is there a way to move content between folders & preserve metadata/collection/playlists?

[RLanger7228 73]

I have my movies in 2 primary folders, all mixed together in each (for reasons long before I discovered Emby).  As I add new content, I am starting to create individual folders for each new movie so I can have an EXTRAS sub-folder, etc.  The original reason for having 2 folders is so ancient that it is no longer applicable.  I would like to move all the movies in one folder into the main folder, which would simplify searching for the individual file names on my NAS.

However, when I tried moving one movie with File Station (outside Emby) as an experiment, It lost all the metadata, Images, Collection & Playlist assignment I had made/edited, which all had to be re-done.  Since most of these things refer to a file name along a specific folder path, it makes sense that it would happen that way.  Emby saw that the original content "disappeared" from the original file path and that a new file "appeared" along a different path.  As an oddity, one thing that was preserved was the fact that it had been favorited, but all the Collection assignments, etc were lost.

IS THERE A WAY TO MOVE CONTENT BETWEEN FOLDERS WITHIN EMBY IN A WAY THAT WOULD PRESERVE THESE ASSIGNMENTS AND ANY "CUSTOM" METADATA/IMAGES THAT I HAD ADDED?  Failing that, is there a way to use the backup information I make daily to restore them to a single movie?  Perhaps a group of movies (if so, how would I select the group)?

If there is not a way to do this, I would like to submit this as a Feature Request.

[Carlo 4560]

Try turning on NFO reading and writing for the library. This won't generate the NFO files on existing media until something changes which will then generate the NFO file.
What you could try as a test is to edit the metadata of one movie you wish to move. You may be able to save without making a change (check if NFO is generated), otherwise edit a field, save, edit field back, save.

Generate new folder for the Movie if needed and move the media file and NFO into it (if needed).
Move the folder to the new location.
Do a Library scan.

The movie should have been removed from the old location and added at the new location, while keeping your metadata.

[RLanger7228 73]

Wonderful!  I have never used NFO before, but it sounds like it creates a "portable" information file that could travel with the movie file to a new folder, and then Emby would read the NFO file to get the appropriate information.  I will give it a try.

It sounds like it will address metadata changes, but will it also carry-over Collections & Playlists assignments?  If not, those would have to be re-done manually for each movie...

[Carlo 4560]

This should work for Collections. Playlists on the other hand reference file locations, so will need to be rebuilt.
I would get a list of content for each playlist on your system, even if it's screenshots. This way you have the info to rebuild the playlist if needed.

Perhaps it would make sense to move files in batches where you "touch" the media metadata to create the NFOs. Start by doing any media in playlists first. This way you can add the media back to the playlist after each batch is processed. That gets hardest done first!

Carlo

[RLanger7228 73]

12 hours ago, Carlo said:

This should work for Collections. Playlists on the other hand reference file locations, so will need to be rebuilt.

Fortunately, I recently migrated all my video playlists to Collections, and it is only videos that I was considering moving to different folders.  I currently only use playlists for Music, which already has well organized folder tree structure.

 

12 hours ago, Carlo said:

Perhaps it would make sense to move files in batches where you "touch" the media metadata to create the NFOs

By "touching" the media, I assume you mean to Edit Metadata, make some small change then Save, so it "forces" Emby to create a new NFO file for that video.  As I recall, you said that once I activate NFO Emby will NOT automatically create NFO files for all existing videos.  That it will only create them for newly added or edited content.  Is this correct?

[Carlo 4560]

Yes, you got it.

[RLanger7228 73]

I assume that this is where I "activate" NFO metadata:  SETTINGS>LIBRARY>MOVIES (see SS).

I will give it a try today: I am adding some new content.  I assume that I would edit the metadata in the same way as before (if it needs editing).  I am also assuming that this will now create an extra file MOVIE.NFO which will appear in the same folder as the movie went into.

[Luke 42077]

Hi ,yes it will create nfo files in your media folders.

[RLanger7228 73]

FOLLOW-UP:

I got additional "extras" for a movie I already had, so I created its own folder (with an /extras sub-folder) & moved it there.  Though it was not recognized as a "new addition" (did not show up in the recents section), it had to be added back into all the collections again manually.  When I went to the existing collection & tried to play the film, it said there was no media along that path.  Apparently, Collections also depend on path & moving the content messes with the connection.  This will be a hamper on moving a group of films, as they will all need to be "re-collectioned" individually.  Life goes on...

FEATURE REQUEST:  Please create a system within Emby that would facilitate movement of content between folders that would automatically "recalculate" the file path after the move for all the Playlists & Collections it is included in (and whatever else requires it).