[Feature Request] Ability to view thumbnail of Image files

[rvneXe]

Hello. Some people may need this feature for exploring pictures or images using this tool.

[Alex4SSB]

Yes, that definitely could be a great feature.
The problem is that in order to display an image, it needs to be transferred first to the PC.
I also can't get the image in a smaller resolution to speed up the process.
So in order to display thumbnails for every picture in a folder - all of the pictures in that folder will need to be pulled to the PC, at which point you will be able to view all of them in the File Explorer anyway.

The only thing I see value in adding is displaying an image that you selected. This image still needs to be pulled to the PC, but this way you can select images one after the other, while keeping the data transfers to a minimum.

[rvneXe]

Yeah, I understand now. Sorry for interrupting.

[dudududodododedede]

Android seems to have a thumbnail cache that it maintains for this purpose, perhaps just that can be pulled:

https://athenaforensics.co.uk/thumbnails-android-dcim-folder/

[dudududodododedede]

On my Pixel 8 running Android 16 it seems to have thumbnails for both pictures and videos, and I can pull them using ADB Explorer

/Pictures/.thumbnails/
/Movies/.thumbnails/

[Alex4SSB]

@dudududodododedede Yes, I've looked into that as well. The thumbnails there are numbered by thumbnail generation order I think, so no direct correlation to the actual images. That means that I will first need to query Android for a lookup table before I can read the correct thumbnail for each photo. If you can find out how that's done, and test it on your phone, I will gladly implement that.

[dudududodododedede]

I think the index is in the .thumbdata file

there is some code to do it here:
https://github.com/ms300/android-thumbdata-extract

[Alex4SSB]

Ok, I understand it now - since Android 10/11 it changed and .thumbdata no longer exists, so we need to query the content database on the phone shell content query --uri content://media/external/images/media.
I will implement support for old and new methods, but only in the WPF UI branch, so it will take longer to become official.

[dudududodododedede]

Super exciting -- adding this feature would put this tool on a whole new level
Apps like AirDroid and PhoneLink have this functionality but have fundamental flaws (AirDroid doesnt work with latest Android, PhoneLink only supports sync of Photos, not Videos)

[Alex4SSB]

Checkout the latest WIP release https://github.com/Alex4SSB/ADB-Explorer/releases/tag/v1.0.26030 with a partial thumbnails implementation, just be sure to check the settings first - the feature is off by default.

[dudududodododedede]

downloaded the archive, enabled the options in the settings, but sadly no thumbnails show up when I browse into DCIM folder
could I increase verbosity to view debug messages?

my adb version:

Android Debug Bridge version 1.0.41
Version 35.0.1-11580240
Installed as C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe
Running on Windows 10.0.26200

Log:

23:28:03:451 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe mdns check
23:28:03:708 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe devices -l
23:28:03:935 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe -s 192.168.0.105:36377 shell busybox --help
23:28:03:939 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe -s 192.168.0.105:36377 shell getprop
23:28:03:971 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe mdns check
23:28:04:190 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe -s 192.168.0.105:36377 shell echo $PATH
23:28:04:196 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe mdns services
23:28:04:265 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe -s 192.168.0.105:36377 shell whoami
23:28:04:299 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe -s 192.168.0.105:36377 shell find /system/bin/am /system/bin/cat /system/bin/cp /system/bin/df /system/bin/dumpsys /system/bin/echo /system/bin/find /system/bin/getprop /system/bin/ip /system/bin/mkdir /system/bin/mv /system/bin/pm /system/bin/pwd /system/bin/readlink /system/bin/rm /system/bin/stat /system/bin/tar /system/bin/touch /system/bin/whoami 2>/dev/null
23:28:04:447 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe -s 192.168.0.105:36377 shell find --help
23:28:04:588 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe -s 192.168.0.105:36377 shell find /product/bin/am /product/bin/cat /product/bin/cp /product/bin/df /product/bin/dumpsys /product/bin/echo /product/bin/find /product/bin/getprop /product/bin/ip /product/bin/mkdir /product/bin/mv /product/bin/pm /product/bin/pwd /product/bin/readlink /product/bin/rm /product/bin/stat /product/bin/tar /product/bin/touch /product/bin/whoami 2>/dev/null
23:28:04:727 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe -s 192.168.0.105:36377 shell find /apex/com.android.runtime/bin/am /apex/com.android.runtime/bin/cat /apex/com.android.runtime/bin/cp /apex/com.android.runtime/bin/df /apex/com.android.runtime/bin/dumpsys /apex/com.android.runtime/bin/echo /apex/com.android.runtime/bin/find /apex/com.android.runtime/bin/getprop /apex/com.android.runtime/bin/ip /apex/com.android.runtime/bin/mkdir /apex/com.android.runtime/bin/mv /apex/com.android.runtime/bin/pm /apex/com.android.runtime/bin/pwd /apex/com.android.runtime/bin/readlink /apex/com.android.runtime/bin/rm /apex/com.android.runtime/bin/stat /apex/com.android.runtime/bin/tar /apex/com.android.runtime/bin/touch /apex/com.android.runtime/bin/whoami 2>/dev/null
23:28:04:892 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe -s 192.168.0.105:36377 shell find /apex/com.android.art/bin/am /apex/com.android.art/bin/cat /apex/com.android.art/bin/cp /apex/com.android.art/bin/df /apex/com.android.art/bin/dumpsys /apex/com.android.art/bin/echo /apex/com.android.art/bin/find /apex/com.android.art/bin/getprop /apex/com.android.art/bin/ip /apex/com.android.art/bin/mkdir /apex/com.android.art/bin/mv /apex/com.android.art/bin/pm /apex/com.android.art/bin/pwd /apex/com.android.art/bin/readlink /apex/com.android.art/bin/rm /apex/com.android.art/bin/stat /apex/com.android.art/bin/tar /apex/com.android.art/bin/touch /apex/com.android.art/bin/whoami 2>/dev/null
23:28:05:049 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe -s 192.168.0.105:36377 shell find /apex/com.android.virt/bin/am /apex/com.android.virt/bin/cat /apex/com.android.virt/bin/cp /apex/com.android.virt/bin/df /apex/com.android.virt/bin/dumpsys /apex/com.android.virt/bin/echo /apex/com.android.virt/bin/find /apex/com.android.virt/bin/getprop /apex/com.android.virt/bin/ip /apex/com.android.virt/bin/mkdir /apex/com.android.virt/bin/mv /apex/com.android.virt/bin/pm /apex/com.android.virt/bin/pwd /apex/com.android.virt/bin/readlink /apex/com.android.virt/bin/rm /apex/com.android.virt/bin/stat /apex/com.android.virt/bin/tar /apex/com.android.virt/bin/touch /apex/com.android.virt/bin/whoami 2>/dev/null
23:28:05:185 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe -s 192.168.0.105:36377 shell find /system_ext/bin/am /system_ext/bin/cat /system_ext/bin/cp /system_ext/bin/df /system_ext/bin/dumpsys /system_ext/bin/echo /system_ext/bin/find /system_ext/bin/getprop /system_ext/bin/ip /system_ext/bin/mkdir /system_ext/bin/mv /system_ext/bin/pm /system_ext/bin/pwd /system_ext/bin/readlink /system_ext/bin/rm /system_ext/bin/stat /system_ext/bin/tar /system_ext/bin/touch /system_ext/bin/whoami 2>/dev/null
23:28:05:440 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe -s 192.168.0.105:36377 shell readlink -fe `echo $EXTERNAL_STORAGE`
23:28:05:591 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe -s 192.168.0.105:36377 shell df /
23:28:05:628 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe -s 192.168.0.105:36377 shell find /system/xbin/am /system/xbin/cat /system/xbin/cp /system/xbin/df /system/xbin/dumpsys /system/xbin/echo /system/xbin/find /system/xbin/getprop /system/xbin/ip /system/xbin/mkdir /system/xbin/mv /system/xbin/pm /system/xbin/pwd /system/xbin/readlink /system/xbin/rm /system/xbin/stat /system/xbin/tar /system/xbin/touch /system/xbin/whoami 2>/dev/null
23:28:06:154 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe -s 192.168.0.105:36377 shell find /odm/bin/am /odm/bin/cat /odm/bin/cp /odm/bin/df /odm/bin/dumpsys /odm/bin/echo /odm/bin/find /odm/bin/getprop /odm/bin/ip /odm/bin/mkdir /odm/bin/mv /odm/bin/pm /odm/bin/pwd /odm/bin/readlink /odm/bin/rm /odm/bin/stat /odm/bin/tar /odm/bin/touch /odm/bin/whoami 2>/dev/null
23:28:06:158 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe -s 192.168.0.105:36377 shell df /sdcard
23:28:06:401 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe -s 192.168.0.105:36377 shell find /vendor/bin/am /vendor/bin/cat /vendor/bin/cp /vendor/bin/df /vendor/bin/dumpsys /vendor/bin/echo /vendor/bin/find /vendor/bin/getprop /vendor/bin/ip /vendor/bin/mkdir /vendor/bin/mv /vendor/bin/pm /vendor/bin/pwd /vendor/bin/readlink /vendor/bin/rm /vendor/bin/stat /vendor/bin/tar /vendor/bin/touch /vendor/bin/whoami 2>/dev/null
23:28:06:406 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe -s 192.168.0.105:36377 shell df | grep -E '/mnt/media_rw/|/storage/'
23:28:06:424 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe devices -l
23:28:06:572 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe -s 192.168.0.105:36377 shell find /vendor/xbin/am /vendor/xbin/dumpsys /vendor/xbin/ip /vendor/xbin/pm 2>/dev/null
23:28:06:654 ⁞ cmd.exe /C "netstat -nao | findstr 45324"
23:28:06:704 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe -s 192.168.0.105:36377 shell alias
23:28:06:738 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe -s 192.168.0.105:36377 shell df /
23:28:06:885 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe -s 192.168.0.105:36377 shell df /sdcard
23:28:07:053 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe -s 192.168.0.105:36377 shell df | grep -E '/mnt/media_rw/|/storage/'
23:28:07:650 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe -s 192.168.0.105:36377 shell cd "/storage/emulated/0" && pwd
23:28:07:924 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe -s 192.168.0.105:36377 ls "/storage/emulated/0"
23:28:08:737 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe devices -l
23:28:08:909 ⁞ cmd.exe /C "netstat -nao | findstr 45324"
23:28:10:547 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe -s 192.168.0.105:36377 ls "/storage/emulated/0/DCIM"
23:28:10:981 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe devices -l
23:28:11:186 ⁞ cmd.exe /C "netstat -nao | findstr 45324"
23:28:12:414 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe -s 192.168.0.105:36377 ls "/storage/emulated/0/DCIM/Camera"
23:28:13:287 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe devices -l
23:28:13:580 ⁞ cmd.exe /C "netstat -nao | findstr 45324"
23:28:15:678 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe devices -l
23:28:15:841 ⁞ cmd.exe /C "netstat -nao | findstr 45324"
23:28:17:907 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe devices -l
23:28:18:079 ⁞ cmd.exe /C "netstat -nao | findstr 45324"
23:28:20:149 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe devices -l
23:28:20:314 ⁞ cmd.exe /C "netstat -nao | findstr 45324"
23:28:22:385 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe devices -l
23:28:22:552 ⁞ cmd.exe /C "netstat -nao | findstr 45324"
23:28:24:624 ⁞ C:\Users\User\Downloads\adb\adb.exe devices -l
23:28:24:789 ⁞ cmd.exe /C "netstat -nao | findstr 45324"

[Alex4SSB]

The thumbnails acquisition, especially for the first time, takes some time:

1. I need to get the folder that contains the thumbnails (1 second)
2. I need to execute and parse the response of the command to read the thumbnails data from the gallery database (~6 seconds for 16,000 photos)
3. I need to pull all thumbnails from the device into %LocalAppData%\AdbExplorer (under a folder with the device ID). With the pull speed limited it might take about a minute.

Currently, there might be an issue using the setting you selected since the whole process only begins when you navigated into this folder, and I've yet to implement updating thumbnails while in the folder for which they are currently being pulled.

Try to select "On Connection" option, then open for browsing, and check the Task Manager: you should see an increase in CPU usage of ADB Explorer while steps 1 & 2 are being performed, and then an increase in disk / network usage of ADB.exe while step 3 is performed (for thumbnails that haven't been pulled yet).
When both are complete and the CPU / network usage goes down to normal values - navigate into your photos folder and enable Icons View, by then your thumbnails should be ready.

Naturally, this must be improved for the release.