Organize a collection

In this tutorial you will create one static group and add an item to it. This is a deliberately small organization exercise: the goal is a useful result you can extend, not a perfect classification system.

Choose a small theme

Pick an item that belongs to a theme you will remember. A few examples are a trip, event, project, subject, series, or short watchlist. A group is appropriate because you are choosing explicit membership for a collection with its own name. You can add related items after the first one works.

Create the group

1. Open Groups.
2. Select + New.
3. Enter a short, specific name.
4. Leave Kind set to static. A static group keeps the members you choose; a dynamic group resolves members from a query.
5. Add a description if the name does not make the collection’s purpose clear.
6. Select Save.

Do not begin with a large hierarchy. One clearly named group is enough to learn the workflow.

Edit and add the item

1. Find and open the first item.
2. Select the Edit tab on its detail page.
3. Correct the title, date, details, studio, or other descriptive fields only when you know they are wrong or incomplete.
4. Under Tags, choose one or two existing labels that will make the item easier to retrieve. Skip this step if no existing tag fits; you can design a tag vocabulary later.
5. Under Groups, search for the group you just created and select it.
6. If you chose a video and order matters, set Video #. Otherwise leave it at its default.
7. Select Save.

After this tutorial, repeat the group step for any related items. Cove groups can bring supported media types together, so every member does not have to use the same format.

Verify the collection

1. Open Groups and search for the name you chose.
2. Open the group.
3. Confirm the item count and card.
4. Open the card from the group and confirm the new group and tags appear on its detail page.

The sample group makes its purpose, kind, item count, and member visible on one page.

Know which structure you just used

• Tags are reusable labels. An item can have many, and the same tag can span unrelated collections.
• Static groups are named collections whose membership you choose.
• Dynamic groups update from a query or activity, such as the built-in Save for Later and Continue Watching groups.

Use the Organized check only if it represents a meaningful reviewed state in your workflow. It is not a required final step, and a newly scanned item does not need every possible field before it becomes useful.

You have completed the first-hour path: Cove can scan your files, you can browse their relationships, find an item again, and create a collection. Continue with the Organizing your library guide for tags and group strategy, Search and filters for recurring views, or the User Guide to choose another goal.