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Collections: Display Settings vs Auto Box Sets


Tanamur

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Tanamur

H/W Server: Windows 10 / Intel NUC i5

Emby Server: Version 3.0.5782.0

 

Hi Forum - I have just been reading the Editing Collections thread.  Since it has been asked and answered I did not want to continue to add to it since my question varies. 

 

My question is simply whether or not the Server Home>Settings>Display Settings>Group movies into collections duplicates the Auto Box Sets plug-in? I have had the plug-in installed for a few years but recently have struggled to keep all films included in collections after each Library Scan. Even after manually adding them, the next scan loses them even though each film contains the IMDB collection ID.

 

I uninstalled the plug-in, went through the same process of manually adding the missing films (Austin Powers, Basic Instinct, Alien, etc) and reran the library scan only to lose the films I just added to the collections.

 

Am I off base here? Currently I have un-installed the plug-in.

 

Thanks, @Tanamur

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AdrianW

This is not going to answer your question - but I just create my collections manually - e.g. For Alien - I have a folder named "Alien Anthology [boxset]" which contains folders for each Alien movie. This always works, I never have to rebuild anything. And it keeps the movies together even when manually browsing via File Explorer.

 

I can't see why I'd want to use any other method - except perhaps to put one movie into more than one collection. But, I've never had a need to do that anyway.

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Tanamur

Hi @@AdrianW - Thanks for the reply. I used to do this as well but just found this process too time consuming for me personally with the size of my movie library. I like the database process best for me and try to use the features.  Cheers, @Tanamur

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Koleckai Silvestri

Grouping movies into collections doesn't duplicate auto-boxsets or manually created collections. It only works if you have collections created by one of those methods and is visual only. Not a fan of that setting myself as it breaks sorting since a collection might be in the D section like The Dark Knight Trilogy but you are looking for Batman Begins in the B section.

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Deathsquirrel

This is not going to answer your question - but I just create my collections manually - e.g. For Alien - I have a folder named "Alien Anthology [boxset]" which contains folders for each Alien movie. This always works, I never have to rebuild anything. And it keeps the movies together even when manually browsing via File Explorer.

 

I can't see why I'd want to use any other method - except perhaps to put one movie into more than one collection. But, I've never had a need to do that anyway.

 

This is absolutely not recommended.  You can obviously do it but it is strongly encouraged that you create the collections either manually in the UI or with the collection plugin.  Collections created on disc will not offer full functionality with all clients.

 

My personal recommendation is to run the collection plugin once against your collection and then do further edits by hand in the UI after removing the plugin.  The TMDB collection data seems unreliable in my experience.  A collection could be there one day, gone the next, and then return in 6 months.  Using the plugin on ever media scan opens your collections to those source data issues.  Running it once and then removing it on the other hand is perfectly safe and saves you a lot of time creating things by hand.

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Deathsquirrel

Grouping movies into collections doesn't duplicate auto-boxsets or manually created collections. It only works if you have collections created by one of those methods and is visual only. Not a fan of that setting myself as it breaks sorting since a collection might be in the D section like The Dark Knight Trilogy but you are looking for Batman Begins in the B section.

 

Note that if you don't check this box then the collections you create are useless as they don't display in the UI.  Not everyone will want to find Batman Begins under a collection you choose to alphabetize under the letter Q, but presumably anyone setting up a collection and setting the sort letter to Q does ;)

 

I couldn't really use Emby without this.  Scrolling through my full collection would be a massive pain.  Collections cut the number of items on the main page by about a third in my case.

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Note that if you don't check this box then the collections you create are useless as they don't display in the UI.

I thought there was a separate option to display the Collections folder. Does it not show up unless you select "Group"?

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Deathsquirrel

I thought there was a separate option to display the Collections folder. Does it not show up unless you select "Group"?

 

Good catch, I disable that so hadn't remembered it.  I think it's a terrible workflow but it's definitely an option.  Also, under Movies there is a Collections function even if you aren't grouping your movies.

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they are unrelated. the plugin helps you create your collections automatically. the setting just dictates how you want them displayed.

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Koleckai Silvestri

Good catch, I disable that so hadn't remembered it.  I think it's a terrible workflow but it's definitely an option.  Also, under Movies there is a Collections function even if you aren't grouping your movies.

 

Different workflows for different people. Going by the questions that my users and guests ask about finding stuff, I have adjusted things to work better. Even if it creates redundancy. There is never going to be a "one-size" fits all methodology with this sort of thing.

Edited by Koleckai Silvestri
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Deathsquirrel

Different workflows for different people. Going by the questions that my users and guests ask about finding stuff, I have adjusted things to work better. Even if it creates redundancy. There is never going to be a "one-size" fits all methodology with this sort of thing.

 

Sure, I just have trouble envisioning the scenario where any of my users are thinking 'hmmm....what kind of movie....oh I know, one in a collection!' when browsing titles so the separate collection link has never made any sense to me.

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Koleckai Silvestri

Sure, I just have trouble envisioning the scenario where any of my users are thinking 'hmmm....what kind of movie....oh I know, one in a collection!' when browsing titles so the separate collection link has never made any sense to me.

 

 

Guest: "You don't have the new Minions movie?"

Me: "It is under D for Despicable Me."

Guest: "Oh, I was looking in the M movies."

 

Forcing things into collections makes them hard to find for some people. Other times you might want to watch all three Despicable Me movies in order so you have a collection or box set to do that. I queued up the collection like a playlist to keep kids entertained just the other night. They could watch movies in one room and the adults could talk in another. No worrying about queuing up new movies or the player stopping in the middle.

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maximilianh75

I have a problem , I can't see an option to remove a movie from a collection

A create manually a new collection add a movie but i can't remove

How I do

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I have a problem , I can't see an option to remove a movie from a collection

A create manually a new collection add a movie but i can't remove

How I do

 

When you navigate to the detail screen of a collection, each item has a 3-dot menu button attached. have you tried clicking that button?

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maximilianh75

When you navigate to the detail screen of a collection, each item has a 3-dot menu button attached. have you tried clicking that button?

Yes I do but i have an option to add a movie to collection but not to remove. 

A time ago I have the option to remove. Maybe when the new server update something is missing

Edited by maximilianh75
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Yes I do but i have an option to add a movie to collection but not to remove. 

A time ago I have the option to remove. Maybe when the new server update something is missing

 

Did you see the screenshot posted above?

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Koleckai Silvestri

Yes I post a Pic that what appear to me in web client

 

Click on the "three-dot" menu for the actual item that you want to remove. You can't do it through the multi-select.

Edited by Koleckai Silvestri
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Try clicking the 3-bot button that is on top of the movie poster.

 

This is good information though. When you're on this particular screen, we should probably make sure the remove button is part of the multi-select menu.

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maximilianh75

Click on the "three-dot" menu for the actual item that you want to remove. You can't do it through the multi-select.

YEs i watch now 

Sorry 

Thanks for your time

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Tanamur

Thanks for the contributions everyone. After removing the Auto Box Sets plugin, cleaning and rescanning the database, I had a look at the Collections display (group movies into collections settings active). Many, not all, collections were correct.

 

I then added a new movie that was part of an existing collection. When the metadata was downloaded, the TMDB Collection ID was downloaded properly. However, no matter how many times I cleaned and rescanned the database, the movie would never be grouped with the Collection and I had to do it manually. 

 

I then reinstalled the Auto Box Sets plugin and ran it a couple of times followed by a full scan. What resulted surprised me. Many of the movies that were correctly included previously, were removed despite still being present online in the TMDB database.

 

So, I am having mixed results and only had the time to address this over the holidays. My final question would be to help me understand why when a movie's metadata is correctly populated including the collection ID, why won't it display along with the other movies in the collection view?  

Edited by Tanamur
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...

I then reinstalled the Auto Box Sets plugin and ran it a couple of times followed by a full scan. What resulted surprised me. Many of the movies that were correctly included previously, were removed despite still being present online in the TMDB database.

... 

My final question would be to help me understand why when a movie's metadata is correctly populated including the collection ID, why won't it display along with the other movies is the collection view?  

 

I'm experiencing the same behaviour.  Same circumstances, same outcome.

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Koleckai Silvestri

The movie has to be added to a specific collection XML to be included. Just having the ID in the nfo file is not enough. If the plugin isn't adding them when it runs, that is a bug in the plugin.

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