How To Set Up An Android File Transfer

Takes you through the steps of setting up an Android file transfer using JSCAPE MFT Server.
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Overview

As companies enter the BYOD era, IT departments get flooded with a variety of administrative tasks that involve the most widely used mobile device platform, Android. One of these tasks is to enable Android mobile users with the ability to transfer files to and from a company server that's accessible through the Internet. This tutorial is crafted to help in that regard. It shows the configurations you'll need to set both on the server and on the client side.

By the way, in case you're still thinking of subscribing to a cloud-based file sharing service, it would be a good idea to read this article first. As that article suggests, a more secure way would be to use a managed file transfer server. That's what we'll be using here.

Let's begin.

Setting up your server for mobile file transfers (for Admins)

The first step is to configure your JSCAPE MFT Server so that it supports mobile file transfers. We'll assume you've already downloaded and installed JSCAPE MFT Server. If you haven't done that yet, you can find installation instructions by following that link. Here are two video tutorials that focus on Linux installations:

Installing JSCAPE MFT Server on RPM-based Linux (Fedora)

Installing JSCAPE MFT Server on Debian-based Linux

Now, the only thing you really need to do moving forward, is to enable the HTTP/S service. To do that, launch your JSCAPE MFT Server Manager, navigate to the Services module and then click the Add button.

add new https service

Next, select HTTP/S from the Protocol drop-down list and then click OK.

add domain service https parameters

You should now see the newly added HTTP/S service in your list of Services.

newly added https service jscape

That's it. That's all you need to do on the server side. Now we go to the client side.

You'll need an Android tablet or smartphone for the succeeding steps.

Setting up your Android for online file transfers

Let me now show you how to enable an Android phone or tablet for online file transfers. Meaning, after we're done, the Android device would be able to transfer files to and from a server, including one that's available through the Internet.

Before we can set up anything, we would need to download the required software application from Google Play Store. Navigate to the Play Store app and tap to launch.

google play store in apps

Next search for the JSCAPE MFT Server app. Just type "jscape" in the search box and then tap the search button.

search jscape in google play

You should then see the JSCAPE MFT Server app. Tap it to download.

jscape mft server app in google play

Tap the INSTALL button to start the installation.

jscape mft server android app install

The system will then seek your approval regarding certain app permissions. If you're amenable to all, tap ACCEPT.

android file transfer app permissions accept

Download should begin right after that.

jscape mft server downloading

... followed by the installation.

jscape mft server android installing

As soon as the installation completes, tap the OPEN button to launch the app. Anytime you want to open the app again in the future, just look for the icon found on the left.

jscape mft server open or uninstall

When the Android file transfer app opens, don't be surprised to see a blank wall. This will gradually fill up as you add more sites. A site is simply a name that represents a specific connection to a managed file transfer service, which in this case would be the HTTP/S service you created earlier.

To add a site, just tap the "+" symbol on the upper-right corner of the screen.

jscape mft server no sites added

You can then start entering information pertinent to the site, like:

βœ” The site Name - This is just the name you assign to this site. You can use any name you want. In our example, we named our site "Android File Transfer"

βœ” The URL of the HTTP/S service you want to connect to.

βœ” The username of any existing user account on your managed file transfer server.

βœ” The corresponding password of that username.

βœ” The domain name of the server you want to connect to.

jscape mft server android add site

As soon as you're done with that, tap the Save icon on the upper-right corner of the screen to save the information you just entered and consequently create the site.

jscape mft server android site info

Assuming all goes well, you should see a "Site added successfully" notification. Tap the OK button to proceed.

jscape mft server android site added successfully

Here's the newly created site on that blank wall you saw earlier. Tap the site's name to connect to your managed file transfer server.

jscape android file transfer app with new site

Here's a peek at what you'll find inside. These are some of the files and folders on the server that are accessible to the user account we used to login.

jscape mft server android app contents

Conclusion

That's it. Now you know how to set up an Android file transfer using JSCAPE MFT Server. The app's very intuitive, so you shouldn't have any difficulty learning how to carry out the file transfers yourself. But if you really need some guidance, stay tuned for a tutorial on that. You can expect that on a future post. In the meantime, try setting this up yourself.

Downloads

If you haven't tried JSCAPE MFT Server yet, you can download a free fully-functional evaluation edition of JSCAPE MFT Server now.

Download JSCAPE MFT Server Trial