Scan my library automatically
and
Run a partial scan when changes are detected
Confused on this setting. Would the second one being checked make the first one irrelevant, or does the first one need to be checked to do any kind of automatic scanning, and the second one just further refines what you want to be scanned?
Also, do I need to check both to have it only scan the relevant folders? If that’s the case, why do they allow them to be checked independently? Why isn’t the second one grayed out unless the first one is checked?
Your library will be updated automatically when changes to library folders are detected.
Run a partial scan when changes are detected
When changes to library folders are detected, only scan the folder that changed.
The 2nd setting is an option to restrict the scope of automatic scans. If your OS allows for automatic change detection (notifications) and Scan my library automatically is checked, this will trigger Plex to scan. The scope of the scan depends if Run a partial scan... is checked – if it is, Plex will only scan that particular folder – if it isn’t, Plex will as a result scan the entire library in question.
As for…
Why isn’t the second one grayed out unless the first one is checked?
I can only guess… but if you start digging into how e.g. 3rd party agents work, you will notice that the settings are set to be configurable (e.g. for a 3rd party agent provider). However… that “setting configuration” only allows specifying the individual settings – it doesn’t support logic checks or dependencies between fields.
With plugins officially being sunset… who knows if the settings will remain this way or if they’ll be reworked at some point (to avoid any confusion… I don’t know )
Fair enough if this is true, but the wording is confusing. The implication is that it is related to the setting above. It would just be nice to have this be more clear, or to give this option separately for each scan type (Automatic and Periodic).
depending on the size of your library, you might want to leave both unchecked or at least only check the second one. If second is checked you dont need first. Plex will still scan the library based on the interval you set… just not when you add content. If you are in a rush you can manually kick off a scan of that section.
I have a large CD and Photo library, as well as movie library, in particular, the photo library takes hours to go though for me, so I turned off the automated detection scans, and just let it do its stuff
)