Files file path (yet again)

MIT App Inventor Help
#1

I only use Inventor every few years, and Androids seem to change every time I try to use them.

I'm trying to read a text file with the FILE gadget, and for the life of me, I haven't been able to specify a path that works.

If I connect my phone to my desktop, Windows Explorer shows my file in
"This PC\Galaxy S21 5G\Internal storage\AppInventor"

I've tried a dozen different paths and the all cause "can't find file" errors.
For example, I've tried
/AppInventor/test.txt
/storage/emulated/0/AppInventor/test.txt
/Internal Storage/AppInventor/test.txt

A ten minute quickie has already consumed a couple of hours!

#2

Which Android version?

You cannot access non-media files outside of the ASD or Shared folders (/Documents or /Download). And those files must have been created by the app itself. Otherwise you need SAF.

#3

You cannot access the root dir of the external storage (/storage/emulated/0/) or any arbitrary subfolder of it like this (at least not on Android 11+):

#4

"/Documents/test.txt" did not work as the path. I guess I need a bigger hint. You wouldn't know I'm actually an MIT grad ;-(

#5

Android/data/appinventor.ai_jjgurley.survey/test.txt
/data/data/appinventor.ai_jjgurley.survey/test.txt

don't work either

#6

Something different.

I used the simple path "test.txt" and it apparently found the file in the private storage, but rather than reading the file, i got "com.google.appinvent....Fila@952a5c8" when I thought I should get the text within the file.

#7

Figured it out. Thanks for your help.

#8

Fine, but let the audience know what your solution is. Others also want to learn from it.
(I removed the Solution marker.)

Btw, I made many posts / topics on this (search the forum!), see e.g. here:

#9

The success I had was using data stored in the apps private area, and the problem with the "com.google.appinvent....Fila@952a5c8" was due to loading the filename instead of the file contents.

Although that reads a file from my apps' private storage, finding that location is too hard given the complex filepaths. I really want to use /Documents, which I can't figure out.

"/Documents/test.txt" does not work.

#10

Did you try my test APK from my second link?

grafik
grafik2381×1096 287 KB

#11

"/storage/emulated/0/Documents/test.txt" doesn't work.

#12

With my test APK?
If so, change the FileName to myFile_2.txt (in the first Textbox) and try again.

#13

@Anke, did you use current components or your myfile extension ?

#14

I pasted your path into my app. test.txt exist and is in /Documents.

#15

You cannot access (save / read) a non-media file (like myFile.txt), that was not created by the app itself (at least not on Android 11+).

In this case you need SAF (Storage Access Framework).

#16

Then I guess I'll live with the horrible path to get to the private storage. Nice of Google to save us from ourselves...

#17

Yes, apart from Google itself, no one is amused by this. :wink:

:question: