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30 August 2019  Amanda J. Brook  Senior Product Manager
 

Summary
ADB is a debug tool. Through this tool, we can control the phone emulator and the other devices but also achieve many operations, such as installing Apps, updating the system and executing the shell command. Simply, ADB is a bridge between Android phone and PC. Users can use it to fully control the computer. So, do you know how to use ADB to save photos and Apps between Android SD card and PC?



Part 1: What is ADB?

ADB is also known as Android Debug Bridge. Through ADB, we can not only control the phone emulator and the other devices but also achieve many steps, such as installing Apps, updating the system and running the shell command. That is to say, ADB is a bridge between Android and PC, where a user can fully control an Android phone on PC.

Part 2: How to Use ADB to Save Photos and Apps to SD Card from PC to Android?

1. Next, we will show you how to save photos with ADB. After installing SDK, press the keys [Win+E]. Right-click at [This PC] and select [Properties]. In the following window, select [Advanced system settings] at the left side and then click [Environment Variables].
click environment variables to edit path
2. In the sub-window [System variables], find [Path] and then click [Edit].
go to system variables and edit path
3. Then, in the new window, click [New] and copy the address of the SDK download package into it.
copy sdk address in order to use adb to control android devices
4. Use a cable to connect the Android phone to PC. The phone may prompt you “Use USB to”. Then, you can select [Transfer files].
tap transfer files to move photos from pc to sd card
5. Take this photo as an example. We are going to use ADB to save it to the SD card on Android.
take a photo as an example to move wtih adb
6. Press the keys [Win+R]. Search [cmd] and open Command Prompt. Then, type [adb devices] and press Enter to run this command. The result that this command runs successfully proves that the phone has been connected to PC.
android is attached to pc with adb
7. Type [adb push C:\Users\RENEE-CN\Desktop\1\100.JPG storage/emulated/0/DCIM/100ANDRO/100.JPG].
push the target photo to android with adb
Tips1. “C:\Users\RENEE-CN>” is filled by the program.
2. “adb push” is the order to send photos.
3. “C:\Users\RENEE-CN\Desktop\1\100.JPG” is the address of the target photos on PC.
4. “storage/emulated/0/” is the target SD card.
5. “DCIM/100AMDRO/” is one of the folder names on the target SD card.
6. The last “100.JPG” can be renamed and the new name will be shown on the SD card.
8. Saved successfully.
successfully save photos from pc to phone

Part 3: How to Use ADB to Transfer Photos and Apps from Android to PC?

1. First, repeat the early 4 steps in the above part. Then, let’s try to save this photo. Pay attention to its path.
check the photo storage path on android phone
2. Then, in Command Prompt, type [C:\Users\RENEE-CN>adb pull storage/0123-4567/DCIM/FML.jpg C:\Users\RENEE-CN\Destop\1\fml.jpg].
pull the target photo to android with adb
Tips1. “C:\Users\RENEE-CN>” is filed by the program.
2. “adb pull” is the order to obtain photos from phone to PC.
3. “storage/0123-4567/” is the target Android phone.
4. “DCIM/fml.jpg” is the path of the target photo on the phone.
6. “C:\Users\XXXX\” is dedicated to the user name of the PC. Please change XXXX to your own name.
7. If you don’t set a destination to save the photo, it will be saved in the User folder under C disk.
3. Saved successfully.
successfully use adb to save photo from android to pc

Part 3: What is SDK?

SDK, fully named as Software Development Kit. Broadly speaking, it is a tool to develop software, which can assist people to develop the collections of texts, samples and tools for software. SDK can simply offer some documents to API (Application Program Interface) in some program design languages. It can also conclude some complex hardware overlaid in the communication systems. For encouragement of using the system and the design languages, the SDK installation packages are free.