File browser missing in the basic jolla apps

I’m not sure why a (full-fledged) file browser should be provided by Jolla. The one built into the Settings application is more than sufficient for the average user (who will likely never even use it in the first place), and if you need a better one, there’s plenty of options available both on the official store and on OpenRepos.
For comparison: Android’s development is backed by billions of dollars and thousands of developers, yet it doesn’t have any file browser out of the box, not even a really basic one like the one inside the Settings application.

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Here’s a thought:
In the (not so far) future, a file browser will be obsolete.
It will probably be replaced by a database that keeps track of all file changes.

  • Then an app or script doesn’t need to take into account what hierarchy files are placed in, where it is launched from or where certain libraries are located.

:blush:

On a side note:
There’s always the ubiquitous “ls” or “find” command in a terminal. This is linux after all. :scream_cat:

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That idea isn’t new, actually. See, for example, the Zeitgeist project on Ubuntu/GNOME based desktops. This and other desktop search tools have been around for years. The approach using databases and search won’t and can’t replace a file manager.

I think there was a reason in the general design of Smartphone OS’s why they don’t include a file browser. If you think back to the (disputable) slogan 'there’s an app for that ': When thinking of an app driven ecosystem and interface design, it’s logical to have dedicated apps for viewing and managing photos, reading documents, saving downloads and others.
Also keeping the user out of the directory tree avoids any hazards for configs and other data that apps and system components create specifically for the user. Since they can’t unwittingly break stuff by poking around in the home folder

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I’m on SFOS 3.0.1.11 and I guess it was also there in previous versions.

hej . i cant use this for 3.4. how can I use the icon in Palla?

I’ve literally just installed it myself using the exact same code I gave in my original post. I am also still using SailfishOS 3.4 Pallas.

I have no idea why it doesn’t work for you.

Paste the code into terminal, ht enter, give your terminal password, hit enter, type ‘y’ to agree with installation and hit enter, it should install and show in your app drawer.

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Yes now it works. Thanks for it.

is there a possibilty of getting the art picture of the pictures in the file?

Wondering if plugging my true-to-sfos-design-and-simple-af file manager (nanofiles) would be ethically correct

Not only the file manager is missing. If you have video that isn’t indexed you can’t view it either (unless you use file manager duh) so there’s another of my apps (damn it gets more and more ethically questionable) that just plays video from file. Also people seem to want a gallery that sorts images by directory they’re in (and that’s another app that I will make… it gets worse and worse)

Jokes in brackets aside I think you can see what I’ve been doing there :stuck_out_tongue: Even though jolla already made (not great but still) file manager, they didn’t add it to app grid for unknown reason. I view sfos very much as DIY project, if something is missing you do it yourself :confused:

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