File removal question.

[ennisdavis23]

Cant move, rename, delete etc. Never connected a usb drive to the phone

 

[B. Diddy]

Ok, I played around with Total Commander a bit more. The ///_download and ///_downloads options are User-Defined Locations, so at some point, you or someone else must have selected those directories to create these shortcuts in the menu. ///_download refers to the actual /storage/0/emulated/Download directory, but ///_downloads seems to group together the files in that user-accessible /Download directory and some other download directory as well. Let me dig a little more.

 

[B. Diddy]

Try this -- using Total Commander, explore your Internal Shared Storage, and look in the /Android/data folder. Then look through all of those subfolders (concentrating on apps like browsers and others that you might have used to download that file) and see if there are other Download folders there.

Another thing to do to reduce confusion would be to remove those User-Defined Locations (by long-pressing them and tapping Remove. Then use the Search function in Total Commander to look for that file again. I noticed that if I search for a file that's in the User-Defined Location, instead of telling me the true folder pathname, it just gives me that ///_downloads pathname (which is more of a "virtual" pathname). If you remove the User-Defined Location and then search for the file, I think it will tell you the actual folder it's in.

 

[ennisdavis23]

I went to the user defined directory and under files I can get at the file or see it. Not sure what you mean by delete the user defined locations.
I looked around android/data. lots of directories, no files in any of the sub dirs. If you swipe right to left on that screen it goes to ///downloads and I can see the file, error trying to delete it.

 

[B. Diddy]

Not sure what you mean by delete the user defined locations.

On the main Total Commander screen, long-press the "downloads" user defined location (the 3rd one down), then select Remove.

 

[ennisdavis23]

I did that and it removed that download directory "temporarily" . The file was still there when I looked at it in files then when I went back to TC the download directory was there. I read that once in emulated/storage/0 you cant delete it unless rooted.

 

[B. Diddy]

After removing the User Defined Location "download" directory, did you search for the file and see what directory pathname it was associated with? Did it still say "///_downloads"?

 

[ennisdavis23]

I dont see it in the ///downloads directory or any directory in TC but like usual, if I go to user defined in TC and then files then Download its there. Dont see it in any download directory in TC or other browsers. So how can "files" download see different things?

 

[B. Diddy]

Sorry, it's tough trying to figure this out remotely, since there are some oddities with your phone that I can't quite explain. I'm not sure why the User Defined Locations keep reappearing -- they're only supposed to appear if you manually create them. I'm still of the opinion that this file is in some deeper download subdirectory associated with an app, which is why I wanted you to search for the file without any of those User Defined Locations active, hoping it would tell you the actual directory pathname.

When you go into Files, then Download, I'm pretty sure it's not showing you just one single download directory, but a whole category of download directories. Since the file in question isn't in the main /Download directory, then it must be in some other app-associated download directory.

 

[ennisdavis23]

B.Diddy, I appreciate your help. I know its frustrating, darn file is some where. Two questions: 1. is it possible the file is in an area that cannot be accessed, ie emulated/storage/0 and 2. what is the program that is used for managing files, ie when you go to face book and you want to post a file, a menu pops up on the phone. Its not facebook, its an app on the phone. Attaching a file opens up the same file. When it does the upper part of the screen that says "download" is where the file is. If you go anywhere else even directories called download using any other file manager its not there.

p.s. is there an app that can find a file no matter where is it on the phone?

 

[B. Diddy]

1. is it possible the file is in an area that cannot be accessed

Yes, if the file was downloaded to a protected system directory. It might still show up in a file manager, but you wouldn't be able to manipulate it. An example would be if you downloaded an image using the Google search app (not Chrome), but didn't turn on the Google app's Storage permission (it's off by default). These downloaded images end up going to a protected system directory called /document (not sure what the complete pathname is).

2. what is the program that is used for managing files, ie when you go to face book and you want to post a file, a menu pops up on the phone.

That's the system file manager (which is not necessarily the same as the stock file manager app). If you install a 3rd party file manager app, and then reset all app preferences, and then try to share a photo to an app like Facebook, you might get an option to select the 3rd party file manager app to complete the action.

 

[ennisdavis23]

My file is a pdf not image but I am thinking it somehow went where you are talking about. If you reset and wipe the phone does it clean that area? Its a large file and I would like to get rid of it. Isnt there an app that hunts down a file no matter where it is?

 

[B. Diddy]

Yes, reset would get rid of it.

Try this -- open Chrome, then tap Menu>Downloads. Is it there?

 

[ennisdavis23]

No its not but....I was looking at one of your older posts where you mentioned you could not access a file unless the phone the rooted and someone said they turned allow on google and the file showed up. Well mine did show up and...I was able to delete it but..... it was zero bytes and the actual file is still there. Why?
also how do you look at downloads in the google app?

 

[B. Diddy]

I'm not sure what they meant by "turned allow on google" -- can you specify where that setting is?

For the Google app, if it's an image that was downloaded, you open the Google app, then tap Collections, and look in the Favorite Images section. I'm not sure about downloaded files, though, since I always make sure Storage permission is turned on for the Google app (and therefore downloaded files go to the user-accessible /Download directory).

 

[ennisdavis23]

I went into app settings and under google there was an allow or disallow for downloads. It was in one of your old posts. I tried it and it worked like a poster mentioned.

 

[ennisdavis23]

My google collections is only an internet search. You have to set up a "collection". I dont see a place for files are images.

 

[B. Diddy]

I went into app settings and under google there was an allow or disallow for downloads. It was in one of your old posts. I tried it and it worked like a poster mentioned.

That sounds like Storage permission for the Google app.

I just tried to reproduce what you've been dealing with, and I was mostly successful, except for that fact that I could actually delete the file. This is what I did (again, on a Pixel 3 XL):

1. Turned off Storage permission for the Google app in Settings>Apps.

2. Opened the Google app (not Chrome) and searched for a small sample PDF -- downloaded it.

3. Looked for the file -- it's not in the main user download directory (i.e., /storage/emulated/0/Download). The only way I can find it is if I use the native stock file manager app on the Pixel 3 XL, called "Files" (which is different from Files by Google, which can be installed from the Play Store).

4. If I use the Files app and go to the Downloads category (note that I say "category," and not "directory"), I see the sample PDF file there. However, if I go to the user-accessible /storage/emulated/0/Download directory, it's not there. I can't find that file in any other user-accessible directory -- the only way I can see it is in the stock Files app's Downloads category.

5. So far, I think we're on the same page. The difference, though, is that I see the file as being a few Kb in size (it's a small PDF), and I can delete it using the stock Files app.

6. If I turn Storage permission back on for the Google app and re-download that PDF, it shows up in the user-accessible /storage/emulated/0/Download directory now.

So what I think happened was that you downloaded that file at some point using the Google app when the Google app didn't have Storage permission, and so the file went to a download directory that might only be seen by the stock file manager app. I'm not sure why you're unable to delete the file using the stock file manager, though.

Remind me -- what happens if you use your stock file manager app (presumably My Files) and look in the Downloads category? Is the file there? If so, what happens if you long-press it?

 

[ennisdavis23]

only difference is my pdf is 2 years old. Not sure of that matters but...maybe it got moved to the dead zone.

 

[ennisdavis23]

Is there a phone reset that clears everything back to factory?