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.

[saturninesoul]

Jesus, now the cover is in a third column. Whyyyyyyy? Why is everything getting more cluttered, separated, confusing with every update?

[Piotrek]

I really hate new right bar. It is completely useless. I simply want to have big album cover in lower left corner because this is where title of song is. Currently you are duplicating album cover which is a joke. 1 mini cover is in lower left and 2nd big cover is in top right. WHY?

I only use new bar to look at covers because except for this it is useless. It does not display text, and I already know which band I am listening to so I do not need "backstory" for every band played. I also do not care about products or concerts - and if I wanted to care I could always enable concert notifications or manually check band page. Why force me to do anything?

"Next in queue" could be nice feature but you could move it right next to skip/repeat buttons on bottom of UI. Right now it is too big and has button for opening queue - which already has button!

It seems like this bar is one huge repetition of things that are already present hence it is completely useless. I hope this is not harbinger of even worse ui changes where you remove song from bottom left, remove queue button and move all controls to this ugly bar.

I would also like to point out that left bar has minimum width which I do not like. I would like to have it on half of current width but I cannot do it - when I try you force me to use covers only mode without text. WHY IF i HAVE SO MUCH SPACE LEFT?!

[iam_nalin]

Thanks for the detailed update

[Jayzn]

As I do not like the recent update but there are no requests allowed for roll backs, I am suggesting, the new „now playing“ should a bit customizable and lets us move the album cover to the bottom right, or it does that by default.

The album cover in the bottom left was nice, and on a big screen, looking up to the top right is a bit annoying to me. 

[stylekilla]

Recently you moved the library from the main widget position to the left sidebar (Desktop app). I find this really jarring and hard/annoying to use.

It was much simpler when it was just my playlists on the left (a shorter list, better in a smaller space), and I could search or browse my library in the main area on the right (a much larger list that requires a lot more space).

Now sure, I can expand the left sidebar so it takes up 60% of the window real estate, but then it stretches out the smaller widgets (Home, Search) that are only designed to occupy a small space. Further, I now have two panels of album art squares and things look incredibly messy.

I'm all for innovation, but if it ain't broke... and you say you did it to improve search functionality? I can't see how changing the position of a widget improves search functionality. Take what you have developed (under the hood changes and all) and move the widget to the main area and problem solved. 

On the phone app you get 1 widget at a time, so it's less of an issue.

[bruh-moment]

I WANT TO SEE MY DAMN ALBUM ART EXPANDED AAANNNNDDDD FRIEND ACTIVITY. I DO NOT NEED TO SEE FCKING TOUR DATES OR THE ARTIST DESCRIPTION. IF I WANTED TO SEE EITHER OF THOSE I WOULD CLICK ON THE ARTIST / USE THE NOTIFICATION SETTING FOR TOUR ANNOUNCEMENTS THAT SPOTIFY ALREADY HAS. EVERYTIME I CLOSE THIS DAMN NEW EXPANDED VIEW, I HAVE TO RE-OPEN MY FRIEND ACTIVITY. WHAT ARE Y'ALL SMOKING THAT MAKES YOU NEED TO CHANGE UI EVERY MONTH. WHY CAN'T WE CUSTOMISE IT. MY DESKTOP IS NOT A PHONE STOP DESIGNING IT LIKE SO FOR CHRISTS SAKE.

[saturninesoul]

I feel you. This stupid desktop app ist just frustrating.

[saturninesoul]

Instead of seeing the album cover of the current playing album once but as large as I want, I now see it three times in three different sizes and columns. I just can't anymore....

[vaajy]

New app version made on album pages album art clickable. It makes it bigger at the center of the app.

I mean good feature, but please do fix bugs before adding anything new. There are so much UI design bugs, I can't but laugh.

I don't like new feature of artwork on the sidebar either.

It's kinda useless. I'd even remove that column with all this gig information. Artists I listen are not on gigs anyway.

Not in my country, to say the least. I don't have money to travel to Holland to listen them on the gig.

Little art at bottom is enough for me. To be honest even that new old "weird" artwork was better than this you did now.

[JamesNeal1]

I used to be able to see all songs and playlists in my library in a listing on the left side of the screen. But that listing no longer appears -- that I can find.

[TimGremalm]

Some users have a huge collection of folders to hold all playlists, to navigate these can be hard.
A new menu item would be great to find a playlist in the treeview on the left.

Platform: Desktop Application

[mistafu]

Very Nice after the last update or whatever the snyc between desktop and mobile just doesn't work anymore. It's either my mobile just don't seem to care if there's someone playing in the same network (3 or 4 weeks ago it worked).

Music is playing on desktop, mobile shows it for about 2 seconds and then the lower bar with artist - track name just vanishes and if press anything on mobile it just overrides the desktop app.

GOOD WORK SPOTIFY, not

[Annihlator]

Can reproduce, oddly enough works better when not connected through wi-fi, but very VERY frequently loses sync and closing/re-opening the app does practically nothing.

Even more stupid when this happens: a "track" will basically endlessly play, despite the interface obviously being aware the song already shouldve changed or position moved, by account of playtime having surpassed total track playtime.
And ofcourse, just like all other "great" pieces of modern software; no errors of any kind are given.

[thomasmills89]

Another pointless update with another unrequested change. Why did the setting 'Show the now-playing panel on click of play' reset to true? I never wanted such a pointless feature, let alone why would you enable such a bloat feature by default and reset users' choices thru minor updates.

After a decade of painless service, Spotify really is becoming the worst kind of tech company ignoring their users and continously reinventing the wheel. Still no option to revert this terrible Your library sidebar change. At least let me disable the pointless Playlists, Artists, Albums filter and default it to playlists like the sane option was for a long time. What has happened to the Spotify desktop product team?!?!?

[Piotrek]

I also forgot to add that we were enough with library view. Library had it all - your playlists, albums, songs. No need to force library view to playlist view just like on phones, even if this is supposed to be good move due to "unified experience".

In my opinion scaling is terrible too - you can zoom out UI but it does not increase space you are given. For example you still see almost same number of songs/playlists on your screen at once, but text is too smal to conveniently read. So text is becoming smaller (too small on 80% already) but whole UI is still filled with HUGE EMPTY SPACES. Why?! Why can't you leave standard text size but reduce spaces? Pretty much every mail service now gives users settings for "compact" mode where they see more mail on screen due to smaller empty spaces but you decided to go facebook way and fill whole screen with empty space.

It would also be great if you could allow for artist to be in separate column instead of placing artist under track title and then giving it empty space before album title (which in most cases is short). This makes 1 song details unnecessary thick.

Am I supposed to upgrade to 4k screen now to be able to use it like 1080p few years ago with lots of space to fill?!

Here is my proposition how playlist should look like in compacted or zoomed out view - to not force everyone into this view!

Sorry for my paint skills 😄

[catc25]

I just realized there's a feature to create folders for playlists, and i tried creating a few. when I was dragging a folder around, I accidentally put my folder into another one. I tried removing it but I cant. I can only drag songs out of a folder, not a folder out of a folder. The only way I can get rid of it is to delete my folder, which would result in all the playlists in there being unliked. 

[scmeilin]

While using Spotify's desktop version, I find new sidebar concept to be very frustrating. As much as I understand the intention behind providing this new addition, it often causes my friends' activity to disappear temporarily from view. This interruption disrupts the seamless flow of music discovery and connection with my friends' musical preferences. To enhance the user experience, I would like to suggest the option to disable the automatic appearance of the song details and tour information on the sidebar. By allowing users to customize their viewing preferences, such as always keeping the friends' activity displayed, Spotify can create a more personalized and uninterrupted listening experience.

[brownw]

Today: When you click 'your library' it defaults to 'recents'. You then need to click 'playlists' again to get them sorted in custom order. 

This is an extra step that didn't used to be necessary and is very annoying when working out etc.

After change: I can hold down the 'playlists' button and lock the display in my library, so it only ever takes one click to get to the option that I prefer. 

[vaajy]

Go to Preferences and remove auto-sidebar when playing music. You can get rid of it to the curbs.

[Piotrek]

"I can only drag songs out of a folder" - what do you mean? Just use left sidebar, grab folder and move it to "back" arrow. You will leave this folder with folders and go back to main playlists view.