Droid Explorer working on Non-Rooted Device

I have started doing some work on removing the dependency on rooted device, specifically, busybox. This is no where near complete, and is buggy, at best. As you can see from the screenshot, you can see most of the folders, but if you try to go in to some of them, you will not see any files. This is my Nexus 6P, which is not rooted, connected to Droid Explorer. I do not have busybox or anything else special installed.

It doesn’t look like much, but this is a big change to the code base. I have been removing code from the Core.CommandRunner, the code that handles 99% of the communication between your computer and your device. Instead it is making use of madb, which minimizes the need for adb, and only uses it to act as the adb server. While the old code used adb as the server, but also depended on the adb client to do the communication to the device. Madb is the client, and it does all the communication to the adb server.

 

No binaries available yet, as I stated, this is very early. The code will be available on the Droid Explorer Github soon.

Droid Explorer 0.9.0.4 Released

This is a pretty big release for being a maintenance release. There are some bug fixes and a couple new features.

New Features:

Sqlite files are now edited using Sqlite Browser. This tool is far more stable, and advanced than the tool that was included before in Droid Explorer. The way this tool works, the database that you want to query/modify will be copied to your PC. You can query or modify the data. Once you close the Sqlite Browser, it will ask you if you want to push the changes back to the device.

ScreenCast is now called Screen Monitor and now uses a fork of Android Screen Monitor. The fork just removes the need to have the user select the device, since Droid Explorer already knows the device.

Screen Capture: This allow you to record your device screen for up to 3 minutes.

Rotation is done when you copy the video to the PC. This uses FFMpeg to do the rotation.

Sample video:

Changelog:

• Fixed the install apk shortcut to default to install. [workitem:17512]
• Added screen capture functionality. The Plugin will show up if the connected device supports screen capture. [workitem:17417]
• Tweaked the SaveFileDialog, OpenFileDialog, & FileDialog to better support an 'initial directory'.
• Tweaked the way the plugin toolstrips are created to hopefully support reloading when connecting to another device. 
• Fixed launching screenshot from the shortcut or jumplist item. [workitem:17416]
• Replaced the JNLP with a more active developed androidscreencast and launch a jar file directly.
• Changed the window of the ScreenRecorder to be fixed.
• Updated the InstallDialog to make use of the PluginHost which provides device and other information.
• Fixed the regex for checking if an app was installed successfully and fixed the regex for getting the permissions
• Fixed the device backup so it launches correctly from the shortcut.
• Added Sqlite Browser to replace the feature lacking sqlite explorer that was part of this project. See http://sqlitebrowser.org/ for info on Sqlite Browser.
• TransferDialog now usable by plugins. [workitem:17521]
• Consolidation of some string resources in to the Global App Resources
• Default the file name when saving a screenshot to be 'screenshot-{yyyy-MM-dd-hhmmss}.png' [workitem:17516]
• All PluginForms now require IPluginHost to be passed in. 
• Updated image resources for the screenshot plugin
• added toolbar item to screenshot to "edit in default application"
• removed SqliteEditForm since it isn't used any more.
• fixed the saving size of the screenshot. It will save as the original source size [workitem:17517]
• Added ability to rotate screen capture video 90/180/270 degrees when copying to pc. uses ffmpeg to rotate video. [workitem:17519]
• Added option to delete capture file after copy to pc [workitem:17525]
• set a default filename on '/sdcard/' for screen capture [workitem:17523]
• Changed when disconnected from device that the 'connect to device' button is not disabled. [workitem:17528]
• Fixed crash when the monitor service is not running and you disconnect from the device because the ADB daemon shuts down and status cannot be retrieved.
• Added link to WiFi ADB app on the remote connect dialog. This will help people enable wifi adb. [workitem:17533]
• Added method to IPlugin interface to initialize the plugin. This can be used to set up files on the device before the plugin executes.
• Removed androidscreencast, switched to using android screen monitor fork (https://github.com/camalot/android-screen-monitor). The fork allows the device ID to be passed as an argument. This way the user does not have to select the device again.
• Changed the call to launch the jar for screen monitor to call "java.exe", before it was just "java" and that was causing issues. [workitem:17531]
• Added more logging during initialization to help with debugging start up issues. [workitem:17527]
• Set the toolstrip renderer on screenshot plugin to be the same that is used elsewhere.
• Added functions for Forward & Reverse to be used with the port manager
• Added option to restart ADB server on the connection dialog

 

 

 

New feature coming to Droid Explorer

I want to give a sneak peak of a feature in the upcoming release of Droid Explorer called Device Screen Capture. On devices that support it, you will be able to record screen activity for up to 3 minutes.

If you choose to copy to your computer after capture, you will be able to also apply rotation to the video.

 

Here is a sample video with the following settings:

• Length: 20 seconds
• Bitrate: 4Mbps
• Size: 1440x2560
• Rotate: 90 degrees

Droid Explorer 0.9.0.3 Released

There is a new release of Droid Explorer that is now available for download. This release is mainly some bug fixes. The most important is fixing support for the changes to ADB where the feature ‘status-window’ was removed. Droid Explorer used this feature to monitor the status of the connected devices. The removal of this required a little reworking of the monitoring, but at this point I think I am happy with the new functionality.

Full change log is available on Droid Explorer Site:

• updated the location of the device images to use the program data directory. This is mainly for the service because a normal user, on windows 10, will not have access to read the icon file.
• updated to use Visual Studio 2015
• updated to .net 4.5.2
• updated to use Wix 3.10 - it will try to use the installed version of wix, if it has created the WIX environment variable
• changed the position of the Ask for Help button on windows 8+ devices to account for the larger buttons (on windows 10)
• fixed when looking for the build tools versions it will only take directories in to account that match a version string regex.
• Reworked the 'status-window' to use existing functionality in ADB so a different binary does not have to be distributed with Droid Explorer.
• Updated some of the plugins that launch tools. It now checks for the tools, if it can't find them, they will not show up.
• Updated the application manifest files to support current features in windows.
• Added check to see if user (or user policy) has recent document tracking disabled. If it is, do not attempt to create jump lists.

 

 

Droid Explorer 0.9.0.2 Released

I just published a minor update to Droid Explorer. This fixes a couple bugs with the Shell console where some lines that should be on a new line are not. There are some new shortcuts now added to the start menu for quick access to launch the shell console, device backup, apk installation, taking a screenshot, and to launch the screencast plugin.

Also addressed is an issue where some older devices do not show up in the device selection. This was because Droid Explorer now uses ‘adb devices –l’ to get more detailed information about the device, but it appears that some older devices do not display this information. To resolve this, it will try to look for the additional information, if it isn’t found, it will fall back to use the information without the details. A downside to this, which I may address later, is the device icon will not be the true device icon because the web service will not know what device it is.

See the full change log for this release here.

Download this release here.

 

Update 3/10/2015 : updated to 0.9.0.2 to fix a bug that prevented the device icon from loading.

Droid Explorer 0.9.0.0 Released

Today is Friday the 13th, but it doesn’t mark a day for superstition. Instead it marks the release of a long over due update to Droid Explorer. I have been working hard the past couple months getting this release ready. As I have mentioned in some previous posts, there are a lot of redesigned components, like the Shell Console, LogCat Console, the Device Selection dialog, and much more. Another key change is the handling of, non-issue, questions. Instead of being part of the discussion on CodePlex, there is now a tag on Android Enthusiasts. If using Android Enthusiasts, be sure to be detailed in what your issue is. I am not the only one that would be monitoring questions there. I wouldn’t want to see the questions closed because of lack of information.

 

On top of the changes that went in to Droid Explorer, I am also announcing the launch of http://de.bit13.com/, a new home for the Droid Explorer project. Besides being a place that contains screenshots and information on the releases, it acts as a central service for the device icons that are displayed when choosing the device to connect to and the icon that is shown in Explorer. As I get more information on devices, more icons will be added. Over time, other features will possible integrate more with the website.

 

 

 

Highlights of the Changelog for 0.9.0.0

• Added support for connecting to devices via TCP/IP New web service for getting device icons.
• Upgraded .NET Framework Requirement to 4.5.1
• Device lookup now uses 'detailed' call. Gets device name, model, and product name. see adb devices -l.
• Redesigned the GenericDeviceSelectionForm
• Updated the [default] image for devices
• Options Windows: added information to show the build tools version that is being used. [workitem:17313]
• Added ActiveMenu to add button to DWM.
• Moved DDMS launcher to be a plugin
• Moved Hierarchy Viewer to be a plugin
• Removed the "reboot" buttons, instead there is now a reboot plugin that supports all forms of reboot: normal, recovery, bootloader, download.
• Added a warning dialog when the app launches that will let the user know if droid explorer was unable to gain root access via adb root.
• Some refactoring to some plugins, like the shell, so it can be launched independently.
• Added links to ask questions on android enthusiasts.
• Removing some code that is unused.
• removed out of date plugins / tools.
• Some refactoring of the ConsoleControl. Moved to the Core.UI.
• Added reference to Camalot.Common.
• Updated LogCat to use ConsoleControl.
• Updated the Debug Console to use ConsoleControl.
• Updated ConsoleWriter to work with the ConsoleControl.
• Added OutputProcessors to handle different content for logging.
• Adb Root call is now called during initialization, after device selection.
• if adb root fails, a warning is displayed to the user. Future warnings can be ignored.
• A minor redesign to the splash screen.
• Plugins are now grouped in to separate toolbars.
• Added SDK Manager plugin
• Added AVD Manager plugin
• updated icons across the application.
• Plugins now grouped in the plugin menu.
• Fixed the cloud image path to support the new site.
• Fixed the file names when transfering to PC to remove invalid characters.
• Fixed the device monitor service.
• Added PluginSettings (not yet used really)
• Added icon handler interface
• Added picture extension handler using the icon handler interface

New functionality for Droid Explorer Extensions

Extensions in Droid Explorer can already handle specific file types. The shell console and sqlite explorer are good examples of that. When you right click on a file that is handled by an extension you will see it as an option.

Extensions can now implement DroidExplorer.Core.Plugins.IFileTypeIconHandler. This will allow an extension to define how the icons for the specified file are rendered. Here you will see the new PictureExtension. It shows a small thumbnail of the picture as the icon of the file.

These icons will be cached in the users Droid Explorer Data/Assets directory so they can be loaded from the cache to load faster.

Getting help when using Droid Explorer

A few days ago I showed some screenshots of some of the work that I have done in the next version of Droid Explorer. One of the things that I talked about was how I will monitor the DroidExplorer tag on Android Enthusiasts. Here is how that will also play a part in the next version of Droid Explorer.

Right from the UI, you will be able to quickly get to the Android Enthusiasts questions that are tagged with DroidExplorer. If those don’t help, you can ask your own question. Just make sure you use the correct tag and that your questions are detailed and specific. If they are bug reports, they will not be answered and they will probably be closed. Bug reports will still go on the Issue Tracker.

 

I have also implemented another way to keep up to date with new releases and new code commits. If you are a Pushbullet user, you can subscribe to the Droid Explorer Channels:

• Source Code Commits
• Releases

Features coming to Droid Explorer

I've been working on some updates to Droid Explorer (which will probably get a name change with the next release).
These updates include:

• Being able to connect to devices via TCP/IP.
• A new Shell Console (which is much needed as the old one is very buggy and only works on a few devices correctly, or at all) that has full color processing.
• A new layout for the Device Selection dialog. Less clutter, more information.
• An updated debug console
• An updated logcat console.

 

 

Effective immediately, I will be monitoring a tag [DroidExplorer] over on Android Enthusiasts Stack Exchange for non-bug related support. If it is an actual bug, it should be created as a bug, if you are just having an issue, or a question, then you can ask it over on Android Enthusiasts.

Finally, I am considering moving the source code to Github. If I do decide to move it, releases will probably still stay on CodePlex, at least for the time being. They have a good api that is already built in to my build scripts so I can easily publish new releases.

Some of the reasons I may be moving:

• It seems that Microsoft has abandoned CodePlex.
• The blog hasn't been updated in over a year.
• Performance of the site has decreased.
• Analytics have been having issues since October. And I have attempted to contact the CodePlex team, via Email and Twitter, without a response.

Until then, you can get the latest version from the Droid Explorer project page.

Droid Explorer published in Chip Magazine 09/2014

I just received a copy of the 09/2014 issue of Chip Magazine and Droid Explorer is included on the accompanying DVD. This is the 3rd time Droid Explorer has been published in Chip. The other 2 times were the “Android Specific” version of the magazine.

 

Introducing the .ABEX File Format

As I have said in my last post, Droid Explorer will support the Android Backup (.ab) file format. But I also mentioned that Droid Explorer will extend the Android Backup file format so a backup can be tied to a specific device. This file format will be ABEX (Enhanced Android Backup). The file format is simple and just adds an additional header block to store the information.

	ENHANCED ANDROID BACKUP\n
	[DEVICE ID]\n
	[Droid Explorer Version]\n
	[ABEX Version]\n
	$$$ ENHANCED ANDROID BACKUP $$$\n

The first line is the Magic line. Next is the Device ID that the backup is tied to. This is value is a string. If the device is not connected, then an error message should be displayed notifying the user that the backup is tied to a specific device and that device could not be found. Next is the version of Droid Explorer (or the application that created the ABEX). This value is a string. Next is the Specification Version of ABEX (Current = 1). This value is an integer. The final line is an indicator showing the end of the ABEX header.

Following the ABEX Header should be the normal Android Backup content starting with the Android Backup Magic line.

I have a modified version of ABE that Droid Explorer will use to unpack these files and forked it on github.

Visually, these files will (at least for now) look just like a normal Android Backup. The difference will be the file extension and how Droid Explorer will handle them. If it is a “Basic” Android Backup, then the user will be prompted with a device selection when attempting to restore. Also, there will be an option to convert a “Basic” Android Backup to an “Enhanced” version. Also, Droid Explorer will allow the conversion of an “Enhanced” version to a “Basic” version.

Droid Explorer 0.8.8.7 Backup Feature

Droid Explorer 0.8.8.7 will be released in just a few days and will have some new features that you may find useful if you have a 4.x device.

The biggest feature is the ability to backup your device (does not require root). If you do not have a 4.x device connected, you will not be able to take advantage of this method of backup.

Along with that feature comes some additional features on top of it. A central location for your Android Backup files (*.ab). They will be stored in a folder in your user profile called “Android Backups”. This folder has a special folder applied to it so it is easy to tell where your backups are located.

Inside this folder there will be a folder for each device you use with Droid Explorer to create backups. The folder name is the “ID” of the device or the “Name” of the device if you changed it in the settings. Here you will see I have a couple backups in the folder Killik (the name I gave one of my devices).

But what can you do with these backups? Well, you can restore your device with them, of course. Just double click on one of the Android Backup (.ab) files and select the device you want to restore to. Make sure you restore to the correct device. I am not responsible for any disasters restoring may cause, including, but not limited to bricking your device, cat jumping of a cliff, house burning down. I may look in to extending the backups a bit, so Droid Explorer knows what device they came from, but that is not in this version.

If you right click on the Android Backup, you will also be given the option to restore the backup to a device. But, look closer at the picture below… There is also an option to unpack the backup file. This will turn the Android Backup in to a TAR Archive. Then you can get to the inner contents of the backup, like the Application Files if you choose to include those in your Backup.

 

Another feature that will be added in the future is the ability to view backups from within Droid Explorer. If you have Droid Explorer v0.8.8.6, you will get a notification when you open Droid Explorer after the new version has been released. Keep your eye out for this version and future versions.

As always, if you have ideas for Droid Explorer, submit a Feature Request.

Droid Explorer 1.0 on Non-Rooted Devices

I hit somewhat of a milestone today. I got the Droid Explorer 1.0 branch to build. Not only that, about 90% of the communication from Droid Explorer and the device is now done through MadBee. That’s the Managed Android Debug Bridge, if you were not aware. MadBee is basically an enhanced port of the Android Debug Bridge library that ships as part of the Android SDK. There are other features that I have added to it, like the ability to check if the device has BusyBox, or if the device can execute SU commands.

MadBee is available from NuGet, but is still very young. I occasionally notice some issues with how things work while using it as the “power” behind Droid Explorer, and go in and make some modifications. But I always update on NuGet, but that means I may update there often.

What, exactly does MadBee mean for Droid Explorer? Well, I am glad I asked. MadBee is the link between the device and Droid Explorer. Since it is based off the original Android Debug Bridge, it was initially meant for non-rooted devices. It has always been my intentions, and goal, to have Droid Explorer working on ALL devices, not just rooted ones. MadBee helps make that happen. Now, MadBee does not circumvent any security that is already in place on your device, so if you don’t have a rooted device, you will not be able to perform any tasks that would require root, like remount /system with read-write.

There is still a lot of work to be done before this build of Droid Explorer will be ready for the public, but here is a teaser of Droid Explorer connected to a non-rooted Galaxy Tab.

Droid Explorer 0.8.8.2 Released

I released an update to Droid Explorer today that addresses some needed issues.

• New Device selection dialog
• all assemblies are now signed again
• fixed the "runner" so apk's can now be installed from the machine (along with the other plugins)
• when upgrading, and using an existing SDK, the value will now be pulled from the registry, if it exists.
• fixed bug in uninstall that would remove the sdk, even if you used an existing sdk
• removed anda.pk plugin since the site is dead.
• added a link in the bootstrapper (installer) to download the sdk.
• refactored some strings to the external resources files in the bootstrapper (installer)
• changed the reboot commands to use the adb commands, not the shell commands
• fixed rm command to now use busybox as it was passing args that are not supported on the "stock" rm command.
• added the sph-p100 (Sprint Samsung Galaxy Tab) device icon

 

Download Droid Explorer v0.8.8.2

Droid Explorer 0.8.8.1

Since the release of version 0.8.8.0 a few days ago, some users have reported an error during the install of Droid Explorer. I have identified the issue and have published a release addressing this. A couple other minor changes are in there too, along with icon support for additional devices. Finally, the use of an existing SDK is now the default, and recommended option during the install.

Download Droid Explorer 0.8.8.1

Droid Explorer 0.8.8.0 Released

Last night I released a new version of Droid Explorer that addresses some major issues that were introduced with the latest versions of the SDK.

• Fixed the issue with the latest android SDK using “platform-tools” directory instead of “platforms/android-{platformversions}/tools”.
• Fixed the screen shot tool to support newer devices (some are now using 32bpp RGB, instead of 16bpp RGB565)
• Fixed an issue with the Bart plugin license not being detected on the device.
• Fixed the console not working on some devices.
• Added Device icons for the LG G2X and Samsung Galaxy S variants.
• The Google USB drivers have been removed from the installer
• Use existing SDK is now the default and recommended option
• Other minor fixes

Download Droid Explorer 0.8.8.0

As always, there are x86 and 64 bit versions available.

The Standalone version is an “Offline Installer” where the other can download additional files (if you are not using an existing SDK).

The last release of Droid Explorer (0.8.7.2) has ~139,000 downloads since August 21 2010, exactly eight months ago. The plan is for more releases of Droid Explorer, in much shorter time frames again. So lets see if the 0.8.8.0 can exceed the number of downloads before the next release (I doubt it will happen )

Please vote for Droid Explorer

Voting has begun for the Community Coding Contest 2010. Please go support Droid Explorer and cast your vote for it today. There is approximately $20,719 USD worth of prizes that can be won. So please vote and have your friends vote and their friends too.

The voting “booth” is on the main page, on the right hand side of the page. Check the checkbox for Droid Explorer and then click the “Vote” button.

The other entry is just a short code snippet that is about 15 lines of code, counting whitespace. Droid Explorer is over 170,000 lines and used by thousands of people. Droid Explorer should have no problem winning this contest, and with your support it can.

Droid Explorer 0.8.7.2

A new release of Droid Explorer was published early today. It fixes the big issue with the server not being able to start. It also has some little fixes that wont even be noticed by most people. For example the extended glass area now doesn’t cause the window to move in an unexpected ways.

I will now be starting to work heavily on the 0.9.x branch. This will open Droid Explorer to many more devices beyond the rooted with busybox devices.

If you have any issues with 0.8.7.2 please report them on the droid explorer project issue tracker so they can be addressed.

Downloads

DroidExplorer.0.8.7.2.x86.Setup – 14974K
DroidExplorer.0.8.7.2.x64.Setup – 15142K
DroidExplorer.0.8.7.2.x86.Standalone – 32911K
DroidExplorer.0.8.7.2.x64.Standalone - 33078K

Droid Explorer in the top 10!

Droid Explorer is, as of the time I am writing this, the #9 most downloaded project on CodePlex. I think this is awesome and want to thank everyone that is using Droid Explorer.

I have been hard at work fixing the issue with the Droid Explorer Service. This is the service that identifies when a device is connected to the PC and shows the device in Explorer. I will have the fix in place by the end of the week and published.

I have also been working the Droid Explorer branch that will become the 0.9.x release. This will be the first version that will support non-rooted devices. The only requirement is that the device can be seen via ADB. All functionality may not be initially available to non-rooted devices, especially in the first versions of the 0.9.x releases. I will be refactoring more and more of the code to stop using custom communication via adb.exe and use the same communication methods that the DDMS uses. This will be accomplished by using MAD Bee.

I am also shooting for an update mechanism being built in to Droid Explorer in the 0.9.x releases. It is going to be a framework that will use an Atom feed to get available updates. It will allow multiple update locations, to allow plugins to specify their own update feed source. Updates can define requirements, minimum/maximum version, and how to “install” the updates. But that is a bit off from being incorporated, it may not make it in until a few releases in to the 0.9.x releases.

Droid Explorer Download Stats

Droid Explorer has been increasing in popularity of the past year. Total downloads passing 85,000, page views at about 340,000 and since the projects first release in August ‘09.

 

The “Drop Off” is for a time span that CodePlex has not yet calculated the data.

The latest release has had over 1,600 downloads in about 3 days. Droid Explorer, in the last 7 days (based on when CodePlex does their counts), has had 4,440 downloads. This puts Droid Explorer in the #14 spot for most downloaded projects on CodePlex. About 300 away from the “patterns & practices – Enterprise Library”, and 600 from ASP.NET projects, like ASP.NET MVC.