# File Naming sudden issue

**URL:** <https://forums.plex.tv/t/file-naming-sudden-issue/595990>\
**Category:** Plex Media Server\
**Tags:** server-windows\
**Created:** [May 26, 2020, 10:19pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/file-naming-sudden-issue/595990 "2020-05-26T22:19:57Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 12\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![james\_ebru\_gmail\_com](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e79b87/32.png) [@james\_ebru\_gmail\_com](https://forums.plex.tv/u/james_ebru_gmail_com)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 10:19pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/file-naming-sudden-issue/595990/1 "2020-05-26T22:19:58Z")

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Server Version#: 4.30.2  
Player Version#:

Anyone know why 9 season of the TV series Bones works fine with this naming convention:  
Bones (3 x 01) - Bones Season 3, Ep. 1 The Widow’s Son in the Windshield.mp4

now that I have added season 10-12:  
Bones (12 x 01) - Bones Season 12, Ep. 1 The Hope in the Horror.mp4  
its grouping all episodes together (no split-apart option)

Also, I have at least 8 other TV Series using this same naming convention with no errors, so I’m stumped. I’ve renamed one season 10 file (that had problems):  
Bones - s10e01 - The Conspiracy in the Corpse.mp4  
yet the episode only displays “Episode 1” and no title - so I’m reluctant to start renaming all the episodes… especially since all the rest of the shows in my DB are working great with the long-naming-convention listed at the top.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks!!

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**Author:** ![james\_ebru\_gmail\_com](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e79b87/32.png) [@james\_ebru\_gmail\_com](https://forums.plex.tv/u/james_ebru_gmail_com)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 10:22pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/file-naming-sudden-issue/595990/2 "2020-05-26T22:22:49Z")

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I should also add that I have:

1. removed the series entirely and scanned library
2. empty trash
3. clean bundles
4. Copied the series back in - with same results

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**Author:** ![tom80H](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/tom80h/32/19753_2.png) [@tom80H](https://forums.plex.tv/u/tom80H)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 10:29pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/file-naming-sudden-issue/595990/3 "2020-05-26T22:29:29Z")

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To put it short… you might have gotten lucky – but that naming schema is not what Plex is working with/for.  
Shows should be named like this (including the folder structure):

```auto
TV Shows <- the folder linked to your Plex tv show library
   Show Name
      Season XX
         Show Name - sXXeYY - optional stuff, e.g. episode title that will be ignored by Plex.ext
         Show Name - sXXeYY.ext

```

[https://support.plex.tv/articles/naming-and-organizing-your-tv-show-files/](https://support.plex.tv/articles/naming-and-organizing-your-tv-show-files/)

# 

And more specifically to your show:

```auto
TV Shows
   Bones
      Season 12
         Bones - s12e01 - The Hope in the Horror.mp4
         Bones - s12e02.mp4
         ...
         Bones - s12e12.mp4

```

# 

Keep in mind… with mp4/m4v files you can run into more trouble if you have Local Media Assets enabled for the agent used in that library (see `Settings` \> `[Server Name]` \> `Agents` \> `TV Shows` \> `<applicable agent>`). If Plex finds an embedded title in that file that doesn’t match the expected naming convention, Plex will consider the file “not a tv show” and ignore it.

# 

As for…

> I have xyz other shows following that naming schema and no problems

at some point, they all run out of luck.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![james\_ebru\_gmail\_com](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e79b87/32.png) [@james\_ebru\_gmail\_com](https://forums.plex.tv/u/james_ebru_gmail_com)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 11:08pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/file-naming-sudden-issue/595990/4 "2020-05-26T23:08:12Z")

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How unfortunate for me that my luck ran out just as I upgraded to Lifetime PlexPass.

So I should expect any/every series to have no episode title? If it’s being ignored right? Or does one/more of the agents look for the title? The title is part of the file-properties so I’m just curious how to make sure titles appear.

Thanks much!

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**Author:** ![tom80H](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/tom80h/32/19753_2.png) [@tom80H](https://forums.plex.tv/u/tom80H)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 11:14pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/file-naming-sudden-issue/595990/5 "2020-05-26T23:14:20Z")

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Start with properly naming your files.  
When it comes to tv shows you might want to consider to lower the priority of the Local Media Assets source for the applicable tv shows agent to reduce the risk of matching being side-tracked.

# 

PS: poor file naming is no issue that just came up now that you got a Plex Pass. There’s pretty much every week users showing up in the forum stating they knew about the file naming conventions but ignored it anyway and act surprised that at some point this will fail. I’m not saying this out of spite or to judge – just trying to put my comment in context 😉

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**Author:** ![james\_ebru\_gmail\_com](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e79b87/32.png) [@james\_ebru\_gmail\_com](https://forums.plex.tv/u/james_ebru_gmail_com)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 11:39pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/file-naming-sudden-issue/595990/6 "2020-05-26T23:39:37Z")

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Thanks for the quick reply. Sorry, I’m still unclear about episode titles based on your reply

> Blockquote  
> you might want to consider to lower the priority of the Local Media Assets source for the applicable tv shows agent to reduce the risk of matching being side-tracked

I’m trying to discern if there was an answer in there so I looked in the agent settings and don’t see anything about priority settings. I too am not trying to be difficult just a confused consumer here… if episode names are a lost issue I just want to be clear.

I renamed a handful of files to align with proper conventions and still no titles.

Thanks again!!

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![tom80H](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/tom80h/32/19753_2.png) [@tom80H](https://forums.plex.tv/u/tom80H)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 11:42pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/file-naming-sudden-issue/595990/7 "2020-05-26T23:42:32Z")

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You can drag & drop the sources within an agent up and down where the top-source has the highest priority and the most bottom source has the lowest priority (see #3 below)

![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/d/a/da24ff259a8a0551aadf88e97121f87ca6c48f4d.png)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![james\_ebru\_gmail\_com](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e79b87/32.png) [@james\_ebru\_gmail\_com](https://forums.plex.tv/u/james_ebru_gmail_com)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2020, 11:55pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/file-naming-sudden-issue/595990/8 "2020-05-26T23:55:55Z")

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LOL that’s totally my bad, looked right at it. I’ll adjust and pray for titles to appear.

Thanks again!!

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![james\_ebru\_gmail\_com](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e79b87/32.png) [@james\_ebru\_gmail\_com](https://forums.plex.tv/u/james_ebru_gmail_com)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 12:10am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/file-naming-sudden-issue/595990/9 "2020-05-27T00:10:42Z")

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Well, I checked and both TVDB and The Movie Database were in the top positions.

I tried renaming the file with no title in it and removed the title from the file properties as well… refresh/scan library and still no titles showing. Looks like there is no real solution for titles appearing which seems odd since TVDB should contain all the details.

Thanks for the attempt.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![tom80H](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/tom80h/32/19753_2.png) [@tom80H](https://forums.plex.tv/u/tom80H)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 12:47am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/file-naming-sudden-issue/595990/10 "2020-05-27T00:47:39Z")

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When you have fixed the files… do one more Plex Dance (remove, scan, empty trash, clean bundles, return the files, scan again).  
If there’s still no metadata showing… please open one of the episodes in Plex and click `...` \> `Get Info` \> `View XML` and post this here.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![james\_ebru\_gmail\_com](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e79b87/32.png) [@james\_ebru\_gmail\_com](https://forums.plex.tv/u/james_ebru_gmail_com)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 5:00pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/file-naming-sudden-issue/595990/12 "2020-05-27T17:00:58Z")

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That last suggestion of a final “dance” appears to have been the remedy… episode titles have appeared!!!

Thanks for all your help. Much appreciated!

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/2/a/2acb9765406f63293d357b4ec509ec39aa28f2ad.png) [@system](https://forums.plex.tv/u/system)\
**Post date:** [August 25, 2020, 5:05pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/file-naming-sudden-issue/595990/13 "2020-08-25T17:05:51Z")

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