I got for example Star Wars with three series (one folder for each). Each series got its own seasons (one folder for each).
Star Wars\The Mandalorian\Season 01\The Mandalorian - S01E01 - Chapter 1.mp4 (as example)
Plex shows three series. So far so good.
I also got Star Trek with 10 series (one folder for each). Each series got its own seasons (one folder for each).
Star Trek\4 - Deep Space Nine\Season 01\Star Trek - Deep Space Nine - S01E01.mp4 (as example)
Plex shows only one series with 7 seasons and the are completely mixed up.
Sometimes Plex can figure out what show a file belongs to – even if the folder structure is messy. That doesn’t mean it’ll succeed in all cases.
The extra folder level you’ve added to group those shows is what’s confusing Plex.
Preferably drop it and keep all shows in the same library folder. If you depend on keeping the files in separate “collection folders”, consider moving the files one level up and point Plex to the individual collections.
Example:
TV Shows <- the folder currently linked to your tv-show library
The Big Bang Theory
Season 01
...
The IT Crowd
Season 01
...
Star Wars <- add this folder to your library too
The Mandalorian
Season 01
The Mandalorian - s01e01 - Chapter 1.mp4
...
Star Trek <- add this folder to your library too
Star Trek - Deep Space Nine
Season 01
Star Trek - Deep Space Nine - s01e01.mp4
...
If you add multiple top-level folders to your library, make sure to avoid recursive structures, e.g. don’t point to TV Shows and TV Shows > Marvel Shows.
Of course I want to keep the structure at it is and don’t want to make to many changes. But I understand, that it’s difficult for Plex to deal with the additional folder level.
So I can try to add the multi-folder-structures separately, but as I understand I should not do this as long they are still stored into the main TV show folder thats also added to the library?
Make another folder for everything else, then add each sub-folder to the TV show library.
Example:
/TV Shows <-- Do not add to any TV show library
../Star Wars
../Star Trek
../etc.
../Everything Else
FYI, show folder should be Star Trek Deep Space Nine (1993). It might work the way you have it named. However, if you continue to have recognition problems, rename the show folder and Plex Dance the show.
If you are using the Plex TV Series agent & scanner, you can also add the TVDB or TMDB ID to the show folder name. Using the ID tells Plex exactly which show to match.
/Star Trek/Star Trek Deep Space Nine (1993) {tvdb-72073}/Season 01/Star Trek Deep Space Nine (1993) s01e01.mp4
Note:
For TV shows, use the TMDB or TVDB ID. The IMDB ID will not work.
For movies use the TMDB or IMDB ID. The TVDB ID will not work.
Unfortunately, each way destroys the structure/sorting of my main library. I’ve tried many other ways. I still don’t understand why one folder is working while the other not.
The recognition itself isn’t a problem. I only need the folders recognized as a TV show. Then I can chose the right show by hand.
Now I changed my structure to
TV Shows\Star Trek - 04 - Deep Space Nine\Season 01\Star Trek - Deep Space Nine - S01E01.mp4
It’s not perfect, but it will work.
That is what happens when you do not follow Plex’s recommended naming and organization.
What are you trying to do, make shows appear in a certain order in the library?
You can do that by modifying the Sort Title of a show. For example, if you want DS9 to be the fourth Start Trek show listed, change the Sort Title to Star Trek 04 (and change the other Star Trek shows also).
Here’s an example with the Star Wars movies. The Sort Titles are Star Wars 1, Star Wars 2, etc. Solo is Star Wars 3.1 and Rogue One is Star Wars 3.2.
Collections can be used to group shows together. It reduces the number of items on-screen and makes it easier to find the desired show. See example screenshots below.
Collections can also be used to group Movies and TV shows together. See this post for info.
Yes, I know, that I don’t follow the recommended naming. My Library isn’t only used by Plex, but also other tools, so I don’t want to change my whole structure only for Plex. But I’m not expecting from Plex to fix that problem to me. I just wondering why one folder is working and the other not. I know thats not the right way to use it but as long as I can found a workaround for me I’m happy
As a programmer, I have a little feeling about how it is implemented in the background and that it isn’t possible to just flip a bit to implement a whole additional folder level to the structure. So I Understand that this is the only way and I have to accept this. But still wondering why The Star Wars folder was working
