# "lock" field doesn't work **URL:** \ **Category:** Metadata & Adding Files\ **Tags:** server-synology\ **Created:** [October 28, 2024, 5:55am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/lock-field-doesnt-work/893720 "2024-10-28T05:55:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Garfieldwei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c37758/32.png) [@Garfieldwei](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Garfieldwei)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2024, 5:55am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/lock-field-doesnt-work/893720/1 "2024-10-28T05:55:08Z")
Server Version#: Player Version#: \ The “lock” field doesn’t work. Everytime I add a new movie the locked “sort title” field will be changed to the original value. orignal value is 潜伏（系列） (that is Insidious) ![1730094486694](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/4X/5/4/8/548c568567f4ed1f32974152c0ba9753f3669f24.jpeg) then I change it as Qian Fu and make sure the field is locked. ![1730094621766](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/4X/6/1/1/611c314b8d4d1952f147ad8fdfb24aa9ceb6e2d2.jpeg) It will work at first. But whenever I add a new movie the field will be changed from Qian Fu to 潜伏（系列） automatically. That’s weird. Because I have a lot of collections like that and I changed the “sort title” manually, they won’t be changed when I adding new movies. I just found the issue on “Insidious”. ---
**Author:** ![OttoKerner](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/ottokerner/32/10079_2.png) [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2024, 8:00am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/lock-field-doesnt-work/893720/2 "2024-10-28T08:00:20Z")
Are the files that you are adding always in mp4/m4v format? If they are, they might contain that very sort title in an internal meta tag. This would be the fault of the person or software which created the video file. Make sure to disable the checkbox “Prefer local metadata” in the properties of your library. Another possibility would be this: you are downloading (or decompressing, or ripping) directly into the folder that has been added to your Plex library. Don’t do that! What can happen is that Plex is already trying to find a metadata “match” for your file when it’s only starting to download. By then, the video file will be so small, that it looks exactly the same like another video file that you already had on your server before. So Plex will say to itself “oh, I know that file. I will give it the same metadata as I did before.” In this scenario, the actual file name will not matter. Hence you should always prepare your files in a wholly separate folder (that has not been added to a Plex library!) until they are completely ready and perfectly formatted, muxed, and named. ---
**Author:** ![Garfieldwei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c37758/32.png) [@Garfieldwei](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Garfieldwei)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2024, 8:24pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/lock-field-doesnt-work/893720/3 "2024-10-28T20:24:58Z")
my files are .mkv. where is the “Prefer local metadata”? The files were in another folder. I cut and pasted the files to the folder Plex library used. Thank you very much for replying! ---
**Author:** ![Garfieldwei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c37758/32.png) [@Garfieldwei](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Garfieldwei)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2024, 2:59am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/lock-field-doesnt-work/893720/5 "2024-10-29T02:59:57Z")
I found what the “real issue” is. ![1730147943610](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/4X/0/2/9/0296ab1559c8eb0ba922df4014adcc3571ba18c7.jpeg) Plesae see the screen shot. I manually changed the Title as FFF, Sort Title as Qian Fu. Then the collection was sorted in right place. But when I added a new movie. The Sort Title would be changed equal to the Title automatically, namely FFF. ![1730148217667](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/4X/0/c/a/0cae83b1d8a0e674b01c4ef32b484e7d2e4f10e4.jpeg) That’s very weird. Please see the screen shots. I think that’s a bug of your app. I use synology nas. ---
**Author:** ![Garfieldwei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c37758/32.png) [@Garfieldwei](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Garfieldwei)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2024, 5:31am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/lock-field-doesnt-work/893720/6 "2024-10-30T05:31:09Z")
can someone help? ---
**Author:** ![trumpy81](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/trumpy81/32/189687_2.png) [@trumpy81](https://forums.plex.tv/u/trumpy81)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2024, 8:41am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/lock-field-doesnt-work/893720/7 "2024-10-30T08:41:25Z")
There is no way for Plex to predict **YOUR** _Sort Title_ in advance, so you must change that manually. When you add any new file to a library or a collection, then you must manually change the _Sort Title_, click on the _Lock_ icon, if it does not automatically set for you and then click on _ **Save Changes** _. If you do not follow the above procedure in full, then _Sort Title_ will remain set to the _Title_. If you replace an existing file with a new version of that file and the name and location are the same as the previous file and the Edit fields have NOT been Locked and the changes _ **Saved** _, then all fields will be overwritten when Plex refreshes the metadata. Only previously _Locked_ and _Saved_ fields will be preserved. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/2/a/2acb9765406f63293d357b4ec509ec39aa28f2ad.png) [@system](https://forums.plex.tv/u/system)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 8:42am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/lock-field-doesnt-work/893720/8 "2025-01-28T08:42:15Z")
Closed on January 28, 2025, 8:42am UTC This topic was automatically closed 90 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.