Send/Receive from laptop to SD card in phone with PTlite

Question

I want to enable our co-workers to use an android phone with Paratext Lite primarily for doing Send/Receive between the phone and a Win10 laptop running Paratext 8, then traveling with the phone to a location with mobile internet service to Send/Receive from the Internet. I have heard this is possible, but I am not sure how to do the Send/Receive from Paratext on the laptop to the phone.

I setup Paratext Lite on a phone and downloaded the projects from the Internet. I then did a Send/Receive to the installed SD card.

I connected the phone to the laptop by a USB cable and enabled file sharing. However, Paratext does not allow Send/Receive to the SD card in the phone. (I can browse to ‘…\Android\data\org.paratext.ptlite\files\Shared Paratext 8 Projects’ under ‘Network shared folder’, but Send/Receive there is not allowed).

Is there any way to enable a Send/Receive from the laptop to the phone without removing the SD card from the phone? I think I could remove the SD card from the phone and put it in a USB adapter, but that adds other complications and risks, especially if the SD card is difficult to remove from the phone.
Thanks for any suggestions!

Answer 1

I connected the phone to the laptop by a USB cable and enabled file sharing. However, Paratext does not allow Send/Receive to the SD card in the phone. (I can browse to ‘…\Android\data\org.paratext.ptlite\files\Shared Paratext 8 Projects’ under ‘Network shared folder’, but Send/Receive there is not allowed).

I just tried this with a borrowed phone (with an as card), and got the same result. I looked at mounting the folder, (so I could access it with a drive letter, to enable PT access to the folder), but apparently the phone doesn’t support UMS just MTP.

An alternative method might be to install an app that runs a a network file server. Then just mount that file server from windows. (for example: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.theolivetree.webdavserver&hl=en - (however when I tried this app it couldn’t see my real ‘SD’ card, only internal storage - but they might be better apps available).
I ran the app then typed:

net use h: http://192.168.1.101:8080

I could then browser the mapped drive from android as a S/R network folder in paratext. (and then S/R - although it wasn’t accessing my sd card - but it showed the concept worked, if one can find an app that shares the sd card)

Answer 2

Hi anon635921,

I use a USB flash drive with this kind of adapter to the micro USB / USB-C phone charging port. All the newer Android phone`s will work this way. You only need a clean formatted dedicated flash drive for this purpose to do the send receive. For the very first time you need to do the send receive on the phone and then on the computer and vice versa.

Answer 3

@anon635921 Have you tried USB Send/Receive with an adapter like what anon688531 mentioned?

james_post