Overview

Customize how you start My Films: view, layout, sort, filters, and more!

Introduction

You can customize how MyFilms starts on the Views Tab in Setup. Some options can also be selected or change using the main menu > Options > Global settings.

Select a Start View, Layout and Sort

Choose how you wish to display your films on startup:

• View - e.g. Views Menu, Films View/List, one of the default views, or even your own custom view (see Views)
• Sort - field and order - (see Sorting)
• Layout - e.g. List, Icons, Filmstrip etc (see Layouts)

You can select start settings for sort and layout options separately for:

• Views (the start view you select will use the sort and layout options you define for that view)
• Movies list
• Movie Groups/Collections - e.g. sort by year

Note: If you select Films as your start view, it will use the Movie Sort and Layout

Start Settings Options

You can also control when your start settings are applied.

If you enable Always use start settings in setup, or Always use default start view via the main menu > Options > Global settings:

• Whenever you load MyFilms it will display your start view and settings, rather than the last view or changes to layout/sort/filters.
• When you press back from the start view it will exit MyFilms.
• If you do not select a Default Config in MyFilms Setup the start settings only apply the first time you open My Films. After that, your last view and settings will display, until you reload MediaPortal.

If you disable Always use start settings in setup, or Always use default start view via the main menu > Options > Global settings:

• Whenever you reload MyFilms, the last view (and changes to layout/sort/filters) will display.
• When you press back from the start view it will display the Views Menu.

DB Config Menu

If you have multiple databases or configs, you can display a list of your databases or configs on startup, before the start view for the selected config displays:  enable Always Display Config Menu in MyFilms Setup.

You may also add startup (hyperlink) parameters to your home screen if you use a skin with a Basic Home Editor that supports that.

See Multiple DBs or Configs for further details.

GUI Settings

To change start settings within the MyFilms GUI.

Global Settings

From the main menu (see Using My Films):

1. Select Options > Global Settings...
2. Select Always use start settings to reapply your start settings whenever you leave and return to MyFilms
3. Select Change default view then select the view you wish to use when you start MyFilms

Start View

1. Select your start view (as selected using Change default view above or in MyFilms Setup > Views tab) either via the Views Menu or View by option on the main menu
2. Select the layout and sort you wish from the main menu
3. Open the context menu and select View Options
4. Change any options you wish
5. Then select Save current Custom View Settings

Movies List

1. Select Films View (or a list of films from any View)
2. Select the layout and sort you wish from the main menu
3. Open the context menu 
4. Select Save current layout and sort as start default for film lists
5. Select Save current Custom View Settings if you have also changed any view settings 

Group Lists

1. Sort by: Name to display Groups, or select the Box Sets view to display your Box Sets, Groups
2. Select a Group and display the movies in that group
3. Select the layout and sort you wish from the main menu
4. Open the context menu
5. Select Save current layout and sort as start default for box sets

You may use the same method to alter the display of any View, including custom views you create, from within the My Films GUI.  See Custom Views  for more details.

Setup Configuration

To change start settings in MyFilms Setup > Views tab:

View

1. View - when you use the Setup Wizard, or the 'add defaults' button, My Films provides preset views for you. You may select any of these views, or custom views you add, from the drop down list.  Note:
   • None - displays all films
   • Views Menu - default (as of v 6.0.0)
   • Films - displays all films
2. Always use Start Settings - default=disabled - return to the last view you displayed whenever you exit and reload MyFilms in MediaPortal. Enable this option if you wish to open the selected start view instead of the last view you displayed.

Movie Sort and Layout 

Select the start settings you wish to use for Film lists:

1. Sort Field - default=None (sorts by Title/name) - Select a field for your default sort order from the drop down box, supported fields are: Formatted Title (or whatever field you select for Sort Title on the General Tab in Setup), Year, Date (Date Added), Rating, Number.
   Note: As of v 6.0.0 number fields sort numerically, i.e. 1,2,3 not 1,10,100
2. Sort Order -  default=ASC - Select the sort order: ASC - for ascending. DESC - for descending
3. Layout - default=List - Select a layout from the drop down box: List, Big Icon List, Small Icons, Large Icons, Filmstrip

Movie Group

Select the start settings you wish to use for Movie Groups, such as Box Sets, Collections, etc.:

1. Sort Field - default=None (sorts by Title/name) - Select a field for your default sort order from the drop down box, supported fields are: Date, Formatted Title (or whatever field you select for Sort Title on the General Tab in Setup) , Rating, Year
2. Sort Order - default=ASC - Select the sort order: ASC - for ascending. DESC - for descending
3. Layout - default=List - Select a layout from the drop down box: List, Big Icon List, Small Icons, Large Icons, Filmstrip

Global Start Settings

The following start settings apply globally to all views when you startup MyFilms:

1. Only Movie Title in List Layout - you may choose a layout other than list for your main films (e.g. Icons, Filmstrip, Coverflow) but prefer to display other Views like Genres, Years, Actors etc only using the list layout.
   Note: If you use the MediaPortal option to ''remember last focused item", choosing this option will 'override' that setting.
2. Show only unwatched movies - default=off - Select this option if you wish to always display only your unwatched movies.
   Note: You may change this option while using My Films, but if you always display the Default Start view, then each time My Films opens it will revert to only unwatched movies.
3. Show only available movies (as of v 6.0.0) - display only movies available for playback (i.e. not those on DVD, or network servers that are currently 'offline')
   Note: To use this option My Films must first scan your films for availability, either using the Global Updates menu option in GUI, or by selecting the 'Scan media on start' option on the General tab in Settings. It is not enabled by default since the scan can take some time depending on the size of your database/catalog and the location(s) of your films (e.g. NAS)
4. Show empty (as of v 6.0.0) - displays empty values in views e.g.selecting a view by Director will display an item '<empty>' with the count of films where the Director field is empty.
5. Reverse Person Names (as of v 6.0.0) -  e.g. Gosling, Ryan instead of Ryan Gosling - applies to all 'persons' views

Filtered Start View

The start view you select may be filtered to display only some movies. See Views Setup for details on filtering your Views, or Filters Setup to learn how to use filter expressions.

Related

• Quick Setup