What is a Library Directory?

Imagine a user has a folder within their Windows system (e.g., an external hard drive "e:\MyAV\" or a NAS "\\192.168.0.2\movie\"), which contains various files of a certain type, such as video, audio files, PDFs, photo collections, etc. This is typically the root or a subdirectory of the user's collection of movies. The user can then add a Media Library Directory corresponding to this folder under the "Library" tree on the left side of the PLM traditional interface. PLM will scan the files within this folder and import them into the library records. All subsequent management operations (such as scraping, generating thumbnails, modifying properties, renaming, deleting, moving, etc.) can then be performed within PLM. There can be multiple Library Directories, corresponding to multiple hard drives or NAS folders. Hardcore collectors may have several or even dozens of mechanical hard drives storing their collected movies or pictures.

How to add a library directory?

1. In the tree directory on the left side of the traditional interface, select the first "Library" node.
2. Click the "New" button at the top of the tree directory.
3. Select the file system for the new directory: If it's a local hard drive or a USB hard drive/storage device connected to the computer, select "Local File System". If it's a NAS/Samba device, select "Samba". Click OK to continue.
• If it's a local file system, you need to select a specific folder, such as "F:\Movie".
• If it's a NAS device, you need to enter the Samba server address, such as "\\192.168.0.2\movie". If a password is required for login, you will need to enter the username and password. You can click the test button to verify the connection.
4. In "Add new dir" dialog box, enter a display name, optionally enter "Make Sub" to create subdir within this folder, optionally select scan type, folder check method (detection determines whether this directory is a file set, such as TV series and book chapters), select the post-scan multi action. Choose whether to scan in the foreground or background.
5. If scanning is selected, PLM will perform a foreground or background scan for qualified files. When finished, if it is a foreground scan, the result list will be displayed for the user to select and add new records. If the background scan is completed, the new records will be added directly.

How to modify a library directory

In the tree directory on the left side of the traditional interface, select a library directory node, click the "Edit" button at the top, or right-click and select "Edit" to enter row property modification. It is not recommended to modify fields such as locid/path/addr/params. Commonly modified fields include: corder (order), disp (display), rating (rating), memo (notes), vflags (visibility flags), color (color), icon (icon), warnpc (space warning percentage).

Setting vflags to "1" makes this directory a "private directory", and setting it to "-1" makes this directory an "archived directory". You can set "Visible level" in the "Settings" menu. Currently this only applies to directories.

How to delete a library directory

In the tree directory on the left side of the traditional interface, select a library directory node, right-click and select "Delete". After confirmation, the relevant records will be removed, but the physical files will not be deleted.

How to update/rescan a library directory

In the tree directory on the left side of the traditional interface, select a library directory node, right-click and select "Rescan". PLM will re-scan and compare existing records, adding any records that have not been registered (which may be newly copied files).

How to search for files in the Library

In the tree directory on the left side of the traditional interface, select the "All" node, and then enter keywords in the search box, such as code/title/actor/director's partial name. You can quickly obtain a list of possible records.