well, it is a good and simple way to transfer a few files quickly. You
> did not say how many files you needed to transfer :-p

Actually, at first, I just wanted to move one small text file, but then I
got to trying to figure out the best way to transfer files.

1. HTTP is fine, mostly because it's easy on Windows
2. FTP is better, mostly because it's bidirectional & powerful
3. CIFS is best, mostly because it's native on Windows

The killer on HTTP is it's too restricted.
The kill on CIFS/SMB is that the syntax is (seemingly) impossible.

So, for now, it's going to have to be FTP for me.

> I use SCP, but it is terribly slow. However, traffic is encrypted, so it
> is best for use over internet.

I also use the WinSCP graphical FTP client on Windows, but I find the
native "Map Network Drive" feature of Windows working over FTP URIs is
semingly faster and easier:
Map Network Drive = ftp://192.168.1.10:2121

I just wish I could skip that awful Map Network Drive wizard but "net use
X:" syntax doesn't seem to support arbitrary port numbers like 2121.

> My preferred method is USB cable, seems to work the fastest of any other
> for big files. No need to install anything anywhere.

USB cable is fine but I trip over the extensions because I do this from
floor to floor. :)

> SMB or FTP I have not tried with Android.

CIFS/SMB would be best because all file permissions are supposedly
respected but the syntax is horrific, hence nearly impossible to accomplish
by mere mortals.

FTP is pretty good because it just works, and there are a ton of FTP
servers for Android and clients for Windows, but, best of all, Windows
Explorer has a native graphical user interface for "Map Network Drive"
which takes FTP URLs of

HTTP and the proprietary solutions are less useful since they are designed
for far too many "other things", which makes them an "all in one" tool
designed by a committee, which always makes them worse than dedicated
tools.

I'm very close to giving up on finding the best solution, but at least we
have some good ones fleshed out already.

> MyPhoneExplorer is another method, very powerful. It needs a client app
> in Android, and an application in Windows. I personally do not like it
> because I don't use Windows.

I tested a few of the suggested proprietary solutions, where
MyPhoneExplorer was one of them. They're too much for file transfer but
they at least worked for the most part.

There is this My Phone Explorer client solution here:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fjsoft.myphoneexplorer.client

First impression is that it sure asks for a lot of permissions but it
installs extremely quickly (like a couple of seconds).

Opening it up, MyPhone Explorer says "WiFi connected to" my SOHO router
SSID, and it gives the IP address of the Android device at 192.168.1.5 and
says, in utterly miniscule red text which required my reading glasses
"Please set up a WiFi PIN so that the connection via WiFI is protected from
untrusted access" and then an "OK" button.

Up pops a "WiFi-PIN" form saying "this is not your regular WiFi password",
so I give it a PIN of 0000 (which I have to remember now as I wasn't
expecting to have to have a pin just to access my own network).

Now it says it's connected and the red warning went away but it lists the
pin of 0000 in the clear on the Android phone (so why did I do that?).

Hmmm. Now what? The only buttons on the bottom are "Exit", "Help" and
"Settings". That's it. Nothing to "connect" or do anything. Hmmm.

Pressing "Help" takes me to a web page with incredibly small text:
http://www.fjsoft.at/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11454
Which brings us to a forum thread of the name:
How to use MyPhoneExplorer with an Android Device
Which says the solution requires the following Windows software:
http://www.fjsoft.at/download.php?id=1
Which, when installed, takes up almost 50MB so now I know why the client
was so small! :)

Once installed, I rebooted the WinXP machine.
A. I started the MyPhoneExplorer client on Android
B. I started MyPhone Exploer server on Windows.
C. I went to File -> Settings > Connection > Phone Type
D. I selected Phone Type = Google Android-OS
E. I selected Connect via = Autodetect & pressed OK
F. I then selected File > Connect
G. Up popped a form asking "Verbindung wird aufgebaut..."
H. But there's nothing you can type in the server GUI and the application
hangs forever no matter what you do.

I had to control-alt-delete to kill it.
I went to Google Translate which equates that German-language form:
Verbindung wird aufgebaut = Connection is established

So I tried again, and clicked various things, where nothing happened until
about ten clicks into clicking about, a form popped up asking for the PIN
and then a sync form (which only had the option of ok or cancel so I hit
cancel).

Clicking about, I could access the phone logs from Windows, so this seems
to be like a Motorola or Samsung app where you "control" the phone from the
Windows computer, which is all well and good but that's not what I'm here
for.

Here is what the Windows user interface looks like:
https://s3.postimg.org/j3ajqn9gz/myphoneexplorerserver.jpg

Overall it looks like a decent app, but since it seems to be a proprietary
server on Windows, it doesn't meet the requirements of the "best", but if
someone wants to control their phone, their contacts, their calls, their
files, it does seem to at least work for that so it's a nice app, but a bit
of overkill for what I'm seeking.

[Jonas Schneider]

On Wed, 22 Mar 2017 14:53:31 -0400, tlvp > wrote:

> Remember: FTP can both PUT (upload) and GET (download). HTH.

In the good old days, this was what I did to populate my web pages on
remote servers.

ftp servername.com 21
binary <=== it was always safest to just set this up front
lcd <==== just to check my bearings
cd /document_root/directory <==== go to where you had permission
ls <=== take a look around
get whatever.ext
put whatever.txt
<<<< there was a command I don't remember which allowed asterisks! >>>>
mget *
mput *
quit

Then they made graphical FTP clients (like cuteFTP) and I never looked
back.

BTW, I think maybe CIFS might not work unless rooted.
http://reviewlagoon.com/nexus-7-tutorial-mount-network-share-as-a-drive/

[Jonas Schneider]

On Wed, 22 Mar 2017 13:33:46 -0400, Alek > wrote:

>> It has been a long time since I have telnetted into an http server on port
>> 80 and issued commands (get, head, etc) so I'm sure it's possible but
>> really, a web server is a terrible way to transfer arbitrary files
>> bidirectionally.
>
> Why do you say that? It seems simple and clean to me. And it works!

I should be more clear with you in that I love the simplicity of the HTTP
server methods, all of which worked the very first time I tested them.

They generally work well because you simply turn on an HTTP server on
Android and then everyone knows how to access it from any other platform
(eg from Windows we just use any web browser).

So HTTP protocol is fine for simplicity since the access is via a web
browser which goes to a web page on your Android device
(DOCUMENT_ROOT/index.html) which tells the web page what to look like which
is your user interface.

All that is pretty easy and solid stuff.

The reason I say HTTP isn't so good is that it's a pain to rename files and
to transfer files back and forth generally (although it can be done) and
the need to access multiple files is an issue as is the need to go to the
root /mnt point where most web servers can't go higher than DOCUMENT_ROOT,
and a million other constraints that are there only because HTTP was never
meant to be a protocol for just transferring files bidirectionally.

Anyway, I have installed Netscape and Apache web servers many times and set
them up many times and built web pages many times, and it's just not the
right protocol for me.

But it does work and it is simple so I put it on the list, but just not in
the top of the list.

[Jonas Schneider]

On Wed, 22 Mar 2017 01:37:18 -0000 (UTC), lew
> wrote:

> The "problem" problably is that you specified "smb" for your network
> drive instead of the mapped drive letter. I have both ES Explorer &
> Total Commander working to get files from win10; however, my setup
> for lan access is a partition of a hdd. e.g. 192.168.1.10/h, where
> "h:" is the partition that is configured as "shared" & allows access
> for all directories in the H: partition.
>
> As you are using a NAS for the windows side, you might just try
> forgetting smb & just use the windows mapped drive as the lan
> "server". Don't know if that will work tho.

It was a poor choice of using "smb" as the name of the directory I first
created which was c:\tmp\smb so when I shared it in Windows, the default
name was "smb" which is probably a confusing choice since "SMB" is a
protocol.

So I should have created c:\tmp\abc or c:\tmp\foo or c:\tmp\bar, or
whatever, instead of smb.

I've fixed that, so I know have c:\tmp\abc as my shared directory.

I may not respond much further as my patience with CIFS/SMB syntax is
wearing thin and I may get crotchety as a result.

All I really want is what anyone else would want, which is a step-by-step
tutorial for setting up either CIFS or SMB from Android to Windows.

Googling for just that, I find this which uses ES File Explorer on the
phone, but it's for Windows 7 and not for Windows XP.
How to Access Shared Windows Folders On Android Over WiFi
http://www.guidingtech.com/10885/access-shared-windows-folders-android-wifi/

This one also uses ES File Explorer:
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/tablets-in-the-enterprise/connect-android-to-windows-and-samba-shared-directories/
Connect Android to Windows and Samba shared directories

This one seems to be the best because it uses ES File Explorer on all the
various versions of Windows, including Windows XP:
[Noob Guide]Access Windows PC files directly from Android through Wi-Fi
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s2/general/noob-guide-access-windows-pc-files-t1896999

So I'll try that one next.

[tlvp]

On Wed, 22 Mar 2017 20:04:24 +0000 (UTC), Jonas Schneider wrote:

> Then they made graphical FTP clients (like cuteFTP) and I never looked
> back.

So use cuteFTP instead of FileZilla, no problemo, all the same to me :-) .

Cheers, -- tlvp
--
Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP.

[tlvp]

On Wed, 22 Mar 2017 19:40:16 +0000 (UTC), Jonas Schneider wrote:

> I'm very close to giving up on finding the best solution,

What? Giving up? Didn't you always tell us only Apple dweebs give up :-) ?

[ v.b.g. ] Cheers, -- tlvp

Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP.

[Carlos E. R.[_2_]]

On 2017-03-22 21:04, Jonas Schneider wrote:
> Anyway, I have installed Netscape and Apache web servers many times and set
> them up many times and built web pages many times, and it's just not the
> right protocol for me.

Forget all that! Not needed at all, not the same thing.

--
Cheers,
Carlos E.R.

[Carlos E. R.[_2_]]

On 2017-03-22 15:07, Jonas Schneider wrote:
> On Wed, 22 Mar 2017 02:19:31 +0100, "Carlos E. R."
> > wrote:
>
>>> I understand what you're saying so thank you for clarifying.
>>> What that means is that a web server on Android is out of the question.
>>
>> But you do not have to create any page. You just need to install some
>> specific app on Android that works that way, transparently to you.
>> Airdroid is one that does it that way, but it is not the only one. I
>> think that MyPhoneExplorer is another, but I'm unsure.
>
> Thanks Carlos for making sure I understood that a web server on Android can
> work bidirectionally (somehow) where most of my bidirectional experience
> with web servers has been using ftp to put the data onto the web server (or
> telnet) and not using http bidirectionally.
>
> It has been a long time since I have telnetted into an http server on port
> 80 and issued commands (get, head, etc) so I'm sure it's possible but
> really, a web server is a terrible way to transfer arbitrary files
> bidirectionally.

That has nothing to do with it.

Telnet or ssh is used to upload page changes to your own web server
rented somewhere. This is totally unrelated to uploading files to your
phone using an app such as mentioned previously.

Have you never used a web page on internet to which you upload files?
Google photos, perhaps? Google drive? Click upload, displays some
minimal file browser inside the page, select on the file or files, click
"upload", and be done?

It does not matter how they do it. Probably some javascript code, dunno.
Just forget that these apps work by creating some type of web page.
Forget the internals. You only have to consider that in windows you see
a web page created by the phone. Consider that page as "an application".
That's all.

Then evaluate if you like that interface or not.

This type of app is often good to transfer few files with little hassle.


Look, I try "AirDroid" again for you.

It asks for registration, but just tap "continue without registration"
or similar words. The first item then suggests an URL such as
http://192.168.1.5:8888/

Type that on your computer browser. The tablet beeps. Hit accept, done.
No registration!

I can access messages, photos, sms, contacts, ringtones... many
"gadgets". Plus a toolbox for files. Drag and drop works. Not difficult
at all!




> The best way is to use CIFS, but apparently I need to be root to add both
> CIFS and a File Manager to Android so that it can "talk" directly to
> Windows.
> http://reviewlagoon.com/nexus-7-tutorial-mount-network-share-as-a-drive/

Sounds strange to me, but I have never used cifs on android.

On the other direction, yes: for instance with ES file explorer you can
access a share in Windows. Notice that you can also initiate the
transfer from Android instead than from the computer.

--
Cheers,
Carlos E.R.

[Carlos E. R.[_2_]]

On 2017-03-22 16:50, Jonas Schneider wrote:
> On Wed, 22 Mar 2017 02:30:07 +0100, "Carlos E. R."
> > wrote:
>
>> http://forum.airdroid.com/discussion/9427/airdroid-2-how-to-use-airdroid-without-an-account
>> Apparently registration is not an absolute requirement.
>
> Thanks Carlos for explaining that there are ways to get around the AirDroid
> request for an account in the three of three options it gives you.

I noticed that I had AirDroid installed on my tablet, and tried it, not
reading any howto. It does not need any registration to work. it is
trivial to use and connect - at least if your computer and tablet are
connected to the same WiFi router.

Just try it with an open mind - no registration! :-)

--
Cheers,
Carlos E.R.

[Carlos E. R.[_2_]]

On 2017-03-22 20:40, Jonas Schneider wrote:
> On Wed, 22 Mar 2017 02:49:47 +0100, "Carlos E. R."
> > wrote:
>
>> Well, it is a good and simple way to transfer a few files quickly. You
>> did not say how many files you needed to transfer :-p
>
> Actually, at first, I just wanted to move one small text file, but then I
> got to trying to figure out the best way to transfer files.
>
> 1. HTTP is fine, mostly because it's easy on Windows
> 2. FTP is better, mostly because it's bidirectional & powerful
> 3. CIFS is best, mostly because it's native on Windows
>
> The killer on HTTP is it's too restricted.
> The kill on CIFS/SMB is that the syntax is (seemingly) impossible.
>
> So, for now, it's going to have to be FTP for me.
>
>> I use SCP, but it is terribly slow. However, traffic is encrypted, so it
>> is best for use over internet.
>
> I also use the WinSCP graphical FTP client on Windows, but I find the
> native "Map Network Drive" feature of Windows working over FTP URIs is
> semingly faster and easier:
> Map Network Drive = ftp://192.168.1.10:2121

Notice that you are using FTP protocol, whereas I was talking of SCP,
Secure File Copy. It uses SSH for transport, totally different from FTP,
even if in Windows you can use WinSCP for both.



>> My preferred method is USB cable, seems to work the fastest of any other
>> for big files. No need to install anything anywhere.
>
> USB cable is fine but I trip over the extensions because I do this from
> floor to floor. :)

Oh. Long distance.

No, USB should be for a metre or two.


>> MyPhoneExplorer is another method, very powerful. It needs a client app
>> in Android, and an application in Windows. I personally do not like it
>> because I don't use Windows.
>
> I tested a few of the suggested proprietary solutions, where
> MyPhoneExplorer was one of them. They're too much for file transfer but
> they at least worked for the most part.

....

> Overall it looks like a decent app, but since it seems to be a proprietary
> server on Windows, it doesn't meet the requirements of the "best", but if
> someone wants to control their phone, their contacts, their calls, their
> files, it does seem to at least work for that so it's a nice app, but a bit
> of overkill for what I'm seeking.

I used it once, when I needed to edit the phone book. I was using W10.

--
Cheers,
Carlos E.R.

[nospam]

In article >, tlvp
> wrote:

>
> > I'm very close to giving up on finding the best solution,
>
> What? Giving up? Didn't you always tell us only Apple dweebs give up :-) ?

he always contradicts what he says.

[Jonas Schneider]

On Wed, 22 Mar 2017 19:26:31 -0400, tlvp > wrote:

>> I'm very close to giving up on finding the best solution,
>
> What? Giving up? Didn't you always tell us only Apple dweebs give up :-) ?

I'm not sure what you mean as I don't know anything about Apple stuff.

I think lew is correct in that I will never be able to share c:\tmp\abc or
even C:\abc but that I have to share a separate partition (which I don't
have).

Maybe it will work with USB where I can share E:\abc so I'll try that next
but I'm so frustrated that I already gave up until lew suggested that.

[nospam]

In article >, Jonas Schneider
> wrote:

>
> >> I'm very close to giving up on finding the best solution,
> >
> > What? Giving up? Didn't you always tell us only Apple dweebs give up :-) ?
>
> I'm not sure what you mean as I don't know anything about Apple stuff.

understatement of the year

[Jonas Schneider]

On Thu, 23 Mar 2017 04:04:03 +0100, "Carlos E. R."
> wrote:

> Notice that you are using FTP protocol, whereas I was talking of SCP,
> Secure File Copy. It uses SSH for transport, totally different from FTP,
> even if in Windows you can use WinSCP for both.

You are correct that I was talking about a program named "WinSCP".
It's an SFTP, FTP, WebDAV and SCP client.
https://winscp.net/eng/docs/ui_login_environment

I only use the FTP settings though.

> Oh. Long distance.
>
> No, USB should be for a metre or two.

What I love about WiFi file transfer is I can do it from my phone in the
bedroom to a computer in the office, where they are on different floors.

>>> MyPhoneExplorer is another method, very powerful. It needs a client app
>>> in Android, and an application in Windows. I personally do not like it
>>> because I don't use Windows.

> I used it once, when I needed to edit the phone book. I was using W10.

If I wanted to "manage" my phone, its calendar, alarms, messages, phone
calls, contacts, etc from the computer, then My Phone Explorer would be a
great tool.

Here's a picture of me using it today in my tests.
https://s3.postimg.org/j3ajqn9gz/myphoneexplorerserver.jpg

I just don't think having to put a proprietary server on the computer and
adding a proprietary client on the phone is a "good" solution when we can
add just one client to the phone (eg smb or CIFS) or one server on the
phone (eg ftp or http) and then use Windows native tools to manage it.

This has the huge advantage that it works for all Windows machines, and not
just machines that have proprietary software installed on them.

In summary, many bidirectional Wifi file transfer methods worked and a few
were failures.

Here are the methods, ordered in best-to-worst order.
1. CIFS = wasn't tested but requires root, I think, on the phone
2. SMB = was tested and failed every single time for unknown reasons
3. FTP = worked via many methods the best being "map network drive"
4. HTTP = worked via many methods but always substandard to FTP
5. Proprietary protocols = multiple ones worked but they are overkill

The good news is that out of those 5 methods, I tested about 15 solutions,
where all but the SMB and CIFS ones worked just fine.

My recommendation is to install nothing on Windows and to install any FTP
server on Android, the simpler and least complex the better (where I opted
for "primitive FTP" as the simplest FTP Server that I could find).
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.primftpd

To open the entire Android phone in the native Windows File Explorer, all
you do is press the "Tools > Map Network Drive" and follow the wizard using
the protocol ftp://192.168.1.5:2121 as your address.
https://s14.postimg.org/xffw8fpmp/ftp_windows_explorer.jpg

[Jonas Schneider]

On Thu, 23 Mar 2017 03:53:41 +0100, "Carlos E. R."
> wrote:

> Just try it with an open mind - no registration! :-)

I did try it, and I ranked it where I thought it belongs.
If you rank it differently, that's fine.

Here's my summary of my rankings of the best-to-worst methods.
1. Native CIFS file sharing on Windows & CIFS client on Android
2. Native CIFS/SMB file sharing on Windows & SMB client on Android
3. Native Map Network Drive (or FTP client) on Windows & FTP server on
Android
4. HTTP client on Windows & HTTP server on Android
5. Proprietary server on Windows & proprietary client on Android

All those methods were suggested in this thread, where I simply tested each
and ranked the results as shown above.

How would you rank them differently, and why?

[Jonas Schneider]

On Thu, 23 Mar 2017 03:48:54 +0100, "Carlos E. R."
> wrote:

> It does not matter how they do it.
> Then evaluate if you like that interface or not.

How would you rank these possible WiFi file-transfer solutions?

1. CIFS client on Android + native CIFS file sharing on Windows.
2. SMB client on Android + native CIFS/SMB file sharing on Windows.
3. FTP server on Android + native Map Network Drive (or FTP client) on
Windows.
4. HTTP server on Android + HTTP client on Windows.
5. Proprietary client on Android + proprietary server on Windows.

[Jonas Schneider]

On Thu, 23 Mar 2017 03:37:50 +0100, "Carlos E. R."
> wrote:

> Forget all that! Not needed at all, not the same thing.

It's ok to forget that HTTP is not FTP but what can you say is better about
http over ftp for transferring files between Android and Windows XP?

[Carlos E. R.[_2_]]

On 2017-03-23 06:13, Jonas Schneider wrote:
> On Thu, 23 Mar 2017 03:37:50 +0100, "Carlos E. R."
> > wrote:
>
>> Forget all that! Not needed at all, not the same thing.
>
> It's ok to forget that HTTP is not FTP but what can you say is better about
> http over ftp for transferring files between Android and Windows XP?

FTP is harder to setup on firewalls because it uses two ports (one
control, one data), and the data port varies, it is negotiated. Plus,
the connection can be active or passive, depending if it is the server
or the client which opens the port.

I keep a strict control of the firewalls of my computers, so to use FTP
I have to punch holes in it.

http uses only port 80, it is far easier to control. On occasion I have
used it to transfer a file or two to some device that only had a
browser, or where I did not want to open the firewall.

However, if you have ftp working, no doubt it is better for file
transfer in any direction. It is designed for that.


Generally speaking, I prefer SCP. In Linux, which is what I mainly use,
both server and clients are installed since day 0. Using it is trivial;
setting up the firewall is trivial; all the exchange is encrypted; using
it over Internet is safe.


--
Cheers,
Carlos E.R.

[Carlos E. R.[_2_]]

On 2017-03-23 06:13, Jonas Schneider wrote:
> On Thu, 23 Mar 2017 03:48:54 +0100, "Carlos E. R."
> > wrote:
>
>> It does not matter how they do it.
>> Then evaluate if you like that interface or not.
>
> How would you rank these possible WiFi file-transfer solutions?

Depends on each situation :-)

> 1. CIFS client on Android + native CIFS file sharing on Windows.
> 2. SMB client on Android + native CIFS/SMB file sharing on Windows.
> 3. FTP server on Android + native Map Network Drive (or FTP client) on
> Windows.
> 4. HTTP server on Android + HTTP client on Windows.
> 5. Proprietary client on Android + proprietary server on Windows.
>

#4 is the one I'm more familiar in Android, so assuming it is just a few
files I would use that. Otherwise, probably #2. The #5 would go last
resource simply because very seldom I use Windows, I prefer
multiplatform solutions.

--
Cheers,
Carlos E.R.

[John McGaw[_2_]]

On 3/21/2017 1:06 AM, Jonas Schneider wrote:
> On Mon, 20 Mar 2017 23:01:56 +0000 (UTC), Jonas Schneider
> > wrote:
>
>> Thanks for that advice as I do have ES File Explorer,
>> When I googled, this article seems to explain how to use ES File Explorer
>> to connect to network shares (whatever that means in English).
>> http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/five-apps/five-android-apps-to-help-you-connect-to-network-storage/
>> Five Android apps to help you connect to network storage
>
> Even though that article "says" ES File Explorer can connect to SMB
> networks shares, it's not obvious how to do that.
>
> On Windows, which is on the same network as my Android phone, I created
> C:\tmp\smb and then shared that directory as "smb" which was easy enough to
> do.
>
> Then on Android I started ES File Explorer and then hit the top left
> hamburger menu and then expanded "Network" which had a "network"
> subheading.
>
> In that Network subheading were four options:
> a. LAN
> b. FTP
> c. Android TV
> d. Search Result
>
> You can't click on any of those lines so I hit the big blue "Scan" button
> on the bottom. It says "Loading" and "scanning" for a really long time
> (minutes) with only a "Cancel" and "Hide" button.
>
> After a super long time for something so simple, up popped under "Search
> Results" 3 different folders saying "SFTP" on them and an IP address below
> them, for just three of my many Access Points, which is pretty much
> useless.
>
> So if there is a way for ES File Explorer to attach to a SMB share on a
> WinXP computer on the same network, it's not obvious how to do that, and
> even so, it's slow as can possibly be which makes what was already useless
> even more so.
>
I don't know what is not obvious. You open 'LAN' touch 'ADD' and then enter
the requested information. Searching for anything is not required. You
either know what the IP address of the target machine is or you don't.

[Jonas Schneider]

On Thu, 23 Mar 2017 14:02:40 +0100, "Carlos E. R."
> wrote:

> #4 is the one I'm more familiar in Android, so assuming it is just a few
> files I would use that. Otherwise, probably #2. The #5 would go last
> resource simply because very seldom I use Windows, I prefer
> multiplatform solutions.

So is this your ranking of best to worst for your needs?
1. HTTP server on Android + HTTP client on Windows.
2. SMB client on Android + native CIFS/SMB file sharing on Windows.
3. CIFS client on Android + native CIFS file sharing on Windows.
4. FTP server on Android + native Map Network Drive (or FTP client) on
Windows.
5. Proprietary client on Android + proprietary server on Windows.

The good news is that solutions abound for all WiFi file transfer methods.

For example:
1. For HTTP, I tested WiFi File Transfer & Wifi Explorer (& others).
2. For SMB, I tested AndSMB & Astro (& others).
3. For CIFS, I tested Folder Tag & Network Browser (& others).
4. For FTP, I tested FTP Server & PrimitiveFTP (& others).
5. For Sync Managers, I tested AirDroid & MyPhoneExplorer (& others).

After testing over two dozen apps, I know that all five should work, where
my problems getting #4 and #5 to work have nothing to do with Android, but
are due to Windows file sharing not working properly.

Once I get Windows file sharing to work, I'm sure all two dozen methods
would work just fine.

I don't know how to debug why Windows file sharing doesn't work yet though.

[Jonas Schneider]

On Wed, 22 Mar 2017 19:17:50 -0400, tlvp > wrote:

> So use cuteFTP instead of FileZilla, no problemo, all the same to me :-) .

Of the five suggested WiFi file transfer methods, FTP was one of the three
that worked on the first pass, and with multiple software on both Windows
and Android.

1. HTTP (eg Wifi Explorer or WiFi File Transfer)
2. FTP (eg primitive FTP or FTP Server)
3. Proprietary sync managers (eg MyPhone Explorer or AirDroid)
4. SMB (eg ES File Explorer or AndSMB)
5. CIFS (eg Folder Tag CIFS Service or Solid Explorer)

So I'm no longer testing the first three above, all of which were so easy
as to work first time and every time.

I'm working on #4 and #5 where I think the real problem has absolutely
nothing to do with Android. I think my Windows XP isn't sharing since I
can't see the shares that I created even on Windows machines, let alone on
Android.

So Windows sharing isn't as simple as creating a directory and sharing it.

[Jonas Schneider]

On Thu, 23 Mar 2017 13:59:26 +0100, "Carlos E. R."
> wrote:

> FTP is harder to setup on firewalls because it uses two ports (one
> control, one data), and the data port varies, it is negotiated.

I didn't actually think you'd come up with anything, so that's interesting
that you find FTP harder to set up on firewalls. I don't use firewalls,
other than the defaults on the routers and laptops, so I've never had a
problem.

Googling, FTP is TCP only, with port 21 for the command and control port,
and 20 for the data port (but not always).

> Plus,
> the connection can be active or passive, depending if it is the server
> or the client which opens the port.

Googling, there is a ton of information on this Active vs Passive FTP role.
"In active mode, the client establishes the command channel (from client
port X to server port 21) but the server establishes the data channel (from
server port 20(b) to client port Y, where Y has been supplied by the
client). In passive mode, the client establishes both channels. In that
case, the server tells the client which port should be used for the data
channel."
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1699145/what-is-the-difference-between-active-and-passive-ftp

> I keep a strict control of the firewalls of my computers, so to use FTP
> I have to punch holes in it.

The application here is from a person's phone to their computer one floor
away in the house, both of which are on the same subnet.

Do you firewall phone-to-PC connections on your own 192.168.1.x subnet?

> http uses only port 80, it is far easier to control. On occasion I have
> used it to transfer a file or two to some device that only had a
> browser, or where I did not want to open the firewall.

I always said that HTTP had the advantage of simplicity.
FTP has the advantage that it was *designed* for file transfer.
CIFS & SMB have the advantage that that's what Windows uses natively.
And proprietary protocols have the advantage that they can control the
whole phone from the PC, not just files.

> However, if you have ftp working, no doubt it is better for file
> transfer in any direction. It is designed for that.

Yes. That is why I rank the five suggested WiFi solutions in this order:
1. CIFS (eg Astro File Manager on Android)
2. SMB (eg AndSMB on Android)
3. FTP (eg primitiveFTP on Android)
4. HTTP (eg Wifi File Transfer on Android)
5. Proprietary (eg MyPhone Explorer on Android)

> Generally speaking, I prefer SCP. In Linux, which is what I mainly use,
> both server and clients are installed since day 0. Using it is trivial;
> setting up the firewall is trivial; all the exchange is encrypted; using
> it over Internet is safe.

I don't use Linux so I have never tried using the SCP protocol even though
my FTP program of choice on Windows (other than the native Map Network
Drive) is WinSCP.

Googling, SCP seems to have the same syntax as cp, so it's just a secure
copy versus a not-secure copy, which defaults to port 22 apparently.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_copy

[Frank Slootweg]

Jonas Schneider > wrote:
[...]
> I don't know how to debug why Windows file sharing doesn't work yet though.

Is it enabled? I vaguely remember "file and printer sharing" (or some
such wording) not being enabled by default in Windows XP (Home?).

Some Googling should help you, if not report back.

[Jonas Schneider]

On Tue, 21 Mar 2017 22:58:19 -0400, tlvp > wrote:

> You need a learning curve? Go visit The Learning Channel. They specialize
> in learning curves :-) . Cheers, -- tlvp

after trying everything proposed in this thread, I think I probably know
more about the various methods of connecting the entire Android file system
to Windows than some Android users, but there is always more to learn from
the experts here.

After testing all the suggestions in this thread, I would break the
suggestions down into five categories, where the best-to-worst ranking
depends on what matters most to you.

1. CIFS methods (eg Folder Tag with CIFS plugin & Network Browser)
2. SMB methods (eg AndSMB & Astro & ES File Explorer & Total Commander)
3. FTP methods (eg PrimitiveFTP & FTP Server & WinSCP & FileZilla)
4. HTTP methods (eg Wifi Explorer & WiFi File Transfer)
5. Sync methods (eg MyPhoneExplorer & AirDroid)

Using any of the methods above should result in your entire Android file
system and your entire Windows file system both being available
bidirectionally for file transfer over WiFi.
https://s29.postimg.org/ohn8dxign/ftp_windows_explorer.jpg

The learning curve is asymptotic where I'm just on the flatter part of the
curve at the moment, so there is much much more to learn from the experts
here.

[Jonas Schneider]

On Thu, 23 Mar 2017 00:03:23 -0400, nospam > wrote:

>> I'm not sure what you mean as I don't know anything about Apple stuff.
>
> understatement of the year

This thread is about mounting the entire Android file system on Windows
over WiFi using the best methods possible.

https://s29.postimg.org/ohn8dxign/ftp_windows_explorer.jpg

[Jonas Schneider]

On Thu, 23 Mar 2017 11:09:47 -0400, John McGaw > wrote:

> I don't know what is not obvious. You open 'LAN' touch 'ADD' and then enter
> the requested information. Searching for anything is not required. You
> either know what the IP address of the target machine is or you don't.

I think I know roughly where the problem lies.

Since I can easily connect from Android to Windows and vice versa, the
problem isn't in my network setup.
https://s29.postimg.org/ohn8dxign/ftp_windows_explorer.jpg

And, since I've tried multiple CIFS/SMB solutions on Android, both CIFS
(e.g., Folder Tag with CIFS support, Network Browser with CIFS support,
AndSMB, Astro File Manager, ES File Explorer, Total Commander, etc.), I
think the problem is simply that Windows File sharing isn't working.

So I think the problem will turn out to be a Windows XP CIFS-sharing
problem since the rest of the networking works just fine.
https://s9.postimg.org/833i6tuan/mynetworkplaces.jpg

It's just Windows file sharing that isn't working, I think.
I need a good debugging command for Windows File Sharing.

[Jonas Schneider]

On Wed, 22 Mar 2017 15:06:38 -0400, nospam > wrote:

>> Hogwash :-) ! *Http* may be as U say, but *FTP* is among the best possible.
>
> maybe in the 1990s it was, but certainly not now.
>
>> And a browser is capable of both.
>
> it may be capable, but it's one of the worst choices to transfer files.
>
>> Open your eyes, open your mind. HTH.
>
> you should try that sometime.

This is what the entire Android file system looks like mounted over WiFi
using an FTP URI in Windows Explorer.

https://s29.postimg.org/ohn8dxign/ftp_windows_explorer.jpg

[Jonas Schneider]

On Tue, 21 Mar 2017 22:27:51 -0400, tlvp > wrote:

> What I'm using is old FileZilla 3.0.11.1 -- on both an XP system (where it
> installed w/ no complaints) and a Vista system. You ought to be able to
> locate a downloadable copy of that from one of the Old Apps archives or
> perhaps through the agency of the WayBack Machine (at archive.org).
>
> The Portable Apps folks might have that on offer, too. HTH. Cheers, -- tlvp

Nothing wrong with paying for FileZilla, nor for using an older version of
FileZilla on Windows, but there's really no reason to install *anything* on
Windows, since Windows Explorer knows how to mount to FTP URIs, and the
Windows Explorer UI is just fine for most people for the purpose of
transferring files by point and click movement.

The only thing that needs to be installed is an FTP server on Android.

Then Windows mounts the entire Android file system over WiFi:
https://s9.postimg.org/833i6tuan/mynetworkplaces.jpg

[Paul[_32_]]

Jonas Schneider wrote:
> On Thu, 23 Mar 2017 11:09:47 -0400, John McGaw > wrote:
>
>> I don't know what is not obvious. You open 'LAN' touch 'ADD' and then enter
>> the requested information. Searching for anything is not required. You
>> either know what the IP address of the target machine is or you don't.
>
> I think I know roughly where the problem lies.
>
> Since I can easily connect from Android to Windows and vice versa, the
> problem isn't in my network setup.
> https://s29.postimg.org/ohn8dxign/ftp_windows_explorer.jpg
>
> And, since I've tried multiple CIFS/SMB solutions on Android, both CIFS
> (e.g., Folder Tag with CIFS support, Network Browser with CIFS support,
> AndSMB, Astro File Manager, ES File Explorer, Total Commander, etc.), I
> think the problem is simply that Windows File sharing isn't working.
>
> So I think the problem will turn out to be a Windows XP CIFS-sharing
> problem since the rest of the networking works just fine.
> https://s9.postimg.org/833i6tuan/mynetworkplaces.jpg
>
> It's just Windows file sharing that isn't working, I think.
> I need a good debugging command for Windows File Sharing.

In the later Windows, there are a few more variables. It shouldn't
be quite this bad in WinXP.

https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/2131750e-d589-41f0-b6a3-1c7dac2361d9/cannot-connect-to-cifs-smb-samba-network-shares-shared-folders-in-windows-10-after-update

The Powershell "get-smbconnection" commandlet, I think it only lists
existing connections. So you won't get to the bottom of connection
failures that way. And naturally, Powershell is different on every
OS, and they don't have the same commandlets.

But at least that thread should give you a sampling of terminologies.

Paul

[Jonas Schneider]

On Thu, 23 Mar 2017 13:50:55 -0400, Paul > wrote:

>> It's just Windows file sharing that isn't working, I think.
>> I need a good debugging command for Windows File Sharing.
>
> In the later Windows, there are a few more variables. It shouldn't
> be quite this bad in WinXP.
>
> https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/2131750e-d589-41f0-b6a3-1c7dac2361d9/cannot-connect-to-cifs-smb-samba-network-shares-shared-folders-in-windows-10-after-update
>
> The Powershell "get-smbconnection" commandlet, I think it only lists
> existing connections. So you won't get to the bottom of connection
> failures that way. And naturally, Powershell is different on every
> OS, and they don't have the same commandlets.
>
> But at least that thread should give you a sampling of terminologies.

Thanks Paul.

I will almost certainly just give up on using the SMB/CIFS method of
transfering files over WiFi between Windows and Android, since I just
wanted to test all the possible methods and choose the best.

Given that the best methods are usually the simplest, with the least need
for software, I'm pretty good with the FTP URI method where the only
software needed on Android is an FTP server.

On the Windows side, there are plenty of FTP clients, one of which I use
all the time, which is WinSCP.
https://s24.postimg.org/401q7mq1x/winscp_userinterface.jpg

But the best FTP client of all is none, since Windows connects to the
entire file system of Android via the native Windows Explorer via the FTP
URI of the format ftp://192.168.1.x:21
https://s2.postimg.org/lursoyl7d/ftp_windows_explorer.jpg

Using native windows has the advantage that *nothing* needs to be installed
on Windows to make it work, which means it works with *all* Windows
computers.

If I could have gotten SMB or CIFS to work on Windows, I'd maybe make a
different choice, but, for now, my take on the best WiFi transfer method
between Windows and Android is the following sequence:

1. Install & run any FTP server on Android, for example:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.primftpd

2. Install nothing on Windows; just add the FTP URI to My Network Places
ftp://192.168.1.x:21

That enables us to access the entire file system of both Android and
Windows though the Windows File Explorer on any Windows machine on the
local network.
https://s15.postimg.org/fz3b6x9rv/mynetworkplaces.gif





where I've already tested about two dozen ways to get files back and forth
over wifi between Windows and Android.

All the methods worked except the CIFS/SMB methods, and I'm settling on the
Windows My Network Places method, which works just fine with FTP URIs of
the format ftp://192.168.1.x:21

[Jonas Schneider]

On 23 Mar 2017 17:01:32 GMT, Frank Slootweg > wrote:

>> I don't know how to debug why Windows file sharing doesn't work yet though.
>
> Is it enabled? I vaguely remember "file and printer sharing" (or some
> such wording) not being enabled by default in Windows XP (Home?).
>
> Some Googling should help you, if not report back.

I think I remember that sharing is "supposed" to be enabled on WinXP Home
by default but I'll check ...

Googling, I find lots of articles but following them seems to show that
file and printer sharing for my Windows XP Home sp3 is "enabled".
http://www.intelliadmin.com/index.php/2008/12/enabling-file-and-printer-sharing-in-windows-xp/

And my Windows firewall is turned off because of ZoneAlarm but ZA didn't
pop up any warnings but I turned off ZA temporarily also.

I need a windows-to-windows debugging command because none of the Android
devices give any indication of the problem.

[Alek]

Jonas Schneider wrote on 3/23/2017 1:13 AM:
> On Thu, 23 Mar 2017 03:53:41 +0100, "Carlos E. R."
> > wrote:
>
>> Just try it with an open mind - no registration! :-)
>
> I did try it, and I ranked it where I thought it belongs.
> If you rank it differently, that's fine.
>
> Here's my summary of my rankings of the best-to-worst methods.
> 1. Native CIFS file sharing on Windows & CIFS client on Android
> 2. Native CIFS/SMB file sharing on Windows & SMB client on Android
> 3. Native Map Network Drive (or FTP client) on Windows & FTP server on
> Android
> 4. HTTP client on Windows & HTTP server on Android
> 5. Proprietary server on Windows & proprietary client on Android
>
> All those methods were suggested in this thread, where I simply tested each
> and ranked the results as shown above.

What did the testing consist of? Can we see your results?

[Frank Slootweg]

Jonas Schneider > wrote:
[...]
> 1. Start any FTP server on the phone & note the URL 192.168.1.5:12345
> 2. Select "Tools > Map Network Drive" in Windows Explorer
> 3. Select "...connect to a network server" in the Map Network Drive UI
> 4. Click through the wizard to enter ftp://192.168.1.5:12345
> 5. Click through the results (allowing anonymous login)
> 6. Click some more through the wizard until you can hit "Finish"
>
> Up pops the entire file system of your Android device on Windows, as if
> your entire phone internal and external memory is just a part of Windows.
> https://s14.postimg.org/xffw8fpmp/ftp_windows_explorer.jpg

What's shown in this JPEG, is *not* a Network Drive. The path of a
Network Drive starts with drive letter (like 'N:'). It's also not a
Network *Share*, which starts with '\\ServerName'. It's just FTP access
to a remote FTP server - hence the 'ftp://...' URL, that's all. Has
absolutely nothing to do with Windows Network Drives/Shares.

*If* something is really a Network Drive/Share, then you can copy
stuff from one place to another with the Command Prompt 'copy' command,
i.e like:

copy "N:\MyPhoneExplorer\External Storage\Recordings\Recording20160509_007.amr" .

or

copy "\\WDMYCLOUD\Frank\MyPhoneExplorer\External Storage\Recordings\Recording20160509_007.amr" .

Don't be fooled by what you can do in Internet Explorer or Windows/
File Explorer. These two are (somewhat) smart, so they can make things
look *similar* to a normal drive (C:) or a Network Drive/Share, but they
are *similar*, NOT the *same*.

*If* one could make the filesystem(s) of your Android device *really*
act as (Windows-style) Network Drive/Share, the for example you could
use *general* Windows-based backup software to backup the filesystems of
your Android device.

Guess what, you can't! Well, I don't know of a way (yet). You have to
use some *special* backup software - like MyPhoneExplorer [1] - which
knows how to handle an Android device.

[...]

[1] No, MyPhoneExplorer is not (yet?) my backup solution becauses it
fscks up (its representation of) the 'Internal Storage' and 'External
Storage'. It thinks they have exactly the same content, which is clearly
not the case.

[Frank Slootweg]

Jonas Schneider > wrote:
> On Wed, 22 Mar 2017 19:26:31 -0400, tlvp > wrote:
>
> >> I'm very close to giving up on finding the best solution,
> >
> > What? Giving up? Didn't you always tell us only Apple dweebs give up :-) ?
>
> I'm not sure what you mean as I don't know anything about Apple stuff.

That's probably *true*, but not what you normally *claim*, isn't it
'Stijn De Jong'!?

[Carlos E. R.[_2_]]

On 2017-03-23 17:11, Jonas Schneider wrote:
> On Thu, 23 Mar 2017 13:59:26 +0100, "Carlos E. R."
> > wrote:


>> I keep a strict control of the firewalls of my computers, so to use FTP
>> I have to punch holes in it.
>
> The application here is from a person's phone to their computer one floor
> away in the house, both of which are on the same subnet.
>
> Do you firewall phone-to-PC connections on your own 192.168.1.x subnet?

Yes, of course.


>> However, if you have ftp working, no doubt it is better for file
>> transfer in any direction. It is designed for that.
>
> Yes. That is why I rank the five suggested WiFi solutions in this order:

And I said that it depends on what is the purpose and constraints each
time. Nothing is absolute, depends on context.


>> Generally speaking, I prefer SCP. In Linux, which is what I mainly use,
>> both server and clients are installed since day 0. Using it is trivial;
>> setting up the firewall is trivial; all the exchange is encrypted; using
>> it over Internet is safe.
>
> I don't use Linux so I have never tried using the SCP protocol even though
> my FTP program of choice on Windows (other than the native Map Network
> Drive) is WinSCP.

We use it to control/access a remote machine over Internet. And more :-)

>
> Googling, SCP seems to have the same syntax as cp, so it's just a secure
> copy versus a not-secure copy, which defaults to port 22 apparently.
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_copy

yes.

But it can be used to access the filesystem of the remote computer fully.

For example, I do:

sshfs :/ fusermount/

And I get the entire directory tree of the remote machine on the local
directory "fusermount", and I can then use it with any file browser or
command I want, transparently. There are Apps in Android to do the same
(but run very slowly).

But I don't know if you can do the same against a Windows machine. I
don't know what terminal shell you would get, if any.

--
Cheers,
Carlos E.R.

[Carlos E. R.[_2_]]

On 2017-03-23 17:11, Jonas Schneider wrote:
> On Wed, 22 Mar 2017 19:17:50 -0400, tlvp > wrote:
>
>> So use cuteFTP instead of FileZilla, no problemo, all the same to me :-) .
>
> Of the five suggested WiFi file transfer methods, FTP was one of the three
> that worked on the first pass, and with multiple software on both Windows
> and Android.
>
> 1. HTTP (eg Wifi Explorer or WiFi File Transfer)
> 2. FTP (eg primitive FTP or FTP Server)
> 3. Proprietary sync managers (eg MyPhone Explorer or AirDroid)

AirDroid uses http, does not require special software on the client, and
does not require registration.

> 4. SMB (eg ES File Explorer or AndSMB)
> 5. CIFS (eg Folder Tag CIFS Service or Solid Explorer)

CIFS is the same as SMB. Different year, different name.

--
Cheers,
Carlos E.R.

[Jonas Schneider]

On Thu, 23 Mar 2017 15:15:06 -0400, Alek > wrote:

> What did the testing consist of?
> Can we see your results?

Your two questions are:
1. What did I test?
2. Can we "see" my results?

Since I have been posting results all along, you can certainly see them
simply by reading the thread. But here are some that I haven't deleted that
were already posted, so you get an idea of the answer to "can we see your
results".

AndSMB results: https://s22.postimg.org/qm93t0lhd/smb.gif
FTP URL results: https://s22.postimg.org/87ykp196p/startrunftp.jpg
WiFi Explorer results: https://s22.postimg.org/knvais2ip/wifiexplorer.jpg
WinSCP results: https://s22.postimg.org/b4h0bkpmp/winscp_userinterface.jpg
FTP URL results: https://s22.postimg.org/pc6p082bl/ftp_windows_explorer.jpg
HTTP Server results: https://s22.postimg.org/vr5pww91d/httpserver.jpg
Map Network results: https://s22.postimg.org/uq5h7rs1t/mapnetworkdrive.jpg
NetworkPlace results: https://s22.postimg.org/6c7704uyp/mynetworkplaces.jpg
MPE results: https://s22.postimg.org/lyygdi8qp/myphoneexplorerserver.jpg
etc.

I think it's obvious that I first tested whether it worked, and then I
tested whether it needed anything on each platform, and then I gave
priority to solutions that worked that worked native on Windows (since
every solution required "something" on Android), and then I dinged any
solution that was restricted in either file size or number of files
transferred at a time and in directories transferred.

With those criteria in mind, here are some of the solutions I tested:
1. CIFS methods (eg Folder Tag with CIFS plugin & Network Browser)
2. SMB methods (eg AndSMB & Astro & ES File Explorer & Total Commander)
3. FTP methods (eg PrimitiveFTP & FTP Server & WinSCP & FileZilla)
4. HTTP methods (eg Wifi Explorer & WiFi File Transfer)
5. Sync methods (eg MyPhoneExplorer & AirDroid)

RANKING OF ONLY THOSE SOLUTIONS THAT WORKED:
3. FTP methods (best, by far, for native support in Windows File Explorer)
4. HTTP methods (best for the clueless since it's so easy to use a browser)
5. Sync methods (best for those who want to sync & control the phone)

RANKINGS INCLUDING SOLUTIONS THAT SHOULD HAVE WORKED:
1. CIFS methods (Should be best for Windows native File Explorer support)
2. SMB methods (Should also work with Mac & Windows native file support)
3. FTP methods (best, by far, for native support in Windows File Explorer)
4. HTTP methods (best for the clueless since it's so easy to use a browser)
5. Sync methods (best for those who want to sync & control the phone)

I realize most of you have already tested the five methods above and the
two-dozen apps before I started, so I do admit that I'm late to the game
here.

Therefore, I ask the same question of you:
* How do you rank the five different methods of WiFI file tranfer, & why?*

[Alek]

I had thought that results would consist perhaps of how long it takes to
get to the point where files are transferred and then how long it took
to transfer them.

Jonas Schneider wrote on 3/23/2017 6:11 PM:
> On Thu, 23 Mar 2017 15:15:06 -0400, Alek > wrote:
>
>> What did the testing consist of?
>> Can we see your results?
>
> Your two questions are:
> 1. What did I test?
> 2. Can we "see" my results?
>
> Since I have been posting results all along, you can certainly see them
> simply by reading the thread. But here are some that I haven't deleted that
> were already posted, so you get an idea of the answer to "can we see your
> results".
>
> AndSMB results: https://s22.postimg.org/qm93t0lhd/smb.gif
> FTP URL results: https://s22.postimg.org/87ykp196p/startrunftp.jpg
> WiFi Explorer results: https://s22.postimg.org/knvais2ip/wifiexplorer.jpg
> WinSCP results: https://s22.postimg.org/b4h0bkpmp/winscp_userinterface.jpg
> FTP URL results: https://s22.postimg.org/pc6p082bl/ftp_windows_explorer.jpg
> HTTP Server results: https://s22.postimg.org/vr5pww91d/httpserver.jpg
> Map Network results: https://s22.postimg.org/uq5h7rs1t/mapnetworkdrive.jpg
> NetworkPlace results: https://s22.postimg.org/6c7704uyp/mynetworkplaces.jpg
> MPE results: https://s22.postimg.org/lyygdi8qp/myphoneexplorerserver.jpg
> etc.
>
> I think it's obvious that I first tested whether it worked, and then I
> tested whether it needed anything on each platform, and then I gave
> priority to solutions that worked that worked native on Windows (since
> every solution required "something" on Android), and then I dinged any
> solution that was restricted in either file size or number of files
> transferred at a time and in directories transferred.
>
> With those criteria in mind, here are some of the solutions I tested:
> 1. CIFS methods (eg Folder Tag with CIFS plugin & Network Browser)
> 2. SMB methods (eg AndSMB & Astro & ES File Explorer & Total Commander)
> 3. FTP methods (eg PrimitiveFTP & FTP Server & WinSCP & FileZilla)
> 4. HTTP methods (eg Wifi Explorer & WiFi File Transfer)
> 5. Sync methods (eg MyPhoneExplorer & AirDroid)
>
> RANKING OF ONLY THOSE SOLUTIONS THAT WORKED:
> 3. FTP methods (best, by far, for native support in Windows File Explorer)
> 4. HTTP methods (best for the clueless since it's so easy to use a browser)
> 5. Sync methods (best for those who want to sync & control the phone)
>
> RANKINGS INCLUDING SOLUTIONS THAT SHOULD HAVE WORKED:
> 1. CIFS methods (Should be best for Windows native File Explorer support)
> 2. SMB methods (Should also work with Mac & Windows native file support)
> 3. FTP methods (best, by far, for native support in Windows File Explorer)
> 4. HTTP methods (best for the clueless since it's so easy to use a browser)
> 5. Sync methods (best for those who want to sync & control the phone)
>
> I realize most of you have already tested the five methods above and the
> two-dozen apps before I started, so I do admit that I'm late to the game
> here.
>
> Therefore, I ask the same question of you:
> * How do you rank the five different methods of WiFI file tranfer, & why?*
>

[tlvp]

On Thu, 23 Mar 2017 17:28:08 +0000 (UTC), Jonas Schneider wrote:

> Nothing wrong with paying for FileZilla,

Huh? Plenty's wrong with "paying for FileZilla" -- it's a free SourceForge
project, if you're "paying for" it, it's not really FileZilla (or you're
being fleeced).

> ... nor for using an older version of
> FileZilla on Windows, ...

Wait. You can't install on XP software that only runs on Vista or better,
just as you can't install on XP software that only runs on a Mac. So don't
get all huffy o that score.

> ... but there's really no reason to install *anything* on Windows, ...

If there's something you *want* on Windows, that doesn't come with Windows,
you're sure as shootin' gonna *have* to install it there.

> ... since Windows Explorer knows how to mount to FTP URIs, and the
> Windows Explorer UI is just fine for most people for the purpose of
> transferring files by point and click movement.

Sure, if all you want is insecure file transfer. SFTP, though? or SCP? or,
at a bare minimum, STunnel? Gotta install sump'n for those babies, sorry.

:-) . Cheers, -- tlvp
--
Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP.

[Jonas Schneider]

On 23 Mar 2017 20:31:07 GMT, Frank Slootweg > wrote:

>>>> I'm very close to giving up on finding the best solution,
>>>
>>> What? Giving up? Didn't you always tell us only Apple dweebs give up :-) ?
>>
>> I'm not sure what you mean as I don't know anything about Apple stuff.
>
> That's probably *true*, but not what you normally *claim*, isn't it
> 'Stijn De Jong'!?

I have never once in my life claimed to be an Apple expert, simply because
I'm not. I'm not an Android expert either. Nor a Windows expert.

Anyone who claims to be an expert in any of those three certainly knows
more than I do about them.

[Jonas Schneider]

On Thu, 23 Mar 2017 20:11:00 -0400, tlvp > wrote:

> Sure, if all you want is insecure file transfer. SFTP, though? or SCP? or,
> at a bare minimum, STunnel? Gotta install sump'n for those babies, sorry.

You bring up a perfectly good point which is that some people want a secure
copy bidirectionally between Android and Windows on their own home network.

Most people "probably" don't need those home-network transfers to be
secure, but secure copy is a perfectly valid question for another thread.

[Jonas Schneider]

On Thu, 23 Mar 2017 18:36:16 -0400, Alek > wrote:

> I had thought that results would consist perhaps of how long it takes to
> get to the point where files are transferred and then how long it took
> to transfer them.

If you compared race cars or boats by how long it took to build them from
scratch to when they crossed the finish line, the cars and boats that end
up winning would likely turn out to be the worst and slowest.

A Volkswagen beetle would beat out a Ferrari Testarossa, and a Liberty Ship
would beat out a fast destroyer.

It's the wrong metric.

[Jonas Schneider]

On Thu, 23 Mar 2017 22:49:49 +0100, "Carlos E. R."
> wrote:

>> 1. HTTP (eg Wifi Explorer or WiFi File Transfer)
>> 2. FTP (eg primitive FTP or FTP Server)
>> 3. Proprietary sync managers (eg MyPhone Explorer or AirDroid)
>
> AirDroid uses http, does not require special software on the client, and
> does not require registration.


Thanks for clarifying that AirDroid is HTTP based. I had removed it after
testing so I was working off of memory. Let me write up a corrected list in
the thread summary.

>> 4. SMB (eg ES File Explorer or AndSMB)
>> 5. CIFS (eg Folder Tag CIFS Service or Solid Explorer)
>
> CIFS is the same as SMB. Different year, different name.

Are you sure CIFS and SMB are the same thing?

Some of the tested Android programs say that they're CIFS clients, while
others say both CIFS and SMB, and most just say SMB.

Googling the only answers that are not confusing are what the acronyms mean
CIFS = common internet file system
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/C/CIFS.html

SMB = server message block
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Server_Message_Block

Samba = One software implementation of CIFS/SMB
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samba_(software)

References show that CIFS was still very active in Windows XP time frames
but it's pretty much dead in the current Windows 10 time frame.

How to Configure CIFS for Windows
https://www.techwalla.com/articles/how-to-configure-cifs-for-windows

Why You Should Never Again Utter The Word, ?CIFS?
http://blog.fosketts.net/2012/02/16/cifs-smb/

The Difference between CIFS and SMB
https://blog.varonis.com/the-difference-between-cifs-and-smb/

CIFS vs SAMBA, What are the differences
http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/34742/cifs-vs-samba-what-are-the-differences

What is the difference between SMB, CIFS and Samba?
https://www.reddit.com/r/homelab/comments/2fawvq/eli5_what_is_the_difference_between_smb_cifs_and/

Advanced Common Internet File System for Linux
https://linux-cifs.samba.org/

[Jonas Schneider]

On Thu, 23 Mar 2017 22:46:58 +0100, "Carlos E. R."
> wrote:

> But I don't know if you can do the same against a Windows machine. I
> don't know what terminal shell you would get, if any.

Understood.
Thanks for the update!

I think this thread has run through all that it can do, in that we know now
five different general methods, encompassing hundreds of possibilities, for
successful birdirectional WiFi file transfer between Android & Windows.

The three common factors in all of the methods, are:
1. Nothing needs to be installed on Windows
2. Either a server or a client must be installed on Android
3. The Android clients are SMB & CIFS while the Android servers are FTP,
HTTP & proprietary sync servers.

Since I have tested all the suggestions, there's nothing more to test.

[Jonas Schneider]

On Fri, 24 Mar 2017 00:49:35 +0000 (UTC), Jonas Schneider
> wrote:

> I have never once in my life claimed to be an Apple expert, simply because
> I'm not. I'm not an Android expert either. Nor a Windows expert.
>
> Anyone who claims to be an expert in any of those three certainly knows
> more than I do about them.

The main point of asking questions of both the Windows and Android experts
here is that their answers help me to learn how to seamlessly integrate
Android to Windows.

Here, for example, is a screen shot of me using the FTP USE command (which
is similar to the Windows NET USE command) to mount the entire Android file
system of my phone as drive letter "F:" on Windows.

C:\> FTPUSE F: 192.168.1.5 /PORT:12345 /USER:anonymous

Here is a screenshot of my entire Android phone mounted as drive F:
https://s2.postimg.org/pekxqsudl/ftp_drive_letter.gif

[Jonas Schneider]

On 23 Mar 2017 19:57:35 GMT, Frank Slootweg > wrote:

> What's shown in this JPEG, is *not* a Network Drive. The path of a
> Network Drive starts with drive letter (like 'N:').

Hi Frank,
Thanks for clarifying that what I had before is not a network drive.

I think the proper term is an "FTP Drive", which I am now mounting as a
Windows XP "local disk drive" as shown in my screenshot below:
https://s2.postimg.org/pekxqsudl/ftp_drive_letter.gif

Thanks to your advice and the advice of the Android and Windows experts
here, I am now easily able to mount the entire Android file system as an
FTP Drive mapped as a local disk drive on Windows using the FTP USE command
(which is similar in syntax to the Windows NET USE command I was previously
using):
C:\> FTPUSE F: 192.168.1.5 /PORT:12345 /USER:anonymous

With that one FTP USE command, my entire Android file system is mounted as
an FTP Drive mapped to a local disk drive on Windows as shown below:
https://s1.postimg.org/brced665b/ftpuse.gif

This method of mounting the entire Android file system as a local disk
drive on Windows to move files back and forth over WiFi is so simple that I
think it's one of the best suggestions that came out of this thread.

Thanks for all your expert help and advice!

[Jonas Schneider]

On Fri, 24 Mar 2017 00:49:42 +0000 (UTC), Jonas Schneider
> wrote:

>> I had thought that results would consist perhaps of how long it takes to
>> get to the point where files are transferred and then how long it took
>> to transfer them.
>
> If you compared race cars or boats by how long it took to build them from
> scratch to when they crossed the finish line, the cars and boats that end
> up winning would likely turn out to be the worst and slowest.
>
> A Volkswagen beetle would beat out a Ferrari Testarossa, and a Liberty Ship
> would beat out a fast destroyer.
>
> It's the wrong metric.

The right metric is having the easiest fastest simplest file copy
mechanism.

For example, I just copied the HOSTS file from Android to Windows in just a
couple of seconds. How long would that take most others to do, I don't
know, but once the setup is done, it takes only a couple of seconds to copy
*anything* you want from Android to Windows like I did in this screenshot
below with my HOSTS files:
https://s27.postimg.org/yiob6uw5f/ftpuse_4.gif

In summary, after following up on *every* suggestion by all the wonderful
Android and Windows experts here, I've tentatively concluded that, for me,
the simplest and quickest method to mount my entire Android file system as
an FTP Drive on Windows, mapped to a local disk drive, is to issue this one
command on Windows:

Start > Run > FTPUSE Z: 192.168.1.5 /PORT:12345 /USER:anonymous
https://s18.postimg.org/h02ry2w7t/ftpuse_1.gif

The result is that my entire Android file system is now "Drive Z:"
https://s3.postimg.org/hm9ultwc3/ftpuse_2.gif

On Windows, I can now easily access every single file on Android:
https://s11.postimg.org/nx8h81zn7/ftpuse_3.gif

[tlvp]

On Fri, 24 Mar 2017 05:41:45 +0000 (UTC), Jonas Schneider wrote:

: Start > Run > FTPUSE Z: 192.168.1.5 /PORT:12345 /USER:anonymous

Hmm ... Windows? FTPUSE? If I do Start > Start Search > ftpuse, I learn:

: No items match your search.

Not giving up, I try ftpuse at a DOS prompt, instead:

: 'ftpuse' is not recognized as an internal or
: external command, operable program or batch file.

So I must ask: what version of windows is it, having this FTPUSE utility?
My Vista Home Premium certainly doesn't seem to. Or is that something, as
Google would make me believe, that you had to download and install
separately, apart from Windows, despite your disclaimers to the contrary?

Thanks. Cheers, -- tlvp
--
Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP.

[Jonas Schneider]

On Fri, 24 Mar 2017 02:33:50 -0400, tlvp > wrote:

> On Fri, 24 Mar 2017 05:41:45 +0000 (UTC), Jonas Schneider wrote:
>
>: Start > Run > FTPUSE Z: 192.168.1.5 /PORT:12345 /USER:anonymous
>
> Hmm ... Windows? FTPUSE? If I do Start > Start Search > ftpuse, I learn:
>
>: No items match your search.
>
> Not giving up, I try ftpuse at a DOS prompt, instead:
>
>: 'ftpuse' is not recognized as an internal or
>: external command, operable program or batch file.
>
> So I must ask: what version of windows is it, having this FTPUSE utility?
> My Vista Home Premium certainly doesn't seem to. Or is that something, as
> Google would make me believe, that you had to download and install
> separately, apart from Windows, despite your disclaimers to the contrary?

The URL to the software was in the screenshots, but here's a better set of
instructions which should be sufficient to reproduce simply by cutting and
pasting what I write below for you in response to your request above.

1. Download and install and run any FTP server on Android.
I used Primitive FTPd because I wanted something fast, small, & simple:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.primftpd

2. Download & install FTPUSE to map an FTP Drive to a local disk:
https://www.ferrobackup.com/map-ftp-as-disk.htm

NOTE: If you don't like FTPUSE, similar software is listed below:
Webdrive: https://southrivertech.com/products/webdrive/
DriveMaker: http://backupchain.com/en/drivemaker/
FDrive: http://www.killprog.com/fdrve.html
ExpanDrive: http://www.expandrive.com/

3. Running that FTP server on Android gives information like this:
a. IP address 192.168.1.5 <== this is whatever it is on your subnet
b. Port 12345 <== this is whatever you set it to
c. Username anonymous <== this is whatever you set it to
d. Password anything or nothing <== this is whatever you set
e. Start directory /mnt <== this is whatever you set it to

4. Mount the entire Android FTP Drive as a local disk drive on Windows:
C:\> FTPUSE Z: 192.168.1.5 /PORT:12345 /USER:anonymous

NOTE: You don't have to add it to your PATH if you use Start > Run:
Start > Run > FTPUSE Z: 192.168.1.5 /PORT:12345 /USER:anonymous

Now the Android file system is mounted as Drive Z: on Windows:
https://s30.postimg.org/igy81jjsh/ftpuse_6.gif

Here is the FTP USE syntax (which is similar to NET USE syntax):

The FTPUSE command maps a remote share (FTP server) as a local drive, so
you can use the FTP server of your choice as a local hard drive. FTPUSE is
a free application which was developed during production of the endpoint
backup solution Ferro Backup System, but disks mapped using FTPUSE can be
accessed by any application (e.g. Windows Explorer, Total Commander, MS-DOS
command shell).

The FTPUSE command syntax is similar to NET USE syntax, as follows:

Syntax
FTPUSE devicename [ftphostname[/remotepath] [password]]
[/USER:username]
[/NOPASSIVE]
[/OWNERACCESSONLY]
[/PORT:portnumber]
[/HIDE]
[/DEBUG]
[[/DELETE]]


Parameters
devicename
Sets the name of the device to be connected to or disconnected from an FTP
share
ftphostname
Sets the name, IP address or IPv6 address of the FTP server you want to
connect to

remotepath
Sets the name of a remote folder to be used as the main folder for the
mapped drive

password
Sets the password required to access the FTP server

/USER
Sets the user name to be used to log onto the remote computer

/NOPASSIVE
Establishes an active connection with the FTP server (active mode)

/OWNERACCESSONLY
The mapped drive will be accessible only from the application from which
FTPUSE was launched

/PORT
Sets the TCP port number which should be used to connect to the FTP server.
TCP port 21 is used by default

/HIDE
Hides the program console

/DEBUG
Debug mode.

/DELETE
Deletes the established connection with the FTP Server.

Examples
To map (assign) the F: drive letter to the ftp.intel.com root folder, type:
FTPUSE F: ftp.intel.com

To assign the disk-drive device name F: to the Pub folder on the
ftp.intel.com server as if the connection were made from the anonymous user
account , type:
FTPUSE F: ftp.intel.com/Pub ftpuse@example /USER:anonymous

To execute the command in the background, type:
FTPUSE F: ftp.intel.com /HIDE

To delete the mapped disk drive, type:
FTPUSE F: /DELETE

[tlvp]

On Thu, 23 Mar 2017 17:28:08 +0000 (UTC), Jonas Schneider wrote:

> ... there's really no reason to install *anything* on Windows ...

That's what you say *here*. But elsewhere you indicate you've been using
FTPUSE on your Windows setup -- you had to install *that*, didn't you?

Cheers, -- tlvp
--
Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP.

[Kerr Mudd-John]

On Fri, 24 Mar 2017 00:49:42 -0000, Jonas Schneider
> wrote:

> On Thu, 23 Mar 2017 18:36:16 -0400, Alek > wrote:
>
>> I had thought that results would consist perhaps of how long it takes to
>> get to the point where files are transferred and then how long it took
>> to transfer them.
>
> If you compared race cars or boats by how long it took to build them from
> scratch to when they crossed the finish line, the cars and boats that end
> up winning would likely turn out to be the worst and slowest.
>
> A Volkswagen beetle would beat out a Ferrari Testarossa, and a Liberty
> Ship
> would beat out a fast destroyer.
>
> It's the wrong metric.

This guy posts too much.


--
Bah, and indeed, Humbug

[Jonas Schneider]

On Fri, 24 Mar 2017 12:19:38 -0000, Kerr Mudd-John > wrote:

> This guy posts too much.

You're just not used to Usenet actually working the way it should.

The result is that, in a single step on Windows, the entire Android device
is mounted over WiFi as a drive letter on Windows.
https://s30.postimg.org/igy81jjsh/ftpuse_6.gif

1. The question was a valid question.
2. The question was posed to the correct newsgroups.
3. Many helpful suggestions were proposed.
4. Every suggestion was tested out and reported back on.
5. Research was done, and new ground was broken.
6. The new results were documented and provided to give back to the group.
7. A few technical hurdles had to be surmounted (or given up on).
8. And the results were provided back to the group.

If any of the readers already knew how to mount the entire Android device
as a drive letter on Windows in a single step before this thread was
opened, then I apologize.

[Jonas Schneider]

On Fri, 24 Mar 2017 04:49:50 -0400, tlvp > wrote:

> That's what you say *here*. But elsewhere you indicate you've been using
> FTPUSE on your Windows setup -- you had to install *that*, didn't you?

Yup. You caught me using software on Windows!

Somewhere I said that the best solutions would be the ones that work native
on Windows, which would (of course) be the CIFS and SMB solutions.

You do know that I tried to get them to work but gave up because there's
something wrong with my Windows XP machine (they will work fine on my
Windows 10 machine but that's not the one I use day in and day out).

So, as a second-best solution, I went to the FTP Drive solution, which also
requires nothing on Windows since it uses the native Windows "My Network
Places" feature.

The Windows "NET USE" command would have worked to assign a drive letter to
that FTP Drive, but the Windows NET USE command doesn't seem to be able to
handle arbitrary ports. So in researching that, I accidentally found the
FTP USE command, which does handle arbitrary ports.

So now we have described about two dozen tested ways to transfer files over
WiFi between Android and Windows, the best of which don't need to install
anything on Windows to work.

If you knew all of these ways ahead of time, that's great, but I didn't
know them, so I, for one, have many more viable options now than I did when
I first asked the question.

Thanks!

[tlvp]

On Fri, 24 Mar 2017 07:03:53 +0000 (UTC), Jonas Schneider wrote:

>> So I must ask: what version of windows is it, having this FTPUSE utility?
>
> The URL to the software was in the screenshots,

Wait. Didn't you once declare you were

> ... trying to just use whatever is already on Windows

? Was FTPUSE already on windows? Cheers, -- tlvp
--
Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP.

[Alek]

Jonas Schneider wrote on 3/23/2017 8:49 PM:
> On Thu, 23 Mar 2017 18:36:16 -0400, Alek > wrote:
>
>> I had thought that results would consist perhaps of how long it takes to
>> get to the point where files are transferred and then how long it took
>> to transfer them.
>
> If you compared race cars or boats by how long it took to build them from
> scratch to when they crossed the finish line, the cars and boats that end
> up winning would likely turn out to be the worst and slowest.
>
> A Volkswagen beetle would beat out a Ferrari Testarossa, and a Liberty Ship
> would beat out a fast destroyer.
>
> It's the wrong metric.

You say.

When I want to transfer a file (not build a car, for crying out loud!),
I want to know which programs require the fewest number of steps to do
the transfer and then make the transfer in the least amount of time.

I'm not writing the program -- analogous to building from scratch, I'm
using it.

[tlvp]

On Fri, 24 Mar 2017 15:50:43 +0000 (UTC), Jonas Schneider wrote:

> On Fri, 24 Mar 2017 04:49:50 -0400, tlvp > wrote:
>
>> That's what you say *here*. But elsewhere you indicate you've been using
>> FTPUSE on your Windows setup -- you had to install *that*, didn't you?
>
> Yup. You caught me using software on Windows!
>
> Somewhere I said that the best solutions would be the ones that work native
> on Windows, which would (of course) be the CIFS and SMB solutions.
>
> You do know that I tried to get them to work but gave up because there's
> something wrong with my Windows XP machine (they will work fine on my
> Windows 10 machine but that's not the one I use day in and day out).
>
> So, as a second-best solution, I went to the FTP Drive solution, which also
> requires nothing on Windows since it uses the native Windows "My Network
> Places" feature.
>
> The Windows "NET USE" command would have worked to assign a drive letter to
> that FTP Drive, but the Windows NET USE command doesn't seem to be able to
> handle arbitrary ports. So in researching that, I accidentally found the
> FTP USE command, which does handle arbitrary ports.
>
> So now we have described about two dozen tested ways to transfer files over
> WiFi between Android and Windows, the best of which don't need to install
> anything on Windows to work.

Noted. Thanks.

> If you knew all of these ways ahead of time, that's great, but I didn't

Nor I.

> know them, so I, for one, have many more viable options now than I did when
> I first asked the question.
>
> Thanks!

YvW. Cheers, -- tlvp
--
Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP.

[Jonas Schneider]

On Fri, 24 Mar 2017 17:22:19 -0400, tlvp > wrote:

>>
>> The URL to the software was in the screenshots,
>
> Wait. Didn't you once declare you were
>
>> ... trying to just use whatever is already on Windows
>
> ? Was FTPUSE already on windows? Cheers, -- tlvp

The only reason I used FTP USE is because I was trying to figure out how to
use NET USE which can't handle ports, and I accidentally ran into FTP USE
(which can handle ports).

So I tried it, and it worked.
But, turning the FTP Drive into a Local Disk Drive is really not needed.

The FTP Drive works just fine in My Network Places, and no Windows software
is needed, so it works on every Windows computer in the world.

[Jonas Schneider]

On Fri, 24 Mar 2017 17:30:11 -0400, Alek > wrote:

> When I want to transfer a file (not build a car, for crying out loud!),
> I want to know which programs require the fewest number of steps to do
> the transfer and then make the transfer in the least amount of time.
>
> I'm not writing the program -- analogous to building from scratch, I'm
> using it.

STEP 1. Tap to turn on an FTP Server on Android.
STEP 2. Doubleclick your saved "My Network Place.

That's it. Two taps.
One tap each on each platform.
Zero taps on Android if you leave the server running all the time.

How much *quicker* do you want it to be?

[Carlos E. R.[_2_]]

On 2017-03-24 01:49, Jonas Schneider wrote:
> On Thu, 23 Mar 2017 22:49:49 +0100, "Carlos E. R."
> > wrote:
>
>>> 1. HTTP (eg Wifi Explorer or WiFi File Transfer)
>>> 2. FTP (eg primitive FTP or FTP Server)
>>> 3. Proprietary sync managers (eg MyPhone Explorer or AirDroid)
>>
>> AirDroid uses http, does not require special software on the client, and
>> does not require registration.
>
>
> Thanks for clarifying that AirDroid is HTTP based. I had removed it after
> testing so I was working off of memory. Let me write up a corrected list in
> the thread summary.
>
>>> 4. SMB (eg ES File Explorer or AndSMB)
>>> 5. CIFS (eg Folder Tag CIFS Service or Solid Explorer)
>>
>> CIFS is the same as SMB. Different year, different name.
>
> Are you sure CIFS and SMB are the same thing?
>
> Some of the tested Android programs say that they're CIFS clients, while
> others say both CIFS and SMB, and most just say SMB.
>

Yes, some of your links give info on that:

> The Difference between CIFS and SMB
> https://blog.varonis.com/the-difference-between-cifs-and-smb/
>
> CIFS vs SAMBA, What are the differences
> http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/34742/cifs-vs-samba-what-are-the-differences
>
> What is the difference between SMB, CIFS and Samba?
> https://www.reddit.com/r/homelab/comments/2fawvq/eli5_what_is_the_difference_between_smb_cifs_and/


The correct name is SAMBA, not SMB. One of those links reminds that. SMB
was already registered for something else.

--
Cheers,
Carlos E.R.

[Jonas Schneider]

On Mon, 20 Mar 2017 03:18:26 +0000 (UTC), Jonas Schneider
> wrote:

> Do any of you have a simple WiFi copy method from Windows XP to Android?

I just learned *another* neat method which, in the end, makes it one single
tap on Android to start the FTP server and one tap on Windows to access the
My Network Place (as long as the IP address of the phone is stable).

The ubiquitous ES File Explorer app on Android comes with an FTP Server
which itself creates its own desktop shortcut, which, when tapped, brings
up the FTP server in the background. So there's nothing to open or close or
edit. You just tap that ES File Explorer FTP Server desktop shortcut, and
then tap on the stored Windows My Network Place, and your entire Android
phone is "mounted" on Windows.

To start the ES File Explorer FTP server manually:
ES File Explorer: Hamburger > Network > Remote Manager > Turn on

Then, in any version of Windows, just add the "network place"
http://smallvoid.com/article/winnt-web-network-place.html

The URI to the network place is simply the URI from ES File Explorer:
ftp://192.168.1.5:3721/ (where your IP address will differ)

In ES File Explorer, once I started the FTP server, I looked at the
default settings, which were
a. It set the port to 3721 by default
b. It set the root directory to /sdcard
c. It set the account login to "Anonymous" (with no password)

What was nice was that in ES File Explorer "Settings" there was a button to
"Create a shortcut to launch FTP server".

Pressing this option made an "ESFTP" shortcut on my desktop, so that, in
the future, to launch the ESFTP server, all I had to do was tap that
shortcut.

If you do it right, there will be two shortcuts:
A. ESFTP shortcut on Android (to start the FTP Server)
B. My Network Places ftp shortcut on Windows (to access Android on Windows)

In just two clicks (one each on Android & Windows), your entire Android
file system is "mounted" on Windows.

[Frank Slootweg]

Jonas Schneider > wrote:
[...]
> 1. Download and install and run any FTP server on Android.
> I used Primitive FTPd because I wanted something fast, small, & simple:
> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.primftpd
>
> 2. Download & install FTPUSE to map an FTP Drive to a local disk:
> https://www.ferrobackup.com/map-ftp-as-disk.htm
>
> NOTE: If you don't like FTPUSE, similar software is listed below:
> Webdrive: https://southrivertech.com/products/webdrive/
> DriveMaker: http://backupchain.com/en/drivemaker/
> FDrive: http://www.killprog.com/fdrve.html
> ExpanDrive: http://www.expandrive.com/
>
> 3. Running that FTP server on Android gives information like this:
> a. IP address 192.168.1.5 <== this is whatever it is on your subnet
> b. Port 12345 <== this is whatever you set it to
> c. Username anonymous <== this is whatever you set it to
> d. Password anything or nothing <== this is whatever you set
> e. Start directory /mnt <== this is whatever you set it to
>
> 4. Mount the entire Android FTP Drive as a local disk drive on Windows:
> C:\> FTPUSE Z: 192.168.1.5 /PORT:12345 /USER:anonymous
>
> NOTE: You don't have to add it to your PATH if you use Start > Run:
> Start > Run > FTPUSE Z: 192.168.1.5 /PORT:12345 /USER:anonymous
>
> Now the Android file system is mounted as Drive Z: on Windows:
> https://s30.postimg.org/igy81jjsh/ftpuse_6.gif

Thanks for the pointer to and your instructions for FTPUSE!

I was/am looking for a way to backup (the app-data of) my (Huawei)
smartphones with normal Windows backup software, because Huawei's
Windows companion program (HiSuite) backs up everything, *except* the
data which belongs to an app ('app-data').

Because Windows *itself* (*not* Windows/File Explorer) only
understands drives and Network Shares - not things like smartphones - I
want to access the phones as a drive or Network Share.

Using a Network *Share*, needs a SMB *server* on the Android device.
(For the moment) I abandoned that idea, because a SMB server on Android
needs root or/and non-standard ports which Windows can't handle.

So your Network *Drive* approach is - while second-best - a workable
solution.

That's the good news.

Now the not-so-good news.

I encountered this problem:

When the (ES File Explorer) FTP server on Android is setup and FTPUSE
has connected the (Z:) Network Drive to the FTP server, any *new*/extra
files on the Android side are not seen on the Windows side. Only if you
disconnect (FTPUSE Z: /DELETE) and reconnect, the Windows side will see
the added file(s).

For my case - backup - that is not too much of a problem, because the
connection will probably only be made for the duration of the backup and
during that backup, there will probably not be any files added on the
Android side.

But for 'your'/this_thread's case - general file copy - this problem
can lead to unpleasant surprises.

I would appreciate it if you could test/reproduce(/fix?) this.

Reproduction steps:

- ES File Explorer gives "ftp://192.168.0.124:3721/" as the URL to use.

- On Windows:
FTPUSE Z: 192.168.0.124 /PORT:3721 /USER:anonymous
Should say:
"Connecting...
Connected.
The operation completed successfully"

- On the Windows side, look at the contents of a folder on the Z: drive.
(In my case Z:\MyAPKs)

- On the Android side, add a file to the folder.
(In my case "SD card\MyAPKs")

- Now look again at the folder on the Windows side. If you can reproduce
the problem, the added file will not be shown on the Windows side.

- On Windows:
FTPUSE Z: /DELETE
(Should say: "The operation completed successfully")
FTPUSE Z: 192.168.0.124 /PORT:3721 /USER:anonymous
Now the added file *will* be shown on the Windows side.

Thanks in advance for your efforts.

[...]