[Q] Merge 2 Whatsapp Backups - General Questions and Answers

Hey Guys,
I read a bit through this forum and i see you guys know a lot so I wanted to ask for help here .
Soo like the titel says i want to merge 2 Whatsapp Chatbackups together because i have 1 Chatbackup from my old Smartphone and one from my new One...I googled first and tried some methods i found there. First i tried SQlite Browser but it didnt work because my databases are like this: "msgstore.db.crypt7 or msgstore.db.crypt5 but they are supposed to be like this msgstore.db" correct me if im wrong ;p...so i tried WhatsappXtract and Sqlite Admin but it didnt work aswell...I tried to convert from crypt 7 and crypt 5 to crypt with Whatcrypt but it always failed. My Idea now is to 1. decrypt my Msgstores from msgstore.db.crypt7 to msgstore.db
2. To use this Instruction :
HOW TO MERGE SQLITE DATABASE FILES WITH SQLite Compare: 1. Open the old database file in SQLite Database Browser. Open the table messages in Browse Data. Press the Button " > " as often as necessary to get to the last page. Scroll down to the last message. Now write down the number (_id) of that last message, e.g. 65422 2. Now open the new database file in SQLite Database Browser. Open the table messages in Browse Data. Click on the first entry (which has most fields with value "-1"). Click on Delete Record. Have a look at the now first entry and write down the number (_id) of that first message, e.g. 12 Now Click on Execute SQL and execute the following SQL statement: UPDATE messages set _id = (65422 + 1 + _id - 12) (replace 65422 by your last message _id in the old database and 12 by your first message _id in the new database) 3. Now all messages in the new database have the correct _id`s. Click on Save. Close all windows of SQLite Database Browser. 4. Download & Install SQLite Compare. Open SQLite Compare. 5. File - Compare For example: Left file: msgstore-2012-06-01.1.plain.db Right file: msgstore-2012-06-07.1.plain.db (Make sure to have a backup of both files!) x Compare schema and data x Compare BLOB fields OK 6. Double Click on table "messages" in the result window OR left click on table "messages" and hit button "Edit selected difference..." 7. A new window opens, "Table messages" Click on blue button "R" (it`s located after "Refresh Comparison", "L" and before "≠", "=") 8. Now on the right side all messages are shown that aren`t included in the left file. Now you can select multiple messages (first left click on the first message to select, then scroll down to the last message to select and press SHIFT + left click on the last message to select). I noticed that you can`t handle too many messages at once as it produces an error. Just try. I succeeded with about 1000-1500 messages. Now click on the button with the arrow from right to left: ← Now the selected messages are copied from the right database to the left database. 9. Repeat the steps in (8.) until all the messages are copied from the right file to the left file. 10. Maybe you also need to to this for the table chat_list if there are some new chat contacts in the newer backup file. 11. Now the left file (e.g. msgstore-2012-06-01.1.plain.db) contains all the messages from the prior file msgstore-2012-06-01.1.plain.db and the newer file msgstore-2012-06-07.1.plain.db. (No saving necessary as the tool automatically applies the changes to the file after pressing the ← button).
Now i wonder if this would work and how do i do my first Step?
Sorry if this is a totally Wrong Thread im a Newbie
Thanks to everyone who read this!:good: <3
Btw if anyone knows how to merge 2 Whatsapp Backups easier just tell me ^^

Got interesting will try to find a way out..
Thankyou this never came in my mind.

Zeuscluts said:
Got interesting will try to find a way out..
Thankyou this never came in my mind.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay Thanks man

Related

Where is MMS saved?

I'm sure someone has figured this out.
Where in the file system are the pictures I receive via mms saved?
I'm sure they have to be somewhere, there has to be a way to get them without the fwd to pc email / attach image to new email / email back to phone trick.
Bonus points, I deleted a thread - can I still find those images somewhere in the file system and restore them?
I believe they're stored in a sqlite3 database, so it's not as easy as just copying a file.
It looks like this is the database:
/data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db
I don't have any mms/sms messages atm (recently wiped phone), so I don't have any data to look at in the database.
If you want, give me an IM or PM and I'll give you my cell number so you can send me an sms with a pic, so I can figure out how to extract it from the database
i dont think its in the database: its the same size no matter how many messages there is
Found it. The text and attachments are saved in /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/app_parts
They are stored in files named something like "PART_1228000671287", with no extension.
To see what type of files they are, you can run this command on the phone (assuming you have RC30 v1.2).
sqlite3 -header /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db "SELECT _data, ct FROM part;"
The first column is the full path to the file, and the 2nd column is the mime type of the file
Awesome, good work Android Master JesusFreke.
too bad I have the factory RC30
(why oh why did I hit the update button that night?)*
but that's cool to know that they can be found.
Now we just need someone to apply that knowledge into making a SaveImage option appear in the MMS thread.
* on an unrelated note I need to put in another thread: when RC29 came I noticed the camera worked like 5 times better. I was even able to snap pics of the kids on the swings and they came out clear, when RC30 came it was back to blurriness as usual.
JesusFreke said:
Found it. The text and attachments are saved in /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/app_parts
They are stored in files named something like "PART_1228000671287", with no extension.
To see what type of files they are, you can run this command on the phone (assuming you have RC30 v1.2).
sqlite3 -header /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db "SELECT _data, ct FROM part;"
The first column is the full path to the file, and the 2nd column is the mime type of the file
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would it be possible to write a program that would automatically extract the imgs/vids from that path and put them on the sd card with the correct file extension?
Sure. It would certainly be possible for rooted phones. I'm not sure for non-rooted phones.
I should have added on rooted phones on my first post.
Guess i should get off my butt and start messing around with some code.
I'm kinda leery about messing with root comands.
I think it would be possible for rooted as well. Can't applications have message privys so they can read messages? if they can read them can't they save the data?
JesusFreke said:
Found it. The text and attachments are saved in /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/app_parts
They are stored in files named something like "PART_1228000671287", with no extension.
To see what type of files they are, you can run this command on the phone (assuming you have RC30 v1.2).
sqlite3 -header /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db "SELECT _data, ct FROM part;"
The first column is the full path to the file, and the 2nd column is the mime type of the file
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now I can save my pictures people texted me! Thanks dude!

TP2: Cant increase maximum tabs in Opera?

I read through the instructions here on how to increase the allowed tabs in Opera from just the default 2 tabs. Everytime I increase the tabs in the user preferences, I hit save, and reboot the phone.. and voila - back to 2 tabs.
any advice here?
you have to disable push enternet theres a cab for that on here then it will work
tcshort said:
you have to disable push enternet theres a cab for that on here then it will work
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"push enternet" ??
I'm on a VZ TP2 as well. I finally got it to work after trying it several times. I have no idea why, but it finally "stuck".
SecretAgentMan said:
I'm on a VZ TP2 as well. I finally got it to work after trying it several times. I have no idea why, but it finally "stuck".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lucky you!
I had the same problem where the changes wouldn't stick after making the changes via the 'config: opera' page. I think there's an opera.ini file that you can edit that'll force the change. May require a restart of your phone once you edit the file.
There is also another way to do it. This is for the Sprint version, but I'm pretty sure it works for all TP2s. To manually do it follow the following instructions:
First get a program like Total Commander so you can edit files in the Windows folder of your phone. Open TC and navigate to Windows > Opera9 > and then locate the file named opera.ini . Rename the name of the file to opera.txt and then use file explorer the open the file.
Navigate towards the end of the document, and there should be some text that says something like "Max Number of Tabs = 2" Change the 2 to a 5 (5 is the max number of tabs) and save the file.
Then go back in TC and rename the file back to opera.ini and reset your phone. Open up Opera and now you can have 5 tabs

How can I export my Shazam tagged songs list?

Before formatting my TD2 I made a full backup.
Now I want to transfer my Shazam tagged songs list back.
Simple copy paste from the backup is not working.
Where Shazam is keeping the list of tagged songs?
How do I export that list?
__________
Update: found it!
Can someone please open this attached shazam.db (from shazam for wm 6.5 ) and return the song list , date and time in some other format? xls, cvs etc.
Thanks!
Update:
Shazam.db file in aplication data\shazam\folder is where all tags are stored.
Did you have any luck with this? I was hoping to do the same thing, but I hit a wall when I realized that I don't know how to access files on my Droid's internal storage. Would you mind pointing me in the right direction?
Found nothing so far.
Anyone?
Incorrect....
Either the htc hero has a different file structure or this information is inaccurate....
There is no such file path.
I whipped a quick app (attached below) that can back up the shazam database file to your SDCard (in folder "shazambackup") and restores it need be.
Also you can export the Tagged songs to xml (saved as "exports.xml" in the "shazambackup" folder).
Next i'll probably parse the xml to a more readable format. Maybe CSV? or just Plain Text? Any ideas are welcome!
Let me know if you have any issues. So far i've only tested it on my G1. Must also have a rooted phone for any of this to work.
Can you please open this shazam.db (from wp6.5) and return the song list , date and time in some other format? xls, cvs etc.
Thanks!
bump.
Anyone can help?
See first post.
You're dealing with mostly Android here, you may want to ask in a WM or phone specific forum.
(from... Evo/MIUI/Tapatalk)
kokenjr said:
I whipped a quick app (attached below) that can back up the shazam database file to your SDCard (in folder "shazambackup") and restores it need be.
Also you can export the Tagged songs to xml (saved as "exports.xml" in the "shazambackup" folder).
Next i'll probably parse the xml to a more readable format. Maybe CSV? or just Plain Text? Any ideas are welcome!
Let me know if you have any issues. So far i've only tested it on my G1. Must also have a rooted phone for any of this to work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does not work properly on Desire. Opens the app after installation but "backup" button does not create the backup file and "Export to XML" makes the app force close without exporting anything.
About the export feature - the CSV version would probably be the best.
Thanks!
p666nn said:
About the export feature - the CSV version would probably be the best.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you or someone please export attached shazam.db (zip) in any other usable format?
Thanks!
Bumb!
BUMP!!!!!!
CSV would be great
The app's export to xml feature also fails on HTC Evo 4G (GingerBread).
Solution with SQLite
Hi everybody,
I found a solution to export the list via SQLite. I had to find it for myself as I found nothing on the web, but I put it here, so perhaps somebody else is looking for such a solution as well.
This explanation is about how to get Shazam's data base file from your Android phone, access it on your computer and export a list of your tagged songs.
1. COPY FILE FROM PHONE
The data is stored in the file on your Android:
/data/data/com.shazam.android/databases/library.db
You have to copy this file to your Computer to work with it. Probably everybody does this in a different way. Mine was probably a bit more difficult than necessary, there should be simpler ways (e.g. with ssh / scp), but mine was: Opening the Android app "Terminal" and typing in the command:
Code:
cp /data/data/com.shazam.android/databases/library.db /sdcard
Then the file was copyed on the sdcard, which I could access to with my computer via USB cable.
Then you need a program which can open SQLite-Files. There is the command line tool (at least in Linux) "sqlite3", but also graphical tools for Linux/Windows/Mac like the "sqlitebrowser" (Link: sourceforge.net/projects/sqlitebrowser).
2. OUTPUT FROM DATA BASE:
In every of these tools, you can execute SQL-commands. For my output I chose:
Code:
SELECT a.name , t.title, t.subtitle, t.album, t.subgenre_name, tg.short_datetime, tg.location_name , tg.lat, tg.lon
FROM artist a, artist_track at, track t, tag tg
WHERE a.id = at.artist_id AND at.track_id = t._id AND tg.track_id = t._id ORDER BY tg.timestamp;
This command displays a list of the songs, ordered by their timestamp.
So with the command line tool "sqlite3" you just type in:
sqlite3 -line /tmp/library.db "SELECT a.name , t.title, t.subtitle, t.album, t.subgenre_name, tg.short_datetime, tg.location_name , tg.lat, tg.lon FROM artist a, artist_track at, track t, tag tg WHERE a.id = at.artist_id AND at.track_id = t._id AND tg.track_id = t._id ORDER BY tg.timestamp;"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The output is in lines, you could also let put this in a text file by e.g. adding to this command:
"[see above] > shazam-tracks.txt"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is also a way to export the data into an html table (just the table, no complete html file), by changing "-line" for "-html". For further details on how to export everything to a different file format (CVS etc) have a look on the Manpage of sqlite3 (command "man sqlite3").
With the graphical tool "sqlitebrowser" it is imho only possible to show this list, not to export it to a textfile. After having opened the .db-file with the program, you chose the tab "Execute SQL" and put there the above SQL command ("SELECT [...]"). Voilà!
3. DETAILS:
What I do like this is combining the necessary data of the database. They are spread over several tables. There is a table "artist" with the list of the artists and their unique ids. Then there is the same for the tracks, "track". In the "artist_track" table there is listed, which artist's id belongs tho which track's id. Finally in the table "tag" there are additional data like the time stamp of the song and even it's geo data tag.
With the SQLite program you can easily watch all the data and add / remove data from the SQL command, as you wish.
So far, I hope, I could help somebody?
Greetings, spectas
spectas said:
Hi everybody,
I found a solution to export the list via SQLite. I had to find it for myself as I found nothing on the web, but I put it here, so perhaps somebody else is looking for such a solution as well.
This explanation is about how to get Shazam's data base file from your Android phone, access it on your computer and export a list of your tagged songs.
1. COPY FILE FROM PHONE
The data is stored in the file on your Android:
/data/data/com.shazam.android/databases/library.db
You have to copy this file to your Computer to work with it. Probably everybody does this in a different way. Mine was probably a bit more difficult than necessary, there should be simpler ways (e.g. with ssh / scp), but mine was: Opening the Android app "Terminal" and typing in the command:
Code:
cp /data/data/com.shazam.android/databases/library.db /sdcard
Then the file was copyed on the sdcard, which I could access to with my computer via USB cable.
Then you need a program which can open SQLite-Files. There is the command line tool (at least in Linux) "sqlite3", but also graphical tools for Linux/Windows/Mac like the "sqlitebrowser" (Link: sourceforge.net/projects/sqlitebrowser).
2. OUTPUT FROM DATA BASE:
In every of these tools, you can execute SQL-commands. For my output I chose:
Code:
SELECT a.name , t.title, t.subtitle, t.album, t.subgenre_name, tg.short_datetime, tg.location_name , tg.lat, tg.lon
FROM artist a, artist_track at, track t, tag tg
WHERE a.id = at.artist_id AND at.track_id = t._id AND tg.track_id = t._id ORDER BY tg.timestamp;
This command displays a list of the songs, ordered by their timestamp.
So with the command line tool "sqlite3" you just type in:
The output is in lines, you could also let put this in a text file by e.g. adding to this command:
There is also a way to export the data into an html table (just the table, no complete html file), by changing "-line" for "-html". For further details on how to export everything to a different file format (CVS etc) have a look on the Manpage of sqlite3 (command "man sqlite3").
With the graphical tool "sqlitebrowser" it is imho only possible to show this list, not to export it to a textfile. After having opened the .db-file with the program, you chose the tab "Execute SQL" and put there the above SQL command ("SELECT [...]"). Voilà!
3. DETAILS:
What I do like this is combining the necessary data of the database. They are spread over several tables. There is a table "artist" with the list of the artists and their unique ids. Then there is the same for the tracks, "track". In the "artist_track" table there is listed, which artist's id belongs tho which track's id. Finally in the table "tag" there are additional data like the time stamp of the song and even it's geo data tag.
With the SQLite program you can easily watch all the data and add / remove data from the SQL command, as you wish.
So far, I hope, I could help somebody?
Greetings, spectas
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks!!! It helped me since Shazam no longer gets past the setup screen!
I found that with SQliteExport you can use your same command above and export to a file of your choice, for example, xls or csv. Here's the link to the little program:
http://www.speqmath.com/tutorials/sqlite_export/index.html
Flyview said:
Thanks!!! It helped me since Shazam no longer gets past the setup screen!
I found that with SQliteExport you can use your same command above and export to a file of your choice, for example, xls or csv. Here's the link to the little program:
http://www.speqmath.com/tutorials/sqlite_export/index.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried but cant do it. I need step by step instruction. Or better, can someone just export the db that I attached? (See OP - first post - shazam.db ?)
Thanks
K
Best solution for exporting from shazam database
Delete this one please
Hello I am new on the forum. I've learned a lot of things in this website, it's time to payback
I’ve got another solution to this issue….
1.-Download this plugin for Firefox.
addons.mozilla.org/es/firefox/addon/sqlite-manager
2.- In Firefox – Tools, select SQLite Manager
3.- In the new window select database – connect database – then open your db from shazam
4.- Then you’ll see two panels. on left panel select track and on right panel, select browse and search then you’ll be able to see all your tag info
5.- On the left panel select track – right click – export table, select csv on right panel then ok.
6.- Open your new saved database with any office (word, excel)
7.- That’s all
Shazam Tags
snakesight said:
Hello I am new on the forum. I've learned a lot of things in this website, it's time to payback
I’ve got another solution to this issue….
1.-Download this plugin for Firefox.
addons.mozilla.org/es/firefox/addon/sqlite-manager
2.- In Firefox – Tools, select SQLite Manager
3.- In the new window select database – connect database – then open your db from shazam
4.- Then you’ll see two panels. on left panel select track and on right panel, select browse and search then you’ll be able to see all your tag info
5.- On the left panel select track – right click – export table, select csv on right panel then ok.
6.- Open your new saved database with any office (word, excel)
7.- That’s all
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This above works well nice one.
I was trying to do my own program before I saw this.I'm not a programmer but I stuck together a few bits of code I found and hopefully works you you. Use android app Root Browser Lite to copy file from data/data/com.shazam.android/databases/library.db to your sd card. Or use the app posted earlier which does this for you.
Put library.db file from you Shazam backup in the same folder as this program and run program and hit 'GetTags' and should get CSV and htm versions of your tags. No error checking or anything fancy in this program. Requires .NET 3.5. May only work on 32-bit machines. I'd like to enhance this and will if people find it useful.
How results should look.

Wildcard and DateTime syntax in Android Automate app

Hi,
I'm new to Android programming and I want to automate a process in an LG phone (Android 5.1.1) with the Automate app. I want it to take a picture at a set time of day and send it by email to a recipient. I have it running ok, just without image file attached because the app expects an absolute file name for the attachment. The problem is that the camera uses the date and time as the filename which of course changes with each image. Is there a way to use a wildcard like 'DCIM/Camera/IMG_*' (btw this doesn't work) to select the just created file which is deleted after the email is sent. So there is only ever the new file that should attach to the next email in this folder when the flow runs, but always with a new filename. I've tried various versions that I found online like GLOB'[IMG_]*' and 'IMG_#' but it always errors with 'NoSuchFile'...
Another way would be if I could give each new image file the same name, that would eliminate deleting the just sent file because it would overwrite the old one and I could set an absolute filename for the attachment in the email template. But i have not found a camera app that allows me to define the filename nor a way to automatically change the name of the saved file.
The other thing I'd like to do is insert the current date and time as the subject line. Here too I have tried various versions that I've found like =DateTime() which either just display the code in the email when I put them in " " (I guess as they should) or error already when I try to save them in the app.
Any help would be much appreciated!
Regards,
Jimmy

How hard can it be to find a simple text editor that edits any text file stored anywhere you want it to be stored on your internal or external sdcard?

How hard can it be to find a simple text editor that edits any plain ASCII (*.txt) text file stored anywhere you want it to be stored on your internal or external sdcard?
On every platform (except Android?), you can create a plain ASCII text file & store that txt file anywhere you have write permission.
And then you can edit that ASCII plaintext file using any text editor (e.g., gVim or Notepad on Windows or vi on Linux).
You can even link a shortcut to that text file on your desktop in a folder of other text files.
Is that too much to ask for Android to have the same functionality?
You store a bunch of plain text files anywhere you have write permission.
When you want to edit them, you tap on a shortcut in a folder of shortcuts.
That brings up whatever editor you have that shortcut set to use.
Lest you think otherwise, I have tried text editors but there are too many to test, but to date, ALL of them store the text file ONLY in their own proprietary location and they store them in their own proprietary format.
I don't want a proprietary location or proprietary text format.
I just want what every other platform has the ability to do.
I want to take ANY text file and edit it with ANY text editor and save it ANYWHERE I have write permission.
Is editing any plain text file too much to ask for in something as simple conceptually as a basic Android text file editor?
--
(Yes, I'm aware Windows & Linux store carriage returns & line feeds differently.)
The first one I tried called simple text editor can save a txt file wherever I have write permissions to (I don't have external sd card to test).
It's small (1MB), open source.
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.maxistar.textpad/
Since it's my first time using it, I can't vouch for it's reliability, speed, etc. But if you just want to edit small plain txt files, it seems to work okay.
Thank you for the suggestion of the FOSS "Simple Text Editor" tool by Maxim Starkov (aka MaxiStar).
F-Droid
<https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.maxistar.textpad/>
Google Play Store
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.maxistar.textpad>
Free, ad free, gsf free, rated 3.9/4.46K reviews @ 500K+Downloads
GitHub
<https://github.com/maxistar/TextPad>
I went to the F-Droid app on my phone and searched for "simple text editor"
F-Droid came up with the "Simple Text Editor by Maxim Starkov" version 1.24.0
That installed on my Android 12 Galaxy A32 5G
I allowed it to access photos & media
And it opened to "newfile.txt" saying "Type Something Here"
I entered "this is a test" and hit the three dots and then save
It asked me where to put the file (defaulting to "Downloads")
Instead I put it to the external sdcard, folder 0001, subfolder txt
That seemed to have worked
In Settings, there are useful options which default to
[_]Open last
{To open last edited file}
[x]Show Last Edited Files
{Show last edited files in options menu}
[_]Autosaving
{Automatically save currently editing file when window is closed}
[x]Alternative File Paths
{Allow assigning alternative addresses for files if no file system permissions granted.}
Encoding = (o)UTF-8
(many other encoding options existed)
Line Delimiters = (o)default
(UNIX/Windows/Mac line-ending options existed)
SAVE TO TXT:
The only option I changed was I turned autosaving on.
Then I used a file manager to look for the file it had saved.
One of the options to edit it was the "Simple Text Editor" by Maxim Starkov.
That worked.
OPEN WITH SHORTCUT:
Then I used the SimpleMobileTools FileManager to create a desktop shortcut to the newfile.txt file.
When I tapped that desktop shortcut from the homescreen, a dialog came up asking me which program I wanted to use to edit the text file.
One of the options to edit it was the "Simple Text Editor" by Maxim Starkov.
That worked.
RANDOM TXT FILE:
Then I used the MiX FileManager to create a foo.txt text file on the external sd card in the 0001 folder, and in the txt subfolder.
In MiX FileManager I tapped on that foo.txt file and up came an "Open with" selection which included the newly added "Simple Text Editor" by Maxim Starkov.
That worked.
TEXT FILE COPIED FROM WINDOWS:
Then I copied a text file named snafu.txt from Windows over to the external sdcard 0001/txt foder.
Using the Android FileManager I tapped on that snafu.txt file.
It asked how I wanted to treat that file (I selected "text").
Up came an "Open with" selection which did NOT contain the option for the "Simple Text Editor" by Maxim Starkov.
Instead I selected the MK File Manager text editor (mathewkor)
That worked (but it failed to open in the right editor).
But when I used the "My Files" filemanager, it worked!
EXISTING TEXT FILE
But when I tapped on an existing text file that was created previously, the "Simple Text Editor" by Maxim Starkov went through all the motions as above, but it would not write the file for some reason.
The error is "Cannot write file"
In conclusion, it worked almost perfectly.
When I tapped on the file in almost every file editor, an "Open with set of options came up, almost all of which contained the "Simple Text Editor" by Maxim Starkov.
When I created a homescreen shortcut to the text file, an "Open With" set of options came up containing the "Simple Text Editor" by Maxim Starkov.
When I copied a text file from Windows, the action was the same as the above, which is a good thing.
The bad news...
Two things failed:
When I tap on the text file in some file managers, the Simple Text Editor by Maxim Starkov does NOT show up.
When I tap on old text files, even when the Simple Text Editor by Maxim Starkov does show up, it sometimes can NOT write the file.
Dunno why.
I think what I'll do is copy all the existing files that can't be overwritten for some reason, and then try to start fresh.
Thanks for the advice of using this FOSS "Simple Text Editor" by Maxim Starkov (aka MaxiStar).
GalaxyA325G said:
The bad news...
Two things failed:
When I tap on the text file in some file managers, the Simple Text Editor by Maxim Starkov does NOT show up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I only use the built in LineageOS "files" app and it has no problems prompting the Simple Text Editor each and every time.
GalaxyA325G said:
2. When I tap on old text files, even when the Simple Text Editor by Maxim Starkov does show up, it sometimes can NOT write the file.
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It doesn't happen on my device. I can bring up text files, make a change and click save and it says "file written" each and every time.
retiredtab said:
I only use the built in LineageOS "files" app and it has no problems prompting the Simple Text Editor each and every time.
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Thanks for mentioning LineageOS, where my Samsung is impossible to root, but where I do have an older J7 which is possible to root - so someday I'm going to learn about "lineageOS" and install it there as I specifically don't use any Google apps already anyway (I use Aurora, Newpipe, Ungoogled Chromium, FairMail, NetGuard, etc., instead).
Even as I disable the Google services and I don't even log into anything, I would like to try LineageOS on that J7.
However, back to why I saw the anomolies with the suggested FOSS text editor is there is one thing I have NEVER understood is....
What makes an app show up in the "Open with" dialog selection?
For example, look at the screenshot below where the Aurora Store isn't one of the "Open with" selections but sometimes it is, where I can't figure out what "magic" is there that puts an app into the "Open with" selection list.
As an aside, if you know what "magic" makes an app like this simple text editor show up in the "Open with" selection, THAT would be immensely useful to me!
retiredtab said:
It doesn't happen on my device. I can bring up text files, make a change and click save and it says "file written" each and every time.
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I think it's a specific issue with my device since I moved the sd card from one Android phone to another so maybe the file is locked in some way that only shows up with some editors and not others.
I'm not making it up though - it happened - but I assume it's "user error" on my part for now as I go with Occam's Razor when it makes sense.
BTW, I started scratching the surface to figure out what makes a file writeable to some apps but not to others, where I found by looking the following...
Apparently a text editor must support something called "all files" mode, which is briefly described here.
<https://developer.android.com/about/versions/11/privacy/storage#all-files-access>
To see what the text editor has as all files permissions, I first looked in my FOSS app manager to see if I could find that mode.
<https://github.com/MuntashirAkon/AppManager>
This is some of the detailed information for MaxiStar Simple Text Editor.
Data Directory: /data/user/0/com.maxistar.textpad
Device-protected: /data/user_de/0/com.maxistar.textpad
Flags: FLAG_HARDWARE_ACCELERATED
Editor: soft input mode, no permission required
Search suggestions: path permissions null, patterns allowed null
android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE = dangerous, granted
android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE = dangerous, granted
By way of comparison, the WriterP program <co.easy4u.writer> shows a horrid number of additional permissions granted to it.
Data Directory: /data/user/0/co.easy4u.writer
Device-protected: /data/user_de/0/co.easy4u.writer
Flags: FLAG_HARDWARE_ACCELERATED
Editor: soft input mode, no permission required
Search suggestions: path permissions null, patterns allowed null
android.permission.ACCESS_MEDIA_LOCATION = dangerous, granted
android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE = normal,instant,granted
android.permission.ACCESS_WIFI_STATE = normal,instant,granted
android.permission.INTERNET = normal,instant,granted
android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE = dangerous, granted
android.permission.READ_PHONE_STATE = dangerous, granted
android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE = dangerous, granted
android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE = dangerous, granted
com.android.vending.BILLING = normal,instant,granted
While it's clear which of those two text editors has too many permissions, is the write "all files" permission shown in the above screenshots?
I don't know.
It's hard to tell what exactly to look for from the definition:
<https://developer.android.com/training/data-storage/manage-all-files>
But I think the fact both writers above have this permission is maybe it?
android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE = dangerous, granted
In summary, I think all that is needed for a text editor to write to a file anywhere I have write permission is "all files" permission for
storage is needed, where the only thing I need to figure out is how to tell if that "all files" permission has been granted to any given app.
<https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/10467955>
"Google Play restricts the use of high risk or sensitive permissions, including a special app access called All files access. This is only applicable to apps that target Android 11 (API level 30 and declare the MANAGE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission, which is added in Android 11. Also, this policy does not impact the usage of the READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission."
I am also looking for a simple text editor that can work with my A23. I was using J7 Prime and any text simple editor works ok with it. But with A23, I don't find any simple text editor yet that works fine.
After many attempts, I realize there is a permission called "All files access". But none of the simple text editor I have tried, including Simple Text Editor, are listed under that permission.
Can I simple conclude those text editors are only for old Android version? Is there any text editor that can be supported by Android 13 or higher?

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