[Mxylv]

I'd long been using Kodi under "Sort by: name," in the Files View, but since nothing was customized, it defaulted to the file names. However, after learning about the wonders of .nfo files, I've started sorting my movies through "Sort by: file", which enables me to give the movies unalphabetized <title> fields without any disorder.

My only problem is that "Sort by: file" also alphabetizes subfolders. While it isn't the most major issue, I prefer having them on top, so I've added <sorttitle> fields and have tried to switch back to "Sort by: name," but this merely reverts to sorting by <title>. (The four available sorting orders are Name, Date, Size, and File, but that seems normal in Files View.)

Here's an example of what my .nfo files look like (manually copied and changed from the Templates documentation):
udazoyimic (paste)

In case it's helpful, I'm running Kodi with the Confluence skin on LibreElec on a Raspberry Pi 4, and the movies I'm working on share the same folder.
Thanks in advance!

[Mxylv]

Don't think I can edit the post at present, but I wanted to add that I just tried a fresh Kodi install on Windows 10; it's looking like <sorttitle> makes no difference in the Files view, but does in the Library/Movies view; (I personally prefer using Files due to obscure movies). If anyone knows how to make it work in Files view, though, I'd be very happy to be proven wrong. Alternatively, if there's any way to keep folders on top when sorting by file (better as a separate thread?), I'd also appreciate it!

[Klojum]

Don't think I can edit the post at present,

Indeed. That's part of the anti-spam measures for new forum users. These restrictions will vanish over time for you.

[Karellen]

s looking like <sorttitle> makes no difference in the Files view

Correct.
Sort Title is a library feature. It has no effect on a simple file view.

Not really understanding why you don't use library view?

[Mxylv]

s looking like <sorttitle> makes no difference in the Files view

Correct.
Sort Title is a library feature. It has no effect on a simple file view.

Not really understanding why you don't use library view?

Much of it's that I started out with the Files view and got used to folder categorization; in particular, I haven't found a way for sets to imitate the convenience subfolders can add, such as a Kaiju folder containing a Godzilla collection that has a folder for each era. (The only threads I can find asking about "subsets" so far are from 2012 and 2015, so it's possible the situation's changed by now, but the Sets documentation gives me the impression that are more or less the same.)

Since my library includes homemade family videos, obscure films, and fan films, I'd also need to do a bit more manual work to match the presentation of fully scraped content, but that isn't as massive a point for me.

[Karellen]

@Mxylv

I am not familiar with Godzilla and the eras. Can you provide links and a bit more explanation and there might be a way to achieve something similar in the library.
Also a screenshot of how you currently have Godzilla set up.

Since my library includes homemade family videos, obscure films, and fan films, I'd also need to do a bit more manual work to match the presentation of fully scraped content, but that isn't as massive a point for me.

All that content can be separated using Custom home items (wiki) and a skin that allows adding new menu items. Most skins do, just not the default Estuary skin.
To add them to the library, create a simple nfo file. Copy a templates and fill in the info... https://kodi.wiki/view/NFO_files/Templates

[Mxylv]

I am not familiar with Godzilla and the eras. Can you provide links and a bit more explanation and there might be a way to achieve something similar in the library.
Also a screenshot of how you currently have Godzilla set up.

All that content can be separated using Custom home items (wiki) and a skin that allows adding new menu items. Most skins do, just not the default Estuary skin.
To add them to the library, create a simple nfo file. Copy a templates and fill in the info... https://kodi.wiki/view/NFO_files/Templates

Godzilla's movies are divided generally between the Showa films ('50s through '70s), the Heisei soft reboot after a hiatus ('80s through '90s), and the Millennium series, in which almost every film is a reboot ('00s). There's also Reiwa for Shin Godzilla forward, but outside the American movies there hasn't been a lot of that. My organization places each era as a set/folder within a larger Kaiju folder that contains some other suitmation movies (Rodan, Mothra, Space Amoeba, etc). Here's a screenshot of the structure from a folder view:



Re. .nfo files--so far I've done that for Godzilla and Star Wars and I think I'm getting the hang of it (personally preferring manual to scraping for customization); I think I'll go for it!

[Karellen]

@Mxylv

ok, that is pretty simple. I see how it works now. These aren't actually TV Shows, but lots of individual movies that you have combined and turned into a tv show.

You are essentially following the steps to this guide, but there may be some other pointers for you... https://kodi.wiki/view/Convert_movie_to_episode
I personally use it quite often. An example is here... https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=349595

The only thing I see missing is your artwork and the guide above should help you resolve that.

[Mxylv]

@Karellen 
Huh, never though of it that way, but I guess that's true! I'm wondering if some of Kodi's other features could be helpful; I'm considering listing Kaiju as a genre, Godzilla as a cinematic universe and/or smart playlist, and each era as a set, but listing it as a TV series may indeed be more convenient.

I'm currently storing the artwork in an absolute path one level up (/Kaiju/.artwork/) to keep the structure clean for non-Kodi devices, as I don't believe relative paths are currently around; should I switch to the more standard movie folders style, however, I can see the standard artwork placement as a vast improvement. Thanks!

[Karellen]

I'm wondering if some of Kodi's other features could be helpful; I'm considering listing Kaiju as a genre, Godzilla as a cinematic universe and/or smart playlist, and each era as a set, but listing it as a TV series may indeed be more convenient.

Yes there are other ways to accomplish it as well.
You have already mentioned the Cinematic Universe method... https://kodi.wiki/view/HOW-TO:Movie_universe
You could use the movie library Genres or Tags to sort them also, but I don't think this is a good or flexible method.

Personally I would turn it into a tv show. When scrolling through the tv show library, it is a single entry. If you treat them as movies, it is an additional 100+ movies to scroll through ( but, yes you can filter them out using Smart playlists (wiki) ).

should I switch to the more standard movie folders style

Yes, always use movie folders for movies. Some Kodi functions and addons don't work without movie folders.
For TV Shows use a season folder.

Definitely store the artwork in the correct manner. If stored correctly, Kodi can easily find them and there is no extra fiddling with trying to add artwork paths into the nfo files.
https://kodi.wiki/view/Artwork