As a fairly adaptable operating system, Windows has always had a dedicated way to browse and view photos. In Windows 10 too, Microsoft decided to merge navigation, organization and display all together in one app and the end result is Photos app. Although the Photos app is great, the only caveat is that by default it shows files only from your Pictures folder. This means that if you store files on an external drive or over the network using a shared folder, these images are not included by the application. But you can add / remove folder locations in the Photos app. You can also include more folders in your image collection – and all of that in the settings.
This Windows 10 built-in Photos app allows users to view images and perform basic editing of photos and videos, create albums and even make movies. This app collects photos from your system, phone and other devices, and places them in a collection location, i.e. Local photos folder as well as files stored in OneDrive. With the photos app, you can easily browse photos and find the one you are looking for in one place.
In this tutorial, we will guide you through the process of adding new locations or removing folder locations in the Photos app in Windows 10. Follow the steps below to add a new location. or delete a folder location in the Photos app.
Add a new folder location in the Photos app
To add a new folder with images as an additional source in Photos, follow these steps:
1) Open the ‘Start & #39; menu and type "Pictures & #39;
2) In the search results, click on the ‘Pictures & #39; app
<img class = "ezlazyload aligncenter size-full wp-image-199627″ alt=”Folder location in Photos app” width=”288″ height=”491″ sizes=”(max-width: 288px) 100vw, 288px” src=”https://thewindowsclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Photos-App-Settings_2.jpg” srcset=”https://thewindowsclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Photos-App-Settings_2.jpg 288w, https://thewindowsclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Photos-App-Settings_2-235×400.jpg 235w, https://thewindowsclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Photos-App-Settings_2-88×150.jpg 88w”/>
3) In the upper right corner, click on the main menu button, that is to say three-dot icon and select "Settings & #39; option.
<img class = "ezlazyload aligncenter size-full wp-image-199628″ alt=”Folder location in Photos app” width=”511″ height=”181″ sizes=”(max-width: 511px) 100vw, 511px” src=”https://thewindowsclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Photos-App-Settings_3.jpg” srcset=”https://thewindowsclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Photos-App-Settings_3.jpg 511w, https://thewindowsclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Photos-App-Settings_3-400×142.jpg 400w, https://thewindowsclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Photos-App-Settings_3-150×53.jpg 150w”/>
4) Now under theSources & #39; section click on the ‘Add folder " button.
<img class = "ezlazyload aligncenter size-full wp-image-199629″ alt=”Folder location in Photos app” width=”384″ height=”333″ sizes=”(max-width: 384px) 100vw, 384px” src=”https://thewindowsclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Photos-App-Settings_4.jpg” srcset=”https://thewindowsclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Photos-App-Settings_4.jpg 384w, https://thewindowsclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Photos-App-Settings_4-150×130.jpg 150w”/>
5) Select the new file location.
Please note that by selecting "add folder " Windows offers suggestions for folders that you can simply select and add. Therefore, if the location of your desired folder is already in the suggestions, just check the option and hit "add folders". Or select "Add another folder " option to go to the folder of your choice.
<img class = "ezlazyload aligncenter size-full wp-image-199630″ alt=”Folder location in Photos app” width=”384″ height=”377″ sizes=”(max-width: 384px) 100vw, 384px” src=”https://thewindowsclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Photos-App-Settings_5.jpg” srcset=”https://thewindowsclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Photos-App-Settings_5.jpg 384w, https://thewindowsclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Photos-App-Settings_5-150×147.jpg 150w”/>
6) Click on the ‘Add this folder to Images » button.
<img class = "ezlazyload aligncenter size-full wp-image-199631″ alt=”Folder location in Photos app” width=”432″ height=”304″ sizes=”(max-width: 432px) 100vw, 432px” src=”https://thewindowsclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Photos-App-Settings_6.jpg” srcset=”https://thewindowsclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Photos-App-Settings_6.jpg 432w, https://thewindowsclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Photos-App-Settings_6-400×281.jpg 400w, https://thewindowsclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Photos-App-Settings_6-150×106.jpg 150w”/>
7) When finished, the new folder will be added to ‘Pictures & #39; and the Photos app will start indexing your images.
To add more locations to the Photos app, simply repeat the steps.
To view photos of all folders stored in the cloud
When using OneDrive, the Photos app will inevitably display the images stored in the Pictures folders. But, if you don't store images in the Image folders, you will need to change the settings to allow Photos to scan images from all the folders stored in the cloud.
To synchronize images from all folders stored in the cloud, do the following:
1) Open the ‘Start & #39; menu and type "Pictures & #39;
2) In the search results, click on the ‘Pictures & #39; app
3) In the upper right corner, click on the main menu button, that is to say three-dot icon and select "Settings & #39; option.
4) Now under theMicrosoft OneDrive", Open the drop-down menu and press the"All files".
<img class = "ezlazyload aligncenter size-full wp-image-199632″ alt=”Folder location in Photos app” width=”384″ height=”370″ sizes=”(max-width: 384px) 100vw, 384px” src=”https://thewindowsclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Photos-App-Settings_7.jpg” srcset=”https://thewindowsclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Photos-App-Settings_7.jpg 384w, https://thewindowsclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Photos-App-Settings_7-150×145.jpg 150w”/>
The photos will now start to display images of all the folders stored in the cloud, i.e. OneDrive.
If you don't prefer to see images from OneDrive, just turn off ‘View my cloud content only from OneDrive& #39; rocker switch.
<img class = "ezlazyload aligncenter size-full wp-image-199633″ alt=”Folder location in Photos app” width=”288″ height=”106″ sizes=”(max-width: 288px) 100vw, 288px” src=”https://thewindowsclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Photos-App-Settings_8.jpg” srcset=”https://thewindowsclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Photos-App-Settings_8.jpg 288w, https://thewindowsclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Photos-App-Settings_8-150×55.jpg 150w”/>
Delete the location of the existing folder in the Photos app
To delete an existing location with images you don't want to see in Photos, follow these steps:
1) Open the ‘Start & #39; menu and type "Pictures & #39;
2) In the search results, click on the ‘Pictures & #39; app
3) In the upper right corner, click on the main menu button, that is to say three-dot icon and select "Settings & #39; option.
4) As part ofSources & #39; section, press the Delete button, that is to say "XAppearing next to the file location.
<img class = "ezlazyload aligncenter size-full wp-image-199634″ alt=”Folder location in Photos app” width=”384″ height=”253″ sizes=”(max-width: 384px) 100vw, 384px” src=”https://thewindowsclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Photos-App-Settings_9.jpg” srcset=”https://thewindowsclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Photos-App-Settings_9.jpg 384w, https://thewindowsclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Photos-App-Settings_9-150×99.jpg 150w”/>
5) Now click on the ‘Delete folder& #39; button.
<img class = "ezlazyload aligncenter size-full wp-image-199635″ alt=”Folder location in Photos app” width=”480″ height=”149″ sizes=”(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px” src=”https://thewindowsclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Photos-App-Settings_10.jpg” srcset=”https://thewindowsclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Photos-App-Settings_10.jpg 480w, https://thewindowsclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Photos-App-Settings_10-400×124.jpg 400w, https://thewindowsclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Photos-App-Settings_10-150×47.jpg 150w”/>
Once these steps are complete, the Photos app will no longer index the image of the deleted location.
Please note: Deleting a folder location in Photos does not delete the folder or the images it contains.
Finished!
Let us know if that helped you in the comments section below.