Libraries: How to add or remove a folder

You can include folders from different locations in a library to view and work with these folders from a single place. For example, if you keep some photos on an external hard drive or a shared folder on your network, you can include that folder in your Pictures library so that you can get all your pictures from your Pictures library.

File Explorer, showing the Pictures library with an extra folder added to it File Explorer, showing the Pictures library with three added folders

To learn more about what types of folders you can include in a library, see Libraries: Frequently asked questions. For more info about the public folders in libraries, also see Libraries: Frequently asked questions.

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To add a folder to a library

  1. If the folder is on an external hard drive, make sure the drive is connected to your PC and that you can open it.

  2. If you're viewing the New Library page in File Explorer, tap or click Include a folder, select the folder, and then tap or click Include folder. You're done. If you don't have the New Library page open, continue following these steps.

  3. Tap or click to open File Explorer.

  4. Expand the location to find the folder you want to add, and then select it. (For example, if you want to add a folder from a network, expand the network location and select the folder.)

  5. Tap or click the Home tab, tap or click Easy access, choose Include in library, and then select the library to which you want to add the folder.

    Including a folder in a libraryIncluding a folder in a library
Notes

Notes

  • If you don't see the Include in library option for a network folder, it means the folder isn't indexed. Follow the steps in the next section to add the folder to a library.

  • Folders on network-attached storage (NAS) devices can't be included in libraries.

To add a network folder that isn't indexed to a library

If your PC is running Windows 8 Pro or Windows 8 Enterprise, the easiest way to do this is to make the folder available offline, and then add the offline folder to a library by following the steps earlier in this topic. You're done.

If you don't want to make the folder available offline because you don't want to keep the folder contents on your PC, go to the PC where the network folder is located, and make sure the folder is in an indexed location. If it isn't, add the folder to the list of indexed locations or move the folder to an indexed location.

If neither of these options will work for you, follow these steps to add the folder to a library. Note that doing this will make searching, sorting, and filtering in the whole library slow. For best results, we recommend creating a new library for the network folder alone. To learn how to create a new library, see Libraries: Frequently asked questions

  1. Tap or click to open Computer.

  2. Create a folder on your drive for your network folders, for example c:\share.

  3. Create another folder within that folder, for example c:\share\music.

  4. Select the subfolder you just created, tap or click the Home tab, tap or click Easy access, choose Include in library, and then select the library to which you want to add the folder.

  5. Delete the folder.

  6. Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, and then tap Search.
    (If you're using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer down, and then click Search.)    .

  7. Enter cmd in the search box, and then tap or click Apps.

  8. Press and hold or right-click Command Prompt in the search results, and then tap or click Run as administrator.

  9. Enter mklink /d, and then enter the path of the folder you just deleted and the path of the network folder. For example, mklink /d c:\share\music \\server\music. This creates what is called a symbolic link.

To remove a folder from a library

If you don't need a folder in a library anymore, you can remove it from the library. When you remove a folder from a library, the folder and everything in it is still kept in its original location.

  1. Tap or click to open File Explorer.

  2. Select the library where you want to remove a folder.

  3. Tap or click the Library Tools tab, and then tap or click Manage library.

  4. In the dialog box that appears, select the folder you want to remove, tap or click Remove, and then tap or click OK.

    Removing a folder from the Pictures libraryRemoving a folder from the Pictures library
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