I just replaced my external drive where I store my media so I was checking that my Plex library has transferred ok. I noticed it had auto-created a Collection from a folder I had on my computer but I didn’t want it as a Collection on Plex so I deleted it, only to realize it had also deleted all the movies in the Collection, AND somehow the original file from my computer? The files aren’t even in my computers trashcan, I don’t know how to recover them! please help!
If you Delete a Collection itself, that doesn’t affect the movies or remove files from disk.
If you have Settings -> [Server Name] -> Settings -> Library -> [ ] Allow media deletion enabled, then if you Delete media items, they are instantly and permanently removed from disk. I believe you are warned they will be deleted from the filesystem.
I think it’s dangerous that Delete for a Collection and Delete for a Movie behave differently, warning or not.
Your files are gone unless you have a backup, Time Machine snapshot, or the files were on a NAS with automatic “Trash” / “Recycled” behavior.
Why? Deleting a collection is like deleting a playlist. It only deletes the collection/playlist, not the content inside. To delete the actual content, you need to delete those specific items directly.
Not sure what you mean by this. Plex does not create collections from a folder. Do you mean you had your movies in a folder and then deleted that folder? if so, those files are deleted.
You’ll need some sort of file recovery program to try an undelete those files.
But deleting a Collection or Playlist isn’t like deleting files. I’m assuming @tornadoallie navigated into the Collection and then deleted the files. The same term, Delete, has different consequences for a Collection or Playlist vs. a media item.
Also, when viewing a Playlist, the Remove and X actions remove items from the Playlist. Collections don’t have a similar way to remove an item, so Delete looks like the best choice.
I say that it’s dangerous because “I accidentally deleted my video files!” happens occasionally, despite the warning dialog.
It’s not “wrong” – and I don’t have a suggestion for better language.
No warning sign is powerful enough to prevent me from shooting myself in the feet, when I really want to.
It makes sense for Plex to delete DVR files that it recorded and thus “owns”, or optimized versions of media, but being able to ad-hoc delete other files feels like a layering violation. Even though it’s useful, it feels wrong.
