Install/Maintain Avare on Multiple Devices

[John SB]

I fly Avare on a Nexus 7, and carry it on a Samsung S4 phone as backup. I'm wondering if anyone else has a similar setup and would like to have a faster and easier way of installing & maintaining Avare on multiple devices. If so, please comment so that the team can gauge the value of streamlining and semi-automating the procedure I'm working on. I also of course invite comments, additions, improvements and corrections to this procedure.

I have a slow (1 Mbs) internet connection, so it takes quite a while to Download and then Update the charts & materials. I've been investigating means of directly downloading the charts & materials zip files just once, then using a vastly faster USB connection to transfer the files between devices.

At this point it seems likely the best solution is download via browser to my Mac laptop and then using USB copy to the devices and unzip there. Currently this method works but isn't recognized by Avare's Download menu, in that there are no green checkmarks on installed materials. It's possible that the coding team may at some point enable Avare to use the existing code that installs the zip files I've copied at the point in the existing Download code where the zips are downloaded by Avare. That would simplify the process for users and also enable convenient tracking of installed materials and their currency simply by looking at the Download menu. Eventually code could also be added for Avare to retain the zip files for USB transfer directly to computer or another Android device; so that users could use Avare on one device to select and install materials and then conveniently duplicate those materials on another Android device running Avare.

For now, here's my procedure for manual download and installation of Avare charts & materials on multiple devices:
0. Install Avare (including auto-Download of Database) on all desired devices.
Once this is done, only the following steps would be required for adding or updating charts & materials on multiple devices.

1. Download zip file(s) to PC/Mac from:
    http://mamba.dreamhosters.com/currentZips/

3. Connect via USB (install Android or OEM USB app on PC/Mac if needed) and copy zip file(s) to devices in the directory (aka folder) where each device has installed Avare's files via Download:
    ../com.ds.avare/files/databases for example
I notice that each of my devices uses a different directory, apparently based on how the OEM has set up their version of Android. Also that each of the various file manager apps handles Android's alias system differently and usually in multiple ways. So whatever file management system I use for transfer of zip files from PC/Mac to devices is the one I first try to use for locating the databases file from the Avare auto-Download I used to determine the correct location for the zip files.

4. Double-tap each zip file to Unzip.  May need to Install an unzip app on device(s) if needed and then double-tap to Unzip the file(s) on the device(s).  Since this step is currently built into Avare's Download menu, it may not be much work for the coding team to add an option for Avare running on a secondary device to complete the installation/update once zip files are manually placed into the correct directory.

5. Replicate the empty files in this directory if they are not included in the current zip. These are the names of the zip files, so one method might be to simply leave the zip files in place and remove any .zip name extension. I've not tried that yet and it would of course use some storage space on the devices.

Rather than USB transfer, another method is to simply use Avare to install the materials on a removable SD card and duplicate the complete file structure on the secondary device. I'm not using that method because none of my three devices allows easy hot swapping of SD chips. The process of duplicating the entire structure in this way would eliminate the current problem of Avare's Download menu not recognizing the copied files. But the file manager app on devices like my old Droid X seem to choke on the large number of files, so I've not tried it on other devices.

[Vic S.]

I run Avare on more than one device as well and would love to see the ability to download once instead of multiple times.

Also, it seems that the location of the zips is no longer as mentioned by John. Anyone care to point me to the location so at least one can do this manually for now ?

Thanks

 

[Zubair Khan]

Vic

We will work on that.

The location of charts is mamba.dreamhosters.com/new/1403.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Apps4Av Forum" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to apps4av-foru...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to apps4a...@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/apps4av-forum.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

--
Zubair Khan
apps4av.com
zk4u.blogspot.com
Sudbury, MA 01776

[Dan Wegman]

Location of the app downloads is http://mamba.dreamhosters.com/share/

[Dan Wegman]

I run Avare on a Nexus 7 & an ancient LG Ally. I have ES File Explorer installed on both devices (http://www.estrongs.com/) which makes sharing the download possible - once you get the hang of it!

1. Download the app and/or chart .zip files to the host device (a.k.a. Nexus 7) from the links mentioned, and save them to the host's 'download' folder.

2. Use the ES File Explorer FTP tool to turn on the ES FTP Server on the host device (Nexus 7).

3. Connect the second device (a.k.a. LG Ally) to the host device.

4. Download the .zip files to the second device & unzip. (Run the .apk file to install the latest version of Avare.)

Here are the details of how I use ES File Explorer's FTP tool to enable file sharing among my devices on my home network:

On the host device:
1. Open ES File Explorer & tap the menu button (upper left corner).
2. Tap 'Tools' & select 'Remote Manager' from the list.
3. Tap the 'Turn on' button and NOTE THE FTP ADDRESS. (ex: ftp://192.168.1.4:3721)

Then, on the second device:
4. Open ES File Explorer, tap the menu button, tap 'Network', & select 'FTP' from the list.
5. Tap the 'New +' button on the bottom of the screen & select 'ftp' from the list that appears.
6. Fill in the fields as follows (using the host's ftp address example above):
Server: 192.168.1.4
Port: 3721
Mode: Passive
Username: <blank>
Password: <blank>
Anonymous: CHECKED
Encoding: AUTO
Display as: (type in a friendly name like 'Nexus 7')

7. You should now have a new icon. If you tap this icon, you should be able to view the contents of the host device.
8. Browse to the host's 'download' folder where you saved the .zip file(s) and long-press the file to open a checkbox. (Toggle checkboxes on additional files if desired by tapping their icon.)
9. Select 'Copy' from the menu at the bottom of the screen.
10. Navigate to the second device's storage location.
11. Tap the little gray clipboard icon at the left side of the screen to open the Paste window, tap 'Paste' and the file will be saved to the second device!

See, easy. Only 11 steps!
NOTE: On my network, the devices would sometimes change their ftp addresses so if you can't connect to the host device, check for this and re-do the New + process if needed. I was able to reserve each devices ftp addresses in my router's software (essentially locking them) so now this doesn't happen anymore.

[Peter Gustafson]

Hi all,
I'm working on a plan for using a bittorrent-like distribution system option which may involve running the torrent on a desktop and then transferring (in a pushbutton fashion) to device.  This would make distribution more redundant and easier for multiple devices.

I don't know yet if this is a good idea... but it is at least an idea.

If there is interest in helping me out... please contact me.

Thanks,
Pete

[John Wiley]

> If there is interest in helping me out... please contact me.

The heart is willing, but the mind is weak. :}

Anything that makes updates on multiple devices easier is most welcome
in my world. Would a modest donation help?

[Peter Gustafson]

John many thanks for the offer.  Donations are always appreciated...

I can attest Zubair has spent money from donations to buy access to FAA data, for network bandwidth, computer hardware, and also for ADS-B related avare stuff.  So it gets reinvested in Avare.

If you were talking about a bounty specifically for multi-device management... that is a cool idea.  But lots of people donate time to this cause. It may be unfair to those working the lower-profile (but absolutely necessary) tasks to reward only those who add new features.  (Example... documentation isn't flashy.)  So for now I suggest that donations be to the cause rather than toward a specific feature.

Thanks,

Pete

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Apps4Av Forum" group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to apps4av-forum+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.

[John Wiley]

Peter wrote:
> I suggest that donations be to the cause rather than
> toward a specific feature.

Perfect. :)

[Michael G Dyck]

Is this option still being investigated? I would like to be able to download the charts on my PC and then load them on the SD card for my Galaxy Tab 4.

[Zubair Khan]

Hi Michael

There is a bug on it, but dont know when we get to it.

Give this a try:

1. Download databases, and charts on your PC and unzip them

2. Move the folder to your device's Download folder

3. In Avare, change download folder to Download folder of your device

It should work.

Z

On Sun, Jun 7, 2015 at 2:43 PM, Michael G Dyck <keenlogic...@gmail.com> wrote:

Is this option still being investigated? I would like to be able to download the charts on my PC and then load them on the SD card for my Galaxy Tab 4.

--

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Apps4Av Forum" group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to apps4av-foru...@googlegroups.com.

To post to this group, send email to apps4a...@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/apps4av-forum.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.