# Plex not categorizing correctly

**URL:** <https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-not-categorizing-correctly/827470>\
**Category:** Plex Media Server\
**Tags:** server-linux-arm\
**Created:** [January 19, 2023, 6:05am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-not-categorizing-correctly/827470 "2023-01-19T06:05:37Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![pablafamily](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b19c9b/32.png) [@pablafamily](https://forums.plex.tv/u/pablafamily)\
**Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 6:05am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-not-categorizing-correctly/827470/1 "2023-01-19T06:05:37Z")

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Plex is categorizing all my data under one TV show. How do I fix this?

Server Version#: 1.30.1.6562-915986d62  
Player Version#:

 ![Linux Server](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/4X/9/e/c/9ec32873957828eca89860d8f98a2397470ec0b0.jpeg)  
 ![Windows Server with same data](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/4X/b/2/a/b2ac165d6e8cfdc71021570a5f16158d87c4a8f5.jpeg)

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**Author:** ![FordGuy61](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/22d042/32.png) [@FordGuy61](https://forums.plex.tv/u/FordGuy61)\
**Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 6:41am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-not-categorizing-correctly/827470/2 "2023-01-19T06:41:57Z")

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[Plex Documentation](https://support.plex.tv/articles/) → [Your Media](https://support.plex.tv/articles/categories/your-media/)  
→ [Naming & Organizing Your TV Show Files](https://support.plex.tv/articles/naming-and-organizing-your-tv-show-files/)  
→ [Naming & Organizing Your Movie Files](https://support.plex.tv/articles/naming-and-organizing-your-movie-media-files/)

Please provide an example of how you have the media named and organized - screenshot, directory listing, etc. Include the folder that is added to the TV show library.

This usually comes down to naming and organization.

Make sure you follow Plex’s requirements.

After renaming, [Plex Dance](https://forums.plex.tv/t/the-plex-dance/197064) the show (or movie). This removes incorrect matching information from the Plex Media Server database.

An example:

```auto
/TV Shows <-- Folder added to Plex TV show library
   /The Office (2005) {tvdb-73244} <-- Show Name (year); ID optional, but helps with matching
      /Season 01 <-- "Season" in English..
         /The Office s01e01.mkv <-- consider sXXeYY mandatory

```

In the example above, `TV Shows` is the folder added to the TV show library.

The show folder, `The Office (2005) {tvdb-73244}`, must be directly under `TV Shows`.

The TMDB/TVDB ID is optional, but tells Plex exactly which show to match. It is especially helpful with shows such as The Office where there are UK and US versions. Also with reboots such as Magnum PI, Hawaii 5-0, etc.

Note that Plex uses TMDB or TVDB IDs for TV shows and TMDB or IMDB IDs for movies.

If you need to rename many files:

- [Filebot](https://www.filebot.net/)
- [Tiny Media Manager](https://www.tinymediamanager.org/)
- [Microsoft PowerTools PowerRenamer](https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys)

Many people use Filebot. It is quite powerful and can rename an entire library in minutes.

Tiny Media Manager is also very useful, and free.

Example TMM Renamer Patterns:

- Show Name: `${showTitle} (${showYear})`
- Season: `Season ${seasonNr2}`
- Episode Name: `${showTitle} (${showYear}) s${seasonNr2}e${episodeNr2} ${episode.title}`
- Movie Name: `${title} (${year}) {imdb-${imdb}}`

PowerRenamer in Microsoft Power Tools is helpful for simple renaming with pattern matches or regular expressions. It makes quick work of tasks such as adding a year to file names, removing undesirable text from multiple files, etc.

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**Author:** ![pablafamily](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b19c9b/32.png) [@pablafamily](https://forums.plex.tv/u/pablafamily)\
**Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 6:56am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-not-categorizing-correctly/827470/3 "2023-01-19T06:56:57Z")

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These are the folder and screenshots. I am saying here that why is it recognizing differently on these systems? As there are just accessing the same cloud storage.

 ![folder and names](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/4X/3/8/5/3857f0bb8c4b5c9acd14d8f1ced9bfbbccc777d4.png)  
 ![Linux Server with the same folders](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/4X/f/4/c/f4cd0768f5cd1551d8f51bcb5aba685c8aaa5e46.jpeg)  
 ![Windows Server with the same folders](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/4X/1/1/4/114ba94700c5579a361a8d30317e56cdcdbecf0a.jpeg)

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**Author:** ![FordGuy61](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/22d042/32.png) [@FordGuy61](https://forums.plex.tv/u/FordGuy61)\
**Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 7:01am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-not-categorizing-correctly/827470/4 "2023-01-19T07:01:27Z")

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> [@pablafamily](#):
>
> These are the folder and screenshots

Thanks for the info.

Plex has specific naming and organization requirements.

The folders, as displayed in your screenshot, are not what Plex expects.

To successfully use Plex, you will have to rename and reorganize the files.

Review the documentation and see the example in my first reply.

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/2/a/2acb9765406f63293d357b4ec509ec39aa28f2ad.png) [@system](https://forums.plex.tv/u/system)\
**Post date:** [April 19, 2023, 7:01am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-not-categorizing-correctly/827470/5 "2023-04-19T07:01:27Z")

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