Why does WP 8 need a file explorer?

[ttsoldier]

I agree with the OP

 

[ag1986]

The call for file explorers are few. The biggest thing people are asking for is a notification center. A lot of the things people want "organized" is already in a "folder" for them, technically. It's just now how you want it

OP, me, several others here as well as approx. 70,000 users who have voted for this on WP Uservoice (currently #2 behind, as you say, Notification Center).

Current capabilities may be enough for you but not for me

I'd settle for the ability to define app<>file type relationships and a shared namespace on storage (onboard or SD, whatever) which any app can access, plus the ability to create subfolders in Office Hub. As I stated earlier, right now, even if I want to use a comic reader, I have to upload several GB to Skydrive and then download them all again (!) which has to be the record for most ridiculous use of bandwidth, ever. I can't copy them to SD or internal storage and tell WP8 that this app should open files of that type.

 

[sahib lopez]

OP, me, several others here as well as approx. 70,000 users who have voted for this on WP Uservoice (currently #2 behind, as you say, Notification Center).

Current capabilities may be enough for you but not for me

I'd settle for the ability to define app<>file type relationships and a shared namespace on storage (onboard or SD, whatever) which any app can access, plus the ability to create subfolders in Office Hub. As I stated earlier, right now, even if I want to use a comic reader, I have to upload several GB to Skydrive and then download them all again (!) which has to be the record for most ridiculous use of bandwidth, ever. I can't copy them to SD or internal storage and tell WP8 that this app should open files of that type.

again all those peeps who have requested in that site are wp8 enthusiast who want it BUT you have to remember that we are the minority and NOT everyone wants a file manager. regular peeps just want a smartphone that wont crash, wont slow down , able to use instagram,facebook, vine, not worry about " oh I cant move my file here and here and there and oh no I need to delete some files. now if you ask a regular consumer " hey do you want or need a file manager" they would say "what is that"

 

[Ma Rio]

Without a file explorer phones look like a toy to me. You can do only what the phone manufacters want you to do.
A file explorer would be a first (and also a big) step towards a free system. What do I mean by free system? Well, for example Windows.
When I'm on windows, I feel like I can do ANYTHING (even tho I just do regular stuff, yt/fb). Why couldn't WP have a FS like Win has (also symbian had something very similar).
For example:

C:\ - Phone System (accessable by user/apps but read only - ROM) : this would be what C:\Windows is on Win. A drive where the system is stored, you can only look at it. Size - 5gb or whatever, idk how much WP needs.
D:\ - Mass Memory - fully accessible by user and apps. Has folders: Program Files(thats where apps would be installed), User files(subfolders - music, videos, etc), and so on..
F:\ - SD Card
G:\ and H:\ - USB OTG

 

[Ezhik]

It's just an extra icon in the app list and some extra API addictions that only programmers will notice. If Microsoft can execute it well, there won't be any confusion.

 

[Optiplex330]

Word, PDF and everything productive...
Everything can be found in the office app. It's perfectly organized and It allows you to store files, pick them up from Skydrive and use them as you see fit. Even lost mail attachements are there. I have used it extensively when going on a trip and saved every guide, map and information on my Phone. It was perfectly accessible through the office hub.

I can understand and respect the need for a file explorer by some of you. I am just wondering why it is needed so badly. More than often I see threads about what Windows Phone needs. Some people seem to name features of Android or iOS that are desperatly needed for Windows Phone while I am of the opionion that Windows Phone does these things extremely well and even better than their counterparts. I love the hub system in Windows Phone and it saddens me that some users want to change it to a more generic android-like system. It would be nice to see a few use cases on why there is need for a file explorer.

I almost never use my phone for music. But I definitely need my Words and Excel and PDF files when I went to rural areas with no Internet connection. My conclusion is, WP phones are for advanced countries with 24/7 fast access to Skydrive and not the 3rd world. They should have put a warning sticker on the phone about that.

 

[T Moore]

The phone OS is secure, that will not be compromised because some want a file manager feature.
Any file feature that is added will not be able to do any more that you can do with a PC when the phone is connected.
I have never need a file manager.

 

[Ezhik]

They don't need to allow access to every part of the file system, you know.

 

[tk-093]

Don't need a file explorer, just better file managment. I've used them all... I've got a drawer full of old school WM's and Androids, and even now currently swapping between a Moto X and a Nokia 928. We don't really need a full blown file explorer.

That is what I think we need.... lets say I click on a mp3 on a website that I want to use as a ringtone. It should download the dang thing into the sounds folder on my phone so I can select it as a ringtone.. On Android when I do that it goes to the generic downloads section and then I have to move it to my sounds folder.

Things that don't fall into the picture, sound or document catagory can go into a generic downloads folder.

 

[cckgz4]

again all those peeps who have requested in that site are wp8 enthusiast who want it BUT you have to remember that we are the minority and NOT everyone wants a file manager. regular peeps just want a smartphone that wont crash, wont slow down , able to use instagram,facebook, vine, not worry about " oh I cant move my file here and here and there and oh no I need to delete some files. now if you ask a regular consumer " hey do you want or need a file manager" they would say "what is that"

someone who gets it





Sent from my RM-915_nam_usa_228 using Tapatalk

 

[azcruz]

I have an Xperia V running Android 4.1.2 and has "File Commander" installed. When I open it up I only see the mess of what the Android file system is.

On my HTC 8S, I just use the Windows Phone app to manage what it is supposed to manage- Music, Videos, Photos and Documents.

 

[Moiz Mian]

I think the current implementation is great! They just need to iron out some kinks. For example, I love that if you download music or video from the browser using UC browser or something, it goes straight to the music+video hub. Or if you download photos, they go to the photos hub, or office files go to the office hub. PDF files go to the Adobe Reader app.

What needs work is how these are managed. For example, the video management is poor at best. Currently there is no API for loading a video in a 3rd party app, ie. whatsapp. We should also be allowed to choose what quality of image/video we would like to send. Even if the choice is only available over wifi. Also, making it easier to upload office files to email or PDF's from the attachment page.

These are the kind of things that need improvement. The basics are there and it's good! There is already more control over files than you can get on an iphone. I don't think we need a full file explorer. Like someone said earlier, it's dumb to give someone the freedom to put music in the documents folder or vice versa. It's unnecessary and just adds complexity where it's not needed.

 

[sahib lopez]

They don't need to allow access to every part of the file system, you know.

this is not towards you in anyway....but then if you say they don't have to allow every part the file system then someone will say " well why did they even add this this if I cant access anything its too locked down blah blah blah im going back to android " or 'this file manager is not like android" you see where this Is going. a half backed file manager will get SOOO much flack from users that requested a file manager to the android users that will ridicule wp8 for having half baked file manager. msft cant please everyone so if they chose to ignore a minor 7000 users to keep it simple and fluid and gain more users because of the simple os fine by me and if they chose to put a file manager...... fine by me also but both will have its consequences and I wonder what msft choses

 

[sahib lopez]

Without a file explorer phones look like a toy to me. You can do only what the phone manufacters want you to do.
A file explorer would be a first (and also a big) step towards a free system. What do I mean by free system? Well, for example Windows.
When I'm on windows, I feel like I can do ANYTHING (even tho I just do regular stuff, yt/fb). Why couldn't WP have a FS like Win has (also symbian had something very similar).
For example:

C:\ - Phone System (accessable by user/apps but read only - ROM) : this would be what C:\Windows is on Win. A drive where the system is stored, you can only look at it. Size - 5gb or whatever, idk how much WP needs.
D:\ - Mass Memory - fully accessible by user and apps. Has folders: Program Files(thats where apps would be installed), User files(subfolders - music, videos, etc), and so on..
F:\ - SD Card
G:\ and H:\ - USB OTG

say what o.o? .......this is a smart phone not a full blown computer.. if you showed that to regular consumer they would be confused....and if you do consider os without a file manager a toy then why is IOS in second place there are users and a market who just like an os that " just works" the days have passed where you have to manage your files on your phone ... I believe that a smartphone should be easy to use and productive and with a complicated file manager that was suggested is way to complicated and will take away from that simplistic os that Is WP8

 

[xratola]

say what o.o? .......this is a smart phone not a full blown computer.. if you showed that to regular consumer they would be confused....and if you do consider os without a file manager a toy then why is IOS in second place there are users and a market who just like an os that " just works" the days have passed where you have to manage your files on your phone ... I believe that a smartphone should be easy to use and productive and with a complicated file manager that was suggested is way to complicated and will take away from that simplistic os that Is WP8

And what if you need to work with .zip files or any other kind of file. That's what I don't like about WP we praise our OS of being fast and we can't attach a file from the email hub nor a lot documents in the same email that sounds like crap to me. with a file manager we wouldn't face that, we would only have to check our file/files and send them away. That's why we need that. Or not directly a file manager but a way to manage our content freely without limitations.

 

[sahib lopez]

And what if you need to work with .zip files or any other kind of file. That's what I don't like about WP we praise our OS of being fast and we can't attach a file from the email hub nor a lot documents in the same email that sounds like crap to me. with a file manager we wouldn't face that, we would only have to check our file/files and send them away. That's why we need that. Or not directly a file manager but a way to manage our content freely without limitations.

while I agree with you that we cant send zipped files in our emails but like I said before most of the Common users I encounter that use ios,and android never use that function and just simply copy and past and in our case share to an email and send .....I don't think there is a need to zip our files when the user cares in reality if they received it or not. and also there is a fine line between a good file manager and a bad one and the way msft has it now I think its the best one between ios and android ...sure they could improve but in the end it comes down does it work the way it should and not have to manage our things rly:

 

[lippidp]

Perhaps the Enterprise Pack will give us a file explorer. Those of you that use a smartphone for consumer stuff can keep things like they are and those of us that want to be productive can get the Enterprise Pack.

 

[cckgz4]

There was only one time I encountered the need for opening a zip file, and I had an android device at the time. Had i owned anything else, I would've been out of luck

Sent from my RM-915_nam_usa_228 using Tapatalk

 

[xratola]

That's right and not a file explorer properly said but a tool that gives us the possibility to store and share our different types of files easily. Not a big change is required also if they don't like the file explorer concept give us an extra folder in the phone like Music or Documents but called "other" and give us the power to save things there from the Phone, to open files from there and to share things from there. I think this last "concept" will be easier to learn for the average Joe.
Or tell me don't you hate when you want to download some file from the internet and you can't store it?

 

[sahib lopez]

Perhaps the Enterprise Pack will give us a file explorer. Those of you that use a smartphone for consumer stuff can keep things like they are and those of us that want to be productive can get the Enterprise Pack.

but wouldn't that cause fragmentation?