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.

[ianwarlord]

New UI is absolutely horrendous. Please give us an option to revert to the old interface style

[gazmx]

Here's a genuine bug report, to complement the (entirely justified) outpouring of grief in this thread.

Funnily enough, it's a bug which is caused by a previous controversial design decision...

Issue: When browsing the library in the compact view, with no filters applied, you cannot see the artist. At all.

Perhaps it's time to revisit the rationale behind removing the artist column?

[llekbebv]

Thanks. I hate it.

[GlacioD]

Is it a bug, or did Spotify just tip their hand in regards to how they feel about the artists that create the content that churns their monetary engine?

Sincerely,
The Guy Who Makes $0.004 per stream so that Joe Rogan can make $200,000,000 to hawk supplements and conspiracy theories.

[Soggy-Ox]

New design is cluttered and less intuitive. What was wrong with the previous one?... Why do we have to keep updating the look of things to be less functional?
Desktop isn't mobile. Old design was better.

[1121729064]

So Spotify is absolutely set on making the desktop experience with their app as unpleasant as humanly possible.

How is it even possible to release a version where expanding and collapsing folders with no more than 20 playlists is taking 10 seconds to react?!

Let alone the fact that folders and playlist just disappear and reappear.

The terrible UI and UX not to mention. There is absolutely no working with playlists and folders anymore.

And feedback from Spotify? NOTHING. 

[xkx]

This sh!tty layout can't remember width of sidebar and width of sidebar with friends activity. Every time when my monitor turns on it resets spotify layout.

[PW_]

In the new desktop version, the album artwork, even when expanded, is smaller than it used to be. And it's placement over the new playlist display is weird. 

I'd move it over to the right, have it sit over top of the friend feed, and then make it expandable to be the entire size of the spotify app. I know I put in a lot of time into my album artwork, so I feel in this case, bigger is better!

[surfacenoisefm]

So I see you've forced your users to upgrade to the latest version because of the usual spiel about security.

Spotify holds its paying users hostage because of one simple fact.

You do NOT respect how we want to view our playlists. You refuse to.

Here is what I want, as someone who deals with hundreds of playlists and thousands of songs as a curator and DJ.

Song Title - Artist - Album.

This is how I want my playlists displayed. I do NOT want the artist name under the song in some sort of goofy iOS jukebox sort of view. I want organized, clear columns.

Again:

Song Title - Artist - Album

It isn't difficult. It isn't a security risk. It's a basic way logical people like viewing lists.

I don't care about the column that shows the date I added it. I don't need that information. Remove it. Give me the option to remove it like the "views" menu on Apple OS desktops, let me select the columns I want.

Or just go back to the basic three and stop "upgrading" things that don't need upgrading and visually confuse your users.

[DanielWiersma]

I think many people agree that this layout isn't working for them. I also am confused all the time (I commented my frustration before), and I press the wrong buttons because they feel more natural to me. Now some time has passed I think I do have a couple of suggestions:

1. I'd love to see Liked Song in the top underneath Home and Search. It is a playlist I often consult and I always lose it.
2. I also think the 'Collapse Your Library' button (the three vertical CDs or vinyls) should not collapse the library (why do you want that? Dragging the library width is good enough) but a return button to the main view of the Library.
3. I would like the option to turn off the suggested artists and playlists underneath your own folders and playlists, because it makes it so cluttered. I'd like it clean so I can navigate to my playlists faster.
4. I like to see the artwork of the album, but now when I expand it, it looks like a glitch. I think that is because it isn't filling up the width of the Library sidebar and covers the playlists and folders underneath.
5. When in a folder, you see two buttons to filter playlists 'By You' and 'By Spotify'. I think those are unnecessary, why do you need to filter those? I'd remove those to make the UI cleaner.
6. Opening a folder moves you inside that folder. It would be nice that a drop-down menu would open. This way you can still see the different layers of folder structures and quickly navigate.

I'm sure there is a lot of thought that goes into designing a UI and there are possibly a lot of changes that benefit the experience. However, I think there are elements in this new design that make the use of Spotify less intuitive and ruins it for many. It is of course difficult to satisfy everybody, but I do think some adjustments in the UI can make it work for a lot more people.

[brietman]

I don't completely dislike the sidebar. It's common to have some (customizable) sidebar for a musicplayer, looking at MusicBee, Winamp, MediaMonkey and Windows Media Player. The old one was actually crappy. It only showed playlists and putting them in folders was a nightmare. But.... why completely removing the normal album/artist/playlist view?

Spotify isn't listening to users I guess? We still don't have a clear answer why this function https://community.spotify.com/t5/Live-Ideas/Your-Library-Order-sort-albums-by-release-date-year/idi-... isn't implemented almost 10 years after a lot people are wanting this (basic feature).

[thisisgok]

Hey Ottoguy, what version did you revert to? I've tried versions from earlier this year and the version that the dude in the youtube vid used. I cannot log int after the install  - I'm a premium user....

[P0WERSLAVE]

Yep, I didn't even know there WAS a forum until this crazy new update.

[monsieurgerard]

What's the point of reading these instructions? A user interface ought to be self-explanatory. The old UI was self-explanatory. The new one, frankly, is not. It looks like a piece of unintuitive garbage produced by the new UX design intern. Please change it back. Moreover, Spotify should be aware that fundamental changes like this one are the primary reasons for users to churn and switch to competing streaming services.

[dhsharp1983]

Sorry but I'm really not a fan of this! This new library sidebar fundamentally cramps the ability to "favourite" music and then find it again later. This is a key reason many people use Spotify. Don't forget the fundamentals guys!! 

[mooseyfate]

Bring back the Tree view, or at least provide an option to use the old tree view.  

I can almost accept that on a mobile device, tapping on a folder to go deeper nearly makes sense.  On a desktop or in the web app, however, the nested folder view is frustrating and obtuse.  I want to be able to switch between folders more easily.  The 'up a folder level' button is not intuitively placed or easily accessible. 

The recent push for a compact view suggests that this is the new paradigm for library navigation, and it's so far in the wrong direction that I've started looking at other music services.  Library (and collab playlists) has been the killer feature that's kept me with Spotify all this time.  But the change in UX to the library view is so counter-intuitive and un-usable to me that I'm finding myself wishing for a better platform.

Reading through the guide, I can almost understand the reasoning for wanting to make the change.  But it also clearly sends the message that I am not the target audience any longer. 

I am deeply disappointed.

[ZEUSGMJ]

Plan

Premium

Country

India

Device

Desktop

Operating System

Windows 10, Version 22H2

Issue

When resizing Spotify to its minimum size, I noticed that the song title and the artist field are going out of bounds/clipped on the left side.

 

[ManMachine]

Not sure if this was posted clearly enough, but this thread is the official continuation of the closed thread here: https://community.spotify.com/t5/Community-Blog/The-New-Desktop-App/bc-p/5575863#M22851

[Reecekip]

Adding my voice to this, new library sidebar is a huge pain. Primarily a desktop user and I used to live in my library primarily as my main landing page and navigation to my music. I'm now having to navigate through all of my playlists using one small panel instead of the nice large graphical UI I was used to. Please give us an option to opt back in to an expanded library experience on desktop or do some kind of usability testing for users with large libraries of playlists on desktop. Very disappointing change, a big step back. 

[jjclemo]

Anyway to roll back update, because desktop is an awful experience now.

Nothing has made we look for alternates more, I know its a massive company and couple complaints here and there mean nothing, but give me a option in the settings for a legacy layout. Everyone I know who also uses spotify think it looks terrible.