Desktop: New Your Library sidebar

[MattSuda]

Spotify is introducing a new Your Library sidebar in the desktop app and Web Player.

The new Your Library sidebar improves navigation and makes it easier and faster to collect and retrieve all types of content, bringing new features to desktop that you're already familiar with in the mobile app. The new sidebar is also more customizable than before to meet different preferences.

You can read more info about the new desktop experience in the Spotify Newsroom post:

➜ Spotify’s Desktop Experience Gets a Brand-New Look With Redesigned ‘Your Library’ and ‘Now Playing’ ...

This thread is your go-to destination for learning what's new, asking questions, getting help for issues you might have, as well as to share your feedback about the new Your Library sidebar for desktop. Also, do you have any tips for other users on how you are using the new Your Library sidebar? We'd love to hear them.

What's new in the Your Library sidebar?

• See your entire collection and all of the content types (not just playlists)
  
  
• Filters for your collection (Playlists, Artists, Albums, Podcasts) that can be combined with other filters (By you, By Spotify, Downloaded)
  
  
• Sort options for your collection (Recents, Recently Added, Alphabetical, Creator, Custom Order)
  
  
• Chosen filters and sort options will be remembered in the sidebar across restarts of the desktop app
  
  
• Search through your collection in the sidebar
  
  
• Pinned library items to find your favorites, faster – current limit is 4 (Playlists, Playlist Folders, Artists, Albums, Podcasts)
  
  
• Art covers are now shown in the sidebar
  
  
• Compact library layout (no art covers) is available as an option in Settings to increase content density
  
  
• Dedicated + (plus) button to create Playlists and Playlist Folders
  
  
• Flexible Sizing: A collapsed library view (with only art covers) to maximize the browsing area, a regular width view, and an expanded view for more focused library management and curation. (you can also drag to customize the size)
  
  
• In the expanded library view, you have options for list view, compact view, and a grid view. The list and compact views show you more details in 2 columns, Date Added and Last Played, and the grid view allows you to see larger art covers.
  
  
• Playlist Folders can still be expanded into the sidebar in a tree view, and now when you click on them, the sidebar only shows the Playlist Folder and what's inside for a more focused view.
  
  
• Menu option to move a playlist to a folder (with search)

Note: The Your Library sidebar experience will be the same for the most part in the Web Player. However, the Web Player does not support all of the features found in the desktop app. To be able to use all of the features, you can download the desktop app right here.

Tips to get started:

If you need a familiar experience to help you get started with the new Your Library sidebar, here's how to get it as close as possible to the old sidebar that previously only showed playlists:

• In the left "Your Library" sidebar, click on the "Playlists" filter at the top.

• Then, in the drop down menu select "Custom Order" under "Sort by". You will then see your previous playlist order and be able to move your playlists and folders like before.

• Your currently chosen filters and sort options will be remembered across restarts of the desktop app.

• If you would like to only see text in the Your Library sidebar (no art covers), go to the drop down menu and at the bottom of the menu click on "Compact" under "View as".

• Flexible Sizing: You can drag the Your Library sidebar to different sizes. Fully expand the sidebar by clicking the arrow button at the top, and fully collapse the sidebar by clicking on the "Your Library" heading to see only art covers.

• At the top, you can scroll through the different filters with your mouse scroll wheel for faster navigation when the sidebar is set to a smaller size. 

Walkthrough of the basics:

Sidebar List:

You can now see your entire collection and all of the content types (not just playlists) in the sidebar list. At the top, click on the filters to filter the content you want to see, and click on the drop down menu to change the sort order or view of the list. To create a new Playlist or Playlist Folder, click on the + (plus) button at the top right corner of the sidebar. To search through your collection, click on the search button.

Filter Options:

At the top, click on the filters to filter the content you want to see. You can scroll through the different filters with your mouse scroll wheel for faster navigation when the sidebar is set to a smaller size. 

To remove the filter, click on the X or the currently selected filter and then choose another filter to see another type of content. Having no filter selected will show all types of content mixed in the list.

• Playlists
• Artists
• Albums
• Podcasts & Shows
• These can be combined with other filters: By you, By Spotify, Downloaded

Sort Options:

At the top, click on the drop down menu to change the sort order of the list under "Sort by".

• Recents
• Recently Added
• Alphabetical
• Creator

When the "Playlists" filter is selected, you have the option to see your playlists in your own custom order.

• Custom Order

When the "Podcasts & Shows" filter is selected, you have the following option:

• Recently Updated

View Options:

At the top, click on the drop down menu to change the view of the list under "View as".

• Compact (view text only without art covers)
• List
• Grid (bigger art covers)

Flexible Sizing:

You can hover over and click on the right edge of the sidebar to drag it to your preferred width. You can also fully expand the sidebar by clicking the arrow button at the top, and fully collapse the sidebar by clicking on the "Your Library" heading to see only art covers.

In the expanded library view, you have options for list view, compact view, and a grid view. The list and compact views show you more details in 2 columns, Date Added and Last Played, and the grid view allows you to see larger art covers.

FAQ:

This section will answer your frequently asked questions and will be updated with the latest answers.

Related help articles on the support website:

• Your Library   • Sort and filter   • Keyboard Shortcuts

Can I view the Your Library page in the main browsing area like before?

• Unfortunately, the old Your Library page in the main browsing area is being discontinued with the release of the new Your Library sidebar. You can adjust the size of the Your Library sidebar to be bigger and you can also enable the "grid view" if you would like to see bigger art covers.

How do I see only my playlists in the sidebar like I used to be able to, I can't drag and move my playlists or folders anymore?

• In the left "Your Library" sidebar, click on the "Playlists" filter at the top.

  
  Then, in the sort options drop down menu select "Custom Order". You will then see your previous playlist order and be able to move your playlists and folders like before.

  
  Your currently chosen filters and sort options will be remembered across restarts of the desktop app.

I don't want to see art cover images in the sidebar, how do I turn them off?

• If you would like to only see text in the Your Library sidebar (no art covers), go to the drop down menu and at the bottom of the menu click on "Compact" under "View as".
  
  

How do I get the album art to expand in the bottom left corner like before? When I try to expand the album art, it opens the Now Playing View sidebar to the right.

• Unfortunately, that is no longer possible. When you expand the album art in the bottom left corner of the app, it will no longer hover over the Your Library sidebar. Instead, the new right sidebar will open up. You can resize the Now Playing View sidebar to your preferred size.
  
  

  You can read more information about this by going here.

How do I play or shuffle play a Playlist Folder now? (I don't see dedicated pages with play / shuffle options anymore)

• Right click on a Playlist Folder and select the "Play" option. To shuffle play, make sure to turn on the shuffle mode first before selecting the "Play" option in the right click menu.

How do I get to my Local Files now?

• In the left "Your Library" sidebar, click on the "Playlists" filter at the top.

  
  Then, in the sort drop down select "Custom Order".
  
  The "Local Files" playlist will be near the top of the list under your pinned items (if any).

Feedback:

Where can I give my feedback about the new Your Library sidebar in the desktop app?

• We welcome your feedback about this change. The best way to share your feedback is to comment here in this thread.

[QKaseman]

The new desktop redesign is, in a word @#*$.

Provide an opt-opt and you'll get really valuable information around how many people agree (or don't, maybe I'm in the minority). Not that you will, because a bad customer experience isn't something you care about, you just want to push sponsored albums, concerns near you, podcasts, audiobooks, and social media-esque things that no one but you and your bosses want.

Shockingly, what customers want is what they paid for which is the ability to listen to music easily which every update and change makes harder and harder to the point where I, at least, and struggling to justify paying for Spotify vs competitors.

I moved from Google Play Music to Spotify when they did similar stuff around pushing YouTube videos and all that **bleep** and I'm starting to evaluate alternatives because this has been a consistent decline in usability for the only reason I pay (to listen to music and music playlists, I will never use spotify for concerts, audiobooks, or podcasts because apps/services dedicated for a purpose always work better for that purpose than the haphazard mishmash of **bleep** y'all are pushing).

[yhhor]

This new UI is just simply horrible. I have hundreds of saved albums, and now I'm relegated to this tiny space on the sidebar in order to go through them one by one, which is completely user-unfriendly. Don't fix something that is not broken. Bring back the old library UI, or at least give us the option to toggle it back.

[Inudesu]

If ever there was a concept that the Spotify developers should be thinking about, it's the Trust Thermocline. Thanks for sharing that.

[ymmv99]

I googled the Trust Thermocline too. It describes to a tee what Spotify is doing with these UI "improvements" for Windows users. There's continuous grumbling on these boards about the desktop version getting worse with each new version, but most people seem to stay despite their grumbling. But the trust in Spotiy to fix things is eroding fast. A single drop can make the water in the bucket flow over. And then those seemingly loyal paying customers are gone, never to return.

[HugoParis]

The only rationale reason I can think of is that Higher executives don't care about Desktop usage. They let install an organisation where no responsible designer is in charge for it and the one who had to work on the design has mostly a mobile experience and/or priorities and would not bother to even have a user focus group review it. Plus maybe some "clever" development decisions where you mutualize one platform development environment and push it to every terminal.

They have a captive customer base and don't think they have to cater after the need of their old customers.

I was a power user of iTunes, with tens of scripts, ten of thousands of tunes, and I ditched it when Apple did the same kind of error. 

[HugoParis]

Thank you to make me aware of this concept. I worked in innovation for years and did not know it. It's quite relevant.  

[HugoParis]

It begins like this : 

They offer new services, like podcasts, and you don't even bother to check it, because you don't trust them to have made their due diligence.

You have a family plan , then your kids want to move and you let them go because you have lost emotional attachment.

You don't try to convince anymore people around you that Spotify is better, even if you still think so.

Then you look after the solutions of competitors

Then you go. Without even a warning after 10 years of  customership. 

[SIX1000]

This so much!

[kennyproc]

Many mice have scroll wheels that can be tilted left and right, activating the forward and back buttons for the currently highlighted window. Spotify currently supports this feature, with a forward and back button in the top left of the main view. This is a fantastic feature and I use it all the time.

Spotify recently released a new feature on desktop allowing library browsing within the left sidebar. This is great, except it doesn't support back functionality.

I want it so that when you click into a playlist folder on the siderbar, pressing the back button while hovering over the sidebar will activate the "Go back" button. Current functionality just goes back on the main screen, which interrupts the browsing experience Spotify is trying to cultivate on the sidebar

[pauloctane]

Another easily usable program ruined for the sake of a UI update that nobody asked for or needed. I think it's time to start looking at my other options for music streaming.

[acideiffel]

You don't always have to reinvent the wheel! 😅
I have already tried a lot of players, but always returned to the same player. Nobody could offer me as I needed it. 😮
I like a lot of Spotify! But the UI is a disaster!
And please make a nice big cover view (on/off).
A few skins would also be nice...
But what do I talk about. ^^

 😜

[TossedObject]

Longtime Spotify premium subscriber (7+ years) with hundreds of playlists that used to be in a specific order. You nuked my custom order and there doesn't appear to be any way to get it back. I'm not going to spend hours and hours reorganizing my playlists. I keep trying to use the app with this new interface, but it's just unusable. It has upset me enough that I searched for the support forums, created a user, and came here to complain. I honestly cannot believe this got rolled out. It's absolutely terrible. I can't use it and have to find a new client and/or service to use because I need to listen to music and the Spotify client cannot be used. Wow.

[TossedObject]

I am following through on what I said. I just cancelled my account (when it renews). I have receipts going back to 2015. That's more than 7 years sending my money to you because nobody else was better. Why did you have to make the client so terrible?!? I'm still dumbfounded that this happened.

[kidnamedjosh]

Absolutely wild how much Spotify REFUSES to listen to their consumers. They clearly didn't learn from the desktop app's last major update: WE USE THE DESKTOP APP BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT TO USE THE MOBILE APP. 

Stop trying to unify both apps. The desktop app is now disastrously clunky, visually hideous, and ineffective. With each update the platform has gradually lost its simplicity and it's more than infuriating at this point. Roll back the update NOW!

[samputra]

Was about to cancel my premium but I realized I had paid for a yearly subscription.

Went to Settings, Library, and used the compact library layout.

Clicked on the playlist in the sidebar and discovered that the custom order option was available (with a lil extra).

It was quite a chore, but yeah I'm keeping this Spotify service for now.

But, if you developers ever try to interfere with users' ability to customize to their own tastes or to create custom orders, I will switch to Tidal or, God forbid, Apple Music (Tis coming an Android user, mind you🤣)

[garyglas]

This does not improve usability. What's better about this?

[tropp_rett]

Plan

Premium

Country

Norway

Device

Lenovo laptop

Operating System

Windows 11 22H2 22621.1555

My Question or Issue

The desktop app resizes after being minimized. Seems to be something that has happened in a recent update. See screenshots of before and after I have minimized the app.

[arte_nm]

Wow Spotify - You did it again. You messed up one last thing that was good about your desktop app. I recently made few folders, and wanted to have them listed in my order, now I can only order 4 top ones - what sort of brain-dead idea is that.
Then in default sort it shows everything I listened instead of my playlists. And if a playlist belongs to a folder, its being put up on the list anyway.
It is baffling how do you come up with stuff like this. You give us more and more reason to hate you because the general thought is that you're too big to fail now. Can you be more subtle about showing your customers how little you thing of them and all the feedback you get here?

[Patryk84]

I found issues with interface: [latest
1.2.9.743.g85d9593d desktop app version on latest windows 11]

New desktop app on windows is using more system resources  and work significantly slower up to temporary "almost freeze" on low end devices (ie with 8gb ram).

I think it could use at least a temporary rollback of some features or hotfix [I mean this is NOT about the FULL ROLLBACK as mentioned in pt 6] and undergo comprehensive review and code rewrite or usage of more efficient compiler as i wouldn't push such version to the production environmnent..

Other issues:

1) everything is very big and sparse for me and bigger than in older version. This is troublesome on smaller screens (i mean here macbook air with windows, don't remember resolution but it is like 1440px?) (and on fhd 1080p screen). It would be great if i could opt out of redesign or at least switch library to have smaller more dense icons and texts as it is almost unusable on smaller screens.
2) the library bar could use a redesign or have smaller icons and spacing (i mean there are options to switch library to compact mode but i would love to have something between or to set size with ctrl+/ctrl- but it is influencing all interface elements.
3) interface became less intuitive and much harder to read for me and i would love to join ux/ui tests as a subject due to some disabilities.
4) everything is too big and much harder to find (for example i couldn't find preferences in navigation so i entered through shortcut.

[Hencraft]

Plan - Free/Premium

Country - UK

Device - Windows 11, desktop app

Found a huge issue with the new UI on the desktop app. There doesn't seem to be any way of moving a playlist folder out of a folder it's already in.

Accidentally moved a folder into another one and have tried everything I can think of to move it back out. Only way I can think of now is to just create a new folder in its original location and move everything across.

Couple other little issues/feedback:

 - Using the back button on a mouse doesn't go back in the new library, makes it so much slower to use. Pressing back when using the library sidebar will just go back on the main part on the right.

 - Filtering the library is a very inefficient way to navigate a spotify library, giving the user a few large buttons to see their Playlists/Albums/Artists would be way better and quicker than trying to scroll along and find the right filter.

 - New UI on desktop feels like its just a port from a phone rather than a desktop app, just crushing the library which is the most used part of spotify into a sidebar and wasting the rest of the screen is incredibly user unfriendly