16. Transferring and Sharing Files
This chapter explains how to transfer selected files between your phone, a computer, and other phones. Topics include the following:
Using Samsung Kies 3 to transfer files between phone and computer
Manually transferring files over a USB cable
Transferring files using Bluetooth
Using Wi-Fi Direct, S Beam, and Android Beam to transfer files between compatible phones
Although certain types of data, such as Calendar items and Contact records, can be automatically synchronized between the phone and a computer, most other file types—such as photos, videos, music, and various documents—must be manually copied from one device to another or must rely on software that isn’t included with the phone. Using the techniques and tools discussed in this chapter, you’ll discover many of the ways that you can transfer files between your phone and your computer, as well as between a pair of phones.
You can find instructions for synchronizing Calendar and Contacts data in Chapter 17, “Synchronizing Data.”
Transferring Files over USB with Samsung Kies 3
This section shows you how to accomplish program-guided file transfers using Samsung Kies 3 (free Windows and Mac computer applications) and the USB cable, as well as perform manual USB transfers without any special software.
An Important Note for Macintosh Users
Kies 3 and Android File Transfer (the Mac utility discussed in “Manually Transferring Files over USB” in the next section) are incompatible. If you want to try manual USB transfers using Android File Transfer, you must first uninstall Kies 3.
Setup and Basic Operation
1. First use only. Download and install the Windows or Mac version of Samsung Kies 3 from http://www.samsung.com/us/kies/. Be sure that you download version 3 rather than an earlier version. After you complete the installation, launch the program.
Uninstalling Kies 3
When you download Kies 3 for Macintosh, be sure to save the file. If it later becomes necessary to uninstall Kies 3, run the installation program again and double-click the Uninstall icon. To uninstall Kies 3 for Windows, use the appropriate control panel, such as Programs and Features (Windows 7).
2. First run, Kies 3 for Mac: Kies offers to scan your computer for multimedia files. Select an option and click OK. (On the Windows version, you must manually select files to add or folders to scan for media.)
Scan Now or Selectively Add Folders
The Automatically, All option adds every trivial image, song, and video that Kies finds embedded within the operating system, applications, and games to your Kies Library—creating a lot of clutter and a hassle if you want to remove them from the Library. You might prefer to pick Select Location (to direct the scan to examine only a particular folder) or Skip Auto-Scan (to manually add important folders at your leisure with the File, Add to Library command).
3. The control panel on the left edge shows there are no connected devices. Connect the phone’s USB cable to the phone and to an empty USB port on your computer. The phone should appear in the Connected Devices pane.
4. When you finish using Kies 3, click the x beside the phone’s name in the control panel. Then quit the computer program by choosing File, Exit (Windows) or Kies, Exit (Mac). Disconnect the cable from the phone and computer.
The control panel has two main sections. The top section (displaying your phone’s model name or model number) lists the various content categories that are on the phone. The Library section lists content that’s stored on your computer. If you select a category (such as Music or Photos) in either section, a list of these items appears in the window’s main area.
If There’s No X on Your Mac...
...the control panel is currently too narrow to display it. You can adjust the panel’s width by dragging its right edge to the right or left.
Copy Files
1. In the Kies 3 control panel, select the source and category of material to copy as follows:
• Copy from phone to computer by selecting a category (Music, Photos, or Videos) in the phone’s section.
• Copy from computer to phone by selecting a category (Music, Photos, or Videos) in the Library section.
2. Select files to copy by clicking their check boxes (in List view) or thumbnails (in Thumbnail view). To select multiple thumbnails, you can Shift-click, Ctrl-click (Windows), or Command-click (Mac) items. If items are grouped in Thumbnail View, you can select entire groups by clicking grouping check boxes.
3. To perform the copy, do one of the following:
• Copying from phone to computer. Click the Save to PC button above the list. In the dialog box that appears on the computer, select the computer folder into which the files will be copied, and then click the Save (Mac) or Select Folder (Windows) button.
• Copying from computer to phone. Click the Transfer to Device button. (If a memory card is installed, you must choose Internal Memory or External Memory. The latter represents the memory card.)
>>>Go Further: More Kies 3 Options
• You can add files by clicking the Add Files toolbar icon and then selecting files that you want to add. If you select one or more files and then click the Remove Files icon, the files aren’t deleted; they’re merely removed from the Kies library.
• You can double-click most items. When you do, songs play, videos play, and photos open.
• Select Thumbnail view and the By Folder tab when you want to quickly copy an entire folder (such as Camera) to the computer.
• Mac only: When you double-click a photo that’s on the phone in order to view it, you can immediately save it to your computer by clicking the Save to PC button that appears.
Manually Transferring Files over USB
Using the USB cable provided with your phone, you can connect the phone to a PC or Mac and freely copy files in either direction. The following task temporarily turns your phone into the equivalent of a flash drive.
Mac Users and USB
If you’re a Mac user, you must first download and install Android File Transfer, a free application from www.android.com/filetransfer. Note that if you’ve previously installed Samsung Kies 3 (see “Transferring Files over USB with Samsung Kies 3”), you must uninstall Kies 3. It prevents Android File Transfer from functioning properly.
Windows Users and USB
To use any USB file transfer method with a Windows PC, you must first install the Samsung USB drivers, as explained in “Tethering the Phone and a Computer” in Chapter 19, “Powering Other Devices.”
2. Open the Notification panel on the phone. In the Ongoing section, it should say Connected as a Media Device. If it says Connected as a Camera, tap the entry and select Media Device (MTP) in the screen that appears.
3. First run only. Launch the Android File Transfer program. (It should launch automatically in subsequent sessions.)
4. A window appears that lists all files on your phone. Transfer copies of files from the phone by dragging them onto the Mac’s Desktop or into a folder. Transfer copies of files from the Mac by dragging them into an appropriate folder in the window.
Phone or Card?
If you’ve installed a memory card in the phone, you can access both the built-in memory and the add-in memory card by selecting Phone or Card, respectively.
5. When you finish, disconnect the USB cable from the phone and the Mac. Android File Transfer should quit automatically.
Transferring Photos from iPhoto
When transferring photos from iPhoto (Mac) to the phone, you may find it easier if you first launch iPhoto and drag the image thumbnails onto the Desktop. Transfer those images to the phone, and then delete the Desktop copies when you finish.
If necessary, you can manually quit by pressing Command+Q or by choosing Android File Transfer, Quit Android File Transfer. If that fails, right-click the Android File Transfer icon in the Dock and choose Force Quit.
Transfer to and from a PC
1. If you haven’t already done so, visit the Support section of Samsung’s website (http://www.samsung.com/us/support/) and download the Windows USB driver for your carrier’s phone. See “Tethering the Phone and a Computer” in Chapter 19 for instructions. On most phones, you can find your model number by launching Settings and tapping About Device. Note that installing this driver is a one-time process.
2. Using the phone’s USB cable, connect the phone and the PC. After the PC recognizes the connected phone and installs the driver software (if necessary), an AutoPlay dialog box appears. Click the option to Open Device to View Files.
Connect as a Media Device or as a Camera?
Samsung recommends connecting the phone as a Media Device when transferring most types of files and as a Camera to transfer photos from phone to PC. However, my experience with Windows 7 is that it doesn’t make a difference. Both AutoPlay dialog boxes offer the option to Open Device to View Files, for example.
3. A file window opens, displaying Phone and Card as “drives” (if you’ve installed a memory card) or only Phone (if there’s no installed memory card). Open Phone to view the folders and files in the phone’s internal memory, or open Card to see the folders and files on the memory card.
Where Are My Files?
The hardest part of performing manual USB file transfers from a computer to a phone is that you’re expected to know where those files are stored on your computer. If you have no idea, check the Documents folder and its subfolders first. You may find it helpful to explore your hard drive beforehand, making a note of the names and locations of music, photo, and video folders.
4. Transfer files from the phone by dragging them onto the Desktop or into a folder. Transfer files from the PC by dragging them into an appropriate folder on the phone or its memory card.
5. When you finish, disconnect the USB cable from the phone and the PC.
Transferring Files Using Bluetooth
The Samsung Galaxy S5 is a Bluetooth device and can use Bluetooth to wirelessly exchange data with any Bluetooth-equipped computer, such as a Mac or some current Windows laptops.
To use Bluetooth for data transfers, the phone and computer must first be linked (known as pairing), as explained in the “Pairing the Phone with a Mac” sidebar at the end of this chapter.
Send Files from Computer to Phone
When the phone is paired with the computer, you can easily transmit selected files in either direction. The following tasks show how to transfer files over Bluetooth from or to a Mac.
1. From the Mac’s Bluetooth menu, choose Send File from the phone name submenu.
2. Select a file in the Select File to Send dialog box. (To select more than one file, hold down the Command key as you click filenames.) Click the Send button.
3. The phone receives a File Transfer request. Tap Accept to receive the file(s) on your phone.
Filing the Files
Files transmitted to the phone via Bluetooth are received in the Download folder in built-in memory (Device Storage). To see the files, go to the Home screen and tap the Apps icon, followed by My Files. Then tap Device Storage, Download.
It isn’t necessary to move these files from the Download folder into their normal folders. Music, Gallery, and other apps can find new files without any heroic measures on your part—regardless of where they’re stored.
Send Files from Phone to Computer
Similarly, you can transmit files from your phone to a paired Bluetooth-equipped computer. For example, photos created with the phone’s camera are convenient to send using Bluetooth. The following task shows how to send photo files from your phone to a Mac.
1. On the Home screen, tap Apps, followed by Gallery.
2. Tap the pop-out panel icon to set the view to the one in which it’s easiest to find and select the pictures you want to transmit.
About Album and Time Views
In Album view, images are organized by the names of folders in which they’re stored. All image folders are shown, regardless of where on the phone they’re stored. The number following each folder name is the number of pictures in the folder. Album view has the advantage of enabling you to transmit an entire folder at once. In Time view, images are listed by date. It’s best used for immediately selecting individual images—especially recent ones.
3. Album view. To select images, do one of the following:
• Transmit an entire album by pressing and holding the album’s thumbnail to select it. A green check mark appears. To select additional albums, tap their thumbnails.
• Transmit only selected images within an album by first opening the album that contains the pictures you want to send to the computer. To select an image to transmit, press and hold its thumbnail. Tap the thumbnails of any additional images you want to select.
Using Select All
If an album contains many images and you want to transmit all or most of them, select any thumbnail, open the Selection menu, and tap Select All. Then tap the thumbnails of the photos that you don’t want to send to remove their check marks.
4. Time view. Select the first image to transmit by pressing and holding its thumbnail. Tap the thumbnails of any additional images you want to select.
5. Tap the Share Via toolbar icon.
6. Tap Bluetooth to select it as the sharing method.
7. Tap the name of your paired computer on the Select Device screen. That device will receive the transmitted files.
8. An Incoming File Transfer dialog box appears on the Mac.
9. If only one file is being transmitted, click the Accept button. If multiple files are being transmitted, click the Accept All check box and then click Accept. The file(s) are transmitted to the Mac and stored in the default folder.
10. When the transmission finishes, close the Incoming File Transfer dialog box by clicking the red button.
>>>Go Further: Pick Your Own Destination Folder and Action
Emailing Files
You can also use email to move files from your phone to your computer. As long as the final size of the attachment(s) doesn’t exceed the maximum allowable message size for your email account, your phone and most email systems will allow the message to be transmitted. This means that if you restrict yourself to sending photos taken with the phone’s camera or songs purchased on the phone, you can deliver them to your computer by emailing them to yourself. Of course, you can also use these techniques to email your photos to friends and relatives.
Email Photos from Gallery
The most direct way to email one or more photos from your phone is to use the Gallery app. The images can be sent from any email account that you’ve added to the Email app.
Work Directly in Email
You can also send photos by composing a new message in Email, tapping the Attach button (the paper clip), and selecting the photo(s) you want to send.
1. On the Home screen, tap Apps, followed by Gallery. To select the file(s) you want to send, perform Steps 2–5 of the “Send Files from Phone to Computer” task, earlier in this chapter.
2. In the Share Via dialog box, select Email or Gmail. (If the Share Via icon isn’t visible, tap the image once to reveal the toolbar.)
3. Images can optionally be resized prior to sending. Select a scaling percentage or Original (unaltered).
4. The file(s) are added as attachments to a new email message. Specify your own email address in the To box.
A Second Email Address
If you have another email address—one that isn’t registered on your phone, enter it in the To box. If you email it from and to the same address, Email also receives a copy of the email in the account’s Inbox—doubling the amount of data that must pass through the phone.
5. Optional: Add a subject and message text.
6. Tap the Send icon.
7. When your PC or Mac email program receives the message, save the photo files to any convenient location or drag them onto the Desktop.
Email Songs from My Files
If you’ve purchased a song using your phone, you can listen to it on your computer, too. You can email songs as attachments using the Email app or do so directly from My Files, as described here. In either case, you need to know the folder in which the song is stored.
1. On the Home screen, tap Apps, followed by My Files.
2. Navigate to the folder in which the song is stored.
3. Press and hold the song title to select it, and then tap the Share Via icon.
4. Select Email or Gmail as the sharing method.
5. The song file is added as an attachment to a new email message. Finish by performing Steps 4–7 of the “Email Photos from Gallery” task, earlier in this chapter. Then add or import the song(s) into the music organizer program on your computer, such as iTunes or Windows Media Player.
Some Help, Please
The Android filing system automatically stores files as they’re received by the phone. When files are transferred, they’re sometimes stored in folders named for the transfer method, such as ShareViaWifi for Wi-Fi Direct transfers. For the most part, an app doesn’t care where its files are stored. This information is generally invisible—and irrelevant—to you...until, of course, you must know it.
To find your song files, start with the Music folder. Next, see if there’s a folder named for the transfer method you used to receive the song on your phone. Finally, check other likely folders in Device Storage (built-in memory). If you’ve added a memory card, be sure to check its folders, too.
Transferring Files Between Phones
By taking advantage of the Wi-Fi Direct support on your Galaxy S5, there are several methods you can use to exchange files with other Wi-Fi Direct–enabled phones, as well as view material on each other’s phones.
Use Wi-Fi Direct
If two phones support Wi-Fi Direct, they can exchange files wirelessly—without the need for a common wireless access point or router. Because of its speed, Wi-Fi Direct is ideal for transferring very large files or large quantities of files. This task shows how to use Wi-Fi Direct with two Galaxy S series phones, although it can be accomplished with any pair of phones that both support Wi-Fi Direct. Both users should activate Wi-Fi Direct by performing Steps 1–4.
1. Open the Notification panel, and press and hold the Wi-Fi Quick Setting button. (You can also reach the Wi-Fi screen by opening Settings and tapping the Wi-Fi icon in the Quick Settings or Network Connections section.)
Other Wi-Fi Direct–Capable Phones
Other phones that also support Wi-Fi Direct may have different procedures for enabling the feature.
2. If Wi-Fi isn’t currently enabled, move its slider to the On position.
3. Enable Wi-Fi Direct by opening the menu and choosing Wi-Fi Direct.
4. The Wi-Fi Direct screen appears, and the phone scans for nearby Wi-Fi Direct-enabled devices. When your phone displays the name of the phone to which you want to connect, tap its name. (Only one user needs to do this to establish the two-way connection.)
Naming Your Phone
To give your phone a friendlier name, open Settings, tap About Device, and tap Device Name. Enter a new name in the Device Name dialog box and tap OK.
5. An Invitation to Connect dialog box appears on the other phone. To allow the connection, the person taps Connect.
6. Each phone lists the other as a connected device.
7. To send a file such as a photo, song, or video from one phone to the other, select the item(s) in My Files, Gallery, or an appropriate app, and issue a Share or Share Via command, followed by Wi-Fi Direct. (You may have to scroll to see the Wi-Fi Direct icon.) Select the device to which you want to send the file(s) and tap Done.
8. To finish the Wi-Fi Direct session, either person can return to the Wi-Fi Direct screen, tap the End Connection button at the bottom of the screen, and then tap OK in the End Connection dialog box that appears.
File Sharing Notes
Consider the following when using Wi-Fi Direct to transmit files between devices:
• Files can be transmitted in either direction between connected devices.
• Wi-Fi Direct file transmissions—both successes and failures—are listed in the Notification panel.
Use S Beam
Using a combination of Near Field Communication (NFC) and Wi-Fi Direct, S Beam enables you to exchange files and other materials (such as photos, videos, contact records, websites, maps, and YouTube videos) with a Galaxy S III, 4, or 5 phone, as well as other devices that support S Beam. NFC must be enabled on both phones; only the sending phone is required to have S Beam enabled.
1. Open Settings and tap the NFC icon (in the Connect and Share section).
Sending, Receiving, or Both
If both people intend to send files, each must enable S Beam by performing Steps 1 and 2. Otherwise, only the sender must enable S Beam, whereas the recipient must enable NFC (at a minimum).
2. Enable NFC by dragging its slider to the On position. If S Beam is off, tap its text and then drag the S Beam slider to the On position.
3. On the sending phone, launch the app that contains the material you want to transmit and then display the material, such as a photo or song. Press the phones back to back, ensuring that neither is displaying the lock screen. Within 10 seconds, a connection is made between the phones and Touch to Beam appears on the sending phone’s screen. Tap the thumbnail to initiate the file transfer. You can separate the two phones while the data transmits.
4. The material is transmitted. When the transmission ends, the material displays on the receiving phone in the appropriate app, such as Gallery or Video, and is saved in the Download folder.
Sending Multiple Gallery Items
You can simultaneously send multiple photos in Gallery. Open the folder that contains the photos, select the thumbnails, and then press the phones together.
5. When you finish transmitting material, the phone(s) can disable NFC and/or S Beam by dragging their sliders to the Off position.
