Why can't I see the apps I have saved on my SD card?

[AC Question]

I don't see apps on SD card

When I go to system settings then Apps and click on the app I want to move to my Sd card I click on the button that says Move to sd card when I do that I don't see it freeing space on my phone an dI dont see that its putting it on my sd card??

Also how can I find out the path of where apps are being saved? Like the folder etc..Thanks

 

[wcc7777777]

Re: I don't see apps on SD card

When you do that you aren't moving the actual app to the SD card, it is just some data that is moved to the card.

 

[Rukbat]

Re: I don't see apps on SD card

Well ...

It depends on how the app is written. Some parts aren't moveable, some are. If you move any part, there has to be a link to that part in internal storage (because that's where Android looks), and a link takes the same minimum space as an app. (There's a certain minimum space any file takes on any given computer storage system.) If the part of the app moved is less than the minimum size, you haven't saved any space.

As far as not seeing it being put on the SD card, all you'll see is the link in internal storage. That's what Android is looking for - the name of the app in the normal places in internal storage that apps are stored. If that's just a link pointing to the SD card, Android will go to the SD card for the rest of the app, but you don't see that.

Android was never designed to run apps from the SD card - the card is there to store files. It just happened that someone figured out how to write an app so it could have most of its code on the SD card - but that's not the default when writing an app. (And with more and more "developers" "writing" apps by dragging things to an app skeleton [which wasn't written to run from the SD card, because some functions just can't work that way, and the skeleton can be used to create any kind of app], we'll be seeing fewer and fewer apps that can run from the SD card.)

 

[wcc7777777]

Re: I don't see apps on SD card

Well ...

It depends on how the app is written. Some parts aren't moveable, some are. If you move any part, there has to be a link to that part in internal storage (because that's where Android looks), and a link takes the same minimum space as an app. (There's a certain minimum space any file takes on any given computer storage system.) If the part of the app moved is less than the minimum size, you haven't saved any space.

As far as not seeing it being put on the SD card, all you'll see is the link in internal storage. That's what Android is looking for - the name of the app in the normal places in internal storage that apps are stored. If that's just a link pointing to the SD card, Android will go to the SD card for the rest of the app, but you don't see that.

Android was never designed to run apps from the SD card - the card is there to store files. It just happened that someone figured out how to write an app so it could have most of its code on the SD card - but that's not the default when writing an app. (And with more and more "developers" "writing" apps by dragging things to an app skeleton [which wasn't written to run from the SD card, because some functions just can't work that way, and the skeleton can be used to create any kind of app], we'll be seeing fewer and fewer apps that can run from the SD card.)

Alright, I see. I guess I read up on it wrong a while back... Thanks for the fix.

 

[Rukbat]

Re: I don't see apps on SD card

Alright, I see. I guess I read up on it wrong a while back... Thanks for the fix.

You probably didn't read it wrong, but remember, the internet is not a definitive source. Anyone can claim that they're positive about something, even though all they're positive about is that they said it. (Example: Until yesterday, when I bought a Chromecast, I wouldn't even read questions about it. I had no idea how to hook it up, set it up, what it was capable of - so anything I said would more likely be wrong than right. Now that I've experimented with it, I can give sensible answers. I guess some people just want to give answers, whether they're right or wrong. It's called "being human" - really. One of our species' traits is the desire to be looked as as someone with knowledge - whether we have any or not. I may not have much, but I have 40 years of experience with computers - designing both hardware and software - so I guess that counts for something.)