How does it work without a file system?

[masands]

Or you could add them to the iCloud Photo Library on your computer and then edit them from within photos either natively or by using another editor that supports photos extensions

Or you could use Lightroom and Lightroom mobile

Neither of those options need you to make multiple copies of a photo and work seamlessly

I really don't want to pay for Adobe subscription. I'm a hobbyist photographer and would just like to edit photos on the go.

I did try the iCloud Photo Library solution. Unfortunately it just got stuck on "Uploading" for days so I just turned it off.

 

[peterpan123]

Thanks for the info. When you guys mentioned that if an app needs to access a file created by another app, the system makes a copy first. So, if I have 100 files created by one app and I want to access these files by another app, the system will have a total of 200 files? Also, when searching for a file, we will get two files of the same name but stored in different locations?

From the Keynote for iPad Pro, it seems that although EXCEL and WORD are different apps in Office for iPAD, they can share data? Perhaps just copy and paste?

 

[sparksd]

Thanks for the info. When you guys mentioned that if an app needs to access a file created by another app, the system makes a copy first. So, if I have 100 files created by one app and I want to access these files by another app, the system will have a total of 200 files? Also, when searching for a file, we will get two files of the same name but stored in different locations?

From the Keynote for iPad Pro, it seems that although EXCEL and WORD are different apps in Office for iPAD, they can share data? Perhaps just copy and paste?

Yes, if you are working with the "same" file stored on your device, each app will have its own copy. As for searching for the file, there is no global search capability/function like you are familiar with on other devices - you would have to look within the file listings provided by each app.

 

[masands]

Thanks for the info. When you guys mentioned that if an app needs to access a file created by another app, the system makes a copy first. So, if I have 100 files created by one app and I want to access these files by another app, the system will have a total of 200 files? Also, when searching for a file, we will get two files of the same name but stored in different locations?

From the Keynote for iPad Pro, it seems that although EXCEL and WORD are different apps in Office for iPAD, they can share data? Perhaps just copy and paste?

Yes, although I have done some investigations with iCloud Drive as suggested and it does seem to work somewhat like a proper filesytem i.e. the app can edit within iCloud itself. This avoids the duplication. Let me look into it further.

 

[mi7chy]

Can someone give me a very specific real world usage case that a user accessible file system would be beneficial?

How do you organize/move/backup files and folders on your Mac, across different devices and onto external storage? Why wouldn't you want the same experience on iOS that's consistent across Macs, PCs, Linux, BSD, Android, etc.?

 

[maxsix]

And sometimes it is an infinity puzzle without conclusion.

I was planning to buy pro too, but the lack of a real manageable filesystem i just a bigger ipad and i dont need another ipad. Im using NAS to store my files to access them from anywhere with any device and it is a pain in an ass with ios.

Well said, Apple has created a convoluted, overly time consuming, inconsistent file system of sorts.

It's obvious the hard core Apple devotees will never admit it's just not the same as the decades old, proven, easy to use, open file system that today's computers and Android phones use. iCloud is better than the dreadful MobileMe of the past, but it still isn't as good as Google Drive or Microsofts Cloud. Not even close.

 

[peterpan123]

Yes, although I have done some investigations with iCloud Drive as suggested and it does seem to work somewhat like a proper filesytem i.e. the app can edit within iCloud itself. This avoids the duplication. Let me look into it further.

Thanks. Please let us know your findings

 

[Phil A.]

Well said, Apple has created a convoluted, overly time consuming, inconsistent file system of sorts.

It's obvious the hard core Apple devotees will never admit it's just not the same as the decades old, proven, easy to use, open file system that today's computers and Android phones use. iCloud is better than the dreadful MobileMe of the past, but it still isn't as good as Google Drive or Microsofts Cloud. Not even close.

The thing is, you can use google drive, Dropbox, one drive, etc pretty much anywhere you can use iCloud in iOS - the file picker supports many cloud providers. If you are heavily invested in cloud storage then it works as well, if not better, than having to copy files to a local file system on your device. If you don't use cloud storage then it's obviously not as good!

I have 3TB of data on Google Drive (my company uses Google for Work unlimited) and all of that is available to all my devices without having to worry about copying it anywhere: if I need a local copy of something I just make it available offline which to my mind is better than having to plug a device into my computer and make a copy of a file onto it. Obviously, ymmv

 

[peterpan123]

I found this article:
http://www.howtogeek.com/204010/how-to-get-an-android-style-local-file-system-on-an-iphone-or-ipad/

Doesn't IOS9 makes things easier? I don't use IOS. I have no idea.

 

[JustMichal]

It doesn't work

I had to start photos app on macbook to get screenshot from ipad to my notebook which is rediculus.

My ipad is a toy for media consumption and that's all it will ever be.

 

[Robnsn2015]

And this is why Apple provides both the MacBook and the iPad Pro. If you need extensive file management, get a MacBook. If you want extensive use of a mouse-free touch interface, get an iPad.

 

[eyeseeyou]

Hello, I am a Mac user but I use Samsung Galaxy Note due to the S-pen. I am considering to switch to iPad PRO. I heard that in IOS used by iPad, there is no file system. I cannot understand this as when user creates a document, it is saved as a file. Am I right? Why people said that there is no file system in IOS?!

You have access to your files via iCloud or various "cloud" storage services.

What you don't have is OS level access to files if tampered with could unintentionally impact the user experience and overall security the device.

 

[eyeseeyou]

It doesn't work

I had to start photos app on macbook to get screenshot from ipad to my notebook which is rediculus.

My ipad is a toy for media consumption and that's all it will ever be.

Can't you log into iCloud and grab it from there?

 

[Phil A.]

It doesn't work

I had to start photos app on macbook to get screenshot from ipad to my notebook which is rediculus.

My ipad is a toy for media consumption and that's all it will ever be.

You could have just used AirDrop (which seems much more reliable nowadays than it used to be)

 

[svendobbelaere]

It doesn't work

I had to start photos app on macbook to get screenshot from ipad to my notebook which is rediculus.

My ipad is a toy for media consumption and that's all it will ever be.

See, I totally understand what you're saying, but let me add something to counterbalance this:

My wife *loves* that with iCloud, when I take a picture of for instance our kids with my iphone, it's uploaded to the cloud automatically, and that she can also see the picture on her MacBook Air in photos, without having to do anything.

She herself uses a blackberry phone (she wants a physical keyboard), but is constantly envious because the whole "connect blackberry to computer, sync photos etc." (or alternatively "take out SD card, plug it in computer, import etc.") is just not what she can wrap her head around. And I think most users are like that.

So what you call ridiculous, my wife would call fantastic. Different strokes for different folks.

I just think it's great we have options

 

[peterpan123]

Some of you mentioned about iCloud. What if I don't have internet access? Can I still use iCloud?

 

[eyeseeyou]

If it's

Some of you mentioned about iCloud. What if I don't have internet access? Can I still use iCloud?

Two IOS devices can airdrop to each other. Other than airdrop you'd have to find a workaround. There are usb drives out there with a lightening connector.

 

[cynics]

How do you organize/move/backup files and folders on your Mac, across different devices and onto external storage? Why wouldn't you want the same experience on iOS that's consistent across Macs, PCs, Linux, BSD, Android, etc.?

Thats not very specific. What files?

Depending on device I use time machine, iTunes and iCloud to back up. To move files between my Mac and iOS devices I use airdrop. And I organize files in their respective app.

Again like I mentioned, there are a ton of flaws if you conjure up a generic question that you know is an issue which is why I asked for specific real world cases.

That's like me asking, if iOS had a unified user accessible file system which broke the app sandbox would you store malware in its own folder or let it create its own?

 

[Krevnik]

The thing is, you can use google drive, Dropbox, one drive, etc pretty much anywhere you can use iCloud in iOS - the file picker supports many cloud providers. If you are heavily invested in cloud storage then it works as well, if not better, than having to copy files to a local file system on your device. If you don't use cloud storage then it's obviously not as good!

Transmit and Document act as providers as well. They both offer local storage (and Transmit lets you import/export using SFTP directly to a server if you like, which is nice). So you can get local storage this way, but since neither support bookmarks, it still creates copies.

Yes, although I have done some investigations with iCloud Drive as suggested and it does seem to work somewhat like a proper filesytem i.e. the app can edit within iCloud itself. This avoids the duplication. Let me look into it further.

Yes, an app can get a bookmark to a file on iCloud Drive if they want, and edit/view the file without having to make a copy. There's two problems with this approach:
1) The app has to support this bookmark approach. The only ones that did were Apple's apps: Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. But it appears that even they've removed the functionality at some point. And it's messy as well, since the API is not very straight-forward. And to make it more annoying, these bookmarks have to be treated as special things compared to a simple file path.
2) The provider also has to support it. And so far, the only one I've run across is iCloud.

 

[peterpan123]

I still have a week to decide whether or not to buy an iPad PRO. Is it easy to do this on an iPad? Do you think Apple will include new features in the OS to make management of files an easier task?

1. Create and name a folder.
2. Create or modify documents 1, 2 and 3.
3. Put files 1, 2, 3 and previously created files 4 and 5 to folder A.
4. Create folder B.
5. Put files 1, 2, 4, 6, 7 in it. Modify files 1 and 2. File 7 could be a new document or an existing file from somewhere in the iPad.
Repeat Step.1

This can be done easily on Mac OS and Windows. How about iOS?

 

[engineerben]

I still have a week to decide whether or not to buy an iPad PRO. Is it easy to do this on an iPad? Do you think Apple will include new features in the OS to make management of files an easier task?

1. Create and name a folder.
2. Create or modify documents 1, 2 and 3.
3. Put files 1, 2, 3 and previously created files 4 and 5 to folder A.
4. Create folder B.
5. Put files 1, 2, 4, 6, 7 in it. Modify files 1 and 2. File 7 could be a new document or an existing file from somewhere in the iPad.
Repeat Step.1

This can be done easily on Mac OS and Windows. How about iOS?

There is no system-wide file manager in IOS. Some applications support this kind of operation, some don't.

If you're going to be doing a lot of file packaging, you should be looking at OS X or Windows, not IOS. Different tool for a different job.

 

[peterpan123]

There is no system-wide file manager in IOS. Some applications support this kind of operation, some don't.

If you're going to be doing a lot of file packaging, you should be looking at OS X or Windows, not IOS. Different tool for a different job.

Can it be done easily using the app Documents which some of you mentioned?

 

[960design]

I am still a bit confused about how things work. So, I can create some files in an iPad PRO, then somehow transfer them to Mac/PC for modifications or vice versa. Am I right? Is this "somehow" as simple as drag and drop? Can I transfer a bunch of files all at once?

Yes. Multiple file upload depends on how the software was written.

 

[engineerben]

Can it be done easily using the app Documents which some of you mentioned?

It can be done, but how "easily" is a matter of opinion. Documents by Readdle is a really nice product that can integrate with cloud services and local CIFS servers. So you could create a folder of a bunch of documents in Dropbox and copy the folder over to your local SMB server - that kind of stuff. You can also annotate documents, highlight text, add new text, etc. It's not an editor, it's more of a document annotator and manager.

But it can't reach into another application's sandbox and grab documents from there. It has its own sandbox, and can also access semi-public spaces, like the photo collection, as well as online file storage services. But I get the impression that you want a more general solution, and IOS isn't going to do it, I'm afraid.

 

[akimoriRyuuji]

If you have files (apps, pdfs, pictures, any form of tangible data, categorized data, databases, music, videos, local cache from videos you're streaming, etc etc etc.....), there must be a file SYSTEM that dictates how the data is stored on the device. Hence, there IS a filesystem.

In fact,
Spotlight search can search your filesystem. You can find music and pictures using "advanced" queries even now, can you not? Or was that OS X only. ('documents from june', 'pictures at disneyland', etc). Either way, that's one thing you can do.

Apps contain data relevant to themselves. So, you can access locally stored music from the music app. So just launch the relevant app for the data you are trying to retrieve. It works because... who goes to the App store to find their photo collection? Yet another reason iOS doesn't require a file EXPLORER which is what you are trying to ask about.

File explorers are archaic. Why would you want an app that shows you how to find your file starting at '/' or '~/' or wherever iOS internally dictates that your data is stored.