General Include Folder or Drive in Library in Windows 11

Brink · Apr 19, 2022

This tutorial will show you how to include a folder or drive in a library for your account in Windows 11.

Windows 7 introduced libraries, which provide users with a single, coherent view of their files even when those files are stored in different locations. Libraries can be configured and organized by a user and a library can contain folders that are found on the user's computer and also folders that have been shared over a network. Libraries present a simpler view of the underlying storage system because, to the user, the files and folders in a library are displayed in one single view location, no matter where they are actually physically stored.

In File Explorer, users interact with libraries in ways similar to how they would interact with other folders. Libraries are built upon the legacy known folders (such as Camera Roll, Documents, Music, Pictures, Saved Pictures, and Videos), and these known folders are automatically included in the default libraries and set as the default save location.

The following table show which locations are supported in Windows libraries.

Supported Locations	Unsupported Locations
Fixed local volumes (NTFS/FAT)	Removable drives
Shares that are indexed (departmental servers*, Windows home PCs)	Removable media (such as DVDs) Network shares that are accessible through DFS Namespaces or are part of a failover cluster
Shares that are available offline (redirected folders that use Offline Files)	Network shares that aren't available offline or remotely indexed Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices
	Other data sources: SharePoint, Exchange, etc.

References:

Windows Libraries - Win32 apps

Windows 7 introduces libraries, which provide users with a single, coherent view of their files even when those files are stored in different locations.

docs.microsoft.com

Windows Libraries - Windows Client Management

All about Windows Libraries, which are containers for users' content, such as Documents and Pictures.

docs.microsoft.com

Contents

Option One: Include Folder or Drive in Library using "Include in Library" Context Menu
Option Two: Include Folder or Drive in Library using Library Properties

Option One

Include Folder or Drive in Library using "Include in Library" Context Menu

1 Right click or press and hold on the folder or drive you want to include in a library, and click/tap on Show more options. (see screenshot below)

2 Click/tap on Include in library, and click/tap on the library you want to include the folder or drive in. (see screenshot below)

If you do not have the Include in library context menu item available, then the folder is in an unsupported location to be included in a library.

Option Two

Include Folder or Drive in Library using Library Properties

1 Open Libraries in File Explorer (Win+E).

2 Perform one of the following actions: (see screenshots below)

Select the library (ex: "Pictures") you want to include a folderor drive in, click/tap on the See more (3 dots) button on the command bar, and click/tap on Properties.
Right click or press and hold on the library (ex: "Pictures") you want to include a folder or drive in, and click/tap on Properties.