Tell me more ×
Android Enthusiasts Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for enthusiasts and power users of the Android operating system. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 3 down vote favorite

I'm trying to upload a simple PDF file to my Droid X Android 2.3 phone. I connected the cable and uploaded the file but I don't know which folder to put the file into. Android's PDF applications aren't helping at all and they all seem to look for files in SD. How do I access SD contents from Windows? How do I know if I have an SD card in my phone?

share|improve this question

5 Answers

up vote 0 down vote

Brian - I had this problem too. The folders you can are the SD card's folders. You just have to make sure your tablet is not plugged into the USB in order to also view the SD card's folders on your tablet. Otherwise your tablet will say that the SD card is empty.

share|improve this answer
This answer is somewhat vague. Do you mean Be sure to have done the remove drive action on Windows and disconnect storage from PC action on Android before trying to access the newly copied pdf file from Android? – ce4 Dec 29 '12 at 20:31
up vote 1 down vote

Most Android file managers and dialogs start you off in the SD card; if for some reason yours isn't, it's located at /sdcard . This is also the directory that is mounted when you hook up your phone to Windows via USB.

Just to make sure here, you aren't trying to access the PDFs while the phone is still mounted in Windows? You won't be able to, if that's the case.

If you want to look around more on your phone to find out where the PDFs are, you need to use a file manager on your phone. Most phones come with one preinstalled, simply called "Files" in the app drawer. Usually they open directly to the SD card directory (which is /sdcard in the root file structure).

If you don't have a file browser already installed, try ES File Explorer from the market, it's quite good and has boatloads of features. It also starts off browsing in the sdcard by default, and if you have root you can explore the entire file system, not just /sdcard . It also has a "Search" function which may help you find your PDF files by filename.

share|improve this answer
up vote 0 down vote

I basically do all my file transfers(copy paste fashion like you mentioned) using FTP client like FileZilla on my PC and an app called Software Data Cable for my android device. That way I can see all the contents of my phone like how they would appear when viewed through the File Manager on the phone. Hence this makes the destination for storing and accessing content much simpler. And the plus point is that you don't need any cables. An active internet connection is required tho. Hope this helps.

share|improve this answer
up vote 0 down vote

First make sure USB debugging is turned off in your phone settings. Also make sure you have all the latest drivers on your computer. When you do this your phone should show up in your Windows "Computer" folder (or My Computer in XP).

You can tell if you have an SD card by going to Applications-->Settings and their should be an option labeled "SD card and phone storage". If you click on this option it will bring you to a new menu where you can mount and unmount your SD card.

share|improve this answer
Moving a pdf to your sd card should be as simple as copying and pasting it from a folder on your PC to your SD Card folder when your phone is plugged in. – zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Jan 13 '12 at 16:54
up vote -1 down vote

Install Adobe Reader from the market. Once the app and it will autmatically scan your SD card and list all the files in the SD Card.

Its a free app too

enter image description here

Mounting Android to Windows using USB

enter image description here enter image description here enter image description here

share|improve this answer
My question was "how do I access the SD from Windows". I've already installed Acrobat Reader but it doesn't see any file, nor it does allow you to upload pdf files to Android/SD, which became quickly useless. – Brian Hawk Nov 12 '11 at 20:05
U need to mount your device to Windows.. Edited the answer – Harsha M V Nov 12 '11 at 20:10
I do mount the device to Windows. And I see the contents as Removable Device. But the contents are not SD's contents. How do I access SD's contents? Which folder keeps the SD root? – Brian Hawk Nov 12 '11 at 22:35
guess ur sd card is formated... does it have imp stuff in them ? if not go to settings and storage and format your sd card. and try it again – Harsha M V Nov 12 '11 at 22:56
I don't know what you mean by imp stuff. But I've found out that I have an SD card (14.74GB total) and that it is mounted in the device. But still have no idea how to see its contents – Brian Hawk Nov 13 '11 at 15:35

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.