Why is there a "Mark Played" option in the context menu of a library?

[MBSki 1114]

I don't understand why I would want to mark an entire library as played. If "Mark Played" is accidentally clicked, it'll mark EVERY video as played. There's no way to recover from that. There isn't even a "are you sure?" prompt. Can this option be buried somewhere else that's hard to get to? I have thousands of videos in several of my libraries and the possibility of accidentally marking every one of them as played just should not exist.

[Luke 42078]

Hi, some people do sometimes want to do this, although yes there should be a confirmation dialog box about it.

[MBSki 1114]

5 minutes ago, Luke said:

Hi, some people do sometimes want to do this, although yes there should be a confirmation dialog box about it.

I can see how some people would want to do this, but it shouldn't be so easy to get to. At a minimum there should be a dialog box, but personally I'd rather see the option moved to the library settings window rather than in the context menu since it's not an option that would be used frequently.

[Happy2Play 9780]

As mentioned in other topics asking the same question, I think it should be removed from item context and only exist on multi-select as it has mark played/unplayed.

[MBSki 1114]

@Luke Can you please move the "mark played" option to the multi-select menu as @Happy2Play suggested?

[Gilgamesh_48 1240]

Actually I like having the played/unplayed choices at the library level. I really think it should be available in every place where there is something to mark as such.

I think it should be added everywhere it makes sense but it should only be removed where it will not operate correctly.

In other words, do not "move" it but rather add it.

[MBSki 1114]

9 minutes ago, Gilgamesh_48 said:

Actually I like having the played/unplayed choices at the library level. I really think it should be available in every place where there is something to mark as such.

I think it should be added everywhere it makes sense but it should only be removed where it will not operate correctly.

In other words, do not "move" it but rather add it.

Why? If you accidentally check "mark played" there's absolutely no way to recover from that. Everything is now marked as played, and the only option would be to set EVERYTHING as unplayed. ALL of a users watched status would be completely lost. It's not necessary to take that risk when the same option can be provided somewhere else that is less risky.

[ebr 16184]

6 minutes ago, MBSki said:

Why? If you accidentally check "mark played" there's absolutely no way to recover from that. Everything is now marked as played, and the only option would be to set EVERYTHING as unplayed. ALL of a users watched status would be completely lost. It's not necessary to take that risk when the same option can be provided somewhere else that is less risky.

Same issue if you put the option somewhere else.  It just needs a proper confirmation.

[MBSki 1114]

5 minutes ago, ebr said:

Same issue if you put the option somewhere else.  It just needs a proper confirmation.

Much less of an issue if you put it where @Happy2Playmentioned.

[ebr 16184]

2 minutes ago, MBSki said:

Much less of an issue if you put it where @Happy2Playmentioned.

Its the exact same issue - just harder to find when you actually want it.  It just needs a confirmation as a very destructive operation.

[Gilgamesh_48 1240]

20 minutes ago, MBSki said:

Why? If you accidentally check "mark played" there's absolutely no way to recover from that. Everything is now marked as played, and the only option would be to set EVERYTHING as unplayed. ALL of a users watched status would be completely lost. It's not necessary to take that risk when the same option can be provided somewhere else that is less risky.

I know this will sound uncaring but if anyone makes that kind of mistake then they deserve what happens. I have been using Emby, and Plex, for many many years and I have never marked anything watched that I did not want to mark such. I see no need for Emby to protect users from their own mistakes.

I am a firm believer that we, each of us, is responsible for our actions and should take the good with the bad.

BTW: I think the Emby database is regularly backed up and should someone trash their data they can just roll back to an earlier version and only have to fix a few of the most recent watched statuses.

[MBSki 1114]

5 hours ago, Gilgamesh_48 said:

I know this will sound uncaring but if anyone makes that kind of mistake then they deserve what happens. I have been using Emby, and Plex, for many many years and I have never marked anything watched that I did not want to mark such. I see no need for Emby to protect users from their own mistakes.

I am a firm believer that we, each of us, is responsible for our actions and should take the good with the bad.

BTW: I think the Emby database is regularly backed up and should someone trash their data they can just roll back to an earlier version and only have to fix a few of the most recent watched statuses.

Yes, it is uncaring and makes it sound like you've never made a mistake before. Besides, is good software built with the intention of making it easier for users to make mistakes? No, no it isn't. We all know that.

5 hours ago, ebr said:

Its the exact same issue - just harder to find when you actually want it.  It just needs a confirmation as a very destructive operation.

It's not the same. If it's only available in the select menu, then you have to actually select the items to change. You'd be much less likely to select all and then mark all as played. 

 

I still haven't heard a reason why a Mark Played option for an ENTIRE library is even necessary. Can anyone justify the need to mark an entire library played? 

[Happy2Play 9780]

1 minute ago, MBSki said:

I still haven't heard a reason why a Mark Played option for an ENTIRE library is even necessary.

Would have to search but there are topics wanting this.

[MBSki 1114]

8 minutes ago, Happy2Play said:

Would have to search but there are topics wanting this.

I'd definitely be interested in seeing what the reasons are. 

Either way though, you stand by your idea that it makes more sense in the select menu right? They just need to add the option to select all.

[Gilgamesh_48 1240]

39 minutes ago, MBSki said:

Yes, it is uncaring and makes it sound like you've never made a mistake before. Besides, is good software built with the intention of making it easier for users to make mistakes? No, no it isn't. We all know that.

It's not the same. If it's only available in the select menu, then you have to actually select the items to change. You'd be much less likely to select all and then mark all as played. 

I still haven't heard a reason why a Mark Played option for an ENTIRE library is even necessary. Can anyone justify the need to mark an entire library played? 

The "reason" is that there was a time that you could not mark a library unplayed unless it was first marked played. That may no longer be the case but there still needs to be ways to easily do both. Also there used to be no way to easily select all files in a library. You used to have to go to every single file and select it. That is shift+select did not work. That has been fixed but if I want to mark an entire library played for whatever reason I should be able to.

Yes I have made "mistakes" but I do NOT need to be protected from making mistakes. Most of the time the attempt to be safe just makes it harder to accomplish things I want to do. I do NOT want Emby to protect me from mistakes. It is not Emby's job to keep me safe from myself.

@ebris correct. The "mark played" or unplayed option, when used for multiple  files, just should have a verification dialog and that should make everyone pretty happy.

Edit: I just hit another reason. Sometimes pointers etc in the database somehow get messed and one action that has fixed some weird problems has been to mark an entire library played and the led Emby churn on that for a while (The time needed varies with the size of the library) and then mark it unplayed. This has fixed some perplexing problems in the past.

Edited September 21, 2022 by Gilgamesh_48

[ebr 16184]

1 hour ago, MBSki said:

I still haven't heard a reason why a Mark Played option for an ENTIRE library is even necessary. Can anyone justify the need to mark an entire library played?

One situation could be a "guest" account that you re-use for different visitors to your home.  Another might be a child account where marking things unplayed will clear a bunch of resume points that aren't needed.

Again, hiding or making the option harder to find doesn't solve the actual problem.  It just needs a confirmation dialog.

[Gilgamesh_48 1240]

8 minutes ago, ebr said:

Again, hiding or making the option harder to find doesn't solve the actual problem.  It just needs a confirmation dialog.

And that is all it needs.

[MBSki 1114]

Thanks for the response @Gilgamesh_48 and @ebr. Given things have improved over time since the option was first added to the Library menu, it seems the app could evolve. I agree that a confirmation dialog is needed, but the option does not need to be in the Library menu. There are better ways to provide the option. It doesn't need to be everywhere especially since it wouldn't be used frequently. 

 

[MBSki 1114]

@Luke @ebr I don't believe the pop up dialog box for Mark Played has been implemented yet. Can you please put it on the short list of things to fix quickly?

[MBSki 1114]

@Luke @ebr Can you please implement the dialogue box? I know it doesn't happen often, but it does happen sometimes.

 

[ebr 16184]

The confirmation is there in the TV apps but, yes, it needs to be done in the others too.

[MBSki 1114]

24 minutes ago, ebr said:

The confirmation is there in the TV apps but, yes, it needs to be done in the others too.

Yes, thanks. The web and mobile apps is where I'm more concerned. Can you get this in one of the next few sprints?

[BuzStringer 33]

Did this get added? i dont want to test it...

[MBSki 1114]

@Luke @ebrWas the dialog box added? 

[Luke 42078]

Not yet sorry.