Undesired Files Sync

Get answers about the current release of MediaMonkey for Android

Moderator: Gurus

kathy2343
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Jun 25, 2011 2:54 pm

Undesired Files Sync

Post by kathy2343 »

MM Desktop is syncing files I don't want to my Android device, and I need help. Here are the basics.
* On desktop, files are in two locations: an SD card (files I want to sync) and an external drive (files I do not want to sync).
* On desktop, in the mobile's Sync configuration:
* Under AutoSync (-->Device)/Music/Location), I've selected only the SD card folder location--nothing else.
* Under Auto-Sync (Auto-Sync(-->Library), I've deselected Auto-Sync because I don't want to sync from mobile to desktop.
* Under Options, if I de-select everything under "Other media files," every time I return to the profile they are re-selected.
* I've completely deleted all music from my Android device.
* I've then run Add/Rescan files to the library on the desktop, to make sure everything is clean. Both file locations are selected here, because I do want to be able to see the files from both locations on my desktop.
* But when I then run sync from my mobile, it loads all the files from both locations.

Help? I don't have room on my mobile for my entire 6000-track music collection. I must be missing something.
Lowlander
Posts: 56465
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2003 5:53 pm
Location: MediaMonkey 5

Re: Undesired Files Sync

Post by Lowlander »

Make sure that the files are not selected in another selection? In other words selecting the SD card location specifically doesn't exclude files from other locations if they're on a Playlist that has been selected to be Synced.

Were the files removed from the device and then re-appear after Sync or do they continue to appear after Sync (Sync didn't delete them)?

More on setting up Sync: https://www.mediamonkey.com/wiki/WebHel ... Tracks/5.0
kathy2343
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Jun 25, 2011 2:54 pm

Re: Undesired Files Sync

Post by kathy2343 »

Lowlander, I remove the files completely from my mobile by deleting and then recreating my Music folder there (which is then empty)--and then they reappear on the mobile when I sync.

I don't think all the files that are reappearing are in playlists, but you may be onto something there. I'll try not syncing playlists and see what happens, and I'll post the results back here. Thanks!
kathy2343
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Jun 25, 2011 2:54 pm

Re: Undesired Files Sync

Post by kathy2343 »

Lowlander (and anyone else), we're closer. And I REALLY appreciate your help. I did review the Sync instructions, but they don't help me identify my problem(s).

As you suggested, removing playlists from my sync did prevent some of the undesired music from syncing. But there still seems to be a problem with those "Other Media Files" folders.

For example, all of the music whose genre I have tagged as Classical downloads on my mobile into a folder called Classical, instead of into folders by Album Artist, as I desire (and as I have specified in the file location path for Music). But if I uncheck all of the "Other Media Files" options in my sync profile, they're all checked again next time I open the profile settings. Before you ask--Genre is NOT selected under Auto Sync-->Device. The only thing selected there is Location.

I might be able to solve this by deleting the paths for Classical, Audiobooks, etc. under "Sync Files to." But I'd prefer not to, in case I ever want them in the future--because they're pretty complex and might be difficult to recreate. Still, if that's the only way to solve it, I'll just document them and delete them in MediaMonkey.

Worst case, I guess I'll just remove from MediaMonkey desktop the secondary location that I don't want to sync with mobile. I'd rather not, because I may want to play that music on my desktop. But I could always launch the files through File Manager.

Any further suggestions would be more than welcome!
Lowlander
Posts: 56465
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2003 5:53 pm
Location: MediaMonkey 5

Re: Undesired Files Sync

Post by Lowlander »

If files are Synced by MediaMonkey they're somehow selected on the Sync List. Locations settings don't influence what is Synced and the other media files you refer to sounds like the deletion option, which also doesn't influence what is Synced (it affects what MediaMonkey deletes from the device).
kathy2343
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Jun 25, 2011 2:54 pm

Re: Undesired Files Sync

Post by kathy2343 »

Well, I've checked and checked. Would send you a screen capture of my sync settings but I can't figure out how. The undesired folders that are syncing do not exist in the one single location I've selected to sync.

BUT I've found another clue--they're syncing as completely empty file folders. To summarize:
* Only D:\Music is selected to sync.
* Additional music is stored in H:\Kathy's Files\Music.
* Some folders for music stored on the H drive are synced, but they sync empty--without the files that are stored in H.

So those folders are coming in from somewhere else, possibly not from a sync of the folders on the H drive. I thought it might be caused by Playlists, as you suggested, but I've deselected Playlists for sync and deleted any I could find from my mobile. I've also run a search on the mobile for some of the words in the undesired folder names, and nothing was found. IOW, those folders aren't already on my mobile when I do the sync.

Apparently something is hidden somewhere that is triggering generation of those folders during sync, and I can't figure out what.

I'd appreciate any additional clues you can give me. Even if you can't, I certainly appreciate the help you've given so far! At least I could figure out some workarounds at this point.
Lowlander
Posts: 56465
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2003 5:53 pm
Location: MediaMonkey 5

Re: Undesired Files Sync

Post by Lowlander »

Are you sure Sync is creating the folders? Could they have been created in the past and since have their files removed?

The easiest way to confirm is to remove anything that doesn't belong on the device itself and then do a Sync. If Sync recreates folders and/or Syncs unselected files there is something to investigate.

Screenshots: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=97733
kathy2343
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Jun 25, 2011 2:54 pm

Re: Undesired Files Sync

Post by kathy2343 »

Thanks, Lowlander. Yes, I'm sure sync was causing the unwanted files and folders to be created. I deleted the entire Music folder on the mobile, and that's where the undesired files/folders would reappear at sync.

However, I've apparently solved my sync problem by changing the path for Classical music to be the same as for Music. I'm not sure why that was causing files to download that I didn't want (not all of which were Classical genre--and why would a destination path affect which files transfer from the source anyway?), but at least it's working correctly now after HOURS of setup effort. Go figure.

And thank you for all your help! You sent me in some paths that helped narrow down the problem.
kathy2343
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Jun 25, 2011 2:54 pm

Re: Undesired Files Sync

Post by kathy2343 »

Correction--changing the path in "Classical" under File Locations for my sync did not completely solve my problem. Sync was still creating a "Classical" subfolder in my Music folder on my mobile device, even though I set the destination paths exactly the same.:
Music: Music\<Album Artist>\<Album>\<Track#:2> - <Title>
Classical: \Music\<Album Artist>\<Album>\<Track#:2> - <Title>

I gave up and retagged all music with a genre of Classical to something else, rescanned my desktop library, deleted all my music on my mobile, and resynced. Now: 1) nothing with the new genre tag is available in the Android app on my mobile, even though the music shows in the desktop app tree view of my mobile, 2) the new genre doesn't even appear in the Android app when I select Genre view, and 3) album art only (no tracks) from some albums that used to be tagged Classical are still showing up in a Classical subfolder of Music on the mobile.

I think I'm going to give up on sync and go back to manually copying all my music to my mobile. It's just a pain to keep it updated when changes are made to my library. But Android sync seems to be irredeemably buggy--at least for now.
Lowlander
Posts: 56465
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2003 5:53 pm
Location: MediaMonkey 5

Re: Undesired Files Sync

Post by Lowlander »

Are the files selected for Sync? They may not have been selected after they were removed and re-added in MMW.
kathy2343
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Jun 25, 2011 2:54 pm

Re: Undesired Files Sync

Post by kathy2343 »

Yes, nothing had changed on that setting (I just double checked to be sure), and most music from that location is syncing. Some is not, particularly (maybe only? I didn't check) the music with the new genre (Soft Classical). And the new genre doesn't even appear in the genre list in Android. But it is there in the desktop version tree for my mobile. I'm baffled.
Lowlander
Posts: 56465
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2003 5:53 pm
Location: MediaMonkey 5

Re: Undesired Files Sync

Post by Lowlander »

Normally it is because it isn't selected to be Synced in the Device Profile. I don't know how you setup your Sync Selection, but you may need to review it: https://www.mediamonkey.com/wiki/WebHel ... _Device.29
kathy2343
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Jun 25, 2011 2:54 pm

Re: Undesired Files Sync

Post by kathy2343 »

Thanks, Lowlander, but I've repeatedly reviewed everything I know to review. Here's what is selected in the sync device profile:
Location: D:\Music.
That is where all the music I want to sync resides.

Autosync is turned off in the sync device profile--I start sync manually.

The paths under Options/File Locations in the sync device profile are:
Music: \Music\<Album Artist>\<Album>\<Track#:2> - <Title>
Classical: \Music\<Album Artist>\<Album>\<Track#:2> - <Title>
And then various settings for podcasts, videos, etc.--none of which are problems.

Since I don't want ANYTHING to sync to the Music\Classical folder, I retagged all tracks that had been tagged as genre Classical to a new tag of Soft Classical. Now those tracks don't sync at all, the album art for them is syncing to Music\Classical, and the genre Soft Classical doesn't even appear in the genre window on my device.

Completely baffled.
Lowlander
Posts: 56465
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2003 5:53 pm
Location: MediaMonkey 5

Re: Undesired Files Sync

Post by Lowlander »

kathy2343 wrote: Thu Sep 16, 2021 5:25 pm Here's what is selected in the sync device profile:
Location: D:\Music.
Under which Collection? And do the files in question actually exist in that Collection?
kathy2343
Posts: 33
Joined: Sat Jun 25, 2011 2:54 pm

Re: Undesired Files Sync

Post by kathy2343 »

The plot thickens. I can see the Soft Classical genre in MM for Android Auto (and in MM for Windows when the device is connected)--just not in the MMA app on the device itself. Using same device (Galaxy Note20) for all three things). This definitely seems to be a bug in MMA.

So SOME albums with Soft Classical tag synced to the device, just not all of them.
Post Reply