Comment 79 for bug 1575053

Revision history for this message
dreamcat4 (dreamcat4) wrote :

Example:

Just enough for them to understand with enough clarity what this folder actually is. What it is for.
Written in plain english (--> then translated / Localized, assuming that is possible for the other languages).

~/.snaps/README.txt:
=====================

* This folder contains your user data, from your snaps applications.

* For any given application, the current user data is always kept in it's '<APP_NAME>/current/' subfolder.

[non-generic wording, that references apple/iOS]

* For ubuntu snaps, this is our equivalent to the 'App Data' of Apple's iOS Apps. The sandbox User Data folders for each individual App. In other words the: 'per Application Data' sandboxes.

On Apple i-devices, these files are always completely hidden from the user. Unless shown within the app itself. That is to say, the folders in the filesystem are not visible or accessible by any other means.

Each sandbox contains all of your custom User Data for each Application. Such as settings, plus any other user specific information which you might have entered into that application. Or anything else that the application might automatically save for you, on your behalf. For example temporary cached data, which is also stored in the neighbouring '<APP_NAME>/common/' subfolder for each app.

[alternatively, you could instead make a similar analogy to android apps, or use a completely generic wording that does not reference mobile phone platforms, however it is a good analogy, because users are already familiar with this]

[generic wording]

* It is a sandboxed location, for security. So that each app can only read and write user data. Each app has it's own individual sandboxed folder.

However some specific applications [not that many it seems... so maybe provide us a concrete real world example of one?] might save really useful data in there! For example a Documents program, like a text editor, or a file Downloader, or a Paint program. The type of data that you will also want access from outside of the snap application. And use in other applications.

We are working at making that data easier to access when needed. With a common and unified mechanism, that is supported across all snap applications. [However that ideal solution is still a long way off at the moment.]

In the meantime, if you do require frequent access to certain specific user data, and it is being written somewhere within this folder, then we recommend taking the following action:

Create a symlink from those subfolder(s) into your ~/Documents folder. Or wherever you prefer, your ~/Desktop, etc. To make it easier to find and access. Do not move around and of the folders inside of ~/.snaps/. Because they are hardcoded locations linked to AppArmour profiles, (part of the sandboxing / security mechanism).

[maybe re-arrange or re-emphasise different sections]
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