Folder structure

Trove works with whatever folders you already have, but a tidy layout makes it group formats, audiobooks and series the way you expect. This page shows layouts that work well.

Files Trove picks up

Other files are ignored, as are hidden files and the housekeeping folders NAS systems create (such as Synology's @eaDir and #recycle). A library can be limited to some of these kinds with Allowed formats.

The short version

Give every book its own folder and choose One book per folder when you create the library. Everything in a book's folder (EPUB, PDF, audiobook, cover) then becomes one book with several formats. Folders above it, such as one per author, are fine.

Books/
├── Jane Austen/
│   ├── Emma/
│   │   └── Emma.epub
│   └── Pride and Prejudice/
│       ├── Pride and Prejudice.epub
│       └── Pride and Prejudice.pdf
└── Oscar Wilde/
    └── The Happy Prince and Other Tales/
        ├── The Happy Prince and Other Tales.m4b
        └── cover.jpg

If your files sit loose in a few folders instead, choose One book per file: every file is its own book, and you can merge formats afterwards. Organization modes compares the two.

Layouts that work

One format per book

Books/
├── Dracula/
│   └── Dracula.epub
├── Frankenstein/
│   └── Frankenstein.epub
└── The Art of War/
    └── The Art of War.pdf

Several formats of the same book

With One book per folder, the files don't need matching names.

Books/
└── Pride and Prejudice/
    ├── Pride and Prejudice.epub
    ├── pride-and-prejudice-illustrated.pdf
    └── Pride and Prejudice.azw3

Which one opens by default follows the library's Format priority.

Series

One folder per book, grouped in a series folder if you like. Series names and numbers come from the books' metadata, not the folder names, so name the folders however suits you.

Books/
└── Sherlock Holmes/
    ├── 1 - A Study in Scarlet/
    │   └── A Study in Scarlet.epub
    ├── 2 - The Sign of the Four/
    │   └── The Sign of the Four.epub
    └── 3 - The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes/
        └── The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.epub

Comics

Books/
└── The Marvelous Land of Oz Picture Book/
    └── The Marvelous Land of Oz Picture Book.cbz

Audiobooks in one file

An .m4b (or a single .m4a, .mp3 or .opus) behaves like any other format, and can share a folder with the ebook.

Books/
└── Treasure Island/
    ├── Treasure Island.epub
    └── Treasure Island.m4b

Audiobooks in many files

A folder holding two or more audio files, and nothing else Trove reads, becomes one audiobook named after the folder, with each file as a track. This works in both modes, and the file names don't matter.

Books/
└── The Happy Prince and Other Tales/
    ├── 01 - The Happy Prince.mp3
    ├── 02 - The Nightingale and the Rose.mp3
    ├── 03 - The Selfish Giant.mp3
    └── cover.jpg

With One book per folder, a tracks folder inside a book's folder joins that book, so the ebook and its audiobook stay together:

Books/
└── Treasure Island/
    ├── Treasure Island.epub
    └── audiobook/
        ├── 01 - The Old Sea-dog at the Admiral Benbow.mp3
        └── 02 - Black Dog Appears and Disappears.mp3

Files at the top of a library folder

Files that aren't in a subfolder each become a book of their own, whichever mode the library uses. Move them into folders to group formats.

Books on a network share

The same layouts work on a NAS. Trove keeps file names safe for SMB and Windows when it names or moves files, and finds new books by checking the folders regularly. See Network storage.

Letting Trove organise the files

You don't have to arrange everything by hand. Trove can rename and move book files to a pattern you choose, such as {authors}/{title}, when you import from Bookdrop or change a book's details. See File naming patterns.