From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android


Is archive support really such a rare feature in
Android file managers? Or did I just pick a less
capable one?

Fossify File Manager doesn't want to handle a tarball.

Fortunately, eshell has access to some tar, so it's
extracted now thanks to Emacs (which could also
parse the file but seemed to have no binding to extract .*).

But I guess I should see what else is there on f-droid.
--
Nuno Silva

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From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

On Wed, 12 Aug 2026 11:10:15 GMT, Nuno Silva wrote:

Is archive support really such a rare feature in
Android file managers? Or did I just pick a less
capable one?

Fossify File Manager doesn't want to handle a tarball.

Fortunately, eshell has access to some tar, so it's
extracted now thanks to Emacs (which could also
parse the file but seemed to have no binding to extract .*).

But I guess I should see what else is there on f-droid.

Have you taken a look at Total Commander?
--
s|b
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From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Nuno Silva wrote:

Is archive support really such a rare feature in
Android file managers? Or did I just pick a less
capable one?

Fossify File Manager doesn't want to handle a tarball.

Fortunately, eshell has access to some tar, so it's
extracted now thanks to Emacs (which could also
parse the file but seemed to have no binding to extract .*).

But I guess I should see what else is there on f-droid.

Hi Nuno Silva,

I'm sure Termux can do any archival/unarchival format Linux can do.
But since your question asked specifically about Android file managers...

I have tested every free file manager on Android and reported on them in
the past, where my favorite is FV File Explorer but many others exist.
<https://i.postimg.cc/KjrxmJY8/fv-file-explorer.jpg>

I order my icons in best-to-worst order, so you can see what I like here.
<https://i.postimg.cc/PrPv8NRD/filemanager.jpg>

If you're interested in any particular file manager that I have installed
(as can be seen from that screenshot), let me know & I can test it for its archival/restore capability for the various Linux archival formats.
--
It takes a different kind of person to notice what nobody else can see.
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From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Nuno Silva wrote:

Fossify File Manager doesn't want to handle a tarball.

Material Files readme implies that it handles tarballs...
<https://github.com/zhanghai/materialfiles>
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From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Nuno Silva <user17785@newsgrouper.org.invalid> wrote:

Is archive support really such a rare feature in
Android file managers? Or did I just pick a less
capable one?

Fossify File Manager doesn't want to handle a tarball.

FX File Explorer claims tar support.

<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nextapp.fx>
(see the 'About this app' section)

FWIW, I've used FX File Explorer in the past. Currently I get by with Samsung's native 'My Files' file manager, until I stumble into some
proble and the install something 'better'.

Fortunately, eshell has access to some tar, so it's
extracted now thanks to Emacs (which could also
parse the file but seemed to have no binding to extract .*).

But I guess I should see what else is there on f-droid.

FX File Explorer is No Ads, No annoyances, No analytics. No tracking.
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From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

On 8/13/26 1:49 PM, Frank Slootweg wrote:

FWIW, I've used FX File Explorer in the past. Currently I get by with
Samsung's native 'My Files' file manager, until I stumble into some
proble and the install something 'better'.

On my Android toys I generally use the (usually) built in Google Files app.
I find it handy because it shows my internal, SD, and online Google Drive
storage all in the same app...


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From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Frank Slootweg wrote:

But I guess I should see what else is there on f-droid.

FX File Explorer is No Ads, No annoyances, No analytics. No tracking.

I think the OP has FX File Explorer & Material Files to look at.
And if that doesn't work, I'm sure we'll find others.

My two more points for the OP with respect to the two quoted sentences is
1. I wouldn't limit the search to "only" FOSS apps on F-Droid, and,
2. I wouldn't worry about ads since a phone can't even display ads
if it's set up right.

For example, I can load any adware I want to load, and I won't see ads.
But I do realize that most people won't modify their phones that way.

So I just want folks to know that they 'can' make ads impossible.
Without rooting.

Which opens up, to them, almost any free app that exists out there.

Although, most of the time, apps with ads tend to suck in general.
Since many of them are copies of FOSS apps with the ads added later.
--
Usenet allows purposefully helpful people to pool their experiences.
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From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

On 8/13/26 11:34 AM, AJL wrote:

On 8/13/26 1:49 PM, Frank Slootweg wrote:

FWIW, I've used FX File Explorer in the past. Currently I get by with >>Samsung's native 'My Files' file manager, until I stumble into some
proble and the install something 'better'.

On my Android toys I generally use the (usually) built in Google Files app.
I find it handy because it shows my internal, SD, and online Google Drive storage all in the same app...

I probably should have looked before posting. I just checked my Phone's
Samsung 'My Files' app and see that it has the same capability of using
Google Drive plus OneDrive. I don't use OneDrive but see where that would
be even handier for those who do...


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From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

AJL wrote:

On 8/13/26 1:49 PM, Frank Slootweg wrote:

FWIW, I've used FX File Explorer in the past. Currently I get by with >>Samsung's native 'My Files' file manager, until I stumble into some
proble and the install something 'better'.

On my Android toys I generally use the (usually) built in Google Files app.
I find it handy because it shows my internal, SD, and online Google Drive
storage all in the same app...

Hi AJL,

I think Frank's point, other than FX File Explorer <nextapp.fx> likely
handles the tarballs the OP is interested in, is that we all need more than
a single file manager because none of them do everything that we need.

I have, oh, let me count... 21 file managers.
<https://i.postimg.cc/PrPv8NRD/filemanager.jpg>

These are on my system, where the bottom few are grayed out.
FV File Explorer <com.folderv.file>
Zarchiver <ru.zdevs.zarchiver>
MiX Explorer <com.mixplorer> <com.mixplorer.beta>
RoundSync <de.felixnuesse.extract>
Ghost Commander <com.ghostsq.commander>
SMT File Manager <com.simplemobiletools.filemanager.pro> (orange icon)
MK Explorer File Manager <pl.mkexplorer.kormateusz>
FX File Chooser (X-plore access was denied)
Amaze <com.amaze.filemanager>
X-Plore (unix like, confusing) <com.lonelycatgames.Xplore>
OI File Manager <org.openintents.filemanager> (yellow folder icon)
Material Files <me.zhanghai.android.files> sucks at long file names
Owl Files <com.skyjos.apps.fileexplorerfree>
CX File Explorer <com.cx.file.explorer> SMB support
Total Commander <com.ghisler.android.TotalCommander>
My Files <com.sec.android.app.myfiles> (yellow generic folder icon)
Google Files <com.google.android.documentsui>
MiCode FileExplorer <net.micode.fileexplorer> derived from Xiaomi MIUI
Explorer <com.spedsoftware.explorer> Speed Software file manager
Files <com.marc.files> lightweight file manager
Simple Explorer <com.dnielfe.manager> minimalist file manager

Those are leftovers from when I long ago tested every non-OEM free ad free
file manager, where some have SMB support, some suck at long file names,
some show far more of the file system than others do, some have plugins,
some do tarballs, etc.

I've never found the perfect file manager yet.
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From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

AJL <noemail@none.com> wrote:

On 8/13/26 11:34 AM, AJL wrote:

On 8/13/26 1:49 PM, Frank Slootweg wrote:

FWIW, I've used FX File Explorer in the past. Currently I get by with >>Samsung's native 'My Files' file manager, until I stumble into some >>proble and the install something 'better'.

On my Android toys I generally use the (usually) built in Google Files app.
I find it handy because it shows my internal, SD, and online Google Drive storage all in the same app...

I probably should have looked before posting. I just checked my Phone's
Samsung 'My Files' app and see that it has the same capability of using
Google Drive plus OneDrive. I don't use OneDrive but see where that would
be even handier for those who do...

Yes, I was about to mention that. In addition, the Samsung 'My Files'
app can access 'Network storage', i.e. SMB-type Network Shares, which
sometimes comes in handy. Perhaps/probably the Google Files app can do
the same.

So many choices! :-)
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From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

AJL <noemail@none.com> wrote:

Subject: Re: Archive suppo

You may want to have a look at what caused the 'Subject:' header
truncation.

It wasn't me! :-)

[...]
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From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

On 8/13/26 12:23 PM, Frank Slootweg wrote:

AJL <noemail@none.com> wrote:

Subject: Re: Archive suppo

You may want to have a look at what caused the 'Subject:' header
truncation.

It wasn't me! :-)

Yep. My screw-up. I was posting for the first time with a new 7" Android toy
(a cheapie-$39 USD) and my fat fingers did bad things. I didn't notice.
Thanks for the sharp eyes. My apologies to the group...



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From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

On 8/13/26 12:08 PM, Maria Sophia wrote:

I've never found the perfect file manager yet.

I suppose it's like choosing clothes or cars. It's a YMMV thing...


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From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

AJL wrote:

I've never found the perfect file manager yet.

I suppose it's like choosing clothes or cars. It's a YMMV thing...

Yup. Most people, I would think, don't even *know* they have a file
manager, while others,I would think, can do with the default "My Files".

The three key things I use most from the powerful file managers are
1. The most important is the ability to see the entire filespec!
2. It's also important that some show the slash (/) partition!
3. And finally, some show the sd card as 0000-0000 (formatted volume name)
(while others use the completely random label Android gives it)

Of course there are other features such as tarballs, SMB, bookmarks, etc.
It will be nice when the OP reports back on which he used for a tarball.
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