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[Aimhere]

Hi,

I need help with configuring a custom view for my video collection.

My videos are spread across a number of disk drives (network drives on a NAS, actually, but I digress.) Within each drive, there is a "Videos" folder, and within that there is a "Movies" folder, and within THAT, a number of subfolders containing my videos gathered into small alphanumeric groups (based on the first character of the filename), e.g. "0-9", "ABC", "DEF", etc. (kind of like a Rolodex-style grouping). The same relative hierarchy is used on every drive.

So, the structure looks like this:

Drive1
   Videos
      Movies
         0-9
         ABC
         DEF
         GHI
         ...
         WXYZ
Drive2
   Videos
      Movies
         0-9
         ABC
         DEF
         GHI
         ...
         WXYZ
Drive3
(etc.)

What I want to do is create a custom view that will show ALL of the movies within a given alphanumeric group, regardless of which drive they are on.

So, there would be a view panel containing a list of the groupings ("All files", "0-9", "ABC", "DEF", etc.), and if I select one group (say, "ABC"), it will show ALL movies within the "ABC" folders, across all drives.

Now, I could have my custom view just use the category "Filename (name)" and select the "Grouping" option under "Settings" (with a grouping size of "3"), but this wouldn't quite match the Rolodex-style grouping I'm already using on the disks. (Rolodexes mostly use 3-letter groups, except for a couple of four-letter groups, "PQRS" and "WXYZ".) And I would really like the MC grouping to match what I'm already using.

(My only other option would be to rearrange the disk folders so they group the files into strict 3-letter groups/subfolders, but this would require a bit of work on my part, and I'd have to reindex all the files for my NAS box's DNLA server so it can find the files to serve them to other devices on my network.)

Can anyone offer a suggestion for doing this?

[blgentry]

I think you have the correct answer which is to use grouping on the field you want.  But you seem to be hung up on the idea that the file system organizes everything.  It's good to have the file system organized; for sure!  But you do realize that the view you build and the file system layout don't have to match right?  So if your file system has a W-Z directory and the view has V-X and Y-Z groupings, it doesn't matter.  The view will still display the letters it says it will.  Plus, if you want to see V, W, X, Y, and Z together, you can just highlight the V-X and Y-Z listings at the same time and you'll see both displayed.

Also, don't your videos have metadata associated with them?  Like the title of the movie?  So, you would probably be better served by using the [Name] field instead of the file name, unless there is something in the file name that's more correct than the Name field.

On the other hand, this is MC and it can always do things I haven't thought of.  Maybe someone else has some clever ideas for you.  Good luck on your project!

Brian.

[dtc]

You can define a calculated field (Rolodex) with the expression filefolder(). That will populate the field with your Rolodex folder names. Filefolder() or Filefolder([filename],0) returns the folder name immediately above the file name. Filefolder([filename],1) returns the parent of that folder. Just use the Rolodex field to manipulate the albums in either standard or pane views as you wish. If you have not defined a field before go to Options - Options - Library and Folders - Manage Library Fields and create a new field and check it as Calculated Data. Then enter the filefolder expression in the Expression box. Good luck.