All I want is to easily transfer files from Android to Linux using WiFi

[Jesper Lauridsen]

I must be shooting in all the wrong directions because I have been unable
to easily transfer files from Android to jessie/sid Linux by Wi-Fi.

1. I'm definitively connected to my local WiFi network.
2. I installed ES File Explorer but it only finds Windows PC shares
when I press "LAN" and then "Scan"
3. I installed "My Files" which gives me the following options:
Share via
a. Bluetooth <== not WiFi
b. Email <== not WiFi
c. Gmail <== not WiFi
d. K-9 Mail <== not WiFi
e. Messaging <== not WiFi
f. NewsGroup <== not WiFi
g. Send by LAN <== This may work (see note 1)
h. Skype <== not WiFi
i. Term here <== This may work (see note 2)
j. TurboClient <== worlds' worst use model
k. Wi-Fi Direct <== This may work (see note 4)

Note 1: "Send by LAN" brings up ES File Explorer, which doesn't find any
Linux shares (it finds Windows shares only).
Note 2: "Terminal" brings up a terminal window, which, I guess I can ftp
from there, I think, but that's not an easy way to do things.
Note 3: "TurboClient" has the most obtuse use model I have seen in a long
while, so, if it's the *only* solution, I'll use it; but it's terrible.
Note 4: "Wi-Fi Direct" brings up a search window which finds no available
devices.

Do you use one of these methods?
Which do you find easiest?

[root]

ES file explorer does what you want.

[Aleksandar Kuktin]

On Sun, 08 Nov 2015 22:23:35 +0000, Jesper Lauridsen wrote:

> I must be shooting in all the wrong directions because I have been
> unable to easily transfer files from Android to jessie/sid Linux by
> Wi-Fi.
>

> [snip]

>
> Do you use one of these methods?
> Which do you find easiest?

I use netcat when I want to transfer files between two computers when
there are no NATs and I have shell access to both of them

box0$ ncat -l $((0x9000)) > file.dat
box1$ ncat box0.local $((0x9000)) < file.dat

Fast and easy.

[Big Fish in a Small Crotch]

Welcome to Linux!!!
The only OS on the planet that can't transfer files from one Linux
(Android) device to another Linux device.

Laughable.

P.S Wait until you try to update the firmware.


--
You Ain't The Biggest Fish In The Crotch.

[DecadentLinuxUserNumeroUno]

On Sun, 8 Nov 2015 22:46:37 +0000 (UTC), root <NoE...@home.org> Gave
us:
snip

>ES file explorer does what you want.

Doesn't his Android need to be "rooted" to do these things? I mean
for "best results" that is.

[DecadentLinuxUserNumeroUno]

On Sun, 8 Nov 2015 18:34:14 -0500, Big Fish in a Small Crotch
<bigfishina...@myself.com> Gave us:

>
>Welcome to Linux!!!

You're a goddamned idiot.

>The only OS on the planet that can't transfer files from one Linux
>(Android) device to another Linux device.

You obviously have no clue about Android's security features due to
the fact that they are typically mobile phone devices.
>
>Laughable.

Yes, you are, you stinking fish crotch retarded bitch.
and you added a group, troll fucktard.

>
>P.S Wait until you try to update the firmware.

You're an idiot. It is not "firmware" if you are referring to the OS.
All such devices are solid state now, and calling it "embedded" and
"firmware" is pretty retarded in this modern paradigm.

[Paul]

Jesper Lauridsen wrote:
> I must be shooting in all the wrong directions because I have been unable

Setting up SAMBA server on the Linux box would be a start.
(Or use any other standard you feel that all platforms support
for your usage.)

Just about anything remote like that, requires authentication,
which is the biggest road block to success.

Paul

[Lew Pitcher]

On Sunday November 8 2015 17:23, in alt.os.linux, "Jesper Lauridsen"

<rors...@sorrystofanet.dk> wrote:

> I must be shooting in all the wrong directions because I have been unable
> to easily transfer files from Android to jessie/sid Linux by Wi-Fi.
>
> 1. I'm definitively connected to my local WiFi network.

[snip]

> Do you use one of these methods?

No

> Which do you find easiest?

KWS, which is an Android-hosted webserver
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.xeustechnologies.android.kws&hl=en

When properly configured and enabled, KWS provides access to every directory
and file on your android device. From your Linux-based web browser, you can
retrieve individual files or tarballs of full directories from the Android
device.


--
Lew Pitcher
"In Skills, We Trust"
PGP public key available upon request

[Ben Bacarisse]

Jesper Lauridsen <rors...@sorrystofanet.dk> writes:
<snip>

> Do you use one of these methods?

No.

> Which do you find easiest?

I run an SSH server on the phone (SSHDroid I think). I then use rsync
or ssh or Nautilus or whatever to transfer files.

--
Ben.

[Big Al]

I use wi-fi file transfer.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.smarterdroid.wififiletransfer
You load it on your android, start it, and write down the IP address it shows on the screen.

Go over to any PC with a browser and type in the ip address.
Bingo, upload or download as you wish.

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Sun, 08 Nov 2015 22:46:37 +0000, root wrote:

> ES file explorer does what you want.

I'm sure es file manager does send files over wifi from android to linux,
but it first needs to *find* the linux "share", doesn't it?

When I es file explorer searches the LAN, it only finds Windows machines.
1. http://i.imgur.com/T06JhGv.gif
2. http://i.imgur.com/lBZqCfx.gif
3. http://i.imgur.com/j4KNQi6.gif

So, there must be something I need to do on the linux side to make es
file explorer recognize it on the LAN.

But what?

[Jonathan N. Little]

Jesper Lauridsen wrote:
> I must be shooting in all the wrong directions because I have been unable
> to easily transfer files from Android to jessie/sid Linux by Wi-Fi.
>
> 1. I'm definitively connected to my local WiFi network.
> 2. I installed ES File Explorer but it only finds Windows PC shares
> when I press "LAN" and then "Scan"
> 3. I installed "My Files" which gives me the following options:
> Share via
> a. Bluetooth <== not WiFi
> b. Email <== not WiFi
> c. Gmail <== not WiFi
> d. K-9 Mail <== not WiFi
> e. Messaging <== not WiFi
> f. NewsGroup <== not WiFi
> g. Send by LAN <== This may work (see note 1)
> h. Skype <== not WiFi
> i. Term here <== This may work (see note 2)
> j. TurboClient <== worlds' worst use model
> k. Wi-Fi Direct <== This may work (see note 4)
>
> Note 1: "Send by LAN" brings up ES File Explorer, which doesn't find any
> Linux shares (it finds Windows shares only).

Sid you install samba *server* on Linux and define the shares? The
default install of just the samba client will not do. Also you are using
the default security = user then you need to add the samba user password
on Linux server

sudo smbpasswd -a SAMBA_USER

> Note 2: "Terminal" brings up a terminal window, which, I guess I can ftp
> from there, I think, but that's not an easy way to do things.
> Note 3: "TurboClient" has the most obtuse use model I have seen in a long
> while, so, if it's the *only* solution, I'll use it; but it's terrible.
> Note 4: "Wi-Fi Direct" brings up a search window which finds no available
> devices.
>
> Do you use one of these methods?
> Which do you find easiest?
>

Okay from Android to access samba shares on Linux and Windows I have
Astro Filemanager on an ASUS tablet and on my phone I have ES File
Explorer... Both work fine.

If you want to access Android *from* Linus or Windows then you are going
to need something like AndSMB

--
Take care,

Jonathan
-------------------
LITTLE WORKS STUDIO
http://www.LittleWorksStudio.com

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Sun, 08 Nov 2015 20:15:14 -0500, Lew Pitcher wrote:

> KWS, which is an Android-hosted webserver
> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?
id=org.xeustechnologies.android.kws&hl=en
>
> When properly configured and enabled, KWS provides access to every
> directory and file on your android device. From your Linux-based web
> browser, you can retrieve individual files or tarballs of full
> directories from the Android device.

That looks like a "pull" model (i.e., pull from linux instead of pushing
from Android), which is, I guess, a solution if that's the best way to do
it.

I was trying to "push" from Android, but I see I already have installed
something similar to KWS which is "WiFi FTP Server", which I started up
and it gave me the URL ftp://192.168.1.11:2221/ with both the login and
password being "android".

If that's the easiest way to copy files from Android to Linux, that's
what I'll use, but a web browser, while great for a single file, is a
miserable interface for downloading scores of files at a time.

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Sun, 08 Nov 2015 21:51:40 -0500, Jonathan N. Little wrote:

> Sid you install samba *server* on Linux and define the shares? The
> default install of just the samba client will not do. Also you are using
> the default security = user then you need to add the samba user password
> on Linux server
>
> sudo smbpasswd -a SAMBA_USER

I was not aware that Samba was needed for es file manager to work!
If that's the case, then es file manager should have said so when it saw
the linux machines on the local network.

Looking to see if Samba is installed on Linux, it is:
$ which samba
/usr/sbin/samba

Looking around, I see /etc/samba/smb.conf which seems to be a default:
;[profiles]
; comment = Users profiles
; path = /home/samba/profiles
; guest ok = no
; browseable = no
; create mask = 0600
; directory mask = 0700

[printers]
comment = All Printers
browseable = no
path = /var/spool/samba
printable = yes
guest ok = no
read only = yes
create mask = 0700

# Windows clients look for this share name as a source of downloadable
# printer drivers
[print$]
comment = Printer Drivers
path = /var/lib/samba/printers
browseable = yes
read only = yes
guest ok = no

I added these lines, and rebooted, but nothing changed with es file
manager:

[tmp]
comment = Samba temporary directory
path = /tmp
guest ok = yes
browseable = yes
create mask = 0600
directory mask = 0700

How can I test if Samba is working from the Android phone or from Linux
itself?

[Big Fish in a Small Crotch]

On Sun, 08 Nov 2015 19:41:55 -0500, DecadentLinuxUserNumeroUno wrote:

> On Sun, 8 Nov 2015 18:34:14 -0500, Big Fish in a Small Crotch
> <bigfishina...@myself.com> Gave us:
>
>>
>>Welcome to Linux!!!
>
> You're a goddamned idiot.
>
>>The only OS on the planet that can't transfer files from one Linux
>>(Android) device to another Linux device.
>
> You obviously have no clue about Android's security features due to
> the fact that they are typically mobile phone devices.

Android and security?
Are you fucking kidding?

Android is the biggest malware platform on the planet.

Research it yourself.

idiot.

[Jonathan N. Little]

Jesper Lauridsen wrote:
> On Sun, 08 Nov 2015 21:51:40 -0500, Jonathan N. Little wrote:
>
>> Sid you install samba *server* on Linux and define the shares? The
>> default install of just the samba client will not do. Also you are using
>> the default security = user then you need to add the samba user password
>> on Linux server
>>
>> sudo smbpasswd -a SAMBA_USER
>
> I was not aware that Samba was needed for es file manager to work!
> If that's the case, then es file manager should have said so when it saw
> the linux machines on the local network.

Of course not! If you don't have a server on running on the targeted
system then it will not respond to a client, i.e., your Android samba
client app Es File Manager. No server running, no response then no
shares visible.

smb://IP_ADDRESS_OF_SERVER/tmp

[Big Fish in a Small Crotch]

Yea and all he has to do is get it near a Windows system with BT and it
will connect and work..

Another reason why Linux sucks.

[Tim]

Jesper Lauridsen <rors...@sorrystofanet.dk> wrote in
news:n1oi17$g5n$1...@news.mixmin.net:

> I must be shooting in all the wrong directions because I have been
> unable to easily transfer files from Android to jessie/sid Linux by
> Wi-Fi.
>
>

> Do you use one of these methods?
> Which do you find easiest?

I use WiFi Manager PRO that I got from the Amazon App store.
One brings it up on the Android device, and it gives you a url.
On the Linux end bring up a web browser and enter the url given. You will
see a tree directory of all of the accessable files on the Android device
with check boxes. After checking off the ones you want to transfer, click
the download button, and it will bundle all the files into a zip file and
trasfer it to your specified location on the Linus device. You can also
send files to the Android device as well.

It does cost a whole $0.99 cents, but is well worth the money.

[Dirk T. Verbeek]

Op 08-11-15 om 23:23 schreef Jesper Lauridsen:

By far the easiest way is to use KDE Connect.

Install it on both the Android device and the Linux computer, from one
of the two you ask the other to pair, reply with a Yes and you are in
business.
Yes both ways.

Besides file sharing it has other nifty features like you can use the
Android as a track pad and from the Android you can operate the media
player on the computer.

[Chris Ahlstrom]

Big Fish in a Small Crotch wrote this copyrighted missive and expects royalties:

> On Sun, 8 Nov 2015 22:35:01 -0500, Jonathan N. Little wrote:
>

Poor Flounder, stalking a newsgroup where no one cares about him.

Anyway, I use VxConnectBot to transfer files from my Android phone
to my Linux "server".

Pretty easy stuff.

--
Beware of a tall blond man with one black shoe.

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Sun, 08 Nov 2015 22:35:01 -0500, Jonathan N. Little wrote:


> smb://IP_ADDRESS_OF_SERVER/tmp

That's a nice test, thanks!

I first ran that test on the linux machine running samba using the
hostname of the machine and the web page came up just fine.

On Android, in Firefox, everytime I type the URL, the damn thing tries to
go to a search engine!

smb://192.168.1.4/tmp

> Of course not! If you don't have a server on running on the targeted
> system then it will not respond to a client, i.e., your Android samba
> client app Es File Manager. No server running, no response then no
> shares visible.

>> How can I test if Samba is working from the Android phone or from Linux
>> itself?

Even with Samba running, ES File Manager doesn't seem to recognize the
url. I am positive I typed it correctly, yet, in Firefox 42, it opens up
saying "The address wasn't understood. You might need to install other
software to open this address".

Does Android need something in order to recognize an smb url?

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Sun, 08 Nov 2015 22:48:33 -0500, Big Fish in a Small Crotch wrote:

> Yea and all he has to do is get it near a Windows system with BT and it
> will connect and work..
>
> Another reason why Linux sucks.

Bluetooth works even better on Linux than it does on my Windows XP
machine (I can never get bluetooth to work with Windows XP but it works
fine with Linux).

So, bluetooth isn't (and never was) the problem here since I'm using WiFi
for the faster speeds (lots of files I want to transfer).

The problem is that it's not obvious what is needed for ES File Manager
to work with Linux over WiFi.

It appears, since a Samba URL failed to be recognized on Android, that
the problem is in the Android OS.

What's needed to get Android to recognize (or test) Samba?

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Sun, 08 Nov 2015 23:16:59 -0600, Tim wrote:

> I use WiFi Manager PRO that I got from the Amazon App store.
> One brings it up on the Android device, and it gives you a url.
> On the Linux end bring up a web browser and enter the url given. You
> will see a tree directory of all of the accessable files on the Android
> device with check boxes. After checking off the ones you want to
> transfer, click the download button, and it will bundle all the files
> into a zip file and trasfer it to your specified location on the Linus
> device. You can also send files to the Android device as well.

Being forced to use a web browser is not a good use model when all you
want to do is transfer files.

If that's the EASIEST way, then I'll be forced to use the web browser,
but, I am saddened that people think a web browser can do everything.

Web browsers are terrible at email; they're horrific at Usenet; they're
atrocious as calendars, and they're really not all that good at file
transfer, especially when files are scattered all over the place.

A web browser is a lousy interface to a file system.

If the web browser is the ONLY way to transfer files easily by Wi-Fi,
then I'll use it; but only as the last straw.

[Roger Mills]

I'm not a linux user, but I'll come to that in a moment. For
transferring files between Android devices and a Windows computer, I use
ES File Explorer at the Android end and an FTP client (AceFTP in my
case) at the Windows end.

In ES File Explorer, I tap Remote Manager followed by Turn on WLAN. The
Android device then becomes an FTP server, and it tells me the IP
address and port at which to point my FTP client.

Then I go to the client on the PC and point it at the server on the
Android. It shows the Android files and folders in one pane and the PC
files and folders in another. Everything is controlled from the PC. It
is easy to select individual files or folders or groups thereof and copy
them in either direction.

Now for the Linux bit. You need to run an FTP client on your Linux
machine in order to do the same thing that I do on my PC with AceFTP. I
know very little about Linux, but this article might point you in the
right direction:
http://www.techradar.com/news/software/applications/8-of-the-best-linux-ftp-clients-902168
--
Cheers,
Roger
____________
Please reply to Newsgroup. Whilst email address is valid, it is seldom
checked.

[Dick Streefland]

Jesper Lauridsen <rors...@sorrystofanet.dk> wrote:
| I must be shooting in all the wrong directions because I have been unable
| to easily transfer files from Android to jessie/sid Linux by Wi-Fi.

Since you already have ES File Explorer, probably the easiest way is
to go to Network->Remote, and access your phone from Linux via the FTP
URL that is shown.

--
Dick

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 07:17:09 +0100, Dirk T. Verbeek wrote:

> By far the easiest way is to use KDE Connect.
>
> Install it on both the Android device and the Linux computer, from one
> of the two you ask the other to pair, reply with a Yes and you are in
> business.
> Yes both ways.
>
> Besides file sharing it has other nifty features like you can use the
> Android as a track pad and from the Android you can operate the media
> player on the computer.

This seems like the PERFECT solution, if it works.

KDE Connect seems like the right answer because it doesn't require a web
browser (which is a horrible interface for a file system) but note that
KDE Connect requires Android 4.3 and above (which I have, so I'm fine).

I found it here on Google Play: KDE Connect by KDE Community
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.kde.kdeconnect_tp

When I ran it on Android, understandably it said "No devices" were
available. So, I need to add it to Linux, I'm sure.

Googling, I find this video which says that Kubuntu 15.04 has it by
default, but not in my version (Kubuntu 14.04).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xEtoigg4TA

These instructions worked for me to install it:
$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:vikoadi/ppa
$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install kdeconnect

So now it's installed, and I just need to figure out how to set it up on
the Linux side. I will google and report back what I figure out.

[Inge Svensson]

Den 2015-11-09 kl. 13:32, skrev Jesper Lauridsen:
> On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 07:17:09 +0100, Dirk T. Verbeek wrote:
>
>> By far the easiest way is to use KDE Connect.
>>
>> Install it on both the Android device and the Linux computer, from one
>> of the two you ask the other to pair, reply with a Yes and you are in
>> business.
>> Yes both ways.
>>
>> Besides file sharing it has other nifty features like you can use the
>> Android as a track pad and from the Android you can operate the media
>> player on the computer.
>
> This seems like the PERFECT solution, if it works.
>
> KDE Connect seems like the right answer because it doesn't require a web
> browser (which is a horrible interface for a file system) but note that
> KDE Connect requires Android 4.3 and above (which I have, so I'm fine).

Android 2.3 or later
<snip>
Inge Svensson

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 13:39:37 +0100, Inge Svensson wrote:

> Android 2.3 or later
> <snip>
> Inge Svensson

In troubleshooting why KDE Connect doesn't find Linux, I learned that KDE
Connect can work on Android 2.1 or later, but with reduced functionality
up to Android 4.3.
http://xmodulo.com/integrate-android-kde-linux-desktop.html

On Kubuntu 15.04, it's preinstalled by default, but I'm on 14.04 so I
installed it using the following command:

$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:vikoadi/ppa
$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install kdeconnect

$ sudo apt-get install indicator-kdeconnect
$ kbuildsycoca4 -noincremental
That puts the menu under:
(K:)Settings > System Settins > Hardware > KDE Connect
Right click on the desktop and press "Add Widget" "KDE Connect" and slide
the widget to your task bar.
$ sudo reboot (it uses ports 1714 to 1764)
Open KDE Connect on your Phone and pair with your Computer
This failed to find the Linux computer even though they are both on the
LAN.

Googling for how to debug, I find very few debugging commands:
http://xmodulo.com/integrate-android-kde-linux-desktop.html
$ qdbus org.kde.kded /kded loadModule kdeconnect
true

So, I'm checking now how to debug ports 1714 to 1764.
Any debugging help is appreciated.

[Inge Svensson]

I don't know about other linux distros, but in openSUSE you have to open
the firewall for KDEConnect.

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 14:37:59 +0100, Inge Svensson wrote:

> I don't know about other linux distros, but in openSUSE you have to open
> the firewall for KDEConnect.

I'm pretty sure that's my problem too.
All the debugging web sites say to "open the firewall" for ports UDP &
TCP for ports 1714 to 1764.

Problem is that I've never messed with the firewall. :(
I guess it's time to start! :)

Googling, I find there's precious little "Kubuntu 14.04" specific information
on how to look at the firewall for ports 1714 to 1754, but I do find plenty
of Ubuntu information (hopefully it's the same).

For example:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Firewall

And a GUI:
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Managing-the-Firewall-in-Ubuntu-14-04-LTS-Is-Fun-with-the-Gufw-Interface-431380.shtml

[M.L.]

>> ES file explorer does what you want.
>
>I'm sure es file manager does send files over wifi from android to linux,
>but it first needs to *find* the linux "share", doesn't it?
>
>When I es file explorer searches the LAN, it only finds Windows machines.

You're using a less appropriate file transfer protocol.

>So, there must be something I need to do on the linux side to make es
>file explorer recognize it on the LAN.
>
>But what?

Enable WiFi and use FTP to transfer files from Android to Linux and
vice-versa.

1.) In ES File Explorer choose "Remote Manager"

2.) ES File Explorer will launch a screen that provides you with a
network FTP address such as ftp://192.168.1.163:3622

3.) Type that address into your Linux browser or file explorer and it
will display the default Android directory you selected in your FTP
settings.

4.) You can then copy those files to/from your Linux browser/explorer
screen.

[Rick Pikul/Chakat Firepaw]

On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 03:06:23 +0000, Jesper Lauridsen wrote:

> I was trying to "push" from Android, but I see I already have installed
> something similar to KWS which is "WiFi FTP Server", which I started up
> and it gave me the URL ftp://192.168.1.11:2221/ with both the login and
> password being "android".
>
> If that's the easiest way to copy files from Android to Linux, that's
> what I'll use, but a web browser, while great for a single file, is a
> miserable interface for downloading scores of files at a time.

If you have a FTP server on your Android device why not use a FTP client
rather than a web browser?

--
Chakat Firepaw - Inventor and Scientist (mad)

[Jonathan N. Little]

Jesper Lauridsen wrote:
> On Sun, 08 Nov 2015 22:35:01 -0500, Jonathan N. Little wrote:
>
>
>> smb://IP_ADDRESS_OF_SERVER/tmp
>
> That's a nice test, thanks!
>
> I first ran that test on the linux machine running samba using the
> hostname of the machine and the web page came up just fine.
>
> On Android, in Firefox, everytime I type the URL, the damn thing tries to
> go to a search engine!
>
> smb://192.168.1.4/tmp

I thought you were using ES File Manager? That URL is for your file
manager not web browser.

>
>
>> Of course not! If you don't have a server on running on the targeted
>> system then it will not respond to a client, i.e., your Android samba
>> client app Es File Manager. No server running, no response then no
>> shares visible.
>>> How can I test if Samba is working from the Android phone or from Linux
>>> itself?
>
> Even with Samba running, ES File Manager doesn't seem to recognize the
> url. I am positive I typed it correctly,

Then you have something wrong with your samba setup... Did you check the
samba logs on the Linux server? HINT: using "tail -f" to follow
real-time while trying to access the share can be really informative.

ES File Explorer work just fine when you have samba setup correctly:

<http://www.littleworksstudio.com/temp/usenet/android-lan>

> yet, in Firefox 42, it opens up
> saying "The address wasn't understood. You might need to install other
> software to open this address".

Because smb:// is not a protocol setup for Firefox.

>
> Does Android need something in order to recognize an smb url?
>

Not if you use the correct app.

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 14:09:52 +0000, Rick Pikul/Chakat Firepaw wrote:

> If you have a FTP server on your Android device why not use a FTP client
> rather than a web browser?

I appreciate the suggestion, and, if that's the best way, I'll use it,
but, ftp, like http, was never designed to handle large directories of
files.

Ftp has regular expressions, but it's a really lousy interface for more
than a few files.

However, my experience with FTP is old. Very old.
It's ingrained into my finger memory though.

ftp server port
binary
lcd /tmp
cwd h
mget *.*
quit

But that's a horrid interface for "seeing" what's on the other system and
for downloading files. It works, sure, but it's not the easiest way to do
it.

If it is the easiest way, I'll use it (because I want to be able to
transfer files easily from Android to Linux); but right now I'm working
on figuring out why KDE Connect isn't working (I need to see if the
firewall is stopping it but I never messed with the Linux firewall
before).

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 08:09:14 -0600, M.L. wrote:

>>When I es file explorer searches the LAN, it only finds Windows
>>machines.
>
> You're using a less appropriate file transfer protocol.

I appreciate the admonition, but I don't understand the words.

I don't even know what I'm using as a "file transfer protocol", because I
haven't transferred any files by WiFi yet.

But, I see your ES File Explorer instructions and I will try to follow
them faithfully and report back.

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 08:09:14 -0600, M.L. wrote:

> Enable WiFi and use FTP to transfer files from Android to Linux and
> vice-versa.

A. I turned WiFi on the Android phone on
B. I dont' know what "use FTP" means yet (although I have already
installed an app called "WiFi FTP")

> 1.) In ES File Explorer choose "Remote Manager"

C. On Android, I started ES File Explorer
D. I pressed the hard "Menu" key on the Galaxy S3
E. I pressed "Remote Manager" in the menu
F. That popped up a screen which said the "Networks Status" was good.
G. It said "You can manage your device through your PC after you turn on
the service".
H. There was a button called "Turn on", so I hit it.

> 2.) ES File Explorer will launch a screen that provides you with a
> network FTP address such as ftp://192.168.1.163:3622

I. That gave me an FTP URL of the following:
Input the address on your pc: ftp:/192.168.1.4:3721

> 3.) Type that address into your Linux browser or file explorer and it
> will display the default Android directory you selected in your FTP
> settings.

J. I entered that URL into Firefox and up popped an index directory
listing

Moving around in that index directory listing, I found the external sd
card at "Index of ftp://192.168.1.4:3721/../../extSdCard/"

> 4.) You can then copy those files to/from your Linux browser/explorer
> screen.

K. I found the camera files at
Index of ftp://192.168.1.4:3721/../../extSdCard/DCIM/Camera/

I'm not sure how I can copy, say, 50 of those JPG files in one step using
a web index directory.

If that's the easiest way, I'm find using it (as we can't get better),
but, it seems I have to copy the files one by one, but, to copy each 4MB
file, I seem to have to VIEW it first in the browser and then I get a
copy command in the browser right-click menu.

Doesn't ES File Manger just copy a file over directly using WiFi?
Or, is a web browser pointing to an ftp index-directory URL the only way?

[Whiskers]

On 2015-11-08, Jesper Lauridsen <rors...@sorrystofanet.dk> wrote:
> I must be shooting in all the wrong directions because I have been unable

If you want to do all the work from your PC then set up an FTP server on
your Android and log into it from the PC using an FTP client. Any
decent Linux file manager program should function perfectly well as an
FTP client; I've used mc (Midnight Commander) or Thunar on my PC to log
into an FTP server on Android. On the Android I've used 'WIFI File
Transfer' as the FTP server. Once you've logged in to the Android from
the PC you should be able to copy or move any user-accessible files
between the machines.

If you want to use the Android to do all the work from then set up an
FTP file server on the PC and use an FTP client on the Android. I've
never done this as I find a proper PC far easier to use than any
smartphone or tablet. I think ES File Explorer can work as an FTP
client. I don't know what Linux FTP server programs are offered for
your Ubuntu-based Linux distro but there is bound to be at least one
decent one available - probably not installed by default.

--
-- ^^^^^^^^^^
-- Whiskers
-- ~~~~~~~~~~

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 09:15:41 -0500, Jonathan N. Little wrote:

>> On Android, in Firefox, everytime I type the URL, the damn thing tries
>> to go to a search engine!
>>
>> smb://192.168.1.4/tmp
>
> I thought you were using ES File Manager? That URL is for your file
> manager not web browser.

I apologize for confusing you with my confusion.
Let's restart.

1. I just want to transfer files easily from Android to Linux over WiFi.
2. I'll use whatever method is best for doing that.
3. If you guys say a web browser is the best way, then that's what I'll
use (even though I think uploading files, one by one, via a web browser
index directory listing is about as bad a GUI as can be imagined).
4. If you guys say that ES File Explorer is the best way, then that's
what I'll use.

I have ES File Explorer running, but I don't know where or how to enter
an SMB style URL into ES File Explorer.

So, I'd be glad to try it out. But I don't know where in ES File Explorer
I can input that SMB url.

Clicking all the menus in ES File Explorer, I see nothing that tells me
where to do that. For example:

A. I start ES File Explorer
B. I press the hard menu button on the S3
C. That gives me a menu with buttons for
** Favorite
** Local
** Library
** Network
** Tools
------
** App Manager
** Download Manager
** System Manager
** SD Card Analyst
** Remote Manager
** Net Manager
** Clipboard
** Hide List
** Recycle Bin = off
** Root Explorer = off
** Gesture = off
** Show hidden files = on
** Thumbnails = off

There are so many options that I'm not sure which one to hit in order to
input that SMB URL in ES File Explorer.

Can you give me a hint where to put that SMB URL in?

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 09:15:41 -0500, Jonathan N. Little wrote:

> Then you have something wrong with your samba setup... Did you check the
> samba logs on the Linux server? HINT: using "tail -f" to follow
> real-time while trying to access the share can be really informative.

Wow. THere are a LOT of samba logs!
/var/log/samba
/var/log/samba/cores
/var/log/samba/log.%m
/var/log/samba/log.127.0.0.1
/var/log/samba/log.192.168.1.13
/var/log/samba/log.jcifs0_1_18
/var/log/samba/log.nmbd
/var/log/samba/log.nmbd.1.gz
/var/log/samba/log.nmbd.2.gz
/var/log/samba/log.nmbd.3.gz
/var/log/samba/log.nmbd.4.gz
/var/log/samba/log.nmbd.5.gz
/var/log/samba/log.nmbd.6.gz
/var/log/samba/log.nmbd.7.gz
/var/log/samba/log.smbd
/var/log/samba/log.smbd.1.gz
/var/log/samba/log.smbd.2.gz
/var/log/samba/log.smbd.3.gz
/var/log/samba/log.smbd.4.gz
/var/log/samba/log.smbd.5.gz
/var/log/samba/log.smbd.6.gz
/var/log/samba/log.smbd.7.gz

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 09:15:41 -0500, Jonathan N. Little wrote:


> ES File Explorer work just fine when you have samba setup correctly:
>
> <http://www.littleworksstudio.com/temp/usenet/android-lan>

That's BEAUTIFUL!
Those photos seem to be EXACTLY what I want.

I just want to transfer files from Android to Linux over Wifi easily.

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 09:15:41 -0500, Jonathan N. Little wrote:

>> Does Android need something in order to recognize an smb url?
> Not if you use the correct app.

It seems, from the answers, there are only two "correct apps", which are
either ES File Explorer or KDE Connect.

I'd be perfectly happy to have either one or both working, and, I'd even
write up the step-by-step setup howto, if I could get them to work.

Since you clearly have ES File Explorer working with your linux machine,
may I just ask where you think my stumbling block is?

Is it the recent samba setup?
Or the firewall?

Neither of those two have I ever messed with before, so I just need to
know the next step in debugging why ES File Explorer doesn't show the
beautiful interface it showed in your pictures between the two machines.

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 14:48:36 +0000, Whiskers wrote:

> If you want to do all the work from your PC then set up an FTP server on
> your Android and log into it from the PC using an FTP client. Any
> decent Linux file manager program should function perfectly well as an
> FTP client; I've used mc (Midnight Commander) or Thunar on my PC to log
> into an FTP server on Android. On the Android I've used 'WIFI File
> Transfer' as the FTP server. Once you've logged in to the Android from
> the PC you should be able to copy or move any user-accessible files
> between the machines.

Thanks for that advice. I'm shocked that so many people use FTP as their
preferred file transfer method though.

As I said, if FTP is the easiest way, then I'll use FTP since I just want
to find the easiest way to transfer files from Android to Linux over WiFi.

But, maybe I'm too old for FTP? In the days (long ago) that I used it, it
was horrid for transferring multiple files. Sure, there was "mget *" but
it still was horrid. Sure, you had to set "binary" all the time and you
had to constantly go up and down and up and down the hierarchy to find
all the files you wanted, but the worst offense was that FTP really
doesn't do entire directories scattered about all that well.

Neither does a web browser "index directory" listing, which, like FTP, is
just about as bad a user interface as can be imagined that still works.

I'm not saying FTP and index-directory listings aren't working. I'm just
saying there must be an easier way, isn't there?

> If you want to use the Android to do all the work from then set up an
> FTP file server on the PC and use an FTP client on the Android. I've
> never done this as I find a proper PC far easier to use than any
> smartphone or tablet. I think ES File Explorer can work as an FTP
> client. I don't know what Linux FTP server programs are offered for
> your Ubuntu-based Linux distro but there is bound to be at least one
> decent one available - probably not installed by default.

I prefer to "push" the files from Android to Linux, and I love the ES
File Explorer interface to the files, so, I would hope to be able to just
push the files from ES File Explorer over to Linux.

If I have to "pull" the files from Linux, that's what I'll do, as I do
want to find an easy way to transfer files from Android to Linux.

It looks like there are only two good graphical methods:
1. KDE Connect on Android (and KDE Connect on Linux)
2. ES File Explorer on Android (with SMB on Linux)

With your help, I'm sure both will work nicely.

At the moment, for #2, I just have to figure out WHERE to put the Samba
URL into the ES File Explorer (to test whether Samba is working).

And, for #1, I have to figure out how to see if the Firewall is blocking
the UDP & TCP ports that KDE Connect uses.

[Nigel Wade]

I haven't used ES File Explorer for a while, so I can't remember whether it actually supports SMB protocol for browsing
your Linux FS from Android. If it does, you should be able to browse your Linux client from any Android device.

However, from what you have said above it supports FTP going the other way. It's somewhat clumsy to setup by the looks
of it. But at least it's working.

As you've said in other posts, file transfer using FTP-in-a-browser is less than ideal. If you have a normal Linux
install, and you are logged in at the console and have a graphical desktop, then you should have a graphical file
browser. Something like Nautilus, Dolphin etc.

These file browsers support many file transfer protocols for browsing remote file systems: SMB, sftp, ftp etc.
If you are using Ubuntu then look at this page:
http://www.howtogeek.com/117494/7-ubuntu-file-manager-features-you-may-not-have-noticed/

it shows how to setup Nautilus to use FTP in the section "Mounting Remote File Systems".

[Jonathan N. Little]

What is the IP address of your phone? My guess from above is
192.168.1.13. Tail that.

/var/log/samba/log.smbd the the samba *server* log. I would check that
for any configuration errors.

[Jonathan N. Little]

As I said can be done easily.

In ES File Explorer Tap sandwich menu on left side to open menu. Expand
Network. Tap LAN. If you have your shares setup correctly then LAN hosts
should show. Tap the Spiral icon to scan.

While Android device is scanning it will be sending out a broadcast
request, now would be a good time to look at the following samba log on
the Linux server with your Android's IP in the name and see if there are
any errors.

I bet your have your server share setup incorrectly and did you create a
samba user on the Linux server?

In terminal:

sudo smbpasswd -a [add your username here]

then at the prompt add your password, you should do this because 1) the
default samba security is user level, and 2) you really should use user
authentication and not wide open no-security share--This ain't Windows!
;-)

Also just thought you could check your LAN's samba shares browseablity
from the Linux terminal:

smbtree -b

Might help give you a picture of the problem.

[J G Miller]

On Monday, November 9th, 2015, at 14:17:29h +0000, Jesper Lauridsen declared:

> But that's a horrid interface for "seeing" what's on the other system and
> for downloading files. It works, sure, but it's not the easiest way to do
> it.

If you want to "see" then use a GUI program such as FileZilla [uses WX widget
so can be built on Linux and Windoze platforms] which also supports sftp so
that one does not send passwords in the clear.

<https://filezilla-project.ORG/>

[Whiskers]

On 2015-11-09, Jesper Lauridsen <rors...@sorrystofanet.dk> wrote:
> On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 14:48:36 +0000, Whiskers wrote:
>
>> If you want to do all the work from your PC then set up an FTP server on
>> your Android and log into it from the PC using an FTP client. Any
>> decent Linux file manager program should function perfectly well as an
>> FTP client; I've used mc (Midnight Commander) or Thunar on my PC to log
>> into an FTP server on Android. On the Android I've used 'WIFI File
>> Transfer' as the FTP server. Once you've logged in to the Android from
>> the PC you should be able to copy or move any user-accessible files
>> between the machines.
>
> Thanks for that advice. I'm shocked that so many people use FTP as their
> preferred file transfer method though.
>
> As I said, if FTP is the easiest way, then I'll use FTP since I just want
> to find the easiest way to transfer files from Android to Linux over WiFi.

[...]

There's nothing wrong with using FTP over your own private LAN for
moving a few files around. The most common use is probably getting
photos off the smartphone or music onto it. Once the connection is
established you can 'drag and drop' using GUI tools - you don't have to
use the command line at all (and probably haven't got access to it on
your Android anyway). FTP has the merit of being simple and not putting
heavy demands on the Android device.

I wouldn't suggest using FTP over an unsecured internet connection or
for cumulative 'backups'.

There are eg rsync and SSH tools for Android if you want to get more
sophisticated. You can even set up a VPN to log into your home PC from
anywhere, using your smartphone, if you really want to. The expected
approach to making backups is to use 'the cloud' or a local NAS device
and one or other of the backup tools or services probably installed by
default on your Android.

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 10:19:56 -0500, Jonathan N. Little wrote:

> What is the IP address of your phone? My guess from above is
> 192.168.1.13. Tail that.
>
> /var/log/samba/log.smbd the the samba *server* log. I would check that
> for any configuration errors.

The log files are very short, so, they must be new.
$ cd /var/log/samba/
$ wc -l log.smbd
--> 41 log.smbd

There are lots of errors though:
$ cat /var/log/samba/log.smbd
[2015/11/09 03:35:26.182994, 0] ../lib/util/pidfile.c:153(pidfile_unlink)
Failed to delete pidfile /var/run/samba/smbd.pid. Error was No such
file or directory
[2015/11/09 03:36:19, 0] ../source3/smbd/server.c:1198(main)
smbd version 4.1.6-Ubuntu started.
Copyright Andrew Tridgell and the Samba Team 1992-2013
[2015/11/09 03:36:19.727129, 0] ../source3/smbd/server.c:1278(main)
standard input is not a socket, assuming -D option
[2015/11/09 03:36:20.677072, 0] ../source3/printing/print_cups.c:151
(cups_connect)
Unable to connect to CUPS server localhost:631 - Bad file descriptor
[2015/11/09 03:36:20.677285, 0] ../source3/printing/print_cups.c:528
(cups_async_callback)
failed to retrieve printer list: NT_STATUS_UNSUCCESSFUL
[2015/11/09 03:36:39.124238, 0] ../source3/printing/print_cups.c:151
(cups_connect)
Unable to connect to CUPS server localhost:631 - Bad file descriptor
[2015/11/09 03:36:39.124466, 0] ../source3/printing/print_cups.c:528
(cups_async_callback)
failed to retrieve printer list: NT_STATUS_UNSUCCESSFUL
[2015/11/09 03:36:39.973047, 0] ../source3/printing/print_cups.c:151
(cups_connect)
Unable to connect to CUPS server localhost:631 - Bad file descriptor
[2015/11/09 03:36:39.973257, 0] ../source3/printing/print_cups.c:528
(cups_async_callback)
failed to retrieve printer list: NT_STATUS_UNSUCCESSFUL
[2015/11/09 03:36:47.496600, 0] ../source3/printing/print_cups.c:151
(cups_connect)
Unable to connect to CUPS server localhost:631 - Bad file descriptor
[2015/11/09 03:36:47.496800, 0] ../source3/printing/print_cups.c:528
(cups_async_callback)
failed to retrieve printer list: NT_STATUS_UNSUCCESSFUL
[2015/11/09 04:41:32.022030, 0] ../lib/util/pidfile.c:153(pidfile_unlink)
[2015/11/09 04:42:23, 0] ../source3/smbd/server.c:1198(main)
smbd version 4.1.6-Ubuntu started.
Copyright Andrew Tridgell and the Samba Team 1992-2013
[2015/11/09 04:42:24.153040, 0] ../source3/smbd/server.c:1278(main)
standard input is not a socket, assuming -D option
[2015/11/09 04:42:24.728651, 0] ../source3/printing/print_cups.c:151
(cups_connect)
Unable to connect to CUPS server localhost:631 - Bad file descriptor
[2015/11/09 04:42:24.728936, 0] ../source3/printing/print_cups.c:528
(cups_async_callback)
failed to retrieve printer list: NT_STATUS_UNSUCCESSFUL
[2015/11/09 04:42:43.265900, 0] ../source3/printing/print_cups.c:151
(cups_connect)
Unable to connect to CUPS server localhost:631 - Bad file descriptor
[2015/11/09 04:42:43.266068, 0] ../source3/printing/print_cups.c:528
(cups_async_callback)
failed to retrieve printer list: NT_STATUS_UNSUCCESSFUL
[2015/11/09 04:42:44.892425, 0] ../source3/printing/print_cups.c:151
(cups_connect)
Unable to connect to CUPS server localhost:631 - Bad file descriptor
[2015/11/09 04:42:44.892692, 0] ../source3/printing/print_cups.c:528
(cups_async_callback)
failed to retrieve printer list: NT_STATUS_UNSUCCESSFUL

Given all these errors, maybe I should delete and reinstall samba?

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 10:19:56 -0500, Jonathan N. Little wrote:

> What is the IP address of your phone? My guess from above is
> 192.168.1.13. Tail that.

Yes, that's the IP of the phone.
But the log file is empty.
$ wc -l log.192.168.1.13
--> 0 log.192.168.1.13

I'm gonna delete and reinstall samba, to see if there is a problem since
I don't remember ever installing samba in the first place.

[Roger Mills]

Yes, but if you use an FTP client do don't have to worry about the
command line stuff - it does it all for you!
--
Cheers,
Roger
____________
Please reply to Newsgroup. Whilst email address is valid, it is seldom
checked.

[Roger Mills]

You don't have to put *any* url in - just tap Remote Manager followed by
Turn on WLAN

Everything else is done at the Linux end - but using an FTP Client,
*not* a web browser.

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 15:18:27 +0000, Nigel Wade wrote:

> I haven't used ES File Explorer for a while, so I can't remember whether
> it actually supports SMB protocol for browsing your Linux FS from
> Android. If it does, you should be able to browse your Linux client from
> any Android device.
>
> However, from what you have said above it supports FTP going the other
> way. It's somewhat clumsy to setup by the looks of it. But at least it's
> working.
>
> As you've said in other posts, file transfer using FTP-in-a-browser is
> less than ideal. If you have a normal Linux install, and you are logged
> in at the console and have a graphical desktop, then you should have a
> graphical file browser. Something like Nautilus, Dolphin etc.
>
> These file browsers support many file transfer protocols for browsing
> remote file systems: SMB, sftp, ftp etc.
> If you are using Ubuntu then look at this page:
> http://www.howtogeek.com/117494/7-ubuntu-file-manager-features-you-may-
not-have-noticed/
>
> it shows how to setup Nautilus to use FTP in the section "Mounting
> Remote File Systems".

Using the native file browser on Linux for browsing remote file systems,
also seems like a good idea because the GUI is the right kind of GUI for
browsing file system.

So far, the best suggestions appear to be:
1. ES File Explorer on Android + Samba on Linux
2. KDE Connect on Android + kdeconnect on Linux
3. SMB/FTP on Android + Dolphin/Nautilus file browser on Linux

Other suggestions that are available but without a nice GUI are:
4. ES File Explorer on Android + FTP on Linux
5. WiFi FTP on Android + FTP on Linux

I'm working on the first two since they have the most promise.
If they fail, I'll try the third, but not unless they totally fail.

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 16:31:36 +0000, Roger Mills wrote:

> Yes, but if you use an FTP client do don't have to worry about the
> command line stuff - it does it all for you!

I know what you mean, because I used "cute FTP" years ago when I moved
from the Mac to the PC.

So, I guess if there is a GUI-based FTP client for linux, that would sove
the problem.

1. Turn on an FTP client on Android, such as WiFI FTP
2. Install a graphical FTP client on Linux (if they exist).

Someone suggested that the native file manager on Linux (e.g., dolphin or
nautilus) will interface with an FTP client, so that might work also.

At the moment, I'm working on first getting ES File Explorer to work with
Samba (I probably don't have Samba set up correctly yet).

If that fails, I'll try to get KDE Connect to work (as that has the most
promise overall but the least amount of support).

If both those fail, then I'll try to find a GUI-based FTP client for
Linux or to connect FTP to dolphin/nautilus file managers.

[Jonathan N. Little]

Why? This is not Windows.

1) Not sure if you installed the samba server? Well then check:

apt-cache policy samba

If you have you should get something like:
samba:
Installed: 2:4.1.6+dfsg-1ubuntu2.14.04.9
Candidate: 2:4.1.6+dfsg-1ubuntu2.14.04.9
...

2) If installed you to have the server running

service smbd status

Result when running:
smbd start/running, process 3644

3) Check your config file:

testparm

Load smb config files from /etc/samba/smb.conf
Processing section "[printers]"
Processing section "[homes]"
Processing section "[docs]"
Processing section "[common]"
Loaded services file OK.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
(You are looking for this clean bill of health)

Server role: ROLE_STANDALONE
Press enter to see a dump of your service definitions
...

4) Did you setup samba users?

sudo strings $(locate passdb.tdb | head -n1) | grep USER_

Should return
&USER_[some userid]
...

5) Rather than the "Windows-reinstall-solution" all you have to do is
try a test configuration and reload the server.

a) Backup your current config:
sudo mv /etc/samba/smb.conf /etc/samba/smb.conf.saved

b) Make up some test share on your own profile, don't think going out of
the /home tree is a good place to debug so make so test folder and some data
(of course replace _YOU_ with whatever your userid is)

mkdir /home/_YOU_/debug

touch /home/_YOU_/debug/testfile.1
touch /home/_YOU_/debug/testfile.2

c) Barebones smb.conf

sudo nano /etc/samba/smb.conf

##### Barebones config for debugging #####
[debug]
comment = Debug Samba
path = /home/_YOU_/debug
browseable = yes
writable = yes
create mask = 664
directory mask = 775
### EOF

(CTRL+X to exit and save file)

d) Check config to make sure you did not typo something

testparm

e) If good the reload server

sudo service smbd restart

f) Now you did set your samba password right? If not do it now

sudo smbpasswd -a _YOU_
(enter your password twice as prompted)

Now on Android refresh ES File Explorer's LAN scan (the little spiral
icon) and see if the Linux system shows in the browser list and clicking
it should show share "debug", click that should list testfile.1 & testfile.2

[Big Fish in a Small Crotch]

On Mon, 9 Nov 2015 12:35:09 -0500, Jonathan N. Little wrote:

> Jesper Lauridsen wrote:
>> On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 10:19:56 -0500, Jonathan N. Little wrote:
>>
>>> What is the IP address of your phone? My guess from above is
>>> 192.168.1.13. Tail that.
>>
>> Yes, that's the IP of the phone.
>> But the log file is empty.
>> $ wc -l log.192.168.1.13
>> --> 0 log.192.168.1.13
>>
>> I'm gonna delete and reinstall samba, to see if there is a problem since
>> I don't remember ever installing samba in the first place.
>>
>
> Why? This is not Windows.

That's obvious.
If it were Windows he would have his files transferred by now.
But since this is Linux, it turns into a 100 post geek fest attempting to
do what is trivial under Windows or OSX.

This thread is the poster child for why Linux sucks.

Like I was saying.


--
You Ain't The Biggest Fish In The Crotch.

[Roger Mills]

On 09/11/2015 16:47, Jesper Lauridsen wrote:
> On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 16:31:36 +0000, Roger Mills wrote:
>
>> Yes, but if you use an FTP client do don't have to worry about the
>> command line stuff - it does it all for you!
>
> I know what you mean, because I used "cute FTP" years ago when I moved
> from the Mac to the PC.
>
> So, I guess if there is a GUI-based FTP client for linux, that would sove
> the problem.
>
> 1. Turn on an FTP client on Android, such as WiFI FTP

NO - turn on FTP *server* on Android (funtion of ES File Explorer)

> 2. Install a graphical FTP client on Linux (if they exist).
>

YES

They *do* exist - I posted a link earlier about where to find some.

[Roger Mills]

On 09/11/2015 17:48, Big Fish in a Small Crotch wrote:
> On Mon, 9 Nov 2015 12:35:09 -0500, Jonathan N. Little wrote:

>> Why? This is not Windows.
>
> That's obvious.
> If it were Windows he would have his files transferred by now.
> But since this is Linux, it turns into a 100 post geek fest attempting to
> do what is trivial under Windows or OSX.
>

I'm not a Linux user, but I suspect that your comments are unfair.

I'm perfectly prepared to believe that there are GUI-based FTP clients
for Linux which, when used in conjunction with ES File Explorer on
Android, would enable to OP to transfer files just as easily as I do to
my Windows computer.

But - sadly - he seems determined to make a perfectly simple process as
difficult for himself as he possibly can!

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 15:18:27 +0000, Nigel Wade wrote:

> If you are using Ubuntu then look at this page:
> http://www.howtogeek.com/117494/7-ubuntu-file-manager-features-you-may-
not-have-noticed/
>
> it shows how to setup Nautilus to use FTP in the section "Mounting
> Remote File Systems".

That was neat a neat hint!

You are the only one who suggested the Nautilus browser itself, which
*is* a file-system navigation tool (unlike FTP or a web browser).

Who knew that Nautilus has a "Network" section, plain as the nose on my
face! But, there it was. It has been there forever. I just never saw it.

First I clicked on the Nautilus "Browse Network" button, but it only
showed me the two other Windows computers in the house, and not the
Android phone, nor even the local samba share "/tmp".
http://i.imgur.com/muiOYxk.gif

But, then I clicked on the Nautilus "Connect to Server" button, and this
empty form came up that yous see in the previous screenshot.

I typed in a SMB URL, but it didn't recognize it.
smb://192.168.1.11

But then I started the "WiFi FTP Server" on Android, which gave me an
address of ftp://192.168.1.11:2221
http://i.imgur.com/18jScJY.gif

When I pasted *that* ftp URL into the Nautilus "Connect to Server" form,
this wonderful view of my Android phone showed up on Linux for the first
time ever!
http://i.imgur.com/O8O4V4a.gif

Now *that* is what a file system browser should look like!
(Compare that to an ftp listing or to an index directory list!)

Then, as my first (and only test), I navigated to the photo directory
which I found in Android:/mnt/exSdCard/DCIM/Camera/
and as a test, I opened another tab in Nautilus on Linux (control t)
and I right-click copied a photo from Android in the one tab and right-
click pasted it to Linux in the other tab.

Worked perfectly!

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Sun, 08 Nov 2015 22:23:35 +0000, Jesper Lauridsen wrote:

> I must be shooting in all the wrong directions because I have been

> unable to easily transfer files from Android to jessie/sid Linux by
> Wi-Fi.

After a few attempts that should have worked and failed, the first
method that worked turned out to be to browse the Android file
system *exactly* the same way that I currently browse the Linux
file system.

This is just the first method that worked; it may or may not be the
easiest way to transfer files back and forth from Android & Linux over
the local WiFi network.
============================================================================
How to copy a file from Android to Linux wirelessly using WiFi & Nautilus:

1. On Android, install "WiFi FTP Server" by Medha Apps Tools
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.medhaapps.wififtpserver
2. On Android, start the WiFi FTP Server and check the settings
3. Defaults are port 2221;login=android;password=android;root=/;rw access;
4. Note that, by default, anonymous access is allowed
5. On Android, press the WiFi FTP Server "START" button.
6. Notice the "Server URL" that results, e.g., ftp://192.168.1.11:2221
7. On Linux, start "Nautilus" & press the "Connect to Server" button
8. A form pops up asking for the "Server Address"
9. Type ftp://192.168.1.11:2221 into the Server Address & press "Connect"
10. A form to "Enter password" will pop up, set to "Anonymous".
11. Either leave it at anonymous or type in the login/password above
12. You should soon graphically see, in Nautilus, your Android root folder

On Linux, you can now browse and copy and paste your Android files using
the same graphical file browser you use on Linux every day.

From Linux' standpoint, the "pwd" of the root directory on Android is:
/run/user/1000/gvfs/ftp:host=192.168.1.11,port=2221/

I had never *seen* a filespec such as that, and didn't even realize it
was legal, but, there it is (it even works at the command line but you
may need to turn off the prompt because it's inherently too long).

$ cd /run/user/1000/gvfs/ftp:host=192.168.1.11,port=2221/mnt/extSdCard/
DCIM/Camera/
$ cp 20151105_115511.jpg /tmp

That worked!

This is great!
============================================================================

[John Hasler]

Jesper Lauridsen writes:
> When I pasted *that* ftp URL into the Nautilus "Connect to Server" form,
> this wonderful view of my Android phone showed up on Linux for the first
> time ever!
> http://i.imgur.com/O8O4V4a.gif

> Now *that* is what a file system browser should look like!
> (Compare that to an ftp listing or to an index directory list!)

Cluttered. I'll take the output of ls any day. Even MC is better.
--
John Hasler
jha...@newsguy.com
Dancing Horse Hill
Elmwood, WI USA

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 18:56:12 +0000, Roger Mills wrote:

>> 1. Turn on an FTP client on Android, such as WiFI FTP
>
> NO - turn on FTP *server* on Android (funtion of ES File Explorer)

I just figured out *what* you were trying to tell me!

I don't know why I was so thick, but, once I had gotten Nautilus to work
with FTP WiFi Server, I only then realized that you were telling me to do
the same thing, but with the Nautilus WiFi Server!

Here is a screenshot of Nautilus on Linux (finally) working fine with the
ES File Explorer WiFi Server url ftp://192.168.1.11:3271/
http://i.imgur.com/aK4Auzi.gif

I apologize for being dense. It never occurred to me that Nautilus could
connect, graphically, to a filespec of the form above!

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 18:56:12 +0000, Roger Mills wrote:

>> 2. Install a graphical FTP client on Linux (if they exist).
>>

> They *do* exist - I posted a link earlier about where to find some

I am confused now, as I do know that graphical FTP clients exist (e.g.,
cuteFTP on Windows).

But, what's even BETTER than a graphical FTP client is to use the *same*
graphical file browser on Linux that we use every day anyway.

To that end, putting the correct "ftp url" into the Nautilus file browser
was the trick that solves the problem of the EASIEST way to copy files
back and from between Android and Linux.

The only trick that needs to be realized is:
a. Turn on any ftp server on Android, and,
b. Put the correct URL into the network section of Nautilus on Linux.

Voila! This is EASY once you know the trick!
Thanks!

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 10:38:15 -0500, Jonathan N. Little wrote:

> As I said can be done easily.
>
> In ES File Explorer Tap sandwich menu on left side to open menu. Expand
> Network. Tap LAN. If you have your shares setup correctly then LAN hosts
> should show. Tap the Spiral icon to scan.

When I scan for samba shares, my Android phone only finds the Windows
machines, so, almost certainly Samba on my Linux machine is not set up
correctly.

1. Start ES File Explorer
2. Press Hamburger > Network > LAN and then press "Scan"
3. The Windows SMB shares show up, but not the Linux share

> While Android device is scanning it will be sending out a broadcast
> request, now would be a good time to look at the following samba log on
> the Linux server with your Android's IP in the name and see if there are
> any errors.
>
> I bet your have your server share setup incorrectly and did you create a
> samba user on the Linux server?

Um. No. I didn't know I needed to, but I followed your steps below.

>
> In terminal:
> sudo smbpasswd -a [add your username here]
>
> then at the prompt add your password, you should do this because 1) the
> default samba security is user level, and 2) you really should use user
> authentication and not wide open no-security share--This ain't Windows!
> ;-)

I added that password:
$ sudo smbpasswd -a
-> New SMB password: (use your normal password here)
-> Retype new SMB password: (use your normal password here)
-> Added user root.

> Also just thought you could check your LAN's samba shares browseablity
> from the Linux terminal:
> smbtree -b
> Might help give you a picture of the problem.

Unfortunately, there is nothing reported by smbtree:
smbtree -b
$ smbtree -b
-> Enter user's password:
$ (it reported nothing)

So, I'm pretty sure Samba isn't working on my Linux machine, so, I think
I will debug that first.

[root]

DecadentLinuxUserNumeroUno <DL...@DecadentLinuxUser.org> wrote:
> On Sun, 8 Nov 2015 22:46:37 +0000 (UTC), root <NoE...@home.org> Gave
> us:
> snip
>
>>ES file explorer does what you want.
>
> Doesn't his Android need to be "rooted" to do these things? I mean
> for "best results" that is.

No, the device does not have to be rooted. In view of all the responses
given I don't have the interest in reading them and seeing whether they
cover the fact that the assumption behind ES file explorer is that
the remote device has set up a samba server with public access.
I ask the OP to respond to this post if he needs instructions on
setting up samba.

[Whiskers]

On 2015-11-09, Jesper Lauridsen <rors...@sorrystofanet.dk> wrote:

Welcome to the brave new world of virtual file systems (vfs).

[Jonathan N. Little]

Jesper Lauridsen wrote:
> I added that password:
> $ sudo smbpasswd -a
> -> New SMB password: (use your normal password here)
> -> Retype new SMB password: (use your normal password here)
> -> Added user root.

Yikes! Your not running as root on Linux are you? If so BAD IDEA and
totally unnecessary! Linux is not Windows ;-)

[Jonathan N. Little]

Jesper Lauridsen wrote:

Reread your post and I think I see your issue, you are missing something

on your command is said:

sudo smbpasswd -a [add your username here]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
replace this with your userid, do not leave it blank.

> I added that password:
> $ sudo smbpasswd -a

I am assuming your userid is "jesper" so the command should have been

sudo smbpasswd -a jesper
(then enter password for jesper twice as prompted)

> -> New SMB password: (use your normal password here)
> -> Retype new SMB password: (use your normal password here)
> -> Added user root.

Note on commands

smbpasswd --help

and

man smbpasswd

can help you.

[JEDIDIAH]

On 2015-11-09, DecadentLinuxUserNumeroUno <DL...@DecadentLinuxUser.org> wrote:
> On Sun, 8 Nov 2015 22:46:37 +0000 (UTC), root <NoE...@home.org> Gave
> us:
> snip
>
>>ES file explorer does what you want.
>
> Doesn't his Android need to be "rooted" to do these things? I mean
> for "best results" that is.

Nope. Just set up samba on the Linux box.

You can also install an ssh server on an Android phone without rooting it.

[DecadentLinuxUserNumeroUno]

On Mon, 9 Nov 2015 20:15:15 +0000 (UTC), root <NoE...@home.org> Gave

us:

>DecadentLinuxUserNumeroUno <DL...@DecadentLinuxUser.org> wrote:
>> On Sun, 8 Nov 2015 22:46:37 +0000 (UTC), root <NoE...@home.org> Gave
>> us:
>> snip
>>
>>>ES file explorer does what you want.
>>
>> Doesn't his Android need to be "rooted" to do these things? I mean
>> for "best results" that is.
>
>No, the device does not have to be rooted. In view of all the responses
>given I don't have the interest in reading them and seeing whether they
>cover the fact that the assumption behind ES file explorer is that
>the remote device has set up a samba server with public access.
>I ask the OP to respond to this post if he needs instructions on
>setting up samba.

My android device is not a phone, but a small computer like raspberry
is (cuboxi4-pro). Having a rooted OS on it is useful, and I merely
presumed that this might be what the hold up was. I also read the
thread responses and already concluded that it was not needed, since no
one replied until you, now days later.

[DecadentLinuxUserNumeroUno]

On Mon, 9 Nov 2015 15:26:43 -0500, "Jonathan N. Little"
<lws...@gmail.com> Gave us:

>Jesper Lauridsen wrote:
>> I added that password:
>> $ sudo smbpasswd -a
>> -> New SMB password: (use your normal password here)
>> -> Retype new SMB password: (use your normal password here)
>> -> Added user root.
>
>Yikes! Your not running as root on Linux are you? If so BAD IDEA and
>totally unnecessary! Linux is not Windows ;-)

Perfect and true response.

[Anssi Saari]

"Dirk T. Verbeek" <dver...@xs4all.nl> writes:

> By far the easiest way is to use KDE Connect.

Very cool. I've been happy with Bluetooth for small transfers and USB
cable for larger ones and rsync over wifi for syncing backups. My phone
even comes with a Samba server preinstalled but it's only about twice
the speed of Bluetooth so slow.

> Install it on both the Android device and the Linux computer, from one
> of the two you ask the other to pair, reply with a Yes and you are in
> business.
> Yes both ways.

Seems to work very nicely.

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 20:15:15 +0000, root wrote:

> No, the device does not have to be rooted. In view of all the responses
> given I don't have the interest in reading them and seeing whether they
> cover the fact that the assumption behind ES file explorer is that
> the remote device has set up a samba server with public access.
> I ask the OP to respond to this post if he needs instructions on
> setting up samba.

Your advice is good, and yes, I am having trouble setting up Samba.

But, luckily, there are a few ways to get a *graphical* file manager
either on Android or on Linux which allows us to easily copy files and
directories back and forth via WiFi across the local LAN.

Here's my summary of what I have learned from all of you today:
============================================================================
How to *graphically* copy files between Linux & Android
1. On Android, set up WiFi FTP Server
And then on Linux, use Nautilus as the GUI.
2. On Android, set up ES File Explorer's FTP Server
And then on Linux, use Nautilus as the GUI.
3. On Linux, set up a Samba share
And then on Android, use ES File Explorer as the GUI.
4. On both Linux & Android set up KDE Connect,
And use KDEconnect to transfer files.
============================================================================
I have number 1 and 2 working; I am trying to debug 3 and 4.

Here are the directions for 1 and 2 that I wrote up for others:
============================================================================
How to use ES File Explorer's FTP server for Android & Linux file transfer
(This allows Linux Nautilus to manage Android files as if they were on
Linux).
============================================================================
a. On Android, turn WiFi on
b. On Android, start ES File Explorer
c. On Android, press the hard "Menu" (aka Hamburger) key
d. Select "Tools" and then "Remote Manager" buttons
e. That popped up a screen which said the "Networks Status" was good.
f. It said "You can manage your device through your PC after you
turn on the [FTP] service".
g. There was a button called "Turn on", so I hit it.
h. That gave me an FTP URL of the following:
Input the address on your pc = ftp://192.168.1.4:3721/
i. Defaults are:
Close on exit=yes
Port=3271
Root=/sdcard (you will want to change this to "/")
account=Anonymous
j. On Linux, I entered the given FTP URL into the Firefox web browser
k. Up popped an index directory listing in Firefox
l. The sd card was "Index of ftp://192.168.1.4:3721/../../extSdCard/"
m. Camera files were "Index of ftp://192.168.1.4:3721/../../extSdCard/
DCIM/Camera/"
n. On Linux, I started Nautilus (file manager)
o. In Nautilus, I pressed "Connect to Server"
p. Up popped a form asking for the "Server Address", where I entered:
q. ftp://192.168.1.4:3721/ and then I pressed "Connect"
r. In Nautilus, up popped an Enter Password form
s. I selected Anonymous, and pressed "Connect".
(I could have set user/passwd authenticaion in ES File Explorer
settings)
t. The Android file system showed up graphically in Nautilus.
/run/user/1000/gvfs/ftp:host=192.168.1.4,port=3721/
u. Copy files back & forth between Android & Linux using the Nautilus GUI.
============================================================================
How to use WiFi FTP Server for two-way Android & Linux file transfer
(This allows Linux Nautilus to manage Android files as if they were on
Linux).
============================================================================

1. On Android, install "WiFi FTP Server" by Medha Apps Tools
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?
id=com.medhaapps.wififtpserver
2. On Android, start the WiFi FTP Server and check the settings
3. Defaults are port 2221;login=android;password=android;root=/;rw access;
4. Note that, by default, anonymous access is allowed
5. On Android, press the WiFi FTP Server "START" button.
6. Notice the "Server URL" that results, e.g., ftp://192.168.1.11:2221
7. On Linux, start "Nautilus" & press the "Connect to Server" button
8. A form pops up asking for the "Server Address"
9. Type ftp://192.168.1.11:2221 into the Server Address & press "Connect"
10. A form to "Enter password" will pop up, set to "Anonymous".
11. Either leave it at anonymous or type in the login/password above
12. You should soon graphically see, in Nautilus, your Android root folder

On Linux, you can now browse and copy and paste your Android files using
the same graphical file browser you use on Linux every day.

From Linux' standpoint, the "pwd" of the root directory on Android is:
/run/user/1000/gvfs/ftp:host=192.168.1.11,port=2221/

I had never *seen* a filespec such as that, and didn't even realize it
was legal, but, there it is (it even works at the command line but you
may need to turn off the prompt because it's inherently too long).

$ cd /run/user/1000/gvfs/ftp:host=192.168.1.11,port=2221/mnt/extSdCard/
DCIM/Camera/
$ cp 20151105_115511.jpg /tmp

This is all I know about #3.
============================================================================
How to use Linux SMB server for two-way Android & Linux file transfer
(This allows Android ES File Explorer to manage the files in the Linux
share.
============================================================================

1. Start ES File Explorer

2. Press "Hamburger" > Network > LAN and then press "Scan".
3. You will see all the known SMB shares (linux should be one of them)
============================================================================

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 14:46:45 -0600, JEDIDIAH wrote:

> Nope. Just set up samba on the Linux box.
>
> You can also install an ssh server on an Android phone without
> rooting it.

But does that SSH server allow *graphical* file transfer?

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 13:27:00 -0600, John Hasler wrote:

> Cluttered. I'll take the output of ls any day. Even MC is better.

There's absolutely nothing stopping you from using the command line!

To use the command line, all I did was right click in Nautilus and
select the menu option "Open in Terminal".

That option was added to my Linux setup long ago, using this:
$ sudo apt-get install nautilus-open-terminal

With "open in terminal", you get "ls" and all the other Linux
goodies (srm, grep, sed, awk, ln, etc.).

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 20:23:46 +0000, Whiskers wrote:

> Welcome to the brave new world of virtual file systems (vfs).

It's amazing.

If I generate a "server" url on Android, I can then plug that server url
into Nautilus, and Nautilus "mounts" that location seamlessly.

That's nice because now I can use, on Android, the same graphical user
interface I use on Linux (and vice versa).

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 15:31:51 -0500, Jonathan N. Little wrote:


> sudo smbpasswd -a jesper

Oh. My mistake.
I did it right this time!

$ sudo smbpasswd -a jesper
New SMB password: (type your same passwd)
Retype new SMB password: (type your same passwd)
Added user jesper

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 15:26:43 -0500, Jonathan N. Little wrote:


> Yikes! Your not running as root on Linux are you? If so BAD IDEA and
> totally unnecessary! Linux is not Windows ;-)

My mistake.
I had misunderstood the instructions.
No. I don't normally run as root.
I use 'sudo' instead.

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 12:35:09 -0500, Jonathan N. Little wrote:

> 1) Not sure if you installed the samba server? Well then check:
>
> apt-cache policy samba

Seems to be installed...
$ apt-cache policy samba
samba:
Installed: 2:4.1.6+dfsg-1ubuntu2.14.04.7
Candidate: 2:4.1.6+dfsg-1ubuntu2.14.04.9
Version table:
2:4.1.6+dfsg-1ubuntu2.14.04.9 0
500 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty-updates/main
amd64
Packages
*** 2:4.1.6+dfsg-1ubuntu2.14.04.7 0
500 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty-security/main
amd64 Packages
100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
2:4.1.6+dfsg-1ubuntu2 0
500 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty/main amd64
Packages

But this seems to have failed:
$ service smbd status
-> status: Unknown job: smbd

$ testparm

Load smb config files from /etc/samba/smb.conf

rlimit_max: increasing rlimit_max (1024) to minimum Windows limit (16384)
Processing section "[printers]"
Processing section "[print$]"
Processing section "[tmp]"
Loaded services file OK.

Server role: ROLE_STANDALONE
Press enter to see a dump of your service definitions

[global]
server string = %h server (Samba, Ubuntu)
server role = standalone server
map to guest = Bad User
obey pam restrictions = Yes
pam password change = Yes
passwd program = /usr/bin/passwd %u
passwd chat = *Enter\snew\s*\spassword:* %n\n *Retype\snew\s*
\spassword:* %n\n *password\supdated\ssuccessfully* .
unix password sync = Yes
syslog = 0
log file = /var/log/samba/log.%m
max log size = 1000
dns proxy = No
usershare allow guests = Yes
panic action = /usr/share/samba/panic-action %d
idmap config * : backend = tdb

[printers]
comment = All Printers
path = /var/spool/samba
create mask = 0700
printable = Yes
print ok = Yes
browseable = No

[print$]
comment = Printer Drivers
path = /var/lib/samba/printers

[tmp]
comment = Samba temporary directory
path = /tmp
create mask = 0600
directory mask = 0700
guest ok = Yes

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 19:03:34 +0000, Roger Mills wrote:

> I'm perfectly prepared to believe that there are GUI-based FTP clients
> for Linux which, when used in conjunction with ES File Explorer on
> Android, would enable to OP to transfer files just as easily as I do to
> my Windows computer.

It turns out that it's *easy* to transfer files to/from Android/Linux
over WiFi using a GUI based file manager.

I just wasn't aware of them, and, the specific URL format was unknown
to me.

These will all work, and I already have the first two working fine:

============================================================================
How to *graphically* copy files between Linux & Android

1. On Android, set up WiFi FTP Server & then on Linux, use Nautilus
2. On Android, set up ES File Explorer's FTP Server & then use Nautilus
3. On Linux, set up Samba & then on Android, use ES File Explorer

4. On both Linux & Android set up KDE Connect

============================================================================
The only problem with the third and fourth is that I'm unfamiliar with
the setup.

[Anssi Saari]

Roger Mills <watt....@gmail.com> writes:

> In ES File Explorer, I tap Remote Manager followed by Turn on
> WLAN. The Android device then becomes an FTP server, and it tells me
> the IP address and port at which to point my FTP client.

Sounds cool. I guess on an advanced user's home network the phone is
known by a name so one doesn't need to mess around with an IP address
and hopefully the port is at least constant?

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 23:06:03 +0200, Anssi Saari wrote:

> Seems to work very nicely.

Now that I have Nautilus on Linux working with two different FTP servers
on Android, I'm going to try to get Samba working on Linux so that ES
File Explorer can connect to it from the phone.

That way I can transfer files using the ES File Explorer GUI on Android
instead of using the Linux Nautilus' GUI.

Then, when I get Samba working, I'll try the KDE Connect.

With those four methods, one of them should prevail as the easiest!

============================================================================
1. WiFi FTP Server on Android; Nautilus file manager on Linux.
2. ES File Explorer FTP Server on Android; Nautilus file manager on Linux.
3. Samba on Linux & then on Android, use ES File Explorer as the GUI.
4. KDE Connect on both Linux & Android
============================================================================

[John Hasler]

Jesper Lauridsen writes:
> With "open in terminal", you get "ls" and all the other Linux goodies
> (srm, grep, sed, awk, ln, etc.).

I already have those. What do I need Nautilus for?

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 14:57:58 +0200, Anssi Saari wrote:

> Sounds cool. I guess on an advanced user's home network the phone is
> known by a name so one doesn't need to mess around with an IP address
> and hopefully the port is at least constant?

I didn't know what the "name" of the phone was, so I googled and found advice
here which suggested I install this app as the best for doing an "ifconfig":

"Network Info for Android" by WarCry:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.warcry.networkinfoforandroid

I also tried an app called "Network Info II by Alexandros Schillings:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=aws.apps.networkInfoIi

Both tell me the internal and external IP address of the Android phone
(among other things).

I had to type that internal IP address a couple of times, so the apps came in handy.

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 15:30:15 -0600, John Hasler wrote:

>> With "open in terminal", you get "ls" and all the other Linux goodies
>> (srm, grep, sed, awk, ln, etc.).
>
> I already have those. What do I need Nautilus for?

I may be confused, and you may be making a point, but,
without the network-mount-GUI in Nautilus, how are you
going to know what the exact command is to mount the
Android phone as a file system that Linux understands?

The mount point was really strange, e.g.,
/run/user/1000/gvfs/ftp:host=192.168.1.11,port=2221/mnt/extSdCard/DCIM/Camera/

Once mounted, Nautilus or the command line will access it
just fine; but how do you mount the Android phone over WiFI
without Nautilus' GUI?

How do you figure out that mount point without Nautilus?

[Catzilla]

On 2015-11-09, DecadentLinuxUserNumeroUno, published this proof of the Infinite Monkey Theorem:

Just type +1 and move on, idiot.
I turned you into a fuckin kitten.

--
♖ ♘ ♗ ♕ ♔ ♗ ♘ ♖

[M.L.]

>> Enable WiFi and use FTP to transfer files from Android to Linux and
>> vice-versa.
>
>A. I turned WiFi on the Android phone on
>B. I dont' know what "use FTP" means yet (although I have already
>installed an app called "WiFi FTP")
>
>> 1.) In ES File Explorer choose "Remote Manager"
>C. On Android, I started ES File Explorer
>D. I pressed the hard "Menu" key on the Galaxy S3
>E. I pressed "Remote Manager" in the menu
>F. That popped up a screen which said the "Networks Status" was good.
>G. It said "You can manage your device through your PC after you turn on
>the service".
>H. There was a button called "Turn on", so I hit it.
>
>> 2.) ES File Explorer will launch a screen that provides you with a
>> network FTP address such as ftp://192.168.1.163:3622
>I. That gave me an FTP URL of the following:
> Input the address on your pc: ftp:/192.168.1.4:3721
>
>> 3.) Type that address into your Linux browser or file explorer and it
>> will display the default Android directory you selected in your FTP
>> settings.
>
>J. I entered that URL into Firefox and up popped an index directory
>listing
>
>Moving around in that index directory listing, I found the external sd
>card at "Index of ftp://192.168.1.4:3721/../../extSdCard/"
>
>> 4.) You can then copy those files to/from your Linux browser/explorer
>> screen.
>K. I found the camera files at
> Index of ftp://192.168.1.4:3721/../../extSdCard/DCIM/Camera/
>
>I'm not sure how I can copy, say, 50 of those JPG files in one step using
>a web index directory.

You've said you didn't want to do file transfers with a browser and I
don't blame you, yet you chose Firefox. Why not choose a dedicated FTP
program or file explorer that can select multiple files at a time?

>If that's the easiest way,

Firefox was not the best choice for FTP.

> I'm find using it (as we can't get better),
>but, it seems I have to copy the files one by one, but, to copy each 4MB
>file, I seem to have to VIEW it first in the browser and then I get a
>copy command in the browser right-click menu.
>
>Doesn't ES File Manger just copy a file over directly using WiFi?
>Or, is a web browser pointing to an ftp index-directory URL the only way?

Just use a better FTP client.

[Roger Mills]

Yes, indeed. My phone is known to the FTP client on my Windows system as
Moto_G. Having first enabled the FTP server on the phone, I open AceFTP
on the Windows system, click on Moto_G - and it immediately connects and
displays the relevant file lists in two panes.

I had to tell AceFTP the phone's IP address and port the first time, of
course, but it remembered it for subsequent occasions. [My home router
had been told always to give the same IP addresses to the same devices].
--
Cheers,
Roger
____________
Please reply to Newsgroup. Whilst email address is valid, it is seldom
checked.

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 16:18:46 -0600, M.L. wrote:

> You've said you didn't want to do file transfers with a browser and I
> don't blame you, yet you chose Firefox. Why not choose a dedicated FTP
> program or file explorer that can select multiple files at a time?

You make a great point.

The only reason for using Firefox, short term, was that people told me to
use a web browser, so I was testing it out. Firefox just happens to be
the web browser I picked to test out what people suggested.

I have since realized some people were telling me to simply obtain the
URL (e.g., ftp://192.168.1.4:3721/) and then use that URL to tell
Nautilus (which is a common Linux file manager) to connect to the FTP
server.

That worked perfectly!

It turns out *any* FTP server would probably work on the Android side,
so, I tested it with the ES File Explorer FTP Server and with the WiFI
FTP Server.

I found the WiFI FTP Server far easier to use than the ES File Explorer
FTP Server, mainly because the WiFI FTP Server doesn't do anything else,
so it was easy to find the buttons to press.

Both worked fine though.

So, I agree with you. I'd *never* use a web page, except to *test*, from
Linux, if the FTP server was working on Android.

[root]

Jesper Lauridsen <rors...@sorrystofanet.dk> wrote:

Snip all sorrowful solutions.


By far the easiest way is to set up a samba server on the PC
and use ES file explorer on the Android device. ES gives you
the equivalent of a graphic display and you just have to touch
the files you want to move.

Here is how to set up a samba server:
You can start by looking here:http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-server-73/samba-conf-samba4-4175441591/

As root, execute these statements on your linux machine:
groupadd smbguest
useradd -g smbguest -d/dev/null -s /bin/false smbguest

Then create/edit the file /etc/samba/smb.conf

Add something like this:
[global]
guest account = smbguest
netbios name = some-name
security = user
null passwords = yes
map to guest = Bad Password
guest account = smbguest
socket options = TCP_NODELAY IPTOS_LOWDELAY SO_RCVBUF=65535 SO_SNDBUF=65535 SO_KEEPALIVE
workgroup = WORKGROUP
domain master = yes

[public]
guest ok = yes
guest only = yes
path = /samba.ok/
browseable = yes
read only = no

[cdrom]
fake oplocks = yes
guest ok = yes
guest only = yes
path = /cdrom
read only = yes

[dvd]
fake oplocks = yes
guest ok = yes
guest only = yes
path = /dvd
read only = yes

I run Slackware so I have to:
edit /etc/inetd.conf
In /etc/inetd.conf make sure these lines are
uncommented:
netbios-ssn stream tcp nowait root /usr/sbin/smbd smbd
netbios-ns dgram udp wait root /usr/sbin/nmbd nmbd

Then you have to start the samba daemon. For Slackware
I execute /etc/rc.d/rc.samba start

Start up ES file explorer, select LAN and cause ES to search
your LAN. It should see the linux machine.

Every once in a great while the handshaking for samba changes and
you have to change a line like map to guest in the [global]
config file.

I think this covers all you need.

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 12:35:09 -0500, Jonathan N. Little wrote:

> Now on Android refresh ES File Explorer's LAN scan (the little spiral
> icon) and see if the Linux system shows in the browser list and clicking
> it should show share "debug", click that should list testfile.1 &
> testfile.2

Thank you very much Jonathan, for that very detailed Samba debugging
tutorial, much of which will be useful to me in the future and hopefully
to others.

http://i.imgur.com/meMWT8u.gif

I did *everything* but one step seems to be failing which is starting the
smbd server. I will google and try to debug, but here are my results of
running every step you kindly suggested.

1) Check that you've installed Samba
$ apt-cache policy samba
=> samba:
=> Installed: 2:4.1.6+dfsg-1ubuntu2.14.04.7
=> Candidate: 2:4.1.6+dfsg-1ubuntu2.14.04.9

It should report something like:

2) See if the smbd server is running:
$ service smbd status
=> status: Unknown job: smbd

It should have said something like:
=> smbd start/running, process 3644

3) See if your configuraion is ok:
$ testparm
=> Load smb config files from /etc/samba/smb.conf
=> rlimit_max: increasing rlimit_max (1024) to minimum Windows limit
(16384)
=> Processing section "[printers]"
=> Processing section "[print$]"
=> Processing section "[tmp]"
=> Loaded services file OK.

It should report something like:
=> Loaded services file OK.

4) Check to see if you've set up Samba users:
$ sudo strings $(locate passdb.tdb | head -n1) | grep USER_
=> &USER_jesper
=> &USER_root
=> &USER_jesper
=> &USER_root
=> &USER_root

Should return
&USER_[some userid]

5) Try a test configuration and reload the server:
a) Backup your current config:
$ sudo mv /etc/samba/smb.conf /etc/samba/smb.conf.saved

b) Make up some test share on your own profile:
$ mkdir $HOME/debug
$ touch $HOME/debug/testfile.1
$ touch $HOME/debug/testfile.2

c) Barebones smb.conf
$ sudo nano /etc/samba/smb.conf
##### Barebones config for debugging #####
[debug]
comment = Debug Samba
path = /home/jesper/debug
browseable = yes
writable = yes
create mask = 664
directory mask = 775
### EOF

d) Check config to make sure you did not typo something
$ testparm
=> Load smb config files from /etc/samba/smb.conf
=> rlimit_max: increasing rlimit_max (1024) to minimum Windows limit
(16384)
=> Processing section "[debug]"
=> Loaded services file OK.
=> Server role: ROLE_STANDALONE
=> Press enter to see a dump of your service definitions
=> [global]
=> idmap config * : backend = tdb
=> [debug]
=> comment = Debug Samba
=> path = /home/jesper/debug
=> read only = No
=> create mask = 0664
=> directory mask = 0775

e) If good the reload server
$ sudo service smbd restart
=> smbd stop/waiting
=> smbd start/running, process 13270

$ service smbd status
=> status: Unknown job: smbd

f) Set your Samba password if you haven't done so already:

$ sudo smbpasswd -a jesper

=> New SMB password: (type your password here)
=> Retype new SMB password: (type your password here)

g) On Android, scan for Samba shares to see if it shows up:
Start ES File Explorer

Press "Hamburger" > Network > LAN and then press "Scan".

You will see all the known SMB shares (linux should be one of them)

Unfortunately, I saw:
192.168.1.6
192.168.1.4

But, an ifconfig on Linux shows it to be 192.168.1.48
http://i.imgur.com/meMWT8u.gif

It seems I need to google how to get the smbd server running.

[Jonathan N. Little]

NOW you should be able to access your share via smb protocol with ES
File Explorer.

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 23:43:54 +0000, root wrote:

> I run Slackware so I have to:
> edit /etc/inetd.conf In /etc/inetd.conf make sure these lines are
> uncommented:
> netbios-ssn stream tcp nowait root /usr/sbin/smbd smbd
> netbios-ns dgram udp wait root /usr/sbin/nmbd nmbd
>
> Then you have to start the samba daemon. For Slackware I execute
> /etc/rc.d/rc.samba start

These are the three most promising methods of "easy" file access over WiFi
between Linux and Android.

Method 1: Run a ftp server on Android; access using Linux file manager.
Method 2: Run a Samba server on Linux; access using Android file manager.
Method 3: Run KDE Connect on both Android & Linux; access by KDE Connect.

I agree with you that, of the three most promising methods above, only
the Samba method allows us to use the Android file exploration GUI.

I also think my Samba setup is screwed.
Since I don't remember putting it on the system, I will have to start
from scratch (I think I added it years ago and failed, but I don't
remember).

So, right now, I'm going to look for a Kubuntu-specific Samba setup
tutorial and I will try to follow that since most of Samba seems to be
working except smbd isn't running.

[Jonathan N. Little]

Jesper Lauridsen wrote:
> On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 12:35:09 -0500, Jonathan N. Little wrote:
>
>> Now on Android refresh ES File Explorer's LAN scan (the little spiral
>> icon) and see if the Linux system shows in the browser list and clicking
>> it should show share "debug", click that should list testfile.1 &
>> testfile.2
>
> Thank you very much Jonathan, for that very detailed Samba debugging
> tutorial, much of which will be useful to me in the future and hopefully
> to others.
>
> http://i.imgur.com/meMWT8u.gif
>
> I did *everything* but one step seems to be failing which is starting the
> smbd server. I will google and try to debug, but here are my results of
> running every step you kindly suggested.
>

<snip>

>
> g) On Android, scan for Samba shares to see if it shows up:
> Start ES File Explorer
> Press "Hamburger" > Network > LAN and then press "Scan".
> You will see all the known SMB shares (linux should be one of them)
>
> Unfortunately, I saw:
> 192.168.1.6
> 192.168.1.4
>
> But, an ifconfig on Linux shows it to be 192.168.1.48
> http://i.imgur.com/meMWT8u.gif
>
> It seems I need to google how to get the smbd server running.
>

Well maybe set logging higher and follow /var/log/samba/smbd.log as you
try to bring up the server to see what this issue is that is preventing
start up.

1) Prepend /etc/samba/smb.conf with:

[global]
log level = 3

By using command
sudo nano /etc/samba/smb.conf

Exit and save.

2)Now follow the log:

tail -f /var/log/samba/smbd.log

3) Open a duplicate terminal to try and start samba

sudo service smbd start


You are on 14.04 right? Your are not on the newer systemd version like
15.10? Because systemd changes services and the command becomes:

sudo systemctl start smbd.service

Until you get the samba service running you will not be able to access
the share in the simple "Windows-way"

[DecadentLinuxUserNumeroUno]

On Mon, 9 Nov 2015 22:01:55 -0000 (UTC), Scatzilla
<scat...@pussyboss.invalid> Gave us:

>Just

Snipped retarded Scatzilla troll post.

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 19:20:37 -0500, Jonathan N. Little wrote:

> Until you get the samba service running you will not be able to access
> the share in the simple "Windows-way"

I agree with you.

And, yes, I'm on 14.04 Kubuntu.

I went through two different Ubuntu tutorials (I couldn't find any
Kubuntu tutorials), and still don't have the smbd service running.

There's just something wrong.
I will increase the debug level and try again.

Rest assured, I agree with you, the smbd daemon just isn't starting
for some wacko reason.

I will keep trying.

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Tue, 10 Nov 2015 00:59:12 +0000, Jesper Lauridsen wrote:

> Rest assured, I agree with you, the smbd daemon just isn't starting
> for some wacko reason.

Is there an easy way to clean up my samba situation?

I can remove the samba installation files with:
sudo apt-get purge samba

But that leaves a lot behind.

For one thing, it leaves the /etc/samba/ directory (which I can remove).
But it also leaves, I think, the group additions.

Is there an easy way to just clean out samba to start fresh?

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Tue, 10 Nov 2015 01:05:41 +0000, Jesper Lauridsen wrote:

> Is there an easy way to just clean out samba to start fresh?

I purged and reinstalled the samba files, which updated their
versions, but still the smbd isn't starting.

Here's my current status, but notice two steps are failing
namely starting smbd and the location of the password file.

For instructions on setting up a Samba server:
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-server-73/samba-conf-samba4-4175441591/
http://www.postvide.com/technology/how-to-install-samba-on-ubuntu-14-04/

x. Install samba:
$ sudo apt-get install samba

x. Check that you've installed Samba
$ apt-cache policy samba
=> Installed: 2:4.1.6+dfsg-1ubuntu2.14.04.9
=> Candidate: 2:4.1.6+dfsg-1ubuntu2.14.04.9

x. Make some decisions:
Samba share = /tmp/smbshare
Samba user = smbguest
Samba passwd = whatever

x. As any user (not as root!) make a directory & files that you wish to share:
(NOTE: DO NOT use sudo to create the Samba share folder, because then the
owning user and group will be set as ‘root’, which means you won’t be able
to access the folder using your Samba username and password.)

$ mkdir -p /tmp/smbshare
$ ls -ld /tmp/smbshare
=> drwxrwxr-x 2 jesper jesper 40 Nov 9 16:30 /mytmp/smbshare

$ touch /tmp/smbshare/testfile.1
$ touch /tmp/smbshare/testfile.2

x. Set your Samba password if you haven't done so already:
Samba stores its own set of user accounts, separate from the main accounts,
in the /etc/samba/smbpasswd file.
That means you’ll need to create a separate Samba password for every user.
You create this password using the smbpasswd command.

$ sudo smbpasswd -a smbguest
=> New SMB password: (type the desired password here)
=> Retype new SMB password: (type the desired password here)

x. Add the Samba user to the group:
$ sudo groupadd smbguest
$ sudo useradd -g smbguest -d/dev/null -s /bin/false smbguest

x. Check to see if you've set up Samba users:
$ sudo updatedb
$ locate passdb.tdb
=> this reports nothing, indicating that the file isn't found!

$ sudo strings $(locate passdb.tdb | head -n1) | grep USER_

Should return
&USER_[some userid]

For me, this returns nothing now.

x. Try a test configuration and reload the server:

$ sudo mv /etc/samba/smb.conf /etc/samba/smb.conf.saved

$ sudo vi /etc/samba/smb.conf

##### Barebones config for debugging #####
[debug]
comment = Debug Samba

path = /tmp/smbshare

browseable = yes
writable = yes
create mask = 664
directory mask = 775
### EOF

No spaces between lines.
Single spaces surround equal sign.

x. Start/restart smbd
$ sudo start smbd
or
$ sudo restart smbd

$ service smbd status
=> status: Unknown job: smbd

Besides the password not working this never seems to work either.

x. Check config to make sure you did not typo something

$ testparm
=> Load smb config files from /etc/samba/smb.conf
=> rlimit_max: increasing rlimit_max (1024) to minimum Windows limit (16384)
=> Processing section "[debug]"
=> Loaded services file OK.
=> Server role: ROLE_STANDALONE
=> Press enter to see a dump of your service definitions
=> [global]
=> idmap config * : backend = tdb

=> [smbshare]

=> comment = Debug Samba

=> path = /tmp/smbshare

=> read only = No
=> create mask = 0664
=> directory mask = 0775

x. Check the smb tree:
$ smbtree -b
-> Enter user's password:
$ (it reported nothing)

x. Test samba on a Linux browser to see if it's working:
smb://hostname/share e.g., smb://jesper/smbshare

[Catzilla]

On 2015-11-10, DecadentLUserNumeroUno, published this proof of the Infinite Monkey Theorem:
> On Mon, 9 Nov 2015 22:01:55 -0000 (UTC), Catzilla
><catz...@pussyboss.invalid> Gave us:

>
>>Just
>
> Snipped retarded Scatzilla troll post.

The miracle of resurrection...

Just type +1 and move on, idiot.
I turned you into a fuckin kitten.

OMG, ubuntu!!!

--
♖ ♘ ♗ ♕ ♔ ♗ ♘ ♖

[Jesper Lauridsen]

On Tue, 10 Nov 2015 01:05:41 +0000, Jesper Lauridsen wrote:

> Is there an easy way to clean up my samba situation?
>
> I can remove the samba installation files with:
> sudo apt-get purge samba
>
> But that leaves a lot behind.
>
> For one thing, it leaves the /etc/samba/ directory (which I can remove).
> But it also leaves, I think, the group additions.
>
> Is there an easy way to just clean out samba to start fresh?

I've done the following to try to fully purge Samba, but, I think
I'll bring the specific Samba issue over to another thread if I
have questions reinstalling samba and getting it to work, since
it is outside the scope of this initial problem.

x. This should remove samba
$ sudo apt-get autoremove samba samba-common

x. This should remove samba configuration files
$ sudo apt-get autoremove system-config-samba

x. sudo apt-get purge samba samba-common
x. sudo apt-get purge system-config-samba

x. sudo apt-get remove --purge smbclient libsmbclient

That still leaves a lot of samba stuff lying around as shown by:
$ sudo reboot
$ sudo updateb
$ locate smbd
=> /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/samba/libsmbd_base.so.0
=> /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/samba/libsmbd_conn.so.0
=> /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/samba/libsmbd_shim.so.0
=> /var/log/upstart/smbd.log
$ locate nmbd
=> /var/log/upstart/nmbd.log
$ locate smb
=> lots of stuff even after uninstalling samba

Even this command still leaves samba stuff lying around:
$ sudo apt-get remove --purge attr libhdb9-heimdal libkdc2-heimdal python-dnspython samba-dsdb-modules

I think there is really no good way to clean a system of
samba once it is installed, because there are still the
problems of the groups and users that were added.

But, I think, for now, I've cleaned *much* of what was
samba; and I can now reboot and start re-installing
fresh.

[DecadentLinuxUserNumeroUno]

On Tue, 10 Nov 2015 01:39:56 -0000 (UTC), Scatzilla
<scat...@kookboy.invalid> Gave us:

>Just

Just go back to the kook group where you belong.