[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S 4 General] TripleEYE:
a`Well.... This seems promising! I have tons of important questions though...

I apologize for the length of my post reply. I truly made a real effort to make this as organized and clear as possible, and literally spent more than 5 hours on it. So please, be patient with me :cyclops:

Furthermore, I want to clarify and emphasize, that even if my many questions and long post-reply might make it seem that way, I have no disrespect. I want to use this method. And I'm extremely grateful for the help you've given the android community throughout this thread. Especially since I've read all 149 replies since the OP, and you seem to be a real patient & kind fellow ;).

I'm simply one of those stupid :silly: people who want to have every thing they can 113% cleared up, before putting a project in motion (even if it's just a 20 minute project :o). In fact I'm quite excited about this prospect... which stirs up my uncanny curiosity. So Thank you very much for even reading, and for any informative answer you can supply :D

...So, first of all kudos. This sounds like a very versatile and strong solution.

I'll try my best to keep it organized. Sorry if it's a bit of a mess despite my trials:

Some info about my device:

Galaxy S3 - I9300 (International Vr.)

Rooted

About to flash (using ROM Manager Pro) to the CWM (ClockWork) Recovery

Stock ROM from Britain... Jelly Bean 4.3 (after all those bug fixes)

Basebrand Vr. I9300XXUGMK6

Build Number JSS15J.I9300XXUGMK6

My external SD card is SanDisk 32g class 4 ultra

Q1 - S3:

Just to confirm: Does this method work on Galaxy S3 (International version)?

Also... How do I check if I have init.d support?

Q2 - Titanium Backup (followup on your previous answer):

I've never used TiBu, but I plan to now. And I'm even highly considering the pro version. Mainly because I want that ability to sync the backups to DropBox\Box.net and then being able to have backups of all the apps (and data) I've ever used, and download whichever of those I want, whenever I want them, to my device. So:

Will TiBu be able to back up apps and/or app-data that have already been moved to the extSD using your method?

(I realize you don't deem it as necessary for your needs of course, but I on the other hand want that functionality, as i want them automatically backed up on the cloud and not just on an extSD-Backup on my PC)

I'm not sure I understand this. I think you're basically saying that the restore from TiBi only needs to be done for apps (not app-data)... which should then be moved using link2sd to the extSD's ext partition... and then when I reinstall Foldermount and restore it's settings, I've basically re-linked the apps I've just restored to the app-data that Foldermount has (on a previous occasion) moved to the extSD FAT32 partition. Did I get it right?

In this method - the apps themselves (apks & such) do get moved to the extSD, uuh... right?:confused:

And what if I want to restore the app-data from TiBu as well, instead of using the app-data currently residing on my extSD card? (I elaborate on this question below).

Please explain this in more detail. This one got me all confused.

I admit I don't fully understand the "emulated" part of this, but... By any chance would it work on Galaxy S3 devices? I mean, you said "our" I assume you were talking about S4 devices. In your opinion, as an S3 user, should I just opt to using link2sd's app2sd functions, instead of your offered method? i.e. would that move the app-data as well?

Will I have to re-link the individual apps, after every time I restore an app from TiBu?

I would opt to use the "enable "Auto link" in the settings. Restore apks from TiBu and everything will be restored AND linked at the same time" method, but then what if I want to batch-restore a bunch of apps from TiBu, and I want part of them on the internal and the other part on the external?

I know this is not exactly a question for you but I'm hoping you can still answer it:

Is it possible to create category-groups in TiBu (like: "apps I want on the internalSD" & "apps I want on the extSD"), and then to not use "Auto Link" while batch-restoring the first group, and yes to use "Auto Link" while batch-restoring the second group?

i realize this question is complicated... if you need a better explanation for it please feel free to inquire.

What happens if for a specific app, I want to restore the data from TiBu and not from the extSD? I could see a few scenarios where this info could come in handy:

Let's say for example, that I want to restore the app's data to a previous state (backed up with TiBu on my cloud storage) and run over (replace) the app-data currently on the extSD

or that I am trying to restore app-data from an app that I don't even have on my extSD

or that I have the app-data in the extSD, and I have the very same app-data on the cloud, and I want to replace the one on the extSD for the one on the cloud for no reason whatsoever.

What do I do then?

Q3 - Load times

Should this increase in loading times mean that apps like "facebook", "gmail", "hangouts", SMS apps, and such that we use all the time, some of which have long loading times as it is (like "facebook" for instance), should remain on the internal SD? What's your opinion on this and why?

How about apps for which I have widgets on the homescreen?

And how about my launcher app?

Q4 - SD Card Speeds:

On the same matter - is a "class 4 ultra" SD card from SanDisk, like the one I have, going to be fast enough to have most of my apps running on it? Whats the speed\class of the internal SD on an S3 anyway? is it equivalent to a class 2/4/6? Any idea?

I was considering upgrading to a 64g class 10, but I'm not keen on the idea of waiting for it to start using the cool method mentioned by OP.

Q5 - System apps. or... which apps wouldn't you move to extSD:

Awesome info! How do I convert swiftkey (or any other app for that matter) to a system app?

what are the pros vs cons on this?

Also, which types of apps would you (any of you) not move to extSD and why? I'm assuming some of you will say "system apps"... like which? and what other apps wouldn't you move to extSD?

Q6 - extPartition Sizes:

OP, I noticed you mentioned you had a 10g partition for the apps and have since lowered it to 5g. I have an internal SD of 16g (which leaves me with like 11 or 13g for apps, right?) and it still got flooded. Admitably, I've noticed that it wouldn't erase some leftovers from apps after uninstalling them (I'm assuming that was their data but don't really know)... but still... 11g and it got flooded. I doubt if I had 300+ apps like you. How come you lowered it to 5g? Even more so: How come you didn't increase it to 20g? Can I please get an explanation as for how this is enough for you and what your considerations were when deciding how much space to allocate for the external app partition?

I even noticed you saying that it didn't work when you first tried a 20g partition. Any idea why? Or how to amend for this?

OP, I want to dedicate a special HUGE thanks to you on this: http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=46738757&postcount=87

I still have some questions about this though:

Does Foldermount basically create a subfolder on the extSD's root folder, into-which it transfers all the app-data? And if so, can I view this folder via my PC while connecting the smartphone as USB storge to my PC? I mean.. it's right in there with all my files, only on it's own folder which I should be careful not to touch... am I correct in my understanding here, please?

Also, how do I know if the stock rom I have (or any other rom anyone has for that matter) is compatible with ext4, or if I should make the link2sd extSD partition ext2 or ext3?

Q7 - Selective Relocation:

Let's assume I'm at the spot where I've done all explained in the OP, and I want to install 3 new apps (for the sake of the example).

As far as I understand it, I have to either use the "Auto Link" in link2sd, and have all my newly installed apps be automatically moved to the extSD... and then use Foldermount to manually move their app-data as well...

Or I can not use the "Auto Link" setting and manually move any new app I install and it's app-data.

Is this correct? Or is there a way to automate it completely?

And if I do somehow automate it completely for new apps, and I then decide that one of those three apps and it's app-data, I want on the internal SD... Is it simple to do? How is it done? (i.e. What is the reverse process?)

P.S.

You sir, are a genius :laugh:

FYI, the thanks button has already been clicked by me on several of your replies and on the OP. You deserve it :good: