DS file (Android)
Version 4.17

DS file is ideal for managing files stored on your Synology NAS, such as uploading and downloading files between your NAS and Android device or perform basic editing tasks, through secure HTTPS connection. Additionally, DS file is useful for browsing pictures, watching videos, or checking work documents when you are on the go.

Before You Start

Before using DS file, please make sure your Synology NAS device is running DSM 5.0 or later. Otherwise, certain features will not be available. Basic configurations must be managed from a computer with access to File Station.

Login and Logout

DS file allows you to log in to File Station securely and effortlessly. You can protect your connection via SSL/TLS connections and verify the server certificate installed on your Synology server.

To log in to File Station with DS file:

Do either of the following:
- Enter the following information on the login page:
  - Address or QuickConnect ID of the Synology server: This can be either the internal or external IP address, DDNS hostname, or Synology QuickConnect ID. To use QuickConnect ID to log in, make sure you have enabled it at Control Panel > External Access > QuickConnect (for DSM 7.0 and above) or Control Panel > QuickConnect (for DSM 6.2 and earlier) in DSM.
  - Your user account and password
- Tap the arrow button next to the Address or QuickConnect ID field to select previous login credentials from the list of your login history or find Synology servers in your local network. A set of credentials can be removed by tapping on the right of the chosen entry and then Delete.
If you want to secure your connection, turn on HTTPS to use SSL/TLS-encryption.

Troubleshooting:

If you are unable to log in, do the following:
- Log in to DSM with an account belonging to the administrators group, and go to Control Panel > Application Privileges (for DSM 7.0 and above) or Privileges (for DSM 6.2 and earlier) > File Station > User to check whether the user account has permissions to use File Station.
- Check if File Station is using a customized port. For example, if the port is 9920, you may need to add the port to the IP address/DDNS hostname as in "fun.syno.com:9920".

To use multi-factor authentication:

When multi-factor authentication is enabled or enforced by the admin, sign in to this app with Synology Secure SignIn or other third-party authenticator apps.

Note:

When multi-factor authentication is enabled on DSM (6.0 and above), your mobile device can be remembered for convenient and safe login:
- To have your device remembered, select Trust this device on the login page. Your device will be remembered for 30 days; if you log in again within its validity period, your device will be remembered for another 30 days.
- To stop trusting the device, go to DSM > Personal > Security, click 2-Factor Authentication, enter your password, click Manage, and click Revoke Other Devices.

To simplify logging in:

You can enable Remember me on the login page to remember the password your user account. You will always be automatically logged in until you log out of the app. Note that enabling this option will only save the password for DS file but will not share it with other Synology apps.

To log out of DS file:

Simply tap > > Logout.

Navigating

DS file includes the following main sections.

Settings: Check your login information, view documents, configure settings, and log out of DS file.
Offline Files: Displays folders and files on your Android device. Another way to browse local files is by tapping Offline mode on the login screen.
Synology NAS: Lists folders and files on your Synology NAS device, including:
- My Favorites: Folders that you access often can be added to the My Favorites list.
- Shared Folders: Allows you to navigate and manage the folders and files on your Synology NAS device.
- Remote Folders: Displays ISO files and CIFS shares you have mounted on your Synology NAS device.
Tasks: Displays a list of upload and download tasks, as well as the status of each task.
Photo Backup: Saves photos and videos on your mobile device to Synology NAS when Enable Photo Backup is enabled.

Note:

WriteOnce shared folders will have a WriteOnce label under their folder names in the shared folders list.

Navigating Folders and Files

Tap folders and files to open or navigate through them.
Use the Back button on your phone to return to a previous level.
To adjust display settings, tap and select Sort Settings. This option allows you to change the order in which files and folders are displayed, according to file name, size, modified date, creation date, and others.
To search for files or folders, tap and select Search. Tap to further refine search criteria. There are options to search all folders or only specified ones, or search according to file type.
Instead of searching for files or folders, you can also tap , select Filter, and enter keywords. Only items on the current page matching the entered keywords will be displayed.

Managing Folders and Files

Major management actions can be performed by selecting the folder or file you want to manage and opening the action menu by tapping .

To rename, delete, move, copy, or share a folder or file, simply tap and select the action you want. If you want to select multiple items, simply long press any item or tap > Select. Then tick the desired items and select the action you want.
To create a subfolder, simply enter a folder, tap and select Add > Create Folder.
To add a folder to My Favorites, go to the folder you want to add, tap and select Add to My Favorites. To remove it, go to My Favorites, tap , and select Remove from My Favorites.
To find the properties of a folder or file, tap the folder or file, tap , and select .
To manage WriteOnce shared folders:
- Unlocked files can be renamed, modified, moved, or deleted.
- Locked files:
  - Files locked in "Immutable" state cannot be renamed, modified, moved, or deleted.
  - Files locked in "Append-only" state cannot be renamed, moved, or deleted, but can have content appended to the end of the file.
- Expired files:
  - Files expired from "Immutable" state cannot be renamed, modified, or moved, but can be deleted.
  - Files expired from "Append-only" state cannot be renamed, modified or moved, but can be deleted or have content appended to the end of the file.
- To find the WriteOnce status and retention period of a file, tap the file, tap , and select .

Supported File Formats:

The file format types that can be opened when using DS file are ultimately dependant on your Android device. However, in general, you should be able to open the below file formats with DS file:
- Documents: doc, docx, pdf, ppt, pptx, txt, xls, xlsx, htm, html.
- Images: jpg, jpeg, png, gif, bmp, tiff.
- Videos: mp4, m4v, mov.
- Audio: mp3, m4a, wav, 3gp, wav.

To eject a USB drive, find the target USB folder (e.g., usbshare1) in the shared folder list, and tap and Eject.

Uploading and Downloading Files

With DS file, you can easily upload files to and download them from Synology NAS device.

To upload local files to Synology NAS:

Browse to the destination shared folder. Tap and select Add > Upload.
Select files to upload.
If you want to check the upload status, tap the Tasks tab.

To download files from Synology NAS to your mobile device:

To download multiple files: Long press any item or tap > Select. Then select items and tap > Download.
To download a single file: Tap > Download.
The download task will continue even if you swipe aside DS file in the multi-tasking view. To stop downloading, force DS file to stop in your Android device settings.

If you want to check the download status, tap the Tasks tab.

Pinning Files

You can pin files from your Synology NAS to your local mobile device. This allows the local files to stay synced when changes are made on the source files.

To pin files:

Select the target files and tap > Pin.
To view pinned files: Tap Offline Files > Pinned Files.

To sync pinned files:

From Offline Files > Pinned Files, you can sync pinned files and check file information.

To sync single files: Tap > Sync for instant sync.
To sync all files: Refresh the Pinned Files page. All files will also be synced upon your next login to DS file.
To view file information: Tap > to find the sync status, last sync time, file size, and source.

Extracting Items

DS file allows you to extract multiple files.

To extract items:

Tap and select Extract.

Note:

DS file allows extracting the following formats: .zip, .tar, .gz, .tgz, .rar, .7z, .iso (ISO 9660 and Joliet)

Sharing Folders and Files

DS file allows you to share files and folders with other people or devices. To do so, simply tap and select Shared link. This generates a link which can be used to share the selected item. You can customize the validity period of the link or add a password. Links can be shared using any available social network apps, email, or text message.

To share multiple items, simply long press any item or tap > Select. Then select the items you want to share, and tap > Shared link.
To view previously generated sharing links, tap > and select Shared Links. Any previously generated links will be listed here.

Backing up Photos and Videos

DS file allows you to back up photos and videos on your mobile device to your Synology NAS.

To enable photo backup:

Tap Photo Backup on the left panel, tap Enable Photo Backup, and sign in to a destination Synology NAS.

To configure photo backup settings:

Destination: Select a destination folder on the Synology NAS.
Choose Folder: Select a source folder from your mobile device.
Choose a backup rule:
- Resume tasks: Resume backup tasks that are not completed.
- Back up new photos: Back up only newly added photos/videos. Previous ones will not be backed up.
- Back up all existing photos on your device: Back up all existing photos.
Configure additional settings:
- Upload on Wi-Fi only: Back up photos/videos only when your mobile device runs on Wi-Fi.
- Upload photos only: Back up only photos but not videos.
- Keep Original File Name: Select to keep the original file names of photos/videos that are being backed up. Otherwise, their file names will be replaced with the created date.

To release space on your mobile device:

Tap Free up space, select folders to clear photos and videos that have been backed up, and view the number of files to clear. Then tap Clear to delete files for more mobile space.

Note:

When your mobile device has new photo folders, DS file will detect and add them to the backup queue when permitted.
If the backup destination folder is a WriteOnce shared folder with Auto Lock enabled, the uploaded photos might become locked and cannot be renamed, moved, or deleted.

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