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[How to]: Create a .nomedia file in Windows to keep images/video/audio out of the gallery/music db

alostpacket

Over Macho Grande?
Nov 29, 2009
7,970
3,604
NY
alostpacket.com
Hi all, thought I would post a quick "how to" for making those .nomedia files in Windows -- this way we have something we could point to if someone asks about them.

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1) Open notepad and save a blank text file named .nomedia

Important: be sure to change the "Save as type" option to All files (*.*)
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nomediasaveas.jpg



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2) Make sure to remove the .txt from the name if Windows added it -- it should just be named .nomedia not .nomedia.txt -- Windows will most often add .txt by default.

If the file icon looks like a text file icon, then you probably need to rename it and remove ".txt" from the name. It should show the "unknown file type" generic looking icon.
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nomediaicons.gif



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2a) Sometimes Windows will hide the file extension too.

To show a file extention in Windows, open a folder and go to the "Tools" menu, then "Folder options", click the "view" tab, and make sure "hide extensions of known file types" is unchecked (usually checked by default). Then click [Apply to folders] at the top. This will apply the change to all folders so you can see extensions on all files.

This is also a helpful way to see what types of files are on your PC.
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folderoptions.jpg
folderoptionsviewtab.jpg



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3) Connect your phone to your PC and select "mount sdcard" or "open as folder" or "open as storage" or "usb connected" or something similar from the drop-down notifications on your phone.
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usbnotification.jpg
usbdropdownnotification.jpg
turnonusb.jpg



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4) Drag and drop the .nomedia file to your phone and put it in the folder you want the gallery/music db to ignore. This should make the gallery/music db ignore all subfolders as well.
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Hope that helps :)



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