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Overview

This page is a draft outline of various Use Cases in My Films.

Purpose

There are several reasons to identify various Use Cases in My Films:

Development planning - what code relates to which use cases
Testing - help testers to ensure all features related to a specific use case are working
Setup/Wizard - could be tailored by use case (currently it is somewhat by catalog type)
AMC Updater - probably requires several use cases of its own
Wiki Docs - to ensure all features related to each use case are documented

For example, the Wiki COULD be structured more by use case, using sub pages as a kind of decision tree.

At the very least, an outline of use cases helps provide an overview of all the many use cases supported in My Films.

Use Cases are organized from General to Specific:

General - use cases that can apply to all catalog types
AMC - use cases that apply only to AMC users
1. AMC Updater - user cases that apply only to AMCU either in GUI or Standalone
External Catalogs - use cases that apply only to EC users

Unknown

I am not sure when the following settings/features are used, so did not add them to any use case below

Settings
1. Pre-Launching command - in theory this could be very useful/powerful if a movie catalog supports command line parameters. For example, it could be used to run batch scripts in AMC, or to import MF xml files back into External Catalogs.
  Maybe - but I was already thinking about removing it. I don't know, if anyone is using it - so if you have a good idea, we could create a use case - and remember, you could already use a catalog field for that today, e.g. a customfield.

Folders/Files organization/storage

My Films supports many different use cases of organizing movie and artwork files. However, the settings are not clearly documented yet by use case.. There are specific settings which can vary based on the way a user stores their movies and artwork. The following use cases are supported:

0. centralized (networked) vs. local setup - I think this is one of the very basic decisions and use case differentiations, tzhat should be "early" in the decisiontree.

- local setup - run all components on same PC

- centralized setup - have media on a centralized location, all other on htpcs

- centralized setup - have media on nas and update data from a NonHTPC

Movies (source)
1. Separate folder for each movie
  1. stored in a central location (i.e. all sub folders of a Movie folder or drive)
  2. stored in different locations such as different drives, client PCs, network storage etc.
2. One (or more) folder for all movies
  1. stored in a central location (i.e. all sub folders of a Movie folder or drive)
  2. stored in different locations such as different drives, client PCs, network storage etc.
3. Folders organized by category (genre), year, etc.
  1. stored in a central location (i.e. all sub folders of a Movie folder or drive)
  2. stored in different locations such as different drives, client PCs, network storage etc.
4. Offline - such as CDs, DVDs, BRDs or offline network storage
  1. See below under Offline Media Use Case
Trailers - see below under Trailers Use Case
1. Movie folder (same as above)
2. One Trailers folder
3. Different trailers folders (such as one for OV trailers, another for Showtimes trailers, another for external app Trailer downloads, etc)
Subtitles
1. must be in same folder as movie - when using Subtitles to jump to SubCentral from MyFilms where does it save the download?
  Location must be set in subtitles plugin - it can be a central location or the movie location. best is imho movielocation with name same as movie (and st-ending)
Covers - applies to all users, usually determined by catalog type and preset by Setup Wizard on Artwork Setup path)
1. Movie folder (e.g. folder.jpg or [movietitle].jpg
2. Catalog folder (e.g. Sample Movies database)
  1. Sub folder of catalog folder (e.g. Ant Movie Catalog\pictures
    1. ?MF Setup > Artwork Tab
      1. Picture Prefix
      2. Picutre Handling
3. Separate folder (e.g. My Documents\Movie Covers)
4. Multiple folders - not supported in MF? I think you can only enter one path in Artwork Setup per conig
  That is true - but if you use "fully qualified pathes" in your catalog, they can be on different locations. However, Myfilms itself can only store them in ONE configured path.
View Images (e.g. Category, Year, etc.)
1. MediaPortal\thumbs\MyFilms\GroupViewImages - default
2. Any folder - but must be in a central folder
Person Images
1. MediaPortal\thumbs\MyFilms\PersonImages - default
2. Any folder - but must be in a central folder
Films Group Cover images
1. ?
  Currently, myfilms searches the picture (by default the catalog dir) directory for them. See my recent conversation, where we discussed that - including the aming convention for deeper levels.
  However, I am not sure, but maybe we should change that. But we can decide once we have more feedback in test phase I think ...
Fanart
1. MediaPortal\thumbs\MyFilms\Fanart - default
2. Any folder - but must be in a central folder
Fanart for Views
1. MediaPortal\thumbs\MyFilms\Fanart
  _Groups - default
Fanart for Film Groups/Hierarchies
1. ?
  I am not ure about that one - but I thinjk it is using the fanart of the first movie in the group - we do not have separate fanart for it (and I would NOT suggest introducing that)

Movies stored in separate folder for each Movie

In most cases, the Setup wizard presets assume movies are stored in a separate folder for each movie. When adding and importing data for new movies:

AMCU Setup
1. Scan Paths and filters tab - Path to Movies folder(s)
2. Internet Grabbing tab / AMCU - Import Movies tab
  1. Title Search Handling - Folder Name / Folder Name + Internet Lookkup
  2. Re-Scan moved files.
3. AMCU Database FIelds Tab
  1. Folder Nane as Group Identifier

Movies not stored in a separate folder for each Movie

Some uses may store all movies in a single folder, or folders by genre, year, etc.

AMCU Setup
1. Internet Grabbing tab / AMCU - Import Movies tab
  1. Title Search Handling - File Name / File Name + Internet Lookkup

Movies stored in multiple folders/locations

Normally the full path is stored in the movie catalog (usually Source field) and the movie can be stored anywhere the user wishes, with different movies in different folders/locations. However, in some cases users may wish to search paths for playback

MF Setup
1. General tab
  1. Path for Movies File Search - usually selected in Setup Wizard but you can add mulitple folders

General (All Catalog types)

Global (all use cases)

The following features/functions apply globally to all users regardless of their use case or catalog type:

Installation
1. Although there are some options related to dependencies, Sample Movies DB, etc, these normally apply to all users and all catalog types:
*Setup? *
1. Every user must setup at least one Configuration - usually using the Setup Wizard. The following Settings apply to all users (options in red are required):
2. Global (Config Settings)
  1. Plugin Name
  2. Configuration Name
  3. Start Params
3. General Tab
  1. Catalog File (XML)
  2. Catalog Type
  3. Master Title
  4. Secondary Title
    1. Use Original Title if Translated TItle is empty (not currently enabled)
  5. Sort Title
  6. Playback - DB Item for Source Info
4. Views/Filter Tab
  1. All settings apply to all users. However, the DB items in the drop down boxes may apply only to some catalog types if the catalog export does not provide the data.
5. Sort/Search Tab
  1. All settings apply to all users EXCEPT perhaps the Hierarchy Group Sort Item - I am not sure how or if External Catalogs support Groups/Hierarchies.
6. Artwork Tab
  1. All settings apply to all users, although persons thumbs and fanart images in External Catalogs have some limitations depending on file names and paths. Nevertheless, all External Catalog users can add covers, person images and fanart in My Films GUI which will always display in MF, but not normally in their External Catalog app.
7. Logos Tab
  1. All settings apply to all users. However some External catalogs may not export all mediainfo data
8. Trakt and Latest Media tab
  1. All users may enable their config for Trakt or Latest Media, however this requires that the plugin is enabled and setup.
GUI
1. Most GUI features and options apply to all users, although some global settings and context menu options display only when using AMC or when specific features are enabled, or when plugins are installed (e.g. Online Videos, Trakt, SubCentral, Browse the Web).
  See the sections below for GUI features which apply only to specific use cases.

Film Groups/Hierarchies

The following settings/features apply only to users who have groups or hierarchies of films:

Setup
1. Files/Folders
  1. Custom Group Covers - add to ?
    see above
  2. Custom Group Fanart - add to Fanart
    _Groups folder?
2. General Tab
  1. Group Hierarchy Separator
3. Sort/Search Tab
  1. Hierarchy Sort Item
4. AMCU - Database FIelds tab
  1. Title Handling
    1. Folder name as Group Identifier
    2. Search - value in Folder name to filter when to use folder names
GUI
1. #myfilms.user.mastertitle.groupname
2. #myfilms.user.secondarytitle.groupname
3. #myfilms.user.mastertitle.groupcount
4. #myfilms.coverimage - displays random covers from group, or custom group covers saved in ?

Multiple Configs/DB

The following settings apply only to users who create more than one Config, either for the same catalog, or for different catalogs. They apply to External Catalog users as well. since they could export different types/sets of movies to different export.xmls used in different configs in MF.

Setup
1. General Tab
  1. Default Configuration - required when using more than one config?
  2. Always Display Config Menu
  3. Security - although this can apply to single configs as well, I have listed it here because I think normally it is used if you have more than one config
2. Artwork Tab
  1. Picture Prefix - can be used to indicate which covers are added for which movies OR to indicate a subfolder of the main Cover image path/folder e.g. pictures\
  2. Picture Handling - Full path vs Relative path (when using sub folders)
GUI
1. Options > Global Settings > Choose My Films DB Config
2. Config Menu Dialog - which skin dialog file does this use?

Networks (Centralized Data)

The following settings/features apply when using a network setup, either with client PCs or network storage devices (e.g NAS)

Setup
1. UNC Paths - applies to all tabs where you enter a path:
  1. General tab - Catalog File, Movie Search path
  2. Trailer tab - Extended Trailer search path
  3. Internet Grabbing (AMC only) - AMCU Config? and Movie Scan paths
  4. Artwork - all paths - although default image paths should be OK using ...MediaPortal\thumbs\MyFilms\DefaultImages folder.
  5. Logos tab? - should be ok using MediaPortal data/skin folder
2. MyFilms.xml config file must be copied to each Client PC on the network
  1. Could there be a Save to Client PC option for network users in Setup?
    Already done - I added a sync setup that allows to manually copy to server or copy from server - and allows to automatically update the clients - "MyFilms Central Config Setup"
3. WakeOnLan - for NAS storage
4. MyFilmsLogos.xml - when you select a logos option or customize logos, do you have to copy the MyFilmsLogos.xml to each Client PC?
  Good Point! Yes, you have to. So should that be included in the auto sync option for central setups?
5. MyFilmsAMCSettings.....xml - if you wish to update via AMCU or GUI on a Client PC , do you need to copy the MyFilmsAMCSettings...xmls to each Client? If you customize AMCU Settings you probably want these changes to apply to all client PCs in most (but not necessarily all) cases. I assume when you copy MyFilms.xml to Client and resave config there it will sync the options on Internet Grabbing tab to AMCU settings? I wonder if users know/expect that?
  Also a good point! That's imho a more difficult one - as I am not sure, if copying the config file will always work. This can lead to problems, e.g. if there is a custom user grabber script selected, that is missing on the destination HTPC - so this might be more complex to get it proprly running. Of course it is possible, but tbh - there seems to be only very few ppl using the centralized setup - so not sure if it is worth it ? But I agree, it would have to be soved for a "good" network setup. Also for a good network setup would be imho a support for such config by the setup wizard - helping user to do the setup ...
GUI
1. AFAIK there are no differences in GUI specific to using a network setup, although there should be more documentation about customizing MyFilms and synching options to Clients or not.
  Definately! - we're still short on documentation for that - and I think we need a reference use case / setup description that allows it users to do a step by step networked setup ...
  At present, I think normally users customize each Client separately? That does support different options for different Clients/Users, but might be difficult for settings not saved in MyFilms.xml config (such as Logos/AMCU settings
  Yes - but the problem is, that even just for developing/testing that, you would need 2 (or even 3) machines. I hardly can get debug setups running here - most users also won't be able to do that.
  But I agree, it would be nice to better support networked setups...

Offline Media

The following options/features apply only when a catalog includes offline media, such as CDs, DVDs, BRDs,or network storage where the device may not be always available:

Setup
1. General Tab
  1. Scan media on start
  2. Playback Search Configuration
    1. Path for Movies File Search
    2. Search by Movie's name
      1. Only exact matches
      2. Search sub folders
    3. Offline Media Identification - should really be inside the Playback box in Setup
2. Views/Filter tab
  1. Show only available movies
3. AMCU - Database Fields tab
  1. Media Label Field Handling
    1. Try to read DVD Disk label, Volume name or UNC Server name
4. WakeOnLan - if using NAS not always available
GUI
1. Global Updates - Update online availability
2. Global Filters - 'show only films with media available' - only displays once Update online availability is updated or if Scan media on start is enabled in setup
  1. #myfilms.globalfilter.isonline - used for visibility conditions to display a Media Available filter icon
    1. MyFilms\online.png
3. Media Available Status Icons - display if media is available, unavailable, offline, unknown
  1. #myfilms.user.source.isonline - used for visibility of different icon images:
    1. led_green.png - available
    2. led_red.png - unavailable
    3. led_yellow.png - offline
    4. led_grey.png - unknown (availability has not been checked)

Trailers

Online

The following options/features apply only when using online trailers

Dependency
1. Online VIdeos plugin - for searching for related online trailers - if the plugin is not installed, the GUI options for Trailers display a dialog/message that the plugin is required
Setup
1. No special setup is required either in OV or MF
GUI
1. If Online Videos plugin is not installed and enabled, a dialog appears when you select the context menu option for YouTube, Apple or IMDb trailers

Local

Setup
1. Trailer Tab - for local trailers
  1. DB Item for storing Trailer Info - required to enable local Trailers
  2. Extended Trailer Search path - if trailers are stored in a folder other than the movie folder/sub-folders
2. AMCU Config - Options tab
  1. Accepted Trailer identification strings - trl;trailer - must be customized to support other strings/values
  2. Database Items - the DB item for Trailer info selected on Trailer tab must be enabled if users wish to add trailers to that field during import/updates.
GUI
1. The Play Trailer context menu option only displays if local trailers are enabled and available
2. Search and add local trailers either for a specific film via Details window context menu, or via Global Updates menu in Main window only displays if Local trailers are enabled. Users must first search and add trailers before they can be played (and before count is updated)
3. Global FIlter - Show only films with Trailer - displays only if local trailers are enabled and available
  1. #myfilms.globalfilter.trailersonly - used for visibility conditions to display a Trailers Only filter icon:
    1. MyFilms\filmstrip.png
4. Trailers Status icons - displays if trailer is available or not
  1. #myfilms.user.sourcetrailer.label
  2. #myfilms.user.sourcetrailer.value
  3. #myfilms.user.sourcetrailer.count
  4. #myfilms.user.sourcetrailer.isonline - used for visibility of different icon images:
    1. led_green.png - available
    2. led_red.png - unavailable
    3. led_yellow.png - offline
    4. led_grey.png - unknown (trailers are enabled, but have not been registered yet)

Recently Added Films

The following features/options apply only to display recently added films on Basic Home screens. Users may still use the new Recently Added view in My Films, and even make it the default view.

Dependency
1. Latest Media Handler plugin
Setup
1. Trakt & Latest Media tab
  1. Enable 'Recently Added media' (per config)
GUI
1. Skin must support MyFilms recently added media on Basic Home screens

Subtitles

The following features/options apply only to use the SubCentral plugin to find and add subtitles for the selected film to the movie folder.

Dependency
1. SubCentral plugin
Setup
1. No special setup is required in MyFilms
GUI
1. The Subtitles option on the Details screen context menu only displays if SubCentral plugin is installed and enabled
2. Subtitles can be selected in OSD using MP functions. There is no skin property that displays in My Films if subtitles are available, or the file path/name.
3. Does MF update the subtitles field when subtitles are downloaded/added via SubCentral?

Trakt

The following features/options apply only when using Trakt plugin to keep an active record of what films you are watching or have watched.

Dependency
1. Trakt plugin
Setup
1. Trakt & Latest Media tab
  1. Enable 'Trakt Synchronization' (per config)
2. Updates Tab - Multi-User (Enhanced) Watch Status handling (see below) if user has multiple Trakt users set up.
GUI
1. Details Context/Options Menu > Trakt item only displays if Trakt is installed and enabled AND if Trakt is enabled for the current config in Setup > Trakt & Latest Media tab.
2. Global Settings > Choose User Profile - only displays if Enhanced Watch Status is enabled in Setup

Web Browsing

The following features apply only to browse the Web for MF Wiki and IMDb info/photos for the film or actors

Dependency
1. BrowseTheWeb/Webbrowser plugin
Setup
1. No special setup is required in MyFilms
GUI
1. Options > Wiki Online Help - displays dialog that BrowseTheWeb plugin is not installed/enabled
2. Main screen > Context Menu - displays dialog that BrowseTheWeb plugin is not installed/enabled for :
  1. View IMDB page for selected film
  2. Photos for selected film (IMDB)
3. Persons View > Context Menu - displays dialog that BrowseTheWeb plugin is not installed/enabled for :
  1. View IMDB web page for selected person
  2. Filmography for selected person (IMDB)
  3. Photos for selected person (IMDB)
  4. Film clips for selected person (IMDB)

AMC Users

The following options/features apply only when using AMC catalog type.

Multi-User (Enhanced) Watch Status

Although multiple users can be supported using any catalog type, by creating different configs for each user, only AMC users can support multi-user (enhanced) watch status in the same catalog. However, if an EC user has multiple users set up in Trakt, in theory they could display the watched count for each Trakt user, but they cannot store it in database.

Setup
1. ?Update Tab
  1. Field used for Watched Status - a 'text' field must be selected i.e. not the Checked field (boolean) - ideally MF should check if a valid field is selected
  2. Enhanced Watch Status - must be checked/enabled
  3. User Profile Name - must enter a default/active user profile name - does it have to be the same as the Trakt user profile name if Trakt is enabled?
GUI
1. Global Settings > Choose User Profile - only displays if Enhanced Watch Status is enabled in Setup
2. #myfilms.user.watched.name - displays the current user profile name
3. #myfilms.user.watched.count - displays the current user watched count
4. #myfilms.user.watched.global - displays the global watched count by all users

Update via GUI

The following features/options to update data in GUI apply only for AMC users, since any updates made to ECs will be 'lost' i.e. overwritten when they next export their catalog to a xml file.

Setup
1. Updates Tab - all options (currently 'disabled/greyed out for non AMC users)
  1. User defined Update items
  2. Use Standard Windows File Dialog for movie filename updating ? - in theory could be used by all catalogs but if it does not update the source data then it would 'break' the EC.
  3. Update by Properties
  4. Deletion options
2. Internet Grabbing Tab - (currently 'disabled/greyed out for non AMC users) all options apply only to AMC users. However I am not sure if Grabber filter options affect EC users - IIRC they only affect grabbers displayed for 'Get internet film info' not for Covers and Fanart (where grabbers are filtered by type)
3. AMCU - all AMCU settings apply only to AMC users
GUI - all update options seem to display for all catalog types even if the updates cannot be retained. However, the following GUI Update options apply only to AMC users:
1. Global settings
  1. Manually choose grabber script
  2. Auto select best match
  3. use standard Windows file dialog
2. Global Updates
  1. Import/Update all Movies
  2. Incomplete Movie Data
3. Main Window Context Menu
  1. Set Watched
  2. Get internet film Info (selected film)
4. Details Window Context/Options Menu:
  1. Set Unwatched
  2. Rating
  3. Updates
    1. Get Internet film info (selected film)
    2. Update film data by property
    3. Filename? - in theory could be used by all catalogs but if it does not update the source data then it would 'break' the EC.

Note: Covers and Fanart can be downloaded and added for any catalog type although they will only display in My Films (not even in AMC - only supports once cover per movie)

AMC Updater

AMC Updater (AMCU) can only be used by AMC users, either in GUI or AMCU (standalone). The main use cases are:

Importing new movies
1. New Empty Catalog
  1. AMCU (recommended)
  2. GUI
2. Scan/Add new movies to an exisitng catalog
  1. AMCU - Import tab
  2. GUI - Global Updates > Import/Update all movies (AMC Updater)
Updating
1. AMCU Update Tab
  1. Fields - Update, copy, delete field values/strings
  2. Records - scan and update or delete selected or all records for media / Internet data
  3. Fanart ( most users will likely use Fanart Manager in GUI)
  4. NFO files
2. GUI
  1. Incomplete Movie data (not sure if this uses AMCU or not!)
    No, it does NOT use AMCU - it has it's own methods inside MyFilms - but using the same grabber engine/scripts

Importing movies using AMCU

The following use cases/options can be used for either importing films for a new/empty catalog, or for adding new films to the database.

Interactive (only ask if no match)

This option should be used if you wish to 'attend' the import

Setup
1. ?AMCU - Import tab
  1. Importer Options
    1. Internet lookup behaviour - try to find best match automatically
    2. Don't ask if no match - disabled
    3. Import file if internet lookup fails (i.e. no exact match possible) - n/a (users either select match or ignore)
    4. Don't import file in Interactive Mode - disabled (allows Interactive mode for AMCU updates but not GUI)

Silent (don't import if no match)

This option can be used for unattended import of all movies that can be matched.

Setup
1. ?AMCU - Import tab
  1. Importer Options
    1. Internet lookup behaviour - try to find best match automatically
    2. Don't ask if no match - enabled
    3. Import file if internet lookup fails (i.e. no exact match possible) - disabled
    4. Don't import file in Interactive Mode - disabled (allows Interactive mode for AMCU updates but not GUI)

Once completed, users can use Interactive Mode (as above) to manually match films that did not match in Silent mode. However, you could also use Internet Lookup behaviour - Always offer choice of movie, which would likely yield the same results since none of the movies matched automatically during Silent import.

Silent (import media only if no match)

This option is the same as the default setting for GUI > Global Updates. If exact match is not found, then only file name, title and media info.

Setup
1. ?AMCU - Import tab
  1. Importer Options
    1. Internet lookup behaviour - try to find best match automatically
    2. Don't ask if no match - enabled
    3. Import file if internet lookup fails (i.e. no exact match possible) - disabled
    4. Don't import file in Interactive Mode - disabled (allows Interactive mode for AMCU updates but not GUI)

Note: After using this option, users must either use AMCU Updates, or GUI Get Internet Info to grab data and images for the movies with no exact match.

Debug (Always ask)

This use case is most likely relevant to avoid mis-matched films when using Internet lookup behaviour - try to find best match automatically

Setup
1. ?AMCU - Import tab
  1. Importer Options
    1. Internet lookup behaviour - try to find best match automatically
    2. Don't ask if no match - disabled
    3. Import file if internet lookup fails (i.e. no exact match possible) - * disabled *
    4. Don't import file in Interactive Mode - enabled

This option (in theory should allow users to test the import and see which films can be matched either automatically or in interactive mode.

Importing new/added movies using GUI (Background mode)

Silent (import media only if no match) (default)

This option would normally be used in GUI > Global Updates > Import/Update all Movies

Setup
1. ?AMCU - Import tab
  1. Importer Options
    1. Internet lookup behaviour - try to find best match automatically
    2. Don't ask if no match - disabled
    3. Import file if internet lookup fails (i.e. no exact match possible) - enabled
    4. Don't import file in Interactive Mode - disabled (allows Interactive mode for AMCU updates but not GUI)

Note: since files are added to the database, users must then use 'Get Internet Info' to manually match films that could not be matched automatically. In some cases they may even need to edit Titles or filenames in order to find a correct match. In extreme cases, they may need to add the IMDb tt # to the folder or file name to ensure correct matches for the movie in future.

Seitenhierarchie