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.

[MattSuda]

Hey everyone,

Thank you for participating in this thread and sharing your feedback about the new Your Library experience on desktop.

Before anything else, we want to assure you that we're reviewing your comments and forwarding each individual user's feedback to the relevant team here at Spotify.

We'd also like to address some of the most common issues we've noticed being mentioned here:

My playlists are out of order after the update (mentioned by @Sylis_ca, @oauo, @sergioro, and others)

• As outlined in Matt's comment here, you should be able to see the original order by selecting Playlists - Custom Order in the filters section of your sidebar. Once this is selected, you can rearrange your playlists in whatever way you like.
• Please note that you can't reorder Liked Songs, Your Episodes or Local Files - they will always be at the top.
• You can "pin" items at the top of the list above these items though - this is currently limited to 4 items.

I'm unable to move playlists/folders out of a folder (pointed out by @RectangleSquare, @Hencraft, @thisisgok, and others)

• To move playlists and folders, they don't have to be sorted by Custom Order, but it may make it easier to understand where it's being moved to.
• You can open a folder using the arrow to the right of the folder. This can make it easier to drag something out into a new location.
• You can also drag a folder/playlist and hover over the sidebar back button/arrow (at top of Library) and this will update the visible structure, allowing you to place it in the desired position.

The Library sidebar has limited width

• We're happy to announce that after sharing your feedback, this was changed to make it wider.

Once again, thank you for sharing your constructive criticism and helping to make Spotify better!

[OverHaze]

How is Roons discovery compared to Spotify?

[nukefusion]

Roon's discovery is much better, at least I'm now discovering a lot more new stuff than I was with Spotify. Part of that is that I get recommendations from both Tidal and Roon in the form of Daily Mixes and discovery playlists, but also partly because Roon has much more metadata, so finding all the compositions of certain composers or which other bands they've played in is accessible right there from the song you're listening to. I've discovered a lot of new music that way in the last couple of weeks.

[ASabbour]

I've noticed that ever since the new library layout came out I've been minimising the "Now Playing" album art every time I expanded the library to give me space to see more of my library without it obstructing it, so it would be great if you made it so that it does that automatically whenever you expanded the library.

[BadUIisBad]

The new UI is bad. You guys should revert back to the previous version and go back to the drawing board if you want to make a change.

Or, you could just revert it back to the previous version and leave it alone. the new artists & everything-on-the-left in a long scroll list is complete trash. It is bad design. 

Plan

Premium

Country

USA

Device

Lenovo X1 & OnePlus 9

Operating System

MS 11 Pro & Android 13

[Aut0mata]

This has to be a joke, right? Clicking on "Library" collapses the sidebar instead of opening the library on the main area. They have become two separate areas. I literally can't see  the contents on my library in the right, only the sidebar.

Behaviour after just updating: Home and search buttons on the sidebar change the main area, but Clicking on library Collapses or expands the sidebar instead of opening the library on the right. The only way of seeing something is to click on the right pointing arrow to expand the sidebar, but you are still left with a useless right / main area.

Image 1: Behaviour after click on search
Image 2: Clicking on library leaves the main windows unnafected, the library is displayed in the sidebar instead.

It's like you enjoy seeing users suffer and are testing how much **bleep** we can endure before we cancel subscriptions and move to another platform.

[Paulgi]

What the **bleep** just happened to the windows desktop application? I can't even find my playlists. It's all trash everywhere now. I had more than 10 years of playlists super organized in folders by year, and now I can't even find those folders. It's all joined or something. A huge useless mess. This app was already the worst desktop app ever created, now it's even worse, it's just trash, it's not even a bad desktop app, it's just trash! How can I get rid of this idiotic trash and return to some more useful version? The funny thing is that my extremely organized playlists on Spotify were the only reason for me to keep paying the premium service, but Spotify just ruined it. They don't respect anything. Not even themselves.

Plan

Premium

Country

Portugal

Device

Aero 15

Operating System

Windows 10

My Question or Issue

Is there any alternative player for Spotify? This trash is impossible to use.

[saturninesoul]

Yep, I also can not fathom why the "Library"-button would not enlarge the library into the main window but instead makes the tiny library even smaller. It is just not logical....

[shadoweq]

this is absolutely **bleep** terrible. stop ruining your app, i'm begging you, or AT LEAST give us a way to go back to the old version of the UI, because i've been using this one since you forced it on me and i do NOT see myself getting used to it any time soon. it's horrendous, and looks like a half-hearted attempt at pushing a mobile UI to a desktop app to disastrous results.

[thomasmills89]

**bleep** case is unfortunately proving another example of a startup/tech company failing (after years of everything being mostly fine). Quit reinventing the wheel - or at least quit forcing us to use each new pointless iteration, it's 2023, these things really aren't that difficult 🤦‍♀️

[thomasmills89]

Thanks for mangling my reply, any negative words now equal curse words!? @spotifydoesntcare one month of this disaster and still no option to revert or a rollback. This is really unacceptable.

[lacqua0329]

Hello,

I am on a MacBook Pro using the desktop Spotify app.

Recently, since the new interface update the app is very slow to react to opening folders or playing tracks. I work as a music supervisor from Spotify so it's very time-consuming to wait to switch between playlists. This only happens on this one computer but not on my other computers.

Please help.

M

[honeymoo]

I have OCD and the new desktop Spotify layout stresses me out to no end. At least give us more pinned playlists and folders so I can drown out all these random artists in my sidebar. I don't want to have to go through and unlike every single one just to get a clean sidebar. This all just looks so messy and I hate it. 

[ege_ilicak]

Please roll back to the old UI. The new UI simply sucks. This new sidebar is terrible.

[Tomy_93]

I don't know why it got changed... the new Design is ok, but I like the old one more!

Actually I'm here because I wanted to cry for a "Custom Order" in the Playlist, now I had seen it's needed to click on "Playlist" first, ok ... no more "cry" needed. 🙂

Btw. if I double Click on the Playlist, it still start with the oldest song... I sorted new to old, but he don't care.

[BeardedGeek72]

"The new Your Library sidebar improves navigation"

No, this is false. It is absolutely horrid, and makes having a sorted and well collected selection of playlists impossible, since it does not respect the desktop paradigm of putting folders on top. I sort all my playlists in folders and subfolders and this is just throwing my whole system in a lake and telling me to go fish. I guess this is good for 15 year old tick tock kids, but for someone who want a logical overview of his music this is the worst UI change Spotify has ever made.

[BeardedGeek72]

The UI is obviously done by someone who do not understand basic UI and especially not basic Desktop UI parameters. This is even worse than Windows 8 that Microsoft ruined by forcing a Mobile UI on a desktop. This is, as you say, a mess. Almost no buttons on the sidebar does what they logically should, the worst offender being the Library button that should, as you say, show your library on the main area of the application. Heck as it is now the main area has become the sideshow on the application.

[argcargv]

aaaand we are back to old layout.

now playing: Katy Perry - Hot N Cold.

[Verse 1]
You change your mind like a girl changes clothes
Yeah, you PMS like a bit*h, I would know
And you overthink, always speak cryptically
I should know that you're no good for me

[saturninesoul]

Are we? I still have the horrible new layout.

[bubbinsmcgee]

Bruh these new updates suck ass, I can't just drag and drop playlists anymore, moving Spotify to another monitor causes the library and friends tabs to go to their maximum screen space and I can't order my playlist how I want. this app has been perfectly fine up until this year and now it's just more of a pain in the ass than it needed to be. 

[argcargv]

umm, wat de f?

As of this morning, Windows Store was updating Spotify app.

When I launched Spotify, I was so happy to see old Spotify layout.

After a Windows restart just this afternoon, now I have this new GUI again.

just, wat de _?