11

I often want the same files to be accessed by different apps on my Android phone, but the apps look in different folders. Is there a way to make two different folder paths on a FAT SD card point to the same file? For EXT, I think I could do this with a symbolic or hard link, but those don't exist for FAT. Can FAT be extended to support them? Can Android use an EXT-formatted SD card? Can a folder be mounted on top of another folder?

If this does exist, does it have any negative side effects?

2
  • They're just going to move you to android dude, just ask again there Nov 29, 2010 at 17:55
  • It's more a Linux question than an Android question.
    – endolith
    Nov 29, 2010 at 19:58

3 Answers 3

17

It is possible to mount a folder in another folder if you have root.

open adb or terminal (adb is preferred) and type

mount -o bind /origdir /newdir

This should have the same affect as ln and will work on FAT32 filesystem

2
  • 1
    Works fine. Shows up in apps as if /sdcard/newdir has the same files as /sdcard/origdir, which is useful for sharing files between apps that look only in specific hardcoded folders. You should mention that you have to mkdir newdir first, though.
    – endolith
    Mar 26, 2012 at 15:03
  • 3
    does this stay after reboot? I saw a response on another SE site saying this is lost at reboot: android.stackexchange.com/questions/4044/…
    – Baronz
    Mar 15, 2016 at 17:09
4

Endolith answer is best for your situation, but Sathya is wrong, there is also solution, if you really need to fake link(hardlink), see: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/4545536/faking-symbolic-links-on-a-fat32-formatted-storage Though i hadnt tried it on android.

-1

Can Android use an EXT-formatted SD card?

Android can mount ext2 but the volume manager won't handle ext2-formatted SD cards. (If you have rooted your phone you may be able to fix this.)

Can a folder be mounted on top of another folder?

Yes.

1
  • "Yes." How would you do that on Android? Would it have the effect I want?
    – endolith
    Dec 1, 2010 at 4:02

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .