Survey File Backups

Android (and iOS) have in recent years made it harder and harder for apps to gain access to the general file system on a device. This of course reflects a growing concern about privacy and personal data perhaps being vulnerable to misbehaving apps. This in turn, makes it quite inconvenient to backup survey files. At present, it is still possible to connect a phone directly to a PC and access the file system from there. Hence, if you know where to look, it is possible to manually copy survey files from the phone to the PC and vice versa. However, the file system is not easy to navigate (you have to have been told where to look) and there is always the possibility of doing unintended damage to the app and its files. There is also a strong likelihood that Google will restrict even further the ability of a PC to access the device file system at some time in the future.

Starting with version 2.5.2, the rover app can effectively backup a survey file using the "Share" functionality built into the Android system. This allows a file to be passed to another app on the phone which in turn can upload a file to "cloud" storage (eg DropBox, OneDrive or Google Drive) or a mail client which can send the file as an email attachment. You can even pass a file on to messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Messenger or Line although they often cannot do anything sensible with them (such as save them to storage) other than sharing them again with another app.

Survey files can also be restored as long as the file is in an "external storage" location to which Sure-Path has been specifically granted access (external here means a location that Sure-Path would not normally have access to). You might think that apps have automatic access to standard locations such as "Downloads", but sadly not. You can however create a dedicated folder within Downloads and grant Sure-Path access to that together with all its sub directories if they exist.

So, to Backup or Restore survey files, do the following:

Backup

From any of the survey modes, load the survey you want to Share.
Open the menu and select "Share File...".
A list of available apps on your device will be shown. Select a suitable app and take it from there.

Restore

First ensure you are in the correct Survey Mode for the type of survey file you are wanting to import.
Open the menu and select "Import File from Shared Folder...".
If this is the first time, click the "Choose Shared Folder" button.
Navigate the file system to locate a suitable folder. If a folder is not allowed to be shared, it will say so although you will usually be able to create a sub folder which is shareable. Bear in mind where you will be getting survey files from, ie ensure that any other required app such as DropBox or Google Drive will also have access to the folder. In the case of DropBox, file downloads default to the Downloads folder but it can be persuaded to use folders further up the hierarchy if necessary.
Once you are in the desired folder, click the "Use This Folder" button at the foot of the screen and when prompted for permission, click "ALLOW".
You will then be returned to the previous screen with the Shared Folder contents displayed.
If the survey file you wish to import is already present, click the name of the file. The screen will then close.
From the menu, select "Load File..." and you should see your imported file listed.
If the file you wish to import is not already in the Shared Folder, you will need to use an app such as the File app (or DropBox/Google Drive if your file is in the cloud) to copy/move it to the Shared Folder.

Notes:

Once a Shared Folder has been chosen, you do not need to select it again until such time as you might want to change it.
Sure-Path makes no checks as to whether a file you import is a genuine survey file or even whether it is for slalom, jump or tricks. It is for you to ensure that only Sure-Path survey files are imported and that you are in the correct survey mode when you do the import.