Deleting Pictures On Pc Doesn't Delete Them From Android.

[ryan29]

Hi,

 

I've been trying to set up a simple sync between my phone and my PC.  What I would like to do is have my Camera folder from Android sync'd to my PC so I can organize my photos from my PC.  I want to delete some photos and move others to a file server (same as deleting).

 

This almost works for me, but when I delete a photo from my PC it doesn't completely disappear from my phone.  I have an LG G2 running Android 4.4.2.  It behaves as follows after deleting a single image on my PC:

 

• If I explore the camera folder via BtSync on the phone, the deleted photo gone.
• If I explore the camera folder via the File Manager on the phone, the deleted photo is gone.
• If I connect the phone to my PC I can still see the photo in Windows explorer, but it is corrupted / broken.
• If I open the Gallery app on my phone, it shows a broken photo for the deleted one.
• If I reboot my phone, everything gets cleaned up and the deleted photo is gone.

I figured maybe something was holding locks on the file, so I also tried closing all apps.  It didn't help.  Any ideas?

 

Ryan

[Helen]

Ryan, 

 

BitTorrent Sync doesn't hold files. it transfers them bit-to-bit just as they are and that's it. 

A few questions:

 

1) You used a standard way to connect the phone to PC, via a QR code, not backup option, right? 

2) Where the folder with photos located on Android - external or internal card? Is there .nomedia file in it? 

 

The problem may be caused by media scanner on Android. After you delete the photo from PC it gets deleted from Android, but not from the gallery because media scanner is not triggered so you get corrupted image there. After reboot media scanner scans the folder and cleans up the deleted files from gallery. 

[ryan29]

I didn't realize someone had replied to this 

 

I recently gave Sync another try and Helen's assessment regarding the media scanner was correct.  I'm using Sync 1.4.50.0 on Android right now and the Autoupdate Gallery advanced option looks like it's intended to do what I've asked for here.  I don't know if it's working for deleted files though.

 

I just loaded up my camera, took a picture, let it sync, deleted it on my PC, let it sync, and re-opened my camera app on Android.  I swear it didn't work last night before I deleted most of my pictures, but today it did (with only 2 pics on the camera).  The deleted picture gets removed from the library without a reboot, but the timing leads me to believe the camera app is causing the refresh needed, not Sync.  The refresh didn't seem to occur until the camera app was loaded.  However, my observation could also be the result of the changes being reflected lazily (ex: deleted or changed files are flagged dirty in the media database and aren't refreshed until an app request them).  Keep in mind, there's a lot of assumptions on my part there.

 

I'm using Android 4.4 and I know the API related to media scanning was changed and might impact the way deletions are handled.  A few links I happened across while searching for how it works...

 

http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/57913/how-do-i-refresh-rescan-the-sd-memory-in-android-4-4-kitkat

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/15147536/how-to-trigger-mediascan-on-nexus-7

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/8379690/androids-media-scanner-how-do-i-remove-files

 

I don't need another reply.  I just wanted to clarify what I was asking for.