I needed to upload a picture from my Samsung A54 5G phone to my
windows 10 PC. (It's for a passport, so I couldn't just email it to
myself because the phone compressed it from 4 MB down to 200 KB; the
State Department wants full resolution.)

Connected phone to PC by USB cable, picked "Transferring files" in
the phone's popup. In Windows File Explorer, opened Galaxy A54 5G »
Internal Storage » DCIM » Camera. No sign of my picture. Switched to
View » Details so that I could sort newest to oldest, since this
picture is the one I took most recently. Nothing there more recent
than last fall, when I switched from a Moto e5+ phone. Hmm. Picture
must be somewhere on the Samsung, but where?

Opened Gallery on the phone and the picture was right there. Tapped
on the i-in-a-circle, and the phone showed the location as /Internal
Storage/DCIM/Camera. But that's the folder I have open in File
Explorer, and the pic isn't there! Maybe the picture is a hidden
file, and I need to enable viewing hidden files? Clicked View in File
Explorer, and Hidden Items was already checked.

Something whispered to me to turn off viewing of Hidden Items. As
soon as I did that, File Explorer showed the pictures I had taken
with the Samsung phone. I clicked the photo I wanted and dragged it
to my desktop/.

That's right, the picture files are invisible when View » Hidden
Items is checked, and visible when View Hidden Items is blank (not
checked). Oy vey!

--
Stan Brown, Tehachapi, California, USA https://BrownMath.com/
Shikata ga nai...

On 19/09/2024 00:05, Stan Brown wrote:
>
> I needed to upload a picture from my Samsung A54 5G phone to my
> windows 10 PC. (It's for a passport, so I couldn't just email it to
> myself because the phone compressed it from 4 MB down to 200 KB; the
> State Department wants full resolution.)
>
> Connected phone to PC by USB cable, picked "Transferring files" in
> the phone's popup. In Windows File Explorer, opened Galaxy A54 5G »
> Internal Storage » DCIM » Camera. No sign of my picture. Switched to
> View » Details so that I could sort newest to oldest, since this
> picture is the one I took most recently. Nothing there more recent
> than last fall, when I switched from a Moto e5+ phone. Hmm. Picture
> must be somewhere on the Samsung, but where?
>
> Opened Gallery on the phone and the picture was right there. Tapped
> on the i-in-a-circle, and the phone showed the location as /Internal
> Storage/DCIM/Camera. But that's the folder I have open in File
> Explorer, and the pic isn't there! Maybe the picture is a hidden
> file, and I need to enable viewing hidden files? Clicked View in File
> Explorer, and Hidden Items was already checked.
>
> Something whispered to me to turn off viewing of Hidden Items. As
> soon as I did that, File Explorer showed the pictures I had taken
> with the Samsung phone. I clicked the photo I wanted and dragged it
> to my desktop/.
>
> That's right, the picture files are invisible when View » Hidden
> Items is checked, and visible when View Hidden Items is blank (not
> checked). Oy vey!
>
>
Just go to the nearest photo booth and save the hassle.

--
Jim the Geordie

Jim the Geordie wrote on Thu, 19 Sep 2024 00:40:43 +0100 :

>> That's right, the picture files are invisible when View�� Hidden
>> Items is checked, and visible when View Hidden Items is blank (not
>> checked). Oy vey!
>>
> Just go to the nearest photo booth and save the hassle.

A search for free, ad free passport photo apps in the app finder
shows these apps are available for Android passport photo making.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.yuanfang2345.passport
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.passportphoto.visaid.photomaker
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.darkgalaxy.client.app_id_photo

None have costs (that I know of) nor ads but since costs can come later, I
tried each one of them once for you and they seem to be legit free apps.

If you use them, let us know how they work so we benefit from your action.

On Wed, 18 Sep 2024 16:05:16 -0700, Stan Brown
<the_stan_brown@fastmail.fm> wrote:

>
>I needed to upload a picture from my Samsung A54 5G phone to my
>windows 10 PC. (It's for a passport, so I couldn't just email it to
>myself because the phone compressed it from 4 MB down to 200 KB; the
>State Department wants full resolution.)
>
>Connected phone to PC by USB cable, picked "Transferring files" in
>the phone's popup. In Windows File Explorer, opened Galaxy A54 5G »
>Internal Storage » DCIM » Camera. No sign of my picture. Switched to
>View » Details so that I could sort newest to oldest, since this
>picture is the one I took most recently. Nothing there more recent
>than last fall, when I switched from a Moto e5+ phone. Hmm. Picture
>must be somewhere on the Samsung, but where?

My Samsung phone is even more perverse.

Four times out of fice, when I plug it in to transfer the picture, it
tells me "Charging" and refuses to show me anything on the phone at
all.

It requires several reboots of both the phone and the computer to get
it to show the picture directory at all, or anything other than
"charging".

--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk

On 2024-09-19 00:05, Stan Brown wrote:
>
> I needed to upload a picture from my Samsung A54 5G phone to my
> windows 10 PC. (It's for a passport, so I couldn't just email it to
> myself because the phone compressed it from 4 MB down to 200 KB; the
> State Department wants full resolution.)
>
> Connected phone to PC by USB cable, picked "Transferring files" in
> the phone's popup. In Windows File Explorer, opened Galaxy A54 5G »
> Internal Storage » DCIM » Camera. No sign of my picture. Switched to
> View » Details so that I could sort newest to oldest, since this
> picture is the one I took most recently. Nothing there more recent
> than last fall, when I switched from a Moto e5+ phone. Hmm. Picture
> must be somewhere on the Samsung, but where?
>
> Opened Gallery on the phone and the picture was right there. Tapped
> on the i-in-a-circle, and the phone showed the location as /Internal
> Storage/DCIM/Camera. But that's the folder I have open in File
> Explorer, and the pic isn't there! Maybe the picture is a hidden
> file, and I need to enable viewing hidden files? Clicked View in File
> Explorer, and Hidden Items was already checked.
>
> Something whispered to me to turn off viewing of Hidden Items. As
> soon as I did that, File Explorer showed the pictures I had taken
> with the Samsung phone. I clicked the photo I wanted and dragged it
> to my desktop/.
>
> That's right, the picture files are invisible when View » Hidden
> Items is checked, and visible when View Hidden Items is blank (not
> checked). Oy vey!

This has never been my experience with any Samsung or Android phone.
I have never had problems with hidden photo files. The only 'problem' I
have ever had is whereas with my first Samsung phone, a Galaxy Note 2
now long since dead, you could just connect the phone to the PC and
everything would be accessible, now I have to 'sign in' to a phone by
whatever method you have set up, for example fingerprint recognition or
PIN, and possibly make suitable choices on it before the phone's
directory structure appears in Windows Explorer.

Once I've 'signed in' to my Samsung SM-T719, I can see the directory
structure, including photos in:
Tablet\DCIM\Camera

Once I've 'signed in' to my Pixel 8a, I have to swipe down to bring up
the notifications and make further choices there before I can see the
directory structure on the PC, including photos in:
DCIM\Camera

--

Fake news kills!

I may be contacted via the contact address given on my website:
www.macfh.co.uk

Stan Brown <the_stan_brown@fastmail.fm> wrote:
>
> I needed to upload a picture from my Samsung A54 5G phone to my
> windows 10 PC. (It's for a passport, so I couldn't just email it to
> myself because the phone compressed it from 4 MB down to 200 KB; the
> State Department wants full resolution.)
>
> Connected phone to PC by USB cable, picked "Transferring files" in
> the phone's popup. In Windows File Explorer, opened Galaxy A54 5G »
> Internal Storage » DCIM » Camera. No sign of my picture. Switched to
> View » Details so that I could sort newest to oldest, since this
> picture is the one I took most recently. Nothing there more recent
> than last fall, when I switched from a Moto e5+ phone. Hmm. Picture
> must be somewhere on the Samsung, but where?
>
> Opened Gallery on the phone and the picture was right there. Tapped
> on the i-in-a-circle, and the phone showed the location as /Internal
> Storage/DCIM/Camera. But that's the folder I have open in File
> Explorer, and the pic isn't there! Maybe the picture is a hidden
> file, and I need to enable viewing hidden files? Clicked View in File
> Explorer, and Hidden Items was already checked.
>
> Something whispered to me to turn off viewing of Hidden Items. As
> soon as I did that, File Explorer showed the pictures I had taken
> with the Samsung phone. I clicked the photo I wanted and dragged it
> to my desktop/.
>
> That's right, the picture files are invisible when View » Hidden
> Items is checked, and visible when View Hidden Items is blank (not
> checked). Oy vey!

I'm sorry, but I don't have that problem for my Samsung Galaxy A51
(Android 13) phone with Windows 11 (and didn't have it for earlier
Android and Windows versionsi). View (-> Show) -> Hidden items behaves
exactly as it should. My Camera folder has one hidden file .<something>
(don't ask) which is hidden if Hidden items is off/unticked and shown if
it's on/ticked.

Anyway, if anything, this is more likely a Windows/MTP problem than a
phone problem, so unless your PC is also a Samsung, your subject line is
probably misplaced! :-)

BTW, for single file transfers, you might want to use 'Quick Share from
Google' on your computer, instead of a USB/MTP connection. (FWIW, I use
both Quick Share and USB/MTP as suits me.)

There have been some name-changes for this facility, so here are some
relevant references:

https://9to5google.com/2024/02/01/android-quick-share-direct-share-menu/
https://www.sammobile.com/news/new-quick-share-released-galaxy-phones-tablets/

https://www.techradar.com/phones/android/google-and-samsungs-version-of-airdrop-is-starting-to-roll-out-to-android-devices

Java Jive wrote on Thu, 19 Sep 2024 10:01:56 +0100 :

> On 2024-09-19 00:05, Stan Brown wrote:
>>
>> I needed to upload a picture from my Samsung A54 5G phone to my
>> windows 10 PC. (It's for a passport, so I couldn't just email it to
>> myself because the phone compressed it from 4 MB down to 200 KB; the
>> State Department wants full resolution.)
>>
>> Connected phone to PC by USB cable, picked "Transferring files" in
>> the phone's popup. In Windows File Explorer, opened Galaxy A54 5G��
>> Internal Storage�� DCIM�� Camera. No sign of my picture. Switched to
>> View�� Details so that I could sort newest to oldest, since this
>> picture is the one I took most recently. Nothing there more recent
>> than last fall, when I switched from a Moto e5+ phone. Hmm. Picture
>> must be somewhere on the Samsung, but where?
>>
>> Opened Gallery on the phone and the picture was right there. Tapped
>> on the i-in-a-circle, and the phone showed the location as /Internal
>> Storage/DCIM/Camera. But that's the folder I have open in File
>> Explorer, and the pic isn't there! Maybe the picture is a hidden
>> file, and I need to enable viewing hidden files? Clicked View in File
>> Explorer, and Hidden Items was already checked.
>>
>> Something whispered to me to turn off viewing of Hidden Items. As
>> soon as I did that, File Explorer showed the pictures I had taken
>> with the Samsung phone. I clicked the photo I wanted and dragged it
>> to my desktop/.
>>
>> That's right, the picture files are invisible when View�� Hidden
>> Items is checked, and visible when View Hidden Items is blank (not
>> checked). Oy vey!
>
> This has never been my experience with any Samsung or Android phone.
> I have never had problems with hidden photo files. The only 'problem' I
> have ever had is whereas with my first Samsung phone, a Galaxy Note 2
> now long since dead, you could just connect the phone to the PC and
> everything would be accessible, now I have to 'sign in' to a phone by
> whatever method you have set up, for example fingerprint recognition or
> PIN, and possibly make suitable choices on it before the phone's
> directory structure appears in Windows Explorer.
>
> Once I've 'signed in' to my Samsung SM-T719, I can see the directory
> structure, including photos in:
> Tablet\DCIM\Camera
>
> Once I've 'signed in' to my Pixel 8a, I have to swipe down to bring up
> the notifications and make further choices there before I can see the
> directory structure on the PC, including photos in:
> DCIM\Camera

As always, I'd like to help the OP do what I can easily do with Win10.

Like Frank, I've been connecting Android phones to the PC by USB, WebDav,
FTP, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ad-hoc Wi-Fi, and proprietary tools since always.

Like Java Jive, I've never experienced what the OP is experiencing, simply
because it's so trivial to move files back & forth without any logging in.

I don't log into the phone. I don't log into the PC. It's all login free.

I can show hundreds of screenshots proving this, but Stan's experience,
while frustrating, must be due to something, as Frank said, in Stan's MTP.
<https://i.postimg.cc/JnDTWH9M/usb01.jpg>

Stan Brown, 2024-09-19 01:05:

>
> I needed to upload a picture from my Samsung A54 5G phone to my
> windows 10 PC. (It's for a passport, so I couldn't just email it to
> myself because the phone compressed it from 4 MB down to 200 KB; the
> State Department wants full resolution.)
[...]
> That's right, the picture files are invisible when View » Hidden
> Items is checked, and visible when View Hidden Items is blank (not
> checked). Oy vey!

Next time use Cx File Explorer, enable "Access from Network" and then
FileZilla on the PC to download the files.

Cx File Explorer:

<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cxinventor.file.explorer>

FileZilla:

<https://filezilla-project.org>

OR:

Share a folder on your PC in Windows and use Cx File Explorer to access
that as network location. Then you can copy the pictures from Android to
the PC using the copy function of Cx File Explorer.

--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de

And in yesterday's update, Samsung changed my Google messages app
theme from dark to light.

What is it with these software makers who gratuitously change user
preferences during an update?

--
Stan Brown, Tehachapi, California, USA https://BrownMath.com/
Shikata ga nai...

Stan Brown <the_stan_brown@fastmail.fm> wrote:
> And in yesterday's update, Samsung changed my Google messages app
> theme from dark to light.

If that's an in-app setting, it's unlikely that Samsung made that
change, especially as Samsung have their own Messages app.

Perhaps there was a 'Google Play system update' at the same time (or
that update was put in effect by the reboot)?

> What is it with these software makers who gratuitously change user
> preferences during an update?

On 27 Sep 2024 10:15:49 GMT, Frank Slootweg wrote:
> Stan Brown <the_stan_brown@fastmail.fm> wrote:
> > And in yesterday's update, Samsung changed my Google messages app
> > theme from dark to light.
>
> If that's an in-app setting, it's unlikely that Samsung made that
> change, especially as Samsung have their own Messages app.
>
> Perhaps there was a 'Google Play system update' at the same time (or
> that update was put in effect by the reboot)?

If there was, it wasn't mentioned in Samsung's update notice, nor in
the on-screen messages during the update.

--
Stan Brown, Tehachapi, California, USA https://BrownMath.com/
Shikata ga nai...

Stan Brown <the_stan_brown@fastmail.fm> wrote:
> On 27 Sep 2024 10:15:49 GMT, Frank Slootweg wrote:
> > Stan Brown <the_stan_brown@fastmail.fm> wrote:
> > > And in yesterday's update, Samsung changed my Google messages app
> > > theme from dark to light.
> >
> > If that's an in-app setting, it's unlikely that Samsung made that
> > change, especially as Samsung have their own Messages app.
> >
> > Perhaps there was a 'Google Play system update' at the same time (or
> > that update was put in effect by the reboot)?
>
> If there was, it wasn't mentioned in Samsung's update notice, nor in
> the on-screen messages during the update.

A Samsung update notice is unlikely to mention a Google update, as
they're not related.

A 'Google Play system update' is mostly silent. At bootup, you can
only see the installation progress on the notification panel, but as
that's normally hidden, you won't see it, unless you specifically go
looking at it.

AFAIK, you can only see which version of the Google Play system
update is installed (and check if there's a newer one), but I don't
think you can see when that update was installed, i.e. you can't see if
it was installed just before the theme change.

To see the version:

Settings -> Abut phone -> Software information ->

"Google Play system update
<month> <day>, <year>"

Tap that info field to see if there is an update which needs to be
installed.

Another place for info on 'Google Play system update's is:

Settings -> Security and privacy -> Updates

This lists both Samsung syste/security updates and 'Google Play system
update's. For the latter, you'll see an orange exclamation mark if
there's a new update or a green 'V' if you already have the latest. But
a green 'V' does not mean the latest has already been *installed*, so
tap on the info info to see if it needs a restart.

Hope this helps.

Frank Slootweg wrote on 30 Sep 2024 09:44:47 GMT :

>>
>> If there was, it wasn't mentioned in Samsung's update notice, nor in
>> the on-screen messages during the update.
>
> A Samsung update notice is unlikely to mention a Google update, as
> they're not related.

Just so Stan is aware, there are a TON of updates that happen to the
Android phone, most of which, as Frank noted, you don't even see them.

Every single month, for example, there are updates to as many as 30
underlying Android packages, which is completely controlled over the
Internet, by Google, and which has nothing to do with Samsung or the
carrier.

Then there are the updates by Samsung.
And the updates by the carrier.

And even more, as Qualcomm sneaks in there too.

On this newsgroup we've discussed every one of those, so this is just a
summary that Frank is correct that there are updates you never see because
Android updates in asynchronous layers. It's not a monolith.

In comp.mobile.android, on Thu, 19 Sep 2024 07:24:25 +0200, Steve Hayes
<hayesstw@telkomsa.net> wrote:

>On Wed, 18 Sep 2024 16:05:16 -0700, Stan Brown
><the_stan_brown@fastmail.fm> wrote:
>
>>
>>I needed to upload a picture from my Samsung A54 5G phone to my
>>windows 10 PC. (It's for a passport, so I couldn't just email it to
>>myself because the phone compressed it from 4 MB down to 200 KB; the
>>State Department wants full resolution.)
>>
>>Connected phone to PC by USB cable, picked "Transferring files" in
>>the phone's popup. In Windows File Explorer, opened Galaxy A54 5G »
>>Internal Storage » DCIM » Camera. No sign of my picture. Switched to
>>View » Details so that I could sort newest to oldest, since this
>>picture is the one I took most recently. Nothing there more recent
>>than last fall, when I switched from a Moto e5+ phone. Hmm. Picture
>>must be somewhere on the Samsung, but where?
>
>My Samsung phone is even more perverse.
>
>Four times out of fice, when I plug it in to transfer the picture, it
>tells me "Charging" and refuses to show me anything on the phone at
>all.
>
>It requires several reboots of both the phone and the computer to get
>it to show the picture directory at all, or anything other than
>"charging".
>
Charging is very important. You should be glad that it's charging.
There are amsll phones in China that don't charge at all.