Is there a setting that will allow you to hide deleted TV episodes without removing them from your library?
I donât quite understand what you mean be deleting and removing from library. Out of the box Kodi is set not to remove a file when deleting it from its library. However, you change this to delete a file when removing an entry from the library.
The library is not the only place from which you can delete videos. You can also delete them from a PC that hosts the media; or from the Files menu within Kodi, which allows you to play videos directly without ever entering the library.
When you delete a file via those other methods, the video will remain in the Kodi library. Thatâs the way the library is designed, which is fine, because it keeps statistics of movies and shows that you have watched, and thatâs actually very useful.
My original question was whether it was possible not to show movies or TV episodes that no longer have corresponding files on the media without actually removing those titles from the library.
No Kodi canât do that as it would have to scan every file to see if it still exists before displaying it.
1 Like
Presumably youâve watched the titles youâre deleting, so you could have Kodi hide watched items.
RLW
1 Like
@Phydeaux Yeah, Iâm aware of the âhide watchedâ option and have considered it, but thatâs not really what Iâm trying to do here. Sometimes youâre done with an episode and want to rewatch a certain part right after finishing it. Also, sometimes you press stop 3 minutes before the episode is over, and Kodi marks it as fully watched (a horrible feature, in my opinion). Enabling âhide watchedâ would make the video disappear in both of those cases, which is not the result Iâm trying to achieve.
Yep, its far from ideal but it may well be the only way.
You can adjust what Kodi considers to be a watched episode to avoid the scenario you describe where 3 minutes are unwatched.
And watched episodes can still be âfoundâ by doing a search even though they donât show in the normal library views. For that matter you could create views which would ONLY show watched material using smart lists - so you could still view the details of this episodes you deleted and watch ones that have already been watched if they are not yet deleted. All without any of them showing in your standard library views. Or you could just use the file view as you previously mentioned.
RLW
1 Like
I think what your actually asking for is an auto clean library feature, is that correct? Unfortunately Kodi does not have one. You could enable the âallow file naming and deletionâ option in the settings and then just delete from the library instead of deleting the files however you are currently. This will both delete the file and remove it from the library. The actual deletion is a bit cumbersome though as you have to jump through several menu options, but it works.
What I do is only put media I plan on keeping in my library sources and my âwatch once and deleteâ stuff goes in a âMiscâ folder I have that is added as a source but not set to scrape. To watch this content I just access the folder from the âvideosâ menu. Kodi still keeps track of the watched status there (which is handy) but once you delete the source files they donât have to be dealt with like they do if they were scraped into the library.
@darwindesign
With respect I think what youâre suggesting is exactly the opposite of what the OP is wanting. The OP wants to be able to delete media files and have the information about those files remain in the library but no longer be displayed. Running a Library Clean would be the last thing he would want to do.
Incidentally, although youâre correct that Kodi does not offer an âAuto Library Cleanâ, there is an official Addon called âLibrary Auto-Updateâ which can do cleaning automatically.
RLW
If that is the case then I would suggest using Trakt instead of leaving a bunch of dead links in the library. If one installs the Trakt plugin and then in its settings turns off synchronize â âremove deleted movies fromâŚâ and âremove deleted TV episodesâŚâ then one could go to their Trakt account on any web browser and see everything they had added to their library with watched status, and have it stay there after deletion.
1 Like
The library is actually designed to prompt you to remove the item from the library once deleted. Kodi as a media center software was really not designed to be managed remotely, as in removing media items by other means than the GUI.
I do agree with @darwindesign though, using trakt is a much more graceful way to maintain watched status and history with the added benefit of not having to worry about making database backups for this purpose.
Something like trakt is a step in the right direction, but this really goes beyond keeping track of the stuff youâve watched. For example, I enjoy pausing a movie when I recognize a familiar actor, opening the cast list, and seeing all the movies with that actor that Iâve already either watched or that are in my future queue. That feature is also very helpful in researching directors right from the GUI without leaving your couch. Removing items from your library can be death to that information (sometimes it stays there and sometimes it doesnât, I canât really figure out when and why it disappears), and itâs not something that Trakt can help with. Not to mention that relying on yet another 3rd party service, you just introduce another dependency to something that can be done in a small local database or XML file.
This is getting off topic, but I actually strongly dislike the Kodi library design philosophy and have hated it since it was introduced in XBMC years ago. Itâs just not very intelligent and will often get confused by things like DVD rips with a large number of vobs and scan a ton of random erroneous shit into your library. It will also gladly ruin your library with duplicate entries when you alternate between connecting the same media drive via different methods (e.g. locally vs. network streaming). I could go on and on about scenarios where the Kodi library made me want to rip my hair out and wasted so much of my time.
My best solution over the years has been to resort to watching tv shows and movies from the Files menu instead of the âTV Showsâ and âMoviesâ menus (i.e. the library). You still get the benefits of viewing all the remotely scraped metadata, artwork, etc, but you have a lot more control in manipulating files, folders, thumbnails, and movie/show titles. The only downside is a lag when you browse directories over a network vs. using the library, but Iâve gotten used to it. I just create links to actual file directories in the OSMC main menu, and they behave just like âTV Showsâ and âMoviesâ but with a lot more control.
You are really throwing me off with this one. With your method you view actor info in Kodi and it shows you media you have, and have deleted for this actor. What is the point of seeing this partial info (media that you used to have)? When you click on that media all you get is the broken link message. Kodi does not show you media from that actor that you donât have a library entry for so all you doing it adding a bit of information. In contrast if you searched out this on Traktâs website you could see what you have, had, and what other movies and TV shows an actor did. It shows you if you had watched it in a fairly easy interface. If itâs not for you then it is what it is, but it seems like it may be worth a shot to at least check it out. I dismissed it the first time I heard about it but after giving it a run I find it works well for me.
As for the rest, I think it is much easier and simpler just working within the constraints instead of trying to fight against them. I personally donât see switching between all->watched->unwatched to be very time consuming or inconvenient.
The point is that you recognize an actorâs face but canât remember where you know him from. Kodiâs library can show you the movies you have watched with that actor. Itâs very satisfying to be able to say âOh thatâs right, this guy was a stormtrooper in Empire Strikes Back!â I donât care that I donât have the file for Empire Strikes Back anymore.
I will probably give Trakt a try at some point. I didnât realize how huge it was. Hereâs a good article that mentions them and discusses the problem generally.
How Many TV Series Can Your Brain Take?
My previous comments about Trakt being a third-party cloud service still stand. Itâs a private company that might decide to charge for membership tiers at some point or worse, get acquired by someone like Apple who will just shut down the API.
Well, this is the same situation here with my family. Best experienced we made is to use the âkoreâ app on Android smartphones. With this remote app for Kodi you can control kodi but also check the actors of the current running video. While watching the film it lets you open an actor-specific imdb (international movie database) web-side showing the filmography of the person. By that you can see also films and series you donât have had on your kodi system but watched in TV or cinema.
Perhaps, others here have found different family-friendly solutions for this?
1 Like