Files not appearing…?

Someone with a similar problem had just switched their site to ‘https’. But if that is not true in your case then email me at [email protected] on Monday.

Same thing here. Installed 3-4 hours ago, plugin found the directory structure, a few random files here and there in subfolders, and a few folders that did not exist on the physical server (but I assume were referenced in some legacy way in the DB). What was missing in the listing was 99% of my files. No worries, I thought. It sounds like this plugin relies on the physical directory structure AND some sort of referenced psuedo structure in the DB to get its bearings — I will be patient.

I looked online, I looked in the forums, I looked on the plugin page, and I looked in the plugin screens and configuration about what to do next. There was zero advice for my scenario (Plugin found some folders/files (including some that don’t exist!) but not all of them).

Not knowing what to try next, I tried SYNC on the root (upload) folder. Took a long time, but eventually exposed 300 files or so (out of 3,000).

The problem is, from the DB/web servers perspective, I am guessing these actions I’m trying to perform are doing read/write operations on 15,000 files (3,000 images + 3,000 X 4 thumbnails), and the plugin, wordpress, the browser — it all just seems to absolutely choke on that many. I pay good money for mid-tier hosting, it’s not that. Something about what the plugin is doing just absolutely slows everything to a crawl. If the plugin is making calls to DB for the *entire* folder, no matter what the scenario — can we not pull 25, 50 or 100 entries at a time?

2nd frustration – theres only two options for bulk editing, it’s either “Select All” or “Hunt around and click every single file you want to perform an action on.” Guys I’m not suggesting anything sophisticated, but please, can the plugin pick up keyboard actions? CTRL + arrow key or SHIFT + arrow key to select a series of items would be very helpful. If I have 3,000 images I need to all sort into “folders” I would have carpal tunnel syndrome by the time I finished, unless I am missing something more efficient.

3rd frustration – The way that instructions/guidance is organized for new users is a bit shoddy. I understand your intentions are good and i’m sure this plugin does lots of things well. But there is no emphasis for new users on whats important, what the order of operations is after installing the product, or even just a bit of background (Hey Folks, these aren’t File Folders in the true sense of the word, it’s the closest we can come to that in this sort of WP environment. We’ll be writing information to all of your files to encode a folderLIKE structure to give you the same functionality as folders. Here are the top 5 things you can do to ensure a good outcome: X, Y Z, etc etc.

4th frustration. It REALLY pissed me off that the SYNC operation wrote to every single file in my upload directory without any prior explanation. The plugin language made me think it was strictly a READ operation. I was furious when I realized it modified half the documents on my server (before the process shit the bed). It just felt like such a cobbled-together workaround of a solution and I was full of regret for installing it. I’m not saying that’s actually the case — I am just relaying how I felt as new person using the plugin for the first time.

5th frustration – So many popup warning messages that are just blank — these sorts of loose ends just absolutely drain any confidence I have in the product. If you’re going to fire modal popups, please put content in them.

6th frustration – When nothing else worked, I tried deactivating, running the salvage app, then reactivating. Same result – just back to where I was two hours prior — no media files other than a handful of random ones in subfolders.

Jake,

The issue that ampapa reported is not what normally happens and in your case perhaps you should have started a new support thread.

The Sync function in Media Library Folders was never intended for importing hundreds of files into the media library at one time. For importing so many files we recommend using using the free plugin, Add from Server. The way to do it is first have Media Library Folders scan and add the folders it finds in your uploads directory. Then use Add from Server to add the files in each folder to your Media Library.

The the latest version of Media Library Folders we have added to the Support Page some troubleshooting tips and a list of articles that will explain how to use Media Library Folders. You will find the article, How to Sync Your WordPress Media Library With FTP Folders addresses what you are trying to accomplish.

Alan, I appreciate your response and for reading through my response. You are right, I should have organized that feedback into its own thread.

“The Sync function in Media Library Folders was never intended for importing hundreds of files into the media library at one time.”

This was an established, existing WordPress site — nothing was being imported and the only new addition was the plugin.

I am going to take a break from WP (among other things) to do some hiking. I think when I’m back, the simplest option for my needs (photo organization + blogging) is to just keep the images in Google Photos (world-class ease of use) and embed the galleries, keeping just featured images and utility graphics locally on WP.

I hope you guys can smooth off some of the remaining rough edges with this one as I think this would shore up an area that has never been one of WP’s strengths (in my unqualified option) — image storage, process and workflow. -Jake

Ok, jakeparlay, we are currently working on improving the file sync feature.

Hey @jakeparley,

Thanks for the feedback. Very helpful.

We certainly have given quite a bit of thought of dealing with some of these large folder / file issues. They are on our list.

If you could send Alan and I an email at support at maxfoundry dot com. We’d appreciate chatting with you about this as we move forward.

Enjoy the hiking.

Best,

Bob

We completed making enhancements to the sync function and there should be fewer issues going forward. Download version 4.1.9 and try it out.