Organizing Your Media Files

Windows Media Player functions not only as a media player, but also as a media manager. You can use WMP's Library feature to organize all the digital media files on your computer as well as links to other digital content on the Internet.

Note that the Library is different from WMP's playlists. The Library contains all your media files, whereas playlists contain lists of files that you personally create. (Thinking of it one way, playlists are subsets of the larger Library.)

You view and manage your files from WMP's Library screen, shown in Figure 14.11. Click the Library tab to display this screen.

Figure 14.11. Manage your digital media files from WMP's Library.

Searching for Media Files

To add files to your Library, you first have to find them. One of the first places to look for files is on your PC's hard disk.

To search for media files on your computer, select Tools, Search for Media Files. When the Search for Media Files dialog box appears, select which drives and folders you want to search, then click the Search button. WMP will now begin the search, and add any digital media files it finds to either the All Audio or All Clips (for video files) categories.

If you add too many files to your Library, you may need to search the Library itself for specific files. To do this, use the search box at the top of the Library screen; enter your search criteria in the search box and click the Find Now button. The results of your search will be displayed in the Search Results playlist.

Adding Files to Your Library

You can add new files to your Library from compact discs, Internet sites, or other locations on your hard disk or network. Table 14.3 shows how to add various types of files.

Table 14.3. How to Add Files to Your Library

Type of File	Instructions
CD audio track	Select File, Add to Library, Add Currently Playing Track
File (on your PC or network)	Select File, Add to Library, Add File
File (on the Internet)	Select File, Add to Library, Add URL

After you add a file to your Library, you can play it by selecting it in the track list and then clicking the Play button. To delete a file from the Library, right-click the track and select Delete From Library from the pop-up menu.

Working with Playlists

An easier way to work with your favorite files is to create a customized playlist. You can play all the songs in a playlist with a single action, which is a lot easier than selecting all the songs individually.

To create a playlist, follow these steps:

1.	From the Library screen, select File, New Now Playing List.
2.	Click the Now Playing List button and select New List, Playlist.
3.	Click and drag songs from the Contents pane onto the List pane to create your playlist.
4.	Click New Playlist and select Save Playlist As.
5.	Enter a playlist name.
6.	Click Save.

Listening To and Creating Auto Playlists

WMP 10 also includes a feature called auto playlists. These are playlists that WMP automatically generates, based on various criteria. The built-in autoplaylists include fifteen different lists, with names such as "Favorites Have Not Heard Recently," "Favorites Listen to On Weekends," and "Music Tracks I Dislike." (Why you'd want to listen to a whole playlist full of stuff you don't like is beyond me.)

You also can direct WMP to create new auto playlists, based on criteria you determine. Just follow these steps:

1.	From the Library screen, click the Now Playing List button and select New List, Auto Playlist.
2.	When the New Auto Playlist dialog box appears, enter a name for your playlist.
3.	Click the first green plus sign to select your first criterion. The qualifier now appears above that criterion; click the underlined words to define your qualifications.
4.	Click the second and third green plus signs to add more criteria to the playlist.
5.	Click OK when done.

Playing a Playlist

To play a playlist, go to the Library screen and double-click the selected playlist. The playlist should start playing automatically. If not, all you have to do is click the Play button. All the tracks in your playlist will play, one at a time, in the order listed.

To skip a track within a playlist, click the Next button or select Play, Next. To repeat a track you really like, select the track and then select Play, Repeat. You can also play the tracks in a playlist in random order by selecting Play, Shuffle.