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

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.

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.

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-tuto...re-as-a-drive/

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

http://forum.airdroid.com/discussion...out-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 he
https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...xplorer.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 softwa
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/myp...orerserver.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.

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/ft...s_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?

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 he
https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...xplorer.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 softwa
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/myp...orerserver.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.

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-tuto...re-as-a-drive/

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.

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/acc...-android-wifi/

This one also uses ES File Explorer:
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/tab...d-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/gal...files-t1896999

So I'll try that one next.

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.