Thinking about it…
Yes, long lists are best vertically, but two things come to mind in regards to the library listing in the new UI:
Why are people creating so many libraries? No, there is nothing truly wrong with creating many, which is the nice thing about being able to customize your experience, but usually I see people creating these long lists to provide either (1) categorization of movies/tv shows or (2) to restrict access to content.
- Categorization - this really should not be done via separate libraries. We need to think in terms of databases. Databases store items of similar type in a single table (or table relationship structure). You then filter the items in the table based on relationships or additional table fields. Collections, Genres and Labels are those things and they work better than Libraries based on media file locations. Yes, okay, I get the need for 4k libraries, but only due to limitations in Plex’s handling of multiple versions (resolutions). Then there are the adult videos (for those who are so inclined - not me). Next, you have Home Videos. Finally, are Music and Photos. So, you end up with 7 or so libraries. Honestly, adult videos should probably be on a separate server otherwise they should just be mixed in with your movies and given a genre and restriction label. So, minus one library = 6. Out of the remaining 6: Movies, TV Shows and Music (maybe 4K) would be the pinned/favorites. 3 (4) libraries is not a problem horizontally.
The one problem here is that Plex doesn’t make getting to these genre/labels/collection grouping probably as easy as it could be, thus making them less effective.
- Restrictions - I see way too many people trying to restrict media by using Libraries. Plex is definitely not designed to do it this way, though you can. People are trying to make this function more than it is. Operating Systems do NOT primarily assign permissions based on location; it is based on individual file attributes and user/group permissions to those attributes. Yes, yes, in an OS you can place things in a folder designated as restricted, but the reality is that it is the individual files placed into such a folder are inheriting folder attributes that become file attributes that control their access. In Plex, the problem is that you usually end up with copies of the same media file in multiple folders/libraries or if not copied, users with access to all content have to remember which library the media is found in or search for it. (I mean adults like watching “Lady and the Tramp” too, not just the kids.
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Plex uses Labels for restriction. You put all your Movies into a single Library and then assign Labels to the movies. Next, you grant/exclude access to specific Labels to individual users. I personally assign an Age Rating Label to all my content. Age 0,3,5,8,10…25. As my kids grow up, they are granted access to higher levels of Age Rating. Also, I have a “Hidden” label that all users have as Excluded so I can hide things for administration purposes (such as some Collections). The one problem here is that Plex overrides exclusion with grants. It should be the other way around; if something is Denied, it should always be Denied.
Bonus: In the new UI there is a vertical Library listing available on Roku (click on “Libraries”).
