Storage Locations & File Access

The app stores files in its private system-assigned directory only. You will find the folder at:

Internal Storage / Android / data / de.humatic.tdaw / files

resp. for the Demo version at:

Internal Storage / Android / data / de.humatic.tdf / files

A varying number of subfolders inside that directory then contain the actual files, mostly xml documents:
  • daw_profiles: User-defined and customized DAW profiles.
  • midi_maps: General setup documents holding MIDI Mode definitions, active mappings for customizable controllers, user-scales etc.
  • presets: User defined layouts and MIDI definitions for custom controllers (in 'lp', resp. 'cc' subfolders) and evtl. their image files (in 'img' and 'shapes' subfolders).
  • fonts: Imported .otf or .ttf fonts for use on the BigTime screen.
  • temp: Temporary (working) directory. Comes and goes. Do not put any of your files in here.
Before Android 11 you can use a filesystem browser app like Google Files, Samsung's My Files or whatever you like best to access files on the device. As of Android 11 ('R') - the system becoming more 'secure', 'privacy-savy' or 'borderline unusable', however you want to call it - even browser apps seem to no longer be allowed to see other apps' files unless they hold very broad permissions.

Filepicker

TouchDAW uses an internal file-picker whenever it needs to deal with files. This will open in the current context's directory and won't allow for navigating around the device's filesystem. The file-picker does include import / export options using Android's file browser, though. The latter is a 'trusted system component' that can access a device's media directories, camera roll, Google Drive space etc. when operated manually by the user. Imported files will first be copied to the app's storage space and can then be opened from there.

Xml setup files can be opened and edited in the app's XML editor from the picker via the 'edit' icon in the lower toolbar.

Touch and hold a file for rename, duplication and other options. You can also delete files with horizontal swipes. The menu at the top lets you create folders and backups of the current directory.

To actually select and open a file either double-tap it or select it and touch the checkmark icon.

Computer access

To view files from a PC, connect the Android with a USB cable and set its USB options to 'Data Transfer'. Files should then be browsable under the given paths. Windows example:



Unfortunately how and when these views will be refreshed can still be a little enigmatic. To edit files on the PC you will anyway need to pull them down from the device and copy them back when done.

Backup Your Data!

When you "clear an app's data" or uninstall an app alltogether, all files in its storage space will be deleted. Remember to ocassionally backup your MIDI definitions and customizations if they are important for you!