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.

[Hugopinpio]

Change it back you **bleep**, shitty interface is back my eyes are melting everytime I look at it it's HORRIBLE AAND WE'RE PAYING FOR THIS PIECE**bleep** UPDATE THAT'S AN INSULT !!!!

[Hugopinpio]

This update is the most stupid thing you could have done, revert it for **bleep** sake NO ONE LIKE IT WHY DON'T YOU ADRESS THE OBVIOUS PROBLEM THERE IS WITH THIS DISGRACE OF AN UPDATE ?! How can you be so incompetent at your jobs seriously, not the devs but the community managers. BRAINWOOOOORMS

[OverHaze]

Desktop and mobile are two completely different use cases. Bring a desktop app more inline with a mobile app just makes a worse desktop app. The new UI is compressing visual information like it's on a small mobile display. It isn't. Even on a smaller laptop the new UI is a terrible use of available real-estate. You have effectively taken two portrait phone UI elements and glued them to a central desktop UI.

Getting back to the main issue; viewing a large library in a vertically scrolling sidebar is a terrible experience on desktop. Spotify's desktop user experience is now worse than it's competitors.  You really need to address this.

[Ned2600]

wth is going on with the new update to the Desktop UI?!?!?

It's getting more horrible with each new update.
On a 1440P resolution display which is 27 inch, the album art is almost not visible at all anymore smh.....

Please change this back or atleast make a option to return to the old mode ASAP!!!:

[ABNT]

Over the years the album art has gotten smaller and lower in resolution. When I hit fullscreen, I want to see the art. That's the only thing I could possibly want to see. There are no other relevant visuals involved in the experience of listening to music, and now, I'm not even allowed to resize the art in the bottom left corner. Can anyone provide an actual reason for this change instead of just telling me it's "unfortunately not possible anymore"??

Misfortune implies that it was a matter of luck, as if it was out of your hands. This is not the case. None of this had to be changed. All you had to do was nothing and you would've done a better job. This is actual insanity.

[Chuck2389]

These updates make me sad and confused. ☹️

I'll reserve judgement until I get the new update, but this new fix doesn't sound good either! I've read almost all of these 37 pages of complaints. I don't recall a single person suggesting that the best fix would be to add more sidebars... I hope it's better in practice than it seems.

Why not have an AMA and get actual user opinions on this? Give us a few mock ups to vote on and explain why we do or don't like something. It's like we aren't being heard at all. I still have several months left on my annual plan, but it might be time for me to explore some of the other options after this.

[Benoit_]

I really dislike the new UI. I've been a long-term paying Spotify user, and for the last few months I've mainly been using a concurrent service (with a better UI). It's sad because I've been a hardcore Spotify supporter for a while.

Ideally: Please give a way to restore the old UI.

Alternatively, please fix:

  - Seeing "Daily Mix 1", "Daily Mix 2", etc on the saved playlist doesn't mean anything. Please show the summary of artists it contains on the sidebar view (as it's not possible to open a folder in the right-side panel and see the summary of the playlists anymore).

  - The back/forward navigation is really weird now there are two navigation panes. Clicking on a folder on the sidebar view opens it, then clicking on the mouse back button changes the view on the other pane rather than leaving the just-opened folder on the sidebar view. Very weird navigation.

Thanks 😕

[NDDJayasinghe]

Yeah! I agree!!!!!

[NDDJayasinghe]

The new UI sucks @Spotify!!!

[NDDJayasinghe]

We should have a option to switch between the New and Old UI

[marchone]

I create nested folders as a way of cataloging. When I click on a folder I expect to see a preview of the contents of that folder in the main window. Much like EVERY OS IN EXISTENCE. Why would you remove this to create a mobile experience for a desktop? Not all of us like mobile interfaces. I want to see the tiles of my playlists visually in the main window.

[marchone]

I feel spotify is losing the 'music lovers' audience and playing to plebs

[marchone]

and another thing... how am I labled a "casual listener"  I've been on spotify for  years and years. I clock up about 65,000 minutes a year... that makes me a casual....? 🙄

[Annihlator]

So nice, how OP suggests Spotify would value feedback, but does not appear to listen to it or respond to it in any noteworthy capacity.

Oh, but at least the mods do upvotes MattSuda's spam while not addressing the actual feedback.

Dishonisty at it's finest i suppose.

[bcurty32]

This update is awful. My music (Liked songs, playlists, liked albums and artists) should be at the center. It should not be in some side bar that I have to drag to the center to see the music I actually want to see.

Revert this update right now.

[gs357]

The new interface is absolutely awful, I wish Spotify would revert it back!

[kushagra8855]

This UI is lagging on my PC, the previous library worked fine. When I click on albums spotify stops working, maybe because I have thousands of albums and artists added to the library, but everything worked smoothly in the previous library.

[veturkemur]

This is the worst update in Spotify's history. It's making everything much more difficult. Whoever came up with this idea does not understand how we use Spotify. Awful, absolutely awful. No offence to those who designed it but it's a complete downgrade.

[Jethro__]

Bring back adjustable album covers, this now playing UI is awful. I don't want to read about an artist while I'm listening to music CONSTANTLY. If I want to read about the artist, I'll go to their profile. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, all of these changes are so unnecessary.

[Huothar]

Same here. Please insist on this post here.