Working with the Library

[The feature associated with this page, Windows Media Player SDK, is a legacy feature. It has been superseded by MediaPlayer. MediaPlayer has been optimized for Windows 10 and Windows 11. Microsoft strongly recommends that new code use MediaPlayer instead of Windows Media Player SDK, when possible. Microsoft suggests that existing code that uses the legacy APIs be rewritten to use the new APIs if possible.]

The library is a database of information about the media content that is stored on the user's computer or has been played there. Some of the information is displayed in the library feature in Windows Media Player. A larger set of information can be accessed programmatically.

Media items can be organized in playlists. Playlists can be created by users or through code. The Windows Media Player object model provides objects and methods you can use to manipulate both individual media items and playlists.

The following sections explain techniques for working with the library:

• Library Access
• Managing Media Items
• Media Item Attributes
• Managing Playlists

Related topics

Player Control Guide