Scan at Startup doesn't exclude folders

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DaledeSilva
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Scan at Startup doesn't exclude folders

Post by DaledeSilva »

In the Add/Rescan folders dialog, if you choose a folder and set it up to "Scan at Startup", you can also uncheck some of its subfolders, however, these exclusions are ignored on startup which means those folders are treated as new folders and scanned in.

An example where this is inconvenient is:

I set my itunes folder to scan at startup - this means that any new music I have purchased in itunes is automatically added to Mediamonkey.
However, there are other directories in there like podcasts and voice memos that I don't want to have in mediamonkey, but they are constantly scanned in.


Please let me know if anything is unclear in my explanation.

Regards,
Dale.
Product Designer & Indie Developer.
Building at the intersection of motion, art, and code.
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BKKKPewsey
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Re: Scan at Startup doesn't exclude folders

Post by BKKKPewsey »

Clear enough to me and I just tested with MM 4.0.3.1464 (portable) and I have the same behaviour :(
All the sub-folders below the selected main folder are scanned even if de-selected.
Everyone has the right to be stupid Image but some abuse the privilege
Lowlander
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Re: Scan at Startup doesn't exclude folders

Post by Lowlander »

You have never been able to select a parent folder without selecting all child folders.
BKKKPewsey
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Re: Scan at Startup doesn't exclude folders

Post by BKKKPewsey »

Lowlander wrote:You have never been able to select a parent folder without selecting all child folders.
Yes that is true for MM3 and you were not given the option - however in MM4 you can select a parent folder and then deselect a child folder in the gui.
So the user thinks that would work - ideally if the parent node is selected then the gui should auto fill the child node checkboxes (which it does) but grey them out eg cannot select /untick them.
So its more of a gui rather than an operation problem.
Everyone has the right to be stupid Image but some abuse the privilege
Lowlander
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Re: Scan at Startup doesn't exclude folders

Post by Lowlander »

I can't reproduce. If I deselect a single child from a parent the parent no longer is showing selected (checkmark) instead it is showing a square indicating a partial selection.
Emerald Firehorse
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Re: Scan at Startup doesn't exclude folders

Post by Emerald Firehorse »

What is the magic formula for keeping folders out of the MM file search?

I've now spent at least a couple of hours looking through posts and trying options in MediaMonkey, and I guess I'm just missing it.

Under 3.x, I was able to set specific folder structures to be scanned. But under 4.x, it seems to scan whatever the heck it feels like.

I've tried 4.0.2.x and 4.0.3.x -- deleting MM.DBs each time -- and deselected all folders other than the one I want in monitoring, yet I'm still getting other folders sucked into my library.

Also, I'm getting some kind of weird duplicate of each file on my main drive, with the drive volume name instead of the drive letter.

Media Monkey has gone from being a problem that I've loved for years, to being a source of frustration.

What gives?

I'm hoping to get a response from Lowlander, who seems to rock the crap out of these forums in a "knows all, tells all" fashion.

[soapbox status = flying dismount]
Lowlander
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Re: Scan at Startup doesn't exclude folders

Post by Lowlander »

I'm not aware that you can select a parent and some child folders without having all child folders selected. Neither MediaMonkey 3 nor MediaMonkey 4 has this capability to my knowledge and several topics have actually asked for this capability. This means that if you want to scan a parent folder you'll need to make sure it contains no content you don't want added to your MediaMonkey Library. Alternatively don't select the parent (and thus don't store file directly in the parent folder that you do want added to your MediaMonkey library and only select the child folders you do want added.

The next alternative is to change your folder setup on your PC and make sure no content that shouldn't be added is located in the folders you want scanned.


As for the duplication of files, do you use a mapped drive? MediaMonkey 4 seems to struggle with mapped drives. You can delete the drive with the volume name from the Location node (Entire Library > Location is best), but this drive probably references your old files in the Library thus removing it will remove the files from manually created Playlists (AutoPlaylists should be fine).
Emerald Firehorse
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Re: Scan at Startup doesn't exclude folders

Post by Emerald Firehorse »

Great detailed response, thanks! You've highlighted my need to clarify a bit. Most importantly: I'm not trying to exclude folders within a structure. I'm trying to exclude folder structures outside the directory I want monitored.

Here are some additional details about my situation:

1. The music I *do want* scanned is in one directory structure on an internal drive with the volume name "Emerald" (this becomes significant) and the drive letter "F". I want all files in this structure (a folder called "Music") scanned, and that seems to be happening as expected.

2. The music I *don't want* scanned is on an external drive. These are backups my most recent music files. I don't want them included, and I don't want to unplug the drive. It is also used to back up my personal files. (I subscribe to the "two is one, one is none" theory of file management.) It is not practical for me to unplug this drive every time I start MM.

3. Additionally, I'm getting a phantom entry for the music I *do want* scanned from my internal drive (F:\music, volume name "Emerald"). By "phantom" I mean it is grayed out, and when I check properties on it, I get a file path of [Emerald]\Music\... (with the "..." being the correct remainder of the path name) -- no drive letter. This isn't a mapped drive, it's an internal one.


I appreciate the "delete locations" workaround you provided for #2. I've never had to do this before when using MM. And maybe this is the new default method for identifying directories that I need to get used to.

I wonder if I I'm the only one who thinks that this method of "scan all folders and add those with music" behavior is a bit too aggressive. It's more like iTunes/WMP behavior -- in other words: the kinds of programs I ditched to use MM.

Since I wrote my first message, I've done a complete de-install of 4.0.3.x (with folder path and registry scrubbing). I'm still getting the "phantom entry" (problem #3) thing.

I'm using the "delete location" workaround for the problem. There was a node called "HD:Emerald", even on the fresh install.
Lowlander
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Re: Scan at Startup doesn't exclude folders

Post by Lowlander »

MediaMonkey only scans what you tell it to. So make sure you haven't selected folders on the external drive to be scanned or monitored on the external drive.

As for number 3 that makes little sense as it is an internal drive. Unless you reinstalled Windows it shouldn't happen. You can use the Update Location of Files in Database addon to fix this: http://www.mediamonkey.com/forum/viewto ... =2&t=63823
nanite2000
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Re: Scan at Startup doesn't exclude folders

Post by nanite2000 »

Sorry to drag up an old topic, but this is still an issue with the latest version of MeidaMonkey.

I'm getting the same problem described by BKKKPewsey - I deselect a sub folder in the folder library (i.e. set it to not be scanned), but MediaMonkey still insists on scanning it every time it starts up.

Take a look at this screenshot: Image
(https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B9gXy_ ... 3dia1NuVG8)

My music library folder is 'Music' and it is set to scan on startup. It contains a subdirectory called 'Amazon MP3' which is deselected. This looks means it should *not* be scanned on startup (right?!). And yet, every time I start MediaMonkey, it scan the contents of that folder and adds them back into the library.

I am using MediaMonkey Gold v4.0.3.1476 (Portable Mode) on Windows 7 x64.

Thanks!
Lowlander
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Re: Scan at Startup doesn't exclude folders

Post by Lowlander »

I think that is to be expected, you've set Folder Monitoring to the Music folder which will scan all content of the Music folder. If you want certain folders to be excluded you should move them out of the Monitored Folder.
nanite2000
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Re: Scan at Startup doesn't exclude folders

Post by nanite2000 »

Lowlander wrote:I think that is to be expected, you've set Folder Monitoring to the Music folder which will scan all content of the Music folder. If you want certain folders to be excluded you should move them out of the Monitored Folder.
Hmmm...that's not helpful when you have plugins - such as the iTunes MediaMonkey Plugin - which make copies of your music into the iTunes directory (Which is located under the same monitored 'Music' folder).

How does the 'Monitor folders' rule work? Would it really be impossible to implement an 'exceptions list'?

As a developer, I am genuinely interested to know what the limitation is here. Is it user expectation? Because, as a user (from the screenshot I attached in my previous post) I would not expect deselected folders to be included in the scan.
mattlehn79

Re: Scan at Startup doesn't exclude folders

Post by mattlehn79 »

I have the latest version (v4.0.7.1511) and still exhibit this problem. Quite irritating. I exclude a couple of folders on my monitored partition, but yet MediaMonkey keeps adding back the songs at each startup. What's the point of excluding folders if MM is going to ignore your preferences anyways?
Lowlander
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Re: Scan at Startup doesn't exclude folders

Post by Lowlander »

There is no way to exclude folders for Folder Monitoring. MediaMonkey will scan everything in the listed folders in the Folder Monitoring list.
nanite2000
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Re: Scan at Startup doesn't exclude folders

Post by nanite2000 »

Lowlander wrote:There is no way to exclude folders for Folder Monitoring. MediaMonkey will scan everything in the listed folders in the Folder Monitoring list.
Hi Lowlander,

I'm just wondering - are you one of the actual developers for MediaMonkey. If so, can you answer my previous question:
nanite2000 wrote:How does the 'Monitor folders' rule work? Would it really be impossible to implement an 'exceptions list'?

As a developer, I am genuinely interested to know what the limitation is here. Is it user expectation? Because, as a user (from the screenshot I attached in my previous post) I would not expect deselected folders to be included in the scan.
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