Database Develop

What keeps Android apps from looking into specific folders ? ((music/pics/vids))

There's been ongoing discussions for a long time about the best way to "hide" certain media to keep them from showing up in media players.
Every 3rd party App Ive dled for Music/Movies/Pictures has had the same issue of scanning all the media in the SD card.
Is this some inherent mandate in Android ? Or lazy dev programming ?
I have podcast apps that only pick up podcasts. NYC subway map app that only picks up its MAP images...
Yes open up any media player and I see all of these included with my media.
Obviously the function is in there

add a file called .nomedia and Android will not index that directory

The no media trick does not solve the problem.
Android apps are scanning the entire SD for media instead of letting you pick a default directory.
I want to know if this is an android OS problem or an app development problem.

xManMythLegend said:
The no media trick does not solve the problem.
Android apps are scanning the entire SD for media instead of letting you pick a default directory.
I want to know if this is an android OS problem or an app development problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well i wouldn't call it a problem.. it's just the way the mediascanner works... it scans each directory on the sdcard for media files.
and both the gallery and music app relies on the system mediascanner to fetch pics/videos/music: it's called intended design
There is no way to set a default location for those apps.
3rd party apps can be developed for scanning predefined dirs at the developer's liking.
so for the stock apps the only option is the .nomedia file trick.
note that if u put the .nomedia into a directory, all the sub directories are going to be skipped too.

just rename the folder with a "." in front of the folder name, this makes it a hidden folder and the gallery and what not wont search it.

rastacre said:
well i wouldn't call it a problem.. it's just the way the mediascanner works... it scans each directory on the sdcard for media files.
and both the gallery and music app relies on the system mediascanner to fetch pics/videos/music: it's called intended design
There is no way to set a default location for those apps.
3rd party apps can be developed for scanning predefined dirs at the developer's liking.
so for the stock apps the only option is the .nomedia file trick.
note that if u put the .nomedia into a directory, all the sub directories are going to be skipped too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THANK YOU !!
I somewhat figured this out when I saw this option in Doggcatcher.
This answers my question.

making a folder invisible doesn't help me.
I have ringtones in one folder and when I playback music, I don't want to hear ringtones.

hmmm is there anyway you can adb push the ringtones to the ringtone folder on the system? So you wouldn't need to have it in your sd card?

download MixZing music player. It will let you select which folder on the memory card to scan for music. Select music folder and your done. No more ringtones playback

This .nomedia trick dosnt work 100 percent. I placed it in my music folder and yes it makes the album covers disappear in the gallery but it also makes the music disappear from the music player. I can no longer scroll through artists, songs, etc from within the music player...
I am not running a rooted phone just the stock firmware with the latest Android update.
Hooligan

*Hooligan* said:
This .nomedia trick dosnt work 100 percent. I placed it in my music folder and yes it makes the album covers disappear in the gallery but it also makes the music disappear from the music player. I can no longer scroll through artists, songs, etc from within the music player...
I am not running a rooted phone just the stock firmware with the latest Android update.
Hooligan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^bump^
I have the same issue - I don't want to see album covers in the gallery, but I do want the music to show up in my music app - any ideas?
Thanks

.nomedia works 100% and does exactly what it says - NO MEDIA. That includes NO VIDEO, NO AUDIO, NO PHOTOS, NO WHATEVER. All system apps looking for media ignore the folder and all its subfolders.
If the album art is in a subfolder inside the album folder - put .nomedia inside that subfolder. If it's outside with the .MP3s - then .nomedia won't help you.

If you're having issues with album art, you could always embed the album art into the mp3/m4a with an app like dbpoweramp.

One more possible solution:
http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/android/thread?tid=4c95682562b36eca&hl=en

xManMythLegend said:
The no media trick does not solve the problem.
Android apps are scanning the entire SD for media instead of letting you pick a default directory.
I want to know if this is an android OS problem or an app development problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
rastacre said:
well i wouldn't call it a problem.. it's just the way the mediascanner works... it scans each directory on the sdcard for media files.
and both the gallery and music app relies on the system mediascanner to fetch pics/videos/music: it's called intended design
There is no way to set a default location for those apps.
3rd party apps can be developed for scanning predefined dirs at the developer's liking.
so for the stock apps the only option is the .nomedia file trick.
note that if u put the .nomedia into a directory, all the sub directories are going to be skipped too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
xManMythLegend said:
THANK YOU !!
I somewhat figured this out when I saw this option in Doggcatcher.
This answers my question.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
.... what? You argued with the first post, next post said the same thing, then you're thanking them??

r4zv4n said:
^bump^
I have the same issue - I don't want to see album covers in the gallery, but I do want the music to show up in my music app - any ideas?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, name the files right. AlbumArt.jpg

BTW, after putting the .nomedia, you will need to REBOOT the device for it to take effect and system media scanner will rescan after first start up.

I'm having trouble believing this is "by design" and adding .nomedia to EVERY FOLDER other than my music folder makes absolutely no damn sense... the other way around would make much more sense instead! ".media"
This issue has also been breaking my balls... I don't want my damn ringtones in my media library...

Kraion said:
I'm having trouble believing this is "by design" and adding .nomedia to EVERY FOLDER other than my music folder makes absolutely no damn sense... the other way around would make much more sense instead! ".media"
This issue has also been breaking my balls... I don't want my damn ringtones in my media library...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your ringtones should go into the following folder
/sdcard/media/audio/ringtones
And your notifications should go into the following folder
/sdcard/media/audio/notifications
Those folders are not scanned into your music library. There is no need for .nomedia files on those two folders, otherwise they will not show up in your notifications/ringtones list.
NOTE: /sdcard means your sdcard.... so on the root of your sdcard you should put a folder named media, then inside media folder you should put another folder called audio, and then the ringtones or notifications folder inside audio folder..... This should solve your issue.

zeus_chingon said:
Your ringtones should go into the following folder
/sdcard/media/audio/ringtones
And your notifications should go into the following folder
/sdcard/media/audio/notifications
Those folders are not scanned into your music library. There is no need for .nomedia files on those two folders, otherwise they will not show up in your notifications/ringtones list.
NOTE: /sdcard means your sdcard.... so on the root of your sdcard you should put a folder named media, then inside media folder you should put another folder called audio, and then the ringtones or notifications folder inside audio folder..... This should solve your issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This works....Did this over a year ago when i first bought my N1...

gallery showing unwanted content

does the gallery ALWAYS scan the whole SD card? i hate having pictures belonging to apps displayed in the gallery like asphalt game displays ALL images/videos and in Music app adds sounds. this is really annoying and wish it didnt scan all the sd card for music. are there specific folders that should be placed on the sd card or something? ie. sd:\Media\Videos OR sd:\Videos

Yeah it shows everything in folders that do not have a ".nomedia" file.
see http://androinica.com/2009/08/28/ho...iles-from-appearing-in-android-media-players/
Its not its fault though, the MediaScanner service is what it pulls data from (ContentProvider)
A settings option to disable this or look in just a couple of foldlers would be great.
Adding a .nomedia in a folder with mp3s with the intention of not getting the album art in gallery will have the side-effect of the mp3s not showing up in the music player

I've no problem getting unwanted sounds in the built in Music app by doing this:
(this was mentioned inside the T-Mobile G1 manual)
Put your alarms/notifications/ringtones in the following folders:
\alarms
\notifications
\ringtones
Those sounds will appear in the appropriate list when you choose to adjust those certain sounds, they also don't show up in the Music app. They do show up in 3rd party music app like DoubleTwist Music Player.

Code:
touch /sdcard/folderwithpics/.nomedia
takes literally 10 seconds to fix.

GldRush98 said:
Code:
touch /sdcard/folderwithpics/.nomedia
takes literally 10 seconds to fix.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
worked great thanks!

.nomedia media works nicely
britoso said:
Yeah it shows everything in folders that do not have a ".nomedia" file.
see http://androinica.com/2009/08/28/ho...iles-from-appearing-in-android-media-players/
Its not its fault though, the MediaScanner service is what it pulls data from (ContentProvider)
A settings option to disable this or look in just a couple of foldlers would be great.
Adding a .nomedia in a folder with mp3s with the intention of not getting the album art in gallery will have the side-effect of the mp3s not showing up in the music player
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The method posted at Androinica.com using the text file rename method worked nicely for me.
I did however have to search out where all these files were in order to place the .nomedia files properly.

Google music help!

I downloaded a couple of songs this morn from google music (for the first time). I was directed to download the google music player, and was able to listen to the songs. But, when I went into winamp to play songs that are on my ex sd card, no music shows up. I tried another player (miui) and same thing, no music shows up.
I went to unmount and remount ex sd and IT'S not showing up. I'm able to go into root explorer and see and play any of the songs. I physically removed and re-installed the ex sd, still not being recognized.
So, I deleted the google music app, still no go.
Any suggestions/help??
Thanks!

Nm.... figured it out

How were you able to do it?

[Q] Some albums shows unknown artist

Hello.
First I just wanna say sorry if my english is bad, its not my first langues.
I got Xperia Z for some weeks ago, and its working fine except for one thing.
When I put in Flac-music from my computer to the phone, with the program called Media Go, some albums show as unknown artist and is 0 secs long, and isent able to play at all.
I manage with one album by puttiing it in the phone and then delete it and then put it back for like 10-20 times, but that havent worked with the other albums.
So someone that knows how I fix this problem?
Thanks in advance.

What app are you trying to play them in? I think the Walkman app has issues with FLAC files, you might be better off converting them to MP3 (or similar).

andVCmm government
lukamus said:
What app are you trying to play them in? I think the Walkman app has issues with FLAC files, you might be better off converting them to MP3 (or similar).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its the normal app, that is called Walkman, yes.
Do you know if they will fix the app soon? Or if I can get some other good app that can manage flac-files? Because I really wanna use Flac-files, thats one of the reasons why I got android instead of iPhone.

I did a little more Googling, and it looks like the Walkman app *should* play FLAC files.
Can you check that the file copied over correctly? Maybe try playing it in another player. Google Play Music (orange headphone icon) plays FLAC files.

Walkman plays Flac just fine
Sent from my C6602 using xda app-developers app

it should be able to play Flac? Then why is it doing the thing its doing? And how do I fix it?

Did you try playing them in Google Play Music?

lukamus said:
Did you try playing them in Google Play Music?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No I havent done that yet, I havent been home, but I try it now

How do I put in music inside this app?

I managed to put in a song inside the app, but it happend same thing as with the walkman-app...now what?

It automatically scans your sdcard for files it can play. If you saved your files on an external sdcard, move them to the internal /sdcard/Music directory. (You shouldn't need to do this, but do it anyway to be sure.) Reboot your phone afterwards to ensure it rescans for changes. (Again, you shouldn't have to do this, but we want to be sure.)
If nothing shows up, then the files might be corrupt.
You can check their file sizes using File Manager and comparing wit the ones on your PC.
You can also copy them back off your phone to a temporary location and see if they play on your PC.

lukamus said:
It automatically scans your sdcard for files it can play. If you saved your files on an external sdcard, move them to the internal /sdcard/Music directory. (You shouldn't need to do this, but do it anyway to be sure.) Reboot your phone afterwards to ensure it rescans for changes. (Again, you shouldn't have to do this, but we want to be sure.)
If nothing shows up, then the files might be corrupt.
You can check their file sizes using thees on your PC.
You can also copy them back off your phone to a temporary location and see if they play on your PC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the files work on my computer, I have already tryed that, I have played them many times.

So you've copied a file back off your phone and it played on your PC, but neither Walkman nor Google Play Music will play the file. Is that right?

rginini Mal
lukamus said:
So you've copied a file back off your phone and it played on your PC, but neither Walkman nor Google Play Music will play the file. Is that right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thats correct, yes.

If I check in the folders on the computer, I can see that the song that dosent work on my phone, gets to the right artist-folder in the phone, and I can play it with the computer.

Airees said:
thats correct, yes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This might be relevant: http://www.romaco.ca/blog/2012/12/01/fix-flac-files-not-playing-on-android/
---------- Post added at 10:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:23 PM ----------
See if this file will play with Walkman or Google Play Music: http://archive.org/download/Jesi_Demo/Demo_-_02_-_Corporate_Dirty_Work.flac
If it does then the problem could be with the tags on your files. You can use MusicBrainz on your PC to automatically tag your music. Just try with one or two first.

How do I remove the ID3 tags? Sorry, but I am kinda bad at these stuff.

Check my post above.

ow, sorry, I missed that. Thanks alot for your help!

You're welcome. Did the file I linked to play?

[Q] Forcing Google Play Music to Use Cloud as Source for Chromecast

I have all my music on a microSDXC card in my phone, as well as uploaded to Google Play Music's "cloud". But when I try to play music from Google Play Music through my Chromecast, it insists on trying to use my local music and thus gives me the "can't play sideloaded music" error. Is there any way to force the Music app to look only at the cloud as the source for music? The only source options I see are "All Music' or "On device".

If you remove the side loaded music, then pin the music using the play music app, it should stream correctly and you would still have the music on your device for offline use.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 4

lattisimo said:
If you remove the side loaded music, then pin the music using the play music app, it should stream correctly and you would still have the music on your device for offline use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the idea. I didn't know about pinning. But it looks like this downloads the music from the cloud source, which I really don't want to do, since I have it organized on my microSDXC card already.

You could also try this.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1592461
[Q] How to hide local MP3s from Google Play Music ???
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 4

lattisimo said:
You could also try this.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1592461
[Q] How to hide local MP3s from Google Play Music ???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This won't work in my case. The music player I use most the time is one I wrote and it depends on getting album metadata from the Android media database, so I can't put the ".nomedia" files in my music directories, since the Android media database metadata harvester would not find it.

I'd like to be able to keep Google Music for cloud content only as well.
I want to use a third party app for local media files though.
Is there anyway to either
1) Restrict Google Music to scanning only a certain folder
or
2) Have Google Music display cloud content only

Spike96 said:
I'd like to be able to keep Google Music for cloud content only as well.
I want to use a third party app for local media files though.
Is there anyway to either
1) Restrict Google Music to scanning only a certain folder
or
2) Have Google Music display cloud content only
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try adding .nomedia to the local music folder to preve GMusic scanning the folder (need to run media scanner process after this).
then force your local music app (e.g. poweramp) to scan that folder with your local music - hopefully it ignores the .nomedia flag

highvista said:
This won't work in my case. The music player I use most the time is one I wrote and it depends on getting album metadata from the Android media database, so I can't put the ".nomedia" files in my music directories, since the Android media database metadata harvester would not find it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used the .nomedia for Google Music then use PowerAMP for my local music. You may just have to compromise one way or another.

Unmount the sdcard
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

gunswick said:
try adding .nomedia to the local music folder to preve GMusic scanning the folder (need to run media scanner process after this).
then force your local music app (e.g. poweramp) to scan that folder with your local music - hopefully it ignores the .nomedia flag
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I tried doing that but I was using PlayerPro, which does not ignore .nomedia files.
I've been using PowerAmp, and it works great. It lets you select your music directory and ignores .nomedia. Rocket Player also ignores .nomedia, I just didn't like the interface.
I still wish I could use PlayerPro, though. Google definitely should've added an option to restrict its scanner.
DrHero said:
Unmount the sdcard
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It gets annoying unmounting and then rescanning the SD card every time you want to use Chromecast. Wouldn't you agree?