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[gpvillamil]

Out of curiosity, what is the difference in the Auto-Import options between:

Fix broken links: Yes

and

Fix broken links: Yes (leave network files)

I have my library pointing to files on an Infrant ReadyNAS, and have been using the first option, with no problems at all. However, I keep hearing that the second option is best when using an external drive or a network share.

What's the story?

[Mr ChriZ]

The problem with the first option, is if you unplug the network,
drive etc with MC running it will remove the files from the library.
This is really frustrating especially with files that don't contain
the tags stored in the files as the tag data is often lost.

I don't really see why the first option is provided.

[Alex B]

As said, "Leave network files" should be able to keep temporally disconnected network files in the library.

However, I don't know what exact detection mechanism is used. Does MC check if the base address is present (a network path or a mapped drive letter) besides checking the presence of the actual file?

I don't really see why the first option is provided.

It is needed for permanently removed network paths or drives.

[Mr ChriZ]

It is needed for permanently removed network paths or drives.

This would make more sense if the option was on a per path/folder basis.

[glynor]

This would make more sense if the option was on a per path/folder basis.

I guess it might, but it could also make using it more troublesome.

I actually toggle that mode on and off sometimes to remove "orphan" files on my network drives.  99% of the time I keep "Yes (leave network files)" chosen.  However, when I have a bunch of missing files on some of my network drives (this happens fairly regularly with my Video Editing media which isn't always managed through MC exclusively) the easiest way to find and remove them all is to:

0. Backup my library.
1. Make darn sure my network and removable drives are all accessible.
2. Switch the option to plain-vanilla "Yes".
3. Run a manual scan for new media.

I have quite a few network drives.  If I had to go through an toggle each of them to "yes", and then back to "yes (leave network)" it'd be a major nightmare.

[glynor]

Now, of course, if there were a reliable way to build a Smartlist/View Scheme search that would display only all the "missing" files, I wouldn't need to do this... But there's not.  (ISMISSING doesn't work right and has been reported repeatedly in the past.)

[Mr ChriZ]

In this case I'd argue that MC should differentiate between the drive
being missing, and the files being missing....
Which I thought it did, but I've not tested this...

[jgreen]

"IsMissing" doesn't work right?  Glynor, could you provide a link to that discussion?  I rely on it a lot and I've never seen any problems with it. 

I would never auto-delete anything.  The upside is you save five minutes of effort while the downside is only limited by the size of your hard drive.  I agree with the others who wonder why the auto-delete (including network drives) option lives on.  I do appreciate that jriver removed it as the default, but maybe it's time to re-examine this and the crash-recovery dialogue that Sparta has mentioned recently.

[dcwebman]

This information needs to be put in the Wiki because it's a very commonly asked question.

[glynor]

"IsMissing" doesn't work right?  Glynor, could you provide a link to that discussion?  I rely on it a lot and I've never seen any problems with it.

My bad.  It does work right.  I was just doing it wrong.  There are (or at least were) some issues with CUE files, but I don't use those so...

Here's a discussion: http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=26741.0

I would never auto-delete anything.  The upside is you save five minutes of effort while the downside is only limited by the size of your hard drive.  I agree with the others who wonder why the auto-delete (including network drives) option lives on.  I do appreciate that jriver removed it as the default, but maybe it's time to re-examine this and the crash-recovery dialogue that Sparta has mentioned recently.

Not sure what you're referring to here.  The option doesn't delete media, it just removes broken links to non-existent media from MC's library.  One of the biggest reasons I like the Yes (leave network files) option is this:

I use BeyondTV for my TV recording and general TV watching.  So that, if needed, I can manage these files through MC, I have Otto import the recordings that BTV makes.  However, since I generally watch (and therefore delete) these files through BTV rather than MC, there are constantly broken links in my "BeyondTV View Scheme" in MC.  Well... There would be if not for this option.  With this option and with Otto, MC's "BeyondTV View Scheme" always matches what is really on my "TV Drive".

However, since a LOT of my long-term stored media lives on network drives (and I have a bunch of images archived onto removable hard drives that are in MC's database), if the only options were "Yes" and "No" then I wouldn't be able to use it at all!

Now... With the properly-working Smartlist that lists all the missing files, why would I need to ever set it to plain-vanilla "yes"?  I wouldn't, and no longer care if that's removed.  However, since it's already there, why change it?  (If it ain't broke...)

[jgreen]

Thanks for posting the link, Glynor, although it's mostly about Matt's dog eating shoes.  I'm glad to hear that IsMissing isn't faulty, that would be a scary thought.

As for your (and others') use of delete broken links (leave network), I'm really in the stone age there.  I'm not bringing in files on a per-use basis, I only have offline files, the same files each and every time.  I can see now how important the function is for single-use media, and how crucial it is that it perform perfectly.

I'm a packrat:  If something's worthing viewing/listening to once, it's worth saving for posterity, IMO.  So my library keeps growing, and if I were to inadvertently delete offline links, I would be lost.

[Mr ChriZ]

My bad.  It does work right.  I was just doing it wrong.  There are (or at least were) some issues with CUE files, but I don't use those so...

Here's a discussion: http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=26741.0

Not sure what you're referring to here.  The option doesn't delete media, it just removes broken links to non-existent media from MC's library.  One of the biggest reasons I like the Yes (leave network files) option is this:

I use BeyondTV for my TV recording and general TV watching.  So that, if needed, I can manage these files through MC, I have Otto import the recordings that BTV makes.  However, since I generally watch (and therefore delete) these files through BTV rather than MC, there are constantly broken links in my "BeyondTV View Scheme" in MC.  Well... There would be if not for this option.  With this option and with Otto, MC's "BeyondTV View Scheme" always matches what is really on my "TV Drive".

However, since a LOT of my long-term stored media lives on network drives (and I have a bunch of images archived onto removable hard drives that are in MC's database), if the only options were "Yes" and "No" then I wouldn't be able to use it at all!

Now... With the properly-working Smartlist that lists all the missing files, why would I need to ever set it to plain-vanilla "yes"?  I wouldn't, and no longer care if that's removed.  However, since it's already there, why change it?  (If it ain't broke...)

Surely if Otto just differentiated between the files being missing and the drives being missing
then this would be ideal for you?
The Beyond TV files would be removed when they are removed, but if you removed a network
drive the files would be left no problem?  And then as you said you could have the IsMissing
in your smartlists to only show the files that are currently available?