How hard can it be to find a simple text editor that edits
any plain text file stored anywhere you want it to be stored
on your internal or external sdcard?

<https://i.postimg.cc/nVWkJT35/text01.jpg> Edit plain text files

1. On every platform (except Android?), you can create a plain text
file anywhere you have write permission.
2. And then you can edit that text file using any text editor
(e.g., gVim or Notepad on Windows or vi on Linux).
3. You can even put a shortcut to that text file on your desktop
in a folder of other text files.

Is that too much to ask for Android to do the same functionality?

A. You store a bunch of plain text files anywhere you want to
store them where have write permission to do so.
B. When you want to edit them, you tap on a shortcut in a folder
of shortcuts, each pointing to a different plain text file.
C. That brings up the chooser which allows you to select whatever
editor you want to use to edit that plain text file.

Lest you think otherwise, I have tried text editors but there are too many
to test, but to date, ALL of them store the text file ONLY in their own
proprietary location and they store them in their own proprietary format.

a. I don't want a proprietary location or proprietary text format.
b. I just want what every other platform has the ability to do.
c. I want to take ANY text file and edit it with ANY text editor
and save it ANYWHERE I have write permission to save it to.

Is that too much to ask for in something as simple conceptually as a free
ad-free basic Android plain text file editor?
--
I'm aware Windows & Linux store carriage returns & line feeds differently.

Andy Burnelli wrote:

> a. I don't want a proprietary location or proprietary text format.
> b. I just want what every other platform has the ability to do.
> c. I want to take ANY text file and edit it with ANY text editor
> and save it ANYWHERE I have write permission to save it to.
>
> Is that too much to ask for in something as simple conceptually as a free
> ad-free basic Android plain text file editor?

UPDATE
<https://i.postimg.cc/nVWkJT35/text01.jpg> Edit plain text files
<https://i.postimg.cc/j5dkpx5j/text02.jpg> Simple Text Editor shows up
<https://i.postimg.cc/0jzXNV7R/text03.jpg> Shortcut can be created
<https://i.postimg.cc/4yjLHp1K/text04.jpg> Shortcut opens as a text file
<https://i.postimg.cc/mDX6Rvzy/text05.jpg> Sometimes it does NOT show up
<https://i.postimg.cc/L6rwJFyy/text06.jpg> Sometimes it can't SAVE the file

I was told about a FOSS "Simple Text Editor" by Maxim Starkov
(aka MaxiStar).
a. F-Droid
<https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.maxistar.textpad/>
b. Google Play Store
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.maxistar.textpad>
Free, ad free, gsf free, rated 3.9/4.46K reviews @ 500K+Downloads
c. GitHub
<https://github.com/maxistar/TextPad>

1. I went to the F-Droid app on my phone and searched for
"simple text editor"
2. F-Droid came up with the "Simple Text Editor by Maxim Starkov"
version 1.24.0
3. That installed on my Android 12 Galaxy A32 5G
4. I allowed it to access photos & media
5. And it opened to "newfile.txt" saying "Type Something Here"
6. I entered "this is a test" and hit the three dots and then save
7. It asked me where to put the file (defaulting to "Downloads")
8. Instead I put it to the external sdcard, folder 0001, subfolder txt
9. That seemed to have worked

In Settings, there are useful options which default to
[_]Open last
{To open last edited file}
[x]Show Last Edited Files
{Show last edited files in options menu}
[_]Autosaving
{Automatically save currently editing file when window is closed}
[x]Alternative File Paths
{Allow assigning alternative addresses for files if no file
system permissions granted.}
Encoding = (o)UTF-8
(many other encoding options existed)
Line Delimiters = (o)default
(UNIX/Windows/Mac line-ending options existed)

SAVE TO TXT:
a. The only option I changed was I turned autosaving on.
b. Then I used a file manager to look for the file it had saved.
c. One of the options to edit it was the "Simple Text Editor"
by Maxim Starkov.
d. That worked.

OPEN WITH SHORTCUT:
a. Then I used the SimpleMobileTools FileManager to create a desktop
shortcut to the newfile.txt file.
b. When I tapped that desktop shortcut from the homescreen, a dialog
came up asking me which program I wanted to use to edit the text file.
c. One of the options to edit it was the "Simple Text Editor" by
Maxim Starkov.
d. That worked.

RANDOM TXT FILE:
a. Then I used the MiX FileManager to create a foo.txt text file
on the external sd card in the 0001 folder, and in the txt subfolder.
b. In MiX FileManager I tapped on that foo.txt file and up came an
"Open with" selection which included the newly added
"Simple Text Editor" by Maxim Starkov.
c. That worked.

TEXT FILE COPIED FROM WINDOWS:
a. Then I copied a text file named snafu.txt from Windows
over to the external sdcard 0001/txt foder.
b. Using the Android FileManager I tapped on that snafu.txt file.
c. It asked how I wanted to treat that file (I selected "text").
d. Up came an "Open with" selection which did NOT contain
the option for the "Simple Text Editor" by Maxim Starkov.
e. Instead I selected the MK File Manager text editor (mathewkor)
f. That worked (but it failed to open in the right editor).
g. But when I used the "My Files" filemanager, it worked!

EXISTING TEXT FILE
a. But when I tapped on an existing text file that was created previously,
the "Simple Text Editor" by Maxim Starkov went through all the motions
as above, but it would not write the file for some reason.
b. The error is "Cannot write file"
c. In conclusion, it worked almost perfectly.
d. When I tapped on the file in almost every file editor, an
"Open with set of options came up, almost all of which contained
the "Simple Text Editor" by Maxim Starkov.
e. When I created a homescreen shortcut to the text file, an
"Open With" set of options came up containing the
"Simple Text Editor" by Maxim Starkov.
f. When I copied a text file from Windows, the action was the same
as the above, which is a good thing.

The bad news...
... Two things failed:
1. When I tap on the text file in some file managers,
the Simple Text Editor by Maxim Starkov does NOT show up.
2. When I tap on old text files, even when the Simple Text Editor
by Maxim Starkov does show up, it sometimes can NOT write the file.

Dunno why.
I think what I'll do is copy all the existing files that can't
be overwritten for some reason, and then try to start fresh.

If you know of a better FOSS text editor which can access and store the
text file anywhere on the file system that you have permission, and which
can show up in the "Open as" dialog, please let me
know.
--
Posted out of the goodness of my heart to disseminate useful information
which, in this case, is to work with the team to find a better text editor.

Andy Burnelli <spam@nospam.com> writes:
> ALL of them store the text file ONLY in their own
>proprietary location

|To give users more control over their files and to limit
|file clutter, apps that target Android 10 (API level 29)
|and higher are given scoped access into external storage,
|or "scoped storage", by default. Such apps have access only
|to the app-specific directory on external storage, as well
|as specific types of media that the app has created.
Google

|The majority of apps that require shared storage access
|can follow the best practices for sharing media files and
|sharing non-media files. However, some apps have a core use
|case that requires broad access of files on a device, but
|cannot do so efficiently using the privacy-friendly storage
|best practices. Android provides a special app access
|called "All files" access for these situations.
Google

Your app needs to support this "All files" access mode, though.

BTW: I sometimes automatically detect spam by the unusual
length of its subject lines. This works best when legit
Usenet users keep their subject lines short. E.g.,

|full-filesystem text editor

.

Andy Burnelli <spam@nospam.com> wrote:
[snip rant about text editors]

My solution to all this is to install termux on my phone, then I have
a Linux command line available and a repository with all the usual
(and less usual) *nix text editors available to be installed. It even
has my favourite vi lookalike - vile.

Termux provides a link to the Android 'user' files so you have
available:-

u0_a166@bison$ ls -l /storage/emulated/0
total 112
drwxrwx--- 2 root everybody 4096 May 15 2021 Alarms
drwxrwx--- 5 root everybody 4096 Jun 16 2021 Android
drwxrwx--- 2 root everybody 4096 May 15 2021 Audiobooks
drwxrwx--- 3 root everybody 4096 Aug 6 2021 Aurora
drwxrwx--- 3 root everybody 4096 Jul 21 2021 DCIM
drwxrwx--- 2 root everybody 4096 May 15 2021 Documents
drwxrwx--- 2 root everybody 4096 Nov 8 20:14 Download
drwxrwx--- 3 root everybody 4096 Dec 9 17:06 Movies
drwxrwx--- 3 root everybody 4096 May 15 2021 Music
drwxrwx--- 2 root everybody 4096 May 15 2021 Notifications
drwxrwx--- 4 root everybody 4096 Dec 9 17:06 Pictures
drwxrwx--- 2 root everybody 4096 May 15 2021 Podcasts
drwxrwx--- 2 root everybody 4096 May 15 2021 Ringtones
drwxrwx--- 3 root everybody 4096 Nov 6 15:48 share
u0_a166@bison$

--
Chris Green
·

On 14/12/2022 08.33, Stefan Ram wrote:
> Andy Burnelli <spam@nospam.com> writes:

....

> BTW: I sometimes automatically detect spam by the unusual
> length of its subject lines. This works best when legit
> Usenet users keep their subject lines short. E.g.,
>
> |full-filesystem text editor

+1

--
Cheers,
Carlos E.R.

Chris Green wrote:

> My solution to all this is to install termux on my phone, then I have
> a Linux command line available and a repository with all the usual
> (and less usual) *nix text editors available to be installed. It even
> has my favourite vi lookalike - vile.

Hi Chris,

The only text editor I ever need, is "vi" (and I'm sure you know why).

Thanks for that suggestion of termux which is basically linux on Android.
I came from the IBM world in the sixties & seventies, and then DEC/VAX in
the seventies and eighties and then Masscomp/SunOS/Solaris in the eighties
and nineties and then Redhad/Centos/Ubuntu before settling on Windows
around the Win95/2K/XP days so I _still_ use gVim on all my keyboard PCs.
<https://www.vim.org/download.php>

As you're likely aware, the finger memory is what makes vi so powerful.

When I first moved from the Kyocera & iPhone to Android, I added vi to
Android, but it failed my basic usability test given the "escape" key
itself was a few button presses alone...

At the time I joked to friends that if you can't use an app while driving,
then it's not simple enough to use - and vi - while my finger memory is
still there - is just too many (errant) button presses to do simple things
on a phone.

Still, I do very much agree termux is good, especially if I were to write a
batch script to create a ton of text files in my external sdcard.

BTW, a hint I've learned to avoid inevitable Android pollution when
organizing text files is that on the external sdcard you create a folder
which NOBODY ever uses but which you can recognize instantly as yours, and
which identifies which sdcard (0000 for the internal sdcard, and 0001 for
the external sdcard).

Then the rule is EVERYTHING (and I mean _everything_!) you create goes
*ONLY* in that folder, so the hierarchy below 0001 is something like:
mkdir -p /storage/0000-0001/0001/{apk,doc,audio,pdf,passwd,etc. & txt}

Interestingly, many programs which "claim" to put files on your sdcard
still force you to use _their_ organizational system, which would be fine
if all apps used the same organizational structure - but they never do.

So there's a /storage/0000-0001/0001/DCIM, for example, that the Samsung
camera app creates and there's /storage/0000-0001/0001/Download that some
other app creates, and /storage/0000-0001/0001/Android for others, etc.

In the end, some of the data you care about is splashed all over the sdcard
seemingly willy nilly, but at least ALL the files you created yourself will
be where _you_ want them to be, which, for me, for plain text files, is...
/storage/0000-0001/0001/txt/{organizational tree below this}

Note: Another neat organizational trick to make sure you know EXACTLY which
sdcard you may be using is you format on Windows where you can give it a
name, e.g., my 64GB sdcard is formatted as 0000-0001, my newer 128GB sdcard
is 0000-0002, etc. where if you don't give it a name, they each get a
random name (e.g., 4816-2739) so you don't lose anything by renaming the
sdcard to something identifiable and more easily remembered.

HINT: I use the same structure on all my Android devices so if I pop out
the sdcard and put it in another Android, often apps keep working on the
new Android using the data from the old Android sdcard. Same organizational
structure is on Windows (and Linux) so it carries over to all computers
(except, of course, the iOS platform, which is another beast altogether).
--
Posted out of the goodness of my heart to disseminate useful information
which, in this case, is to respond to Chris' helpful Termux suggestion.

Stefan Ram wrote:

> Your app needs to support this "All files" access mode, though.

Hi Stefan,

Thank you for the suggestion that the text editor must support something
called "all files" mode, which I will google to see if I can find a
foolproof way to tell, ahead of time, if a program supports that mode.
<https://developer.android.com/about/versions/11/privacy/storage#all-files-access>

I first looked in my FOSS app manager to see if I could find that mode.
<https://github.com/MuntashirAkon/AppManager>

This is some of the detailed information for MaxiStar Simple Text Editor.
<https://i.postimg.cc/KzbPK6vB/text07.jpg> Simple Text Editor Permissions
Data Directory: /data/user/0/com.maxistar.textpad
Device-protected: /data/user_de/0/com.maxistar.textpad
Flags: FLAG_HARDWARE_ACCELERATED
Editor: soft input mode, no permission required
Search suggestions: path permissions null, patterns allowed null
android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE = dangerous, granted
android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE = dangerous, granted

By way of comparison, the WriterP program <co.easy4u.writer> shows this:
<https://i.postimg.cc/50mw8s6G/text08.jpg> WriterP Permissions
Data Directory: /data/user/0/co.easy4u.writer
Device-protected: /data/user_de/0/co.easy4u.writer
Flags: FLAG_HARDWARE_ACCELERATED
Editor: soft input mode, no permission required
Search suggestions: path permissions null, patterns allowed null
android.permission.ACCESS_MEDIA_LOCATION = dangerous, granted
android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE = normal,instant,granted
android.permission.ACCESS_WIFI_STATE = normal,instant,granted
android.permission.INTERNET = normal,instant,granted
android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE = dangerous, granted
android.permission.READ_PHONE_STATE = dangerous, granted
android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE = dangerous, granted
android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE = dangerous, granted
com.android.vending.BILLING = normal,instant,granted

While it's clear which tool has too many permissions, is the
"all files" permission shown in the above screenshots?

It's hard to tell what exactly to look for from the definition:
<https://developer.android.com/training/data-storage/manage-all-files>
But I think the fact both writers above have this permission is maybe it?
android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE = dangerous, granted

In summary, thank you for explaining that "all files" permission for
storage is needed, where the only thing I need to figure out is how to tell
if that "all files" permission has been granted to any given app.
<https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/10467955>
"Google Play restricts the use of high risk or sensitive permissions,
including a special app access called All files access.
This is only applicable to apps that target Android 11 (API level 30)
and declare the MANAGE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission,
which is added in Android 11. Also, this policy does not impact
the usage of the READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission."
--
PS: The long keyword-rich title is so that the value of this thread will be
useful to others long into the future in Usenet archive searches.
<http://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android>
<http://tinyurl.com/comp-mobile-android>

On 2022-12-14 07:29, Andy Burnelli wrote:
> Chris Green wrote:
>
>> My solution to all this is to install termux on my phone, then I have
>> a Linux command line available and a repository with all the usual
>> (and less usual) *nix text editors available to be installed. It even
>> has my favourite vi lookalike - vile.
>
> Hi Chris,
> The only text editor I ever need, is "vi" (and I'm sure you know why).

You're a complete idiot?

Carlos E. R. wrote:

>> BTW: I sometimes automatically detect spam by the unusual
>> length of its subject lines. This works best when legit
>> Usenet users keep their subject lines short. E.g.,
>>
> +1

For the permanent Usenet record...

1. I added tremendous positive unique on-topic value to this thread.
2. Ask yourself what added value Carlos supplied. (Hint: Negative value).

A lot of people "automatically detect" a criminal merely by one trait, such
as the color of their black skin, while still a lot of people
"automatically detect" a scam artist by their jewish religion, while still
many others "automatically detect" a bank robber by their use of a face
mask in public, etc.

It's a typical tendency of all racists to "automatically detect" whatever
they want to automatically detect, merely by a person using a trait of the
group they are attempting to automatically detect.

As an example, in the days before spam protection, I used to write procmail
filters which "automatically detected" spam, and, well, those filters were
complex indeed.

The problem most people who "automatically detect" spam by something as
trivial as a "long title" or by something as trivial as the headers, is
that, like all racists, they will be dead wrong more often than they are
correct.

While Carlos needs no introduction of my vast contribution to the tribal
knowledge of this newsgroup (which likely surpasses all others, combined),
Stefan Ram did kindly try to inform me of one of his attributes he looks at
to "automatically" determine spam.

For the benefit of Stefan Ram, I write hundreds of tutorials every year and
post them for the benefit of forum and Usenet readers, such as this today:
<https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/how-hard-can-it-be-to-find-a-simple-text-editor-that-edits-any-text-file-stored-anywhere-you-want-it-to-be-stored-on-your-internal-or-external-sdcard.4529815/>

I've been on Usenet (and web forums) for decades & I deplore the "Help"
meaningless titles where I ensure my content always is given well thought
out keyword-rich titles which explain the question in a single line,
and which, therefore, can be searched using appropriate tags by the engines
such that the content will help others in permanent Android record.
<http://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android>
<http://tinyurl.com/comp-mobile-android>

To be blunt, by way of stark contrast, Carlos has never contributed even a
single tutorial in his entire life to any Usenet newsgroup, in the entire
history of Usenet, in fact, such that this single thread contains more
added value than Carlos has added, and, worse, than Carlos is capable of
adding, which is why Carlos hates me - because he hates himself in that
Carlos is incapable of providing any value to any Usenet thread in history.

I'm sorry to be blunt about you, Carlos... but, unfortunately, it's true.
--
Posted out of the goodness of my heart to disseminate useful information
which, in this case, is to explain to Stefan Ram why the long keyword rich
descriptive titles are useful to for future Intenet searches decades ahead.

Andy Burnelli <spam@nospam.com> writes:
>While it's clear which tool has too many permissions, is the
>"all files" permission shown in the above screenshots?

Relevant options might end with "_EXTERNAL_STORAGE", but
"WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" does not exist from Android 11 on
and "READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" does not exist anymore from
Android 13 on, according to the Web. From Android 13 on,
there is "READ_MEDIA_IMAGES", "READ_MEDIA_VIDEO", and
"READ_MEDIA_AUDIO".

I'm not sure whether Android 13 is more or less restrictive.
Some say the reason that these "_EXTERNAL_STORAGE"
permissions disappear is that one does not need them
anymore. This is confusing because the rules change from
version to version and nobody knows what future versions
will bring ...

Stefan Ram wrote:

> Andy Burnelli <spam@nospam.com> writes:
>>While it's clear which tool has too many permissions, is the
>>"all files" permission shown in the above screenshots?
>
> Relevant options might end with "_EXTERNAL_STORAGE", but
> "WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" does not exist from Android 11 on
> and "READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" does not exist anymore from
> Android 13 on, according to the Web. From Android 13 on,
> there is "READ_MEDIA_IMAGES", "READ_MEDIA_VIDEO", and
> "READ_MEDIA_AUDIO".
>
> I'm not sure whether Android 13 is more or less restrictive.
> Some say the reason that these "_EXTERNAL_STORAGE"
> permissions disappear is that one does not need them
> anymore. This is confusing because the rules change from
> version to version and nobody knows what future versions
> will bring ..

Oh my. Thanks for that information, which, as you can tell, is confusing.

What I may do is add a thread to the XDA-Developers' forums asking for
someone to help us, together, clarify the simple question:
Q: How can we tell if a text editor has "all files" permission?

The reason it matters is _many_ programs store their data files in
proprietary locations and only in those proprietary locations...

But with text files... for the entirety of the existence of computers...
we've been storing text files wherever we want to store them, and then
we've been editing them with whatever editor we want to edit them with.

Years ago I opened that exact question of what the "magic" is of how an app
(such as a text editor or the Aurora Droid app) shows up in the "Open with"
list, but it was unanswered...
*How to add Aurora Droid to the Android 11 "Open With" menu option list?*
<https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/how-to-add-aurora-droid-to-the-android-11-open-with-menu-option-list.4369543/>

Unfortunately, many XDA-Developers threads tend to be unanswered (given
it's mostly a rooting forum and not so much an Android help forum, AFAICT).

But, still, I strive to write tutorials to help others do what I can do.
*Threads started by me on the XDA-Developers Android forum site*
<https://forum.xda-developers.com/find-threads/started>

What I'll do is ask over there how to definitively tell, in Android 12
anyway, if an app has write permission anywhere the user can write to.

Thanks for your help & kind advice.

Andy Burnelli wrote:

> But, still, I strive to write tutorials to help others do what I can do.
> *Threads started by me on the XDA-Developers Android forum site*
> <https://forum.xda-developers.com/find-threads/started>

Oops. I always strive to do the work to create links _everyone_ can benefit
from (along with always putting searchable keywords in the titles)...

But I belatedly realized that link will only work for me, so probably best
to list this link to show the threads I've opened which add on-topic value.
<https://forum.xda-developers.com/search/53399199/>

For privacy, with each phone I create a new nym, so that the search of me
will get only hits for that one particular phone, which is the Galaxy A32.

A different attack: I will only thumb-type under extreme duress and if
I want to put a text file on my phone I write it on my computer.

Using ES File Manager (explorer) I have previously established
'shortcuts' on my phone for the /dcim/camera subdirectory and a
subdirectory (/HOLD)on my computer to enable transferring photos from my
phone to my computer via ftp. It takes only seconds when you get used
to the routine. Accordingly, I copy the computer-written file to /HOLD
and thence to /camera, from which I can move it anywhere I like.

I know that ESFM is a tool of the Chinese government and will suck my
brain dry sooner or later, but I am NOTHING if not lazy. I started out
with it when I got my first smartphone. I've tried different file
managers, but ESFM does more stuff better. I'm sure that similar tasks
can be accomplished with other FMs, I'm just not motivated to put in the
effort.

--
Cheers, Bev
"Do not try to solve all life's problems at once -- learn to
dread each day as it comes." -- Donald Kaul

The Real Bev wrote:

> A different attack: I will only thumb-type under extreme duress and if
> I want to put a text file on my phone I write it on my computer.

Hi TheRealBev,

It's always a pleasure discussing things of import with you as you bring
along an open minded view that is different than is mine, & that's great.

The problem comes when you want to edit/view a "shopping list" (or some
other type of "todo" list, or "price comparison" list or whatever list)
on multiple devices, multiple platforms, maybe even multiple people.

For that, "plain text" is, IMHO, a wonderfully cross-platform solution.

The "problem" I was having was that most of the shopping list apps,
todolist apps, price-comparison apps, etc., stored in a proprietary
location (often using a proprietary file format), which is a no no to me.

> Using ES File Manager (explorer) I have previously established
> 'shortcuts' on my phone for the /dcim/camera subdirectory and a
> subdirectory (/HOLD)on my computer to enable transferring photos from my
> phone to my computer via ftp.

Yes. Shortcuts are great because you can keep a folder of shortcuts which
can each, if you want, point to a different file in a different location -
but the folder of shortcuts keeps it all together.

As I snap pictures of prices when I'm shopping at Costco versus the grocery
store (so that I can check if any given price is a good one at any given
time), I put those photos in specific folders which are accessed by
shortcuts just like you do (e.g., costco folder, safeway folder, etc.).

In your case, I'd worry a bit about that "ES File Manager" app (which you
seem to be well advised about already) but most file managers allow you to
create shortcuts so what you do can be done with most file managers (IMHO).

> It takes only seconds when you get used
> to the routine. Accordingly, I copy the computer-written file to /HOLD
> and thence to /camera, from which I can move it anywhere I like.

Yup. I copy files back and forth over Wi-Fi (using a WebDAV server on
Android) all the time between the desktop and the cellular devices.

It would be nice to be able to figure out how to copy Android desktop
shortcuts from one Android to another via the Windows file manager though.

> I know that ESFM is a tool of the Chinese government and will suck my
> brain dry sooner or later, but I am NOTHING if not lazy.

Ah. So you know about this. Kudos to you for being well informed, and, even
more kudos to you for not being afraid to use a chainsaw, so to speak.

I use the example of a chainsaw because I've heard many people claim that
everything is so dangerous that they strongly advise against using tools,
but it's like them advising we use a butterknife to chop down a tree.

The Apple folks seem to be especially afraid of their own shadows, BTW.

> I started out
> with it when I got my first smartphone.

Yup. In the beginning, we all had ES File Manager on our phones.
Me too. But I ditched it. Luckily there are plenty which work great.

> I've tried different file
> managers, but ESFM does more stuff better. I'm sure that similar tasks
> can be accomplished with other FMs, I'm just not motivated to put in the
> effort.

You seem so well informed that I can't even teach you anything as you are
making proper risk assessments, and you're choosing tools for
functionality.

Me? I have a half dozen file managers because each does something different
that the others don't do, where some are just simple, others show root file
systems, others give the full filespec, while others hide it, some have
really nice menus for copying, and moving while others have the ability to
make shortcuts (as you had already noted), etc.

Since I'm always all about helping others, I'll go to the trouble to list
below the file managers that I find useful, so as to save others' time.

Here are mine, in the order I use them (since I organize my home screen
folders with the best apps or those I use most first in the display list).

MiXplorer <com.mixplorer> <== mine is free but I guess it's not free now
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mixplorer.silver>

File Manager <com.simplemobiletools.filemanager.pro> <== free on F-Droid
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.simplemobiletools.filemanager>

File manager <pl.mkexplorer.kormateusz>
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=pl.mkexplorer.kormateusz>

FX <nextapp.fx>
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nextapp.fx>

My Files <com.sec.android.app.myfiles> <== Samsung came with phone
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sec.android.app.myfiles>

Files <com.google.android.documentsui> <== some kind of shortcut
Files <org.aospstudio.files> <== some kind of shortcut
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.aospstudio.files>

Amaze <com.amaze.filemanager>
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.amaze.filemanager>

There, I spent the time to look each one up, and that's when I noticed two
of the shortcuts aren't really apps at all. They're something 'special'.

Anyone know what they are and where they came from?
They seem to be native on my Android phone so maybe it's a Samsung thing?

BTW, given many have the same name and similar yellow folder icon, I love
that Android allows me to change icons and/or names of the shortcuts so I
can more easily distinguish between the two (which is something so simple
that it's amazing the primitive iOS launcher still can't do even that).

Unfortunately, I use iOS and Android every day interchangeably, where it's
simply amazing how primitive iOS is, particularly in text file management.
--
Posted out of the goodness of my heart to disseminate useful information
which, in this case, is to converse adult to adult with the Real Bev.