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.

[liam_hutch]

With the new UI for the desktop app (everything has round corners now, kinda looks like the mobile app), navigating the library/playlists section is tedious.

The collapse/expand buttons having larger click boxes is great, but it's almost preferable that clicking the folder expands/collapses it, and not a specific button.

my mouse back/forwards buttons work in spotify, but only on the "content" window / big section of the screen. I wouldn't mind clicking a folder opening a new focused view of that folder if my mouse back/forwards buttons worked while my mouse was hovered over that section of the screen. Being able to go back out of a folder with a keybind would be super handy.

"Go back" feels really hidden despite how important it is, and clicking on the playlist name beside it prompting a rename feature seems like something the "..." buttons should cover instead. Navigating folders feels really tedious, and it makes trying to organize them really difficult, especially nesting them.

Why can I only pin 4 things? I pay for this service, and I can only ping 4 things? Seriously? I'd understand a limit of like 50, but 4?!???! Really?

[1121729064]

I have never hated anything so much in my life as this "new and improved" trainwreck of a desktop UI. I never was happier when this absolute garbage was gone after the last update, but restarting the desktop app just now returned my worst nightmare.

It is SLOW as **bleep**. Every click needs 3 seconds to respond. It is ugly and takes away some of the basic good features like a grid view on my playlist when clicking on a folder with added bonus of being able to read the top part of the playlist description. gone.

I want my old desktop back. How can I revert this absolutely worst update in the history of spotify? 

[RadekPilich]

Interesting that it is possible to use minimalistic layout.... but why is it not possible to turn off only the "subtitle" text and keep the art displays?

I really don't care about how many playlists is in under a given folder or who is the author of the playlist.

These texts DOUBLE the information amount presented to the user and make the library experience very cluttered and overwhelming.

PLEASE GIVE US A TOGGLE SWITCH TO TURN THE SUBTITLE TEXT ON AND OFF in the non-minimal library view.

[RadekPilich]

The "drill down" library idea is likely going to be very controversial.

I can see some benefits, and can probably get used to it if the navigation experience is improved.

There is one big UI issue though - the back /up navigation.

Clicking the "parent" folder in the header opens up the rename dialogue instead of going back to that level.

This is ridiculous and completely inconsistent with the rest of the library UI.

I don't want to aim a small back button to go back, I want to click the big header to go back.

Add renaming of the parent to the context menu of the header, the same way it's everywhere else in the library sidebar and change the clicking of the parent to the go back / up navigation.

And for the second issue - where is a keyboard shortcut to go up / back?

Having to move mouse constantly between list navigation / drill down and back button is absolutely horrible experience. Imagine you would have to use your file explorer like this. 

The backspace key should be immediately changed to back / up navigation instead of playlist delete function

(there is the delete key right next to it for that function, how come software designers don't understand that?)

[billybiggles]

I hate the new sidebar and would like the option of selecting a 'classic view' of Spotify. I hate this sidebar so much that if it's not gone in a week then I will be.

[RadekPilich]

Now when sorting is available in the library sidebar, there is an obviously missing feature of using sorting mechanism to sort playlists in a particular folder...

...and then making that sorting a custom property of that given folder, i.e. turning that semi-automatically-sorted list into custom sorted list that is remembered as a current custom sort order.

Therefore I propose, that there should be a "folder sort" context menu function, that would sort the items in an active folder by a-z, z-a, new-old, old-new.... making the resulting order a new custom order.

[RadekPilich]

Also this one.... guess what folder am I in?

I propose the parent folder (with its hamburger menu and back button) should occupy a it's own row and the other icons should have separate row.

[maxartist23]

Why on earth is it only displaying TEN playlists in YOUR PLAYLISTS > ALL PLAYLISTS view? I have several hundred, if not thousands of playlists from over the years.

(This is in the main section, not the sidebar.) This is not acceptable. Fix it!

[maxartist23]

Thanks, now I can see the list of shortcuts.
I remember before this update I was indeed able to edit in my iMac system preferences, the shortcut to go back/forward - which is the only one I use.
I just tried doing this and it is no longer is able to override Spotify's shortcuts. This is annoying!

[exordice]

When I click 'show all' on my playlists it only shows ten of them. I have like fifty of them. Where are the rest? I don't like clicking them from the side as I like to scroll through them all.

[Limeline]

For some reason, even despite having the filter "Creator" selected, I cannot change the order of my playlists from my "main page". As soon as I click into a playlist FOLDER, I can sort by "Custom Order" and move the playlists around like I used to. But not outside of the folders. What's up with that?

[albarnmaka]

The new sidebar was not designed with PC in mind. I wish there was at least a way to reorder the filters - I almost exclusively use the Playlists and Artists filters, and having to use the (god-awful) scroll bar every time I want to switch between them is incredibly annoying. That type of scroll bar works fine on a phone/tablet with a touch screen, but I am on PC. I don't like using the scroll wheel for this. I want to be able to click on the artists filter at a quick glance at my second screen without jumping through hoops. 

[RectangleSquare]

The new GUI is a total downgrade... It's overly cluttered and complicated, too many sub-menus and options of what one can do aren't obvious.

I didn't realise there was a custom sort option (because it's only available when selecting a filter option...) and so I put all my own playlists into a folder so I could sort them manually, only to then find that I could in fact custom sort my playlists. But now all my playlists are stuck in the folder because there's no option to lift them out of the folder (I've tried looking for right-click options on the playlists, and on the folder, the only available option is to delete the folder and everything inside which is years worth of playlists), I've tried dragging the playlists to the "back" array, nothing works. Please implement a way to move things out of folder without deleting them (and push it to the Linux version...).

[interstellaa]

The sidebar for me just clicks to three sizes. I can’t adjust how big i want it to be on the side at all by drag and stopping. Its been like that since the update, anyone else having this issue and will this glitch fix soon ??

[alexclay]

Yeah! Not working for me either. I just don't understand why changing something that was already fine. There is change of layout each and every time I open my Spotify windows app. Driving me crazy! he he!!! 

[alexclay]

Nah! This new layout is not working for me either. I just don't understand why changing something that was just fine! Every single time I open my Windows app I am shocked with a  new change of layout! It's driving me crazy! he he!!! 

[OneSadCookie]

I hate to say it, because I work in software, and I know how hard people worked to make a change this large, but... did anyone actually think this was going to be a better user experience? There have to be dozens of red flags at every stage of a multi-month project like this, all of which got bulldozed over by someone with too much power and too little accountability.

Why would I want 50% of my window's real estate permanently dedicated to something I'm not using? Why would I want my album view (which I want to be able to scan quickly) to use less than 40% of the available space? Why would I want the large "now playing" art to overlap the album gallery so I have no choice but to pop it in and out?

I honestly don't know how something like this gets shipped.

[caleidoscopic]

The latest desktop version makes me want to cry.

Worst of all, there is no alternative to creating folders with albums instead of converting them to lists.

[ccd0c]

I Completely agree with what most users are saying here. The new UI is near unusable. I would really be interested what drives these design decisions. Most of the recent updates made a good product worse. As soon as I find a valid alternative I will leave this service, as I cannot configure it to work a way I want.

The most frustrating thing about this is: I used to be able to use it the way I wanted, but features get constantly removed or changed in a way that makes the user experience worse.

Why would you not give your users options in how to use your product? This way the users who like the new sidebar can use it, those that don't can use the old design.

Much as @OneSadCookie I also work in software, as a developer. Forcing your users in one specific way to use the product they are paying for is a sure way to dissatisfied users as this thread among others proves time and again.

[QKaseman]

This UI is *terrible*. Even their pseudo-solution of "compact mode" is more compact than the new garbage view but less compact than it used to be and therefore less information dense and therefore harder for me to find what I'm looking for.

Also to people asking if they tested it, yes they did. It pushes more ads, more podcasts, more audiobooks, more "sponsored albums", etc... and that is what actually matters, not actual user opinions (because sadly, even though we pay for it, we aren't the customers Spotify will *ever* care about).