"Save to Cryptomator/Files" action missing in share sheet

Help iOS App
1

Notice: This topic was split and moved from https://community.cryptomator.org/t/creation-date-of-files-changes/665.

Yes, there is. You just use “Save to Files” since the vault is in the Files app.

2

Tobias:

In my workflow, I take locally stored files and encrypt them to a vault located on iCloud Drive. Up until now, when using Documents by Readdle and Cryptomator 1, I have always been able to select any unopened locally stored file and choose Share>>Save to Cryptomator from the share sheet drop down list. Now that I’m using the Files app with Cryptomator 2 as a location within it, if I select an unopened locally stored file and choose Share, there is no Save to Files option in the share sheet list, let alone any reference to a Cryptomator destination location. However, if I OPEN that same file and select Share, then there is. But why should I have to open a file to encrypt it?

Oddly enough, if I use Documents by Readdle as my file manager, with Cryptomator 2 installed, then I CAN select an unopened file stored locally within the Documents app and then choose Share>>Save to Files, followed by the name of the Cryptomator 2 vault. The Files app + Cryptomator 2 should offer the same functionality, but doesn’t. If I am missing something, please explain.

3

I am using documents by readdle as well, and I do have this option.
What I did:

  1. open documents by readdle
  2. tab and hold any file (or use the three dots to select multiple files)
  3. select „share“ ( or select „more“ and then „share“ if you have selected multiple files)
  4. select „Save to files"
  5. select a Cryptomator vault
  6. done.
4

Michael:

Essentially, you are agreeing with what I posted re: the Documents app. But the imperfect integration of Cryptomator 2 and the Files app remains. The developer needs to expand the properties of Cryptomator 2 so that it supports a Share>>Save to Files >>[Cryptomator vault location(s)] in the Files app share sheet. At present, this is lacking.

5

I believe this is the key point that I was missing. I’m not that familiar with Documents but how can I reproduce this exactly? What is an “unopened locally stored file”?

Was it really locally available before that? The only thing that I can think of right now is that you have to “download” the file because the Files app probably can’t detect “remote” files (it looks like that the share action works differently in the Files app).

But I understand that this feels like an extra step and I’m wondering if this behavior is the same on iOS 16 (Apple fixed a lot of stuff that was bothering us).

As a workaround: With the Shortcuts integration of Cryptomator 2, you can even create your own “Share Sheet Action”.

6

Tobias, I just read your profile and am impressed that you are active here in the community, engaging with users. Much appreciated.

I started using Boxcryptor in 2019 and migrated to Cryptomator in 2021. Have also been an active Documents user since 2019. Am very interested in seeing Cryptomator work smoothly with file managers, especially Files and Documents by Readdle. The issue we are now discussing is important but quite removed from the original issue concerning creation dates. Perhaps this exchange re: share sheet save to features can be continued under its own new topic. I’ll leave that up to you.

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7

Let’s identify specific iOS situations and show how Cryptomator 2 currently performs…….

  • Situation Number One: Capturing web content as a file and using Share>>Save to Files to encrypt and store the file in a Cryptomator vault location which has been properly enabled in the Files app. In this situation, the content initially resides on the internet, not as a stored file on your IPhone or iPad. For example, the content might be a standard web page or a downloadable PDF file. By its very nature, this type of operation is done file-by-file. Here’s the step-by-step process:

    1. Go to the Files app and tap on your preferred vault as listed in the sidebar. Follow the procedure to enter your credentials and open the vault. [There is no Files app sidebar on iPhones, but you can get to its equivalent by clicking on the Browse icon at the bottom of the screen.]
    2. Go to your web browser and find your desired web content. Then tap the share icon in the browser. It’s a little box with an arrow pointing upward. A share sheet will appear, but you may not initially find any “Save to Files” feature listed. If that is the case, click on “Options” at the very top of the screen under the title of the web page. Select “PDF” or “Web Archive,” depending on your preference. I almost always choose PDF, but either selection will cause “Save to Files” to appear on the share sheet list. There is another choice listed as being “Automatic.” Don’t choose that one. It will not bring forward the desired “Save to Files” feature.
    3. Make your selection and then click on the “<BACK” macro button. This will return you to the share sheet.
    4. Click on “Save to Files.”
    5. You will now see a list of locations in which to store your file. You can arrange the order in which the locations appear by editing the sidebar in the Files app. However, that is a separate matter, not part of this current step-by-step operation. The locations include:
      • “On My iPad” or “On My iPhone”, depending on the device you’re currently using.
      • “iCloud Drive.” If you have multiple Cloud platform locations, they will be listed separately.
      • “Cryptomator-[Your Vault Name].” If you have several vaults, they will be listed separately.
    6. Click to open your vault and save the file. SUCCESS!

  • Situation Number Two: Let’s say you generally collect files from the web, from your apps, or from other sources, and that you store them on your iPad or iPhone using the Files app. After a while, you will have amassed a large assortment of files which you may then decide to organize and copy to a Cryptomator vault. By its very nature, this type of operation calls for multiple files (sometimes hundreds or thousands) to be handled at once. Here’s the step-by-step process:

    1. Go to the Files app and tap on your preferred vault as listed in the sidebar. Follow the procedure to enter your credentials and open the vault. [There is no Files app sidebar on iPhones, but you can get to its equivalent by clicking on the Browse icon at the bottom of the screen.]
    2. In the Files app,select any locally stored file or files which you intend to place in the same location within a given cloud vault.* You have no need to examine the contents of the file(s), thus they are “unopened.” *[In the beginning, before you have established a folder structure within your vault, you can select entire folders and their subordinate files/subfolders to be encrypted/saved in that vault. In essence, this allows you to bring not just files to the vault, but also the existing folder structure of the source location. When processing a very large number of files, especially ones with complex nested folders, it’s best to do this in batches so as not to exceed the app’s (or the OS’s) capacity to handle such a big operation.]
    3. Select “Share” from the bottom of the screen (when selecting. multiple files) OR from the pop-up list (when selecting just one file). [On iPhones, the Share icon is used in place of the word “Share” when selecting multiple files.]
    4. Now look for the “Save to Files” feature in the share sheet. But wait. There is none! FAIL!
    5. Personal Observation: Consider the case of a new iOS Cryptomator user who has several thousand stored files that he/she wishes to encrypt and place in a cloud vault. The app states that it is now “fully integrated into the Files app.” Yet there is no “Share>>Save to Files feature to make that happen. Workarounds may be possible but why expect individual users to fashion their own Shortcuts or to use 3rd party file managers to overcome a limitation that IMHO shouldn’t be there in the first place. If Shortcuts will unavoidably be needed for the foreseeable future, perhaps a working sample could be posted on a Cryptomator support page. As for Documents by Readdle, it is a truly great app, but things can get confusing when both it and the Files app are actively used on the same device. Personally, having used both, I think it’s best to use one or the other exclusively. Integrating Cryptomator with both apps would be ideal, so that users could achieve full encryption functionality with either file manager.
    6. Note: I have no idea whether the above Files app share sheet shortcoming is caused by some limitation in Cryptomator, the Files app, or iOS. I also have no idea whether Cryptomator can be fully integrated into Documents by Readdle. It already is partially integrated into it, as noted above by Michael and myself. But it does not yet support Cryptomator vaults being displayed in the sidebar of the Documents app. If it did, users could click on vault locations to unlock them without having to leave the Documents app to do so. In addition, they could easily carry out encryption actions using the copy and paste method. This particular feature is already supported in Files, but not in the Documents app.

  • Situation Number Three: This is similar to Situation Number Two, except in this case, you CAN use the share sheet in the Files app to successfully save files to a vault. The catch is that you must open each file one-by-one, which triggers the appearance of the “Save to Files” feature in the share sheet. This will allow you to complete the encryption process as described in steps 5 and 6 of Situation Number One above. This also works for files created on your own device which you are just completing. Since they are still open, they can be encrypted in the same way as described above in the beginning of Situation Number Three. Of course, encrypting files one-by-one is hardly optimum and probably a deal breaker for many users. But others may find it suits their needs.

  • Situation Number Four: This is similar to Situation Number Two above, except in this case things are different after you select your files in step 2 because you will be using the copy feature to successfully paste files to a vault. Once you’ve selected your file(s), select “More” then “Copy X items” from the bottom of the screen (when selecting. multiple files) OR just select “Copy” from the pop-up list (when selecting just one file). Next, click to open the preferred Cryptomator vault as listed in the sidebar. Then paste the file(s) in the desired folder location within that vault. [On iPhones, there is a three-dot icon to click on instead of the word “More” mentioned above. In addition, there is no Files app sidebar on iPhones, but you can get to its equivalent by clicking on the Browse icon at the bottom of the screen.]

8

Continuing the discussion from "Save to Cryptomator/Files" action missing in share sheet:

Anyway, the behaviour of Cryptomator on IOS /IPadOS is unusable. 5 year old issues appear in V2. And there are security problems. In the german IPadOS you have in the „Long tap menu“ the function „Kopieren“(copy) and „Bewegen“ (move) in order with a Cryptomator Vault „Bewegen“ does not work as it should:
Copy, insert and delete
But it does not delete. So the originally file stays unencrypted on the IPad.
Even the vault is closed, the directory is readable, maybe only on a slowly old IPad, when you make 2 screenshots short following each other.

9

I can now confirm that the share sheet limitation that I discussed above is not a CM 2 problem, or an iOS problem. It’s a Files app problem. I just went through the same “Situation Number Two” steps noted above and found that there was no “Save to Files” option with Boxcryptor installed either. In that situation, Save to Files IS an option for both CM and Boxcryptor when the Documents app is used, but not when the Files app is used. There seems to be something about Files app integration, which both CM and Boxcryptor now have, that prevents this functionality.

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