# [APP][WIP][2.2+]Holo File Explorer (Update 4-11-2012)



## bkensey

Mod Type:: Application

Difficulty:: Very Easy

Mod Base:: Other

Mod Status:: Beta

Apply In:: Other (See Description)

Carrier:: N/A

Requires Root:: No

Source:: 
Source::
*Now on Google+ !*
https://plus.google....615763333814534

*XDA Thead:* http://forum.xda-dev...d.php?t=1587276

*Update 5-27-2012*
This update replaces the text based view pager indicator with a sliding bar that looks just like the stock launcher's indicator. I'm still not satisfied with the contrast between the bar and the surrounding elements, because it isn't easy to see at this point. I'll keep tinkering with it, and would welcome suggestions. In addition, I have figured out how to allow viewing of read protected directories like /data/. My implementation isn't perfect, which leads me to my next point. I have come to realize that there are some fundamental shortcomings to a few of the apps underpinnings, and I need to find a way to fix them. I have yet to figure out how to make the root process persist so that root functionality doesn't throw up a toast every time it does something, and I seriously need to clean my code.

Therefore, my plan is thus: I'm going to take a crack at helping the dev of OpenExplorer figure out how to enable full root functionality. His code is the only resource I have been able to glean much useful info from, and his own implementation is still half-baked. (seriously, why are there no robust root related resources out there?) Then, (tentatively) I'm going to fork his repo and replace the look and feel of his app with that of Holo File Explorer, while retaining what appears to be a vastly superior back end. The downside to this is that we're looking at something of a rabbit hole, so you guys may not hear from me for a bit. The upside is that forking OpenExplorer will provide a less buggy experience, plus lots of extras like network folder, dropbox and box.net access.

I'm also hopeful that at the end of this process, I'll have my own code hosted on GitHub and ready for collaboration. If I can get interested parties to help with development, It'll speed up the rate of releases. Because to be honest, my rate of release hasn't exactly been timely of late, and you guys deserve better than that. This is the best answer I can come up with to solve the problem. What does everyone think?

New Readers: I've been working on a new file explorer app for phones since the beginning of the year, and I would like to present what I have accomplished so far in order to get some feedback. The reason why I decided to make this app is that most (if not all) of the file explorers out there have clunky user interfaces or lackluster feature sets. I recently purchased a Galaxy Nexus and decided that I needed a file browser to match the aesthetic appeal of the rest of the system. After hours of searching through several dozen of the market's best browsers, the only one with any degree of stock visual polish was inKa file browser. Unfortunately, the app was pretty basic. No root features at all. This prompted me to build my own file browser (although it is still far from complete).













































*What the app has thus far:*
1) Swipable pages. There are 4 swipable views that can be navigated independantly (just like you would on a desktop computer with 2+ explorer windows open.

2) Files can be cut, copied and then pasted within or across the swipable pages. (long press anywhere on an item or check the boxes in order to bring up the "contextual action mode" (screenshot 3)

3) The drop down at the top of the page displays the folder hierarchy for the currently selected folder view.

4) The start of a file details screen (Screenshot 5). There are a lot of functions that people can perform on files (MD5 checking roms is a big one in my mind) and I just don't like the idea of relegating those functions to dialog boxes or menus. I know that this kind of view isn't something that any of the other file explorers have, but I think there is value in departing from that convention. Note: MD5 and permissions aren't implemented yet. Soon though.

5) MD5 summer and checker is now working! I tested it on a 100+mb rom and it ran pretty quickly (5 or 6 seconds) on my Galaxy Nexus, so Rom Flashers might enjoy using this one. I don't have the UI polished to my satisfaction yet, but the functionality is there.

6) Sharing files is now enabled. The updated ShareActionProvider for 4.0+ will be coming at some point.

7) Opening/installing files/apks! Bugs aside, the app now handles almost all of the usual file explorer functions.

8) Themes! Switch them under general settings, and then exit if switching between dark and light or darkactionbar to get the text colors to reload properly. Working on fixing this.

*What isn't done yet:*

1) Root actions. This is a biggie, as I want this app to satisfy both power users and casual users at the same time. Feel free to comment on your most desired root functions.

2) File summary views. This would open if you clicked on a file, and would present a summary of the meta information. This view would also provide functions like md5 comparison, opening in external apps, permission setting, etc...

3) Themes. As you can see, the app is currently built on Holo Light (one of the ICS stock system themes). I plan on adding an option for Holo (dark) and maybe more. Depends on the demand.

4) A robust data summary view, including something similar to what you find in the DiskUsage app in the market, as well as some other metrics. Maybe even an miui-like file type size summary.

5) I'm considering a view (linked to from a button in the top right corner of the app) that displays currently running and finished file operations. I think this might be better than throwing up a dialog box for big file copy/paste tasks and having it keep the user from doing anything until the operation is done.

6) Bookmarks

7) Search. Not sure if this will be a basic file search or a grander attempt at indexing and speed.

8) A text editor.

9) Other basic things like an actual settings page, polished action mode icons, image previews and apk icons, an actual app icon, proper folder and file icons (the one's in place now look terrible and are improperly sized, but I'd rather focus on other things first), and general UI polish.

10) Image previews And there you are. Please provide any and all feedback/criticism/praise/trolling that you can. I'd really like to build this into something that works for everyone. Thanks!

*UPDATE - 2/9/2012:*
Jake Wharton just released beta 6 of Action Bar Sherlock last night, so I'll hopefully have a backwards compatible version of the app out soon (maybe within the next day or so? Depends on how many things are broken in Gingerbread and beyond.) Done as of "alpha 2". I have an old Droid X, so I just need to do some flashing to test both Froyo and Gingerbread. I've also made incremental progress in a lot of areas. A basic settings screen is in place, "new folder" and "refresh" action buttons have been implemented, and I have the start of the file properties screen together. Things are moving along quickly!

*UPDATE - 2/14/2012*
New stuff:
*A placeholder settings menu now appears when users click settings
*See screenshot 5 for a look at the file info screen. Currently accessed by clicking on a file. Not sure if this is how things will stay, since this is a departure from the ususal "click to open in another app" behavior.
*Gingerbread compatibility! May be a few bugs here and there, but I have the thing running on my old Droid X with CM7. Theme is a little rough for GB devices, so I have some work to do there.
*Buttons more clearly indicate whether they have been implemented.

*UPDATE - 2/15/2012*
New stuff:
*A whole bunch of bug fixes dealing with copy, cut and paste. Things are still a little broken, but way better than they were before. Remaining issues deal with the UI not properly reflecting paste status - nothing sinister.
*Blue dividers between each page of the viewPager
*Sharing files now works! Select 1 or more files and send them via 3rd party app.
*Files can now be opened in 3rd party apps from the file view screen *Files can be MD5 summed and compared in the file view screen
*I did some checking and things seem to work in Froyo too
*Tinkered with the file icon logic a little bit, and in addition to some less obvious things I got apk icons working. *Based on some of the name suggestions, I renamed the app to "File Swipe." Name still isn't final, but someone mentioned that "Swipe" was a bit confusing. I'm listening to your name suggestions, so please keep em' coming.
*Polished up the action bar icons a tad bit (Search used to be a little too fuzzy, Data summary was too small, add didn't reflect that it was for adding folders, and bookmarks was too dark.)

*UPDATE - 2/27/2012*
New stuff:
*Themes! In addition to the original ICS Holo Light theme, we now have a dark and light-with-dark-actionbar theme. (You need to exit the app using the new exit button in order to get the themes to switch properly. Working on fixing this.) *CAVEAT:* _There is currently a bug in ActionBarSherlock which prevents the loading of action bar icons when they are referenced via theme. Therefore, for now we are stuck with text instead of icons on the action bar. According to Jake Wharton's github bug tracker, we are about 9 days away from another Release Candidate, and the bug should be fixed then. Until then, don't freak out! __(fixed now)_
*A lot of internal refactoring and housecleaning. Not that interesting to you guys, but it had to be done in order to make themes work.
*App now handles reopening and orientation changes without crapping out (used to stop updating the navigation dropdown and would sometimes force close on actions). Learned some interesting things about viewpagers (the swipey pages as found in the market) in the last few days, so I'm hoping to be able to share that info with other coders out there in some fashion.
*The beginnings of a settings page (whoooo!)
*Settings includes the theme switcher and a popup to update the default directory. Haven't gotten it to verify directory input yet, so don't go too crazy.
*A new exit button. As mentioned earlier, you need to exit in order to get the themes to load properly. May disappear later. Not sure.

*UPDATE - 3/5/2012*
New stuff:
*Nothing show-stopping. Just little tweaks and fixes here and there
*After talking with some of you guys, tapping on a file now opens the file instead of a details screen. Details are now reached via the menu. The option will only present itself when a single file item is selected. Keep up the feedback (because I listen)!
*Tweaked some of the colors a little to provide contrast between file names and file details.
*Pulled in the latest code base from Jake Wharton's ActionBarSherlock. Therein lies the real bounty of changes. (This guy is a beast)
*Pre-3.0 users now get a proper ICS navigation dropdown, instead of that bloody spinner list.
*Icons are back, so things are looking normal again.

*UPDATE - 3/28/2012*
Holy bugger this has been a crazy month. Since the last update, I moved from PA to NC and started a new job. It's been a while but thanks for your patience.
New stuff:
*I'm back! (whoooooooo!)
*A hopefully bug-free scroll position/history stack. Essentially this means that instead of taking you up a level, the back button returns you to the previous folder you were at (each scroll pane gets its own history too), and it also remembers your scroll position when you go back. It's a small touch, but it really makes the whole thing more natural.
*Moved the pagertitlestrip from the bottom to the top and changed the styling a bit (as inspired by today's google maps/navigation update today). You'll all have to let me know if you like the change. Haven't figured out how to shrink the text size on it either, so those caps should be less obnoxiously large sometime soon. I'll try and make sure you don't have to wait another month before the next update







Maybe sometime this weekend. Depends on how ambitious I am.

*UPDATE - 4/7/2012*
Quick update today. I added in a new sort button to allow for alphabetical and last modified sorting, along with a 'reverse sort' that toggles between ASC and DESC sort. Enjoy!

*Update 4-11-2012*
The most obvious change for today is the the theme. I've switched the default over to the app's "Identity" theme. The new goods are pictured in the updated screenshots. I've also fixed the app so that it displays the navigation dropdown at load time, and I figured out the bug that was making everyone's root file location only display one folder. There are probably some other small visual tweaks, but nothing that important.

Download *"Alpha 9"* apk here: http://goo.gl/olMcn


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## chayes627

Liking the looks of this. Will be following closely

Sent from my XT862 using Tapatalk


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## 7h3.4pp12en7ic3

Looks promising!


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## bkensey

Updated original post with some new info. Also, how do people feel about the name "Swipe File Explorer"? If you don't like it,
feel free to add your own suggestion.


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## Wingnut

WootWoot!!! Finally! Thanks for this perfect file manager


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## Wingnut

Ok. After i played a little bit

- Settings dont work, i can tap on it but nothing happens
- the actionbar is little bit unsharp
- The buttons: New, Storage summary, search an Bookmarks dont work

Also i think the name "swipe" is not good. Only "Explorer" or so would be better


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## b16

Can you invert it?


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## bkensey

Wingnut: I'll post an update here soon that will have a working "add folder" button. The action bar icons are a little unsharp, I agree. One of the things I need to fix. Storage summary and bookmarks haven't been implemented yet.

b16: Not yet, but definitely soon. Its in the cards. At this point in the game, I wanted to focus on ironing out the basic functionality, and I went with the the ICS Holo Light theme because there were more pre-made action bar icons out there (mostly because the ICS email and calendar apps also use Holo Light). I'm getting pretty close to the point where I'm ready to add the Holo (dark) theme to the mix. I know that it blends a lot better with Gingerbread devices and is easier on AMOLED display batteries too. Other than that, any suggestions?


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## jellybellys

Great look! How's the look on a tablet? I'm stuck with astro on my tablet, and I hate it. It looks like froyo rearose from somewhere.


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## bkensey

JellyBellys: No tablet support at the moment. Thats gonna be a whole other rodeo, although my use of fragments will quicken that endeavor. I plan on having a huge discussion with everyone about the ideal tablet layout. For phones, it seemed obvious to me: multiple swipable "windows" with a bar above and below. On tablets though? I really want the user to be able to have the same benefit of performing actions between "windows"/panes/sections of the screen, and to also be able to see detailed information on individual selected files. I'm tentatively leaning towards the "commander" two pane browser style, but I need to do some wireframes and get some feedback. I have done a lot of research on the existing market apps, and none of them seemed optimized for the kind of usage I think tablets are capapble of. It seems like they all limit the user to looking at a single point in their folder heirarchy at any given moment. Rest assured I am pondering the issue.


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## chayes627

Testing it out on my droid 3. Everything looks very good. One thing I found when you select a file and hit the button with the scissors which I'm assuming its cut it copies the file. Still playing with it and love whats going on with it so far.

Edit: just thought of a couple name suggestions: window explorer or multi explorer. Really just trying to spark something here LOL

Sent from my XT862 using Tapatalk


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## bkensey

Update available.


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## Wingnut

bkensey said:


> Update available.


Perfect! Thanks 
Send from my Galaxy Nexus using the RootzWiki App


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## Shelby04861

Very nice app. Can't wait to see what the final product looks like. Once it is all done and fully functional this is going to rock with a dark theme added to it. Thanks and keep up the great work!

Powered by recycled iPhones!


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## bkensey

Shelby04861 said:


> Testing it out on my droid 3. Everything looks very good. One thing I found when you select a file and hit the button with the scissors which I'm assuming its cut it copies the file. Still playing with it and love whats going on with it so far.
> 
> Edit: just thought of a couple name suggestions: window explorer or multi explorer. Really just trying to spark something here LOL
> 
> Sent from my XT862 using Tapatalk


You're right. Currently ironing this out. Also discovered about 4 other things that I needed to fix with the cut/copy/paste implementation. Its getting difficult to decide how multiple pages should be interacting with the action mode. Mostly because action modes are designed to work with a single list, and to appear only when items are selected. The whole paste action presumes that at some point nothing will be selected, and I'm working to make pasting work across page swipes. Good times.

Not sure about window or multi explorer, but it gets me thinking. I'd like for the name to communicate some unique and desirable characteristic that sets it apart from the others, but nothing has clicked yet. Explorer, at least, seems to be a good base for the full name.

Or maybe I should go with something off the wall like "Multiplicity" ? Not sure if casual browsers would know what the heck the app is with a name like that...


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## Wingnut

How about "Swipe Files"

Send from my Galaxy Nexus using the RootzWiki App


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## PetRiLJoe

Some of you may raise one eyebrow to this... hoe about Swipexplorer? lol yeah I'm just throwing it out there, not many others listing names. I just know if I I hadn't saved the APK in my File Manager folder where I backup different apps I like of that category, I would have confused it with my Swype input method.

I checked it out and love it. I can't wait to test an updated version with more features.

I just hope it stays pretty light weight. I keep some of my favorite apps for specific features, but they are usually backed up and installed when needed. Reason I rarely use Astro is each bug update felt more bloated and slower.

Will be looking for updates!


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## SlashDW

Great app so far. Looking forward to updates. Thanks


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## bkensey

Just posted the last two days of progress. It's getting really close to being a usable file explorer for those that don't do much with file browsers. I have a bit of work to do on the Archive action button, and after that I may start working on fleshing out the settings and throwing together a dark theme. I've got a bit of optimization to look at too. I need to figure out how to implement viewholders on the listviews (if you understand what those are) which will be interesting because my listviews are based on a rather wonky custom implementation that I pulled from the ICS email app. (I would recommend a look at the internals of that app to the developers out there. Has some interesting optimization stuff that I haven't seen elsewhere) Good times!

Changed the file name a little bit too. I flipped Wingnut's suggestion around and am calling it "File Swipe" for now. I'm not too concerned about hammering out a name until we hit beta, but I love hearing the suggestions.


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## SlashDW

Just thought i'd let you know. With the newest build, when you hit menu>settings> and tap on anything in the settings it immediately fc's.


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## bkensey

SlashDW said:


> Just thought i'd let you know. With the newest build, when you hit menu>settings> and tap on anything in the settings it immediately fc's.


What are you on?


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## Wingnut

SlashDW said:


> Just thought i'd let you know. With the newest build, when you hit menu>settings> and tap on anything in the settings it immediately fc's.


For me the same...

I have a galaxy nexus with AOKP Build 23
Send from my Galaxy Nexus using the RootzWiki App


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## SlashDW

Im running CM 9 SelfKang on my G2x. Android 4.0.3


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## chayes627

Used it to find, move, and install two different apps. All went smooth and easy.

Sent from my XT862 using Tapatalk


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## Zack

I also have the problem with force close after trying to access settings...running ics 4.0.3

Sent from my DroidX using Tapatalk


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## jameslfc5

Looks really promising, especially the features that aren't implemented yet










A few more options in the menu would be nice and maybe the option for a ICS gradient background?

Thanks!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


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## bkensey

jameslfc5 said:


> Looks really promising, especially the features that aren't implemented yet
> 
> A few more options in the menu would be nice and maybe the option for a ICS gradient background?
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


I appreciate the praise. Are there any menu items in particular that you think are missing? Home and New File are the only ones that I think are currently missing from the app.

And just to give a heads up on what I'm currently hammering on: themes are close. Working on fleshing out the preferences out a tiny bit in conjunction with the theme hooks. Archiving is also half complete, but I started questioning the best way to implement the archiving experience, so I'm holding off on that for now. Once the dark theme is done, I may solicit some opinions on how to implement archiving.

Edit: In an interesting turn of events, action bar and action mode icons have disappeared after instituting as a result of a bug in ABS 4.0 RC1. Yay. Looks like there won't be any displayed icons for a little bit until that gets patched up. Themes are coming along quickly though.


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## Wingnut

bkensey said:


> I appreciate the praise. Are there any menu items in particular that you think are missing? Home and New File are the only ones that I think are currently missing from the app.
> 
> And just to give a heads up on what I'm currently hammering on: themes are close. Working on fleshing out the preferences out a tiny bit in conjunction with the theme hooks. Archiving is also half complete, but I started questioning the best way to implement the archiving experience, so I'm holding off on that for now. Once the dark theme is done, I may solicit some opinions on how to implement archiving.


Cant wait 

A nicer icon would be cool. A little bit mor glossy like in this guide

http://developer.android.com/guide/practices/ui_guidelines/icon_design_launcher.html


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## bkensey

Wingnut said:


> Cant wait
> 
> A nicer icon would be cool. A little bit mor glossy like in this guide
> 
> http://developer.and...n_launcher.html


I totally agree. I have a couple of sketches so far, but to be honest, I'm not the best with photoshop or illustrator. That's why I grabbed one of the less hideous generic folder icons off of google image search. My hope is that if I can make the app good enough in the alpha/beta stage, I can attract someone to handle the icon and maybe even the filetype icons. I'm hoping for a set of icons that dovetail perfectly with the default ICS icons (which are beautiful). If any of the readers have a good handle on icon design and the aforementioned icon style guidelines, you can drop me a line.


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## Wingnut

Know you the App "Notes for ICS"? This App has a perfect Icon.

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.nononsenseapps.notepad

In the description stands the user "Vovicon" on reddit make this Icon. Maybe can the same guy help.


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## fakiesk8r333

Love this app!!! Im on aokp b25 and the prefrences FC for me too. As soon as this app gets root im uninstalling root explorer. Keep up the awesome work man!!!


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## bkensey

Wingnut said:


> Know you the App "Notes for ICS"? This App has a perfect Icon.
> 
> https://market.andro...nseapps.notepad
> 
> In the description stands the user "Vovicon" on reddit make this Icon. Maybe can the same guy help.


Sent him a message, so we'll see what he says. Thanks for the suggestion.


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## bkensey

Sorry for the long period of silence on updates, but this last one took a bit of learning. As you can see in the original post, themes are now implemented. I would love any and all feedback on the two additional looks. I'm considering adding in a manufacturer based theme or two as well sometime in the near future, but we'll see. Maybe something to match moto's skin or sense. Still haven't heard back from Vovicon yet so I may look elsewhere. Next items on my list are getting the bloody archive/zip action working properly, and getting a fresher set of interim icons. Maybe image previews as well. Still looking for resources on how to implement root actions, but documentation has been scarce.


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## Wingnut

bkensey said:


> Sorry for the long period of silence on updates, but this last one took a bit of learning. As you can see in the original post, themes are now implemented. I would love any and all feedback on the two additional looks. I'm considering adding in a manufacturer based theme or two as well sometime in the near future, but we'll see. Maybe something to match moto's skin or sense. Still haven't heard back from Vovicon yet so I may look elsewhere. Next items on my list are getting the bloody archive/zip action working properly, and getting a fresher set of interim icons. Maybe image previews as well. Still looking for resources on how to implement root actions, but documentation has been scarce.


Good update with the Themes but in the dark Theme is the text also dark...

But i liked the old actionbar more i liked the icons more instead of "Bookmarks" and "Search"


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## bkensey

Wingnut said:


> Good update with the Themes but in the dark Theme is the text also dark...
> 
> But i liked the old actionbar more i liked the icons more instead of "Bookmarks" and "Search"


Right after you do a theme change where the color of the text also needs to change, you need to click "exit" from the menu and then reopen the app. The colors will reload properly. I am using a non-standard way of handling the individual line views, so I still haven't figured out how to trigger a text color refresh when I run the setTheme() function. Working on fixing that though.

I also like the icons better. As I mentioned in the original post, the ActionBarSherlock library currently has a bug that prevents the icons from showing up properly when they are referenced via theme. As soon as the next ABS release candidate comes out the bug should be fixed and I'll immediately push a new version. It's probably a little more than a week out.


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## Vovicon

Wingnut said:


> Know you the App "Notes for ICS"? This App has a perfect Icon.
> 
> https://market.andro...nseapps.notepad
> 
> In the description stands the user "Vovicon" on reddit make this Icon. Maybe can the same guy help.


Hi!

I'm the "Vovicon" who helped the dev of "Notes for ICS" for his icon. Your comment made my day.
I'm now in touch with OP and hopefully I can come up with something everyone will like.

If you guys have suggestions, this would be the right place.


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## bkensey

Just so everyone is updated on what I'm working on, I've decided I need to overhaul the way in which file operations are handled. As things stand, the main UI thread spins off asyncTasks for each file operation. This has created a few headaches regarding concurrent operations (like when you copy and paste large files in quick succession). I'm also faced with the issue of app focus. Currently, if the app loses focus, any in-progress file operations will be terminated. Definitely not what the user would expect or want.

I was talking with Mark Murphy over at Commonsware about this, and as a result of the conversation I have decided that the best way to handle things is to offload file operations to its own service. This service which would continue running even if the user switched out of the app. Here is how I envision it working:

Say you want to copy a large ROM zip from your download folder to some other folder where you keep other such things. (this probably wouldn't take to long. probably around a couple of seconds, but the app should be able to gracefully handle operations of any length). The app will mark the file for copying, and when the user initiates a paste at the desired file location the app will pass things over to the service. The service will do its thing, and an "active operation" indicator will pop up somewhere on the UI. At this point, the user can either continue doing other things within the app until the operation is complete (whereupon a toast message will pop up and say "operation complete!"), or they can click home and back out of the app. When the paste operation completes in the service, it'll send out a broadcast signaling that things are done, which will manifest in a notification. Clicking on the notification will open a file action history queue. This would look similar to what Firefox does for their download manager.

Does anyone have thoughts on this? Like? Dislike? Having looked at the code of a few of the open source file explorers, and at how other apps work, it seems like most (if not all) don't do anything as fancy as a service. Which is probably fine most of the time because file operations are generally pretty quick. Anyways, sound off in the comments. I'd love some feedback on this.


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## chayes627

i like the idea of being able to perform an action and not have to wait till it finishes to do something else


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## marb

File Swipe is really nice. It still lacks few features that are present in other popular browsers or are knwon from desktop. Some other things could be done differently, but it looks promising.



bkensey said:


> Right after you do a theme change where the color of the text also needs to change, you need to click "exit" from the menu and then reopen the app. The colors will reload properly.


If we switch to Black theme, Settings are still light themed. First settings screen has white text on light background. But you probably know about that already, it's quite easy to catch ;]

If we exit from the app via [Back -> Quit the application? -> Yes], it does not close properly and is still running in the background.

I downloaded random apk from the internet, and it proved to be broken/fake. File Swipe FCs each time I navigate to a dir with that apk.



Code:


<br />
D/asset   ( 7359): failed to open Zip archive '/mnt/sdcard/Download/APK/BadApp_1.1.apk'<br />
D/AndroidRuntime( 7359): Shutting down VM<br />
W/dalvikvm( 7359): threadid=1: thread exiting with uncaught exception (group=0x40a4a1f8)<br />
W/PackageParser( 7359): Unable to read AndroidManifest.xml of /mnt/sdcard/Download/APK/BadApp_1.1.apk<br />
W/PackageParser( 7359): java.io.FileNotFoundException: AndroidManifest.xml<br />




bkensey said:


> Still looking for resources on how to implement root actions, but documentation has been scarce.


Check out Stericson's BusyBox and RootTools: https://code.google....62874150493364/



bkensey said:


> A robust data summary view, including something similar to what you find in the DiskUsage app in the market, as well as some other metrics. Maybe even an miui-like file type size summary.


I like how it is presented in Baobab for Linux, but making it work with fingers would be hard.


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## bkensey

marb said:


> I like how it is presented in Baobab for Linux, but making it work with fingers would be hard.


I agree with you that this looks awesome. I'm torn between attempting the circular implementation and a more basic (and likely more touch friendly) square implementation. I like the use of color to separate folders though. Love that and will probably work that into the final product. This will probably be one of the last things that I'll implement, because it isn't a crucial file operation and is probably going to be hugely time intensive.

I'm currently sitting down and tinkering with ordered Broadcasts. This is the first step in the file operations backend rewrite, and so far it's been fun. I'm doing the initial work in a separate test application, so I may post it for everyone to check out when I get the UI to reflect initialization, progress and completion of some fake (timer based) file operations. Here is a question for everyone: I want a visual element in the top right corner of the app (which is why that section of the UI has been vacant until now) which serves as a visual indicator of (and shortcut to) the file operations queue. What kind of icon do you guys think of when you imagine a file operations queue? I'm also not sure if I will do some sort of custom animation centered right on that icon, or whether I'll make use of the built in actionbar progress bar. It'll be the second one in the test app for now.


----------



## marb

bkensey said:


> Is there anything you are looking for outside of what is already complete/promised to be complete?


Features:
File Swipe should remember where I was on file list before I moved to another file/directory. So if I press back, I end up in the same place on the list. Right now it jumps back to first position. This is feature I miss the most right now
global sort order in settings and ability to override it for single directory (from ActionBar). I usually sort files by name, but in some places (i.e. Download, Logs, Movies, Dropbox, etc.) I aways set it to 'by date'. I wasn't searching much, but popular browsers like Astro, Ex, Root Browser don't have this
display Dirs before files
option to hide hidden files/dirs
Design:
when I tap on file I want to launch it. The Details View with md5 and permissions is great and useful for many. But I will use it only from time to time, and majority of people probably won't use it ever. It could be activated from Menu or from ActionBar Menu after selecting file, or by long press
because file name, file size and path text have the same size and color, it's often hard to locate/distinguish the file I'm looking for. Most of the competition makes this additional info smaller and lower text opacity, and it works
There was something more but I don't remember now









If something from this is already written here and I haven't noted - sorry. And of course this is my opinion based on my habits ;]


----------



## bkensey

marb said:


> Features:
> File Swipe should remember where I was on file list before I moved to another file/directory. So if I press back, I end up in the same place on the list. Right now it jumps back to first position. This is feature I miss the most right now
> global sort order in settings and ability to override it for single directory (from ActionBar). I usually sort files by name, but in some places (i.e. Download, Logs, Movies, Dropbox, etc.) I aways set it to 'by date'. I wasn't searching much, but popular browsers like Astro, Ex, Root Browser don't have this
> display Dirs before files
> option to hide hidden files/dirs
> Design:
> when I tap on file I want to launch it. The Details View with md5 and permissions is great and useful for many. But I will use it only from time to time, and majority of people probably won't use it ever. It could be activated from Menu or from ActionBar Menu after selecting file, or by long press
> because file name, file size and path text have the same size and color, it's often hard to locate/distinguish the file I'm looking for. Most of the competition makes this additional info smaller and lower text opacity, and it works
> There was something more but I don't remember now
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> If something from this is already written here and I haven't noted - sorry. And of course this is my opinion based on my habits ;]


Feature 1 was on my list, but seeing as how you find it that important I'll move it up the priority list.

Feature 2 makes a lot of sense. I wasn't thinking about it before, but I think that could be implemented in an intuitive way.

I already had #4 on the todo list, and I'll add a toggle for #3 as well.

Regarding the design, I agree with your first point. Having the regular tap open the details screen was too much of a departure form convention and isn't the most common use case. I'm thinking of just making a details item available in the menu when only one list item is selected. I considered adding an extra visual element to the individual list item views, but I think it would be a little too clunky. I would still consider it, but I'm leaning towards the menu item for now.

And as for the text color suggestion, I think I may actually tackle that today. You make a good point.

It's good that your opinion is based on your habits. I want the app to be easy to use for the largest amount of people, and the only data point I had before was me. Thanks for your thoughtful post! Hopefully I'll be able to apply some of them and get another version pushed out to you guys soon. There has also been a bit of progress on the icon, filetype icons, visual style, etc. too. Vovicon is a pleasure to work with, and you all should expect some pretty cool stuff in the near future.


----------



## fakiesk8r333

yea i think marb made some good points, i agree with everything he mentioned. Imma update the app today and spend some time with it to see if i can come up with anything else. glad to see such an awesome dev working with his users


----------



## rajitsingh

Very promising work. Well done!


----------



## bkensey

fakiesk8r333 said:


> yea i think marb made some good points, i agree with everything he mentioned. Imma update the app today and spend some time with it to see if i can come up with anything else. glad to see such an awesome dev working with his users


I love working with you guys. No dev will every be able to consider everything. Also, if you want to hold off for just a bit, I'll be posting a new version shortly with a number of fixes. Many from actionbarsherlock (gotta love Jake). He even implemented the navigation dropdown on pre-ICS devices, and it looks aaaawesome. Action bar icons are back too.


----------



## marb

So most of the stuff you already had on your todo list - that's great. I'm looking forward to next releases.


----------



## Wingnut

I am also cant wait for the new update


----------



## bkensey

Update is live! Things are looking much prettier now.


----------



## bkensey

marb said:


> So most of the stuff you already had on your todo list - that's great. I'm looking forward to next releases.


You'll be pleased to see that I've adopted a few of your suggestions already for alpha 5. Keep the feedback coming. The tweaks were easy to implement, but I need to know what isn't working for you guys first.


----------



## Wingnut

Wohoo the Icons are back 

But why an settings icon and the menu button?

The rest works until now great


----------



## bkensey

Wingnut said:


> Wohoo the Icons are back
> 
> But why an settings icon and the menu button?
> 
> The rest works until now great


I'm assuming that you're wondering why the settings icon is showing in the action bar. I took out the disk summary icon for now (since it's a long way away from being worked on) which allowed more room for the settings icon to flow out on phones that are wide enough to accommodate it. It won't be there forever.

Anyways, I figured I'd write a quick post on what I'm working on for those of you who are interested. Just came out of office hours with Mark Murphy of Commonsware, and I think I have a better idea of how to implement background file operations.

Here is how I envision it: Once you start up the app, It'll spawn a service that starts running in the background. Any information for file operations like paste, zip and delete will be packaged up into a parcel (since information sent between activities and services is sent via intent, with primitive variables and parcels being the only pieces of data that can be tacked on). The parcel will be sent over to the service, where it will be unparcelled and fed into the appropriate function.

The beauty of this arrangement is that it can handle either of the following scenarios with grace:
1) The user keeps futzing around the app. After the service finishes the file operation, it sends what is called an ordered broadcast indicating operation completion. The app catches the broadcast, throws up a toast message for the user, and then aborts the broadcast so that it doesn't do anything else. The service stays open for further possible work.

2) The user left the app (maybe because the file operation was taking a loooong time, or because they got a text message, etc.) While the user is doing other things, the file operation is completed by the service, and it sends out the ordered broadcast. Because the app isn't open, it isn't there to handle the broadcast. Therefore, the broadcast goes out to a secondary handler defined in the app manifest, and results in a notification. The user will then be able to clear the notification or use it to open the operation's destination file location. Since the app is closed and the service is out of stuff to do, it closes itself in order to free up resources.

So there you are. I promise I'm still working on stuff, even though I haven't been as quick with the updates over the last week or two (sorry guys!) I'll keep hammering out this back-end stuff, and as Vovicon pumps out more and more finished stuff I'll add it in and post it. I actually have a preliminary action bar background from him that I need to add in, so I should be done with that real soon. It's a real classy diagonal pinstripe. Mostly black, but with a bit of ICS blue.


----------



## frostincredible

Glad I found this. Love the ICS look and feel. Read the OP and said you're going to do root functionality, that'll make it even better. Great job. Thanks for your work.


----------



## tbot

This looks awesome! Will be following to see when this gets root permissions!


----------



## TKE693

alpha 5 force closes on start up on the og galaxy tab running jts cm9 kang...heres the logcat hope it helps http://pastebin.com/myYhW3tE


----------



## bkensey

TKE693 said:


> alpha 5 force closes on start up on the og galaxy tab running jts cm9 kang...heres the logcat hope it helps http://pastebin.com/myYhW3tE


Hmm. On vacation atm, and I can't find anything at first glance. Maybe because I'm reading it on my phone. I have a few things to take care of when I get home on Tuesday, but I'll try and see about enabling some better debug output just in case it isn't just an issue with reading from my phone. Maybe some kind of preference setting to enable debugging and easy logcat reports. Would you be willing to work with me in order to get it fixed?


----------



## bkensey

tbot said:


> This looks awesome! Will be following to see when this gets root permissions!


Thanks mate. Its good to hear that it looks good. Hopefully the root stuff will come sooner than later. Marb's post a while back had some good stuff on root libraries, so I have a much better handle on root functions than I did when I did the original post.


----------



## bkensey

Vacation is fun, but I'm so pumped to get back to dev work. Just gotta wait till Tuesday.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using RootzWiki


----------



## tbot

bkensey said:


> Vacation is fun, but I'm so pumped to get back to dev work. Just gotta wait till Tuesday.
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using RootzWiki


Damn vacation getting in the way of dev work!!!

Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk


----------



## bkensey

tbot said:


> Damn vacation getting in the way of dev work!!!
> 
> Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk


Haha, for real. Its a lot of fun to get away with family but I catch myself from time to time thinking about app development. I actually just thought of something that inspired me to post. What does everyone think of "Holo File Explorer" for the name of the app? It kinda has a ring to it to my ear, and I wanted to see if it was just me.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using RootzWiki


----------



## tbot

Sounds good to me! Descriptive as well.

Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk


----------



## Wingnut

The Name is good. I like it


----------



## chayes627

Agreed

Sent from my XT862 using Tapatalk


----------



## fakiesk8r333

bkensey said:


> Haha, for real. Its a lot of fun to get away with family but I catch myself from time to time thinking about app development. I actually just thought of something that inspired me to post. What does everyone think of "Holo File Explorer" for the name of the app? It kinda has a ring to it to my ear, and I wanted to see if it was just me.
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using RootzWiki


name sounds good!! ive been thinking about getting into app development and i was curious what resources you were using for help, wether they be online or in print i would appreciate it. I saw a pretty good book geared for ics but wanted to hunt around a little more before i spent any cash. thanks!!


----------



## bkensey

fakiesk8r333 said:


> name sounds good!! ive been thinking about getting into app development and i was curious what resources you were using for help, wether they be online or in print i would appreciate it. I saw a pretty good book geared for ics but wanted to hunt around a little more before i spent any cash. thanks!!


I relied on the commonsware ebooks. They are continually updated and are a great resource. I read those to get a basic understanding of all of the topics. The best part us that the author holds office hours once or twice a week, which has been a great resource for my more complicated problems. If the books don't answer my questions, I can usually find an answer on StackOverflow.

What kind of app are you thinking about developing? I'd be glad to help out with any questions if I have the time. I'd really like to make some connections with other devs out there.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using RootzWiki


----------



## fakiesk8r333

bkensey said:


> I relied on the commonsware ebooks. They are continually updated and are a great resource. I read those to get a basic understanding of all of the topics. The best part us that the author holds office hours once or twice a week, which has been a great resource for my more complicated problems. If the books don't answer my questions, I can usually find an answer on StackOverflow.
> 
> What kind of app are you thinking about developing? I'd be glad to help out with any questions if I have the time. I'd really like to make some connections with other devs out there.
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using RootzWiki


thanks, ill look into it for sure. hadnt really decided yet on what kind of app, i just wanted to get my feet wet first to see if it was even feasible. i have a little c++ experience but no java lol.


----------



## tbot

Not to derail the thread, but having no programing experience I was able to get up and running and write an app for a local dealership. Java is rather easy in my eyes, and Google is a huge help!

Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk


----------



## Wingnut

And? Back from Vacation?


----------



## bkensey

Wingnut said:


> And? Back from Vacation?


Haha, yep. Just give me a day or two to pound some of this stuff out. May try and tackle remembering scroll positions for the navigation history, since that should be fairly easy to implement.


----------



## TKE693

bkensey said:


> Hmm. On vacation atm, and I can't find anything at first glance. Maybe because I'm reading it on my phone. I have a few things to take care of when I get home on Tuesday, but I'll try and see about enabling some better debug output just in case it isn't just an issue with reading from my phone. Maybe some kind of preference setting to enable debugging and easy logcat reports. Would you be willing to work with me in order to get it fixed?


sorry just checked back in on this thread and yeah would definitely be willing to help


----------



## bkensey

TKE693 said:


> sorry just checked back in on this thread and yeah would definitely be willing to help


Thanks mate, I appreciate it. I'm still trying to think of the best way to get a good logcat from you, but I'm definitely thinking about it.

For the rest of you, you'll be glad to know that remembering scroll positions was pretty easy to implement. I also fixed the back button so that it doesn't just take you up a level - it actually goes back to the last folder you were at. In my opinion, the scrolling makes a huge improvement. Marb, you should be quite pleased







I want to mess around with the background images a bit, but there should be an update out within a day or two with the new name "holo file explorer" in tow.


----------



## bkensey

tbot said:


> Not to derail the thread, but having no programing experience I was able to get up and running and write an app for a local dealership. Java is rather easy in my eyes, and Google is a huge help!
> 
> Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk


No worries. On a side note, I noticed from your posts that you have a rezound. I owned one briefly and remember the crazy stuff it would do to apps with its screen density. How does my app look on your screen? Well proportioned? If you could send a screenshot I'd appreciate the effort!


----------



## xemino

this is such a beauty.
your road map looks very impressive, finally a file manager that will have lots of useful features w/o looking crappy and requiring lots of unnecessary permissions.

i'm currently using root explorer for file operations and storage analyser https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.levelokment.storageanalyser for storage management. this looks like one program that could do both things quite good.

do you plan on open sourcing it? will you do a paid and lite/trial version? any plans regarding this?


----------



## tbot

bkensey said:


> No worries. On a side note, I noticed from your posts that you have a rezound. I owned one briefly and remember the crazy stuff it would do to apps with its screen density. How does my app look on your screen? Well proportioned? If you could send a screenshot I'd appreciate the effort!


Downloading now...and the thing that sucks about having the rezound and developing is the screen. I did that dealership app testing on this and they would always bitch about something cause it compressed stuff weird. I think the key is to not use any hard set pixel count for anything and do it by dp in the .XML files.

Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk 2 Beta-2


----------



## tbot

Screenshots for ya.

One thing I immediately noticed was the dark theme font for the folder me was impossible to read shown here:









The light theme looked great tho!! Layout and everything works fine:









One other thing that would be solid is for the icon on images to be a preview of the image vs just the default that it is now.

Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk 2 Beta-2


----------



## fakiesk8r333

tbot said:


> Screenshots for ya.
> 
> One thing I immediately noticed was the dark theme font for the folder me was impossible to read shown here:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The light theme looked great tho!! Layout and everything works fine:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> One other thing that would be solid is for the icon on images to be a preview of the image vs just the default that it is now.
> 
> Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk 2 Beta-2


I think that the dark theme issues happens on my phone as well. Did you try closing the app and reopening after the switch?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus


----------



## tbot

Yeah I did try shutting it down...thinking it was similar to tapatalk where u had to in order for the theme to take hold.

Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk 2 Beta-2


----------



## bkensey

tbot said:


> this is such a beauty.
> your road map looks very impressive, finally a file manager that will have lots of useful features w/o looking crappy and requiring lots of unnecessary permissions.
> 
> i'm currently using root explorer for file operations and storage analyser https://play.google....storageanalyser for storage management. this looks like one program that could do both things quite good.
> 
> do you plan on open sourcing it? will you do a paid and lite/trial version? any plans regarding this?


Thanks mate. I know it's not there yet, but I have very high hopes and expectations for the finished product.

It's interesting that you would ask about open sourcing the app. I've been struggling with this and other issues over the last few weeks, and so here are some of my thoughts:

There are three interested parties in the decision. Me, the users, and other developers that might benefit from looking at my code. I was initially considering keeping things closed source and doing some sort of ad supported or free/paid version setup. That choice would be one made based on more selfish motives, since they would be aimed at maximizing sale profits. I have put a lot of time into this over the last two months, and I can't help but want to make some money off of the thing. Keeping it closed source, however, shortchanges the users, the adoption rate, and other developers. I must say that it has been a lot of fun posting back and forth with you guys, and I appreciate the enthusiasm with which you have received my work thus far. It has shown me that I might actually enjoy open sourcing the whole thing and doing a free/donate combination. I probably wouldn't make nearly as much money, but I think open sourcing a free version would help drive adoption, and would bring me a lot of satisfaction.

I think open-sourcing would also open the doors to some collaboration too. I'll be starting a new job in a new city in just a week (horray for not being unemployed anymore!), and I intend to keep coding as a full time hobby. It would be great to make some connections with other developers out there (whether new or just those looking for another project), and I think that being able to work with others on this project would make my transition more bearable.

I still haven't made a final decision, but as you can probably tell, I'm leaning towards open-sourcing the project. I need to do a lot of code cleanup before such a step could be made, and I have some learning to do on github, but there it is. What do you guys think? Assuming the final app is smooth as butter and includes the features I've talked about thus far, would you be willing to drop a couple of bucks on a donate version just because? Would anyone consider contributing to the project in close collaboration with me?


----------



## Wingnut

Keep it closed source. Take a benefit from your work.

Make a paid Version and a free version and everyone would be happy.


----------



## tbot

Wingnut said:


> Keep it closed source. Take a benefit from your work.
> 
> Make a paid Version and a free version and everyone would be happy.


This. Make your time invested worth while. If your interested about the user...make something available on the forum...maybe one that doesn't have ALL the features but works well for most their needs. I think if its something people will want, which the way things r looking they will, then they'll pay a couple bucks for the upgrade, and then not only will everyone be happy, you make some money too.

Think of it this way, since its just a hobby and not a job, the little, or lot, bit you make will be a bonus. Since your starting a job and will have an income I bet your thinking will change slightly about worrying about some sort of income and make this decision easier.

Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk 2 Beta-2

Edit: menu exit worked like a charm


----------



## marb

Thanks for the updates. I thought you will also change file type / file size text color, but it is already an improvement.

About the name. Holo File Explorer sounds nice, right now apps referring to ICS/Holo are popular, people are looking for apps that will match look&feel of Android 4.0. But from the same reason there is more and more apps with names like ICS Something, HOLO Something, although that may not be a problem. But what if Google change Holo to something else in future releases?

I am a long time Linux user, so I'm supporting open source path here. I also know that making profit from OS software is not easy, so I'm not an arch-enemy of different solutions either.
Whichever you choose, i hope it will work for you.


----------



## chayes627

I will definitely pay either way you go with it. Haven't been on the forum on a computer for some time but when I do was going to see if you have a donate link anyway

Sent from my XT862 using Tapatalk


----------



## xemino

bkensey, thanks for the detailed answer. i'm not a developer, yet anyways and i don't have any experience regarding monetization...
you pretty much made the same points i got in mind about open source too.

if open sourced, i'm sure you will get some code contributions, since there isn't really a file manager that has features and is designed based on the ICS design guide lines.
plus cyanogenmod and aokp could ship it (not sure about the procedures regarding that).
an in-app donation can be used to send some money your way or unlock some additional features.

i myself love to donate to (small) open source projects. i've done it to benefit from an ad-free experience, gain more features and support a good project/developer.
some donator exclusive features would help persuade people to give you money, at least it would for me 

oh and i buy closed source software too, i just think this a project that could have a good impact on other projects.


----------



## Absolute

I'd go ad supported for a basic file manager and paid for root, zip and other advanced features


----------



## fakiesk8r333

Absolute said:


> I'd go ad supported for a basic file manager and paid for root, zip and other advanced features


Yea I think that would be the best route, seems to be pretty standard practice with other file managers

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus


----------



## bkensey

xemino said:


> I will definitely pay either way you go with it. Haven't been on the forum on a computer for some time but when I do was going to see if you have a donate link anyway
> 
> Sent from my XT862 using Tapatalk


I really appreciate that. I don't have a donate link up yet, and I'm not sure I deserve them until I can at least provide fully functioning file operations, but I'll keep that in mind.

I think that under ideal circumstances, I would release the source code for the free version while keeping the source for a paid version closed. I imagine that root functionality would be the only thing separating the two. I'm also asking myself whether it would be advisable to just make root functionality an in-app purchase. The more I think about it, the more I know that a high rate of user adoption and a fun collaborative atmosphere are my two main goals, with profitability coming in second. I now have a good job, so I want to keep this as a perpetually fun hobby.


----------



## Wingnut

I hope you still work on this app


----------



## bkensey

Wingnut said:


> I hope you still work on this app


I most definitely will be getting back to it very shortly. I actually just moved from PA down to North Carolina in account of my first job, so my dev machine has been in pieces since last Wednesday. I am itching to get it back together so I can start coding again. I'm writing this on my way to pick up a computer desk, so I should have my computer back together tonight, and I'm hoping to be able to push a small release out by tomorrow night.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using RootzWiki


----------



## bkensey

*FINALLY.* I'm back to development and I have that new version up on the original post. There's some new stuff at the top, so I won't write it again here.


----------



## Staggers

bkensey said:


> *FINALLY.* I'm back to development and I have that new version up on the original post. There's some new stuff at the top, so I won't write it again here.


Thanks for the update on what's been going on, but the link in the OP still links to alpha 5.

Swyped from my AOKP-fueled Galaxy Nexus


----------



## bkensey

Staggers said:


> Thanks for the update on what's been going on, but the link in the OP still links to alpha 5.
> 
> Swyped from my AOKP-fueled Galaxy Nexus


Right you are. Link is fixed. Sorry for the confusion.


----------



## Staggers

bkensey said:


> Right you are. Link is fixed. Sorry for the confusion.


No worries, man. I like the work you're putting in to this project. Thanks for the dedication.

Edit: Seems like clicking anything in the Settings menu of Alpha 6 causes a FC w/ the error message "Unfortunately, Holo File Explorer has stopped".


----------



## bkensey

Staggers said:


> No worries, man. I like the work you're putting in to this project. Thanks for the dedication.
> 
> Edit: Seems like clicking anything in the Settings menu of Alpha 6 causes a FC w/ the error message "Unfortunately, Holo File Explorer has stopped".


I knew I was forgetting a code change when I refactored the packages. Should be good now. I didn't change the file name so It'll be the same when you dl.


----------



## Staggers

That's more like it! Settings work fine now

Swyped from my AOKP-fueled G-Nex


----------



## xemino

sweet, lovely. congrats on the new place and job 

i just stumbled over the rootzbox maybe you guys could work together, instead of each one doing his own file manager.

rootzbox as utility for logcats, build prop stuff and other tweaks, goo manager for rom and kernel downloads, holo browser for as file manager and the rootzwiki forum app for browsing the site, neat setup 

oh and i would love if you'd add a dark holo theme, that's the one feature i desire the most. the current dark theme doesn't play well w the font color and has not the gradient holo background.


----------



## bkensey

I've been thinking over the past few days, and wanted to ask everyone how they would feel about joining me in a G+ hangout sometime. I have a lot of ideas about how to add to or improve the existing UI, and I need some knowledgable folks to bounce them off of. Things like how to best adhere to Google's new UI guidelines, how to best implement bookmarks, how to best implement an "active operations" queue UI, etc...

If you are interested in participating, please go ahead and leave a post. I'll be putting together a G+ product page sometime today, so that's probably where I will host the hangout from. If I get enough interest fast enough, we could do this next weekend (3/6-3/8)



xemino said:


> sweet, lovely. congrats on the new place and job
> 
> i just stumbled over the rootzbox maybe you guys could work together, instead of each one doing his own file manager.
> 
> rootzbox as utility for logcats, build prop stuff and other tweaks, goo manager for rom and kernel downloads, holo browser for as file manager and the rootzwiki forum app for browsing the site, neat setup
> 
> oh and i would love if you'd add a dark holo theme, that's the one feature i desire the most. the current dark theme doesn't play well w the font color and has not the gradient holo background.


Working with RootzBox would be interesting if they'd have me. My app (and therefore my code) is still in its infancy and contains a lot of ideosyncracies, so to some degree my code doesn't yet deserve a place in a larger collaborative project. Trying to work that though. I think that as I get closer to completion on the app, I'll have learned to correct my initial mistakes. At that point I can start sharing my code.

Regarding the dark holo theme, I'll try and fix things up a bit. I suspect that your biggest problem (technically my fault, but...) is that you have to select exit from the menu when you need to switch between black and white text after a theme change. Still haven't figured out exactly how to fix the need for that kludge. And are you running the app on an ICS device or a pre-ICS device? Everything looks great in ICS, but the default theming under Action Bar Sherlock (which provides backward-compatibility on the action bar) is not the same as the default ICS Holo dark theme. Theming is one of those things that I currently have on my plate, although I expect it to take some time to get it completely ironed out. Lots of little choices to make that somehow take forever


----------



## bkensey

Plus page is up at https://plus.google.com/115204615763333814534

If that doesn't work just search for "Holo File Explorer"


----------



## xemino

i'm running your application on my maguro, which is rocking aokp, no 2.x, have a look at my signature.

i might be up for a hangout, but my development knowledge is very, very limited. i can provide ideas though.


----------



## bkensey

xemino said:


> i'm running your application on my maguro, which is rocking aokp, no 2.x, have a look at my signature.
> 
> i might be up for a hangout, but my development knowledge is very, very limited. i can provide ideas though.


That's fine. I have a lot of really great forums and blogs for development wisdom. I just need to talk UI/UX design language with folks who have a lot of exposure to ICS, so you would fit the bill wonderfully. I try to carry on these discussions with myself over how best to implement different features, but it's really best to talk with real live people in order to consider all of the possibilities and make the right choice. You should add me on G+ so that I can find you next weekend.


----------



## fakiesk8r333

bkensey said:


> That's fine. I have a lot of really great forums and blogs for development wisdom. I just need to talk UI/UX design language with folks who have a lot of exposure to ICS, so you would fit the bill wonderfully. I try to carry on these discussions with myself over how best to implement different features, but it's really best to talk with real live people in order to consider all of the possibilities and make the right choice. You should add me on G+ so that I can find you next weekend.


I might be able to help as well, not a device but am going to school for graphic design and would love to help out. You can add me on g+ or gtalk. 
[email protected]

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2 Beta-5


----------



## Nucleotide

Not sure if it's been mentioned but when you select the dark theme, the folder/file names are also dark/black, making it very difficult to read.

Otherwise, really nice looking file manager. Definitely keeping my eye on this one.


----------



## Staggers

Nucleotide said:


> Not sure if it's been mentioned but when you select the dark theme, the folder/file names are also dark/black, making it very difficult to read.
> 
> Otherwise, really nice looking file manager. Definitely keeping my eye on this one.


It's a known issue. To workaround, click the action overflow (menu) button and select 'exit' to exit the app. Then re-start and it should be fine.


----------



## Nucleotide

Staggers said:


> It's a known issue. To workaround, click the action overflow (menu) button and select 'exit' to exit the app. Then re-start and it should be fine.


Thanks.


----------



## cantIntoCode

Wow, this app is fantastic looking forward to what it becomes in the future. Thanks!


----------



## bkensey

cantIntoCode said:


> Wow, this app is fantastic looking forward to what it becomes in the future. Thanks!


Thanks for the praise! It means a lot.

As an update on what I've been up to for the past week: sorting. I started out thinking that implementing sort would be a simple matter, but the more I work on it the more I realized I had to make some big changes in the background to accomodate proper sorting. I've gotten to the point where sorting works in a basic, yet buggy way, and I'm pretty pleased with it. Instead of hiding it in some kind of contrived set of buttons or in the settings, I placed a new action on the bottom action bar. The action opens up a submenu (looks a lot like the 3-dot overflow menu). For now I have alphabetical and last modified sort schemes, and I'm trying to figure out how I want to implement ascending and descending. (Is that something that you guys would even want?)

The larger difficulty has descended from the use of multiple screens. I have to make sure that the Action bar is properly updated after the user swipes between folder panes, and that the app makes proper sorting decisions when going back or when opening up a new folder. Keep in mind that there is only one main action bar, and that I physically have to make changes based on the characteristics of the currently selected folder pane (of which there can be many). It does none of this on its own. Still hoping to hold a hangout on G+ this weekend, but a lot of you have already added me to your circles. I'll send out a message soon.


----------



## DonnyChi

I think the tabs (Page One, Page Two) should be at the top, this is more in-line with ICS design standards.

Otherwise, the app looks fantastic


----------



## briggs81

Terribly embarrassing.. but how do I install this? No apk.. and have not installed anything via adb for awhile.. or have I missed the instructions? 

Thanks..


----------



## bkensey

briggs81 said:


> Terribly embarrassing.. but how do I install this? No apk.. and have not installed anything via adb for awhile.. or have I missed the instructions?
> 
> Thanks..


The link at the bottom of the OP should go straight to the A6 version of the apk. Just checked it and it seems to be working fine. Let me know if you are still having issues.

Also, for everyone who follows this thread closely, I'm going to* host a hangout on G+ *(via the Holo File Explorer page) at 7:00pm E.S.T. tonight. I'd like to be able to get at least one or two people to brainstorm with, so if you are interested and can notify me of your interest that would be great!


----------



## Staggers

bkensey said:


> The link at the bottom of the OP should go straight to the A6 version of the apk. Just checked it and it seems to be working fine. Let me know if you are still having issues.
> 
> Also, for everyone who follows this thread closely, I'm going to* host a hangout on G+ *(via the Holo File Explorer page) at 7:00pm E.S.T. tonight. I'd like to be able to get at least one or two people to brainstorm with, so if you are interested and can notify me of your interest that would be great!


Would have liked to join the hangout, but it'll be at midnight my time and I'll most likely be asleep. Will try to catch the next one.

Swyped from my AOKP-fueled G-Nex


----------



## briggs81

Ah ok. Thanks. I downloaded that but it was a zip so I was confused. GNexus just wants to unzip it heh.

This is amazing, btw. Great work


----------



## bkensey

briggs81 said:


> Ah ok. Thanks. I downloaded that but it was a zip so I was confused. GNexus just wants to unzip it heh


I hate it when the android browser does that. It actually renames the .apk to .zip, so you have to use another file explorer and change the extension before you can install. Ugh.


----------



## fakiesk8r333

bkensey said:


> I hate it when the android browser does that. It actually renames the .apk to .zip, so you have to use another file explorer and change the extension before you can install. Ugh.


Yea chrome on android does it too, but only when I download your app lol

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2 Beta-5


----------



## whogivsachit

Wow. thank you for doing such a great job with this app. Defiantly going to be a daily user.


----------



## mattakafred

First of all, this is by far the nicest looking/most true to ICS file manager I have seen. Its design makes me feel like it's totally stock (though still in alpha stages).

One issue I've noticed is that on the CM9 Toro, if I tap the sdcard/ to navigate to a higher directory (/) I get









and selecting factory goes to an empty folder. This is also what was viewed on the first run after install, which initially made me think the app was totally broken. Still wanting to test it I changed the theme to dark and it loaded sdcard/ successfully, which was a relief. I did however encounter the same issue as Nucleotide:



Nucleotide said:


> Not sure if it's been mentioned but when you select the dark theme, the folder/file names are also dark/black, making it very difficult to read.


Also, on first run, the folder title (sdcard/) isn't displayed on the top (history?) until you open a folder or swipe tabs. This really doesn't currently detract from functionality since going up one level just leads to the pictured error of the factory folder modified in 1999.

Things I would love to see in this:
Root (of course )
A dedicated "up one level" arrow or something. Look at the stock ics Gallery app to see how Google does it
I Google'd it:








the "up one level" is just the gallery icon in the top left corner accompanied by the left arrow. Whenever you enter a folder in gallery the arrow appears and you can transition back a screen. I think this would be a good substitute for your (currently not functioning) home button in the top left. You could even merge the history folder label with the simple gallery-style back button.
Folder title where you have the label "TAB ONE" if it is possible to make that text dynamic.
I'll think of more things later, at the moment I'm very sleep deprived and procrastinating homework... Keep up the good work!

Edit: Already thought of a thing or two:
_Maybe_ consider moving the menu button from the bottom right corner of the screen to the top right.
Another amazing (but presumably laborious feature): file compression/decompression. The more compression types you support the better, but I think compress in .zip and decompress .zip, .rar, .7z would be the most optimized thing.
IMO, tapping a file should open details in a file manager, rather than having to long press (or check)>>menu>>details. In this scenario, I'm sure there are people who disagree with me, but since there is an "open" button in the details, I think details should be default tap function
Maybe different options for tapping file and file's icon? Similar to the way stock sms messaging works, tapping the file text could open the details, while tapping the icon could bring up a small menu with cut/copy/delete/details/move/md5/etcetera
Delete confirmation. I'll admit it, I'm clumsy. I could "aim" for the copy button and accidentally hit delete. It would be nice to have an "Are you sure you want to delete that?" or "This will permanently remove the selected file(s). [Okay//Cancel]" popup.
You mentioned a progress icon in the top right, I would suggest throwing it in the bottom right with menu in the top right (to keep with ICS style)
More to come I'm sure. Even though this is still a WIP app, it still does 99.99% of what I need it for, which makes it my new favorite file manager  I can't wait to see where it goes from here!


----------



## bkensey

mattakafred said:


> First of all, this is by far the nicest looking/most true to ICS file manager I have seen. Its design makes me feel like it's totally stock (though still in alpha stages).
> 
> One issue I've noticed is that on the CM9 Toro, if I tap the sdcard/ to navigate to a higher directory (/) I get
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> and selecting factory goes to an empty folder. This is also what was viewed on the first run after install, which initially made me think the app was totally broken. Still wanting to test it I changed the theme to dark and it loaded sdcard/ successfully, which was a relief. I did however encounter the same issue as Nucleotide:
> 
> Also, on first run, the folder title (sdcard/) isn't displayed on the top (history?) until you open a folder or swipe tabs. This really doesn't currently detract from functionality since going up one level just leads to the pictured error of the factory folder modified in 1999.
> 
> Things I would love to see in this:
> Root (of course )
> A dedicated "up one level" arrow or something. Look at the stock ics Gallery app to see how Google does it
> I Google'd it:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> the "up one level" is just the gallery icon in the top left corner accompanied by the left arrow. Whenever you enter a folder in gallery the arrow appears and you can transition back a screen. I think this would be a good substitute for your (currently not functioning) home button in the top left. You could even merge the history folder label with the simple gallery-style back button.
> Folder title where you have the label "TAB ONE" if it is possible to make that text dynamic.
> I'll think of more things later, at the moment I'm very sleep deprived and procrastinating homework... Keep up the good work!
> 
> Edit: Already thought of a thing or two:
> _Maybe_ consider moving the menu button from the bottom right corner of the screen to the top right.
> Another amazing (but presumably laborious feature): file compression/decompression. The more compression types you support the better, but I think compress in .zip and decompress .zip, .rar, .7z would be the most optimized thing.
> IMO, tapping a file should open details in a file manager, rather than having to long press (or check)>>menu>>details. In this scenario, I'm sure there are people who disagree with me, but since there is an "open" button in the details, I think details should be default tap function
> Maybe different options for tapping file and file's icon? Similar to the way stock sms messaging works, tapping the file text could open the details, while tapping the icon could bring up a small menu with cut/copy/delete/details/move/md5/etcetera
> Delete confirmation. I'll admit it, I'm clumsy. I could "aim" for the copy button and accidentally hit delete. It would be nice to have an "Are you sure you want to delete that?" or "This will permanently remove the selected file(s). [Okay//Cancel]" popup.
> You mentioned a progress icon in the top right, I would suggest throwing it in the bottom right with menu in the top right (to keep with ICS style)
> More to come I'm sure. Even though this is still a WIP app, it still does 99.99% of what I need it for, which makes it my new favorite file manager  I can't wait to see where it goes from here!


I love the suggestions! Thanks for all of the thought that you put into this. Let me see if I can return that effort in my response.

Regarding your first point, I already have a fix ready to deploy. Got so antsy I came home from work over lunch and fixed it, haha. Turned out to be the result of how I had recently reworked the folder details. You'll notice that the app shows the number of child items underneath the file name, and when the app tried to tally those child items for the protected folders within "/" it threw an exception. I just had to stop it from making that calculation on protected folders and voila!

As for the second point about the navigation dropdown not being populated on the first run, that drives me NUTS, and I can't figure out how to fix it. There is a lot of daisy-chained activity and fragment creation when the whole app starts up, and I haven't figured out where to inject the init code for that dropdown where it isn't called on reinitialize code

I am also looking forward to getting the root actions up and working, and the back button is something that I've been pondering the last few days, so I'm glad for your suggestions and I'd love some more feedback. I previously had a dummy entry at the top of each listview that had a "../" parent link. I didn't really like that, because it didn't look good and made for a lot of messy code behind the scenes. Using the home (top left) button as a back button is an interesting idea, but I'm not sure that adheres properly to the Design Guidelines. Also, its quite a reach on my nexus, so I was thinking it might be best to put a dedicated "up" button on the top right, within thumb reach. I need to figure out how to do custom layouts for an Action bar in order to do that, because at this point the whole action bar is just a cookie cutter implementation (dropdown mode set for navigation, and a list of action items specified. System takes care of the rest.) This is another priority item on my list.

I like the suggestion of putting the folder title up instead of the TAB ONE/TAB TWO labels. Hadn't thought of that. Alternatively, how does this sound: using a simple ICS launcher style blue bar that indicates what screen you're at. Remember the sliding blue bar right between the homescreen area and the dock? Here is my rationale: The main function of the text on the viewPagerIndicator (the technical term for what is currently there as far as I know) is to provide information about what screen you're on. The way I have it now, however, already provides that information via the dropdown. So the only valuable information left to be provided is the current position relative to the other available screens. So if I could ditch the text, I could use the launcher style sliding bar to show the user where they're at. What does everyone think?

*takes a deep breath* Continuing! I've seen criticisms of the overflow button placement before, and I'm mostly tempted just to say deal with it. (without any actual malice of course. It's just kinda how the action bar is) It's a design convention created by google, and it would a) be difficult to change, and







be a departure from what has started to become a more accepted convention. Think of the overflow button as the last item on the action bar, and think of the split action bar (the technical term for the 2nd' bottom row of the action bar) as an overflow from the first row. Therefore, single row action bars have the 3 dots at the top, and split action bars have them at the bottom. Once you understand the convention it becomes a little more understandable. And again, it's not that I don't want to consider your suggestion, its just that it would be a b*tch to hack the hard-coded functionality.

Believe it or not, I already have the zip functionality half cooked, and it's waiting for a rewrite of how I handle file operations. I figured it wouldn't be good for a long running copy (like if you were moving roms?) to just die if the app was closed, so I'm restructuring the app to have a service that handles pending file operations and then kills itself when it's done. This has already and will continue to require a fair bit of self-teaching, but I'm working as fast as possible! Sorry guys! Once that is done I should be able to finish up zipping in a day or two.

Alright! Last paragraph! I initially had taps open the file detail view, but a lot of folks didn't want the extra click, since their primary use case was opening files. I saw value in that and off-loaded the details option to the overflow menu. I wasn't sure how to style each file item so as to allow both opening, details and selection, but copy-catting the sms app is a pretty grand idea. I don't know why I haven't thought of that before. You should be seeing some experiments with that sometime soon. The delete confirmation also makes sense and would be easy to implement. Good call. As for the suggestion about keeping the top right clean in accordance with ICS style, I want to do something to make use of all that wasted space. Starting to think a "up 1 directory" button would be best, but I'll at least add some extra detail to the dropdown to make it flesh out the space more.

*whew* Enough rambling from me. I'll get back to coding so you can enjoy the next update faster! Thanks again for the advice and insights. Posts like this one are _enormously _helpful.


----------



## jackstraw

I really like this app. Thanks for the awesome work

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


----------



## Neoray

Hi, great work so far...please dont overload this app.

Some suggestions:

Is it really usefull to have the "last changed date" there? If anything I would rather put the folder size in that spot but idk that could slow the whole app down. If you want to keep it like this could you put in a 24h option? It doesn't look good in german. 
If that's all not working I could live with an option to force english so it would show "am/pm" instead of "vorm/nachm" ...that would be shorter at least.









https://play.google....ns.fileexplorer
Have you seen this file browser? It's open source I think. I like the design and simplicity but it lacks some important features and I see more progress on your app. 
I think a favorites/shortcut list like it has is more usefull then a history.


----------



## xemino

he has seen that explorer.

it abides some of the android design guide lines, but doesn't have a total holo design. i tried it and the icons and popup menus made me uninstall it real fast.


----------



## mattakafred

http://developer.android.com/design/patterns/navigation.html

Just throwin' it out there 

The official android design website has lots of ideas that could come in handy


----------



## bkensey

mattakafred said:


> http://developer.and...navigation.html
> 
> Just throwin' it out there
> 
> The official android design website has lots of ideas that could come in handy


That it does. I'm going to have to take a second look at the navigation stuff. In the meantime, a new update has been posted! The annoying bug with the storage root is all fixed, and I've been experimenting with some new app eye candy. Let me know what you guys think.


----------



## Alp

Would be nice if the app had a build in unzipping feature like OI file manager.


----------



## marb

Tested sorting and found a bug.

I launched app, on /sdcard directory I set sorting to 'Last Modified' - worked as expected. Without changing sort order I moved to another directory /sdcard/Download. In this folder sort order was 'Alphabetical' but in Sort menu 'Last Modified' was still selected. Then, I moved back to /sdcard and again sorting was alphabetical, but in menu 'Last Modified' still selected.

Re-launched the app. Sort order was by default 'Alphabetical'. Moved to /sdcard/Download and switched to 'Last Modified'. Moved back to /sdcard - it was sorted by last modified.

I'm not sure if you want Holo File Explorer to remember sort order when moving from dir to dir, looks like you do. If so, right now, it remebers and set's sorting properly only when moving back.


----------



## xemino

love the new eye candy. looks quite slook, this will calm me until you can get yer ass up and do a black, gradient holo theme.


----------



## crkdvnm

I love this app. It looks great.


----------



## TKE693

fc's on start up on og galaxy tab running aokp b31 ill post a logcat when i can


----------



## mattakafred

bkensey said:


> That it does. I'm going to have to take a second look at the navigation stuff. In the meantime, a new update has been posted! The annoying bug with the storage root is all fixed, and I've been experimenting with some new app eye candy. Let me know what you guys think.


Gotta love a dev that is willing to take time to read obnoxiously lengthy posts like mine! Keep up the good work and I'll keep tossing ideas your way.

A couple things for today:

1. I was looking at your screenshot, your "TAB ONE" etc is on the bottom on your screen, on A8 I have it on top. Is there some secret I'm missing for this? Honestly I enjoy it either way. I am a fan of minimalism, so the blue page indicator sounds amazing to me, especially over the current static text. My vote is to have a toggle-able option in your settings menu between blue bar and folder title, just saying, in case you were short on programming ideas. This level of customization should probably be low priority until other things (root, compression, etc.) are implemented, but I like having options.

2. This is a more real issue. There is no way to travel up levels in folders once a file is selected. i.e. if I have tab 1 on /sdcard/.hiddenpr0n and I select a picture in /sdcard/DCIM on tab 2, there is 0 way for me to get it to /sdcard without unselecting the file and moving tab 1 to /sdcard or higher.

3. Your home button doesn't seem to function aside from informing me that I touched it. I assume this is another WIP feature?

4. If/when you get a SMS-style option interface going, it would be my vote to put "batch mode" under the extended settings and remove the check boxes next to the files. Removes a little clutter IMO. (Again, a personal style preference, I'm sure there are plenty out there who disagree)

5. Before your settings gets too far underway, a friendly reminder from El Goog:


Google said:


> If it's static information about the app (e.g. version number, terms of service), organize it within a Help screen.
> 
> here


6. Cached RAM usage is quite high (~20MB vs Gmail's ~7MB). Certainly not extreme in the slightest, as I'm only using ~half of my phone's max RAM at any time. Could be mem leaks, or just a bulky program. Also, program stays in cached memory even after pressing exit (back button all of the way out). It appears to "exit" in a manner similar to closing a window in OS X. Could use a simple terminate script on exit (after file transfers finish of course).

Possible UI Enhancements (probably for further down the road, but something to keep in mind):

1. Hold "Home" to edit the default home location (why not?).

2. Implement double-tap inputs? i.e. Single tap = select (could bring up batch mode here). Double tap = open. Single tap, pause, single tap on name = edit name text. Very similar to the standard PC interface we have all grown accustomed to. (could be another option for your settings menu)

3. When in File Details:
Make the file location (in the title) scrollable for items with long paths
I agree, the info button within the details menu is basically useless. I would ditch it, as any info it provides should be in that screen.
Sharing. Maybe throw the share logo/menu thingy (yes, that's the technical term) in the top right, cropping your file location header even more.
_Maybe_ keep the file action icon bar in the details, and have selecting one of them (i.e. hitting copy) would exit details and return to browser.

Let me know if you run out of programming ideas  What I lack in programming knowledge, I make up for in idea surplus.

As I mentioned previously, most of the above comments are aesthetics that can come about after functionality is implemented, but if you hit a roadblock on functionality aspects, feel free to toy with some of these things.

Keep up the good work, as always.


----------



## Bazar6

Love the look of this... Been using Root explorer for well over a year now, and I think this would definitely take it over as my primary file explorer app on my devices.

Responding to a question from the OP regarding what root functionality we'd like to see, I think definitely the basics that File Manager HD and Root Explorer have. I only say this very generally because I don't know how capable those two apps are, but below is what I use the most.

Set specific permissions, navigate and mount/edit the highest level files (/) (including /system and /data), copy to and delete from, etc.

hope this becomes something very awesome!


----------



## krackers

It's not working on hp touchpad with AOKP build 30. I get a force close upon launch.

Here is the full log:

http://logcat.aokp.co/hIOPV5


----------



## Nucleotide

When is this app likely to hit the Market?


----------



## marb

krackers said:


> Here Is fill log


Advice: Do not paste logs directly on forum. Upload it to dropbox, http://logcat.aokp.co etc, and put here link only.


----------



## krackers

Fixed! So what is the cause of the force close? It seems that other person having fc on galaxy tab w/aopk is having the same problem as me. Is this just a problem with aokp?


----------



## chayes627

krackers said:


> Fixed! So what is the cause of the force close? It seems that other person having fc on galaxy tab w/aopk is having the same problem as me. Is this just a problem with aokp?


I have aokp d3 and have no problems

Sent from my XT862 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## krackers

Weird... maybe it's a problem with certain ports/builds of aokp. So far two tablets running aokp have had problems. Has anyone with a touchpad been able to get this to work? I don't believe it's a problem in the actual app because when the internal sd card is unmounted it loads (except there is nothing to view). It seems to be a problem in accessing/interfacing with the sd card. Could it be because of the special partitioning created because of the webOS/Android dual boot?


----------



## bkensey

Nucleotide said:


> It's not working on hp touchpad with AOKP build 30. I get a force close upon launch.
> 
> Here is the full log:
> 
> http://logcat.aokp.co/hIOPV5


The app has some half-finished tablet specific coding left over from some of the android tutorials I utilized, so that is almost certainly causing the force closes on your tablet. I'm continuing to think of how a file manager interface is best organized on a tablet, but I still haven't decided what wold be best. I've done research on the existing options and nothing strikes me as the optimal choice. I'll be able to devote time to this after I finish the phone specific code.


----------



## krackers

At the moment could you just force the use the phone build? I really want to use this file browser (nothing else compares to the beauty/functionality), regardless of the phone/tablet layout. Maybe you could have something like this: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apppie.filer
as the interface.


----------



## bkensey

krackers said:


> At the moment could you just force the use the phone build? I really want to use this file browser (nothing else compares to the beauty/functionality), regardless of the phone/tablet layout. Maybe you could have something like this: https://play.google....om.apppie.filer
> as the interface.


It's not quite as simple as that, since there is no phone or tablet version. All the same code that dynamically adapts to the screen size. I'll see about changing the conditionals that those adaptations run from so that you can get the "phone version"


----------



## krackers

Thanks! That would work well!


----------



## shay d. life

Looks great. Nice addition to ICS ROMs.


----------



## Sandman007

I downloaded the file. It was a zip not an apk. I unzipped it and it had the apk files, no apk.


----------



## bkensey

Deadly_Hamsters said:


> I downloaded the file. It was a zip not an apk. I unzipped it and it had the apk files, no apk.


Your browser renamed the file. Just change the .zip extension to .apk and it'll install. Annoying, I know, but I don't think I can stop it from doing that. I think it's some sort of "security" feature.


----------



## Sandman007

Oh duh! Why didnt I think of that lol

Sent from my DROIDX using RootzWiki


----------



## zachman1221

love the theme! i can help you maintain a website and with the app !


----------



## krackers

Is there any progress on the version compatible with the tablet?


----------



## jellybellys

Can't wait for an update!

Sent from my cellular telecommunications device using RootzWiki


----------



## Wingnut

jellybellys said:


> Can't wait for an update!
> 
> Sent from my cellular telecommunications device using RootzWiki


Me too


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## bkensey

jellybellys said:


> Can't wait for an update!
> 
> Sent from my cellular telecommunications device using RootzWiki


Thanks for the continued interest  I know its been awhile, but I've kept busy. Took a crack at implementing the android 4.0 ShareActionProvider (which is awesome btw) but that was a bust. Too many bugs for the way I was trying to use it. I switched to working on zip functionality, and you'll be happy to know I have single and multi file zipping working. Now I just need to implement a zip viewer and provide for copying files out of a zip archive. Not sure how long the last two will take in comparison to the first one, but I suspect the hardest part is over. I'll try and keep everyone posted on my progress between now and the update so everyone isn't left wondering.

Also, I posed a few questions regarding open-sourcing on XDA: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=25517732&postcount=79 and on the App G+ page. I'd appreciate feedback.


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## ArmanUV

How is the development going? I really liked where this project was going. Right now, I'm using Solid Explorer due to it's many features but Holo File Explorer is much more ICSy .


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## quiro91

ArmanUV said:


> How is the development going? I really liked where this project was going. Right now, I'm using Solid Explorer due to it's many features but Holo File Explorer is much more ICSy .


bump


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## bkensey

ArmanUV said:


> How is the development going? I really liked where this project was going. Right now, I'm using Solid Explorer due to it's many features but Holo File Explorer is much more ICSy .


Still working on root functionality, or more specifically, RO/RW mounting. I have a buggy implementation working and am still working on debugging it. I haven't been getting as much time to work on it as I wish I could, since work has had me driving all over North and South Carolina the last two weeks. I use my desktop to develop, and my evenings haven't exactly been full of free time either XD. Rest assured that I am plowing on regardless. I'm also going to try and clean up my code and open source it if I can get some interested and dedicated collaborators on board. If that sounds like you, speak up


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## bkensey

A new update is out. Check the top of the original post.


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## Staggers

bkensey said:


> A new update is out. Check the top of the original post.


Thanks for the update

Swyped from my AOKP Maguro


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## chayes627

Personally at least on the black theme I think the slider looks plenty fine and matches well with the rest of ics

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk 2


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## SilentStormer

I'm really looking forwards to when I can dump root-explorer for good and use this for all of my file browsing/ root system browsing needs. keep up he good work! the app looks great and its come a long way


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## Wingnut

Any news?


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## bkensey

Wingnut said:


> Any news?


Soon. I'll be able to announce some massive changes to the project sometime soon, but I don't want to be promising the world before I have anything to deliver. To provide a hint, I'm in the initial stages of working with another dev, who may or may not also be working on a similar product. The merging of our efforts is taking some time, but its coming along. (GIT takes some getting used to) Once we have made some more progress, I'll post a full write-up on Rootz, XDA and G+ with details about where the project is going. On the upside, all of this is forcing us to streamline the collaboration process, so new collaborators will have a much lower barrier to entry. The project will be open source.

Stay tuned!


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## DroidXAce

Thanks for the application.
I hope we can soon use it as a root file manager .


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## bkensey

DroidXAce said:


> Thanks for the application.
> I hope we can soon use it as a root file manager .


I'm working hard to make that a reality. I've been able to make huge strides over the last few days, although there is still a lot of work left to be done. I can't wait till I have something to share with you all


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## DroidXAce

bkensey said:


> I'm working hard to make that a reality. I've been able to make huge strides over the last few days, although there is still a lot of work left to be done. I can't wait till I have something to share with you all


If you want help to test it (HTC One S /ICS & Sense 4), I'm available .

Otherwise, I meet a graphics bug :








Why I still have the black bar with 3 points ?


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## bkensey

DroidXAce said:


> If you want help to test it (HTC One S /ICS & Sense 4), I'm available .
> 
> Otherwise, I meet a graphics bug :
> 
> Why I still have the black bar with 3 points ?


Because the apk has a targetSDKversion of 11 (or honeycomb) so HTC is putting up the menu button. Will be fixed in the future.


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## HalosGhost

bkensey said:


> Because the apk has a targetSDKversion of 11 (or honeycomb) so HTC is putting up the menu button. Will be fixed in the future.


Hey there, I am a fan of your work, and I'd like to offer my services as a tester. I have various platforms of phone, and a TF201 as well. I'd be willing to test anything you need on any platform I have. Just let me know.

All the best,

-HG


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## bkensey

HalosGhost said:


> Hey there, I am a fan of your work, and I'd like to offer my services as a tester. I have various platforms of phone, and a TF201 as well. I'd be willing to test anything you need on any platform I have. Just let me know.
> 
> All the best,
> 
> -HG


I may hit you up sometime within the next few weeks about testing dev builds from my current efforts. I'm implementing some sweeping changes and it would help to not have to debug exhaustively as well as code.


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## HalosGhost

bkensey said:


> I may hit you up sometime within the next few weeks about testing dev builds from my current efforts. I'm implementing some sweeping changes and it would help to not have to debug exhaustively as well as code.


Feel free to. 

All the best,

-HG


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## Jezz_X

Any updates for the development of this app it really is the best looking file manager for android and if it gets all the features working as well I'd be more than happy you buy it in the play store.


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## bkensey

Jezz_X said:


> Any updates for the development of this app it really is the best looking file manager for android and if it gets all the features working as well I'd be more than happy you buy it in the play store.


Things are getting much closer, but we're probably at least a few more days out. I'm heading out of town on Friday, so that's going to slow things down a day or so.


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## bkensey

Hey everyone, sorry to have disappeared on everyone for so long. Funny how many "one more thing"s there are when preparing for a release.

I am here to announce that many weeks of silent work have brought development to a place where I could use beta testers.

To provide a short synopsis of my direction of development, I have ceased development of Holo File Explorer in order to join another developer (BrandoCommando) in the refinement of his own app (which has a far more mature back end and feature set). I am focused primarily on bringing a polished Holo aesthetic to his app (OpenExplorer) and this essentially amounts to a merging of the two projects. Since BrandoCommando and I started collaborating, we have fully implemented ActionBarSherolock, made a number of Holo related visual improvements, and squashed bugs and inefficiencies. You can expect the same attention to visual quality that was characteristic of HFE, and as time progresses we will port more and more of the HFE UI to OpenExplorer. The final product will look similar to HFE, eschewing OpenExplorer's current tab-based folder traversal system in favor of HFE's multi-"window" paradigm.

This effort is being coordinated on GitHub at https://github.com/BrandroidTools/OpenExplorer/commits/test-abs and what we really need right now are beta testers to help us in identifying bugs and then marking them in our GitHub issues list. And if some of you enterprising coders out there wish to submit a pull request or two, we would be happy to welcome you. If you're interested, pm me and I'll fill you in on the details. Thanks for your continued interest!


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