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ChromeOS File Manager

The ChromeOS File Manager is a powerful tool to allow you to access all the files on your ChromeOS Device in one centralized place. In addition to all the local files on your device, the ChromeOS File Manager integrates with several Cloud Storage Systems such as Google Drive, NextCloud and more.

Accessing USB Drives or SD/MicroSD Cards

The ChromeOS File Manager will automatically list all attached USB drives and Micro SD cards connected to your ChromeOS Device in the ChromeOS Files Application. Once a USB storage device is connected, you can interact with files on these devices as you would the local storage of your device.

Formatting/Erasing Removable Media

If you wish to format or erase the contents of a USB drive or Micro SD card, you can do this in the ChromeOS file manager by right-clicking on the device you wish to erase or format. ChromeOS will ask you to confirm that you wish to erase the USB drive or Micro SD card before starting the process. This process is irreversible once you confirm the formatting.

Important Note - While for the purpose of this book, the process of formatting a drive is irreversible. However, this is not considered a "secure erase" which does mean that it is possible to recover data on the drive with some specialized tools.

Accessing Google Drive

The ChromeOS File Manager will automatically log you into the Google Drive account of the primary user account on your ChromeOS profile. This drive will be mounted in the same way that a local Micro SD Card or USB Drive would be. All contents saved to Google Drive will automatically be saved to Google's cloud when your device has an active internet connection.

Once a file has been successfully saved to Google Drive, it will automatically be removed from your device if you begin to run out of local storage space. You can prevent the deletion of specific files and folders by right-clicking a file or folder and select the option to make the file available offline.

You can also change an entire folder to available offline by either right-clicking on the folder and selecting "Available Offline" or by entering the folder and selecting the "Available Offline" toggle that will appear in the upper-right corner of the ChromeOS File Manager. If you make any changes to the files within a folder, they will be automatically synchronized to your online Google Drive when your device is connected to the internet.

Accessing Zip Archives

The ChromeOS File Manager will allow you to access the contents of a zip archive by simply double-clicking on the .zip file. When a zip archive is opened, it is mounted as a new disk within the ChromeOS File Manager and you can access the contents of the archive as you would any other folder on your device.

When you have finished with accessing the contents of your zip archive, you should "unmount" the archive by right-clicking on the mounted zip folder and selecting "Unmount".

Accessing an Android Phone

You can access and browse the contents on an Android Phone by simply connecting your phone to your device via a USB cable.

Depending on the version of Android on your mobile phone, you will see a prompt to request permission for your ChromeOS Device to access the contents of your phone. Once permissions have been granted, you will see your phone listed in the ChromeOS File Manager as if it were an external storage device.

Mapping SMB Network File Shares

ChromeOS can connect to SMB file shares via the ChromeOS File Manager.

If you are using a device issued by an employer, you will need to connect to your Employer's VPN before you attempt to connect to an SMB network share. Please consult your employer for steps and credentials to connect to the VPN service. If you are not connected to the VPN before connecting to a file share, it will return an error that will say that the server is unreachable.

  1. Open the ChromeOS Settings Application
  2. Select "Advanced"
  3. Select "Network File Shares"
  4. Select "Add File Share"
  5. ChromeOS will automatically start searching for open file shares on your network, however if you have been given a server name and share name, enter it in the server name field.
  6. If your network file share requires authentication, you will be prompted for your username and password assigned by your network administrator.

SMB network shares will always start with a double backslash followed by a hostname or IP Address and then a network share name.

Accessing Your Android File system

You can access your Android File system from the ChromeOS File Manager by selecting "Play Files" under "My Files".

By default, only certain folders will be visible to you in the Android File system. However, you can show all files in the ChromeOS File Manager by opening the ChromeOS File Manager menu and selecting "Show All Play folders". For security reasons, there are several folders in the Android File system that are also read-only.

Accessing Other Cloud Storage Services

The ChromeOS File Manager can integrate with other Cloud Storage Services such as NextCloud. If you wish to use these services, you simply need to install the Android Application for the Cloud Storage Service. If the service supports the ChromeOS File system APIs, it will automatically show the service as a drive in the ChromeOS File Manager and you can interact with files in these services as if they were locally on your device when you are connected to the internet.