From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

I seem to have found a folder with a lot of photos I had lost track of.

They were, a large bunch of them, in Internal storage\DCIM\cameras ** .

I also have a large bunch of photos in Internal storage\DCIM !***

And a large bunch in External storage\DCIM\Camera ****.

There is nothing in External storage\DCIM except the Camera folder.

I understand why they are in two places. I have installed 2 other
camera apps, for close-ups, but in fact I only use the one that came
with the phone, a Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro. However I do remember
thinking, what good is external storage if I never use it? so I changed
from internal to external storage a year or two ago.

But how come some are in DCIM and some in DCIM\camera? Any suggestions?
** FWIW All of these are .jpg and one mp4
*** All of these are .jpg except for one .png and one mp4^^
**** Also, all .jpg and .mp4.

2) ^^The one .png file was named vicoo20250514031511.png. Any idea
what vicoo means?
Google so-called AI says "PNGs are commonly used for web graphics,
logos, illustrations, and screenshots, especially those needing
transparent backgrounds or high quality images" but I was apparently
trying to take a picture of my rear end, for medical reasons (I hope).
No web graphics or logos involved. I used the regular camera but could
setting on a different mode have made it use .png format? Pro? video, Portrait, Night, 64M, Short video, Panorama, Slow motion, Time-lapse,
Edit??? I normally just use Photo. So what could vicoo2025....png be?
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From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

On 2025-07-19 04:10, micky wrote:

But how come some are in DCIM and some in DCIM\camera? Any suggestions?
** FWIW All of these are .jpg and one mp4
*** All of these are .jpg except for one .png and one mp4^^
**** Also, all .jpg and .mp4.

Change of mind, different applications...

Writing to DCIM directly is not polite, it ignores there may be other apps.

I have:

.../DCIM> ls
Camera ImageApp MiWatch PlantNet Sup-Anesok
--
Cheers, Carlos.
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From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Carlos E.R., 2025-07-19 21:08:

On 2025-07-19 04:10, micky wrote:

But how come some are in DCIM and some in DCIM\camera? Any suggestions?
** FWIW All of these are .jpg and one mp4
*** All of these are .jpg except for one .png and one mp4^^
**** Also, all .jpg and .mp4.

Change of mind, different applications...

Writing to DCIM directly is not polite, it ignores there may be other apps.

This has nothing to do with "politeness". The structure of the DCIM
folder for the camera is a technical standard. Also see here:

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_rule_for_Camera_File_system>

Yes, on an Android smartphone that may not be that important, but at
least when connecting it using MTP, software which syncs the files may
expect a certain folder structure.
--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de
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From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

micky, 2025-07-19 04:10:

[...]

I understand why they are in two places. I have installed 2 other
camera apps, for close-ups, but in fact I only use the one that came
with the phone, a Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro. However I do remember
thinking, what good is external storage if I never use it? so I changed
from internal to external storage a year or two ago.

But how come some are in DCIM and some in DCIM\camera? Any suggestions?

Because you used apps which ignore the DCF (digital camera filesystem)
standard which *requires* to create a folder inside "DCIM" and *not*
store files directly to "DCIM".

The usual folder structure according to the standard is:

DCIM\<vendor>\<filename>

While <vendor> is often just "camera" or "Camera" most "real" camers put
their own name here like somthing with "CANON", "SONY" or similar.

[...]

2) ^^The one .png file was named vicoo20250514031511.png. Any idea
what vicoo means?

"vicoo" is just how the app, which created the image, names the files.
Others may choose "img_" or "pic" or whatever. It has no special meaning
and totally depends on the app.

Google so-called AI says "PNGs are commonly used for web graphics,

Please do no ask an "AI". The format of images is well documented - no
need to ask an "AI", give Wikipedia a try, at least they have references
to the canonical definitions:

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PNG>
<https://www.w3.org/TR/png/>

logos, illustrations, and screenshots, especially those needing
transparent backgrounds or high quality images" but I was apparently
trying to take a picture of my rear end, for medical reasons (I hope).
No web graphics or logos involved. I used the regular camera but could setting on a different mode have made it use .png format? Pro? video, Portrait, Night, 64M, Short video, Panorama, Slow motion, Time-lapse,
Edit??? I normally just use Photo. So what could vicoo2025....png be?

It depends on the app. I don't know any app named "Photo" only. What app
is that exactly? Do you have a Google play link for the app?

For example:

Open Camera app:

<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.sourceforge.opencamera>

Google Pixel Camera app:

<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.GoogleCamera> --
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de
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From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

In comp.mobile.android, on Sat, 19 Jul 2025 23:39:18 +0200, Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> wrote:

micky, 2025-07-19 04:10:

[...]

I understand why they are in two places. I have installed 2 other
camera apps, for close-ups, but in fact I only use the one that came
with the phone, a Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro. However I do remember
thinking, what good is external storage if I never use it? so I changed
from internal to external storage a year or two ago.

But how come some are in DCIM and some in DCIM\camera? Any suggestions?

Because you used apps which ignore the DCF (digital camera filesystem) >standard which *requires* to create a folder inside "DCIM" and *not*
store files directly to "DCIM".

I've installed Zoom Camera and Ultra Zoom Camera

I took a picture with each just now and
Zoom Camera did indeed put it in Internal storage\DCIM

I don't know directly which app took them but
Two others, both of my rear end, were taken this past may and the
remaining 89 were taken between March and May of 2024. I dont' remember
using Zoom Camera or any other app than the Xioami camera then. I'm sure
I didn't. A mystery.

I found a bigger problem with MS File Explorer. When I click on a
photo, it opens an inferior program, that doesn't allow going to the
next photo in the same folder. As I said earlier, the so-called Legacy
program allows going forward and back, far more important than the
new-fangled features in this unnamed program (They used to tell you in
the upper left corner what program you were using. Why they stopped
doing that I can't imagine.)
So if I right click on a photo file, in MS File Explorer, there is NO
Open with. 19 choices but no Open With.

Entering Legacy in the Start / Search box finds a program where Legacy
is not the first word, as it was in the prior Open With list. It's
called Windows Media Player Legacy. I open that.
A small problem with it, that every time I have to choose between
Recommended settings and Custom settings. It doesn't save my choice.
It finds the phone, both Internal shared storage and Android, but it
doesn't use the terms DCIM or camera anywhere. Instead it names tthem
Videos and Pictures, and separates the two, and won't show details, and
only shows images of either a video or a picture, but they are all the
same, not mini-pictures. Well that goes along with the fact that it
won't play them, at least from the phone. A good example why the first
step should be to upload pictures to the PC.... which I have done

Another problem with Legacy when started without first going to a
picture. It won't look at my whole directory structure, only at user/me directories. I keep my photos in C:\Data\Photos. It won't go there.

The usual folder structure according to the standard is:

DCIM\<vendor>\<filename>

While <vendor> is often just "camera" or "Camera" most "real" camers put >their own name here like somthing with "CANON", "SONY" or similar.

[...]

2) ^^The one .png file was named vicoo20250514031511.png. Any idea
what vicoo means?

"vicoo" is just how the app, which created the image, names the files.
Others may choose "img_" or "pic" or whatever. It has no special meaning
and totally depends on the app.

Okay. It's the only one that starts that way, so I'll forget about it.

Google so-called AI says "PNGs are commonly used for web graphics,

Please do no ask an "AI". The format of images is well documented - no
need to ask an "AI",

I think I asked something else and so-called AI insisted on anwering.
And there it is, first. Even if it's wrong, that's what I see first.
Ugh.

give Wikipedia a try, at least they have references
to the canonical definitions:

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PNG>
<https://www.w3.org/TR/png/>

logos, illustrations, and screenshots, especially those needing
transparent backgrounds or high quality images" but I was apparently
trying to take a picture of my rear end, for medical reasons (I hope).
No web graphics or logos involved. I used the regular camera but could
setting on a different mode have made it use .png format? Pro? video,
Portrait, Night, 64M, Short video, Panorama, Slow motion, Time-lapse,
Edit??? I normally just use Photo. So what could vicoo2025....png be?

It depends on the app. I don't know any app named "Photo" only. What app
is that exactly? Do you have a Google play link for the app?

These were just options from within the xiaomi camera app. Photo and
video use different extensions, so maybe the other ones do too. I've
never used them.

For example:

Open Camera app:

<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.sourceforge.opencamera>

Sounds good: New options: "Use milliseconds in filename" and "Optimise
focus for". Aha, I already have it, but probably used it once or less.
I will try it more basecdon your recommendation, or mention

Google Pixel Camera app:

<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.GoogleCamera>

I'm not pixelated so I can't use this one.
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