Using Album Art in Windows Media Player
Learn how to view, add, and customize album art in Microsoft Windows Media Player.
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How can I view album art in the full-mode Player?
When music is playing, you can view album art by doing the following:
1. | Play the song, and then click Now Playing. |
2. | On the View menu, point to Visualizations, and then click Album Art. If the View menu is not visible, right-click the Windows Media Player title bar, point to View, point to Visualizations, and then click Album Art. |
Can I view album art in any way other than full-mode playback?
If you apply the Revert skin to the Player, when the song begins playing, the album art will appear briefly before the selected visualization is displayed. To apply the Revert skin, do the following:
1. | On the View menu, click Skin Chooser. |
2. | In the skins list, click Revert. A preview of the Revert skin appears. |
3. | Click the Apply Skin button. The Player switches to skin mode with the Revert skin applied. |
If you are using Windows Media Player 10, you can view album art in the Energy Bliss visualization. For more information, see the question, "How can I watch album art in visualizations?" in the Media Advice Archive.
How can I view album art in Windows Explorer?
In Windows Explorer, use the thumbnail view to view album art by doing the following:
1. | Browse to your My Music folder. |
2. | On the View menu, click Thumbnails. |
The Player downloaded the wrong album art. How can I fix this?
You may have files in your library that have the wrong album art. The correct information may be available in the Windows Media database but is not yet synchronized to your library. To search the online database:
1. | In Windows Media Player, click Library, right-click a file, and then click Find Album Info. |
2. | When the wrong album information is displayed, click the Search button or the Refine your search link, and then enter search parameters to search the Windows Media database for other possible matches. |
3. | When you find an exact match, click it to add the album art and other media information to your library. |
After you've found the correct album art and media information, it's a good idea to verify that it won't be overwritten later by the Player by doing the following:
1. | Right-click the Windows Media Player title bar, point to Tools, and then click Options. |
2. | Click the Library tab, and then verify that the default option Only add missing information is selected. This prevents the Player from inadvertently overwriting the correct media information you've just added with incorrect media information that might be in the online database. |
If the desired album art is not available in the Windows Media database, use the Advanced Tag Editor to add album art that you have saved to your computer (see the next question).
How can I replace missing album art?
Make sure you're connected to the Internet, and then in your library, right-click the album name, and click Find Album Info to search the Windows Media database.
If the album art you're looking for isn't available, use the Advanced Tag Editor to add album art that you previously saved to your computer by doing the following:
1. | In Windows Media Player, click Library, right-click a file, and then click Advanced Tag Editor. |
2. | In the Advanced Tag Editor, click the Pictures tab, click Add, and then browse to the picture that you would like to display as album art. |
3. | After selecting the picture, click Open to add the picture as album art. |
Can I create my own album art?
Absolutely! Use the Advanced Tag Editor to add album art that you have previously saved to your computer by doing the following:
1. | In Windows Media Player, click Library, right-click a file, and then click Advanced Tag Editor. |
2. | In the Advanced Tag Editor, click the Pictures tab, click Add, and then browse to the picture that you would like to display as album art. |
3. | After selecting the picture, click Open to add the picture as album art. |
Why am I asked to change my privacy settings when I try to add album art?
By default, when you rip a CD and are connected to the Internet, the Player is configured to automatically retrieve album art and other related media information. If you have changed your privacy settings, you might be prompted to change them back when you click the Find Album Info button. To change your privacy settings back to the default values, do the following:
1. | On the Tools menu, click Options. If the Tools menu is not visible, right-click the Windows Media Player title bar, and then click Options. |
2. | In the Options dialog box, click the Privacy tab, and then select the Update music files by retrieving media info from the Internet check box. |
If you don't find the answer to your question in this column, be sure to check the Archive. Media Advice is not an official Microsoft Support channel. If you need immediate help for an urgent problem, we recommend that you visit Microsoft Help and Support.