How to Add Music Folders in Windows Media Player

Add a folder to your music library in the Windows Media Player app

To add music folders Windows Media Player uses, open the Windows Media Player app, click the Open file(s) button on the Home window, and pick Open folder from the dropdown list. You can also press Ctrl+Shift+O on your keyboard to open the folder selection window straight away and add your whole music collection at once.

This process takes a few moments.

First, open the Windows Media Player app.

Launch Windows Media Player, click the ‘Open file(s)‘ button on the Home window, and pick “Open folder” from the dropdown list.

Alternatively, the CTRL + SHIFT + O keyboard shortcuts work just as well.

When the File Explorer browser window appears, click the folder containing the music files you want to play.

Add folder to the Music library

Once the Media Player app is open, click the Music library button found on the left sidebar.

Next, click the "Add folder" button.

Navigate to and select the folder containing your music files, then click 'Add this folder to Music' to finalize the addition.

Add folder to music library from Play queue

To add a folder to play queue Windows Media Player uses, select the Play queue button on the left sidebar of the app. Click Add file(s) and choose Add folder to play queue from the dropdown options, then pick your music folder from the File Explorer window to queue up your tracks.

Click Add file(s) and choose "Add folder to play queue" from the available dropdown options.

Select the desired folder from the File Explorer browser window to bring it into Media Player.

Add a folder to the music library from the settings

To add a folder from settings Windows Media Player manages, click the Settings button on the left sidebar of the app. Select the Music library locations tile, click the Add folder button, and choose your target directory so the app can scan and index your music automatically.

Select the Music library locations tile, followed by the Add folder button.

Browse to the target directory, select the folder, and click the 'Add this folder to Music' button.

The app scans the directory and indexes your tracks into the library automatically. Playback can begin immediately after indexing finishes.

That completes the setup process.

Adding music folders to your library in Windows Media Player lets you access your favorite tracks without manual searching.

• Adding music folders to your library in Windows Media Player allows you to easily access and playback your favorite music files without manual searching.
• By adding a folder to the library, all music files are automatically indexed and included in the app's music library, simplifying the organization and management of your music collection.
• Access your entire music collection in one place by adding multiple music folders to the library.
• The various methods detailed in this post provide flexibility in adding folders to your music library, ensuring a seamless experience for organizing and playing your music in the Windows Media Player app on Windows 11.