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Author Topic: Library is not auto updating after hard disk file changes  (Read 4068 times)

Yogi

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Library is not auto updating after hard disk file changes
« on: November 24, 2014, 08:52:23 am »

I am currently testing a trial version of JRiver Media Center 20. The source music files are on my local hard drive - in the same PC as Media Center, no network involved.

I have just renamed a music track on the hard disk using Windows Explorer but when I open Media Center, the track name is unchanged (presumably this is displayed from the library at C:\Users\\AppData\Roaming\J River\Media Center 20). If I hang the mouse pointer over the track in Media Center though, the popup info window does show the new file name.

According to http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Auto-Import#Background_Scanning ...

"Media Center's Auto-Import system runs by default in the background, and will automatically pick up changes in any of your defined Auto-Import Directories"

ok, confession time, in case it's due to something I have done   :)

I have recently changed a parent hard disk directory name. (from D:\My Music\FLAC Music to \FLAC Music Test). So using the library import tools (Configure auto import), I edited the source directory path and left the following settings unchanged:

"update for external changes" = ticked.
"Fix broken links" = yes.

I did all this before changing the track file name, so I think auto importing was switched on when I made the file edit. But the library isn't being updated to show the changes in the source files.

is there anything else I should check / reset or have I mis-understood the auto update functionality?

Thanks
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ferday

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Re: Library is not auto updating after hard disk file changes
« Reply #1 on: November 24, 2014, 10:06:19 am »

If you rename the file inside of MC then the changes are instant, if you name it using explorer then the auto import takes some time to reflect the changes.  It's not normally a lot of time but it's not instant

You can go to the import options and "run auto import" to force it to run, this should solve the problem.  If not, there's so,etching else going on...
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Yogi

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Re: Library is not auto updating after hard disk file changes
« Reply #2 on: November 25, 2014, 03:26:05 am »

If you rename the file inside of MC then the changes are instant, if you name it using explorer then the auto import takes some time to reflect the changes.  It's not normally a lot of time but it's not instant

You can go to the import options and "run auto import" to force it to run, this should solve the problem.  If not, there's so,etching else going on...

Hi ferday and thanks for the reply. I renamed the file using Windows Explorer but that was a few days ago and it still hasn't auto updated. I had a similar problem when I deleted some albums from the hard disk (using Windows Explorer) and the library kept on displaying the deleted albums until I forced a full manual import.

I found this:

http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Auto-Import#Background_Scanning

 ... which says:

Media Center's Background Auto-Import works by:
Monitoring File System Events for changes and responding instantly to only those files that changed in a watched directory.
Running a background full-scan of the defined watched directories, and checking for changes, once every two hours. This is run with a low thread priority to prevent it from impacting foreground tasks.

Unlike the folder watching systems provided by many other applications, Media Center's background Auto-Import system relies, in part, upon a system called File System Events that is provided by your Operating System to allow it to respond to any changes made in a watched directory. This allows Media Center to react instantaneously when any changes are committed to a watched directory



 ... so unless I need to change some settings, shouldn't my file rename be updated in MC automatically?
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Yogi

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Re: Library is not auto updating after hard disk file changes
« Reply #3 on: November 25, 2014, 04:10:00 am »

I've just run a manual library import and the filename still hasn't updated in MC    ?

Looking at the help files (as shown above) it should work ok so it must be something I've changed ... I'll keep checking the settings but if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to comment    :)
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Yogi

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Re: Library is not auto updating after hard disk file changes
« Reply #4 on: November 25, 2014, 04:16:41 am »

ok, got it .... if you're about to reply just give me 5 minutes and I'll add some feedback
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Yogi

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Re: Library is not auto updating after hard disk file changes
« Reply #5 on: November 25, 2014, 04:53:51 am »

ok, in MC I am looking at the column "Name" (ie the track name). This MC field does not show the Windows file name though, it shows the Windows tag field "Title". I can add the field "Title" to the standard Windows Explorer display.

I have just edited the Windows Title field using a tag editor and the MC library (Name field) updated itself in about 20 seconds with no prompting or refreshing or manual input by me.
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Arindelle

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Re: Library is not auto updating after hard disk file changes
« Reply #6 on: November 25, 2014, 05:17:07 am »

just a thing to add that you should be aware of if the field [date imported] is important to you and any fields that you have opted to not write to embedded tags in the file itself for that matter (player stats for example). By running "autoimport" - not import just a folder by the way - will import these files provided that their drives paths and files extentions are included in the import configuration beforehand.

They will be added as newly imported however.

Quote
Unlike the folder watching systems provided by many other applications, Media Center's background Auto-Import system relies, in part, upon a system called File System Events that is provided by your Operating System to allow it to respond to any changes made in a watched directory. This allows Media Center to react instantaneously when any changes are committed to a watched directory

the key here is File System Events. If for some reason the OS does not issue this "event", (or it is slow in doing so) either you have to wait or you have to force the import. On local drives connected to the media server PC this works pretty well. On networked drives, NAS, external drives etc., slow can be, ahem, hours. It is only immediate when/if a FSE is issued.

The best way to move or rename files is through the Rename, Move Copy command from within Library tools. Presets can be made for this. Its a very powerful tool. If you are moving drives or changing path names, this is very handy. You can also "re-point" the data base from here without reimporting.

As ferday already mentioned, changes made through the internal explorer of JR is also immediate. What I do is right click on a track=>Locate and choose Internal. And you go directly to the tracks in question without scrolling.

Wish external changes were dependant on some other mechanism, but I'm sure there are reasons for this :)

PS- posted at the same time -- the Name field is the metadata name and not the windows filename btw
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Yogi

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Re: Library is not auto updating after hard disk file changes
« Reply #7 on: November 25, 2014, 06:12:25 am »

Hi Arindelle and thanks for all this information.

By running "autoimport" - not import just a folder by the way - will import these files provided that their drives paths and files extentions are included in the import configuration beforehand.

When you say "the import configuration" do you mean these settings?

Library tools > Import > Configure Auto Import, where I can specify the path to the source files

Tools > Options > File Types, where I can  specify the file extensions

 ... or is there something else I should check?

Thanks
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