Can you somehow "reindex" photos (not all of them are displayed)?

[Commodore]

A while ago I discovered that if I delete a photo directly from within the file system (that is, in the /var/mobile/Media/DCIM/100APPLE directory), either locally or remotely (via SSH session, WinSCP etc.), the native Photos app will still display that photo's thumbnail (but if I tap on it, it won't open any photo, of course). So I also had to "delete" the remnant the usual way, within the Photos app.

I forgot this when I synced the Photos via WinSCP (by "synced" I mean I added several new photos from my computer's drive to iPad using iPad's SSH server and WinSCP client on the computer). The Photos app displays "official" photos (those from before), but if I check with iFile, there are about 80 more files/photos that are not displayed in Photos. What's the quickest way to solve this, is it possible to somehow reindex the photos manually (so that the Photos app picks and displays all of them)? Or should I just download all of them to a computer, delete them on iPad, and reimport them to iPad by means of a "conventional" way?

(I put this into the Hacking section, as it requires JB to work this way.)

 

[Mickey330]

A while ago I discovered that if I delete a photo directly from within the file system (that is, in the /var/mobile/Media/DCIM/100APPLE directory), either locally or remotely (via SSH session, WinSCP etc.), the native Photos app will still display that photo's thumbnail (but if I tap on it, it won't open any photo, of course). So I also had to "delete" the remnant the usual way, within the Photos app.

I forgot this when I synced the Photos via WinSCP (by "synced" I mean I added several new photos from my computer's drive to iPad using iPad's SSH server and WinSCP client on the computer). The Photos app displays "official" photos (those from before), but if I check with iFile, there are about 80 more files/photos that are not displayed in Photos. What's the quickest way to solve this, is it possible to somehow reindex the photos manually (so that the Photos app picks and displays all of them)? Or should I just download all of them to a computer, delete them on iPad, and reimport them to iPad by means of a "conventional" way?

(I put this into the Hacking section, as it requires JB to work this way.)

TBH, I'd do it the last way (the part I bolded). Messing with the photos and Photos app is a bit tricky, even with a jail broken device. My understanding is that the iPad, when "doing" photo stuff, is actually creating and managing a database. So, the iOS is making links, deleting links and all sorts of stuff to keep the appearance and behavior of the photo app as it was designed.

So, any attempt to go in and manipulate, manually, those photos is bound to mess up the iPad's iOS coded/linked database.

IOW, I wouldn't mess any further with the Photos app than using it as a storage bin. That's why, no matter how irked I got with photo behavior, I never messed with it myself. I was always too afraid of messing up that database. Of course, and as always, YMMV.

Marilyn

 

[Commodore]

OK, guess I'll do that, and keep it in mind for next time. This (lack of change detection followed by reindexing) and the fact that you can't see in the all-encompassing Camera Roll whether a photo has been added to an album or not, is indeed quite inefficient. :\

 

[dragon499]

I think I may have a solution - This re-indexing worked for me when tried directly copying pictures from one device to another - and they did not initially show up.

Before taking the actions, back up anything that you are going to delete.

First, navigate to:

\var\mobile\Media\PhotoData

Delete:

Photos.sqlite
Photos.sqlite-shm
Photos.sqlite-wal

Then, navigate to:

\var\mobile\Media\PhotoData\MISC

Delete:

DCIM_APPLE.plist
PreviewWellImage.tiff

Then, reload photos, and all files in filesystem\var\mobile\Media\DCIM\100APPLE are shown in camera roll when next opening photos.

Let me know if this works.

 

[Commodore]

Nope, doesn't work. All I get is "no photos or videos" if I launch the Photos app (or even the 3rd party PhotosPro). The directory \var\mobile\Media\PhotoData contains a bunch of other files and directories (maybe I should delete some more of them), though.

EDIT: I restored the files I originally "deleted", and I've noticed later on that all the photos were shown, so apparently the system did something along the way.