Restoring from backup

[Bill Crews]

On Android 5.7.0, when going into Settings and opting to Restore & Select a backup file, it just shows me my Downloads folder in Internal Storage. Well, those files look like they do in my Solid Explorer file manager, but how does that help me select a Memento backup file?

The path to the backup files (and therefore the folder that should be listed) should be a subfolder of either /data/user/0/com.luckdroid.droidbase/databases or /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.luckydroid.droidbase -- something like backups. But I have no access to either /data/anything or/storage/user/0/Android/anything, so what's up, where are my backup files, and why doesn't Memento show them to me?

[David Gilmore]

On Android, and for security reasons, Google created a protected file storage area where only the app itself can access, not other programs (except for a few privileged file manager programs). Memento defaults to using that storage area to store backups.

You can see where that default storage area is located by going to the Memento app's global settings, in the general settings area.

On my Samsung GS25, when asking to do a full backup or full restore, Memento will show a list of files in it's currently selected directory/subdirectory. On the top line is the path to that directory, which can be tapped on to go up to a parent directory level. You can then go into another subdirectory by tapping that sub directory's tile. Memento seems to remember your selection for the next time you do a full backup or restore. It also seems to use that directory selection when doing a library export or import operation.

Directories in the normal area are also "protected". The are visible in file managers, but apps normally do not have permission to read or write files in those directories. The "Download" directory is usually one of the directories that is set to allow all program access, which is the directory I use for my backups.

Screenshot of Memento's directory selection screen for a full backup:

[Bill Crews]

Yes, Settings says /data/user/0/com.luckdroid.droidbase/databases/db for databases and /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.luckydroid.droidbase/files for files. As I said, I can't access those, so I depend on the Memento app to access them for me and show me the backups I've made. NOTHING ANYWHERE points to Download, and I don't want it to. That folder collects tons of stuff over time, and I don't want to lose my backup files in there. Besides, if rather Memento manage that for me. I could go to Solid Explorer for such files, but I don't want to.

Memento should show me the files in /data/user/0/com.luckdroid.droidbase/databases/backups or wherever IT chooses to put them. But it doesn't. 

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[David Gilmore]

I agree, Memento should be displaying the file names. However, I beleive accessing the file system for files in the restricted zone is done differently, which is probably why Memento is not doing it. As you know, requests to change Memento code needs to be sent directly to Memento via email.

In the meantime: Memento does list the existing files if the directory is not in the restricted zone. If you look closely at my screenshot, you will note that I am using a subdirectory off of the Download directory. I use this sub directory exclusively for Memento related files, which keeps them separate from my other download files. (Yes, the "TskrFile.txt" file is a Memento file, that is used by Memento to send commands to the Tasker program, and is subsequently read by Tasker and acted on.) If you don't want to place the Memento files in this location, you could always find one of the other directories that have open permissions, or create a new one with Solid Explorer with open permissions.

[David Gilmore]

Edited to add: If you want to do something with your backup or export files, such as off loading them, you will need to store them in the unrestricted zone anyway. Otherwise your backup routines also will not have access to them.