Quetion about nested folder structures

[QuiteTheKetch 5]

Hello got a bit of an odd request and the answer may not be known but I had a question about a  nested folder structure.

So I have a very large movie collection and I have it divided like this movies-->decade-->genre and I have a separate library set up for each division and level of sorting. So for an example I have a movie library with every movie in it, next to it a library for all movies from 2000-2009, and then a library with all the horror sub-folders included inside of those decade folders. I've been doing it this way for a while with no issue, I still have no issues related to this structure that I'm aware of.

Which brings us to the question (and technically my first noticed issue but I don't see it as such and will explain): I use arch Linux so I didn't get the update that showed versions for a while but I have it now and I started noticing that movies all had different versions but they all led to the same file. Everything played okay I just wanted to know what was going on so I started poking around the forums and found people talking about this and that's where I read that this library structure is not supported (multiple libraries referencing back to the same file). I did clue in that those "versions" are just the listing in each of my library divisions because my server does have multiple listing of those same movies because of my organization method and so I considered this more of a UI bug (self imposed of course because I was outside of use) more than a true issue I needed to fix.

But this did lead me to what I wanted to ask which is: because this structure is unsupported are there any other problems it can cause besides some listing bugs? I didn't realize it was unsupported and have been doing it this way for a long time without what I would consider issues but knowing it wasn't meant to be used this way and running into my first real bit of evidence that I shouldn't has made me curious if there are known bugs associated with this structure beyond what I've seen and should I consider changing my structure? Or if I'm comfortable with the minor bugs such as multiple versions of the same file showing up etc it would be safe to continue doing this?

Having separate hand made libraries for these divisions works best for our household instead of using the built in genre header or the folder tab as default view but I do ultimately care about the life of my server and if I gotta start rethinking the structure to find a different solution for the library woes I'd like to understand why its a problem (programming wise I mean) so I can avoid causing further issues.

Thanks for reading, sorry its so long winded. Have a great day!

[tedfroop21 86]

There are many other ways to sort content in Emby that don't involve using a complex folder structure for storage. 

One of the things you mention is multiple Genres.  Sorting libraries by genre is in a way - spending a lot of time doing what Emby does for you automatically.  It also creates a bit of a mess when you have multiple genres. (as you have seen)

By year or decade or era,  is a great way to sort libraries.  Pick that era library, and go the genres tab, and boom,  all sorted.  Then movies show up in multiple genres, but not multiple listings elsewhere.

If you really want - add Tags, or Genres, to your metadata yourself and add granularity of sorting that way - way, way, simpler than trying to sort it all yourself on that level.

Plus you can create collections like "QuitetheCatches Favorite Horror" etc.

I guess the short form is, this is that the media server and metadata make an easier way of sorting for viewing than complex nested directories ever can.  Big simple libraries that sort by type and what you want to allow users access to - and then use meta to sort is far easier to deal with in the end IMO.

[QuiteTheKetch 5]

18 hours ago, tedfroop21 said:

There are many other ways to sort content in Emby that don't involve using a complex folder structure for storage. 

One of the things you mention is multiple Genres.  Sorting libraries by genre is in a way - spending a lot of time doing what Emby does for you automatically.  It also creates a bit of a mess when you have multiple genres. (as you have seen)

By year or decade or era,  is a great way to sort libraries.  Pick that era library, and go the genres tab, and boom,  all sorted.  Then movies show up in multiple genres, but not multiple listings elsewhere.

If you really want - add Tags, or Genres, to your metadata yourself and add granularity of sorting that way - way, way, simpler than trying to sort it all yourself on that level.

Plus you can create collections like "QuitetheCatches Favorite Horror" etc.

I guess the short form is, this is that the media server and metadata make an easier way of sorting for viewing than complex nested directories ever can.  Big simple libraries that sort by type and what you want to allow users access to - and then use meta to sort is far easier to deal with in the end IMO.

I appreciate your response but I already know all of this. I've been using emby for years and for various reasons, all small but numerous, the complex folder sorting suits our needs better than the built in tools. My question wasn't about how I can do this easier - I know easier ways - but if doing it this way will cause damage to my server in significant ways instead of superficial ones. Like I said i've been doing it like this for years and didn't even realize it was technically outside what its programmed to do, so on learning this I wanted to find out if I should pivot to another method or if deciding I could live with the superficial bugs was an option. It was a technical question for anyone who knows how the program works under the hood better than I. Not a question of not knowing how to utilize the GUI and functions of the application. I'm just not a programmer and may not understand what nesting structures are doing under the hood I cant see.

Again I appreciate you taking your time even tho its not what I'm looking for. Have a great day.

[ebr 16185]

Hi.  As a general rule, any time you use a structure that is outside of our suggestions - even if it happens to work - it is very likely to break at some point in the future.  Sorry I cannot provide anything more specific than that because it would come down to very specific conditions of each individual case (and these conditions could change over time).

[QuiteTheKetch 5]

5 minutes ago, ebr said:

Hi.  As a general rule, any time you use a structure that is outside of our suggestions - even if it happens to work - it is very likely to break at some point in the future.  Sorry I cannot provide anything more specific than that because it would come down to very specific conditions of each individual case (and these conditions could change over time).

That's a good point I didn't think about future updates when considering changing my structure only current build. Had completely overlooked something basic. Appreciate the insight