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I have some audiobooks on my phone, but I don't want to hear these when I play "All music". Is it possible to exclude some folders from getting added to the library? What are the file types that automatically get added?

Fitri
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2 Answers2

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You should be able to create a file called ".nomedia" (without quotes) in the folder you don't want scanned. It is supposed to tell the media scanner not to look in there.

Ryan Conrad
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  • umm can I create it from windows? looks like Windows is stopping me from creating a file with no name – Fitri Jan 26 '11 at 17:25
  • does the file need to contain anything? – Fitri Jan 26 '11 at 17:28
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    You can create it using tools like ES FileExplorer for Android or some other file explorer. The file does not need to contain anything; the only thing the media explorer verifies is the existence of the file. – Doliveras Jan 26 '11 at 17:52
  • that should be a folder that starts with a "." This marks folders as hidden in Linux so the media player will not be able to "see" it when it scans. – shambleh Jan 26 '11 at 17:54
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    @shambleh The media player ignores folders with a .nomedia file in them. He may not want to rename the audiobooks folder or move the files to a new folder. – Matthew Read Jan 26 '11 at 20:20
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    Good to know @Matthew, that's a new one for me. Thanks. – shambleh Jan 26 '11 at 23:58
  • agreed...good to know. I've always prefixed the folder with a dot, but the .nomedia file solution will come in handy. – Jay Cummins Jan 27 '11 at 11:14
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    unfortunately this doesn't seem to exclude subdirectory – Fitri Jan 27 '11 at 13:46
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    no, every folder that you want excluded has to have the ".nomedia" file. – Ryan Conrad Jan 27 '11 at 21:23
  • Excluded all subfolders on my phone – baldy Jan 03 '15 at 05:16
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Using Astro (available in the market), you should be able to create a folder on your SD card. Prefix the name of the folder with a dot (".") and the folder will be considered hidden in the Linux/Android file system. This will keep it from being included in the library.

shambleh
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