Why don't nomedia files work?

[inertianinja]

I have folders that i want to exclude from the Gallery, music app, etc.... For example wallpapers and podcasts.

I put ". nomedia" files in those folders, but they seem to be ignored. Might I be doing something wrong or do these not work on this phone?

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

 

[dmmarck]

I have folders that i want to exclude from the Gallery, music app, etc.... For example wallpapers and podcasts.

I put ". nomedia" files in those folders, but they seem to be ignored. Might I be doing something wrong or do these not work on this phone?

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

Did you reboot your device?

Sent from my Overly Suspicious Robotic Grouper

 

[inertianinja]

I cleared the cache for the HTC media service and rebooted, yes.

 

[icebike]

.nomedia seems to work for me.

I've got a ton of podcasts store in my PocketCast directory and they don't show up in any music player.

Your best bet is to copy a .nomedia file from someplace using a file manager.
It is supposed to be a zero length file with a name of exactly .nomedia

(I notice you have a period followed by a space followed by nomedia. Maybe you did the same thing when creating the files?).

Also Dmmarck might be onto something, as there is usually a forced media scan at boot up.

 

[inertianinja]

Yes that's exactly what I did to create them. I also tried disabling fast boot and restarting again.

It is definitely re scanning the folders, because when I open Gallery after a reboot, it appears empty for about 5 seconds, then shows the same files again.

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

 

[icebike]

One other thing, if a folder is specifically on the list of folders that an app is supposed to scan, it will be ignored.
Some apps have settings that control where they should look for files.
And some apps just ignore the no media files.
Nomedia is a request, not an absolute prohibition.



Sent from my A700 using Tapatalk 2

 

[inertianinja]

One other thing, if a folder is specifically on the list of folders that an app is supposed to scan, it will be ignored.
Some apps have settings that control where they should look for files.
And some apps just ignore the no media files.
Nomedia is a request, not an absolute prohibition.



Sent from my A700 using Tapatalk 2

Okay. The files I'm trying to nomedia are in /downloads and /pocketcasts

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

 

[icebike]

Wow. I have a ton of image files in downloads and a few mp3 files as well, and none of these show up in the gallery, or the music player, and get this: there isn't a nomedia file in downloads or /Download or /pictures.

I have many ringtones in my /ringtones directory, and they don't show up in the music player. No nomedia file in there either.

My PocketCasts folder does have nomedia files.

So i have no clue why you are seeing these files in your apps.
Are you running stock?

Sent from my A700 using Tapatalk 2

 

[inertianinja]

Wow. I have a ton of image files in downloads and a few mp3 files as well, and none of these show up in the gallery, or the music player, and get this: there isn't a nomedia file in downloads or /Download or /pictures.

I have many ringtones in my /ringtones directory, and they don't show up in the music player. No nomedia file in there either.

My PocketCasts folder does have nomedia files.

So i have no clue why you are seeing these files in your apps.
Are you running stock?

Sent from my A700 using Tapatalk 2

Stock OS, e.g. the latest version of Sense on the HOX.

The Google Play Music app also ignores .nomedia files - it picks up the podcasts in my /Pocketcasts folder, even though there's a .nomedia file there.

This is all very frustrating. Could there be a setting i've missed somewhere?

 

[justinwen]

I have the exact same problem. It seems to work for a while, and all of the sudden stopped working. It's the same folder (Pocketcasts) I'm having issue with as well.

 

[icebike]

Not seeing this problem here.
Your pocketcast folder and and the podcast folder below that as well (where the actual mp3 files sre stored) should both contain the .nomedia files.
That is the default and works for me.

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

 

[passwordisfail]

Just joined to say that I have the same problem. After installing PocketCasts I started seeing the podcast files in Play Music, so I searched around for a solution and found this `.nomedia` thing. Then I plugged my phone into my PC to try creating those files, only to find that they are placed by default already into the PocketCast directory and its subdirectories. So that was no help.

HTC One X on Rogers with no modifications to OS.

 

[Steve Kruckheimmer]

.nomedia files are blank files - they 're simply used to trick regular music player apps into not including podcast or audiobook files - but as it turns out they can cause big problems for people unaware of these developer tricks!

I recently learned, through a developer of audiobook player apps, that audiobook player apps CREATE the .nomedia file at the moment the app is directed to the folder that contains the audiobooks - this way these "long playing files" won't show up later on in your regular music playing app (by design). This means that if you direct the audiobook player app to a folder with regular music (by mistake), those folders will get a .nomedia file inserted and not subsequently be playable in regular music playing apps - although you can still play them in the audiobooks playing app. There are apps designed to manage these .nomedia files (such as StudioKUMA) that you should investigate if you use an audioplayer/podcast player app and you suddenly noticed your music isn't appearing in your regular music playing apps. You could also plug your android into your PC to delete the .nomedia files directly, located in the folders that contain the music that isn't showing up in your regular music playing apps.

 

[droida]

Another small app adds or deletes a .nomedia file in a directory and updates the media database : Nomedia

 

[eladkarako]

*sign*
length/content/encoding/etc.. of the ".nomedia" file does not matter, it is simply a "flag" the application may/may not ignore the folder's content depending on *whatever*.
Applications such as "MX Player" (which can be used as a superb audio player) can even include an option to include/exclude a ".nomedia hidden folder" at will.
Other than deleting ".thumbnails" folders from your SdCard and extSdCard and shutdown-startup your device (not a reboot.. to avoid a "warm-boot")
You can rename your folder to ".podcasts" to mark it as hidden in the Android (..really just "Linux") operating-system.
Third option is to create a custom folder elsewhere, due to the fact ".nomedia" does get ignored on specific folders,
try creating a "My Podcasts" or any sub tree structure under SdCard (and not inside ""official"" folder such as music/photos etc...)

Elad Karako
icompile.eladkarako.com
________
"Trust me I am an engineer.."

 

[abiyusuf]

I have folders that i want to exclude from the Gallery, music app, etc.... For example wallpapers and podcasts.

I put ". nomedia" files in those folders, but they seem to be ignored. Might I be doing something wrong or do these not work on this phone?

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

I have same problem, until i try to move some folder that i have added nomedia file already, and move it back.. and it works for me...

 

[GuccizBud]

.nomedia has always been something of a pain, even going back to the days of Froyo in 2010. The author of post #6 above said it best when he said "Nomedia is a request, not an absolute prohibition".

Something you can try is a free app called AZ Media Scanner. It performs a full media scan of your device ( ⁠takes only a couple seconds ⁠) and is useful for making any changes you make to media ( ⁠like adding or removing .nomedia files ⁠) take effect immediately, so apps like the photo Gallery that access media also reflect the changes immediately.

It can also add/remove .nomedia files for you, but this is pretty minor, and its real utility lies in making media-related changes take hold right away. There are actually lots of apps like that in the Play Store, some of which work as a 1-tap widget, which is extremely convenient. Search for terms like "media scan", "media scanner", or "media rescan".