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Sorting and finding items in Media Library

Links to content in Media Library are automatically grouped into categories such as All Music, All Video, Radio, and Subscriptions. Content within the categories is further subdivided into artist, genre, favorites, and other such categories.

The content is grouped and listed in the different categories based on the media information about the content. Media information, which is also known as metadata or tags, includes information such as the title of the song or video, the artist name, the rating, the play count, the composer, and so forth. Even if the media information is unknown, the content is added to the appropriate category based on the file type and file name extension for the file. For example, a file with a .wma extension is a Windows Media Audio file and is listed in the All Music category. A file with a .wmv extension is a Windows Media Video file, and is listed in the All Video category.

By default, content is listed in alphabetical order, with Unknown, characters (such as ellipsis), and numeral content names preceding letters. Content is generally sorted in ascending order by title, except when using specific subcategories such as artist and album.

If you have an extensive audio and video collection available from Media Library, finding items may prove more difficult just by scrolling through the categories. You may want to sort the content in a different way, display more or fewer columns, search for content, or quickly find content by a specific artist or album. You can sort, find, and organize your content in the following ways:

An auto playlist is a playlist to which items are added automatically based on criteria that you specify. Auto playlists are updated each time you open them. By default, Media Library contains several auto playlists.

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