Arts >> Music >> Digital Music

How to Name Music Files for Microsoft Media Player

Creating filenames that you can easily identify and remember is an integral part of effectively organizing your media collection. Because Microsoft Windows Media Player is a Windows-based application, there are certain filenames that are invalid or incompatible with the utility. Understanding the characters and phrases to avoid when naming your music files can save you time and spare you the frustration of losing or misplacing your favorite music files.

Instructions

    • 1

      Open the folder containing the music file you wish to add to Microsoft Windows Media Player.

    • 2

      Single-click the file's title field to open it for editing. Alternatively, you may right-click the file icon and select "Rename" from the drop-down menu.

    • 3

      Type the desired filename into the field. The filename cannot contain the following characters: forward slash (/), backslash (\), colon (:), asterisk (*), question mark (?), double quote ("), less than (<), greater than (>) or vertical bar (|). You must also avoid using reserved device names such as "CON," "COM1" and "LPT1." You will receive an error message if you accidentally incorporate any of these into a filename.

    • 4

      Click away from the filename field to close it and lock in your changes.

    • 5

      Drag and drop the music file into the Windows Media Player "Library" pane. Alternatively, you may select "Add to Library" from the Windows Media Player "File" menu and select the music file from the ensuing browser.

Digital Music

Related Categories