How to exclude whatsapp gif_preview_cache folder from being included by windows scan - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Whatsapp version 2.17.427 (latest updated as at 07 Jan 2018)
Phone : Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
Android : Nougat 7.0
Windows : Windows 7 Ultimate
I would plug in my phone to pc via USB, the Autoplay options will appear, I will select "Import pictures and videos" and then it will start scanning all the folders in my phone, including microSD card.
The results will always include ALL the hundreds of gifs that I scrolled in whatsapp to preview first, before selecting and sending the 1 that I want. So I googled and read about the ".NOMEDIA" file. I did the following :
Folder path : Computer\Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge\Phone\Android\data\com.whatsapp\cache\gif\gif_preview_cache
I copied existing .nomedia files that i can find in my phone to the above folder. Didn't work, scanning still pickup the gifs.
I deleted the .nomedia file I copied, and use the native "My Files" explorer to create a new file in the above folder and name it as .nomedia. Didn't work, scanning still pickup the gifs.
I tried the above 2 methods, but this time, I restarted the phone and re-plugged in the usb. Didn't work, scanning still pickup the gifs.
I tried using ES File Explorer and create the .nomedia file. Didn't work, scanning still pickup the gifs.
I installed Nomedia app. The app didn't even have this gif cache folder on the list. No add folder function too. Next!
I tried renaming using one of my file explorer app by adding a dot to the gif_preview_cache folder so it becomes ".gif_preview_cache". From my pc, the folder disappeared. But I can still see the renamed folder from using file explorer from my phone. So the renaming works. As for the gifs scan, well it "works" because now the folder is considered hidden. Scanning will not pickup. But this is not a good permanent solution because of the problem below.
The problem is that, if i go to whatsapp to preview gifs again, whatsapp will create a NEW gif_preview_cache folder and store all the previewed gifs. Scanning will pickup. So that means, I gotta constantly rename. or it is like the same as deleting the whole folder each time. The .nomedia is supposed to do its job as a permanent solution.
After all these, I know the following will also be unlikely to work, but i still tried anyways by putting .nomedia files in the parent folders "gif" and the parent of gif, "cache". Didn't work, scanning still pickup the gifs.
The only thing i can think of is a workaround by telling whatsapp to save the gifs cache to the dot folder ".gif_preview_cache". I don't see such option available in the app. So this would require hacking whatsapp, so nah.
I am out of ideas now. Does anyone knows why certain folder like the gif_preview_cache is still pickup with the .nomedia file in it?
oh, by the way, "lockscreen_capture_port.png" keeps getting pickup as well in the folder :
Computer\Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge\Phone\Android\data\com.android.systemui\cache
I already put the .nomedia file in it. I believe this info will help, as it is now two different locations. I suspect maybe its the parent folders, maybe the "data" folder or the "Android" folder being excluded by... windows scanning procedures or something, or it is an android problem, I don't know...
I am exhausted of all possible experiments. Any contribution is appreciated. Thank you for your time and expertise!

I hate it too when all my **** pics get sucked into my wife's laptop.
Sent from my PH-1 using XDA Labs

Related

[Q] How to make Archos Gallery not display .hidden items?

On my other Android devices I can simply put a . in front of folders that I don't want the gallery to display (such as avatar pics and shortcut icons and what not) and it wouldn't. Then I could use eStrongs file manager or similar to browse to them when I needed them. I popped a 2GB MicroSD card I had laying around that already had some files on it from another Android device and ALL of the folders with images are showing up in the gallery... even those with a . in front of them.
Is there any way on an Archos 101 to set the Gallery to NOT display items inside of a '.' folder? Seems this is default with other Android devices so I'm hoping it's at least an option on these.
Ideas?
Thanks for the help.
Moved to general as not android development.
OstrichSak said:
On my other Android devices I can simply put a . in front of folders that I don't want the gallery to display (such as avatar pics and shortcut icons and what not) and it wouldn't. Then I could use eStrongs file manager or similar to browse to them when I needed them. I popped a 2GB MicroSD card I had laying around that already had some files on it from another Android device and ALL of the folders with images are showing up in the gallery... even those with a . in front of them.
Is there any way on an Archos 101 to set the Gallery to NOT display items inside of a '.' folder? Seems this is default with other Android devices so I'm hoping it's at least an option on these.
Ideas?
Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Create a 0kb file called .nomedia. Place it in the folder of items you don't want shown. That should work.
blazingwolf said:
Create a 0kb file called .nomedia. Place it in the folder of items you don't want shown. That should work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doesn't appear to work. I searched before posting this and found a few things about .nomedia and thought maybe you had to rename the actual folders w/the images within to .nomedia to hide them? Seems like this would be a PITA way to go about it.
Am I doing something wrong? Any other ideas?
OstrichSak said:
Doesn't appear to work. I searched before posting this and found a few things about .nomedia and thought maybe you had to rename the actual folders w/the images within to .nomedia to hide them? Seems like this would be a PITA way to go about it.
Am I doing something wrong? Any other ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It should work just fine. Did you name the file specifically .nomedia? No ext name. Did you reboot to see if that helps? Did you put the file in the folder of the items you don't want showing?
Here is some more specific instructions (I didn't write them):
1. On your computer, open Notepad or any other text editor
2. Save the blank file with the filename “.nomedia”, make sure that the Save as type is set as “All Files” instead of “Text documents”
3. Copy that file to the folder on your SD card containing picture files you don’t want to show up in the gallery. (Example: If you want to block aDyno image files from coming up, place the .nomedia file in the sdcard/aDyno folder)
4. Reboot your phone and hopefully the unwanted files should no longer be viewable.
blazingwolf said:
It should work just fine. Did you name the file specifically .nomedia? No ext name. Did you reboot to see if that helps? Did you put the file in the folder of the items you don't want showing?
Here is some more specific instructions (I didn't write them):
1. On your computer, open Notepad or any other text editor
2. Save the blank file with the filename “.nomedia”, make sure that the Save as type is set as “All Files” instead of “Text documents”
3. Copy that file to the folder on your SD card containing picture files you don’t want to show up in the gallery. (Example: If you want to block aDyno image files from coming up, place the .nomedia file in the sdcard/aDyno folder)
4. Reboot your phone and hopefully the unwanted files should no longer be viewable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright, w/more information I tried it again. I created a file just using a file browser on the device. This time around I created a file in Notepad on my PC called .nomedia and made sure the filetype was set to 'all files' before saving and that there was no extension (deleted the .txt) and then copied that file to my Archos 101. I first tried in the folder on the SD card that contained all the folders in question. I rebooted and it didn't seem to help. I then copied the file into each folder and rebooted. Still no dice. Whenever I open Gallery all the folders and images are still there. What am I doing wrong? Do I need to clear a cache or something or delete any tumbnails or ?? I'm sure I'm just doing something wrong but for the life of me I can't figure it out. I keep searching and am coming up with nothing. This was SO easier on my other Android devices as I just put a period in front of the name of the folders I didn't want to display and it was done. Simple as that. This is a royal PITA and I feel I'm not making any progress.
In the market search Studiokum or .nomedia. whit this app is easy control. Nomedia files
ramso said:
In the market search Studiokum or .nomedia. whit this app is easy control. Nomedia files
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do either of these allow you to simply hide w/o signing in or encryption? I found two other programs & both required this which I don't want to deal with. Just seems odd that others are saying this is working for them & I'm not having any luck. I don't mind installing an app as long as it works but I'm not sure why my Archos 101 would be different than the rest.
OstrichSak said:
Do either of these allow you to simply hide w/o signing in or encryption? I found two other programs & both required this which I don't want to deal with. Just seems odd that others are saying this is working for them & I'm not having any luck. I don't mind installing an app as long as it works but I'm not sure why my Archos 101 would be different than the rest.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This app working rigth for me, only add the .nomedia in the folders. Now the pictures in the folders i marked don't displayed in thr gallery
OstrichSak said:
Do I need to clear a cache or something or delete any tumbnails or ??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Reset multimedia library in Settings - Repair & formatting.
lolo33 said:
Reset multimedia library in Settings - Repair & formatting.
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Click to collapse
Yes! This is EXACTLY what I needed. Thanks!

[discussion] where does snapchat store photos/videos?

So I've went into the /data/data/com.snapchat.android/ folder, and it is only about 200KB, so the image/video files can't be stored there.
I also noticed if you have a new message, and you close and open the app, it will have to redownload it. So it seems that snapchat is storing the images in the RAM.
So I dumped the ram of my snapchat PID, using this method. I had to download a compiled gdb binary.
I then used photoRec to scan all the *.dump files [I concatenated them all first, the file was about 100MB]. For filesystem I said "Other."
All I got was one txt file. It seemed to be xml, and contained a lot of usernames of my friends, but that's all.
If anyone has any input on the subject, here is the thread for it!
Bump for interest
mvmacd said:
So I've went into the /data/data/com.snapchat.android/ folder, and it is only about 200KB, so the image/video files can't be stored there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Snapchat save picture under /data/data/com.snapchat.android/cache/received_image_snaps. You then have to copy and paste the file out of the folder, and rename the file extension from .jpgnomedia to .jpg
I can not find where the videos are stored. That's how I found this thread.
Like the previous poster said images are stored in /data/data/com.snapchat.android/cache/received_image_snaps. They are deleted when they are viewed though so you must copy them to your sdcard or wherever and change the file extension before viewing them. Videos are stored in /data/media/0/Android/data/com.snapchat.android/cache/tcs_pahn
Samsung Infuse
Where can I find these files on my Samsung Infuse? I go into /data/data/com.snapchat.android/cache but the folder is empty.
JCBucks said:
Where can I find these files on my Samsung Infuse? I go into /data/data/com.snapchat.android/cache but the folder is empty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have not had time to check this location, however I have sort of discovered a workaround. [HTC Rezound CM10.1]
Ideally you should have a wifi toggle in the statusbar.
Open snapchat and then click on your snaps, after it loads the images [It will say "Loading image..", then "Tap to view"], turn off WiFi. Then you can view the snapchats [pic or video], and before enabling wifi, wipe Snapchat's data.
This way you can screenshot while offline and they will not know.
Alternatively you can use TitaniumBackup. Backup app while logged in, after viewing snapchat offline, restore data from backup so you do not constantly have to login.
JCBucks said:
Where can I find these files on my Samsung Infuse? I go into /data/data/com.snapchat.android/cache but the folder is empty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same here....
Galaxy Nexus CM 10.1
If you can't find the video folder, it's because it deletes it and the videos when they are not loaded. They are stored under /data/media/Android/data/com.snapchat.android/cache/received_video_snaps/ in mp4 format with a .nomedia file extension. As soon as you navigate away from the app, they are deleted, so I set up a tasker gesture to allow me to copy them while they are loaded.
As people said before, the images are stored in /data/data/com.snapchat.android/cache/received_image_snaps/ with the jpg.nomedia extension. If that folder doesn't exist, try making sure you've received and loaded a snapchat first. The images seem to stay until they're viewed.
shenkenstein said:
If you can't find the video folder, it's because it deletes it and the videos when they are not loaded. They are stored under /data/media/Android/data/com.snapchat.android/cache/received_video_snaps/ in mp4 format with a .nomedia file extension. As soon as you navigate away from the app, they are deleted, so I set up a tasker gesture to allow me to copy them while they are loaded.
As people said before, the images are stored in /data/data/com.snapchat.android/cache/received_image_snaps/ with the jpg.nomedia extension. If that folder doesn't exist, try making sure you've received and loaded a snapchat first. The images seem to stay until they're viewed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That location you name for videos doesn't exist on my phone.
- I have /data/media/ "0" and "obb" are the only 2 folders within there
- I have also read that the videos are stored in /Storage (SD CARD)/Android/data/com.snapchat.android/cache/... but there isn't anything further from here, my 'cache' folder is empty, there's never been a "received_video_snaps" folder, let alone any content within here.
- I am able to get the photos from /data/data/com.snapchat.android/cache/received_image_snaps/ but never been able to intercept videos
Note: this is all done BEFORE "viewing" the material and allowing it to "load" and show "tap to view" from within SC
I'm using the EVO 3D CDMA version
incarceration said:
That location you name for videos doesn't exist on my phone.
- I have /data/media/ "0" and "obb" are the only 2 folders within there
- I have also read that the videos are stored in /Storage (SD CARD)/Android/data/com.snapchat.android/cache/... but there isn't anything further from here, my 'cache' folder is empty, there's never been a "received_video_snaps" folder, let alone any content within here.
- I am able to get the photos from /data/data/com.snapchat.android/cache/received_image_snaps/ but never been able to intercept videos
Note: this is all done BEFORE "viewing" the material and allowing it to "load" and show "tap to view" from within SC
I'm using the EVO 3D CDMA version
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm running TouchWiz. I wonder if you are on a 4.2.2 ROM or something, cause I've experienced the sdcard being moved around before...
Does your "0" folder have any subdirectories? such as Android/data/com.snapchat.android/cache/
In any case, videos are special: You need to actually click "load" (but don't hold, or else you'll actually view it before saving) if it doesn't do that automatically. Unless I misinterpreted, you didn't do that step. I think they might load automatically on Wi-Fi or something, though. For a general rule: As soon as it says "Load", the video is no longer (or never was) on your device. Furthermore, the sneaky little application deletes the folder at the same time, which is why you're never seeing "received_video_snaps" within the cache folder you found (assuming that one actually stores the videos in your version) because in my experience, almost everytime you navigate away from Snapchat, it unloads the video.
If you want to test for whether a file exists in a particular directory using Tasker, mess around with different directories in a File Modified profile (and have the associated task flash something). It'll flash as soon as something is added to that folder (including another folder, it seems).
Otherwise, check out my thread for this here.
I'm not familiar with Tasker. is it possible to have it automagically copy and rename the files that show up in the picture cache folder upon receiving a snap?
-edit-
From reddit:
I've got one method working on doing this, albeit I dislike it because this is questionable practice as is.
you''ll need Tasker and the Secure Settings plugin (tasker's run shell didn't like playing nice most of the time, but the secure setting run command does).
so i have tasker wait for snapchat to be opened, then the opening tasks are to wait 7 seconds (gives you time to load any pictures, honestly, i tried doing this with a file closed but tasker doesn't seem to like using wildcards in that command. if you really want, you can make this an exit command and open snapchat then back out before viewing)
then run shell as root cp -r /data/data/com.snapchat.android/cache/received_image_snaps/ /storage/emulated/0/snaps/ (you'll need to change the second directory, mine is for a gnex on 4.2.2 so that's why it's emulated/0)
next, you'll need to make a script in atext editor, and for sake of sanity, push it to /system/bin with chmod 755 (rwxr-xr-x)
the script then reads as CODE
!/system/bin/sh #there should be a hashtag in front of this but reddit's formatting is being wonky
cd /storage/emulated/0/snaps/ #wherever you copied them to
for file in *.nomedia
do
mv "$file" "${file/.nomedia}"
done
exit
then in tasker, as an exit action, run a secure settings run command with the command of whatever your script name is (include location if you do no push to bin).
it should work
You can play with the triggers and such, but i was having no luck including the scripted portion with the copy actions, it never seemed to run the script (secure settings has options to notify that it's running/completed).
Again, this is mean to be instructional on how to automate this with tasker, since I wanted to solve a puzzle. Not for anyone to be a creepy ass person saving snapchats that you shouldn't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Couldn't post link =/
nannus said:
I'm not familiar with Tasker. is it possible to have it automagically copy and rename the files that show up in the picture cache folder upon receiving a snap?
Couldn't post link =/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it possible, yes. Will it work flawlessly, not really.
Once I move the file and remove the no media extension. I can open the image but it is blank. Any ideas? Anyone know how to retrieve deleted Images
kprz24 said:
Once I move the file and remove the no media extension. I can open the image but it is blank. Any ideas? Anyone know how to retrieve deleted Images
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Deleted images are deleted. That's the point of Snapchat. As for the file you moved (I'd recommend you copy it instead, cause Snapchat'll show a blank screen when you view it if you moved the file), make sure it ends in .jpg (for images) or .mp4 (for videos).
kprz24 said:
Once I move the file and remove the no media extension. I can open the image but it is blank. Any ideas? Anyone know how to retrieve deleted Images
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually there is a program called PhotoRec that scans a disk for files using the headers. So as long as the file is unfragmented and not been written over, you can retrieve it with the software. Of course you'll have to either plug in your phone to your PC with usb mass storage mode [if your phone supports it], or else put it in a card reader.
mvmacd said:
Actually there is a program called PhotoRec that scans a disk for files using the headers. So as long as the file is unfragmented and not been written over, you can retrieve it with the software. Of course you'll have to either plug in your phone to your PC with usb mass storage mode [if your phone supports it], or else put it in a card reader.
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Click to collapse
Nice! I didn't think that technology was available on phones at this point.
quantemplation said:
Nice! I didn't think that technology was available on phones at this point.
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Click to collapse
Well actually it's not run from the phone [as I mentioned in my previous post], you must plug your card into your PC with usb mode in order for it to work.
I have used PhotoRec in the past and it has worked pretty well. The only thing, and it's not PhotoRec's fault, your files will have a random number. There's no way to know what the old filename/path used to be, so you have to figure that part out on your own.
In short, always backup your sdcard unless you don't mind losing everything, and depending on the damage, might be able to recover the files, but only the ones not fragmented and they will be randomly named.
I developed an easy way to sync the received pictures and videos with your Dropbox account.
If it is interesting you can check my thread here
Using the Droid DNA and looking in com.snapchat.android and the cache folder is there, but that is empty. There is no received images folder. Anyone know why this is the case? I know I've gotten plenty of images from snapchat.
jaredkent said:
Using the Droid DNA and looking in com.snapchat.android and the cache folder is there, but that is empty. There is no received images folder. Anyone know why this is the case? I know I've gotten plenty of images from snapchat.
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Click to collapse
The same thing is happening with my Galaxy S3

[Q] .nomedia files being ignored?

Never had this issue on my other phones. I put a zero byte file called .nomedia in a folder and yet Gallery is still picking up on the files in it. I've tried renaming the folder to a name that starts with a dot (as in hide the folder from Linux). I've tried the SDrescan app with no luck. I've even tried a different gallery app. So far the only thing that has worked is to change the file extensions to something that is not an image. That can be cumbersome if there are a lot of files.
Anybody seen this? Using the stock DNA ROM, rooted of course.
Well it seems that I needed .noMedia instead of .nomedia. Never had to use a capital M on my Moto droids.

Samsung Voice Note

Hello,
I have a bunch of voice recordings that are in my sounds folder, (m4a and 3ga files) when using the Samsung Voice Note App. If I record a new one it shows up but once I move them between sound folders (internal or external) they dont show up within the app anymore. Is there a way to refresh or should I be using Root Explorer to push them somehow? I tried using the stock file manager app and Astro. Almost like its not refreshing...
Any help appreciated
Lyvewire said:
Hello,
I have a bunch of voice recordings that are in my sounds folder, (m4a and 3ga files) when using the Samsung Voice Note App. If I record a new one it shows up but once I move them between sound folders (internal or external) they dont show up within the app anymore. Is there a way to refresh or should I be using Root Explorer to push them somehow? I tried using the stock file manager app and Astro. Almost like its not refreshing...
Any help appreciated
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello,
When you're copying it to the External Storage, where are you copying them to? Is there a file called ".nomedia" in the folder where these items are located (or in a high-level folder)? If that ".nomedia" file is present, apps won't notice anything in that folder (or it's subfolders) when they scan for media. This prevents apps like gallery from seeing the various thumbnails that are throughout the storage.
If you don't see them in your file explorer, you may need to turn on "Show Hidden Files" in the settings.
Hope this helps!
topherk said:
Hello,
When you're copying it to the External Storage, where are you copying them to? Is there a file called ".nomedia" in the folder where these items are located (or in a high-level folder)? If that ".nomedia" file is present, apps won't notice anything in that folder (or it's subfolders) when they scan for media. This prevents apps like gallery from seeing the various thumbnails that are throughout the storage.
If you don't see them in your file explorer, you may need to turn on "Show Hidden Files" in the settings.
Hope this helps!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't realize someone responded til today. I appreciate that! That did help because now I know why it wasn't working. Now my question is is there a workaround for removing that .nomedia file? Its not allowing me to do anything. Any suggestions?
Lyvewire said:
I didn't realize someone responded til today. I appreciate that! That did help because now I know why it wasn't working. Now my question is is there a workaround for removing that .nomedia file? Its not allowing me to do anything. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've never had issues deleting .nomedia files... Does your root explorer actually have root access?
Where are you trying to copy these files? Maybe you can create a new folder (sans .nomedia file) and stick them in there. Just remember, if there are any "parent" folders that have the .nomedia in them, it won't search the subfolders for media.
topherk said:
I've never had issues deleting .nomedia files... Does your root explorer actually have root access?
Where are you trying to copy these files? Maybe you can create a new folder (sans .nomedia file) and stick them in there. Just remember, if there are any "parent" folders that have the .nomedia in them, it won't search the subfolders for media.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your the man! Root explorer wouldn't delete it and I kept getting this message View attachment 2784852
so then I ended up deleting it from the stock file manager and it worked. I would of never figured that out without your help. I kept seeing the. nomedia. file but ignored it. I don't even know where it came from, just glad that worked.

How to stop the automatic creation of ".nomedia" file in a specific folder ?

How to stop the automatic creation of ".nomedia" file in a specific folder ?
Can you please let me know the steps to stop the creation of ".nomedia "file in a specific folder( Ex : Abcd album) so that i am able to the pictures of it in the gallery.Every now and then it gets created and i had to delete it manually. I am using Whatsremoved App which stores the deleted files and statuses from WhatsApp in a folder but in the folder .nomedia files gets created, thus that folder did not come in the gallery and gets hidden, no matter how many times i delete that file it keeps coming.
Also, i had used this same app on my old Moto G4 Plus and i did not face the same issue on that phone.
Please suggest a solution

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