Using the Library in Windows Media Player
Add digital media files to your library, save ratings and media information for your songs, and create playlists in Windows Media Player.
Answers refer to Windows Media Player 10, unless otherwise noted.
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How do I add digital media on my computer to the library?
You can use Windows Media Player to search all of the folders on your computer that might have digital media files (either music or video) in them. If you are not sure where the music and video files are stored on your computer, you can specify search settings and update your library immediately. Or you can specify exactly where your digital media folders are, so the Player can update the library automatically whenever you add new music or video files to any of your media folders in the future.
Notice that there is a Search box in the library, but it searches only your existing library entries. It doesn't search for new files on your computer that are not yet in the library.
To search for new media files on your computer that are not yet in the library
1. | In Windows Media Player, on the Tools menu, click Search for Media Files. The Add to Library by Searching Computer dialog box opens. (You can also press F3 to open the dialog box.) |
2. | In the Search options area, in the Search on text box, click the drop-down arrow, and then click Local drives, minus program folders. This will make the Player search all the folders on all your local disks, except folders that contain your operating system, programs, temporary Internet files, hidden files, and Recycle Bin. |
3. | Click the Search button. |
4. | When the Progress bar indicates that the search is complete, click the Close button. |
Any new digital media files on your computer that are not listed in your library are added to the library. If there are new media files that were added by another user of your computer with a different user account, those files might not be found or added to the library unless they are in shared folders. If they are added, and they are protected files, you won't be able to play them unless you have licenses for them.
To specify where your digital media folders are, so the Player can update the Library automatically
1. | In Windows Media Player, on the Tools menu, click Options. |
2. | On the Library tab, click the Monitor Folders button. |
3. | In the Monitor Folders dialog box, click the Add button, and then select any additional folders that you want the Player to monitor. |
The new files in the selected folders will usually appear in the library quickly, but it might take longer if your computer is busy doing other tasks.
NoteTo be sure that neither process finds sound effects and adds them to your library as if they were music, see the question, "How can I prevent Windows Media Player from adding small audio files to my library?" in the Media Advice archive. For more information about adding content to your library, see Organize Your Digital Media Collection.
How do I save the user ratings for my songs?
You can ensure that the user ratings that you create for your songs are saved by selecting the option to Maintain my star ratings as global ratings in the media files in Windows Media Player.
To save user ratings
1. | In Windows Media Player, on the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Library tab. |
2. | Select the Maintain my star ratings as global ratings in the media files check box. When this check box is selected, the user ratings for your songs are saved in your media files rather than in your library database file. This process occurs in the background, so it may take some time before your ratings are saved to all of your media files. The next step in this procedure forces the Player to save ratings (and any changes that you have made to other media information) to your files immediately. |
3. | On the Tools menu, click Process media information now. |
How do I save the media information that I updated for my songs?
If you have files in your library that have missing or incorrect media information, you can add or edit media information to the files manually. For more information, see Add or Edit Media Information.
When you update media information for your digital media files, the information is added to the files after a period of time, which varies depending upon how many changes you have made and whether the Player is performing any processor-intensive actions. To force the Player to update the file immediately, do the following:
| • | In Windows Media Player, on the Tools menu, click Process Media Information Now. |
If you plan to burn your music files to a data CD, it is a good idea to use the Process Media Information Now command before you start to burn the CD. This will ensure that the latest media information changes are included in the files that get burned to the data CD.
How do I create a playlist?
To learn how to create a playlist, see Make a Music Mix by Creating a Playlist.
How do I create an auto playlist?
To learn how to create an auto playlist, see Let the Player Make a Mix for You with an Auto Playlist.
How can I add a song to an auto playlist?
The easiest way to ensure that a specific song is included in an auto playlist is to add a user rating of 4 or 5 stars to the song so that it is added to the "Favorites -- 4 and 5 star rated" auto playlist.
To create a user rating for a song
1. | In Windows Media Player, click the Library tab. |
2. | Right-click the song that you want to rate, point to Rate, and then click either 4 Stars or 5 Stars. |
The empty stars will change to filled stars to indicate that the rating has changed from an auto rating to your user rating.
You can also create a new auto playlist so that the Player can find, organize, and play just the music that you want to listen to, according to criteria that you set. For more information, see Let the Player Make a Mix for You with an Auto Playlist.
How can I add video files to an auto playlist?
To create an auto playlist that contains video files, first make sure that the video files are added to the All Video category in your library. For more information, see Organize Your Digital Media Collection.
To create an auto playlist for video
1. | In Windows Media Player, click Library. | ||||
2. | In the Contents pane, right-click Auto Playlists, and then click New. | ||||
3. | In the New Auto Playlist dialog box, under Create an auto playlist that includes the following, click Music in my library, and then click the Remove button. | ||||
4. | Under Create an auto playlist that includes the following, click <Click here to add criteria>, and then select Video in my library. | ||||
5. | Under Video in my library, click <Click here to add criteria>, and then select File Type. | ||||
6. | For File type Contains <click to set>, do the following:
| ||||
7. | If necessary, repeat steps 5 and 6 to add another video file type. | ||||
8. | In the Auto Playlist name box, type a name for your new auto playlist, for example, Favorites -- Video. | ||||
9. | Click the OK button. |
NoteThis procedure shows how to add all files formatted as one (or more) video file type. Under Video in my library, you can click <Click here to add criteria>, and select different criteria so that a subset of the video files in your library is added to the auto playlist. For example, you can select the criteria that only video files with a user rating of at least 4 stars be added to the auto playlist. You should experiment with the available criteria to create the auto playlist that you want. For more information about creating auto playlists, see see Let the Player Make a Mix for You with an Auto Playlist.
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.