Spotify's most recent update is rolling out, which removes quite a lot of handy features -- but there's a clever way to get them back.

Not only does the latest version of the desktop software get rid of support for third-party apps like equalisers, but reports on the Spotify forums suggest that it also removes the ability to search within playlists and minimise the application to the system tray.


Representatives of the company say that the latter two features will return in a subsequent update, but that's not much use for people using the software right now.

It's easy enough to download an old version of the software, but the automatic updating system means that every time you open it you'll be upgraded to the new version again. Here's how to keep an older edition permanently.

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Windows

First, close Spotify if it's open. Then head to the directory

<code>C:\Users\<Username>\AppData\Roaming\Spotify</code>


and delete the file 'Spotify_new.exe' if it exists. If you can't find it, type it into the address bar of Windows Explorer - it's hidden by default in Windows 7.

Then create an empty text document and rename it to Spotify_new.exe - make sure you get rid of the file extension too, so you don't end up with Spotify_new.exe.txt.

Finally you just need to make it so Spotify can't replace that file - right-click it and go to properties, and set it as

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'read-only'. Then all you need to do is download the old version of Spotify from Filehorse, install it and enjoy all the features you want.

OS X

On Macs, first close Spotify if it's running. Then you'll need to head over to your <code>~Library</code> folder - Open Finder, press Shift-cmd-G, type in "~/Library" without the quotes, and hit enter. Navigate to the Application Support folder, then Spotify.

Delete two files - Spotify_new.archive, and Spotify_new.archive.sig - if they're there. Then make two blank text documents and rename them "Spotify_new.archive" and "Spotify_new.archive.sig" -- just like the files you deleted.


Then make it so Spotify can't replace them - right-click each one in turn, go to 'Get Info', and check the locked box near the top before closing the get info pane. If you've done it right, little padlocks will appear on the icons.

The final step is then to grab the old version of Spotify from Filehorse, install it, and enjoy listening as you always have done.

Thanks to RiotKitten on the Spotify forums for outlining this process.