File picker for attachments

[julio66]

I have just a question, and i admit a big ignorance ;
I have seen that there is no file picker for attachments included in Aquamail, but how does one do when you want to attach 5-6-7 files in your mail?
Is it like I have discovered in my cel, that you need to pick one and one file at the time?
Isn't there a better way?
Is it just me who haven't discovered it?

[julio66]

Thanks a lot "Paris Geek" for your suggestion. I will do it like that from now on.
Hopefully one day Aquamail adds its own filepicker...would be awesome (I'm spoiled from Maildroid)
 

[Kostya Vasilyev]

Well, it works with pretty much any file manager -- I've tried ES Explorer and Solid Explorer.

It also does "declare" that it can handle multiple items at a time -- so you may want to ask the developers of your favorite file manager to implement support for this:

http://developer.android.com/reference/android/content/Intent.html#EXTRA_ALLOW_MULTIPLE

Not to forget -- since 4.4, Android has a "unified document picker" which combines all files / photos / etc in a single window.

[julio66]

Yes, I'll got what "paris geek" meant...but I was just saying that a filepicker is much more "friendly" if you need to attach more than 1 file.
I am using Solid Explorer and off course this app has multiselection, but when you use it thru aquamail there is no "done" button to say youre done with the selection and want to go back to the email app...
This is NOT a fault in a Filemanager but a missing component in the email app itself.
Any of the emailapps that has its own filepicker and if you then choose to select your file with Solid Explorer instead (and not use the built-in filepicker), it wont work here either. As long as you want to choose several files IT HAS TO BE THRU ITS OWN FILEPICKER.
So maybe one day...when and if, there ever be time...maybe this is a good idea for addition in Aquamail . 
And please DO KNOW THIS; I AM SUPER HAPPY WITH AQUAMAIL...and I wouldn't change it ever, even if it never gets its own filepicker.

[Kostya Vasilyev]

>> This is NOT a fault in a Filemanager but a missing component in the email app itself

It is a fault of the file manager (and Solid Explorer is excellent).

To reiterate:

Aqua already "declares" that it can handle multiple items at a time.

By using a standard Android mechanism.

You can see it work in Gallery, and Google Photos.

If a particular file manager (Solid Explorer, which is *excellent*) doesn't support it -- it needs to be fixed in said file manager.

>> As long as you want to choose several files IT HAS TO BE THRU ITS OWN FILEPICKER

False. See above.

>> maybe this is a good idea for addition in Aquamail

Maybe. But -- I can see starting out with files. Then users will want to pick camera photos. Then camera photos synced from other devices via G+ and Google Photos app. Then files from Google Drive....

.... at which point we have the Android 4.4 Unified Document Picker, but done more poorly (no doubt).

[julio66]

Yes I get your point...
And for filemanagers....THEY ALL MISSING THIS component you refer to...
Yesterday I was desperate and installed 26 different Filemanagers...and all with the same result.
They all miss what a integrated filepicker would've had: the button DONE so you can tell the file explorer that you finished the selection. Of these 26 I tried NONE had this function and i even wrote support on 3 of these and asked them, but they all said the same; if you want the multiselect function of the picker it needs to be integrated in the app that needs to use it, and since the filemanager in itself isn't using the filepicker, it isn't possible. 

[pyler]

Yes, I tested it too. Multipicking works for Google Photos but for everything else I tested it doesn't work. I cannot attach multiple images via QuickPic nor multiple files with ES/TC. We have to attach them separately AFAIK.

Edit: EXTRA_ALLOW_MULTIPLE  was added in API level 18. My phone is 4.2.2 (API 17) so I found issue (but why it works with G Photos then? hm...).

[Kostya Vasilyev]

EXTRA_ALLOW_MULTIPLE was added and documented in 4.3 -- but since it's just an "extra" on the Intent, with a well-defined name, there is no problem with setting it on earlier Android versions.

What it needs is Intent#getClipData (to get multiple items contained in a single picking result, on my side) -- and that's API 16, Android 4.1

To reiterate - any "file manager" ("stuff manager") app can implement this on Android 4.1 and above, and the protocol (setting an extra / returning clip data) is documented.

[ggggg]

Is there a limit .. I only get 5 elements into my mail, but have selected more ... no matter if I use the built in picker or e.g. g+ Foto app

Of course I can do this e.g twice to get 10

[Kostya Vasilyev]

Yes, there is, and regrettably it's on my side.

I would like to fix it some day, but won't happen "next week", sorry