Delete in DVDpedia 4.2.1 not working

[SeaDragon13]

When I try to delete a movie, it drops from the list and doesn't so up on a Library print out. Then when I open the program the movies I deleted are still there. Also any changes I have made, i.e. Title, reverts back to what it was. This is very frustrating.

[Conor]

Are there any messages in your console log? (DVDpedia would report any errors there.) To view the console log use the program of the same name in your Utilities folder (new messages are near the bottom). Also check the permissions on your Database.pediadata file; although DVDpedia would refuse to quit if it was unable to save your data and would pop up a warning if this where the case. The fie is located in ~/Library/Application Support/DVDpedia/Database.pediadata you should have read and write permissions for your user. Running Disk Utility's repair permissions command will fix any errors in the permissions in the Applications Support folder. So run that as well to eliminate those possibilities.

[SeaDragon13]

There was nothing in the Console Log showing an error. I checked the permissions and they are fine. I have run repair permissions and it is still not holding the deletion.

[Conor]

Please send me your database file and walk me throw a simple case that you can repeat so that I can try to duplicate it here. Try to be as specific as possible with the steps as there are many ways to achieve the same result in DVDpedia. For example are you using the contextual menu delete, the keyboard shortcut, the menu command, the toolbar button, or the delete key. The database file you will find in your home folder ~/Library/Application Support/DVDpedia/Database.pediadata. Select it and use the "compress" command under the file menu, then you can email us the "Database.pediadata.zip" file that was created (you will find our email on our support page).

[SeaDragon13]

Okay, I will compress and send it to you but before I do that, here are a couple more pieces of information that may be part of the problem. I will try to explain what I am finding.

I have two DVDpedia databases. One is my normal DVD database and it has always resided where it is suppose to in the DVDpedia file in Application support. The second one I just created a couple of months ago on my laptop for VHS movies that I am slowly converting to DVD. I decided to put it on my main computer for the convenience of working in them. I put that second database on the desktop in a folder called DVDpedia_VHS.

I have since noticed that in the Application Support/DVDpedia folder, I have many (24 at last count) Pediadata files. Some say Replaced and some say Backup. There is also the main Database.pediadata file. It appears that this one changes from the DVD files to the VHS files and vice versa. If I start opening them one at a time, I eventually find the correct one for each database, which includes the VHS one where I deleted files.

So do you think this might be my problem? That I created this mess by putting the second database on this machine? If so, I can always move it back to the laptop but is there not a way to make them both work from the same machine without getting all messed up again?

[Conor]

This does sound like the reason why it's not saving the changes. It might be saving the changes and then somewhere changing to a database file without the changes. The backup labeled ones are normal (they are a copy of your database created once a month for backup). The replaced files however are created when you give the program a Database.pediadata file that does not seem to be in the right location. The program takes the old Database.pediadata file and moves the new selected Database.pediadata into it's location. The most likely reason for this is that your VHS database folder does not contain a "Covers" folder. Without that folder DVDpedia thinks it's a lonely file (such as a backup) that needs to be moved into the normal folder.

Make compressed (zip) copies of both entire folders as backup. Then place the correct .pediadata file in each folder. (You can check what folder the program is pointing at by looking in the preference panel). The working file is always called Database.pediadata. So if your looking at your VHS and the program points to ~/Library/Application Support/DVDpedia you can move the current Database.pediadata file in there to your VHS folder on the desktop. Once you have it set up remove the extra replaced and backup version of the .pediadata files to avoid confusion (you have them all backed up if you make a mistake). Make sure your VHS folder has a "Covers" folder.

You should now be able to switch databases by double clicking the Database.pediadata in each folder. No "replaced" files should be created. If they are, then the file you are double clicking is being moved in to the current database folder.

Also you might consider merging your databases if it makes sense for you. DVDpedia allows the creation of excluded collections. So you could have your VHS excluded from your main library. To merge use a .dvdpedia export from one database and import it while running the other database.

[SeaDragon13]

Thank you Conor. That seemed to do the trick. I copied the Covers folder and put it in with the VHS database. Everything seems to be holding. I then deleted all the extraneous replacements.

It is easier for me to keep the two databases separate since many of the movies share the same numbers. I do seem to be having the issue of the wrong cover pictures with a lot of the VHS selections. Don't know why that is since the ones in the DVD database are fine. I saw that mentioned elsewhere in the forum so I will have to read those.

Thanks again.

[Conor]

God news. Make sure to always have a "Covers" folder with your VHS database as it is needed to save the covers in. Since you copied the "Covers" folder from the DVD database they might not match as they belong to a different database. If all your VHS entries came from Amazon you can use the "Download Cover Art" command under the advance menu to refresh the covers, as it will use the ASIN to get the correct cover. You can display the ASIN column if you have a mixed collection and only select those with ASINs to run the command on. You can also drag covers from Safari to the cover view on the bottom left to update a cover quickly.

[SeaDragon13]

Yes, good news for sure. The exact covers in the VHS database aren't really that important since it is just a holding place for now until they are mostly changed out.

I have a suggestion for the CDpedia but I will put that in its own category.