[anotheruser]

I have a HTPC running Windows, connected to my PC.
Inside there's 6 hard drives, which I have video files on.  I don't plan on using Kodi for anything but video playback.  The below is an example of how I have laid the disks out (it's not exact, but you get the jist):

C: - Windows
D: - Films
E: - Films (sets) (films that have two or more in the series)
F: TV Series
G: Documentary
H: Kids TV
H: Comedy
H: Other Video

Some are a little more nested, for example I: Entertainment > Special Comedy / I: Entertainment > Features / I: Entertainment > Other Videos - I don't think they're nested any deeper than that.

Inside the "Films" hard drive are all the movies laid out in folders.  I've used Media Center Master to rename all the files, add a bunch of data files, download artwork all lovely and nice.

I boot up Kodi and I'm struggling to get it to do what I want, because I don't quite understand how it works.

Q: What I want is: to arrange the main menu items for each video type (ie, Film, Documentary, Kids TV, Comedy...).  Is that possible through nodes?  I gather I can tell Kodi to only look at certain folders for that "node"?

Q: What skin is easiest to do this with?  I tried the default, it seemed highly complicated, especially when deleting things like genre/director/others from somewhere in settings, which then didn't seem to affect anything.

There might be more questions as I go and take another look at how I want it to work but I'm looking for a bit of a step-by-step guide on how to get the main menu items showing the films properly.

[bry]

Welcome!

first start here: http://kodi.wiki/view/quick_start_guide#Adding_files 

Once you get your content added and scraped you can use smart playlists to sort your files.

one thing to consider is to make sure your data is properly named for kodi to recognize the content.  http://kodi.wiki/view/Video_management#Preparing_files

[PH-SYM]

As Bry suggested, first of all you need to 'scrape' the movies into your library. Follow his links for guides to get that done.

Q: What I want is: to arrange the main menu items for each video type (ie, Film, Documentary, Kids TV, Comedy...).  Is that possible through nodes?  I gather I can tell Kodi to only look at certain folders for that "node"?

It is possible, most non-default skins support custom home items which is probably what you are looking for. Some skins are more customizable than others but it is often a personal choice.

Q: What skin is easiest to do this with?  I tried the default, it seemed highly complicated, especially when deleting things like genre/director/others from somewhere in settings, which then didn't seem to affect anything.

Here's a list of Skin features. The more complex skins are usually more flexible but also more difficult to setup. Amber is quite easy and stable but might be limited. Titan has lots of features and is very customisable. In the Skin support section there are a lot of examples and usually most threads have screenshots to give you an idea of the features.
Smart playlists are the easiest way to create customised home items with but there's also a node editor to "hack" into the library.
[url=http://kodi.wiki/view/Skin_features_compatibility_list#Kodi_Skin_features][/url]

[anotheruser]

So, finally got round to this today.  Added some moves.  Here's some further questions:

Is there a way to have a button for back instead of right-clicking all the time?
Is there a way to stop the hovering over things changes content mode?  On the left menu, I have a couple of options, but it gets annoying if I start reading something on the right hand side, but accidentally move the mouse and the whole right hand panel disappears.

When I hover over "movies" I have a number of sections on the right hand panel.
At the very top there's Genre, Director, Year among others.  How do I get rid of this?
Under that, there's "Recently Added" which is okay I guess.  Will it automatically update if I drop a new movie in the hard drive?
Under that, there's "Unwatched Movie", which I guess is helpful.  But would rather it show me movies I have watched least.  Is there a way to tell Kodi I have watched them all?
Under that it's "random movie".  I haven't got any further as I can't scroll.  Despite positioning the mouse carefully, when I try and scroll down, the Recently Added or Unwatched Movie row just scrolls horizontally. Can I get rid of whatever is underneath the first two options so it looks a little cleaner?

Thanks

[Karellen]

Hello anotheruser

Kodi is designed as a 10 foot interface using a remote control. It is not specifically designed for use with a mouse and keyboard, which is the reason why the unwanted things are happening. In fact some skins won't allow use of Mouse at all.

If you want to change what is displayed on the default Estuary skin, then you will need to get your hands dirty and start modifying code. You would be better off installing a new skin as PH-SYM suggested.

[anotheruser]

Come back to this again.

I honestly don't think Kodi is what I am looking for.
It's just too big, too complicated and not really built for people running a HTPC.

I don't mind editing code but I don't get why things are where they are, or why I can "remove this item [from the main menu]" on the default skin for nearly everything apart from pictures.  Why can't there be a simple function to "add main menu item" - asks what sort of item it is (IE, Movies, Pictures, Music) and then follows the same course as other menu options of the same type.  So if I chose "movies", then click on the menu item, it would ask me to add files to that menu item.

It would be much easier if during setup, you could tell Kodi that you don't want weather, music, pictures, TV, this or that.

Seems like it's trying to be all things for everyone.

Don't get me wrong, I am sure it's great for so many users, but this is the fourth or fifth time i have tried to use it and it's just not easy enough to pick up to get it looking like I want.

[PatK]

Come back to this again.

I honestly don't think Kodi is what I am looking for.
It's just too big, too complicated and not really built for people running a HTPC.

Ouch, Kodi might not be everything to everybody, but I think I can make you a Kodi fan, follow along.

The default skin is more or less set-up for the novice, simple and easy to use. All the movies and TV shows show up in one easy to handle flat file set-up without a lot of effort. Once you get into customization, different skins have various advantages and it looks like you're just at that point. With many skin choices available, it would be inappropriate for me to suggest one skin over the other, but I can point you towards the skin forums; look to see what the majority use and the most active support.

Your customization of files/source is perfect. Any of the skins will allow file mode (to get at every video on the system) ignore the homescreen menu options for the moment (these options basically show your entire collection as one large listing) What you need are tools that allow you to slice & dice the candy bar in the way you snack, and offer them up as main menu choices? To start off Kodi allows you to specifiy favourites, and what you'll put in here will be 'smart playlists', 'nodes' 'tags' and 'scripts'.  Once you have some easy way to segregate your library you can start linking these favourties to home screen buttons/menus and your home theatre now becomes an instrument of delight.

The wiki's are great reading, but the forum users offer practical suggestions and a bit more plain language. The following is practical advice:

1) Start adding your sources (think of your drives as folders) and be sure to specify TV vs Movie and a scraper (defualt is best with recursive scraping)
2) Create some Smart Playlist based on 'path' ensure it works then add it to your favourite.
3) Investigate nodes with node helpers.
4) Investigate tags, with tag helpers.
5) Once at this point customization of the home screen will add your personalizations.

[Karellen]

why I can "remove this item [from the main menu]" on the default skin for nearly everything apart from pictures

https://kodi.wiki/view/Skin_settings#Mai...s_Settings

[scott967]

I guess an area for questions / consideration is that as PatK describes, Kodi offers  three different approaches to customizing how your videos are organized.  But there isn't that much (any?) help available on why you might choose one approach over another.  For example, custom library nodes offer the possibility of a hierarchical arrangement, while smart playlists are "flat".

scott s.
.