File Management Options

[Kevin456789]

Server Version#: Version 1.25.1.5286
Player Version#: Version 1.39.1.2763-300bb607

Over the past 20 years, I have accumulated a good number of movies and I have deleted and moved files.

I also like to add prefixes to a series of movies so that I know the order in which to watch them in the future (Marvel, Star Wars, Star Trek, Planet of the Apes, etc) and to know which movies belong to a series.

My problem is managing the view in Plex vs my files in my file system.

Sometimes, my prefixes disappear and I have to find and rename them.
Sometimes, I want to make sure that every file on my drive is Matched
Sometimes, I want to make sure that every listing in Plex has a file on my drive (when I delete or move files, their listing in Plex often does not change accordingly).

List view has seemingly disappeared (I have seen people post how much they hated it, so perhaps it was removed for them).

I would like some methodology to list every movie/episode listed in Plex and every file on my file system so that I can more easily fix the above issues and ensure that there is a one to one ratio of files on my drive and listings in Plex and that they are named as I would like them named.
It would be fabulous to see them all in one sortable table view side by side. Maybe even one giant table where I can pick and choose which columns I want to see.

[Volts]

I strongly encourage tools like FileBot, Radarr, or tinyMediaManager to normalize movie storage on the filesystem.

Don’t rename files or add arbitrary folder nestings. Those are the most common problems preventing Plex from matching movies correctly.

Renamed files and folders aren’t displayed in Plex anyway.

Make the filesystem very boring. All movies together in a Movies folder, which is added to the Library in Plex. Each movie in a per-movie Movie Name (YYYY) {imdb-ttXXXXXX} folder. Movie files named Movie Name (YYYY).ext.

Those tools all have presets and can be configured to follow the Plex-recommended filesystem naming scheme.

My problem is managing the view in Plex vs my files in my file system.

The filesystem is just the warehouse of storage; don’t try to customize it for presentation.

Instead use Collections, Playlists, and Sort Title within Plex to organize your Library for presentation and playback.

Collections are typically adequate, because most series are chronological. When alternative playback orders are needed, Playlists are great.

Movies can be members of multiple Collections and Playlists, which is great for things like Star Trek and the MCU. That’s not possible with filesystem-based organization.

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In Library view, there are a few useful filters:

Unmatched is helpful for identifying unmatched files.

Duplicates is helpful for identifying movies with two versions, OR mis-matched files.

Advanced Filters → Trash is useful for identifying movies whose files are missing/removed.

Folders is still an available view within the Library.

When you want a FULL list of everything Plex is aware of, and files on the filesystem, to investigate discrepancies, you may find ExportTools helpful.

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