Search - What am I doing wrong?

Clients Windows 10, Android
Server - Ubuntu 20.04 LTS

Everything is fully patched and up to date.

I have a sensible collection size along with a Tidal sub and I tend to search for things a fair amount but I get such hugely inconsistent result that.I am guessing I’m doing something wrong but I don’t know what.

So a few of the things I’ve noticed.

  1. A search item that briefly appears in my search ahead isn’t in the list of results.

I often will be looking for a specific track by name and as I’m typing it into the search I will see the name of the exact track or file I’m looking for appear in the read ahead. Regardless of if I finish typing the full name or if I stop and hit enter the file is often not in the results page. Now if I’m quick enough I can sometimes click on it. Other times I only see a flash of it and it immediately disappears.

  1. Search doesn’t see files I know are in my collection and are indexed

But it’s not just limited to my library. This search for “All the young dudes” by David Bowie/Mott the Hoople. Albums, Tracks, Artists all absolutely NOTHING to do with my search terms.

However if I then go and type in the exact same thing again to the filter for that search result I get

That’s so incredibly counter intuitive!

This happens all the time - even typing in the exact name of the file it just doesn’t appear or…

  1. Search does show the file but it’s buried under a whole load of “irrelevant” results.

This is particularly clear when I click “more” on Tracks after getting the result from the first picture. This I think is caused because it lists local files first followed by Tidal files but as it’s returning nonsense answers for my local files the “exact” Tidal results are getting buried until right at the end of the list.

It’s a complete mystery why it works like that. I’ve gone through all the settings and I can’t see any way to tweak any of that but admit I might have missed it.

So what am I doing wrong? Why doesn’t search work how I expect it to? Why is it returning loads of results that have nothing to do with what I’m searching for? Why do I only get the “obvious” results when I apply a filter?

Thanks in advance

G

1 Like

When you send in metadata problems, the first thing Roon will try to do is to replicate the problem.

I tried what you described three times, but each time got predictable results, not the garbage you got.

Inference? The problem resides on your system. Reinstall/restart your system and try again.

I know it’s frustrating but hang in there. Also, know that Roon considers this a high priority.

Yeah, I get Mott the Hoople. One of the problems with Roon is these types of issues where the system doesn’t function for one or two people but works perfectly for everyone else. Take a look at the Roon doesn’t work with Qobuz thread. Anyway, I know Roon is working on updating their search function. It’s in beta right now so might be in the next update probably next year. Clearly something is wrong with your system, so you can try to fix it now or wait until the next update that might fix your problem.

If you are searching for items in your library, it is much quicker to use the filter functions found on each page. I primarily use search to find items NOT in my library. Otherwise, filter gets me there faster and with no extraneous stuff.

I’ve rebuilt my library a couple of months ago and it has not changed in how it responds. The data is clearly there - the results I expect are what I getwhen I do a secondary filter on the search results. That’s not a sign that it’s my system - it’s how Roon is displaying it.

The results you see above are what I get when I search an item not in my library as All the young dudes is only on Tidal. It’s the same trash I get when I search for things in my library.

It’s not that the results aresn’t there as the filter shows, it’s simply that Roon doesn’t show them.

Just wish there was some answer to it.

G

My response related to the first search where Manhattan Transfer et al shows up where Matt should be.

Well good luck, but I’m not optimistic for your cause. Your issue is one of the goofier bugs I’ve seen. You might start a “library” of several documented goofs to help the process.