How to allow read/write access in a specific folder on the SD Card with Android 6.0.1?

Question

I like to move my AnkiDroid storage to the SD-Card, because my Anki-Decks get huge, in terms of filesize, and my internal storage is full.

Anyways (seemingly because they did not like to took the effor with permissions on all Android versions), external-storage for AnkiDroid is officially not supported. But one can edit the file path and put "/a/random/path" into a text field to be used by the app.

So permissions still seem to be a problem to do so.

There is a workarround, which allows to save files and read files into a specific folder on the SD-Card. The workarround is built by naming a folder, equal to the package name of the AnkiDroid app.

This worked for some users, but not for me.

How can I solve my storage issues, when using AnkiDroid?

My question seems to be highly related to this one.

Answer 1

Does the SD card have to be removable? If not, Android 6 (Marshmallow) allows write access to a suitably formatted SD card (HowToGeek article). It effectively makes the card an extention to internal storage, so use a fast one (PCAdvisor article). Also be aware that reformatting makes the card unreadable by any other device.

I had a similar problem with several apps not having write access to my extension card. It was solved by:

1. Resetting all apps moved to the SD card back to internal storage (not needed on 6.0.1+).
2. Backing up all my own files to my laptop using USB link.
3. On Settings->Storage->SD Card choose to Format as internal storage.
4. Restoring my files.

I expect you will then be able to link to your AnkiDroid folder. But you may not need to. In theory, Android will do the memory management for you. If it does, please let us know.