Skipped Files
Sometimes Roon encounters a file that looks like it should contain some audio or artwork, but is unable to import that file into your library.
You can see a list of files using the "Skipped Files" feature, accessible via Settings:
What is the Skipped Files list for?
The Skipped Files feature is designed to help you find out if media files are missing from your library, and to find out about files that were skipped during the import process.
Why are Files Skipped?
If a file is listed in Skipped files, that means that these three conditions were met:
- Roon encountered it when scanning one of your folders
- Roon attempted to import it into your library
- Roon was unable to import the file for some reason
This is the list of reasons why a file may show up in Skipped Files:
- File is Corrupt - Roon couldn't parse/recognize the headers well enough to figure out the basic parameters of the media.
- I/O Failure - Roon encountered an error communicating with the storage device that the file lives on. Sometimes this can indicate a hardware failure, filesystem corruption, permissions errors, or a networking issue. On occasion, this error can appear with a corrupted file, depending on the nature of the corruption.
- File Not Found - Roon tried to open the file, but the operating system claimed that it wasn't there. Perhaps it has been deleted. Under some circumstances, this can occur when mixing filesystems operating systems that are thinking in terms of contradictory character sets.
- Audio Stream Format Not Supported - The file is may be valid, but Roon doesn't support this format. It might use an unsupported codec (for example, an MPEG4 file with a .m4a extension where we couldn't locate an AAC or ALAC track), use an unsupported sample rate or bit depth, be a video file, or otherwise be a type of media that Roon is not prepared to handle right now.
- Tag Extraction Failed - Roon found invalid or incorrectly formatted metadata tags on this file and was not able to make sense of them.
- Unreadable Playlist File - Roon encountered an .m3u or .pls file, but could not make sense of its contents.
- Unreadable Image File - Roon tried to parse an image file, but couldn't make sense of the headers, or failed to figure out its dimensions or color depth.
- Unexpected Error - Something unanticipated happened when trying to import this file. Feel free to contact support, and be prepared to upload the file so that we can analyze what went wrong.
Which files are *not* listed in Skipped Files?
It is possible that there are some files that are in your folders, and not imported, but without showing up in the Skipped files list.
This generally happens for one of two reasons:
Roon never attempted to import this file, deliberately
Roon's importing process is based on automatic folder scanning, so some system files, hidden files, and temporary files are automatically skipped. In some cases, descending into these folders can cause stability issues or confusing results, so this is important to ensure cross-platform compatibility and stable operation.
The following folders will be skipped by Roon:
- The trash/recycle bin and internal system folders created by all operating systems in the top-level folder of all drives:
- Any folder named `$Recycle.Bin` or `Recycler` which is in the same folder as a folder named System Volume Information
- Any folder named `System Volume Information`
- Any folder named any of `Trashes, .fseventsd or .Spotlight-V100 which is in the same folder as folders with the other two names
- On Windows, the application data folder:
- On Windows 10 this is typically "C:\Users\name\AppData"
- On Mac, the Library folder and any hidden folders in your user folder:
- Any folder named Library in your user folder, typically /Users/name
- Any folder with a name starting with a period in your user folder, for example, /Users/name/.Trash
- On Linux, any hidden folders in your home folder. For example, /home/name/.local
- The recycle and system folders created in shared folders by QNAP NAS devices:
- Any folder with a name that starts with a `@` or `#` symbol
In Addition, Roon supports user-configurable Ignore Patterns for folder names. These can be changed by selecting the Edit option in Settings -> Storage -> three dots menu for a watched folder. These patterns are not case sensitive, but do use the directory separator specific to your operating system (`/` on Mac/Linux, `\` on Windows). By default, every watched folder is created with patterns to ignore the following:
- any folder named "tmp"
- any folder named "temp"
- any folder with a name starting with a period, for example "/...and Justice For All/` or `/.temp/"
- any folder with a name ending with .pmbmf
Roon was unable to access this file, or an enclosing directory, for reasons beyond its control.
There are other reasons why Roon may be unable to see a file, for example:
- The storage device or network experienced a failure, and Roon was unable to discover some files
- Permissions are set up in a way such that Roon does not have access to some files or folders
- The files were created in an environment where the rules about file and folder names are different than the current one, in a way that renders those folders or files inaccessible. Roon is running, and file/folder names have become incomprehensible
- File or folder names contain special characters, which can sometimes render them unreadable or invisible. See the section on Special Characters below
- There is some "unknowable complexity" here--if you run into a situation that's not in this list, please let us know
Special Characters
Avoid using "special" characters in the names of files and folders. Using these characters may render the files inaccessible under some circumstances, particularly if files are transferred between different platforms, or viewed over a network share.
< (less than), > (greater than)
: (colon - sometimes works, but best avoided)
" (double quote)
/ (forward slash)
\ (backslash)
| (vertical bar or pipe)
? (question mark)
* (asterisk)
$ (dollar sign)
` (backtick)
~ (tilde)
Sometimes the presence of one of these characters causes Roon to be unable to "see" a file or folder in the first place. Files skipped, for this reason, do not (and can not) show up in the Skipped files list, since it may not even be possible for us to know their name.
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