How To Add Folders To Libraries In Windows 7

Libraries in Windows 7 are collections of shortcuts to files and folders from different locations on your computer. (Check out our article: What Are Libraries In Windows 7?) Here is a brief tutorial on how to add or remove folders to a Windows 7 Library.

Adding a Folder from your Computer or External Hard Drive or USB Flash Drive:

1. Open Windows Explorer and navigate to the folder.

2. Right-click on the folder and point to ‘Include in library’.

3. Choose any of the existing libraries(Documents, Pictures, Music, Videos) by clicking on it. Or you could create a new library by clicking on ‘Create new library’ which will then show up as ‘New Folder’ under Libraries and has to be renamed by you.

That’s it . You have just added a folder and all it’s subfolders to a Library.

Note:

1. Folders present on external hard drives or USB flash drives are not accessible when the device is disconnected.

2. Folders present in removable media devices such as CDs or DVDs (including some USB Flash drives which do not appear in the Windows Explorer navigation pane) cannot be added to Libraries.

Including a network folder in a library:

In order to add a network folder to a library, the folder must be either indexed or available offline. Once it satisfies either of these conditions, you can add the folder in the same fashion described above, by right-clicking and selecting ‘Include in library’.

How To Remove A Folder From Library?

In case you want to exclude a folder from a library, simply right click on that folder and select and ‘Remove location from library’.

Note that removing a folder from a library will not delete the folder or it’s contents. It just removes the shortcut from the library.

Tip: How to Add/Delete Folders, Libraries to Favorites in Windows 7?