Re: [mnemosyne-proj-users] error configuring Mnemogogo

[Timothy Bourke]

On Nov 14 at 21:00 -0800, Charlene Charette wrote:
> Windows 7; Mnemosyne v.2.1; Mnemogogo v.2.0.4; Android Tablet, Nexus 7, Jelly
> Bean v.4.2
>
> I've followed the steps at: http://www.tbrk.org/software/mnemogogo.html . I got
> to Configuration, step 5 - choosing a folder. No matter which directory I
> select (pre-existing or newly-created), I get an error message of "The folder
> name is not valid." Any suggestions on a solution?

That's very strange.

Just to make sure I have the correct understanding of what happens:
you mount your tablet as a USB driver, browse to a folder on it from
within Mnemogogo, click OK, and then you get the error message?

Does the same thing happen for folders on your local hard disk?

> Alternatively, I use SugarSync to sync some of my desktop files to my laptop
> and tablet. Perhaps it would be easier to transfer the database that way? If
> this is possible, 1) which file(s) do I need to sync and 2) does everything
> then work automagically or do I need to do any sort of importing/exporting?

That should also work provided you take care not to run Mnemododo and
Mnemogogo at the same time. You just need to synchronize the whole
directory exported by Mnemogogo.

Mnemododo only works with files exported through Mnemogogo. It cannot
read the Mnemosyne database and media files directly.

Tim.

[Charlene Charette]

On Thursday, November 15, 2012 4:14:20 AM UTC-6, Timothy Bourke wrote:

On Nov 14 at 21:00 -0800, Charlene Charette wrote:
> I've followed the steps at: http://www.tbrk.org/software/mnemogogo.html . I got
> to Configuration, step 5 - choosing a folder. No matter which directory I
> select (pre-existing or newly-created), I get an error message of "The folder
> name is not valid." Any suggestions on a solution?

That's very strange.

Just to make sure I have the correct understanding of what happens:
you mount your tablet as a USB driver, browse to a folder on it from
within Mnemogogo, click OK, and then you get the error message?

Does the same thing happen for folders on your local hard disk?

You're understanding is correct: I select the folder, click OK [Select Folder] and get the error message. Windows treats the tablet as an external drive. All the storage on the Nexus 7 is internal; there is no SD card. I think I've seen messages in this group from folks who are successfully Nexus.

> Alternatively, I use SugarSync to sync some of my desktop files to my laptop
> and tablet. Perhaps it would be easier to transfer the database that way? If
> this is possible, 1) which file(s) do I need to sync and 2) does everything
> then work automagically or do I need to do any sort of importing/exporting?

That should also work provided you take care not to run Mnemododo and
Mnemogogo at the same time. You just need to synchronize the whole
directory exported by Mnemogogo.

Mnemododo only works with files exported through Mnemogogo. It cannot
read the Mnemosyne database and media files directly.

Understood. The wireless route seems easier, especially since I have this mystery error. If you want to persue trying to figure it out I'd be happy to try various solutions. Otherwise, I'm going to go the SugarSync route.

Thanks,
--Charlene

[Timothy Bourke]

On Nov 15 at 10:27 -0800, Charlene Charette wrote:
> On Thursday, November 15, 2012 4:14:20 AM UTC-6, Timothy Bourke wrote:
>
> On Nov 14 at 21:00 -0800, Charlene Charette wrote:
> > I've followed the steps at: http://www.tbrk.org/software/mnemogogo.html .
> I got
> > to Configuration, step 5 - choosing a folder. No matter which directory I
> > select (pre-existing or newly-created), I get an error message of "The
> folder
> > name is not valid." Any suggestions on a solution?
>
> That's very strange.
>
> Just to make sure I have the correct understanding of what happens:
> you mount your tablet as a USB driver, browse to a folder on it from
> within Mnemogogo, click OK, and then you get the error message?
>
> Does the same thing happen for folders on your local hard disk?
>
>
> You're understanding is correct: I select the folder, click OK [Select Folder]
> and get the error message. Windows treats the tablet as an external drive. All
> the storage on the Nexus 7 is internal; there is no SD card. I think I've seen
> messages in this group from folks who are successfully Nexus.

OK. Does the same thing happen for folders on your local hard disk? Or
is it just the Nexus?

> > Alternatively, I use SugarSync to sync some of my desktop files to my laptop
> > and tablet. Perhaps it would be easier to transfer the database that way?
> > If this is possible, 1) which file(s) do I need to sync and 2) does everything
> > then work automagically or do I need to do any sort of importing/exporting?
>
> That should also work provided you take care not to run Mnemododo and
> Mnemogogo at the same time. You just need to synchronize the whole
> directory exported by Mnemogogo.
>
> Mnemododo only works with files exported through Mnemogogo. It cannot
> read the Mnemosyne database and media files directly.
>
> Understood. The wireless route seems easier, especially since I have this
> mystery error. If you want to persue trying to figure it out I'd be happy to
> try various solutions. Otherwise, I'm going to go the SugarSync route.

Any kind of syncing should work well.

After exporting from Mnemogogo, please ensure that all files have been
synchronized onto your tablet before staring Mnemododo. Before
importing into Mnemogogo, please first quit Mnemododo and ensure that
all files have synchronized onto your PC.

There is a risk of data loss if the correct order is not observed!

Tim.

[Charlene Charette]

On Saturday, November 17, 2012 1:40:42 AM UTC-6, Timothy Bourke wrote:

OK. Does the same thing happen for folders on your local hard disk? Or
is it just the Nexus?

Hard disk folders work fine. It's only a problem with the Nexus. Just tested and it works fine with my Android phone (Gingerbread). I wonder if it has anything to do with the 4.2 update that just came through?

 

After exporting from Mnemogogo, please ensure that all files have been
synchronized onto your tablet before staring Mnemododo. Before
importing into Mnemogogo, please first quit Mnemododo and ensure that
all files have synchronized onto your PC.

There is a risk of data loss if the correct order is not observed!

No problem. Back in the day I had a Palm Pilot. The procedure is much the same. :-)

Thanks for your help,
--Charlene

[Timothy Bourke]

Perfect. It's more for the (mailing list) record than anything else. I
try to do my best to ensure that no one's mobile review data is ever
inadvertently lost!

Tim.

[Timothy Bourke]

Hello,

On Mar 4 at 19:13 -0800, eon...@gmail.com wrote:
> Hi this isn't working for me either. same problem - "folder is
> invalid" when I try to set the sync path to any folder on my phone.
> I've also tried syncing to my desktop and then transfering the file
> over either via dropbox or a physical connection... nothing works. I
> bought this app and haven't been able to use it at all! extremely
> frustrating. I have a nexus 4 with 4.2.2

I am sorry that the process is proving so difficult.

The initial setup of Mnemogogo/dodo is sometimes frustrating, but
after that it normally works smoothly.

Have you been following the step-by-step instructions at:
http://www.tbrk.org/software/mnemogogo.html#config

There are basically two phases:

1. Getting the exported cards onto your phone.

There are basically three approaches, in order :

a. Mount your phone as a USB drive and export directly from
Mnemogogo into a sub folder.

b. Export from Mnemogogo into a Dropbox (or other) folder and wait
for it to synchronize with your phone.

c. Export from Mnemogogo into any folder and then copy/transfer
that folder manually onto your phone using any technique that
works (file synchronization, proprietary syncing software,
etc.).

Method (c) is not ideal but it is often a good way to debug
problems. Please check the exported folder (ideally, once it is on
your phone) to ensure that it contains at least the files
STATS.CSV, CARDS, CATS, IDS and CONFIG. It is important that the
names are all upper-case (in the past, some OS/phone combinations
have messed with the file names).

2. Having Mnemododo find the exported cards.

Sadly, this is sometimes trickier than it should be. There are two
options:

a. Fully automatic search

This sometimes takes too long (for complicated directory
structures) or fails completely (for reasons that have never
been clear).

b. Restricted directory search

You can enter a path in the settings dialog box to restrict the
search to a subdirectory. This technique should always work, but
getting the path name right can be tricky.

I have implemented, but not yet released, a third option:

c. Restrict the initial search to the
/Android/data/org.tbrk.mnemododo subdirectory and only fall back
to options (a)/(b) if nothing is found.

This subdirectory is the one recommended by the Android API for
storing application-specific files. The development version of
Mnemododo creates it on first startup so that it can then be
found without confusion.

The only risk with this option is that the directory is
completely deleted on uninstall. This shouldn't normally be a
problem but it does introduce a slight risk of losing review
data (something that I take great pains to avoid!). Some
earlier Android versions (at least in the emulator) deleted this
subdirectory on upgrade, but this bug seems to have been
corrected.

Are you able to complete Phase 1 successfully?

If so, what goes wrong at Phase 2?

Would you be willing to try the development version if I send it to
you via private email?

Tim.

[Timothy Bourke]

On Mar 7 at 21:53 -0800, m.a.s...@gmail.com wrote:
> From my PC I can browse to the folder on my phone that is connected to my
> pc via usb. When I try to set up the synchronisation path in Mnemogogo
> I get the error - The folder name is not valid.
>
> I can choose a folder on my pc and it seems to work.
>
> My phone is model number SGH-T999 running Android version 4.1.1

OK. This is an example of a "phase 1" problem.

From the Mnemogogo configuration screen:
http://www.tbrk.org/software/mnemogogo.html#fig_1

if you click the "Browse" button, are you able to browse to your phone
(mounted as a USB mass storage device)?

Are you able to create a new directory on the phone?

And then to select it?

What "synchronization path" then appears in the dialog box?

Tim.

PS Please respond precisely to each of the questions above--I am
sorry to have to specify this, but, in my experience, some people
forget, which makes debugging by distance that much harder!

PPS As far as I am aware, Mnemogogo/dodo works on all Android phones
with exports from Windows, Mac, and *nix, but some persistence is
occasionally required during the initial setup.

[Mark Starkey]

Thank you for your quick response Tim.

My phone is mounted as a USB mass storage device.

I can open Mnemosyne>Cards> Mnemogogo>Options then click on the browse button and browse to and create a new directory on my phone.  To verify that the new directory is there, I can go to my phone and browse to that new directory.

When I click the Select Folder button for the synchronization path I get this error - The folder name is not valid.





There is no "synchronization path" that appears in the dialog box.

Mark

[Timothy Bourke]

Thank you for the precise responses.

On Mar 8 at 10:25 -0800, Mark Starkey wrote:
> My phone is mounted as a USB mass storage device.
>
> I can open Mnemosyne>Cards> Mnemogogo>Options then click on the browse button
> and browse to and create a new directory on my phone.  To verify that the new
> directory is there, I can go to my phone and browse to that new directory.
>
> When I click the Select Folder button for the synchronization path I get this
> error - The folder name is not valid.

And it works if you follow exactly the same steps but for a folder on
the local hard disk?

Mnemogogo calls a Qt library function
(QFileDialog.getExistingDirectory with QFileDialog.ShowDirsOnly) to
select the synchronization path. I can't understand why it should fail
with that error message.

Have you tried mounting the USB drive (i.e., giving it a drive
letter), and then trying to select the folder through the mounted
drive?

> There is no "synchronization path" that appears in the dialog box.

It would also be possible to enter a path directly, but this requires
some familiarity with paths on Windows.

Apparently there is a command-line tool that can give the (drive-less)
path to a volume:
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/mountvol.mspx?mfr=true

But I would try mounting the drive first, and then, if that works,
looking for a way of avoiding the mounting step.

Tim.

[Timothy Bourke]

On Mar 9 at 11:58 -0800, Mark S wrote:
> Thank you for your help Tim. I have wasted too much time on this!

Sorry about that. I wish the initial setup was not so tricky for some
configurations.

> The problem seems to be with the Samsung Galaxy S3. I cannot mount as a USB
> "drive" on my PC. My phone either connects as Media device (MTP) or Camera
> (PTP).

OK. That explains everything.

Mnemogogo is designed to work best with phones that can be mounted as
USB Mass Storage Devices.

I know that many newer phones only mount as MTP or PTP devices. This
is unfortunate.

I looked at adding support within Mnemogogo, but this would seem to
require additional Python libraries (thus complicating installation
and cross-platform support).

The solutions seem to be :

1. Export to a local directory and then copy/synchronize this
directory to your phone using other software that either :

a. synchronizes over MTP (like copy and paste in Windows explorer,
or any of the more specialised synchronisation programs),

b. synchronizes via cloud storage (Dropbox etc.), or,

c. synchronizes via a wireless network (AirDroid, etc.).

2. If possible, remove the sdcard from your phone, mount it directly
on your PC, and export onto it (as you already suggested).

3. Wait for a Mnemosyne client that supports network synchronization;
I know that Peter (Bienstman) is working on one.

I don't like that so many steps are needed to synchronize Mnemododo
with Mnemosyne. I'm going to look at the new Google Drive API (as
suggested by Arno den Hartog) to see if there is a way to streamline
the process.

> I can copy files from my pc to my external sd card that is on my phone and use
> those files on the phone, but Mnemogogo does not work.

That should work. Do you mean that Mnemododo does not detect the
exported directory?

> I may try to move my external card to my pc and back to my phone, but like I
> said, I have wasted too much time that I could have been studying.

Understood. Though, naturally, I am happy to keep trying to help if
you want to continue trying (now or later).

Tim.

[Timothy Bourke]

On Mar 10 at 06:42 +0100, Timothy Bourke wrote:
> Mnemogogo is designed to work best with phones that can be mounted as
> USB Mass Storage Devices.
>
> I know that many newer phones only mount as MTP or PTP devices. This
> is unfortunate.
>
> I looked at adding support within Mnemogogo, but this would seem to
> require additional Python libraries (thus complicating installation
> and cross-platform support).
>
> The solutions seem to be :
>
> 1. Export to a local directory and then copy/synchronize this
> directory to your phone using other software that either :
>
> a. synchronizes over MTP (like copy and paste in Windows explorer,
> or any of the more specialised synchronisation programs),
>
> b. synchronizes via cloud storage (Dropbox etc.), or,
>
> c. synchronizes via a wireless network (AirDroid, etc.).
>
> 2. If possible, remove the sdcard from your phone, mount it directly
> on your PC, and export onto it (as you already suggested).
>
> 3. Wait for a Mnemosyne client that supports network synchronization;
> I know that Peter (Bienstman) is working on one.

For the record, it turned out that solution 2 worked in this case,
i.e.,

1. Remove the SD card from the phone and mount it on the PC.

2. (Import/)Export from Mnemogogo onto the SD card.

3. Unmount the card and put it back into the phone.

4. Start Mnemododo.

5. Repeat from 1 after 1 or 2 weeks of mobile reviewing.

Tim.

[Timothy Bourke]

On Mar 12 at 19:15 -0700, doct...@gmail.com wrote:
> I have a Galaxy SIII and am experiencing the same problem. After some
> looking it appears that it can't be mounted as a mass storage device
> unless I root it.
>
> I can however export the cards to a folder on my desktop and then copy
> those manually onto my phone. That's not as slick as it used to be but
> it's not unworkable either.
>
> Hope you can get this fixed without breaking everything else!

Unfortunately, the SIII uses the MTP protocol and does not support
being mounted as a mass storage device.

Mnemogogo will not provide built-in MTP support. Its job is just to
export from Mnemosyne so that Mnemododo and Mnemojojo can be used to
review cards. I prefer not to introduce extra library dependencies and
complicated features. Mnemogogo has certain (known) limitations, but
it is a solid and reliable tool.

So, there are basically four solutions:

1. Export and copy as you have already been doing (which is,
admittedly, a bit tedious).

2. Unmount the SD card from your phone, mount it on your PC, and
import and export directly to and from it.

3. Export to a DropBox (or other) folder that is synchronized via the
network with your phone.

4. Use other software to synchronize files in a folder on your PC with
a folder on your phone either via an MTP or wireless connection.
Perhaps something like Cheetah Sync or AirDroid (Though I haven't
used either and thus cannot make any recommendations).

Tim.

[Timothy Bourke]

On May 5 at 18:28 -0700, eon...@gmail.com wrote:
> same problem as galaxy S3 on the Nexus 4. problem is worse because
> you can't take out the SD card.

Thank you for your comments and for documenting your experience.

> here's what finally worked on Nexus 4 [SOLVED] non-rooted:
> -exported to a folder on my PC desktop
> -connected phone via USB
> -(personal preference) copied into a folder I named "Flash Cards" in
> I made via the Astromanager app. just used windows explorer and copy
> paste.

Why can't you just copy the folder exported from Mnemogogo using
Windows Explorer?

I.e., why do you need to create a folder using Astromanager?

> -disconnected the phone from laptop,
> -RESTARTED phone so that mnemosyne could see the new file refresh
> (you really need a "refresh/research" button)

Do you mean Mnemododo (i.e., the Android app)? The search is remade
every time you enter the settings screen. It should definitely not be
necessary to restart the phone.

> -open mnemogogo on phone and go to settings, it should search
> quickly and then read "Card Directory: location of the files
> exported" at top (this should say something like "cards found" IMHO)
> then press back.
> -finally checked watch to see how much time has been wasted trying
> to solve problem (~50 minutes)

Setting up Mnemogogo/dodo for the first time can be tedious, but once
you have a process worked out, it should be relatively pain free.
Surely it wasn't wasted time if you can now review your cards on your
phone.

In my mind, the simplest system for users would be to have an online
version of Mnemosyne, i.e., a web app for entering, editing, and
reviewing cards, with which an app could sync. But, this would require
paying for hosting and entail a certain loss of privacy.

Alternatively, Peter has developed a web server component and syncing
protocol for synchronizing over a network. But the Mnemogogo/dodo
architecture was written well beforehand and it would not be trivial
to add support for the protocol.

So, Mnemogogo/dodo works by transferring files from your PC to your
phone. It uses a protocol that has existed for decades (file open,
write, and close), but which, granted for various reasons, no longer
works well for many of the latest phones.

Apart from the current problems with MTP devices, this approach still
has many advantages:

* It is highly portable.

* It is quite secure (no need to run network servers on your PC or
send your data onto the Internet).

* It separates exporting and transfer making the process easier to
troubleshoot, and also quite flexible since transfer can be
accomplished in several different ways.

> really really need a better solution to this man. I've been asked by
> friends if there is an app like this one, and I want to recommend
> this app, but there's no way they are tech savvy or patient enough
> to do any of this. also keep in mind: mainly geeks want your app.
> geeks have new phones. new phones can't be mounted with out rooting
> (which I personally would never do just for one app like this).

I would love to make Mnemogogo/dodo easier to use if only to save
myself time.

My current position:

* I would gladly add support for mtp to Mnemogogo, but (please
correct me if I am wrong), there does not seem to be any robust
(i.e., easy to install, always works with minimum configuration)
cross-platform (Windows, Mac, and Linux) Python library for mtp.

* I will not implement an existing or custom network synchronization
algorithm. I believe that this is a job for specialized
apps/services. I would prefer to add specific support for DropBox,
Google Drive, etc. It is just a question of finding the time.

Other than that, all suggestions are welcome!

Could you say whether you considered using a cloud service (like
DropBox) or 3rd party app (like Airdroid)?

Didn't your phone come with software for syncing files with your
phone?

Tim.