Any way to visually distinguish collection thumbnails?

[AngelSing 49]

Hi,

I’d like to know if there’s any way to visually distinguish collection thumbnails from regular movie thumbnails within the same library. For example, through an icon, border, or any graphic element that makes them easier to identify, beyond the cover image or the collection label.

I tried the CoverArt plugin, but it doesn’t always frame the images correctly and the result is barely noticeable. I also tested Iconic Image Enhancer, which works for movies but doesn’t apply any changes to collections. The developer mentioned months ago that it would be fixed, but there haven’t been any updates since.

Is there any native option in Emby or a more up-to-date plugin that can do this?

Thanks in advance.

[Happy2Play 9780]

Sorry no the only options you have already mentioned (CoverArt and Iconic).  

But yes the current changes with CA does sort of has an aspect ratio with top and bottom or left and right issue discussed in other topics depending on the image's actual aspect ratio.

   

As previous custom css "fill" code has changed.

 

Edited April 22, 2025 by Happy2Play

[AngelSing 49]

21 minutes ago, Happy2Play said:

Sorry no the only options you have already mentioned (CoverArt and Iconic).  

But yes the current changes with CA does sort of has an aspect ratio with top and bottom or left and right issue discussed in other topics depending on the image's actual aspect ratio.

   

Yes, I think CoverArt is currently the best option, but I'm not a fan of the green label style. I personally prefer something more visual, like icons or a graphic element that really makes the thumbnail stand out. That’s why I chose one of the options from SapphireCDs.

It looks good, but I feel it still lacks some visual impact, especially when the thumbnails have white borders. I thought that by going into the plugin’s cache, I could replace the PNG file and have it reflected in the actual thumbnails.

It does get replaced, but only in the sample thumbnail inside CoverArt.

I’m not exactly sure where CoverArt stores the PNG file it uses for the actual thumbnails, or if there’s a built-in function that allows custom images to be imported or applied in some way.

[AngelSing 49]

@Happy2PlayI think I need to force CoverArt to clear the cache or regenerate the images, because when I disable the "Use original art aspect ratio" option, the thumbnails do change.

However, when I enable the option again, the thumbnails revert to their previous state.

[Happy2Play 9780]

1 minute ago, AngelSing said:

I’m not exactly sure where CoverArt stores the PNG file it uses for the actual thumbnails, or if there’s a built-in function that allows custom images to be imported or applied in some way.

There is a cache resource that is used but server clears cache every 30 days so all customization is lost every 30 days or every time the plugin updates as the active folder changes.

C:\Users\Media\AppData\Roaming\Emby-Server\programdata\cache\coverart\current version number.

 

[Happy2Play 9780]

2 minutes ago, AngelSing said:

@Happy2PlayI think I need to force CoverArt to clear the cache or regenerate the images, because when I disable the "Use original art aspect ratio" option, the thumbnails do change.

However, when I enable the option again, the thumbnails revert to their previous state.

Yes you have to clear the server image cache /programdata/cache/images and sometimes the browser cache also.

[Happy2Play 9780]

Just now, Happy2Play said:

"Use original art aspect ratio" option

This is a issue also as I edited above do to the change in custom css to contain vs fill so to a point is more accurate aspect ratio but does not play well with the placeholders.

[AngelSing 49]

8 minutes ago, Happy2Play said:

There is a cache resource that is used but server clears cache every 30 days so all customization is lost every 30 days or every time the plugin updates as the active folder changes.

That's a shame. But one last question: does the image cache in /programdata/cache/images also get cleared every 30 days?
I’m asking because maybe I could create a scheduled task in Synology that copies the image every 30 days into the /cache/coverart/[current version number] directory for new collections.

As long as the cache in /programdata/cache/images isn’t deleted, the thumbnails for old collections won’t be updated, right?

[Happy2Play 9780]

1 minute ago, AngelSing said:

That's a shame. But one last question: does the image cache in /programdata/cache/images also get cleared every 30 days?
I’m asking because maybe I could create a scheduled task in Synology that copies the image every 30 days into the /cache/coverart/[current version number] directory for new collections.

As long as the cache in /programdata/cache/images isn’t deleted, the thumbnails for old collections won’t be updated, right?

I am pretty sure everything over 30 days old gets purged in the cache folder.  It may be sooner on some stuff but know CA resources will get reset every 30 days or version update.

[AngelSing 49]

@Happy2PlayI’m happy with how it turned out, but now I need to figure out how to prevent the PNG in /cache/coverart/[current version number] from being deleted, or set up a scheduled task to automatically replace it every few days.

[Happy2Play 9780]

1 minute ago, AngelSing said:

@Happy2PlayI’m happy with how it turned out, but now I need to figure out how to prevent the PNG in /cache/coverart/[current version number] from being deleted, or set up a scheduled task to automatically replace it every few days.

You need to ensure recursively all the images in the folder have a modified date of less than 30 days old.  So as long as the dates are changing every time the folder it replaced you should be good.

[AngelSing 49]

29 minutes ago, Happy2Play said:

You need to ensure recursively all the images in the folder have a modified date of less than 30 days old.  So as long as the dates are changing every time the folder it replaced you should be good.

I created a script in Synology for a recurring task that runs on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. It copies the file from a specific location to the CoverArt folders. I already tested it and everything works correctly. It copies and replaces the files instantly.

#!/bin/bash

# Ruta base de origen
origen="/volume1/homes/usuario_demo/Media/PNGs para CoverArt"

# Destinos para default.png
default1="/volume1/@appdata/EmbyServer/cache/coverart/4.1.28.0/Sapphire/default.png"
default2="/volume1/@appdata/EmbyServer/cache/coverart/4.1.28.0/SapphireCDs/default.png"

# Copiar default.png a dos ubicaciones
cp -f "$origen/default.png" "$default1"
cp -f "$origen/default.png" "$default2"

# Copiar otro PNG (ejemplo 1)
cp -f "$origen/EstiloX_aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.png" "/volume1/@appdata/EmbyServer/cache/coverart/4.1.28.0/resources/EstiloX_aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.png"

# Copiar otro PNG (ejemplo 2)
cp -f "$origen/bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb.png" "/volume1/@appdata/EmbyServer/cache/coverart/4.1.28.0/case/bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb.png"

The only thing I need to keep an eye on is updates, since the version number changes.

Edited April 22, 2025 by AngelSing

[AngelSing 49]

@Happy2PlayDo you know if there's a way to prevent a plugin from updating automatically?

[Happy2Play 9780]

7 minutes ago, AngelSing said:

@Happy2PlayDo you know if there's a way to prevent a plugin from updating automatically?

Sorry no you can disable the scheduled task via the api but it resets itself with every restart as to many issues happened in the past.  But the key would be just don't restart Emby.  Not sure how automated Synology is those as I believe it runs as a service, as you can disable all restart options on Windows so you have to manually restart it.

[polaris70 17]

On 4/21/2025 at 10:27 PM, Happy2Play said:

Sorry no the only options you have already mentioned (CoverArt and Iconic).  

But yes the current changes with CA does sort of has an aspect ratio with top and bottom or left and right issue discussed in other topics depending on the image's actual aspect ratio.

   

As previous custom css "fill" code has changed.

 

Hi Happy2Play,

Could you please (if possible) give me "custom css "fill" code" to test for my collection. Thank you

[ebr 16178]

On 4/21/2025 at 9:00 PM, AngelSing said:

and the result is barely noticeable

There are a number of different image treatments that are quite noticeable because they put discs into the image showing how many items are in the collection.

[AngelSing 49]

2 minutes ago, ebr said:

There are a number of different image treatments that are quite noticeable because they put discs into the image showing how many items are in the collection.

I tried to use it, but I could not configure it properly. I enable the feature, but in the end, the disc icons do not appear, or they only show up in some collections and not in others. Since I could not set it up correctly, I decided to discard it.

[ebr 16178]

Just now, AngelSing said:

the disc icons do not appear, or they only show up in some collections and not in others

Did you refresh metadata replacing images on those?

Also, if you have actual .disc images for your movies some of the treatments will use those. 

[AngelSing 49]

1 minute ago, ebr said:

Did you refresh metadata replacing images on those?

Also, if you have actual .disc images for your movies some of the treatments will use those. 

I updated the metadata by replacing the images, but it still did not work. It only works if I have the plugin disabled; in that case, it does replace the images. However, if the plugin is active, it does not work and keeps loading the same old image. The only solution I found was to manually clear the image cache directly in Emby, both for the plugin and Emby itself, and then the new images loaded correctly. However, accessing those folders from a NAS requires connecting via SSH and enabling the Root user to delete them, which is not as easy as it would be in Windows.

[ebr 16178]

Just now, AngelSing said:

I updated the metadata by replacing the images, but it still did not work. It only works if I have the plugin disabled; in that case, it does replace the images. However, if the plugin is active, it does not work and keeps loading the same old image. The only solution I found was to manually clear the image cache directly in Emby, both for the plugin and Emby itself, and then the new images loaded correctly. However, accessing those folders from a NAS requires connecting via SSH and enabling the Root user to delete them, which is not as easy as it would be in Windows.

I'm not really following what you were doing there but did you try exactly what I asked?  Using the function in Emby to refresh metadate and replace images?

[AngelSing 49]

3 minutes ago, AngelSing said:

I updated the metadata by replacing the images, but it still did not work.

Yes, I mentioned it earlier. Image replacement does not work while the plugin is enabled and has already saved images previously in the cache.

[ebr 16178]

1 minute ago, AngelSing said:

Image replacement does not work while the plugin is enabled and has already saved images previously in the cache

Because your Emby server doesn't have proper permissions in your file system?

[AngelSing 49]

 

Quote

Because your Emby server doesn't have proper permissions in your file system?

By default, the Emby folder is hidden on Synology NAS devices and cannot be accessed through the file manager. To access it, you must connect via SSH. Additionally, all hidden files and folders can only be modified by the Root user, which is disabled by default on these NAS devices, at least in the latest DSM version. Therefore, I always have to assign Root privileges to my user account to make any changes in those folders.

Edited April 27, 2025 by AngelSing

[AngelSing 49]

 

@ebrIn the end, I settled for the highlighted glow effect provided by the Sapphire template. I extracted the PNG, edited it in Photoshop, and replaced the original file. This way, it loads properly in the new collections. I also set up a script to periodically replace the PNG in case it gets restored to the original version. Honestly, this plugin still has a lot of room for improvement, especially the need for an option that allows users to load their own templates externally.

[ebr 16178]

1 minute ago, AngelSing said:

especially the need for an option that allows users to load their own templates externally.

It used to have this but almost no one used it and maintaining and supporting it properly was just too expensive.