5.0.2.2519 - Empty Directories are sometime left behind creating "ghost directories" in the MM5 DB

[TekGamer]

5.0.2.2519 - Empty Directories are sometime left behind when auto-arranging tracks. Then, if you go under Entire Library || Location || <Drive Letter> || <Folder Paths> you can see the empty folder, but when you try to remove it you do not get the normal popup that asks you if you want to "Delete from the database only" or "Delete from the database and drive". Also if you go to file explorer and go to <Drive Letter> || <Folder Paths> that empty folder no longer exists, so it is almost like it is in the MM5 database, but it doesn't exist and you cannot delete it. I would thing that when browsing in MM5 via Entire Library || Location || <Drive Letter> || <Folder Paths> you should be able to delete empty folders. The only way to delete what I will call a "ghost folder" in your MM5 DB is to create the folder, place a dummy mp3 into it, rescan the folder, and then you can delete it through MM5.

[TekGamer]

and I just noticed that even if you try to delete the ghost directory, using the method I stated, it will pop back in to MM5 when you go back to Entire Library || Location || <Drive Letter> || <Folder Paths> again.

[Lowlander]

Can you please capture the creation of the ghost folders in a debug log (step 4b) and attach the log to a Support Ticket: viewtopic.php?f=30&t=86643

This will help a developer analyze why this happens in your setup.

[TekGamer]

another related item, in Options || Library || Auto-organize it doesn't seem like "Delete emptied folders" does anything unless you also have "Automatically organize files" enabled, which is a feature I never use, but I assume as MM4 did, when you Auto-Organize tracks and you choose to move the other non music files, MM5 "should" also remove the empty directory by default (and it doesn't' look like it currently does that all the time, sometime yes, but not all the time)

[TekGamer]

how do I capture the creation of "ghost folders" if I do not do anything that is causing that behavior? (see my follow up comments) It is not something I can reproduce and I don't know what it is happening, but either way, MM5 does not let me delete empty folders or folders that it thinks exists that don't actually exist on the drive.

[Lowlander]

There are 2 methods of organizing, each has their own option to delete emptied folders. For Auto-Organize Files it is on the Auto-Organize Files dialog itself.

As for as MediaMonkey causing the emptied folders, keep DebugView running till it occurs, then save.

[TekGamer]

I don't know when the emptied folders are re-appearing in the Entire Library || Location || tree, so trying to "debug" this will prove to be very difficult.

[TekGamer]

I always have "Delete emptied folders and "Trim long paths/filenames" enabled on the Auto-organize dialog box itself.

I you look at this from another angle, under the Entire Library || Location tree branch, if I want to delete a folder, it seems like MM5 is first checking if it exists first, and in some cases it does not so it won't let you remove it from the DB if it is what I am calling a "ghost folder"... and it is worth mentioning, that even if the folder exists and it is empty, MM5 will not let me delete it unless it contains at lease 1 music track.

It is worth mentioning... I also noticed in the Entire Library || Location tree branch, that if you drag and drop all the tracks from one folder to another, and it leaves an empty folder behind, the folder looks like it is removed by MM5 in the DB, but it leaves it behind in the file system.

I have been a MM user for 15 years now (back to the MM2 days), and I have a lifetime license key. I just switched from MM4 to MM5 a couple of months ago, so I just started re-organizing my music collection with MM5 and have a ton of feedback to start providing the dev team.

[Lowlander]

It is worth mentioning... I also noticed in the Entire Library || Location tree branch, that if you drag and drop all the tracks from one folder to another, and it leaves an empty folder behind, the folder looks like it is removed by MM5 in the DB, but it leaves it behind in the file system.

Location sub-node only shows folders with files in the MediaMonkey database. The empty folder will be available in the Folders node which shows all folders on your system.

[TekGamer]

It is worth mentioning... I also noticed in the Entire Library || Location tree branch, that if you drag and drop all the tracks from one folder to another, and it leaves an empty folder behind, the folder looks like it is removed by MM5 in the DB, but it leaves it behind in the file system.

Location sub-node only shows folders with files in the MediaMonkey database. The empty folder will be available in the Folders node which shows all folders on your system.

There are two issues:
1. The Entire Library || Location || <drive> || <folder> node is showing folders that are not there on the filesystem anymore (so they must be still be in DB or something, right?)
2. Empty Folders in the Entire Library || Location || <drive> || <folder> node cannot be deleted within MM5

[TekGamer]

if I delete a folder on the file system and then start up MM5 and go into Folders || <drive> || folder, the directory that was deleted no longer shows up, but until Entire Library || Location || <drive> || <folder>, the folder still shows in MM5 even though the folder is gone off the file system and you cannot delete it from that tree within MM5... that is really not the behavior I would expect ... that is what I mean buy it must still be in the DB, right? and be a "ghost folder".

[TekGamer]

Oh and if I rescan Entire Library || Location || <drive> those "ghost folders" do not get removed.

[Lowlander]

I'm unable to reproduce that on Build 2519. I deleted a folder in the Library from File Explorer. The navigated to it using Entire Library > Location and deleted it. It deleted from there, it remained deleted after a MediaMonkey.

Please capture this problem in a debug log as well and attach it to a Support Ticket.

[TekGamer]

I'm unable to reproduce that on Build 2519. I deleted a folder in the Library from File Explorer. The navigated to it using Entire Library > Location and deleted it. It deleted from there, it remained deleted after a MediaMonkey.

Please capture this problem in a debug log as well and attach it to a Support Ticket.

I am running a portable instance of MM5 installed on a portable/removeable USB3 drive, and my library files are all on that same portable/removable USB3 drive if that matters.