How to Enable Libraries in Windows 10 File Explorer

Libraries were introduced in Windows 7, and since then they become very useful way to organize your files. But, for some reason, the Libraries item is missing from the Navigation pane in Windows 10, by default. And if you use this feature often, you might want it back, and here are a couple of ways to do it.

Enabling Libraries in Windows 10 Explorer: how to do it?

Enabling Libraries in Windows 10

To enable Libraries in Windows 10 File Explorer, follow these steps:

• Open File Explorer
• Instead of Home, go to This PC
• In the left pane, right-click the empty space to open the context menu.
• Check the Libraries item

The Libraries item will now appear in the Navigation pane.

Customizing Libraries in Windows 10

If you want your Libraries item directly in the Home folder, instead of the Navigation pane, you can do it with a couple of registry tweaks.

• Open Registry Editor
• Go to the following Registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersion

ExplorerHomeFolderNameSpaceDelegateFolders

• After that, go to this key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREWow6432NodeMicrosoftWindows

CurrentVersionExplorerHomeFolderNameSpaceDelegateFolders

• Create the same subkey, {031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}
• Close all Explorer windows and reopen it

Libraries will now appear in the Home folder of Windows 10 File Explorer. Strangely, Libraries will be under the Favorites group, but didn’t find the way to change this.

Additionally, you can open Libraries from the Run dialog box, with entering just one command. To do that, press Win and R keys at the same time and enter the following command in the Run dialog box.

shell:Libraries

This command is a special shell command which will open the Libraries folder directly in your File Explorer.

Fix Libraries issues

Having an issue with your libraries can be a great problem, especially if you stock your data in those folders. For those of you having problems with libraries, we suggest you check our guide on fixing Music Library. It is a quick fix that will basically reset your Libraries, and you can apply this fix not only for the Music folder but also for Videos, Pictures, and Documents.

That should be all, we don’t know why Microsoft decided to exclude Libraries from the default Navigation bar, but as you can see, you can easily bring it back. If you have some questions or comments, please express yourself in the comment section, below.

Read Also: Internet Explorer in Windows 10 Fixes Issues With Low-Space and Temp Files Extraction

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in January 2015 and has been since revamped and updated for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness.