Related
Here we go:
I use a number of Microsoft Access Databases for my work, and each one is intensely coded and designed and basically run like actual programs. What I am looking for is to be able to take these databases with me. Now understanding that Microsoft and Android are two completely different beasts, what I really am looking for is the ability to take the tables (I use all Back-end database so all my tables are in a completely separate file then all my forms, queries, and reports) and the data with me and be able to run them in a program on Android that keeps the relationships and fields and all of that sort of stuff.
Now what would be great is the ability to use forms (even if special forms for android need to be made), run queries, and even be able to run reports and print as PDFs.
now I know how to code in VBA, hence the extensive coding I have done in Access, so anybody willing to WORK WITH in creating an Android Program to basically be an extension of Microsoft Access please contact me. Please not I use the words WORK WITH loosely, while I am trying to learn how to Program for Android, I currently do not have a computer that I can use to develop programs for android on, and well I would be only able to create the "Hello World" starter program and this project seems a slight bit more complicated. But what I can bring to the table is real world experience in testing and using the program day in and day out, a number of already existing Microsoft Access Databases ranging from Complex to Simple that I use every day. Really a program that can run Microsoft Access Tables on Android would be really useful to me and I am willing to do anything to help make this happen.
kronos82 said:
Here we go:
I use a number of Microsoft Access Databases for my work, and each one is intensely coded and designed and basically run like actual programs. What I am looking for is to be able to take these databases with me. Now understanding that Microsoft and Android are two completely different beasts, what I really am looking for is the ability to take the tables (I use all Back-end database so all my tables are in a completely separate file then all my forms, queries, and reports) and the data with me and be able to run them in a program on Android that keeps the relationships and fields and all of that sort of stuff.
Now what would be great is the ability to use forms (even if special forms for android need to be made), run queries, and even be able to run reports and print as PDFs.
now I know how to code in VBA, hence the extensive coding I have done in Access, so anybody willing to WORK WITH in creating an Android Program to basically be an extension of Microsoft Access please contact me. Please not I use the words WORK WITH loosely, while I am trying to learn how to Program for Android, I currently do not have a computer that I can use to develop programs for android on, and well I would be only able to create the "Hello World" starter program and this project seems a slight bit more complicated. But what I can bring to the table is real world experience in testing and using the program day in and day out, a number of already existing Microsoft Access Databases ranging from Complex to Simple that I use every day. Really a program that can run Microsoft Access Tables on Android would be really useful to me and I am willing to do anything to help make this happen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think we must have the same job
Android utilizes an sqlite database engine and it looks like sqlite already offers a conversion utility HERE. The real question would be how to get the data in and out of the phone. Regarding forms, they definitely would need to be custom built.
Thanks this is deffenetly a start, From what I can tell this This Looks to be the most promising, It looks like all you would have to do is put a MS Access Database file on your SD CARD and have a program access it. That way you copy it back and forth. Unfortunately it doesn't support Access 2003, but I can save down. I also got a lot of learning to do in programing Java programs.
Forms would be as simply as making a program, this is great thanks much
kronos82 said:
Here we go:
I use a number of Microsoft Access Databases for my work, and each one is intensely coded and designed and basically run like actual programs. What I am looking for is to be able to take these databases with me....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would like to say, "yes, please!" to this idea. I currently use Smart List to Go (the descendant of ThinkDB) on my Palm TX. The TX is dying, and I've been shopping for a replacement. HanDBase exists for the iPhone, but I don't want an iPhone. So I've been focused on WinMo - not by choice as much as by necessity.
And android option would be very welcome around my computers.
benmyers2941 said:
I think we must have the same job
Android utilizes an sqlite database engine and it looks like sqlite already offers a conversion utility HERE. The real question would be how to get the data in and out of the phone. Regarding forms, they definitely would need to be custom built.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
androids sqlite its for applications to access and store data using java code.
try the pocket office app
Freedomcaller said:
androids sqlite its for applications to access and store data using java code.
try the pocket office app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly and we're talking about creating an app that would enable manipulation of an sqlite database. Essentially all that would be needed would be to create a ui framework wrapper for the existing api in android. Not the least monumental task I've heard of an individual taking on but not the most either.
The versions of pocket office that I've seen for android do not currently support Access databases as far as I'm aware. If I'm wrong could you post a link and save everyone some trouble?
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
kronos82 said:
Thanks this is deffenetly a start, From what I can tell this looks to be the most promising, It looks like all you would have to do is put a MS Access Database file on your SD CARD and have a program access it. That way you copy it back and forth. Unfortunately it doesn't support Access 2003, but I can save down. I also got a lot of learning to do in programing Java programs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Jackcess library is now patched to support android (will be in 1.2.2 release). Also seems to support 2000, 2003 and 2007 formats now.
Works great for me.
View jackcess site. Couldn't find anything on support for android. I'm using htc desire and would really like to find program to view ms access file. Can you tell me how you do it?
As I remember reading worked as on PC, while writing had some problems.
This forum prevents me from linking directly, but if you click tracker/patches on Jackcess project, check Android Compatibility Fix - ID: 3101578
The changes are in trunk and will be in the 1.2.2 release. I've added some
notes which will eventually make it to the FAQ page on the website
detailing the compatibility steps:
- Set the system property "com.healthmarketscience.jackcess.broken
Nio=true"
- Set the system property "com.healthmarketscience.jackcess.resour
cePath=res/raw/"
- Copy the *.txt, *.mdb, and *.accdb files from the
"com/healthmarketscience/jackcess/" directory in the Jackcess jar to the
"/res/raw" Android application directory.
- Before executing any Jackcess code, set the current Thread's context
classloader, e.g.
"Thread.currentThread().setContextClassLoader(Database.class.getClassLoader())".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Until this version (1.2.2) is released you need to build lib yourself.
You also need commons-lang and commons-logging from apache commons.
Before you use Jackcess in Android code, you set
Thread.currentThread().setContextClassLoader(
getClass().getClassLoader());
System.setProperty(
"com.healthmarketscience.jackcess.brokenNio",
"true");
System.setProperty(
"com.healthmarketscience.jackcess.resourcePath",
"res/raw/");
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and copy those resource files to res/raw
Then you can work as on PC, for example open /sdcard/yourprogram/file.mdb
Jackcess has no GUI, it's a library to read/write access files.
Getting an Access file into Android
I keep a lot of information on a Psion Revo, which has just turned its face to the wall and is giving up the ghost, and have always backed the information up on to my pc as an Access file. It looks easier to get this into a format acceptable to Android by converting the Access .mbx file into an Excel .xls file. This can be searched readily by Column and Values. Maybe this deals with too simple a need for most enquirers to the forum, but if it helps somebody then so much the better.
hi all i have beenlooking for something the same for some time now and just the other day i came accross this site cellica.com
the android app is free and the desktop application has a 5 day trial period or its $50 to buy it works great the only thing you can not do is create a report from the phone
i have emailed support team and they said they will be adding it on in the future.
Any Updates???
I currently build and use databases in MS Access and was wondering if there are any updates on this topic now that Tablets are in use now. Looking to get the Motorola Xoom (2nd version) in the future, but would love to be able to use a program that I would be able to access my MS Access databases while "on-the-go".
Anyone? This would be huge (I believe), since we now have tablets.
Thanks a bunch,
~Kilch~
Access to MS Access by Android
Hi,
I'm also looking to get on-the-go access to my Access databases on my Android HTC Tattoo.
The file is on it, I just need a tool to access it in read-only / search mode, but judging from the previous comments, there doesn't seem to be an oversupply in applications.
The "convert to Excel format" may be OK for me. I want to use a 3 language Access DB (dictionary) on my phone, so I'll try the Excel solution.
It would be nice if we had an ACCESS reader though...
John
Panacea Database
I know XDA frowns upon excessively hawking your own products here, but I do seem to be directly answering more than one of the reply questions, it just happens that the answer is an application my company released.
The Panacea Database application can handle Access from Access 2000 to Access 2007. It has also worked so far on every Access 2010 database we've tested, and we've received no complaints in that department yet. We release updates from time to time as we improve its functionality and features, often guided in our priorities by user e-mail and market comments. Our next update will be focused on improving screen layout for a variety of Android devices - from small QVGA smartphones, to large WXGA tablets. After that we may move onto other functionality.
In the interest of fairness, I'll point out arafa1209's post. He mentions Celicca Database, which is the only other application that I know of that deals with Access databases on Android. It has features Panacea does not have (yet) - ability to work with forms, ability to create and modify databases, ability to connect to your PC etc. Like us, they also send out updates improving their app regularly. So you can compare the apps, and use which one fits your needs better (or use both). If anyone knows of any others they can post here as well, but these are the only two I know of currently.
Just tried Panacea. Although it is more basic and annoyingly doesn't remember the last files you'be opened necessitating finding the file each time you open the app I prefer it for the simple reason you don't have to convert the Access database to another format.
amwebby said:
doesn't remember the last files you'be opened necessitating finding the file each time you open the app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you update the app, this should be fixed, the last version should have this feature.
Got the update last week. Certainly goes a long way to making it more user-friendly. Keep up the great work!
Since the last update it seems to be broken. Although it remembers the last database I cannot open a table within any database.
Edit: It appears the file was corrupted. Loaded a new file and all working again.
Any news in this topic.
I tried panacea Database, works fine. But not very effective. Searching data is a must for me however I didnt manage to find a search option. When I search for tables, it cant even locate the tables by names.
Hi ppl.
About a year ago I bough a Uniden portable GPS unit. Pretty nice machine, plays music, vids, pictures, has an SD slot (for GPS software and Multimedia) and most importantly it runs Windows CE (not sure which version).
Seeing as it's kind of out of date, but still a fully functional machine, I want to see what I can do on the software side.
It runs Windows CE which means I should, at least in theory, be able to install other apps, right?
After investigating the machine a bit, including a tear-down, the only thing I can come up with is by using the SD card to load in a File explorer of some kind to give me access to the devices file system.
All the apps seem to be hard-coded into the GPS unit itself, except the GPS Software. It's using Igo 2006, the EXE file is on the SD card, which is where you used to download the updates for it. Without the EXE file on the card, the device is essentially a cheesy looking multimedia player and the Navigation function of the unit is greyed out.
I'm a bit of a noob at this, so, so far all i've tried is putting Total Commanders EXE and other files on the SD card, and renaming the EXE to MobileNavigator.EXE. The navigation function is then selectable, but once clicked, it does nothing more than grey out the Navigation function again.
Anyone have any ideas / suggestions as to how I can gain access to the file system? I've got a wicked in-car DVD player that handles everything, so I'm not afraid to take out the multimedia functions of the GPS and leave it as a purely GPS device, as well as I'd like to be able to load in different GPS softwares which are available online.
Try creating a folder on the storage card called 2577, and rename the Total Commander EXE to autorun.exe, and then place autorun.exe in 2577 (you might also want to try putting the other Total Commander files in that folder too). Also, make sure you're using the Total Commander for Windows CE, not Windows Mobile. Hopefully that should give you more access into the system, and the ability to install programs. This site might also be of some help. If this doesn't work, try creating another folder called 1824, and do the same.
Thanks Dave, had a go at that and checked out the attached information, however nothing happened.
I have found out that this device, a Uniden GNS8360, is using WinCE 4.2.
Another guy was successful in gaining access to the file system in an older model, the GNS8350, even though I've also tried his method, I stlil don't have access. I won't bother posting an outside link, however his method involved using a program called dTree, renamed as the MobileNavigator.EXE file, and attempted to boot that from the devices menu.
Any other help would be appreciated
Some Success!
I have successfully been able to load a relatively OLD version of Total Commander onto the device, it has now replaced the totally boring "Pairs" game.
Next step is to find some way to enable the on-screen keyboard, it's settings are there in control panel, but can't do much else without it.
Once again any suggestions will be investigated and appreciated
-Now seeking Win CE 4.2 On Screen Keyboard CAB
I have an old medion satnav that has win ce 4.2 as well.
Try searching Medion PNA 200s/150
in google and there is a version of tomtom that works with win ce 4.2 (it has been modified).
try that and i think i still have some programs left from it so il try and post them as well.
flyboy
Thanks!
flyboyovyick2k9 said:
I have an old medion satnav that has win ce 4.2 as well.
Try searching Medion PNA 200s/150
in google and there is a version of tomtom that works with win ce 4.2 (it has been modified).
try that and i think i still have some programs left from it so il try and post them as well.
flyboy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sweet I'll have to have a look around, i've found the latest 2009 maps for the stock software (igo 2006 plus) gonna see if I can tweak them into it, but now that I have access to the file system I can launch more'n one navigation program so that'd be awesome, off to google i go (no pun intended)
There also seem to be some "warezed" versions of igo 2008, I've noticed some apps designed for later WinMo/WinCE versions won't install, but if I run them thru Cab2OEM to extract their files, put them on the SD Card, some of them will actually launch and run on the older CE4.2. This certainly seems to be a decent little hand-held PC - Would be great if I could find a way to flash something like WinMo 5 or 6.1 onto it I'll dig out the system spec's and see if there's anything useful in it.
You also might want to check out http://www.hpcfactor.com and http://hpcmonex.net (run by XDA's cmonex). I have an old NEC MobilePro 900C, which runs Windows CE .NET 4.2, and those are probably the best Windows CE sites on the Internet, the former better for tutorials and the latter for utilities and downloads. They contain the latest versions of Pocket Internet Explorer, the latest Opera Mobile Betas that still work on Windows CE, Bochs for PPC, TCPMP, and many more. Also, you might want to check out Gigabar. It's a free Windows CE taskbar program which I think might restore taskbar/start menu fuctionality.
omgh4x 800th post!
Hi,
I have had my Kaiser since it was released over 2 years ago.
I have a 8gb MicroSD that i try to install my apps onto, but i always seem to run out of 'device application storage space'
So my question is, what are you doing to stop this from happening.
Can we use this thread to create a list of apps that are best to run on the device and which ones can be run on the storage card?
Thanks
PS. im also tempted to try a different rom to increase space, any suggestions as im running the official 6.1 from my carrier.
GLO said:
Hi,
I have had my Kaiser since it was released over 2 years ago.
I have a 8gb MicroSD that i try to install my apps onto, but i always seem to run out of 'device application storage space'
So my question is, what are you doing to stop this from happening.
Can we use this thread to create a list of apps that are best to run on the device and which ones can be run on the storage card?
Thanks
PS. im also tempted to try a different rom to increase space, any suggestions as im running the official 6.1 from my carrier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are a lot of good roms, just look over in the Kaiser Rom Development, read signatures to find out what a lot of people are using. Everyone has there own personal preference.
As far as what to install on SD Card and what to install on main memory, it goes kinda like this. If it is a dedicated program that you need to rely on, like G-Alarm or SPB Time for example, install it in main memory. If it is a program that runs on the today screen or in the background, install it to main memory. Programs like SPB Mobile Shell, WAD2, Palringo and other chat software can go to main memory. Anything else unless the programs says otherwise, can go on the SD Card. I always ask myself this, if my SD Card failed what are my few must have important apps that I need to make it through the rest of the day/week? I always put my entertainment crap on the SD, and only my important apps on the main storage.
Hope that steers you in the right direction.
PS: How do you have 285 post, been a member since 2007, and are still using a OEM 6.1 ROM? You are missing the good stuff my friend!
Philux-X said:
PS: How do you have 285 post, been a member since 2007, and are still using a OEM 6.1 ROM? You are missing the good stuff my friend!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, 285 posts since 07 driven by various questions and answers for others.
Rom swapping was limited to 6.0 to 6.1 official '3'rom,
Have tried numerous UI's including SPB Mobile Shell, Winterface etc but ended up reverting back to my basic stable set up. (ref my sig)
Had toyed with HTC Cube but a hard reset made me realize it it was more novelty than useful. had a fiddle with M2D but it was only a cab and not fully integrated into the ROM, so i ditched it.
But now that im hitting the max storage again, im tempted to play with a new rom.
edit: just checked the Memory status and actually is the Storage Memory that i keep maxing out, not the Program storage (28Mb free) as i originally thought. I use memaid daily to regain space, but i guess its not enough!
GLO said:
.....
edit: just checked the Memory status and actually is the Storage Memory that i keep maxing out, not the Program storage (28Mb free) as i originally thought. I use memaid daily to regain space, but i guess its not enough!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is exactly the problem I'm having. I just recently bought one of these phones (used with preloaded apps) & it's kind of frustrating to see the storage memory near max (127MB).. I have deleted or moved some things to my removable memory card. I got it down to about 12MB of free space, but it seems to decrease daily!? right now its down to 6mb of free space in just 1 day & i have not added any apps. I'm confused how this is happening
Can you or anyone help?
Clear Temp Internet Files.
ClearTemp by Vicott - v1.3.0.1
Also follow earlier post regards installing software only things that need to be loaded @ startup & home screen replacements "Shells" need to be installed to device memory, rest place on SD card.
stylez said:
....ClearTemp by Vicott - v1.3.0.1[/URL]
Also follow earlier post regards installing software only things that need to be loaded @ startup & home screen replacements "Shells" need to be installed to device memory, rest place on SD card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks stylez. I had already cleared/deleted my temp files a few days ago using that app. In the meantime though my free storage space (RAM) continues to decrease even when I'm not actively using any app!?? This is what puzzles me the most. Out of 128 MB ram, I'm now down to ~3.5 MB! Do you know what could be causing this or what to do? There are only 7 programs listed in my storage memory. Should i remove all of them except maybe "MS classic blue" (whatever that is).
When it boots up, the screen displays "TPC Elite ROM series" & then series of digits & text in the lower right corner of the screen. I'm new to using pocketpc's but it seems this device is running some mods? I have installed:
WM 6.5 (professional)
ROM version: TPC_V11_MEGA WWE (11/04/09)
touchflo v3.0
s2u2 (v2.04)
CHome editor (v1.6 beta)
titanium weather
Aebutton plus (v2.6.6.1)
& a host of other apps some of which I understand their function & some I don't.
Also a few days ago I was able to move some apps from the phone's storage
memory to my storage card. I was only able to move 2 or apps, but couldn't move others. Whenever I tried moving or deleting files/apps it wouldn't allow me to do so. I used total commander ce (v2.51) to do this. I have "file explorer" installed, but it seems less robust & have fewer features.
Any suggestions on how to move these apps or delete unwanted files?
thanks all.
kgj said:
Thanks stylez. I had already cleared/deleted my temp files a few days ago using that app. In the meantime though my free storage space (RAM) continues to decrease even when I'm not actively using any app!?? This is what puzzles me the most. Out of 128 MB ram, I'm now down to ~3.5 MB! Do you know what could be causing this or what to do? There are only 7 programs listed in my storage memory. Should i remove all of them except maybe "MS classic blue" (whatever that is).
When it boots up, the screen displays "TPC Elite ROM series" & then series of digits & text in the lower right corner of the screen. I'm new to using pocketpc's but it seems this device is running some mods? I have installed:
WM 6.5 (professional)
ROM version: TPC_V11_MEGA WWE (11/04/09)
touchflo v3.0
s2u2 (v2.04)
CHome editor (v1.6 beta)
titanium weather
Aebutton plus (v2.6.6.1)
& a host of other apps some of which I understand their function & some I don't.
Also a few days ago I was able to move some apps from the phone's storage
memory to my storage card. I was only able to move 2 or apps, but couldn't move others. Whenever I tried moving or deleting files/apps it wouldn't allow me to do so. I used total commander ce (v2.51) to do this. I have "file explorer" installed, but it seems less robust & have fewer features.
Any suggestions on how to move these apps or delete unwanted files?
thanks all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok now i know what the problem is "as have ROM info" It's deblogger solution is you can't delete folder Deblogger use Task Manager and kill cprog.exe then delete
Thanks stylez, but I thought I read somewhere that cprog.exe file is an integral part of WM6.5 & utilizing the phone & killing or deleting it could be bad?
have you deleted this file from your phone? if so is there some other that replaces its functionality or is it even necessary?
kgj said:
Thanks stylez, but I thought I read somewhere that cprog.exe file is an integral part of WM6.5 & utilizing the phone & killing or deleting it could be bad?
have you deleted this file from your phone? if so is there some other that replaces its functionality or is it even necessary?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Delete the deblogger folder, as the solution says it's on root, you may not be able to delete without stopping the process cprog.exe it will have no effect on cprog.exe in the Windows Directory.
I dont have deblogger in my ROM as no Mega M2D and all recent releases don't as TPC cooked the ROM before we knew the issue existed.
Thanks for the tips. i followed the instructions, checked my free space & it was up to 76MB at 11am when i deleted it.
Do you know what these other softwares are for that I listed? I tried researching them, but am not sure if they are critical or what I can do to move them if not? (using total commander did not work)(
kgj said:
Thanks for the tips. i followed the instructions, checked my free space & it was up to 76MB at 11am when i deleted it.
Do you know what these other softwares are for that I listed? I tried researching them, but am not sure if they are critical or what I can do to move them if not? (using total commander did not work)(
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's cool happy to help.
You can't move programs cooked in ROM "Read Only Memory" files
Aebutton plus (v2.6.6.1) is a button mapper allows multi function per button press "very handy"
titanium weather Application for CHome weather
CHome editor (v1.6 beta) Allows moving panels, making new panels etc in CHome
s2u2 (v2.04) Lock screen
touchflo v2.0 M2D homescreen
thanks again stylez!
ok 1 month later I have the same problem! i deleted the deblogger folder. & i may have done another reinstall since then, but it has resurfaced. is there any way to make this a read only file instead of deleting it?
question about file transfering between a pc and hd7.
when i connect hd7 to my pc it doesn't appear as a storage device, as it does all modern devices with android.
i read about the way around, but it didn't work for me.
zune helps to transfer only a number of file types - like media files or pictures.
just one sample - i've installed freda reader, but can't put any epub-file to read! i can't even attach it to an email - well, i can attach, but can't save it on the phone - it says, that .epub is just not supported by the phone!
so, the question is: is there any chance to transfer any file from my pc to hd7, and, for example, to save any attached file on the phone?
you can email it, but it has to have the proper program to open it.
For freda, the best work around right now is to use caibre ebook library on your desktop, set it up as a server, then you can add them to freda.
If you search for freda to wp7, you should find step by step instructions.
Check this out:
http://www.turnipsoft.co.uk/freda/calibre-how-to.htm
Now I just realized HTC HD7 with the GREAT Windows Phone OS is SUCKS ! I'm facing the same problem too, NO FILE TRANSFERRING accept songs, photos & videos ! Is that all ?
I'm wondering why HTC came out with a phone like this with no mass storage support ? More worst than apple with itunes, at least I'm able to add/remove apps through itunes. With ANDROID, I can do almost EVERYTHING I want ! What about the mighty Zunes ? SUCKS !
Do you know why people want to migrate their HD2 Windows to Android ?...
---------- Post added at 11:27 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:02 AM ----------
Do you mean using email to attach files/data to do as file transfer ? What about I'm going transfer a gig or 4 gig ? Transferring a 4 gigabyte files over the internet ? Woo... I know you're kidding, right ?
Some more, do I have to know freda to force using my HD7 for file transferring ?
If I have to do some complicated steps to make my smartphone working, then how can I called my phone is a SMARTPHONE ? Because it is not smart at all !
Friend, I'm not criticizing or scolding what. I'm feeling that I'm being like an idiot holding a stupid phone that I can't do anything to it.
It's just a different way of thinking about storage, that's all. To improve security, and reduce the risk of a bad app trashing your phone, Microsoft adopted a model where pretty much everything operates in a 'sandboxed' mode. You are not meant to share data between apps on the phone (except using copy-paste ).
If you're coming to WP7 from Android, (or from WM6) that model is going to seem strange, but it doesn't make the phone unusable. You just need to get used to the idea that each app will have its own preferred cloud location(s) for keeping its data. So for media, it's Zune; for MS Office it's SkyDrive or SharePoint, etc.
And third-party apps can provide their own choice of locations (so for example, among the book-reader apps, Freda offers you SkyDrive or DropBox, Bookviser lets you chose between SkyDrive or a dedicated Bookviser cloud store ... ).
Now of course if you prefer to think of your phone as a mass-storage device, WP7 won't suit you, and you should use a different OS (or unlock your WP7 phone if you must).
Windows Phone Device Manager & TouchXperience. link.
Hi all, just a quick question regarding the functionality of Wp8 that I am fighting with, that I need to resolve or another WP phone is going back to the supplier [I did the same with WP7].
First off, apologies if there's an answer that I haven't managed to find.
I currently have an HTC HD2 running very nicely on WM6.5, however, it's been creaking a bit recently & I'd decided with a favourable review of WP8 that I read the other day suggesting that finally the device can be plugged into a PC & seen as a USB drive, that the time was right to move forwards.
Now that I have the Nokia Lumia 820 & WP8 however, I still don't think I can get it to do what I need it to do.
ALL I would like to do, is be able to copy text files from PC to WP8, & then display them on the phone with text wrap switched off.
Easy hey? Well if so, I haven't worked out how to do it yet!
I plug the phone into my PC, & an Explorer window fires up on the PC [XP] showing 'SD card' & 'Phone'. Drilling down one level on the latter gives Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos etc.
The only way I can get to see the Documents folder on my Phone appears to be via Office Mobile, under 'places' > phone. It appears to be very fussy about what it allows to be displayed there - I can see .PDF, .DOC, .XLS & .TXT files [but not .LOG. .ONE, .ZIP etc (which remain 'hidden')].
When I tap a .TXT file, I have no choice of how to open it, Office Mobile pounces & that's that. Having got this far, all I would now like to do is switch off text wrap [so that it'll view in a usable manner] because there doesn't appear to be such an option.
I have scoured the Store, & the best I've found is 'Text Reader', though this requires that I load it via email [upload a file to Hotmail or wherever with a .LOG (or similar) suffix & away you go, which it then downloads & stores in its own sandbox]. Ok, but faffy.
I believe that other progs might enable transfer via the cloud [Skydrive or whatever], but because of the nature of the data [& the fact that I don't want my data in anyone else's hands], this is out too.
I've spotted a couple of other quirks.
Office Mobile also does not allow you to display the folder hierarchy that may exist in Phone>Documents, just giving a flat filesystem, which makes finding a file in thousands, say, horrible. All I'd like to do is exactly duplicate the hierarchy that exists on the PC [& then I am always looking for things in the same place on either device].
I have also noticed that Office Mobile Word sometime hangs part way through a file. e.g. on loading a 1mb file, & searching for a text sequence I know to be on the last line, it hangs on a line part way through the file [say a 1/3 of the way in]. Not great, & I have the odd file that's c.10mb so I dread to think with that.
Words fail me, & once again I am hugely disappointed with MS. Please, please get the odd decision right & maybe WP will be at the top of the pile again as it was with [the sometimes awful, but very functional] WM.
I am hoping that someone will explain an easy way to do this, & that I can finally move forwards from WM6.5. Android concerns me re privacy & I don't like iPhones, so not much choice really! Stuck waiting for MS to provide basic functionality or [worse] a potential need for a future jailbreak to make the thing work properly!
Here's hoping. Many thanks for reading.
First of all, nobody who knew what the hell they were talking about said that WP8 displays as a USB drive (properly called USB Mass Storage). It's an MTP device, like most media players (or indeed WP7, though that had an extra layer of encryption around it). MTP doesn't display the actual filesystem; although the hierarchical display that it presents *may* mirror a real filesystem, it's under no obligation to do so.
The dearth of supported file types in WP7 was a real pain, but it could be fixed by tweaking the registry. In WP8 it's still a pain, but now third-party apps can (officially) register to handle file types. However, as you point out, there's no real way to browse the phone, and the Office hub only shows the filetypes it recognizes. We *might* be able to fix that, if we could get registry write permission, but that's not possible right now. With that said, I don't know if it would be possible for another app to register the (for example) .txt extension; the phone does offer the ability to choose what app opens a given file type.
For what it's worth, Bluetooth file transfer to the phone works fine, and the files will open in whatever app is registered to the file's extension. You can then save them into the app's storage (Documents, for Office apps). This may be a better way to transfer your data.
In WP8 you can build Apps that associate themselves with certain filetypes (identified by the ending). If your App is associated with a certain file type the App can also open files of that type from anywhere on the SD Card.
So for example if you put a *.log file onto the SD Card any App that is associated with the ".log" ending can read it (the Explorer functionality for the SD Card would have to be implemented by the App itself but it is supported). This does not work with the integrated storage though. With integrated storage you would still have to receive it via E-Mail, SkyDrive, etc.
Now for the caveats:
- Apps can't be dynamically associated with File Types. If you want to open "*.log" files the App developer has to associate his App with the filetype in it's manifest. If several Apps exist for a given filetype the user will be asked which one to use.
- There is a quite extensive list of file types that are reserved for the OS or built in Apps. Any file type that is reserved in that way can't be associated with third Party Apps. This contains Office documents (except PDF, TXT files and lots of media file types). The complete list can be seen here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windowsphone/develop/jj207065(v=vs.105).aspx
- Apps can only read from the SD Card but they can't Change data there.
Now as for your Problem: someone could build an App that supports e.g. Log-Files and you could use your Lumia 820 with an SD Card to pretty much work the way you intend to with those files. It's not really trivial though, given that 10 MB big plain Text-Files regularly lead to Trouble even on PC text Editors (the developer has to be smart on how to handle These "huge" files, so just some midnight hack job won't do).
What are your further requirements? Search pretty obviously. But what are all the filetypes you would need? Would you need editing capability?
Just trying to understand the compelete picture of your requirements. Perhaps you can tell us what kinds of files you use and for what purposes.
Thanks for taking the time to reply.
@GoodDayToDie
Re 'seen as a USB drive' - That's me being careless with words, what I meant to say was the ability to local sync over a USB cable, & then access the copied files on the device. I didn't think that you could do this with WP7 [without frigs], & had high[er] hopes for WP8.
I might have a look at Bluetooth FT as a method for getting the [bulk] data over locally, as I won't be doing it via the cloud [email or Skydrive]. Thanks for the advice.
@StevieBallz
Thanks for the MSDN reference - Very interesting.
Ok, so the apps can potentially access the data on the SD card but not write to it - As an aside, I thought I read something the other day that said data on the SD card was limited to Pictures, Videos, Music etc, as a security measure. That's interesting too then, though anything I want to be 'secure' I'd keep in the internal storage anyway.
Re the comment re 'Trouble even on PC text Editors'. Yes, I tried way back on WM2003 to get a file displayer going, but immediately hit problems with [I think] a 32KB limit on the textbox display. I've just made do with WM6.5's Word displayer since, which offers basic functionality.I keep meaning to go back to the coding, but haven't managed it yet [I think Visual Basic was missing for a while with WP, if indeed it's there yet (I thought I'd read it was with VS2012?)].
Re my 'requirements'. Just to be able to search [large-ish] text files & have the o/p displayed in a manner that's readable [no word-wrapping]. I realise editing is a whole new ball game, so read-only would be good enough. Longer term, I'd like the ability to have many text files open at once - On the desktop I use "Programmer's File Editor", & something like that [if only as a viewer] I'd find invaluable on the smartphone/PDA. I also have many thousands of files on my desktop [PDF, DOC, RTF, HTM, TXT etc] & ideally I'd like access to those on the go as & when needed, via a hierarchical file system on the mobile device, with the structure exactly mirroring the PC's file system, so that I'd search for & find data in the same places regardless of which device I was using [Why thousands? Might be 100s+ actually, & these could be electricity bills, sales receipts, insurance documents - anything - the stuff of life really].
I'll continue with my testing of Office Mobile Word's displaying & searching of text files. I've found it patchy & not consistent so far, but am going to have to move from WM6.5 eventually [more's the pity], & don't really want the hassle of sending the device back again.
Many thanks for your advice so far.
Device returned, many thanks for your help. Maybe WP9 then?
5v17 said:
Device returned, many thanks for your help. Maybe WP9 then?
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Judging by the ideas picked up for review on dev user voice, situation may drastically improve with the next SDK update.