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GALLERY - Howto Prevent Indexing Certain Directories

I have a folder on my SD card that I don't want images to appear from. Is there a means to exclude certain directories?
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Put an empty file called .nomedia in the directory.

This one works well for me - makes the process easier:
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.studiokuma.nomedia

What kind of images don't you want to show up in your gallery?
The .nomedia method should work for you, if not you can always rename the folder with a "." at the beginning to make it hidden
Folder name examples:
.pr0n / .dontlookhere / .ignore

kyouko said:
What kind of images don't you want to show up in your gallery?
The .nomedia method should work for you, if not you can always rename the folder with a "." at the beginning to make it hidden
Folder name examples:
.pr0n / .dontlookhere / .ignore
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.nomedia works for me, as far as keeping stuff out of the gallery. Being all grown up in my computer usage, I choose to not let my computing devices hide stuff from me, so that .folder thingy doesn't work for me (and pictures in those .folders without a .nomedia file still seem to make their way into my gallery).
I do have a .stuff folder for my .porn though... Keeps it up near the top of the list...

how about the hideitpro app from the market? it's actually pretty cool. opens up as an audio manager, then you put in a password and there you have all the hidden files you want. not just pics...just an fyi

Install the app Just Pictures and ignore the folders you don't want to see.
The .nomedia "solution" prevents the album art to display in the media players.

I use the app QuickPic from the Market, and in the app you can choose which folders you want include and exclude. Pretty useful. You don't have the pretty 3-D effects from the default Gallery app but it's so much faster.

You can do the same thing with Fishbowl Gallery. You can set default albums, as well as hide albums. However, this still doesn't prevent someone from stumbling upon the default gallery app. The best solutions are either .nomedia, or do not have media on your phone that you do not want prying eyes to see. Alternatively, while cumbersome, you can use androzip or unrar pro to zip the material in question. Of course, by zipping your files, you can add the additional layer of security by encrypting it, if you're the paranoid sort.
Sent via Tapatalk on CM7.0.0-Vision Stable.

I remember this method. Any one know if the older file deletion ever got fixed with 2.2.1 or later?
If you don't know what I'm talking about here's a quick rundown.
You put the .nomedia file in a folder with pictures, upon reboot all those pictures are deleted. This had something to do with them already being scanned once and them being older than the .nomedia file so instead of ignoring them it deletes them. Something along those lines (anyone have the link to the original bug report from back in '08 or '09?).
Anyway, if it hasn't been fixed you've been warned, you stand a good chance of losing all media in those folders. So backup those files - but you knew that already
The easiest remedy to this is to remove the files, rename the folder to .whatever or insert the .nomedia file. Reboot. Then throw the files back onto the sdcard. That should eliminate any issues.

I've used the .nomedia solution awhile back to get icons, cover art, etc out of my gallery and it worked just fine... nothing was deleted (Droid X).
IIRC, I did have to clear the gallery app's cache to get it to "forget" about media that it had already found; on first lauch after clearing it's cache, expect it to be slow as it re-scans your device / sd card (..rebooting didn't work to clear the cach on my device... had to clear it via settings > application > manage apps..)

.nomedia file solution works
KCRic said:
I remember this method. Any one know if the older file deletion ever got fixed with 2.2.1 or later?
If you don't know what I'm talking about here's a quick rundown.
You put the .nomedia file in a folder with pictures, upon reboot all those pictures are deleted. This had something to do with them already being scanned once and them being older than the .nomedia file so instead of ignoring them it deletes them. Something along those lines (anyone have the link to the original bug report from back in '08 or '09?).
Anyway, if it hasn't been fixed you've been warned, you stand a good chance of losing all media in those folders. So backup those files - but you knew that already
The easiest remedy to this is to remove the files, rename the folder to .whatever or insert the file. Reboot. Then throw the files back onto the sdcard. That should eliminate any issues.
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The .nomedia file solution works fine for me on Android 2.3.3.
The issue you mentioned is therefore fixed (nothing file was deleted unexpectedly).
Reboot was also necessary so that the native photo gallery app does not display the icons/pics any longer for the folders where I added the .nomedia file.
Furthermore, this works also for the music files.
(I use also TapeMachine app, and wanted to avoid that the sounds I recorded are listed in the Music Player).

If I place a .nomedia file in a directory, does that exclude all of its subdirectories from the gallery, as well?

Yes, it does. I just placed a .nomedia file in my /Music folder on my extsdcard and all the pictures in my albums are gone after a reboot.
UPDATE: I just tied this on my tablet (running 4.4.2) and it did not need a reboot. Gallery adjusted automatically. It was a folder on the extsdcard - and since 4.4.x restricts access to the sdcard, it stands to reason it saw the file placed and adjust the library automatically.
NiveusLuna said:
If I place a .nomedia file in a directory, does that exclude all of its subdirectories from the gallery, as well?
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[Q] Hiding media from gallery or music ("nomedia" trick not working)

Hi all
I've installed some apps which have their folder on the sdcard with various images, sprites, sounds (one of these is a satnav app).
The problem is, these appear and clutter my gallery and music apps. I use both apps from motorola and not their google counterpart.
I already put a .nomedia file in the folders, rebooted the phone, cleared data on those apps, deleted thumbnail caches on the sdcard, and it doesn't work. They still show up.
So how can I do?
Thank you in advance

I've partially solved my problem with a media re-scan, triggered by renaming a folder containing media files (and then renaming it back)
The problem is that, if files into that folder change, because any app (or I) copies new stuff into them, all the hidden files pop up again in the gallery/media.
I wonder if it's an Android bug or a Motorola bug...

I've had the same problem and I solved it by placing .nomedia files in the unwanted folders and then force a media rescan with the app "Rescan Media" eek from the market
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.addz.mediascanner

or using quickpix to create that file

manojsuper said:
you have to create a new file called ".nomedia" not a folder >.>
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Where did I say that?

I tried media scanner but it doesn't work. (fyi i'm not rooted)
When I move music around (ie from the download folderr to the music folder) it gets duplicated in the music app, both motorola's and google's. Once i unmount and remount the sd card it sorts the problem on itself.
Same thing when I move images, the thumbnails get duplicated and only one of the two loads correctly, but I can't get them to disappear unless i delete my gallery's data, and then i lose all the video thumbnails. My gallery is now full of old thumbnails, gray "unknown" thumbnails, and thumbnails that don't load.

thenext1 said:
I tried media scanner but it doesn't work. (fyi i'm not rooted)
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As far as I know, you don't have to be rooted to use the app I linked. There is a more extensive version of the app that specifically requires root which is what I base my assumption on...
The app only forces the android internal media-scanner service to re-index all files and it does so without giving any sort of feedback. Once the app is started the media-scanner is triggered and the app seemingly does nothing, so you wouldn't get a confimation or anything...
As I said I had the same problem, but using .nomedia-files and the app solved it... Be aware that if you place a .nomedia-file in a folder the contents of that folder and it's sub-directories are being skipped by the media-scanner.
I'd recommend cleaning up all the directories and systematically copy a .nomedia file in unwanted directories. After that launch the app ance more and you should be set...

Preggy said:
As far as I know, you don't have to be rooted to use the app I linked. There is a more extensive version of the app that specifically requires root which is what I base my assumption on...
The app only forces the android internal media-scanner service to re-index all files and it does so without giving any sort of feedback. Once the app is started the media-scanner is triggered and the app seemingly does nothing, so you wouldn't get a confimation or anything...
As I said I had the same problem, but using .nomedia-files and the app solved it... Be aware that if you place a .nomedia-file in a folder the contents of that folder and it's sub-directories are being skipped by the media-scanner.
I'd recommend cleaning up all the directories and systematically copy a .nomedia file in unwanted directories. After that launch the app ance more and you should be set...
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The problem is that, even if I put nomedia files everywhere needed, when I move files in/out of these dirs, they all pop up in Gallery/Music, including those that were previously hidden. And to solve this (talking only of Gallery now) I have to clear its app data. It would be just easier to hide the "all images" section of Gallery...
I miss the good ol android 2.1 times where you could fiddle with everything with any app without worrying for refreshes, etc...

Give ".no_media" a try?

cogeary said:
Give ".no_media" a try?
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I never heard of such a magic file name...

thenext1 said:
I never heard of such a magic file name...
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Neither have I, but ROM Toolbox uses it when it puts previews of boot animations onto my SDCard and the gallery doesn't pick them up.

Just use QuickPic from the market, if it's available to you. I've been using it for quite some time, install that and freeze the gallery app. Ability to hide certain folders is built right in.

+1 to the QuickPic app...the stock Gallery SUCKS!!! I hide all the folders I do not want to be scanned and now I have a clean photo library. I also use PowerAmp for music since I hide my music folder so that I don't see album art and PowerAmp allows you to select folders to scan (regardless if there is a .nodedia file or not) instead of scanning everything. I believe Winamp will do the same thing, not sure.

Filtering gallery folders

Hi guys,
I am having some issues with the Stock Gallery. I have bunch of assignments and homework on my sd card and gallery decides to add all the photos into the library...... i.e. I can't even find my photos and videos among the few thousands graphs and diagrams.. Is there a way for the app to only scan specific (e.g. media) folders? Thanks!

I am afraid that the answer is NO unless one of the dev-cracks here found a solution.
But meanwhile You could use any gallery-app with a hide function or - since You obviously just want to make them not to show in stock gallery: -simply use
Keep Safe

I see. Any cool gallery app that support include/exclude folders? Thank you!

salmonsushi said:
I see. Any cool gallery app that support include/exclude folders? Thank you!
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QuickPic is the best one out there and with that one you can hide folders, it's free so why don't you try it out.

dropping a ".nomedia" file in the directories you don't want seen in gallery doesn't work?
Hmm, looks like there is an app that will help with these. I have not tried it: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.studiokuma.nomedia&hl=en

You can add a . to the beginning of the folder name of any folder you do not want gallery to look at and the images will not be seen. Of course this may cause some other apps to not see the folder also.

Barsky said:
dropping a ".nomedia" file in the directories you don't want seen in gallery doesn't work?
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It seems not to, which is driving me nuts.
There is a few folders I would like to hide and putting a . at the start of the folder name does not work either.
EDIT:
It does actually work putting .nomedia file in folders for samsung's gallery. The media scanner seems super slow or something and not specifically updated by a reboot. I have an app called "Rescan Meda" that does not seem to get the media scanner's ass in gear.
It seems that the media scanner will still do recursive if there is not a .nomedia in each folder of the tree.
making the folder hidden by putting a . at the start of the foldername does not work tho.

[Q] cancerous thumbnail file

My .thumbnail file in .DCIM keeps expanding to fill all available space, preventing me from taking pictures and causing the system to become unstable. Today, ".thumbdata3--1967290299" was up to 3.5 gb. I delete it every time, but it grows back after the next reboot. Whether I delete the folder, the files itself, doesn't matter. I do have a lot of large pictures on the external SD card (not taken with the camera on the phone), which is perhaps the reason thumbnail is growing so large.
I used titanium backup pro to freeze gallery, but then I can't take pictures with the camera.
Judging from google search and a search across all XDA forums, this is not specific to the skyrocket, or the rom I'm running (cyanogenmod 10). I'm not coming across any specific solutions though other than delete them. There was one suggestion to setup a program to automatically delete the file, however that seems... inelegant.
I've also switched to using quickpic instead of the stock gallery option, but again that does nothing.
I tried naming a notepad document to .thumbnails to prevent android from making a .thumbnails file, but windows wouldn't let me.
Mediascanner seems to go nuts every time I turn on my phone after deleting the old file, the phone is warm to the touch, and BetterBatteryStats indicates it's running the cpu at 1.51 GHz for 15 to 20 minutes after boot. I'm going to try disabling media scanner to see if that prevents thumbnail from being built up, but I was wondering if anyone had any other fixes or suggestions. Like if there was any way to set a maximum file size on the thumbnail file, or if there was a way to disable the stock gallery without compromising camera functionality.

The solution I suggest will help with your media scanner issues but your photos will no longer be visible in the gallery.
Go to the folder you keep your photos in and use a file explorer app like root explorer to create an empty file named .nomedia
This tells the android media scanner to skip that folder. If you have folders inside folders, place a .nomedia file in each folder.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda app-developers app

rushi.1986 said:
The solution I suggest will help with your media scanner issues but your photos will no longer be visible in the gallery.
Go to the folder you keep your photos in and use a file explorer app like root explorer to create an empty file named .nomedia
This tells the android media scanner to skip that folder. If you have folders inside folders, place a .nomedia file in each folder.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda app-developers app
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If media scanner has already detected said files, will it still show up in either Gallery or Quickpik? And will new pictures I take be added to either without media scanner?

interkin3tic said:
If media scanner has already detected said files, will it still show up in either Gallery or Quickpik? And will new pictures I take be added to either without media scanner?
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I am pretty sure already scanned pics will be gone. As for new pics, I don't know. You just have to try it yourself.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda app-developers app

Update: rescan media root, preventing media scanner from going every time the phone reboots, seems to have fixed it. Camera function is not compromised, nor are pictures hidden from quickpik.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda app-developers app

I was just going to recommend that. It seems to have helped me keep boot times down and help with battery life.

[Q] A music app that woun't play my recorded calls?

Either I'm doing something wrong, of almost every single music app just let's me choose either a specific album/band/whatever, or play every single audio file I have.
Is there a simple music app that used folders (or allows me to exclude files from the playlist)?
All I found is shuffle+, which is great except that is sometimes crashes, and after that I have to restart the phone until I can play audio (even with other apps).

You should use Poweramp. Its possible to choose specific folders which contain your music files and exclude all the folders that only contain whatsapp audio files etc
Sent from my GT-I9300 using XDA Free mobile app

Thanks.
Sorry, though, I forgot to add - I'd rather use a free app.

Have you tried adding a .nomedia file to the folder with your recordings? That might work, thats how I hide certain folders from the Gallery app...

marclaniohan said:
Have you tried adding a .nomedia file to the folder with your recordings?
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So that's what I've been missing! Thanks!

@marclaniohan can you tell me in detail how to add .nomedia?
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thahim said:
@marclaniohan can you tell me in detail how to add .nomedia?
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Use a file explorer, go to the directory you would like to exclude from being shown, create a file and name it .nomedia :good:

orville87 said:
Use a file explorer, go to the directory you would like to exclude from being shown, create a file and name it .nomedia :good:
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You can also copy the one already there in the Android/Data folder, assuming it exists...