- Plex `smart_filter`/`plex_search`: Use, i.e. `type: episodes`, to limit collection to [specific type](https://github.com/meisnate12/Plex-Meta-Manager/wiki/Plex-Builders#special-attributes)
- All other rules: Use, i.e., `collection_level: episodes`, to limit collection to [specific type](https://github.com/meisnate12/Plex-Meta-Manager/wiki/Metadata-Details#metadata-details)
- As of v1.16.4, you can define templates in an external file. This allows you to define your templates in one central place, rather than having to copy-paste them into each file.
- Import your templates with the `external_templates` key
## Collection vs Playlist
- A collection is an unordered group of content from the same Library (Movies, TV Shows, 4K Movies, etc.)
- For each Plex library, define a list of "metadata_path" config files
- You can technically group multiple Plex libraries into one "metadata" section, but it's not recommended (too confusing)
- A playlist is an ordered list of content of the same type (all movies, all shows, all music, etc.)
- Import a list of "playlist" config files. A "show" playlist file will execute on all shows (and only on shows)
## Overlays
- You can add custom overlay configurations for specific Plex libraries
- Similar to collection/metadata, define a list of "overlay_path" config files for each Plex library
## Collections Import Flow
1. We define a "Movies" section under "libraries" in the `config.yml` file. (The name "Movies" is purely descriptive and doesn't have to match the name of the Plex library)
2. In the "Movies" section, we define:
- the "library_name" as "Movies" (this is the name of the Plex library, this does matter)
- the "metadata_path" list of metadata config files. These can come from local files/folders, the Configs repo, or a custom repo.
- In our case, all our config files come from a custom repo.
3. Each metadata config file is parsed and executed
- Each config file imports templates from another file (from the custom repo) via the `external_templates` key
- The main template file imports templates from the Configs repo via the `external_templates` key
- This means that every metadata config file has access to all templates (user-defined and Configs repo-defined)
- Each config entry is parsed and executed (if needed), using items from the "Movies" library.
## Collections vs Dynamic Collections
- Let's say I wanted to make a collection of each actor's movies.
- Thankfully, with templates, we don't have to manually define every single setting/parameter for each actor's collection.
- I can make an "actor" template, and then define an "Adam Sandler", "Mike Myers" or "Justin Timberlake" collection and have it reuse the settings from the "actor" template.
- The problem is, I still need to manually define a collection for each actor. That's where dynamic collections come in.
- A dynamic collection is useful when you don't know the input data (when we don't know what actors to define)
- A dynamic collection will execute a query (say, grab a list of the top 10 actors right now), and then for each result, make a collection using the "actor" template.
- Schedule a dynamic collection (visibility, update frequency, etc.) via the template