Introducing File Surfer - A Multi-Tabbed, Desktop-Like File Manager For Android Tablets

File Surfer is a beautiful looking desktop-like (yet touch friendly), multi-tabbed, logical and file-system change aware file manager for Android tablets.

File Surfer behaves exactly like a desktop file manager - yet it is touch friendly. There are unique custom built long-tap desktop-like context menus associated for each icon/file/empty area that pop up right where you long tapped (next to the icon). These context menus look and behave exactly like traditional Desktop context menus and you'll find familiar menu items you'd expect from a desktop file manager.

On the top left let there is a menu bar and on the top right there is a search box. On the main interface there is a sidebar and status bar that give you information such as how many items have been selected, file size, bookmarks etc. There is an editable address bar that allows you type URLs as well as clickable breadcrumbs bar. You can long click a folder and select "Open in New Tab". You can open as many tabs as you want (well, until your tablet runs out of RAM).

Double tap to open a file/folder, single tap to select a file or folder. Long tap to access its unique and associated context menus.

File System Change Aware - File surfer is file system change aware and it operates in live self-aware mode. This means if a file is modified from outside by either a different Android program or your desktop operating system (or by any other tab), it *will* know and it reflects the changes immediately.

File Surfer allows you to create as many file manager tabs as you want - Each tab represents a unique instance of the file manager. The file manager has been coded in a such way that creating multiple tabs is a non-issue. Each instance of the file manager in File Surfer is its own mini program.

I read stories talking about Android on the desktop and companies have started releasing all-in-one Android PCs. well File Surfer is ready for it.

There are no ads and *no* "Full Internet Access" or any other tricky permissions. Simply read and write internal and external storage. But when I add FTP support I will need to add "Full Internet Access".

Due to the alpha state of the program, File Surfer currently does not support super user however when the code stabilizes I will try to add this.


File Surfer will be ready within hours of this post on the Android Play store and I will update this post when the store has been updated.

The story behind File Surfer - I built File Surfer based on my own preference about how a File Manager should be. I tried many file managers on the Android market but not one behaved the way I wanted so I decided to start my own from scratch. I said, how hard could it be? Well, harder than what I expected but this is simply because I am used to the Windows C++ way of doing things and Android is completely different so I had to learn *both* Android *and* Java. It is not my first Android program as there is another one that I will introduce soon in about a day.

Screenshots here:

 

Not sure what is going on, I published the app this morning (about 4 hours ago) and it still hasn't appeared.



I will update this post again when it is available. I put filters so that tablets only can download it.

 

File Surfer is now on the Android Play store.

Link:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/...1bGwsMSwyLDEsImNvbS5za3lpZGUuZmlsZXN1cmZlciJd

P.S. It was my fault for the delay, sorry. I had placed the APK in the wrong section (I am new to the Android store)

To the people interested in testing it, please make sure you have a backup copy of your files. This is an Alpha version. I mean it, take my advice seriously.

Although I spent a lot of time working on it and making sure it works as expected, I am sure you'd find something broken.

If you do find something broken, I promise you, I will look at it.

All you need to do is let me know, either email me or post here, no need for 1 star, understand, it is a test release only

 

New version of File Surfer has been uploaded.

I added support for phones + low resolution screens. I emulated various different screen resolutions and I can confirm it scales as intended on the following configurations:

- 480x800 (tested on a real device)
- 1024x600 (tested in an emulator)
- 1024x768 (tested in an emulator)
- 1280x720 (tested in an emulator)
- 1280x800 (tested in an emulator)
- 1920x1080 (tested in an emulator)

- LG Optimus G Pro (tested on a real device)
- Nexus 7 (tested on a real device)
- Nexus 10 (tested on a real device)
- Samsung Captivate Glide (tested on a real device)
- Samsung Galaxy Note (tested on a real device)
- Samsung Galaxy Note 2 (tested in an emulator)

Even if your device/configuration is not listed above, it doesn't mean it will not scale properly as the code uses % of the screen's width and height to draw the GUI. As I stated earlier, the intended devices for File Surfer are high resolution screens but now it should work on low resolutions as the code reconfigures itself depending on the screen resolution.