brotherswing
Android Expert
More and more users are switching to ES File Explorer these days. Why? Because it's fast, it's flexible, it's quite powerful, and it's free. This guide has been written by request, and my goal here is to help you get the most out of one of my most indispensable apps. It's list of features is far too long for me to list here, but it's description in the Play Store lists everything. I'm presenting this as a bulleted list because it's more of a tip sheet than a guide.
1) Root access - from the main screen click menu-settings-Root settings, then click "root explorer." You can also check "Mount file system" if you need to modify files in the root directory.
2) While in the settings, change your Path settings for easier access to the entire filesystem. Click the dropdown for "Home directory" and change it to "/"
3) Using ES to browse your network. From the main screen, click the button in the upper left hand corner labeled "local" then select LAN, or just swipe right. You are now browsing your local network shares. Click Menu-Add (or Scan) to add a shared location. To keep things simple (during use, not set up) try setting your router with reserved IP addresses (if the firmware supports it). That way you can still use DHCP for your network in general, but your PC's will always use the same IP address. That makes it much easier to remember which IP address is which computer.
4) ES will also browse Bluetooth, FTP, and cloud storage (Box, Dropbox, and Sugarsync) servers. The location button (or swiping left and right) will select what kind of server you are currently browsing. The process of Menu-Add applies to all of these views.
5) ES will let you stream media over your home network. Browse your LAN to where the media is located. Click on the file you wish to enjoy. Do not use ES's internal media player (that will fail), instead use your favorite media player from the market. Instead of trying to copy the file, you phone will play it as a stream. I have tested it with Mobo Player and PowerAmp. It should work the same with other media players, but I cannot confirm that.
6) ES has an optional "Manager" plugin, also free from the market. This will let you kill tasks, clear cache, manage (and backup) installed apps, optimize your power settings, test your LCD for bad pixels, display device information (RAM, available space, processor architecture, battery level, etc...) and a startup manager. I highly recommend this very useful plugin.
There's much more to it as well, but these are the most common functions I find useful. ES File Explorer with the Manager plugin is kind of like a Swiss Army knife for your phone. There may be other apps out there that can do some of these things better than ES, but this is the only app I've found (so far
) that does it all, does it elegantly, doesn't take a ton of space on my phone, and doesn't cost anything. One final note, the developers of ES is very active, releasing regular updates with bug fixes and more features.
1) Root access - from the main screen click menu-settings-Root settings, then click "root explorer." You can also check "Mount file system" if you need to modify files in the root directory.
2) While in the settings, change your Path settings for easier access to the entire filesystem. Click the dropdown for "Home directory" and change it to "/"
3) Using ES to browse your network. From the main screen, click the button in the upper left hand corner labeled "local" then select LAN, or just swipe right. You are now browsing your local network shares. Click Menu-Add (or Scan) to add a shared location. To keep things simple (during use, not set up) try setting your router with reserved IP addresses (if the firmware supports it). That way you can still use DHCP for your network in general, but your PC's will always use the same IP address. That makes it much easier to remember which IP address is which computer.
4) ES will also browse Bluetooth, FTP, and cloud storage (Box, Dropbox, and Sugarsync) servers. The location button (or swiping left and right) will select what kind of server you are currently browsing. The process of Menu-Add applies to all of these views.
5) ES will let you stream media over your home network. Browse your LAN to where the media is located. Click on the file you wish to enjoy. Do not use ES's internal media player (that will fail), instead use your favorite media player from the market. Instead of trying to copy the file, you phone will play it as a stream. I have tested it with Mobo Player and PowerAmp. It should work the same with other media players, but I cannot confirm that.
6) ES has an optional "Manager" plugin, also free from the market. This will let you kill tasks, clear cache, manage (and backup) installed apps, optimize your power settings, test your LCD for bad pixels, display device information (RAM, available space, processor architecture, battery level, etc...) and a startup manager. I highly recommend this very useful plugin.
There's much more to it as well, but these are the most common functions I find useful. ES File Explorer with the Manager plugin is kind of like a Swiss Army knife for your phone. There may be other apps out there that can do some of these things better than ES, but this is the only app I've found (so far
) that does it all, does it elegantly, doesn't take a ton of space on my phone, and doesn't cost anything. One final note, the developers of ES is very active, releasing regular updates with bug fixes and more features.
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