[Q] Where/How are hidden files stored in android - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I used to have one of the original galaxys...I used this file hide app (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.beka.tools.hidefiles&hl=en) for some picture storage. I've since broken the phone, so I cant get on through that. I have the sdcard, and although the app says it stores in the /HFILE folder of SD card, when I go to it, there is no files in it to be seen. I have the "show hidden files" on windows checked. Is there a way to retrieve this, or show these hidden files. I also have a nandroid back up of this phone during the time, but using the nandroid browser I didn't see anything that resembled what I could use, other than the oriiginal app's APK. Any advice?

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[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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes! This is EXACTLY what I needed. Thanks!

Back up & Restore in ICS - where on internal storage ?

Hi,
i run a backup sesseion yesterday with the build-in app "back up & restore" on my ICS 4.04. i had no chance to choose "usb storage" even my mobile was connected with my laptop so i keep it on "internal storage".
but i can't find the backup now on there. There are just a few folders but only some KB's in size.
Where put the app my backup in ?
It's in a folder called .semc-fullbackup
and where is that folder? do I have an access without root?
how to delete backup from app?
can't find it either.... it's not on my internal storage / SD card....
very useful from backup&restore to put the backup onto the phone memory with no option to save it somewhere else <facepalm>
its in internal memory and its hidden so use explorer and then youll see it.
olaf313 said:
can't find it either.... it's not on my internal storage / SD card....
very useful from backup&restore to put the backup onto the phone memory with no option to save it somewhere else <facepalm>
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're supposed to connect a USB flash drive TO your phone, not your phone to a computer. It works, i've tried it.
To view the folders, open them through your computer when connected via a data cable; if you try to view them on your phone via a file explorer they don't show up.
Edit: To get Es file explorer to show hidden files/folders go to: Settings --> File Settings --> Show hidden files
It's great that you can do a backup to a USB flash drive, but you don't get the USB on-the-go cable in the box and most people wouldn't know they exist, or where to get one (I've never seen one on sale in a shop).
(For those that don't know, you can get official Nokia or Samsung ones dirt cheap from Amazon and probably eBay etc).
I use MyBackupPro and found that it was impossible to transfer the folder contents to another folder on my Mac desktop using MTP. Certain files just won't/can't copy. A total joke.
However, I can use a file manager to copy everything in the backup folder to a USB drive via the cable (well, actually via a LiveDock as the phone can't power an awful lot of flash drives) but that's a right PITA.
To be honest, I know Google can now backup app settings but the whole thing is a mess. When you reset, you don't always get the apps reinstalling (even if starts to do it seemingly fine) and I'm not confident it would work if I needed to rely on it. And even less so if I broke my phone and replaced it with another one, where the backed up data wouldn't reinstall either.
Frankly, despite showing off some really cool features in Android 4.1 at Google I/O today, the one thing they've not really taken much care of is making backups. Why not let me make a backup to my Google Drive storage space? Why not back up all applications and data, including apps installed on the SD card (or internal drive) and also backup widget data, home screen icon positions etc?
Even rooted devices are hit and miss when it comes to backups, and most people don't root their devices - or may have rooted the device they have now, but can't always root the device when changing phone or updating the OS.
Anyway, that was a much longer rant than I intended to write. Going back to the start, the backup app for most people is pretty pointless!!
Access Hidden Files Using Phone
Download Astro File Manager from Google Play
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.metago.astro&hl=en
Open Astro ...
Open Preferences ...
Goto Look and Feel ...
Check Show hidden files ...
Then you can see a folder named .semc-fullbackup.
Open the folder ...
Copy its contents to some other location ...
That is all ...
Enjoy
olaf313 said:
Hi,
i run a backup sesseion yesterday with the build-in app "back up & restore" on my ICS 4.04. i had no chance to choose "usb storage" even my mobile was connected with my laptop so i keep it on "internal storage".
but i can't find the backup now on there. There are just a few folders but only some KB's in size.
Where put the app my backup in ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used ES file explorer to see the folder I said, my phone was rooted, maybe that's the reason the folder was visible by default
meyourchum said:
Download Astro File Manager from Google Play
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.metago.astro&hl=en
Open Astro ...
Open Preferences ...
Goto Look and Feel ...
Check Show hidden files ...
Then you can see a folder named .semc-fullbackup.
Open the folder ...
Copy its contents to some other location ...
That is all ...
Enjoy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cheers buddy, that was great.
first i thought "Astro" is a horoscope app :laugh:
lordoftheriffs said:
I used ES file explorer to see the folder I said, my phone was rooted, maybe that's the reason the folder was visible by default
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just checked and you're right, ES file explorer can see the folders (my phone is not rooted), you just have to enable the option in settings.
Es file explorer: Settings --> File Settings --> Show hidden files
HI im ravi...thanks for your post....very good app
I'm not rooted, what I did was:
- connect the phone to you computer
- adb shell
- cd sdcard1
- ls -la
Then you should see the .semc-fullbackup folder. So you need to have android SDK installed, I'm not sure if you need to have developer mode enabled, but I did have it enabled.
Just wanted to add to this because this is the first Google hit I got.

Missing Folders with name starting with . on windows

Hi, why folders with the name starting with. like .face or .fpse in the internal memory or sdcard sometimes apear on windows explorer and most of the time are invisible and can't be fount on the pc, even if these folders can be seen with file explorer apps on the cel.
yesterday i copied my fpse savegames from my pc to the internal memory .fps folder, but today i can't see that folder on the pc, even if i connect/disconnect the s3, it wont show again.
Why is this, how can i make all folders appear all the time on my pc
Thanks.
Those folders are suposed to be "hidden folders". Try to set on your Windows to "Show hidden files, folders, and drives".
my windows is set to "Show hidden files, folders, and drives" but still this folders dont appear they sometimes do but not all the time.
MTP hides them. Use a different tool for accessing the device (eg Samba fileshare over Wifi) and you should be able to see it.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium

App for hiding pictures... help

I was using one of those apps that hides your photos. Well I guess the developers decided to delete the app but not tell people or something. I looked thru my storage and found the folder where the pics are but they are all in text mode they are not .jpg files. How do I get the pictures back?? I had over 900 pictures in there. Some that are irreplaceable and very important. Is there a way to get them back or no??
I don't remember the name of the app. The icon just says Android Safe.
Hey there, thought of some suggestions that might help:
1) Check if the only change to files is that they were changed from .jpg to .txt
If that is the case then just batch change the files extention back to what they were via PC. See:
https://www.isumsoft.com/windows-10/change-file-extension-for-one-or-multiple-files.html
2) Try to locate the program. Enter Google Play - - > My apps & gamea - - > Library.
Apps previously installed can most of the time be still installed even if they were removed from Play Store.
3) Try to look for an APK of the app on some app hosting sites like APK Mirror and APKPure.
Good luck buddy.
Reply
If I plug phone into PC, I can't find the folder that has the files in it.
If I am on phone and I look for folder, it's in emulated folder, sdcard, etc etc.
But I don't have an sd card in my phone. It doesn't take one.
And I looked in play store, apps, library, installed apps, and it's not there. Yet the icon is on my phone, and I can open the app.
MissLaniS said:
If I plug phone into PC, I can't find the folder that has the files in it.
If I am on phone and I look for folder, it's in emulated folder, sdcard, etc etc.
But I don't have an sd card in my phone. It doesn't take one.
And I looked in play store, apps, library, installed apps, and it's not there. Yet the icon is on my phone, and I can open the app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From my limited knowledge the "sdcard" & "emulated" are just android naming conversions for local storage, ect... It doesn't necessary mean that it is located in SD card or the folder is actually emulated.
Regarding Phone:
* If you still have the app installed (I kinda didn't understand it from your og message), you can find its name by going to (Vague description incoming): Settings --> Installed apps --> Look for your app & press it --> The name should appear now on top, below the icon.
* From here you can try clearing cache and see if it helps and even clear all of the apps data.
Regarding PC:
* Make sure you are connected as MTP storage (Can be changed from notifications).
* If you still can't see it then try enabling the display of hidden files & folders on your PC:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4028316/windows-view-hidden-files-and-folders-in-windows-10
Good luck.

Media Folders Creation

Hello,
I have a Asus ROG Phone 3 and have a few questions.
Anytime I reboot my phone and go to check my internal storage, Android is automatically creating the following folders ASUS, Movies, Music, TwinApps, and Subtitles folder.
I assume this is just the default Behavior but does anyone know of a way to disable that or just to keep those folders deleted forever?
My phone is rooted, and I'm tech savvy as hell but I can't figure it out.
Anyone have a clue if the service/app that is remaking these folders is Android itself or somerhing from Asus?
I also recently switched to Android 12 and I noticed something strange, anytime I try to edit or access /sdcard/Android/OBB folder I can't edit anything in it, I can't copy or paste anything into that folder if I can even view it.
Mind you this is with root and using a file manager I've been using for years that I know works. Did something change in the background of A12?
Lastly does anyone know if there is a way to change the default save location for screenshots and/or DCIM camera folder?
Thanks
[
https://imgur.com/RuRm9hr
1) most of the folders are created by android Media scanner but at least one is Asus specific. in theory any app can create own folders, if allowed in permissions.
2) you need file explorer that is updated to support scoped storage so it can view media files from other apps, for example SD Maid.
3) in camera app itself one can switch storage location to MicroSD card. not sure about screenshots, though.

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