New user here running Plex from my new QNAP TS-251D, so I suspect this is just a simple question about something I don’t completely understand yet.
I’m fiddling with approaches to Various Artists, struggling a bit with getting my embedded tags (and particularly Album Art) to work right in Plex. Along the way, I tried what I guess is called the “Plex Dance.” I took a test library with a handful of tracks and physically moved them from the Plex Library folder to another folder on my desktop. Then I said “Scan Library Files” but nothing seems to happen. The track names never disappear from the Plex Library as I imagined they would. Tried stopping the server and rebooting the NAS to no effect.
Naturally, clicking to play any of them results in an error since the files aren’t there, but I’m confused as to why they’re there in the first place. Do I have to physically delete the library and start again?
There’s an option in Settings > [Server Name] > Library that configures if Plex automatically empties its trash after a scan (Automatically empty trash after scan). I personally like to disable this… this will avoid losing my metadata if a drive is temporarily not accessible.
If you have the server configured that way, removing your files will not result in the library items being removed right away. Instead you should see a trash can icon on the poster (in the library view) or a red “Unavailable” label next to the name when you’re on the movie detail pages.
