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FAQ and Terminology

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Collin Heist edited this page Jan 31, 2023 · 15 revisions

Table of Contents

  1. Frequently Asked Questions
    1. Does this work on Windows?.
    2. Do I need to know Python to use this?
    3. How do I get the latest version of TitleCardMaker?
    4. Do I need to know how to use ImageMagick to use this?
    5. Does this have to run on the same computer as Plex/Sonarr/my media?
    6. How do I get images from Plex instead of TMDB?
    7. How do I change the filenames of the title cards?
    8. What is YAML?
    9. What's the difference between .yml and .yaml files?
  2. Terminology

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this work on Windows?

Yes, it should work on Windows, Linux, and MacOS. Submit an issue if you have any problems!

Do I need to know Python to use this?

Not at all. The only Python you'll need is typing python ... to run the Maker.

How do I get the latest version of TitleCardMaker?

If you've installed via git, navigate to your installation folder (where main.py lives), and execute:

git pull origin

If you installed via Docker, you can execute docker pull collinheist/titlecardmaker:{tag} (where {tag} is master or develop), or just recreate the container.

Do I need to know how to use ImageMagick to use this?

Not at all. ImageMagick is the behind-the-scenes tool used by the Maker to create images, but after you've installed it you can never touch it again as far as the Maker is concerned.

Does this have to run on the same computer as Plex/Sonarr/my media?

No, it does not.

Although I have not tested the Media being on another drive or network location, so it's possible there are untested issues.

How do I get images from Plex instead of TMDB?

By default TCM tries to get images from TMDb and then Plex, this is adjustable via the global image source priority option. To get images from Plex only, set this to plex; to make this happen faster (instead of after the default 5-days) change the TMDb retry count option.

How do I change the filenames of the title cards?

In your global preferences file (likely called preferences.yml), under options, there is an option called filename_format which can be set to change the format of all cards created by the Maker. You can read about this here

What is YAML?

YAML (sometimes referred to as YML) stands for yet another markup language or YAML ain’t markup language and is a human-readable data-serialization language. In simpler terms, its a file format for writing and storing information. Files written in this format are used by the Maker for internal processes, as well as external configurations such as the preferences file or series YAML files.

YAML is written frequently throughout the Wiki, and looks like:

something:
  something else: 123

another thing: 234

What's the difference between `.yml` and `.yaml` files?

The original YAML file extension is .yaml, however some old OS's did not support extensions longer than three characters, so this was shorted to .yml. These two are now used interchangeably.

What is a datafile?

A datafile is YAML File used by the Maker to read and write information about an episode for use in title card creation. These files are stored in the top-level source directory, created and updated automatically by the Maker, but are human-readable and can be edited manually if desired.

An example of a datafile is:

data:
  Season 0:
    1:
      title: Some Special
  Season 1:
    1:
      title: Pilot
      abs_number: 1
    2:
      title: Second Episode
      abs_number: 2

Terminology

Term Definition
Archive A collection of title cards stored separately from any media directories (generally to make sharing your cards with others easier)
Attribute Generic term for some label/value of YAML. For example, for the YAML episode: 1, the episode attribute is equal to 1
Card Type A type or style of title card, typically either the Standard, Anime, or Star Wars variation
Episode Range A YAML attribute indicating a range of episode numbers that should use a given season title - i.e. 1-5: TEST would mean episodes 1 through 5 should use season text that is TEST
Episode Text Part of a title card that indicates the episode number, such as EPISODE x
ImageMagick An open-source tool used by the Maker to do all image manipulation through commands
Season Text Part of a title card that specifies the season number/name, such as SEASON x
Season Title A custom name for a season of a given series, rather than Season 1 it could be Book One (for example). These take the place of season text on a title card
Series File See Series YAML File
Series YAML File A file (written in YAML) that contains a listing of what series' to create cards for - more details here
Sonarr Sonarr is a PVR for Usenet and BitTorrent users. It can monitor multiple RSS feeds for new episodes of your favorite shows and will grab, sort and rename them. (Stolen)
Source Image The image used by the Maker to add text on top of
Title The title of a given episode, such as Pilot
Title Card An image preview of an episode of some show/series
YAML A human-readable language, stands for yet another markup language or YAML ain’t markup language. Looks like label: value.
YAML Attribute See Attribute
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