Bruji

I made a copy of the DVDpedia folder in ~/Library/Application Support and put it in the Documents folder. After choosing the folder in the new location, the number of items in my library no longer matches, and a bunch of collections don't show up. Why would that be?

Hi and welcome to the world of the Pedia's.

Now the trick here when you move the main data base folder from its default location you need to let the Pedia know where the new location is. To do this ensure you fully Quit the Pedia in the Dock. Now open it again whilst holding the Opt ⌥ key. Follow the instructions that pop up.

These are the Folders and Files that should be in the new location from the default ~/Library/Application Support/*****pedia/ .

Covers
InfoTemplates
Plug-ins
Templates
AddMultiple.xml
autofill.xml
backup1Month.*****pd
backup2Months.*****pd
*****pedia Backup.zip
Database.******pd
Database.******pd-shm
Pocketpedia.******pd
Pocketpedia.******pd-shm
Pocketpedia.******pd-wal

The above entries in blue are Folders do not delete them or their contents.

AND of course do not delete: Database.*****pd OR Pocketpedia.*****pd

NOTE: ***** represents the particular pedia - Book, DVD, CD or Game

The Files with the suffix; .shm & .wal can be deleted as they are changed and recreated automatically again on each starting up of your pedia. You can think of them as a temporary index cache files. The Database and Backup files are self explanatory so not advisable to delete those. The .xml are again a type of index file for your autofill fields and are important so do not delete those two. You can clean these up to some extend within each Pedia's Preferences > Autofill.

Let us know how you got on

Hi FineWine and thank you for your explanation. I already knew to switch databases by holding the option key during startup. That doesn't affect the mismatch between the database in the default location and its copy in the Documents folder made by dragging and dropping while holding the option key.

I checked the DVDpedia folders for internal inconsistencies and the only that I noticed is the addition of a DatabaseReplaced-1.dvdpd in the folder in Documents (a backup?). Otherwise they look alike in the Finder folders. Within DVDpedia they don't match. The database Application Support shows 3,703 movies, with four smart folders (green) and 12 collection folders (blue); the Documents database shows 3,157 movies and six collection folders (blue). I'm puzzled because as far as I can tell, the copy via drag-and-drop should create a duplicate, but as you can see, the copy shows fewer movies and collections. I've considered a permissions issue but don't see how that would affect the items within the database, which opens as it should when I start up DVDpedia with the option key down and give it the path within the Documents folder. I remain puzzled.

If I can't come up with a fix I'll simply go on using the DVDpedia database in Application Support. It's not a problem. I'm just curious about what could cause this behavior.

Mmmm strange that one. The only thing I can suggest is that:

1 - Make a backup of the original ~/Library/Application Support/*****pedia/
2 - Redirect Pedia to default location
3 - Delete the now new location and its contents
4 - Create a new location
5 - Copy & Paste (NOT the Opt drag method) to new location.
6 - Redirect Pedia to new location

ALSO

There is also one other thing you can do and that is to use, what I call a "Grease & Oil Change" maintenance program called Onyx. This is a FREE program that is a multifunction utility that you can use to verify the structure of the system files, to run miscellaneous maintenance and cleaning tasks, to configure parameters in the Finder, Dock, Safari, and some of Apple's applications, to delete caches, to remove certain problematic folders and files, to rebuild various databases and indexes, and more. I always use it prior and post system OS updates and about once a month.

This program is available here: Titanium Software - Onyx. ONLY DOWNLOAD THE VERSION FOR YOUR macOS

It is available in many languages and is regularly updated (about once a month).

Also there are some hidden menu tasks that you can perform: 'hold down the option key and click on the main Help menu in each program once and select - each in turn: 'Verify Database', 'Remove Orphaned Covers' and 'Clean Duplicates in Fields' these may not solve your problems but it wont hurt either.

Oho, hidden menu tasks! I wondered if there were ways to force DVDpedia to verify the database. Thank you for that. You are a patient and thorough explainer.

I've used Onyx in the past and recently ran CleanMyMac, which likewise can execute low-level maintenance tasks.

I've saved the big news for last: your copy-and-paste trick worked! In the past I've seen that drag and drop isn't always equivalent to copy and paste, and it is true here too. Now everything from the database in the Application Support folder shows up when I open from the copy in Documents. How about that. My compliments for an insightful suggestion.

notdog wrote:Oho, hidden menu tasks! I wondered if there were ways to force DVDpedia to verify the database. Thank you for that. You are a patient and thorough explainer.

Yea they are not well documented

notdog wrote:I've used Onyx in the past and recently ran CleanMyMac, which likewise can execute low-level maintenance tasks.

STAY AWAY from CleanMyMac It is a nasty nasty program loaded with all sorts of report home rubbish. It also puts files ALL over your machine and prior to macOS sandboxing it was even nastier. Have a read here on how to fully uninstall this piece of pricey schit. Then run the latest and correct version Onyx for your machine.

notdog wrote:I've saved the big news for last: your copy-and-paste trick worked! In the past I've seen that drag and drag isn't always equivalent to copy and paste, and it is true here too. Now everything from the database in the Application Support folder shows up when I open from the copy in Documents. How about that. My compliments for an insightful suggestion.

Great to know that all is working as you want it to.

Thank you so much for fixing the issue FineWine.

CleanMyMac is so evil. Not that it was the case here, but just worth stating how much I dislike CleanMyMac moving and deleting folders in the background.