Modifying Folder Icons

You can also modify folder icons either by replacing the icon or by placing a picture on the folder. This enables you to personalize folders, which both allows you to customize the Windows GUI and makes it easier for you to quickly find a particular folder (because it now has an image on the folder).

To change a particular folder, you have to navigate to that folder. Open the Windows Explorer by clicking the My Computer icon on the Start menu or by double-clicking the My Computer icon on the desktop.

After you have browsed to the particular folder you want to customize, right-click the folder and select Properties. The Properties dialog box for the folder opens. Select the Customize tab of the dialog box (see Figure 2.7).

Figure 2.7. The Customize tab enables you to add a picture to a folder or change the folder icon.

You can place any image file on a folder. The picture appears on the folder when you use the Thumbnail view in your folders. Click the Choose Picture button to open the Browse dialog box. Navigate to the file you want to use and then select it. Then click Open.

The image appears on the folder. When you browse your folders using Windows Explorer in the Thumbnail view, the picture appears on the folder as shown in Figure 2.8 (note the picture on the Joe's Files folder).

Figure 2.8. You can place pictures on folders to help identify their contents.

You can also change the icon for a folder. On the Customize tab of the folder's Properties dialog box, click the Change Icon button. You can select a new icon from the default set of Windows icons or can browse for a new icon or icon set using the Browse button (as discussed in the previous section). When you have finished selecting the new icon, click the OK button to close the Properties dialog box.