Library directory picker can't see directories outside `/storage/emulated/0/Music` on 2.4.0

[mkalinski]

After updating to 2.4.0, I was hit with the same issue as #216. I cleared user data, but when I tried to re-add my library, I found that the directory picker does not show any directory outside /storage/emulated/0/Music.

I reverted to 2.3.3. It does not have this problem, the directory picker shows entire internal storage.

I checked app permissions, and I could not add or expand any to 2.4.0. Version 2.3.3 seems to be using a different permission for accessing filesystem.

I'm on Android 13.

As a suggestion: I'm not familiar with Android development, but I've seen other apps use some other form of granting access to certain directories, that integrates with the system file picker and does not require the app to be able to browse the filesystem by itself. Perhaps this is what AudioAnchor should be doing, instead of using the audio files permission.

[Mrnofish]

I've had similar problems, too.

I solved the crashes at start somehow, I don't even know exactly how as I had updated like the day before, and was in a hurry to use app and couldn't. It kept throwing an Illegal Argument Exception, File Does Not Exist.

Now it no longer crashes but all the library items that point to directories outside certain trees show up empty. Unlike mkalinski I seem to be able to add them, however AudioAnchor can't see any of their contents.

BTW @mkalinski it should be able to access Audiobooks, too. I'm on A16, though, not sure if that makes a difference.

However, this is not a solution as far as I'm concerned, because I use AudioAnchor to keep track of progress for audio courses and I don't want them to live under the same tree as Audiobooks since it's a different type of content and mixing the two is as confusing and wasteful, as placing them under Music.

Additionally, this change has been handled poorly as unsuspecting users were left unable to use either the app or their content, and most likely they've lost their progress.

[flackbash]

I haven't been able to reproduce this behavior yet (and it's certainly not the intended behavior). It does sound like a permission issue though. Have you tried exporting the database, completely uninstalling, reinstalling, and importing the database (this will not preserve settings, but audio progress and bookmarks will be preserved).

Edit: Actually uninstalling might not be save, as permissions that could still be granted in previous Android versions might be preserved when updating the app, but not when reinstalling the app... Android app development has become increasingly annoying the past few years. You're correct that one should use the Storage Access Framework instead of the custom file picker now (as is used for importing / exporting the database since the latest release), but there were some problems of applying this to picking the directory because of the way AudioAnchor depends on actual file paths.