How do I change the output path?

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abefx
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How do I change the output path?

Post by abefx »

Hello all,

I am very new to filebot and i am having some issues. I really dont know how to use it exactly i have following instructions but most seem a little fuzzy for me, i have no background in scripting and what not. What i do know is i have a huge PLEX data base drivepool that im trying to fix up and organize the right way and im OCD about arranging it and people tell me filebot is what i need. I have used it a couple of times and fixed some things but still not sure how to do it in a systematic step manner so i know exactly what im doing and where.

1) when i rename files it MOVES them to C drive under users and Plex media folder.... i want them output to stay exactly where they are and just fix the names ! i only have 20 GB of space left on my SSD OS drive and i cant rename any moves or tv shows cause there is no space, it moves them to C: !

All my plex media resides on a drivepool of 16 TB called "PLEX (P:)"

2) i would love to know if im using the best scripts and formats for my PLEX drive media. I also dont know how to make it fix folders too, im afraid to let it just change entire directories.
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rednoah
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Re: Help please

Post by rednoah »

Set your format to {plex} and use a different output folder.

e.g.

Code: Select all

/path/to/Media/{plex}
Your "Media" folder must be new and empty, so that you can easily track which files have been processed and which haven't just by checking if they are in that new folder or in the original folder.

Then you can just process files in reasonably sized batches. Maybe ~100 shows/movies at a time. You'll want to double check the matches before hitting the Rename button.
:idea: Please read the FAQ and How to Request Help.
abefx
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Re: Help please

Post by abefx »

Thank you very much for your response,

Im sorry but i still dont fully understand. How would i change this path to something else ? is it in the user interface, do i need to click on something specific to change it, or is this like a command line thing ? just not sure where that "code" goes.

I guess i could make a folder labelled "RENAMED" and have the files moved/renamed to that empty folder, then i manually move them back ?

Thank you once again.
abefx
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Joined: 16 Feb 2017, 04:33

Re: Help please

Post by abefx »

rednoah wrote:Set your format to {plex} and use a different output folder.

e.g.

Code: Select all

/path/to/Media/{plex}
Your "Media" folder must be new and empty, so that you can easily track which files have been processed and which haven't just by checking if they are in that new folder or in the original folder.

Then you can just process files in reasonably sized batches. Maybe ~100 shows/movies at a time. You'll want to double check the matches before hitting the Rename button.
Thank you for the information, but i still am fuzzy on this, i just simply want a script that works for PLEX and does not move the files when renaming, or i would like to assign them to be dumped in this empty folder "P:\RENAMED" so then i can move them back where they belong, now when i rename anything it takes 10 minutes to move them to my C drive and then another 10 minutes or more BACK to my plex drive.
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rednoah
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Re: Help please

Post by rednoah »

1.
Please read FAQ #1 and learn how format expressions work.


2.
The "format" is the template that tells FileBot how you want your files to be organized. You can use the Format Editor to edit the format.

Here's a video tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRq2_Pjyko8

Image


3.
You can't just "rename" for Plex. The Plex naming standard requires a certain file structure and naming scheme, so you will have to move files into a new folder structure, which is exactly what FileBot is doing for you.

e.g. use this format:

Code: Select all

P:/Media/{plex}
If you move/rename files on P:\ then that operation will be instant because the data doesn't have to be physically transferred.


FYI: What you call "rename" and "move" are the same exact operation as far as your computer is concerned.
:idea: Please read the FAQ and How to Request Help.
abefx
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Re: Help please

Post by abefx »

rednoah wrote:1.
Please read FAQ #1 and learn how format expressions work.


2.
The "format" is the template that tells FileBot how you want your files to be organized. You can use the Format Editor to edit the format.

Here's a video tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRq2_Pjyko8

Image


3.
You can't just "rename" for Plex. The Plex naming standard requires a certain file structure and naming scheme, so you will have to move files into a new folder structure, which is exactly what FileBot is doing for you.

e.g. use this format:

Code: Select all

P:/Media/{plex}
If you move/rename files on P:\ then that operation will be instant because the data doesn't have to be physically transferred.


FYI: What you call "rename" and "move" are the same exact operation as far as your computer is concerned.
Thank you i have my work cut out for me lol i know nothing about this , but im glad i have the information to try and piece it together.
chiller77
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Re: How do I change the output path?

Post by chiller77 »

you really don't understand what this guy is asking? how do we configure filebot for plex? you can say; "type this in", "Set this to this", or whatever, but you are not helping anybody. the question everbody is going to have is; where on God's green Earth is the button or file that we need to adjust to get filebot to actually work? filebot does not work straight out of the box. you need to inform people where to go and what to click on to get it to work or they wont use it. they will try filebot, see that you have to be some kind of advanced coder to understand this software, then uninstall it. that is the point I am at right now. there are no instructions with this software. I am getting an error of a duplicate destination path. I am stuck on how to configure it. There is no place at all to configure this software that is obvious to anybody. Your answers above are humorous. I did laugh when I read it, but it is frustrating that you don't answer the simple questions. nobody is going to know what to change to make this work. either put an options button on the window or add instructions on how to actually get to the configuration file.
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rednoah
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Re: How do I change the output path?

Post by rednoah »

Where exactly are you stuck? Can you provide screenshots?

Your problem description is somewhat vague, and doesn't seem to be related to this particular thread.

Here's a general video tutorial on how it's supposed to work:
https://www.filebot.net/getting-started/
:idea: Please read the FAQ and How to Request Help.
DeQuosaek
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Re: How do I change the output path?

Post by DeQuosaek »

The simple and straightforward answer to this is load a file, look up the info, and then double click (or right click) any item under New Names on the right hand side and select Edit Format. Then change the path portion of the format.

If you're not familiar with using variables like {s00e00} or {n} just leave all that stuff the same and only change the first part of the path. (example: P:\TV Shows\ )

That should answer the initial question for most, but stick around and I'll explain a little more.

Once you know what the variables are all about, they're not very difficult to use either. For example, I use:
D:/TV Shows/{n.colon(' - ')}\{n.colon(' - ')} - {s00e00} - {t}

for renaming my TV shows. It renames them like so:
D:\TV Shows\Star Wars - Rebels\Star Wars - Rebels - S04E01 - Heroes of Mandalore (1).mkv

{n} translates to the name of the show - you can use this as part of the name of a folder or the filename. I use it for both, so my shows are each in their own separate subfolders named after the name of the show.
The .colon(' - ') part is a little more complicated, but basically means that if there is a colon replace it with whatever is inside the single quotes '' in the parenthesis (), in my case a space, a dash, and another space. Since this is attached to an {n} it means if there is a : in the name of the show, replace it with - instead.
{S00E00} translates to the season and episode numbers.
{t} translates to the title of the episode.

So if I'm renaming a file named "Star.Wars.Rebels.S0401.1080p.x264.mkv" it will look it up on TVDB and find "Star Wars: Rebels" is the name of the show, this is Season 4 and Episode 1, and the Title of the Episode is "Heroes of Mandalore (1)"

When I click Rename, it will move that file to the following folder with the following filename:
D:\TV Shows\Star Wars - Rebels\Star Wars - Rebels - S04E01 - Heroes of Mandalore (1).mkv
because of all of the parameters (or directions, rules, whatever you wanna call them) that I specified in the "format" setting.

I hope this helps. I came here because I was struggling to find where to change the output path as well. If Edit Format was in the Settings or Preferences it might be easier or more intuitive to find.
qytj
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Re: How do I change the output path?

Post by qytj »

Hi, all!
I am also struggling to find the "easy" way to configure the output location.
To be specific, I am using the Mac app and a Qnap container, both hImageave GUI but nowhere to configure the "output folder" for action hardlink or copy, the feature I found in the Qnap Node app under "Organize Files", where you are allowed to set input folder, action, output folder, and more.
The screenshot here might be helpful. I just want to know how to configure the same for desktop app just like in the node app.

Image
Last edited by qytj on 11 Jul 2021, 10:00, edited 1 time in total.
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rednoah
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Re: How do I change the output path?

Post by rednoah »

If you're using the GUI then you can just use an absolute format expression.

Files will be organized to the exact file path specified by your custom format. Even better if that path is absolute as to eliminate unspecified behavior.
:idea: Please read the FAQ and How to Request Help.
qytj
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Re: How do I change the output path?

Post by qytj »

rednoah wrote: 11 Jul 2021, 11:47 If you're using the GUI then you can just use an absolute format expression.

Files will be organized to the exact file path specified by your custom format. Even better if that path is absolute as to eliminate unspecified behavior.
Thanks a lot! Finally, I found the format setting in the right-click menu. (I thought it would be a button to click right in the GUI).

One last question, I just ran the action "hardlink" before I saw your reply, I thought it would ask for output folder before it actually runs. So now where did all the hardlink folder/files go? Where is the default location for hardlinks if not specified in the format settings? I wonder if I could just move the generated hardlinks to where I want.
qytj
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Re: How do I change the output path?

Post by qytj »

rednoah wrote: 11 Jul 2021, 11:47 If you're using the GUI then you can just use an absolute format expression.

Files will be organized to the exact file path specified by your custom format. Even better if that path is absolute as to eliminate unspecified behavior.
Emm.. I have set the format as /Volumes/Multimedia/Plex/{Plex}. If I understand it right, when I click Hardink button, it should create hardlinks in the /Volumes/Multimedia/Plex, right? But it creates nothing. Besides, when I click "Override" when it reports conflicts of "file already exists", it deletes that file! I chose an empty folder for the output destination so I don't know why it says that there is a file with the same name existed! I am using the Mac app.
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rednoah
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Re: How do I change the output path?

Post by rednoah »

qytj wrote: 11 Jul 2021, 18:44 One last question, I just ran the action "hardlink" before I saw your reply, I thought it would ask for output folder before it actually runs. So now where did all the hardlink folder/files go? Where is the default location for hardlinks if not specified in the format settings? I wonder if I could just move the generated hardlinks to where I want.
If the destination path is relative, then files will be moved / copied / etc relatively to the current file path.

:idea: You can use to history to see where files went and revert the operation:
viewtopic.php?t=12133


qytj wrote: 11 Jul 2021, 22:54 Emm.. I have set the format as /Volumes/Multimedia/Plex/{Plex}. If I understand it right, when I click Hardink button, it should create hardlinks in the /Volumes/Multimedia/Plex, right? But it creates nothing.
What kind of network share are you using? Do SMB networks shares support Unix-y file system features such as hardlinks in the first place? FileBot will instruct the OS to create the given hardlink, but after that it's up to the OS and file system layer, and in this case the remote network file system, to actually perform requested operation. If you get weird behaviour, then it's most likely a generic network share issue unrelated to FileBot specifically.


qytj wrote: 11 Jul 2021, 22:54 Besides, when I click "Override" when it reports conflicts of "file already exists", it deletes that file! I chose an empty folder for the output destination so I don't know why it says that there is a file with the same name existed! I am using the Mac app.
If FileBot says the file already exists, then the file already exists according to the OS and file system driver. If network shares are involved, then locally-cached out-of-sync information is very possible, and so any kind of file listing you see on your remote client should be taken with a grain of salt. You'll want to log into your NAS, so you can check the local file system at the source, to check if files are indeed there or not.
:idea: Please read the FAQ and How to Request Help.
qytj
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Re: How do I change the output path?

Post by qytj »

It's an absolute path: /Volumes/Multimedia/Plex/{Plex}

The remote share is a Qnap. And I am using a Mac. It is supposed to support hardlink as the Filebot Node app does hardlinks well on it.

I check the history and the "New Folder" column is empty for each file.
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rednoah
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Re: How do I change the output path?

Post by rednoah »

qytj wrote: 12 Jul 2021, 06:33 The remote share is a Qnap. And I am using a Mac. It is supposed to support hardlink as the Filebot Node app does hardlinks well on it.
FileBot Node is running locally on the device with direct access to the file system. This is very different from using FileBot on your Desktop, and renaming remote files on network shares via the SMB protocol. Generally speaking, SMB is a Windows thing, and so Unix things don't work well, or at all.


:!: If you process remote files via SMB, then only MOVE and COPY is guaranteed to work, and everything else may or may not work depending on some hidden internal configuration on both client-side and server-side. Not being able to create hardlinks / symlinks / reflinks remotely via SMB by default is entirely expected.



qytj wrote: 12 Jul 2021, 06:33 I check the history and the "New Folder" column is empty for each file.
If your format is just a file name, e.g. {n} {s00e00} {t}, then the destination file will be in the same folder as the original file. If you can't see the destination file, then the most likely explanation is that it's actually there, but you're not seeing it because Finder is displaying previously cached file listings.


:?: What does the file listing look like via the QNAP management interface? If it's not there according to the source, then it's just not there, and if FileBot didn't show an error message, then that means QNAP / SMB incorrectly reported a successful file system operation, which is unlikely but most disturbing.


:idea: Since your network share is wonky, and you're new to FileBot, I recommend doing some test runs on your local file system, so you can see how things should work on a sane file system first, so that you can then recognize wonky behaviour on your NAS as such.
:idea: Please read the FAQ and How to Request Help.
BlackWitchMoth
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Re: How do I change the output path?

Post by BlackWitchMoth »

I'm having some difficulty with this, as well. I've used FileBot on both Synology directly and on Mac. For some reason I got the directly output to work on Synology (admittedly, largely using the default), but wanted the greater GUI capabilities of using it on Mac. Mounting the share over NFS, it seems I can hard link from the Mac without difficulty. All files are appearing in the folder alongside the originals, though, while I'd like them to appear in a separate directory (or directories, if I let FileBot loose on the entire containing folder - as I accidentally did without testing it first. Processing speed was impressive; I just didn't want to move all of the hard links manually).

Here's the expression I have set for my preset:

Code: Select all

/Volumes/The Nest-1/Family/Entertainment/Dramas/Chinese Dramas - Plex Links/{n}/{n} - {s00e00}
I determined the initial part of the string in part by using the "change sample" button and then choosing a file I'd be processing. No errors seem to be occurring, and the expression seems to be ignoring everything except for the last bit, because the hard links are being created with the specified naming parameters.

Does anything stand out as being wrong with the expression? Or is this something that can be chalked up to running this over NFS on a Mac?
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rednoah
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Re: How do I change the output path?

Post by rednoah »

:?: What's the problem? Where are you stuck?


Format:

Code: Select all

/Volumes/The Nest-1/Family/Entertainment/Dramas/Chinese Dramas - Plex Links/{n}/{n} - {s00e00}
Example File Path:

Code: Select all

/Volumes/The Nest-1/Family/Entertainment/Dramas/Chinese Dramas - Plex Links/Firefly/Firefly - S01E01.mkv

:?: Is this not the file path you want and get? If you get a different destination path, then the format you think you are using isn't the format you are actually using.


:idea: Please include screenshots so that we can see what you can see. Please read How to Request Help for details.


:idea: Note that FileBot itself doesn't know that it's processing remote files. It's just processing local file paths as usual, and the OS is taking care of making the remote file system work as if it was a local file system. You just need to know which local file path maps to which remote file path.


:idea: That that if you're organising files for Plex then you should use the {plex} format. Please read FAQ #1 for details:
rednoah wrote: 16 Nov 2011, 16:46 You can define an absolute path in the naming scheme:

Code: Select all

{drive}/Media/TV Shows/{n}/Season {s.pad(2)}/{n} - {s00e00} - {t}
If you are organizing files for Plex then the {plex} binding will give you the path you want:

Code: Select all

{drive}/Media/{plex}
:idea: {drive} refers to the file system root. If you want to organize files into a specific folder, please modify your naming scheme accordingly, e.g. X:/{plex} on Windows or /Volumes/Media/{plex} on macOS. Please watch How do I organize files for Plex? if you are renaming files for Plex.
:idea: Please read the FAQ and How to Request Help.
BlackWitchMoth
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Re: How do I change the output path?

Post by BlackWitchMoth »

rednoah wrote: 01 Aug 2022, 11:10 :?: Is this not the file path you want and get? If you get a different destination path, then the format you think you are using isn't the format you are actually using.
This will sound silly, but I think you're right. I must have hit the preset before loading the files; I did an experiment just now and it properly placed the hard links into the directory. I'm not sure which preset it was using before.

There was a bit of a learning curve, but I think I have the hang of the software now. Incredibly useful and will save me a lot of time, thanks for making it and for being so active in its support!
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rednoah
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Re: How do I change the output path?

Post by rednoah »

No worries. You can always do Double-Click ➔ Edit Format so that you can see the current format for the currently selected item. You don't need to use Presets if you only use one format for all your episodes. Just keep in mind that there's separate formats for movies and episodes.

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