Migrating JW lib Files from 1 Android to another.

[➕👇 ꓤꓱꓷꓠꓵ🎵Tone]

So I think this has been asked before, but I have a new phone. I am able to backup & restore my gems etc...

But do I really have to go one-by-one and download every file manually? There must be thousands.

Is there a folder I can cut & paste?

TIA

Tony

 

Old (Downunder) Tone

 

 

[➕👇 ꓤꓱꓷꓠꓵ🎵Tone]

I found the file. I am transferring 6,900+ files. I will see if the new device acknowledges the transplant.

Am I allowed to cross my fingers? 🤞

[Tortuga]

I think that just transfers the media files and not the publications. I think you still have to download the media files after you transfer them, the app doesn't actually download them but it adds them to the catalog. 

[➕👇 ꓤꓱꓷꓠꓵ🎵Tone]

You are correct. It effectively did nothing other than take up space.
It reminds me of the old PC days...You had to 'install' the programs onto the PC. Copying the files and folders did not make it run.
It was the same with this exercise. The 6,900+ files and folders from my old Android are now on my new Android, but all it does is take up space.
The new Jw library does not know these files exist.
I guess I have to do what everyone else has done up to now and manually DL 6,900+ files.
Oh well....it was worth a shot.

Old (Downunder) Tone

[Tortuga]

29 minutes ago, ➕👇 ꓤꓱꓷꓠꓵ🎵Tone said:

well....it was worth a shot.

I think that now when you download one of the media files in JWL, it will import it instead of downloading it.

[➕👇 ꓤꓱꓷꓠꓵ🎵Tone]

EPIC FAIL #2

 

Here are the details so someone else does not go down this path.

 

[Note: If you find the 'catalogue' pointer of the master list within the JW lib app, please let me know if you succeed in editing this for the app to accept transplanted files without going through the 'import' process.]

 

Back to my sad story:

So I had this brainstorm during the night...(aka What not to do.)

I could not access the file dump I transferred on my new Android phone on from my old Android phone. (This was in the Android\data\org.jw.jwlibrary.mobile\files\... folder where all my JW Library files have been downloaded and accumulated for years).

After I pasted the data (I actually 'merged' them while attached to my PC with the new JW Lib app I installed on my new Android device),the new device did not recognise or see the transplanted data files. I assume there is a master catalogue pointer file that logs that a particular file is imported. If it does not go through the 'import' process, it will not acknowledge its existence.

I also found out that I could not access any files within the Android\data\org.jw.jwlibrary.mobile\files\... It is protected. Therefore,  I could not 'click' on them to 'import' them, as I was locked out... so...

I came up with a 'work-around' where I cut & paste the files in to an accessible area of my phone, where I could 'right-click' on them, 'open-with' JW Library and then 'import' them.

This started well, but did not end well.

Problem 1.

Coming from the PC world (where files and folders are where you put them), I just popped them into my Android 'documents' folder. Unknown to me, Android 'sees' all the jpg and mp4 files, and automatically added it to my 'Gallery', which now has hundreds of random files and videos scattered with it.

Oh dear.

I decided to go back to my documents folder where I 'pasted' the data\org.jw.jwlibrary.mobile\files\movies\ ... and right clicked on each mp4 (one at a time) and I was able to 'open with' JWlib and it did import the mp4's. As I imported each one I then deleted them from this folder, and they also slowly were culled from my 'Gallery' folder.

This worked well until I hit the next roadblock.

[The mp4 files disappeared from the 'Gallery' view as I deleted them, but the hundreds of thumbnails and jpg pics scattered within the 'pasted' folder were still showing up in the 'Gallery' view.]

 

Problem 2.

I now moved to the next step which was to 'import' publications. This was the second folder in the "files" section of the JW lib app. I 'right-clicked' on my first bt_E jwpub file to 'open with' JW lib, but the option was not there...? I was stumped.

I went through the steps again.

There was no option "open with"...

I then noticed the icon. It was actually a 'folder' icon. I click on it and there are 4 files within the folder. A couple of thumbnails and a 'xx.db' file. (I assume this is the text dump in a 'database' file.) None of these files would 'open with' JW lib app. 

So I made the following assumptions. The 'jwpub' file we import is a 'zip' file. It unpacks the file, and puts it into a master list within each users' device, and knows which file is physically on there, and which one needs the 'cloud' icon to show it is required to be downloaded.

 

At this roadblock, the futility of my efforts came to a max. I deleted ALL the publications in the folder, and went back to what I should have done in the first place... download the publications... one-by-one.

 

If someone ever finds the master catalogue list, then I think we could copy and paste the data files, and then modify (or also copy & paste) the catalogue master list as well.

 

In the meantime, the only solution is to manually go through - one by one - and download every file again. And then find the link of any special books you may have, and 'import' them again onto the new device.

 

I have re-done all my library back to 2020. Now I need a break. I might do a bit more next year when I feel up to it...

 

 

Edited November 15, 2022 by ➕👇 ꓤꓱꓷꓠꓵ🎵Tone

[Tortuga]

I went through the same futility last year when I switched phones but i gave up sooner than you did. Thanks for enduring the pain and documenting it.

[Pabo]

I wish there was just a "download all" when it comes to publications (and perhaps videos in their relative area in the media section).

 

You can update at once all the updated publications and videos, but not an initial "download all".