Database Users

How to add ringtones/alarms/notifications without showing up in mediascape

Hi just got my X10 last week, a huge leap for me who owned an X1. I had read from another forum that someone suggested to modify the audio folder in the SD card and make directories into
SD card>audio>ringtones
SD card>audio>alarms
SD card>audio>notifications
This way my customized ringtones show up together with the list of the default tones, but they tones also show up in the mediascape. Is there a workaround to hide them away?
Thanks

Unfortunately I don't think that there is a workaround. I have a game that installed, in its own folder in the SD card, some audio files, and Mediascape show this files, too. Other media players on the market allow to select the path of the audio files on the SD card, Mediascape don't.

There is an UNSAFE workaround:
if there is a file with the name ".nomedia" in the specific directory, that path is not treated as media.
you cannot create the .nomedia files from pc, so you need another solution
(create an empty file and rename it with a file explorer or use a shell, change to the directory and type: "touch .nomedia" to create the file)
Maybe it is a problem that android hides ALL media file in the directory (others reported that hiding cover arts pictures also made the music disappear)
Please tell us if it worked...
Bax
EDIT: CAUTION!!!!!!
Just saw that there are problems with the Android Media Scanner deleting files that existed in directories before the .nomedia file was created (bug) http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=3692

Baxxx said:
if there is a file with the name ".nomedia" in the specific directory, that path is not treated as media.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I added .nomedia file with Astro to the game folder (/sdcard/gameloft/games/asphalt5), then I unmounted the SD card and rebooted the device. However, all the .ogg files in that folder are still present in Mediascape. Somethiong is wrong or we need to force somehow the media scanner to refresh?
Edit: after some minutes the files disappeared. Apparently the media scanner needs some time do do a full refresh. No files have been deleted in the folder, but there were no JPEG files. I'll try also in the /sdcard/audio folder.

Coincidentally I had bought the same game lornova!
Thanks Baxxx for mentioning that work around! Did the same thing as Lornova and it seems to do the trick. I moved the file into the dir before Mediascape had a chance to pick up the files however.

Ally153 said:
Coincidentally I had bought the same game lornova!
Thanks Baxxx for mentioning that work around! Did the same thing as Lornova and it seems to do the trick. I moved the file into the dir before Mediascape had a chance to pick up the files however.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice game! But I'm using it more to demo my phone than to actually playing! However, I play a lot to reversi

I don't know what i did to accomplish this but when I backed up my Sd card files, factory reset phone then replace all folders (only the folders in the root everything exe., txt. I left only) I no longer see it in my mediascape. Must be a list setting somewhere?

hi, I also have the same problem and I've tried the solution above, but it didn't work. I just took a silly game and renamed it to touch.nomedia. I've also rebooted, but I'm still staring at about 160 ogg files Did I do something wrong here??

.nomedia
I had the same "problem"
Open Notepad on your computer > Leave "blank" > File > Save as > File name: .nomedia > Save as type: All files.
Saved file (.nomedia) insert in the appropriate folder on the sd card. Turn off and turn on the phone.

[Q] ringtones files in android song list...how to seperate?

Does anyone know how to remove or seperate ringtone/media files from music list in android? I have like over 1000 songs in the list and there are about 400 or more media files from ringtone/media folder and game folder like H.A.W.K... anyhelp is appreciate it..

myowin said:
Does anyone know how to remove or seperate ringtone/media files from music list in android? I have like over 1000 songs in the list and there are about 400 or more media files from ringtone/media folder and game folder like H.A.W.K... anyhelp is appreciate it..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. On your computer, open Notepad or any other text editor
2. Save the blank file as “.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 audio files you don’t want to show up.
(Example: If you want to block CoPilot sound files from coming up, place the .nomedia file in the sdcard/copilot folder)
4. Reboot your phone and the files should no longer be viewable

sk0o said:
1. On your computer, open Notepad or any other text editor
2. Save the blank file as “.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 audio files you don’t want to show up.
(Example: If you want to block CoPilot sound files from coming up, place the .nomedia file in the sdcard/copilot folder)
4. Reboot your phone and the files should no longer be viewable
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
absolutely brilliant, I've been looking for this answer for ages!
However, there is one thing it doesn't stop for me: I have a folder called Android/cache which is autocreated on reboot (I'm assuming), and my .nomedia file get's deleted with each reboot from that folder. This folder holds all the notifications/ringtones etc that come from HTC Hub. Anyone else experiencing this? Obviously this only really applies to the Desire HD builds.

It works also with graphic files. Great!!!

Now does that .nomedia file need to be placed in the particular folder the image is in or does it work by plaing in the parent folder. I ask because my album art shows up in the gallery and I have roughly 1000 songs, it would be way too much to have to place in each song folder lol

chrisrj28 said:
Now does that .nomedia file need to be placed in the particular folder the image is in or does it work by plaing in the parent folder. I ask because my album art shows up in the gallery and I have roughly 1000 songs, it would be way too much to have to place in each song folder lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, it needs to be in every folder you want to "hide" it doesn't affect child folders.

Reno_79 said:
absolutely brilliant, I've been looking for this answer for ages!
However, there is one thing it doesn't stop for me: I have a folder called Android/cache which is autocreated on reboot (I'm assuming), and my .nomedia file get's deleted with each reboot from that folder. This folder holds all the notifications/ringtones etc that come from HTC Hub. Anyone else experiencing this? Obviously this only really applies to the Desire HD builds.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Put one in the Android/root/cache folder, and it'll get copied back on reboot.

Dang, is there an option to copy one file to all folders? lol

jamesjf said:
Put one in the Android/root/cache folder, and it'll get copied back on reboot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had that idea already lol, for some reason after a reboot tho the file disappears and the cache folder get's emptied then refilled with my notifications but no .nomedia (like a complete refresh but without the file I put in). not a major problem just a bit annoying.

Worked like a charm. Thanks Much Sk0o.

[TUTORIAL]How to Copy PDF/Office Files to your WP7 Phone Directly from Computer

hi folks, i finally got a way to copy office / PDF files directly from computer, these files will show up in Office Hub/ Adobe Reader's Document List
before you start, make sure you get TouchXplorer work on your phone.
1. you need to do some registry hacks to make the wp7 device visible in My Computer/ Explorer , here you can see the tutorial http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=915664.
OR: Modify these Registry Entries
Code:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\USB\VID_045E&PID_04EC&MI_00\6&210a541a&0&0000\Device Parameters]
"EnableLegacySupport"=dword:00000001
"PortableDeviceNameSpaceExcludeFromShell"=dword:00000000
"ShowInShell"=dword:00000001
Once you're done , CLOSE ZUNE, you should see 2 wp7 devices in your computer, they're exactly the same. just choose one open it and you'll see folders like Album Video Music etc, these are your zune folders.
[TIP], if you open your device/storage and see nothing there, you have to delete one registry key and reconnect your phone.
the registry key is :
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\USB\VID_045E&PID_04EC&MI_00\6&210a541a&0&0000\
Device Parameters\DeviceSelectiveSuspended]
delete that key , and you'll see those Zune folders.
2. now we can copy files to the Phone and make them show up in Office Hub or Acrobat Reader.
first, pick one of the Zune Folders, never create one 'cause you'll never see it from the Phone. just use the existing folders , i recommend "Video" folder.
copy a file to the Video folder, eg. officetest.docx,
open your touchXplorer, goto "My Documents"\"Zune"\"Content"
you'll see folders like 0100 0200 0300 0400 0600, these are the music / pictures / video folders of zune, and all files inside are named using numbers.
now open "0400"(in my case, might be different on other phones, you have to find it yourself) and you'll see a folder named "02", open this "02" folder, what do you see?? yes,a "20.z"(the number varies) file, this is exactly the officetest.docx you just copied to phone.
rename the "20.z" files back to "officetest.docx" using TouchXplorer , double click the file ,it will open in office .
you can cut it, and paste to \My Documents of your phone, open Office Hub, you just have the "officetest.docx" there
even you renamed the "20.z" file and moved it to \My Document. you can still see the "officetest.docx" in the "Video" folder on your computer, you should delete the "officetest.docx" to save some space, it's safe, actually, when you rename the "20.z" file to "officetest.docx", the phone did a copy job , not just rename.
EASY Enough ???
3. well, you can do the same with .PDF files if you installed the Adobe Reader.
once you renamed this "xx.z" (xx is a number) back to eg. "mypdffile.pdf" using TouchXplorer, you may try to double tap the pdf file and open it. but to PDF files , it's NOT working, the adobe reader will say "invalid path"
I know exactly what's going on, office files are opened by office apps like word etc. they're WP7 Stock programs from M$ and got very high privileges, they can access any folders. but to poor Adobe Reader, it can only access its isolated storage.
so what we need to do is: find adobe reader's isolated storage folder and move the "mypdffile.pdf" there, you can then double tap the file and open it. and when you open Adobe Reader , you'll see the "mypdffile.pdf" right under the "Documents" list.
the Adobe Reader's IsolatedStorage folder is at
Code:
\Applications\Data\BC4F319A-9A9A-DF11A490-00237DE2..\Data\IsolatedStore
just put the pdf files here
-------------------------------------------
PS:
1. I'm chinese and my english sucks, sorry if you can't understand
2. the office program on WP7 and Adobe Reader 9.0 for WP7 really sucks

Nice Tutorial
Will check it out later.
Agree with you on 1 thing, Adobe of Windows Phone 7 sucks.
Office on the other hand is great.

please can you explain exactly what registry you must delete to see the folders thanks.....

tommyDC2006 said:
please can you explain exactly what registry you must delete to see the folders thanks.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DeviceSelectiveSuspended.
I think it's easier to email yourself with your needed documents, and then downloading it with the phone from the email.

tommyDC2006 said:
please can you explain exactly what registry you must delete to see the folders thanks.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it's "DeviceSelectiveSuspended", sorry for the delay

andrusca said:
DeviceSelectiveSuspended.
I think it's easier to email yourself with your needed documents, and then downloading it with the phone from the email.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
to me , i have some huge documents , over 50MB each, i have to copy them this way 'cause no email service can attach such big file.

18MB
I sent myself an 18MB PDF file earlier today. Checked my email on my Windows Phone 7 Device. Clicked the file once (waited for it download). Then clicked the file again to open. Adobe Reader was blank for about 15 seconds then loaded it.
I used Windows Live Mail

Nice one, I will have a look to see if I can place mobi and prc files that are for e-book reading using amazon kindle in its own isolated storage area as well.
I am 99% confident that this will work just need to keep track of the new files and should only be needing a chang to .mobi or .prc for it show up in the kindle app (that is if you have tagged your books correctly)

whetstone said:
Nice one, I will have a look to see if I can place mobi and prc files that are for e-book reading using amazon kindle in its own isolated storage area as well.
I am 99% confident that this will work just need to keep track of the new files and should only be needing a chang to .mobi or .prc for it show up in the kindle app (that is if you have tagged your books correctly)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes , this would work, just find your kindle program's isolated storage folder.
i suggest look into your \application\install folder to locate the kindle program, there're a lot of GUID Named folders. open one by one until you find the kindle program, remember this GUID, and find the same GUID folder under \application\data you'll reach kindle's isolated storage

heeeelp
dear
i do the above
and i found 2 new devices
but no think inside it
i cant find the register key you say for delete if i cant see file
i use windows vista
can u help me

dr.amer said:
dear
i do the above
and i found 2 new devices
but no think inside it
i cant find the register key you say for delete if i cant see file
i use windows vista
can u help me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh no what have you done?
What ROM are you using?
If it is XBmod/yukixda back to the future ROM, which came out 28 AUG why are you using instructions dated January?
I don't know what those registry hacks do.
If you know exactly what you did, tell us Exactly.
If not I think you will have to re-flash the ROM.
Good luck.

Still nothing is coming up in the folder. What do I do? and there is no folder in there starting with 6 they start with 7?

you can copy the files by using the sd reader,and then open it through the file manager...

How To: Hide your folder and files in SD

You just need to find the way to put a dot before the name of folder.
In XP this would be easy but in Vista or Seven this might be harder.
When you put a dot for exemple on the folder .TEMP the system will say that you need to name the file.
Use an ftp client and connect to your pc and you will be fine renaming the folder.
To disable pics and movies to show up in the interface. you just need to put a file named .nomedia in the folder that contain those pics or movies.

In windows you can create a folder with a . by using CMD and the command "MKDIR" eg.
F:\>mkdir .private
Or simply use a file manager on your phone to create the folder.

Just use Astro file manager on the market.
Long press the file you want to hide/edit/rename/insert dot before filename.
Android then hides any pics you have from the gallery app.
Assign any video apps to scan the file without the dot, they will also be hidden under dot mode, but a rescan may be required.
Suggest app protector pro to put a security pattern on Astro.
I personally don't have any pr0n on my phone... No, really.

useful for thumb in album mostly...
don't need to hide porn if it's your phone

[Q] Hide From Gallery

I have created a folder on my external sd card named Movies.
I use Moboplayer, and have pre-set it to only view that folder when opened. But, after viewing any of the files in the sd card folder, the folder and files are displayed in Gallery. How can I prevent that from happening?
Or, put another way, I want to store some video files on my external sd card
and want to be the only one who is able to view them?

create a file in that directory called .nomedia that will prevent it being scanned by Gallery

Thanks, I'll try that later today and report back.

gunnyman said:
create a file in that directory called .nomedia that will prevent it being scanned by Gallery
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As a beginner with Android, I'm not sure I know how to do what you said to do.
Can you please tell me the easiest way to create that file? Thanks again.

Sure. Open an adb shell. Change to the directory you want the file in. Type "touch .nomedia "
Press enter
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App

As an Android beginner, I have no idea what or how to use and adb shell.
Does it require that the Tab be Rooted?
Can I use a file manager like Astro?
Can I open the folder on my win xp desktop and create the file om the sd card with windows explorer?
Sorry to be so dense here, but, I am trying to learn what to do.

jostarr said:
As an Android beginner, I have no idea what or how to use and adb shell.
Does it require that the Tab be Rooted?
Can I use a file manager like Astro?
Can I open the folder on my win xp desktop and create the file om the sd card with windows explorer?
Sorry to be so dense here, but, I am trying to learn what to do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get the free ES File Explorer from the store. You can do all the MS Windows-esque file management with that.
What is going to prevent someone else from launching Mobo and seeing the same files that you do?

I do have ES File Explorer installed, and didn't find a way to create a new file in that folder. Can you please suggest what to do when I get to the folder in question? Thanks.
As for your question about others using Mobo, is there a way to password protect a give app?

jostarr said:
I do have ES File Explorer installed, and didn't find a way to create a new file in that folder. Can you please suggest what to do when I get to the folder in question? Thanks.
As for your question about others using Mobo, is there a way to password protect a give app?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, es 101: the key to finding everything is the menu button that spears on the dock in es. From there you can select new> folder.
android/linux 101: any file or folder named starting with a period is deemed "hidden". An example would be a folder called .media. Because the name behind with a period, it is now hidden. To show hidden file, go into es file explorer settings, and check "show hidden files"

...and if you don't want to play with renaming folders every time, try Hide It Pro from the market. You set a password that is required to open the app. It disguise itself as a fake audio manager. You just need to browse to the file you need to hide and select "share with audio manager". There's a really good guide inside the app when you install it but its rather simple Works great on Iconia.
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.smartanuj.hideitpro&feature=search_result
It also displays adds but its free and your hidden content is just a "click" away You can hide any file type compared to Photo Vault and Video Vault (they support only several file formats and they are paid apps)

Use a file manager such as astro, and change the format of the video to a format that doesn't exist by renaming it, for example: video.avi ----> video.uitpo, then the video won't be shown in gallery or anywhere else, and whenever you wanna view the video just change the format back to what it was.

gunnyman said:
create a file in that directory called .nomedia that will prevent it being scanned by Gallery
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have created a file in my directory named .nomedia
But, when the Acer is powered off and started up again, all the files in this directory show up in the Gallery again. That approach doesn't seem to work for me.