I am close to 400 folders (libraries for those confused) in the root of Plex, I would like to categorize to Kids, Drama, Comedy, Sci-Fi and so on.
Then I can sort the 400 libraries into each associated category.
So it is not necessary to scroll and read all 400 listings to find what you want.
Having a dozen listings in the root would make viewing much simpler.
Clipbrd
You have 400 âlibrariesâ???
Maybe you are the one confused.
A Plex âlibraryâ can contain many folders.
You could create Libraries like
Movies - Kids
Movies - Drama
etc.
But that will take a lot of moving files around.
Your files structure would look like this
Kids Movies
/moviename.ext
/moviename.ext
Drama Movies
/moviename.ext
/moviename.ext
Then each Plex movie library would point to the top folder, i.e. Movies - Drama would point to Drama Movies.
You would probably be best to put them into âCollectionsâ and then filter on that when you want to look at a specific type of movie.
A movie can belong to multiple collections
https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/201273953-Collections
Or you could use genre, but I donât think that is as clean. You may think that would work.
Ok sorry,
I have 2 servers and I share other servers with friends.
The first for movies (currently over 2200, sorted alphabetically, which will remain as is).
The second is the one that concerns me, it is TV shows and the like, currently over 17,000 videos, are in 400 folders, sorted on the hard drive in Kids, Drama, Sci-Fi etc. I have no need to include folder for seasons, that info is already in the filenameâŠ
If I have TV shows such as Gunsmoke, Have gun will travel, etc. these are Westerns and rather than being in the ROOT of the library listings of Plex, I want them in a category listing or library called âWesternsâ, they are already in a folder on the drive called Westerns.
My point is there are currently in excess of 400 libraries of my own (not including the libraries of my friends servers) in the root listing of Plex, I want less clutter in the roof libraryâŠ
Thanks, clipbrd
Addition:
Westerns seen in the root listing of Plex
But Gunsmoke and the rest would NOT be shown till you enter Westerns. Keeping the Root listing much tidier.
â Basically the same as a directory (or folders for those confused with old terms) listing on the hard drive. â
Westerns /
Gunsmoke /
filename1.ext
filename2.ext
etc.
Have gun will travel /
filename1.ext
filename2.ext
etc.
and so on
clipbrd
Just an FYI that I too am having issues with TV Shows - as @rsava alludes, there are great ways to filter/sort collections in Movies - I have folders which I categorize but when it came to TV Shows found that strategy more awkward in the GUI for sure!
@clipbrd said:
Ok sorry,
I have 2 servers and I share other servers with friends.The first for movies (currently over 2200, sorted alphabetically, which will remain as is).
The second is the one that concerns me, it is TV shows and the like, currently over 17,000 videos, are in 400 folders, sorted on the hard drive in Kids, Drama, Sci-Fi etc. I have no need to include folder for seasons, that info is already in the filenameâŠ
If I have TV shows such as Gunsmoke, Have gun will travel, etc. these are Westerns and rather than being in the ROOT of the library listings of Plex, I want them in a category listing or library called âWesternsâ, they are already in a folder on the drive called Westerns.
My point is there are currently in excess of 400 libraries of my own (not including the libraries of my friends servers) in the root listing of Plex, I want less clutter in the roof libraryâŠ
Thanks, clipbrd
Again, you have 400 libraries??? Do you have 1 library per folder? I would not think they have that many categories of TV Shows.
If you do, I donât think you have your libraries set up right then. How did you set them up? What do they point to? What type are the libraries - Movies, TV Shows, Home Videos?
Can you post a screenshot of your Plex Dashboard in the Web app? (http://app.plex.tv/web/app or http://[localip]:32400/web/index.html#)
If you already have a folder with all your westerns in it, then just create a library of Type TV Shows called âWesternsâ and point it to that folder ONLY.
Repeat for other folders/categories.
I would like you to be aware that I have been working in the computer industry since 1982, from repairs to selling to programming, you name it, Iâve probably done it. I started with DOS and also UNIX. I am not a child trying to figure out my computer and Plex nor do I need to shut down my computers at bed timeâŠ!!
This is the first Plex server software I started with:
Plex-Media-Server-0.9.609.240-8fd9c6a-en-US.exe Oct 12 2012, so Iâve been screwing with this damn program for 4 years. And Iâve seen some pretty stupid stuff come out.
Below is a list of the hard drive folders in Westerns.
Because of the way Plex functions these TV show names are all listed individually in the Root listing of Plex.
Created as Home movies so Plex would stop changing my titles.
Each one of these folders may contain 20 to 200+ episodes, and because Plex didnât handle long filenames, Iâve removed the TV show name from the filenames, leaving 01-01, 01-02 for season - episode numbers.
If I do what you are trying to suggest (indicate to Plex that I wish to add all the folders under 1 library), in this case âWesternsâ then each of the 14 TV shows would appear in the Westerns listing as:
01-01, 14 times
01-02, 14 times
01-03, 14 times
01-04, 14 times
01-05, 14 times
01-06, 14 times
and so on, you would no longer know what 01-01 or 01-02 belonged to what TV show, without playing itâŠ
Even if I had left the TV show names on the files, there might be 2000 or 3000 filename in 1 library, probably making the system very slow to display.
Westerns
BigValley
Bonanza
Cheyenne
DavyCrockett
Gunsmoke
HaveGun,WillTravel
LoneRanger
Rawhide
Rifleman
TexasRising
WagonTrain
Wanted,DeadOrAlive
WildWildWest
ZaneGreyTheatre
I donât understand why you have trouble believing that I have over 400 folders / libraries I have on Movies server 7TB, on TV shows server 8TB.
Each TV series is in itâs own folder, how else would one organize so many files on hard drives.
Other folders on the hard drives are as follows :
KIDS, 95 folders
COMEDY, 105 folders
DOCUMENTARY, 50 folders
DRAMA, 90 folders
SCI-FI, 50 folders
And on this server as I said over 17,000 files, thatâs seventeen thousand and still growing.
Each of these folders above contains a TV series, total 404 folders.
So to translate, there are 404 different TV shows available to watch.
Because the way Plex functions each TV series is listed / created (however youâd like to call it) in itâs own library and pointed to that folder on the drive, ( that would be Plex 101 ) displayed in the ROOT of Plex also individuallyâŠ
I want to create categories to rid the Root listing of Plex of so many titles / libraries⊠whateverâŠ!!
clipbrd
I am sorry if you think that I insulted you. Perhaps someone else would be better to help you.
But, I will try this one more time. Folders are not the same as libraries in Plex. A library is a collection things like Movies or TV Shows. And just so you know, Plex will never rename any of your files a you state it has done here:
Created as Home movies so Plex would stop changing my titles.
I have to assume that is what you mean since you donât understand the difference between a folder and a library in Plex. If you meant the actual titles of the TV shows, Plex pulls its data from TheTVDB.com. If you name them correctly, Plex will name them the correct episode name.
You state that
Because the way Plex functions each TV series is listed / created (however youâd like to call it) in itâs own library and pointed to that folder on the drive, ( that would be Plex 101 ) displayed in the ROOT of Plex also individually.
You do not understand how Plex âfunctionsâ. You may want to read up on that in the FAQ/Support section. I will walk you through a properly setup Plex system.
I have two libraries with TV Shows (TV and Kens TV Shows). (See the word âLIBRARIESâ under the word âSettingsâ.) Those libraries hold all of my TV Series, note that there are just two (because I created two, one for me and one for my brother-in-lawâs tv shows that he watches).
When I click the TV LIBRARY, it give me the TV library. It holds all my TV Shows (all 312), grouped by show. There is one poster for each show.
When I click on a show (poster), it presents me with an icon for each season.
When I click on the Season icon, it presents me with all episodes in the season.
It is pretty evident you do not know how Plex works or you choose not to use it as it is designed. If the latter is the case then you will now be able to do what you want.
If you had created the library as you should have, such as here: https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/200288926-Creating-Libraries
you would be able to group them as you want. You could have 1 Library called TV Westerns, 1 called TV Kids, 1 called TV Comedy (or whatever you want to call them). In addition, you would get posters and other things. As it is you just have files and folders. If that is the way you wish to do it then fine, that is all you will have. You are not using Plex as it is designed to be used.
You also state
âEven if I had left the TV show names on the files, there might be 2000 or 3000 filename in 1 library, probably making the system very slow to display.â
Again, this shows you do not understand how Plex works. If you named your files correctly and created a TV Shows library you would see 404 show posters, not
â2000 or 3000 filename in 1 library, probably making the system very slow to display.â
as you state. That statement is patently false. Inside those show posters, you would click to a season level, then when you click on a season icon you would see the individual episodes in that season. But you would need to setup Plex properly and name your files properly (Showname SxxExx.ext) it would do that for you. It appears you already have that done then put those in a TV Shows library.
You state
"Because the way Plex functions each TV series is listed / created (however youâd like to call it) in itâs own library and pointed to that folder on the drive, ( that would be Plex 101 ) "
but that is also patently wrong and it shows your ignorance of the subject matter. That is not Plex 101, that is not how Plex is designed to function, that is the way you choose to use Plex (or set it up becasue you did not know how it functions). All of my TV shows are in 5 folders across 4 NAS drives and the two libraries point to the folders (TV points to 3 folders ALL AT ONCE, and Kens TV Shows library points to one folder), inside the 3 folders that TV points to are all the TV shows broken down by TV series (e.g. NAS203/TV_Shows/The Big Bang Theory/The Big Bang Theory S01E01.mp4).
THAT is how Plex is designed to function.
You may have been screwing around with this program for four years but you have not actually learned how to use it properly. You may want to go read this: https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/sections/200056078-Quick-Start-Guide
There are users with many more TV series than you on this site and I guarantee none of them have over 400 âlibrariesâ in Plex.
BTW, in my experience, whenever someone feels it necessary to point out how âexperiencedâ they are in computers they donât know what they are talking about or are very insecure in their knowledge and feel the need to âimpressâ others. Lots of us here have many years in the computer industry, you are not special. We just donât feel the need to impress people with our experience.
Anyway, I hope you have a good day and good luck.
Goodbye.
You say, sorry if you insulted me, then go ahead and insult meâŠ
Yup, those who know, do and those who donât teach.
I only pointed that out because you were talking DOWN to me.
I understand completely the difference between folders and librariesâŠ
else I wouldnât have said:
"If I do what you are trying to suggest (indicate to Plex that I wish to add all the folders under 1 library), "
Your 1st picture only shows what Iâm trying to get through here, every TV show has an individual listing in the root of the plex menuâŠ
That is exactly what I want to get rid ofâŠ
Click on 1 of the items in the list see whatâs inside⊠oh the files that are on the hard drive .
I want a category library or folder, then the list of all the TV shows in that category, click on a TV show in this list and see all the files /
episode available to watch⊠How hard is that to understandâŠ
After 4 years I understand just fine, let me make it simple for you, are you able to make a library in a library ? This would solve the issueâŠ
I am unable to find any information on making a library in a library.
There is NO way to do this in Plex at this timeâŠ
PLEASE, If this is possible, explain to me how to make a library inside of a library.
Youâre suggesting that now I have to rename all my files to attempt what you have in mind, where I renamed them all years ago, because Plex was stupid in so many ways and couldnât display long filenamesâŠ
I didnât want folders / libraries for seasons, thereâs no reason one show canât reside in one folder / library⊠Nor do I want the need to download repetitive TV show icons.
And yes under Movies or TV shows, if I altered the displayed titles, during each library update, Plex would constantly rename my display titles back to the filenamesâŠ
clipbrd
@rsava - Hopefully @clipbrd will post the requested screen shot of his Plex Dashboard. I would love to see it so that we can better help him since he did request assistance.
I built my first computer in 1974 (not a typo) and have extensive experience since before DOS and Linux were created⊠I might know a few things too. 
see you donât read, I said Unix⊠you just make â â â â up
I apologize for any misunderstanding so far in this forum thread. I have read over your comments and believe I understand how you have things setup at present, and what you are hoping to achieve.
It sounds like you are wanting to group your shows under âcategoriesâ that are then shown on the left side under Libraries in Plex. Unfortunately Plex does not support ânestingâ libraries in this way.
There is however an option you could try. And that is to create a new TV Show library for each âTV Categoryâ you wish to have, such as TV Kids, TV Sci-Fi, TV Western and so on, you can then point each new âTV Categoryâ Library at the relevant Kids, Sci-fi, and Western folder, this giving you a 1:1 mapping of the Plex Library to your sorted Category folder on your HDD.
Libraries
"TV Westerns" Library Folder Location
"TV Westerns" Library contents (Note: I Setup some dummy files in the format below to show this example)
Note: You will however need to edit your filenames to prefix the season number with S and then replace the - with E. eg; 01-01.avi becomes S01E01.avi This will help Plex know which season, and episode the file relates to in association with the show folder it belongs in.
You can use a bulk renamer tool to achieve this will out too much hassle.
If you were also doing this, you could also rename the Show Folder to match the corresponding show title as it is listed on http://thetvdb.com
Here is roughly what I am proposing;
Plex Library HDD Folder
------------------------------------------
TV SCI-FI ---> \SCI-FI (points to this folder)
\My SciFi Show
TV WESTERNS ---> \WESTERNS (points to this folder)
\The Big Valley
\S01E01.avi
\S01E02.avi
\S01E03.avi
\Bonanza
\Cheyenne
\Davy Crockett
\Gunsmoke
\Have Gun, Will Travel
\Lone Ranger
\Rawhide
\Rifleman
\Texas Rising
\Wagon Train
\Wanted, Dead Or Alive
\Wild Wild West
\Zane Grey Theatre
Taking âTV Westernsâ from the above example; This means Plex will see \WESTERNS as the âROOTâ of the TV WESTERNS Plex library, and then when scanning this directory tree, will create a TV Show for each folder (Bonanza, Cheyenne, etc). Because you have each shows episodes stored in a folder that matches the show name, Plex will group each set of S01E01.avi, S01E02.avi episodes with each show)
I hope this helps simplify things for you, but if anything was unclear, please let me know.
Thanks for being a long time user!
I was going to post about this until I found this thread. I would love to be able to nest my categories together. I have dumped almost all of my DVD/Blu-rays to my Plex server, but - being as ridiculously organized as I can be - separated my list into 20 categories. I would love, love, LOVE to be able to group some of them together, like having a top-level list of TV, Movies, and 3D with my current categories separated into each as needed. I already have all of my TV shows in their own collection directories with each episode in S01E01 format, so that part is taken care of. The ability to nest the libraries would be a wonderful addition to keep things organized. I guess thatâs a pipe dream for now.
I just want to be able to use a root level of folders under the library. In movies there is âfolder viewâ so I have a library called âMoviesâ and in the library I have movies grouped into folders like âArt filmsâ âdramaâ etc. But folder view lists every folder nested inside those folders. Even if we canât navigate the hierarchy, being able to have that root list would help a lot.
