Local File/Directory Browsing: Riddle Me This

[ITg33k]

I've been looking for a capable file explorer/browser/transfer app that'll allow me to browse/explore local files and transfer files via SMB (MS-Win networking, though I'm actually using Samba on a Linux box).

I found a couple candidates that looked the best: "Remote File Manager Free" (QuickApps Inc.) and "FileExplorer" (Skyjos Co., Ltd). The latter also does the "Photo Library" and iCloud Drive, which is a plus.

Here's the deal: According to Remote File Manager Free (RFMF), I have, in a place called "My Documents" (which appears to be its "home"), two folders, both of which I put there: "User Manual" and "Music". "User Manual" has some PDFs in it. "Music" has a sub-folder, which, in turn, has a bunch of mp3 files in it.

When I fire up FileExplorer (FE): The "User Manual" folder is there, but the "Music" folder not.

Thinking maybe something didn't like the folder name "Music," I changed it to "My Music." No change.

It gets "better." Thinking "I'll just load another app, see what it shows, and whichever two of the three agree must be the right ones." Seems a reasonable, no? So I loaded a third app and... it sees neither of the two folders!

Can somebody explain to me what in The Wide, Wide World of Sports is going on?

Thanks!

 

[giradman]

Hi again - Apple's iOS is an 'app centric' operating system unlike the hierarchal file-oriented approach of Windows and also macOS - in iOS, apps typical 'sandbox' their associated 'Data/Documents' - some sharing and transfer is possible but often not - take a look at this THREAD in the Mac-Forums - I'm RadDave there - review my posts #4 and especially #11, along w/ the other comments - let us know if that information is of any help; if not, then pose some more questions and thoughts. Good luck - Dave

 

[ITg33k]

Oh my... That is going to take some getting used to.

Fascinating that the one directory and its contents shows up, but not the other, though. The "sandboxing" seems kind of... arbitrary.

The main problem is going to be my notes. I have a fair number of them I need to get into the iOS Notes app. Looks like I'm going to have to use the web-based app and copy and paste 'em. Not horribly difficult, but, kind of crude.

This is one of the things that caused me to stay away from Apple all these years: Their habit of going their own way. Which is not necessarily bad, per se, but, it sure would be nice if they made a better effort to "peer" with the rest of the world.

Oh well: It is what it is. Thanks for the pointers.

 

[ITg33k]

Okay, so... is there a whole lot of point/sense to even have (that is to say: Pay for) a file explorer/browser app?

Question the second: So I've got a couple "albums" I created by a mixture of CD tracks I ripped and MP3s I bought off Amazon. If I want to play these on my iPad and/or iPhone: What? Is there a way to get them into... somewhere that they will be seen/played?

If there's a FAQ on this, somewhere, just tell me RTFM and point me to it, please? (But, I have looked. Maybe not just the right way or in the right places? Certainly this question is pretty common, no?)

 

[J. A.]

It's possible to manually add music to your iPad, via iTunes: Move content from iTunes on your computer to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

You can also subscribe to iTunes Match, to get these songs to your iPad: Subscribe to iTunes Match

Amazon has an Amazon Music app, where you can listen to the songs you've purchased there.

Another option to listen to songs from your PC would be Dropbox. Import them to the online storage, and listen to the music using the Dropbox app.
Dropbox plays mp3, aiff, wav and m4a files.

 

[giradman]

Okay, so... is there a whole lot of point/sense to even have (that is to say: Pay for) a file explorer/browser app?

Well, take a look at iExplorer & iMazing - these apps are on my Apple computers (iMac & two laptops); there are also Windows versions, but doubt Linux support. For my purposes, the main use has been transfer of files between iDevices and my Apple computers, and this is not commonly done; so, one might easily get along w/o having such an app or trying to use iTunes with its limitations.

Question the second: So I've got a couple "albums" I created by a mixture of CD tracks I ripped and MP3s I bought off Amazon. If I want to play these on my iPad and/or iPhone: What? Is there a way to get them into... somewhere that they will be seen/played?

By using iTunes on a computer, music files can be imported into its library - these can be arrange in a variety of ways and playlists generated. In my iTunes library on my MBPro, I have a LOT of ripped CD MP3 (Apple uses the AAC format) and some purchased CDs as MP3 - although there are several options in placing this music on an iDevice, my preference is to construct a playlist, then plug in my iPad or wife's iPhone and drag the playlist(s) onto the device (I can post screen captures, if desired); plus, Apple has plenty of support for iTunes on their website.

If there's a FAQ on this, somewhere, just tell me RTFM and point me to it, please? (But, I have looked. Maybe not just the right way or in the right places? Certainly this question is pretty common, no?)

If not already done, look in the Apple Support Manuals for the user guide(s) consistent w/ your devices and installed iOS version(s). Dave

 

[ITg33k]

My bad: I should have mentioned "Lacking a MS-Win or Mac computer," as I was vaguely aware of those solutions. My apologies.

I'll check out the Dropbox app, but, with iCloud, and my limited storage requirements, I'd kind of half thought to leave that behind when I left Android behind.

TBH: I rarely listen to music on my mobile devices. This was more out of curiosity than anything else. I guess I found it hard to believe, and more than a little ironic, that Apple, of all companies, would make it so difficult for one to integrate their own music library such that it was readily-accessible from an Apple mobile device.

Thanks for the pointers!

 

[giradman]

.........
TBH: I rarely listen to music on my mobile devices. This was more out of curiosity than anything else. I guess I found it hard to believe, and more than a little ironic, that Apple, of all companies, would make it so difficult for one to integrate their own music library such that it was readily-accessible from an Apple mobile device............

Apple has plenty of music options as Johanna has discussed - as for myself, I have about 15 GB of MP3 music on my iPad Air 2 & an old iPod 2G used mainly as a music player - I use BT devices (ear buds, over ear headphones, and travel speakers) and can wirelessly play my music at the fitness center, on the road, or at home. Also, there are plenty of apps to help - e.g. the first pic below is my 'Entertainment' folder on my iPad - Music is the native iOS app, i.e. which would accept music transferred via iTunes; the second pic is the music app opened showing just a dozen of the many playlists that I've added to the device (mainly ripped CDs).

Some of the other apps in the folder allow many musical options, e.g. I can cabled the iPad to the AUX port on my den speaker and play music via that route - music either on the iPad or streamed over my home network from Spotify, Pandora, or Amazon (see 3rd pic - over decades, I've purchase hundreds of CDs from Amazon - all can be streamed); of course, if another Wi-Fi network is available, such as while traveling - these same streaming options can be used w/ BT devices, avoiding any cord tethering. Well, sorry for going on but just to point out that there are numerous options w/ these devices, apps, and services for enjoying music. Dave
.

 

[twerppoet]

If you want to avoid iTunes and the Music app, you can use apps like OPlayer and AVPlayer to import music and video files to listen too. There are dozens more. Most have multiple import options. I have a couple, but have never used them beyond the occational oddball file format. Most support more file types than iOS's built in codecs.

If you only occationally listen to music, and don't mind a few ads (or a subscription payment); apps like Spotify, Pandora, or iTunes Music are good. Some offer "limited" offline listening with a paid account.

The TuneIn Radio apps is also interesting. Especialy if you like listening to radio stations. A lot of world's radio station boradcasts are available online. TuneIn has a good collection of them.


iCloud Drive is about as close as you can come to a general file system on the iPad. It's very limited, but apps that support it can view and access folders maintaned by other apps (within some fairly strict limits). Since you only get 5GB with a free iCloud account, you pretty much have to pay for more storage to use it effectivly. It's not terribly expensive, $1/mo for 50 GB, but you'll want to explore what can be done before deciding if it will server your needs.

In my experience it's mostly useful in conjuction with a file provider app like Documents (by Readdle) as central repository. Remeber, even when you are using iCloud Drive, some app owns that directory. It's still not an open file system.

I use it to keep folders of related documents; mostly PDF, Office, and other working documents.

 

[ITg33k]

If you want to avoid iTunes and the Music app, ...

I don't want to avoid the Music app. Heck, the more stock apps I can use the happier I am

What I'd like to do is be able to import my limited music collection such that the Music app can see and play it. Alas: Lacking an MS-Win or Apple PC: That seems impossible. That is what I find somewhat surprising.

I wonder if WINE can run the Windows iTunes app...? Something else with which to play

 

[twerppoet]

I seem to remember something about WINE running iTunes, but that was several years ago. No idea if it can handle a recent version of iTunes, and you'll need a fairly recent version to sync with the newest version of iOS.

I believe there are a few third party computer apps that can import music to Music on iOS. Know idea how well they work, and the only ones I remember were OS X or Windows. Still, it might be worth a little searching. Hold in mind that these would be work-around apps with support or reliability being somewhat dubious. But since you're in the Linux world, you probably have the skills to evaluate and use those kinds of apps.

Good luck.