How do I create a folder in an album on Android?
Folders are a way to organize and group photos within albums on your Android device. Rather than having all your photos in one long stream in an album, creating separate folders allows you to categorize photos into more manageable collections. This makes it easier to find specific photos later when you have hundreds or thousands of photos in an album.
Some common uses for folders within Android photo albums include:
- Organizing by date or event like “Vacation to Hawaii” or “Jane’s 5th Birthday Party”
- Organizing by people like “Photos of Mom” or “Photos of My Pets”
- Organizing by location like “Photos from California Trip” or “Photos of My Home”
- Organizing by topic like “Food Photos” or “Nature Hiking Photos”
Overall, folders help you categorize and arrange your photo collection within albums so you can quickly navigate thousands of photos and find exactly what you’re looking for.
Prerequisites
To create folders within your Gallery app’s albums on Android, you’ll need:
- An Android phone or tablet running Android 5.0 or later, such as Android 10, 11, or 12. Older versions of Android do not fully support creating nested folders in the Gallery app.
The Gallery app comes pre-installed on most Android devices. If your device does not have the Gallery app, you can download it for free from the Google Play Store.
Make sure you have photos or videos saved in the Gallery that you want to organize into folders. The Gallery app pulls in all photos and videos saved on your device’s internal storage or SD card.
Open the Gallery App
The first step to creating a folder in an Android Gallery app is simply opening the Gallery or Photos app on your device. Most Android devices come pre-installed with the Google Photos app or some other Gallery app like Simple Gallery or Piktures Gallery (https://www.androidauthority.com/best-gallery-apps-android-687764/). Depending on which app you use, the process may vary slightly.
To open the Gallery app, simply tap on the app icon on your home screen or app drawer. The Gallery app icon looks like a stylized image or stack of photos. This will launch the Gallery app and display all the photos and albums stored on your device.
If you are using an app like Google Photos, tap on the “Photos” tab at the bottom to access your main photo gallery. From here, you can navigate to a specific album or create a new folder as needed.
Navigate to Album
The first step is to go to the album where you want to create a new folder. To do this:
- Open the Gallery app on your Android phone.
- You will see all of your photo albums displayed. Swipe left and right to browse through your albums.
- Tap on the album where you want to make a new folder. This will open up that album.
For example, if you want to make a new folder called “Vacation Pics” inside your “Summer Vacation 2022” album, you would tap on “Summer Vacation 2022” to open it up.
Once you have navigated to the specific album, you are ready to create the new folder inside of it.
Tap the Menu Icon
Once you have navigated to the album where you want to create a new folder, the next step is to open the menu options. To do this, tap the 3-dot menu icon in the upper right corner of the Gallery app screen. This menu contains various options for managing and editing albums and photos.
According to Changing the Settings in the Android Gallery, accessing the menu is done by tapping the icon that looks like “three small squares stacked on top of each other” in the top right corner. This will open up options like slideshow, delete, and more.
Select New Folder
Once you have navigated to the album you want to add a new folder to, tap the menu icon in the top right corner (it looks like three vertical dots or stacks). This will open up a menu. Choose the ‘New folder’ option from this menu.
Selecting this option will open up a screen where you can name your new folder before creating it.
Name the Folder
Once you tap on New Folder, you will be prompted to enter a name for the new folder. When naming your photo folders, it’s best to use a descriptive naming convention that organizes your photos in a logical way. Some examples of good folder names include:
- Date formatted folders like “2022-06-Vacation”
- Location folders like “California Trip”
- Event or subject folders like “Jane’s Graduation”
Try to be as specific as possible without making the folder name overly long. Avoid generic names like “Camera Roll” or “Pictures.” The goal is to have a naming system that helps you quickly identify the contents of each folder.
Once you’ve entered the desired name, tap OK or hit return on your keyboard to create the folder.
For more on photo naming conventions, check out these sources:
https://guides.lib.umich.edu/c.php?g=282888&p=3351490
Add Photos
To add photos to the new folder you created in the Gallery app:
1. Open the Gallery app and navigate to the album where you want to add photos.
2. Tap and hold on a photo thumbnail to select it. You can select multiple photos by tapping on additional thumbnails.
3. Once you have selected the photos to add, tap the menu icon in the upper right corner.
4. Select “Move to folder” from the menu.
5. Tap on the folder you want to move the selected photos to. This will be the new folder you created earlier.
The selected photos will now be moved into the new folder you created. You can repeat these steps to continue adding photos.
Experts recommend keeping folders to around 60 photos for easier management (Source). The number of photos per folder can also depend on your personal preference and how you want to organize the album.
Manage the Folder
Once you have created a folder in your Android device’s Gallery app and added photos, there are various options for managing, sharing, and deleting the folder and its contents. These options include:
To rename a folder, tap and hold on the folder thumbnail and then tap the pencil icon at the top right to edit the name.
To delete the folder, tap and hold on it, then tap the trash icon at the top right. This will delete the folder and all its contents.
To move photos out of a folder but keep them in your gallery, tap the folder, tap Select, choose photos, then tap Move at the top. Pick where to move the photos.
To share the folder, tap and hold on the folder thumbnail, tap Share, and choose an app to share it through. This will share a link to the folder.
To allow others to add photos, tap and hold on the folder, tap Share, tap Add people, and enter their emails or phone numbers. They will be able to add photos.
You can also long press on a photo inside a folder to share, delete, or move that individual photo.
Overall, the Gallery app provides robust options for managing, sharing, and organizing your photo folders on an Android device.
Conclusion
In summary, creating a new folder within an existing album on an Android device is a straightforward process. The key steps are:
1. Open the Gallery app and navigate to the album where you want to add a folder.
2. Tap the menu icon (three vertical dots) in the upper right corner.
3. Select the “New folder” option from the menu.
4. Give the folder a name.
5. You can then add photos to the folder by selecting images and using the move option.
Folders are useful for organizing photos within albums by theme, event, people, or any other logical grouping. This can make it easier to browse and find specific photos later.
Overall, Android makes it simple to create subfolders directly within the native Gallery app in just a few taps. This is a handy way to keep your growing photo collection tidy and organized.
