Save a Plex filter as a smart collection

The useful distinctions

• Smart collections are saved from filter/sort criteria.
• The documented action is Save as Smart Collection.
• Later matching items enter automatically and nonmatching items leave.
• Smart collection order follows its saved sort rather than manual dragging.

Express the membership rule

A smart collection should have a question that can be answered from catalogue fields. For example, identify unwatched workshop films that belong in a current review list. Write the question and expected ordering before saving the filter. If the desired membership is a list of unrelated hand-picked titles, a manual collection may describe that editorial decision more honestly than a complicated rule.

Test both sides of the filter

Select one item that should appear and one that should stay out. Compare their stored values with the criteria rather than judging only the number of results. A missing tag or a previously watched item may explain an empty result without any application error. Keep the rule simple enough that another maintainer can reproduce why the two examples were treated differently.

Expect membership to change

The purpose of a live rule is that later catalogue changes can add or remove members. Revisit the collection after a qualifying new item is added or an unwatched item is completed. Save the sort choice as part of the definition, because changing the visible order is another rule decision. Keep a note of the intended criteria so a changing result set does not later look like unexplained loss of media.

A focused way to proceed

1. Build and review the library filter and sort.
2. Check one intended inclusion and one exclusion.
3. Choose Save as Smart Collection from the available Add To or Save As action.
4. Name the rule clearly and inspect its saved results.

Worked example · synthetic

Purpose: current unwatched workshop films
Criteria: chosen workshop tag plus unwatched state
Sort: title ascending
Positive case: tagged unwatched movie
Negative case: same tag, already watched

Read the comparison

Changing membership is expected when item values change; the collection is a saved query.

When to stop or ask for help

If the result is surprising, compare stored field values and saved sort/filter settings before re-creating the collection.