New Library shows "This library is currently empty" whereas old libraries work

Plex Media Server Metadata & Adding Files
1

I am using a USB external hard drive connected to the laptop.

Server Version#: 4.54.5
Player Version#: (Not showing up under Player on the server)

I have past libraries and files show up properly but this new library (for racing) is not showing any of the files and it may be incorrectly setup. I cannot tell why it shows this:

This library is currently empty

Expecting more? Visit the Manage Libraries page to add folders and scan library files.

I set it up like the other libraries but it is not working.

I manually updated the Plex server, I subsequently reopened the server and that did not fix the issue.

Thanks in advance

2

What type of library is this about (⋮ > Manage Library > Edit... → General)?
How are the files organized/named under the top-level folder you have added to that library?

Plex will not add certain files, e.g. disc images / ISO files or files with names/structures not matching an expected format for that library type (e.g. if your tv-episodes don’t have a season/episode pattern or if movie files have that pattern).

https://support.plex.tv/articles/201543057-why-is-some-of-my-content-not-found/

Beyond that… from what I remember, Plex on Mac is running with your user permissions, so if you can see the media, so should Plex (which is more problematic on Linux based systems).

3

Thank you for your prompt response.

I currently have past folders and the new folder set as the following:

External - > Folders

(me) : Read & Write
staff: Read & Write
everyone: Read & Write

External → Folder-> subfolder → .mkv

Also External → Folder → .mp4

I do not have any ISO files in the folders, in this case.

It seems I setup the library like the old ones. The server can find the folder but will not show anything in the folder.

I thought I could simply drag racing events into this library for organizing them.

4

A specific example might help.
Also… what type of library is it (e.g. movie, tv-show, other video, music, photos…)?

5

They are not movies, tv-shows, music, or photos. The car videos would qualify for being “other videos” given there are not seasons. Only various videos.

Thank you very much again.

6

It’s not so much what they qualify as but what media type you originally selected for that library. This determines how Plex will handle the files or what it’ll be looking for.

If they are categorized as “other videos”, make sure your file names contain no sXXeYY pattern that could be misinterpreted as season/episode categorization where XX could be the season number (or year) and YY the episode number. Plex will not add files with such names to an other video type library.

7

Will it work for having files that are simply named “Formula1.mp4” or .mkv?

8

A file called Formula1.mp4 should work fine within a movie or other videos type library. It won’t show in a tv show library.

Exceptions apply if your mp4 file has some conflicting embedded metadata and your server/library is configured to prefer that metadata over that obtained by some online source.

9

I chose “other videos” and that worked perfectly. I have not thought to try that before because I had organized tv shows in the past.

Thank you again

10

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