Organelle Web File Manager -- OBSOLETE -- included in newest Organelle OS v3

No more swapping USB drives!

This is an initial release of a web based file manager for the Organelle. It requires the Organelle to be on WiFi, and there are a couple things to install manually (we are working on easier WiFi and installation for all users coming soon!). It features folder management, zipping and unzipping, drag-and-drop uploading, and even has a preview player for sound files. It is quickly becoming indispensable around the studio here!

Many web based file mangers we tried either lacked basic functionality, were too bloated, or looked like windows 95, so we decided to write our own. We kept it nice and simple to eliminate the bugs that come along with editing a file tree over ajax. So no drag-and-drop to move things around, you have to use cut / paste. But there is drag-and-drop uploading ā€“ drag files into the window and they are uploaded to the current folder. This is really great for swapping sound files in a patch.

INSTALL:

This assumes you already have your Organelle on the WiFi network and you have OS v2.1 or higher.

Download the app here:

https://github.com/critterandguitari/Organelle_File_Manager/archive/master.zip

Create a System folder on your USB drive if you donā€™t have one, unzip the app and put it in the System folder. So it should look like this:

/USB Drive/System/Organelle_File_Manager

You can change ā€˜Organelle_File_Managerā€™ to whatever you like.

There are a couple extra packages to install too, but the are included with the app, so all you have to do is:

cd /usbdrive/System/Organelle_File_Manager 
./install.sh

Now you can choose Reload from the System menu and the file manager will show up on the OLED screen. Just select it and it should start up.

8 Likes

cool. walking back and forth from the organelle to the computer is the only exercise i get thoughā€¦
fuck it i am having doughnuts for supper anyway

5 Likes

@oweno , could I ask for a small enchancementā€¦
donā€™t assume usbdrive :slight_smile:

you can use the environment variable USER_DIR.
for backwards compatibility, if USER_DIR is not present then you can assume /usbdrive
( I need to make a small change for b10 to ensure this is set for system commands)

(an alternative, would be to see if /usbdrive is mounted, and if not go to /sdcardā€¦ but this is not as flexible)

Hi. Probably a stupid question, but presumably I need to hook up a (powered?) USB hub for a WiFi dongle and the USB drive? Also, while Iā€™m here - if so, Iā€™m assuming again that my MIDI interface can go as a third item on the USB hub and theyā€™ll all be happy being on/used at the same time?

Thanks, Sam.

Apologies for that question not being quite on topic, by the wayā€¦ :slight_smile:

That is a good idea, after all this file manager would be especially handy for moving patches to/from SD card (being even more of a pain to swap in and out).

I was also thinking a couple of buttons to toggle. It defaults to USER_DIR, but if you wanted to move things between USB and SD you can dot that too.

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yeah, a toggle would be cool :slight_smile:

another thing which would improve the workflow, is when copying across zip files, if it automatically unzipped them
(or perhaps asked, if you think there is a reason weā€™d want to keep them zipped?!)

currently if you do a whole bunch, you have to copy, then select each one , unzip, select another unzip etcā€¦
(as you cannot select multiple to unzip in one go)

also Ive noticed once started it always stays running, perhaps a ā€˜quitā€™ option (top left of window?)

its a great addition quicker than starting up Forklift (an sftp client I was using) :slight_smile:

Hi! Just starting with my new Organelle and know nothing on pd, yetā€¦ Indeed iā€™ll get my hands on some tutorials and start as son as i get some time for it. In the meantime, would there be a chance for a video on setting up a wifi network and the web filke manager? Iā€™d very much like to do this right away so i can play around easier and not wait until i figure some stuff out with pure data/organelle.
It would be much appreciated!
Thanks for this wicked instrument!

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the steps for setting up wifi are:

  • insert organelleā€™s usb stick into computer
  • edit wifi.txt with your network name on the first line and password on the second line, no additional lines
  • boot organelle with usb and wifi stick, go to settings -> wifi setup and click your network, when connected click start web server
  • now you can open http://organelle.local/files in your browser to transfer zip files of patches, then unzip
  • have fun!
5 Likes

Thanks a lot! Will try right now

This has made using the Organelle so much easier!

I found two bugs:

  1. Files above a certain size seem to fail to transfer. I tried uploading @shreeswiftyā€™s Drumbo patch. The Transfer progress bar quickly appears and disappears. That seems to be the only problem file so far.
  2. The Web Manager seems much more stable when accessed from my Windows computer. When accessing it from my MacBook, the connection to the Organelle drops frequently. I donā€™t have WiFi issues with my MacBook, and Iā€™m keeping everything close to the router when testing this.

Two requests:

  1. Batch unzip would be extremely useful. Additionally, maybe a command like ā€œUnzip and Deleteā€ would save a lot of clicking.
  2. Is there a way to have the Organelle attempt to auto-connect to WiFi and start its server on boot? Right now, I have a mini WiFi ritual whenever I power up the unit.
2 Likes

thanks for these suggestions

Iā€™ll check out the file size issueā€¦ I did run into it once, canā€™t remember what current max is, but should be higher.

funny, I only use it with a Mac and havenā€™t noticed many dropoutsā€¦

agreedā€¦ you can also upload zips, press the reload button top right (reloads the patch list in Organelle), and then select the zips on the Organelle and install (this is still clicks, but at least includes the delete step, and it is also the only way to install .zop files, the new Organelle patch file)

me too :wink: ā€¦ it could be a setting in the WiFi to enable auto connectā€¦

been using this a lot since I got a usb wifi stick, and it is great! thank you so much for this!

I also found a ā€œbugā€ as @trickyflemming mention, files above a certain size seem to fail to transfer. I try to upload a zip of 130mb with no luck. I also made a backup zip file from all the patches in the organelle and I could not download it, got an error :confused:

Anyone know why I can go to organelle.local from my Mac and not my windows PC? Theyā€™re all on the same network. And I donā€™t recall doing anything like setting up a hosts entry on my mac.

I can ping organelle.local. On Win it resolves to a timewarner dns not found page. The mac works perfectly.

Thx

Iā€™m not sure exactly, but you should also be able to access the Organelle using its IP address which you can see in the Settings -> Info menu. just type the IP address into the browser

Using the organelle IP address also doesnā€™t work and takes me to a TWC DNS page

Whatā€™s strange is i can ping the organelle! But the address comes back as IPv6.

How do I get the Organelle and my computer to communicate through wifi? Sorry for the pleb question :upside_down_face:

USB WiFi adapter
This is the official C&G
https://www.critterandguitari.com/products/usb-wifi-adapter

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