Microsoft released its latest Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA) preview update with version 2305.40000.2.0. The update brings the highly requested File Sharing feature to WSA. This will now allow sharing of the User’s folders, like Documents, Pictures, with WSA. Also, file transfer has also just gotten easier with Drag and Drag, Copy and Paste.
There are other changes as well including Android 13 security updates, Chromium WebView udpate, and more. The full changelog for WSA 2305.40000.2.0 is given below:
- File sharing enabled
- File transfer using drop and drop and copy and paste!
- Windows Subsystem for Android Settings (renamed to just “Windows Subsystem for Android”) redesign, including displaying all installed Android apps
- Enable apps that specify android.hardware.type.pc in their manifest to opt into receiving raw input events
- Wi-Fi API compatibility improvements
- Camera hardware compatibility improvements
- Linux kernel security update
- Updated latest Chromium WebView to version 113
- Android 13 security updates
On a separate page, Microsoft has also detailed the limitations currently on File Sharing:
- Only files in your Windows user profile folder are available to the Subsystem. Windows system folders, Program Files, other users’ folders, external drives, etc. are not supported.
- Only files the Subsystem saves to “/sdcard/Windows” are available to Windows. When opening files in other folders from an Android™ app, the Subsystem offers the option of copying the file to Windows and opening it there.
- Windows hidden files/folders like AppData and Android hidden files/folders (dot prefixed names) are excluded from sharing.
- Executable file types, like “.exe” are excluded from sharing to protect your security. If the Subsystem tries to save a file with a blocked extension to “/sdcard/Windows”, the save will fail.
- Cloud storage files must be downloaded to your device. If your cloud storage provider includes online-only files in File Explorer, the online-only files will not be available to the Subsystem until you download them. Simply open an online-only file in File Explorer to download it and make it available to the Subsystem. You can also modify your cloud storage settings to make some or all of your files always available offline.
- The Subsystem needs to index shared files before apps can access them. Indexing is usually quick but may take longer if you have a lot of files. Recent files are prioritized, so if you can’t find a file in an Android™ app, try opening it from File Explorer first.
You can download and find more details about Windows Subsystem for Android preview version 2305.40000.2.0 on its official GitHub page.
