We should be able to set custom icons for libraries from within the Plex web interface.
Every client device I use utilizes icons for the library. I have Rokus, a Sony Google TV, android phone, android tablet and a Windows 8 laptop. I believe that the Windows phones and possibly Apple devices also use the icons.
I can change posters for a movie or TV show (basically icons, just bigger) by drag and dropping files, internet image, browse my computer, or adding an image to the movie folder with the correct naming methods. I can also change background images the same way.
Same methods work for TV shows, and I can even assign an episode image if I choose to.
I can change the poster for my music files.
I can edit almost any piece of data within the libraries to my liking.
Heck! Even a playlist I create magically comes up with an icon (which is cool, and I don't care or want to edit that icon)
I cannot, without manually editing the database, change a simple icon for a library. I'm always reluctant to update the server, because the customized icons might not work, or if they do, I have to do some more manual tweaking. With the last broken icon version of the Plex server I had to set up a server on my computer just to serve 12 icons in order to keep them more or less "local." This request has been made before, and those of us that are determined to change the icon have followed the alternate guides and methods to edit the database, and the request gets lost in the forums because we have found a "solution," even if it is temporary and more complicated than it should be.
I realize it is an "unsupported" feature of Plex, but most apps (at least currently) do use the icons to identify Libraries. The ability to customize an icon just doesn't seem like an unreasonable or impossible request.
You would be better served by "liking" those other requests as the number of "likes" are what the Plex developers watch to determine the popularity of a given feature request.
Multiple threads asking for the same thing only serve to dilute the impact of the request being presented.
You would be better served by "liking" those other requests as the number of "likes" are what the Plex developers watch to determine the popularity of a given feature request.
Multiple threads asking for the same thing only serve to dilute the impact of the request being presented.
Agree with you 100% and I think I've "liked" all of them.
However, "liking" a post doesn't keep it visible, adding a reply does. And I readily admit, real bugs are more important than this request. Unfortunately, as replies to those "real bugs" are added, this and similar requests are moved farther down and not readily visible. Even if you can find it 10 pages back or with a search, liking it does not seem to bring it to the first page. Truth is, it seems most people have accepted the modify database manually method, and liked the proposed "solution" rather than the first post with the request.
I'd like to see it incorporated into the server software, but it's so simple to do it in the database, and it's not like you have to change them frequently once setup. I setup mine 2 years ago now, and the only time I ever touch it is when I add a new category to my server. There are simply just too many other features I'd like to see added before adding something like this that I can do on my own with some simple DB editing. That's why I personally cannot vote for this at this particular point in time.
I'd like to see it incorporated into the server software, but it's so simple to do it in the database, and it's not like you have to change them frequently once setup. I setup mine 2 years ago now, and the only time I ever touch it is when I add a new category to my server. There are simply just too many other features I'd like to see added before adding something like this that I can do on my own with some simple DB editing. That's why I personally cannot vote for this at this particular point in time.
"Simple" is relative depending on the user's skills. And I'd much rather have an officially-endorsed method for doing this, versus an unofficial hack. Pretty sure the manual DB edit method recently broke with a recent update, if I recall a forum post correctly.
"Simple" is relative depending on the user's skills. And I'd much rather have an officially-endorsed method for doing this, versus an unofficial hack. Pretty sure the manual DB edit method recently broke with a recent update, if I recall a forum post correctly.
What "broke" was not the "DB edit" method but rather the type of location supported. Icons accessed as a web address continued to work fine bot those accessed as a file ceased to work. Many of us solved that problem by simply moving our jpgs to a web type location. I used a directory served by a Apache server I already had running and other used some type of hosted service like Dropbox.
It is quite easy to use the DB method but I think it would be better to have it incorporated into the library edit function. It really seems that it should not be too hard to do as that section already edits the database.
It seems, for some reason, the Plex developers do not want to allow the use of any icons for libraries except the default icons. As reported here by @Elijah_Baley at https://forums.plex.tv/topic/140956-pms-09118-seems-to-break-custom-icons/ the workarounds everyone has used, including hosting on a local server or and on web-servers is broken. This is a preview release, not available through the normal channels at the main web-site with either the Plex Pass or regular download options. But we can only assume, if we don't make our voices heard, the ability to change icons may soon be impossible.
Most of the clients/apps use icons to identify the libraries. And all of us know, we can change them using the "work-arounds" and the clients can display them properly. SO, while giving us the ability to change icons would mean some code writing/modifications for the server, the apps/clients would not need any modifications. The clients already accept the modifications to the database. The structure of the database itself isn't changed, we're not creating new tables - the work-arounds simply put data into an existing field that, by default, is empty.
I can appreciate the concern of others who feel their are other requests or features that are more important. In fact, I want or need some of those features too. But truthfully, most of those would require re-writes and modifications to all of the clients in order for them to be truly functional. This request doesn't require that, again, because the work-arounds DO work.
Finally (rant almost over,) I'm sure someone will point to any of the many links on these forums and comment on how easy it is to change the icons. By all means, use any of those methods if you don't feel intimidated manually editing the database. But wouldn't it be so much easier to simply have this function included in the web UI as part of the adding or modifying library options?
It seems, for some reason, the Plex developers do not want to allow the use of any icons for libraries except the default icons. As reported here by @Elijah_Baley at https://forums.plex.tv/topic/140956-pms-09118-seems-to-break-custom-icons/ the workarounds everyone has used, including hosting on a local server or and on web-servers is broken. This is a preview release, not available through the normal channels at the main web-site with either the Plex Pass or regular download options. But we can only assume, if we don't make our voices heard, the ability to change icons may soon be impossible.
That is not true. Nothing is broken. Plex has not removed the use of Custom Icons at all. You can host them locally, or via a web account, and they work fine. I've been using them for two years now, and with even more clients making use of them (Android based clients now use them, as well as Roku), I doubt they are going away. Hopefully Plex will integrate the ability to add them into the server module, but they still work as they always did using the database editing method on the latest version of the PlexPass server release. ;)
I didn't install the test version because it was reported that custom icons failed completely, no matter how your icons were hosted, locally or web based.
That is not true. Nothing is broken. Plex has not removed the use of Custom Icons at all. You can host them locally, or via a web account, and they work fine. I've been using them for two years now, and with even more clients making use of them (Android based clients now use them, as well as Roku), I doubt they are going away. Hopefully Plex will integrate the ability to add them into the server module, but they still work as they always did using the database editing method on the latest version of the PlexPass server release. ;)
With Plex Media Server 0.9.11.6, we lost the ability to use custom icons by pointing to a local file on our computer. The current version of the server, 0.9.11.7 still requires us to use web based icons, so there wasn't an attempt at restoring our ability to use local file based icons. The Preview release, version 9.11.8, has gone a step farther and completely removed the ability to use custom icons, intentionally or unintentionally.
It may be my paranoia kicking in, but I'm afraid that soon we will all be using the "playing at the beach" icon for our home movies and the "blurry square thing" for our TV shows
I really hope this feature doesn't go away... I recently did an reinstall, straight to 0.9.11.7. Custom icons being set to a hosted URL are not working at all.
This feature suggestion should probably be closed.
This thread was started way back on December 14, 2014. At that time, we could have custom icons for our libraries by manually editing the database.
As the OP of this thread, I was asking for the ability to assign icons thru the web interface to avoid database editing. The ability to have custom icons by editing the database was removed completely in January of 2015.
Obviously, the “feature suggestion” as intended is impossible and outdated. It was for a server version from 5 years ago
