# Fed up with plex naming please help **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussions\ **Tags:** server-synology\ **Created:** [June 9, 2024, 9:00am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/fed-up-with-plex-naming-please-help/879681 "2024-06-09T09:00:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![agentrudy\_gmail\_com](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@agentrudy\_gmail\_com](https://forums.plex.tv/u/agentrudy_gmail_com)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2024, 9:00am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/fed-up-with-plex-naming-please-help/879681/1 "2024-06-09T09:00:34Z")
I recently added another show called “Family Matters” to my collection today. Despite following the naming rules on the site, the episodes are still being labeled incorrectly and when I play them, they turn out to be completely different episodes. I have spent hours trying to fix this issue, and I’m becoming frustrated. I am considering switching to another company because it seems like Plex is struggling with correctly handling [TV show naming](https://support.plex.tv/articles/200220687-naming-series-season-based-tv-shows/). I have encountered the same problem with a few other shows that I attempted to fix, but the order will not change and the library scan does nothing. ---
**Author:** ![OttoKerner](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/ottokerner/32/10079_2.png) [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2024, 9:38am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/fed-up-with-plex-naming-please-help/879681/2 "2024-06-09T09:38:31Z")
Some shows just appear with a different episode ordering, depending on where you look. Plex can use 4 different episode orderings. In cases like this, you need to look up your show on both [TheTVDB.com](http://TheTVDB.com) and [TheMovieDB.org](http://TheMovieDB.org) and see if they have an ordering listed which matches your files. If they do, go to the highest level of the show in Plex and edit it. Select the matching episode ordering in the properties, then Refresh Metadata of the whole show at once. If the order of episodes in your files don’t match any of the listings on the above websites, you will have to rename and adapt your files. ---
**Author:** ![agentrudy\_gmail\_com](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@agentrudy\_gmail\_com](https://forums.plex.tv/u/agentrudy_gmail_com)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2024, 10:07am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/fed-up-with-plex-naming-please-help/879681/3 "2024-06-09T10:07:32Z")
I need help editing the top level show in Plex. I’m confused because some seasons are not being added even though the physical folders and files are present. Plex seems to be ignoring them. I am still trying to fix it because I am used to Plex but installed Emby in case. ---
**Author:** ![OttoKerner](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/ottokerner/32/10079_2.png) [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2024, 10:16am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/fed-up-with-plex-naming-please-help/879681/4 "2024-06-09T10:16:18Z")
You don’t edit them. First you bring your files into the required folder structure, and adapt the file names according to the rules. [https://support.plex.tv/articles/naming-and-organizing-your-tv-show-files/](https://support.plex.tv/articles/naming-and-organizing-your-tv-show-files/) Then you trigger a library scan. Always in this order. If the files are not named and organized as required, it is futile to try and fix that within Plex. ---
**Author:** ![agentrudy\_gmail\_com](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@agentrudy\_gmail\_com](https://forums.plex.tv/u/agentrudy_gmail_com)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2024, 10:59am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/fed-up-with-plex-naming-please-help/879681/5 "2024-06-09T10:59:54Z")
Thanks for sorting them in DVD order fixed it for one show. I will continue on with other shows and use your info thanks again. ---
**Author:** ![Divideby0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/74df32/32.png) [@Divideby0](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Divideby0)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2024, 5:59pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/fed-up-with-plex-naming-please-help/879681/6 "2024-06-09T17:59:05Z")
The key thing to note about Plex, is Plex doesn’t give a D\*\*\* how your media is named. If your first episode is `S01E01 - Pilot.mkv`, Plex ONLY looks at the `S01E01` part and IGNORES THE REST. It will NOT compare the name of the file against episodes names in the show and assign it that a way. Plex uses either TVDB or TMDB episode numbering systems. TVDB has multiple options (DVD, Absolute, or Aired _(default)_)options, but TMDB is only (Aired). You cannot force Plex to use any other episode ordering system, and it is best to CHANGE your collection to match what Plex can use. If you have a DVD boxed set, then you can try the (Boxed) order for TVDB, but there is no guarantee that your box set matches exactly the (Boxed) sort order, since they could have released multiple box sets with different orders. When I get box sets, I simply re-NUMBER my episodes to match the (Aired) order instead. Then, I don’t have to remember that a particular show uses a Box Set sort order instead of the default used by my episode renaming program (Rename My TV Series). The only shows I can’t do this for are odd ones, usually multiple episodes per file (Animaniacs, Phineas and Ferb, etc). ---
**Author:** ![agentrudy\_gmail\_com](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@agentrudy\_gmail\_com](https://forums.plex.tv/u/agentrudy_gmail_com)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2024, 7:05pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/fed-up-with-plex-naming-please-help/879681/7 "2024-06-09T19:05:01Z")
When you say you renumber to match aired order, does that mean you compare what’s on themoviedb or tvdb with what you have ripped and then rename them? ---
**Author:** ![agentrudy\_gmail\_com](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@agentrudy\_gmail\_com](https://forums.plex.tv/u/agentrudy_gmail_com)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2024, 7:07pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/fed-up-with-plex-naming-please-help/879681/8 "2024-06-09T19:07:06Z")
How do I trigger a library scan please? ---
**Author:** ![FordGuy61](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/22d042/32.png) [@FordGuy61](https://forums.plex.tv/u/FordGuy61)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2024, 7:37pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/fed-up-with-plex-naming-please-help/879681/9 "2024-06-09T19:37:57Z")
[Plex Documentation](https://support.plex.tv/articles/) → [Scanning vs Refreshing a Library](https://support.plex.tv/articles/200289306-scanning-vs-refreshing-a-library/) ![scan](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/4X/f/9/1/f91eb523a42ebca8d1887e3a0119c2999e8ba510.png) ---
**Author:** ![Divideby0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/74df32/32.png) [@Divideby0](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Divideby0)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2024, 4:05am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/fed-up-with-plex-naming-please-help/879681/10 "2024-06-10T04:05:50Z")
Yes. I look at the name of the episode in my filename. I compare that against the name on TVDB. If the number is different, I rename my file to have the number as TheTVDB has it, rather than what it used to be. For all shows I acquire, I _ALWAYS_ assume that the numbers of episodes of my files are incorrect, but that the name of the episode is correct. Most of the time, they match, but I do it anyway. I also pay close attention, because it is quite common for two episodes to have somehow swapped orders compared to the “official” number scheme on TVDB. Rename My TV Series works great for this. You get a screen of two lists, one a list of the episodes as on TVDB, and the other are the files I dropped in myself. I make sure the names on each row, and don’t pay attention to the numbers. Once I rename the files, each episode will have the correct number according to TVDB, so I know it will come into Plex perfectly. I am particular about my episode naming as well. I prefer episode name, but I don’t ever include the show name in my filename. _(Yes, Plex’s official naming scheme asks this, but I have not had a case where this caused a problem… yet)_. So even in a show where the episode numbers are correct, I’ll still toss it into my program so it will strip out all useless info someone may have added to my filenames. And it’s free, compared to some other programs people recommend here. It probably has a lot more manual work to rename things, but I’ll take that over paying a cent. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/2/a/2acb9765406f63293d357b4ec509ec39aa28f2ad.png) [@system](https://forums.plex.tv/u/system)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2024, 4:06am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/fed-up-with-plex-naming-please-help/879681/11 "2024-09-08T04:06:36Z")
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