How to add or remove folders to Gallery on File Explorer for Windows 11

File Explorer has a new Gallery view, and in this guide, you will learn how to add and remove folder locations.

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File Explorer add Gallery locations
File Explorer add Gallery locations
  • To add folder locations to the Gallery on File Explorer for Windows 11, open the “Collection” menu, choose “Manage locations,” click “Add,” and select the new location.
  • To remove folder locations to the Gallery page, open the “Collection” menu, choose “Manage locations,” select the location, and click the “Remove” button.

UPDATED 3/7/2024: On File Explorer, you can add and remove folder locations from the Gallery view, and I will explain how to complete this configuration in this guide. Windows 11 includes an updated version of File Explorer that includes a new Gallery view to show pictures identical to the view available in the Photos app, showing a preview of images with larger thumbnails, hiding the file name, and using chronological sorting.

The new view has been optimized to show your most recent pictures. If you already have the OneDrive Camera Roll Backup set up on your phone, the photos will appear automatically on Gallery. However, you can always customize the experience to decide the folder locations to show in this view, like in the Photos app.

In this guide, I will outline the steps to add and remove folders to the Gallery view on Windows 11.

To add folder locations to the File Explorer Gallery on Windows 11, use these steps:

  1. Open File Explorer on Windows 11.

  2. Click on Gallery.

  3. Click the Collection button and choose the Manage locations option.

    Gallery Manage locations

  4. Click the Add button.

    Add Gallery folder location

  5. Select the folder location.

  6. Click the Include folder button.

  7. Click the OK button.

Once you complete the steps, the new location will be added to the Gallery view for File Explorer on Windows 11.

You can also use the “Collection” menu to switch between locations. To do so, you only need to open the menu and select the folder. If you select the “Show all together” option, you can see all the locations in a single view (default).

To remove a folder location from the File Explorer Gallery, use these steps:

  1. Open File Explorer.

  2. Click on Gallery.

  3. Click the Collection button and choose the Manage locations option.

    Gallery Manage locations

  4. Select the folder and click the Remove button.

    Remove Gallery folder locations

  5. Click the OK button.

After you complete the steps, the folder will be removed from the Gallery. You may need to repeat the steps to remove other locations as needed.

Update March 7, 2024: This guide has been updated to ensure accuracy and reflect changes to the process.

About the author
Avatar for Mauro Huculak

Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].