Linked Items Sense Checking Knowledge and Feedback - Unable to find linked item

[ginjaninja 537]

V3.0.5490.2

Spent 3 hours today trying to help a colleague create an additional 'subset' media folder with TVShow Shortcuts {So as only to display a subset of the full number off tv shows to certain users}. All testing done with web client/admin user.

 

On my server it just worked first time.

Create New Media Folder....Create {UNC} Shortcuts out of existing TV Shows...Place Shortcuts in subset media folder..rescan library...shortcuts/shows {Subset of TV Shows} show in new media folder/library....{ready to then apply access control etc}

 

I messed around for 2 hours trying to get it to work unsuccessfully on my colleague's server,  the subset media folder would always be blank.

 

The pertinent error in the logs seemed to be "Unable to find linked item" referring to the .lnk files and their targets.eg "\\servername\sharename\showname.lnk" when scanning the subset media folder.

 

unfortunately in the process of fixing it i deleted the old logs so cant post the full log....doh!

 

Anyways we tried everything, deleting all media folders from the library, starting a fresh, rescanning, not using hidden shares for media folder designation....making the config exactly like mine.

 

In the end we uninstalled everything, reinstalled a fresh, put all the settings back to how it was, recreated the media libraries as was, and it worked 1st time with one caveat..

 

The error message "unable to find linked item" previously seemed to suggest the need to already have the object, the shortcut in the subset media folder refers to, ..already scanned into the library...

and this seemed to be the case.

If i created the subset media folder {with short cuts} first , the subset media folder would be blank when viewed in webclient..If i created the full media folders first {the ones with actual content rather than shortcuts}, then my subset media folder would be functional......Is this expected?

 

Anyways apart from checking understanding on the above question, the reason for posting is just to say ...

{and i appreciate this may be of limited help without the log}

, that it seems that it was possible to knock MB3 off its perch with regards to using shortcuts. I am sure we had exactly the same configuration and yet it would not work until we had done a fresh installation...FWIW...spent a good 2 hours/checking, scanning, rebuilding...but it wasnt until a complete reinstall afresh that it started to work {with what i am 99.9% certain was the same configuration and 100% confident was the same media folder configuration}.

 

any ideas what we were experiencing?, confirmation on the requirement to have the object already in library gratefully received from the devs...

@@ebr

ebrs post seems to suggest this is a known issue..ie a fresh approach is sometimes necessary

http://mediabrowser.tv/community/index.php?/topic/13205-unable-to-find-linked-item/?p=148587

this evidence seems to suggest that sometimes a complete reinstall is necessary..

Edited January 18, 2015 by ginjaninja

[ebr 14925]

Yes, the item being linked to must exist in the library but it seems that the order in which they are created should not matter (as long as you re-scan after they are both there).  Of course, it appears you have just discovered that it does matter.  I'd call that a bug but I'm not sure just how complicated it would be to correct so it may also end up being a limitation .

[ginjaninja 537]

Thanks for the confirmation..

Perhaps if the devs were to consider what could cause the log message "unable to find linked item" in situations where the linked items was already in the library and showing, might provide an insight into what went wrong..

[ginjaninja 537]

in case its relevant, i also note, that it seems normal that for tv media folders made up of tv show shortcuts, the episodes tab is not populated in webclient...episodes are accessible via the show/season {in webclient}...

Edited January 18, 2015 by ginjaninja