'Shared local dataset' workflow appears 'broken' due to Android security settings?

[timbo-barnes]

I've recently got shared local datasets working on Qfield thanks to some help from Lorenz Meyer on the QField ideas page (https://ideas.qfield.org/qfieldcloud-feature-requests/p/qfieldcloud-and-large-data-on-device)*

However, doing so has highlighted some problems (at least for me) with the current expected workflow: Moving the local data to the required folder is fine if you have the device physically connected to your computer via USB, but as far as I can tell, it's impossible to move the file to that location using the file-manager tools on the device itself on Android.
Why is this important? Because if it's not possible to move data to that location, it makes managing (or getting users to 'self-manage') a fleet of devices which I don't have access to, impossible.

I believe the restriction is due to this:

Since QField 2 the basemaps files needs to be stored in the app directory :/Android/data/ch.opengis.qfield/files/QField/basemaps instead of the devices main directory :/QField/basemaps.

This is a 'protected' area of a device, meaning that if you download the shared local dataset on the device (either via Teams or from a shared QField 'Basedata' project), you can't actually move it into the required folder to make it work:

1. Within QField, using the 3 dot menu> cog >Project Folder > {some shared local dataset file}.gpkg >Export to Folder returns the error/warning 'Cannot use this folder- To protect your privacy, choose another folder'
2. Within a file manager (i.e. default Samsung or a file manager app), the same warning is returned

This is after testing on a few Android devices, none of them rooted or anything- Just a 'standard' device, as a typical QField user might experience it

So, idea:
Either allow qfield to access it's own directory (it can already access the projects directory to see those files?) to allow saving to the localised 'basemaps' director' or allow some method of getting a localised dataset working from the devices root:\basemaps directory (i.e. a non-protected area)

• Note, the key piece of info I was missing was the need to drag and drop/add the localised dataset from your localised path (i.e. if set to C:\basemaps, dragging your geopackage etc from there into the QGIS project)- Could that be made clear in the help document? Link to help