How-To Geek

I can change one folder icon at a time, but not many at once like I could with XP.

This question was asked in a How-To Geek Forum entitled How To Customize Multiple Folder (Icons), where user "scowilcro" posted this solution that I used often in Windows XP, but I cannot get to work in Windows 7:

"Highlight all of the folders for which you want to change the icons. Right-click on any one of the highlighted folders and click "Properties."
Click the "Customize" button
Click the "Change Icon" button. Choose an icon from the list on the screen or click "Browse" to choose your own icon that you've either created or downloaded from the Internet.
Click "OK" to change the folder icons for multiple folders
Done"

Thanks, "scowilcro", but now that I am using Windows 7 (Home Premium with Service Pack 1), this does not work for me.

No matter how many folders I highlight — even if I use Select All — it only changes the one folder I land on when I right-click the group. Properties (General Tab) shows as many folders as are highlighted. I've tried right-clicking in every area of the highlight from the icon to the right edge, and I've even tried using the right-click key, but only one folder changes.

(My goal, in case you are curious, is to "re-icon" hundreds of music folders with respective vinyl, CD, or MP3 icons.)

Thank you, How-To Geeks, for being here!!

David

Sarah,

Thanks for the great input!

The free version of FolderMarker definitely looked great! Unfortunately, it was anything but great. It just did not work right.

(The boring details:
I downloaded it, only to find I need at least 5 clicks to change one folder. (It's still an improvement over the 6 to 8 clicks needed to change one using Explorer.) Changing several folders at once requires each folder to be found through a directory and added to a list individually. The list must be populated one by one: there is no multiple picking using the mouse, Ctrl, or Shift. I began (thankfully) with a trial list of 7 folders. Only 5 changed icons successfully. Repeated attempts to get the other 2 to change failed. Of the 5 that did change, 4 did not change the icons displayed in the bottom pane of the window. After closing and re-opening the window, 3 had not changed icons in the bottom pane. So, I closed both Explorer and Foldermarker. The results remained the same; and those 2 folders that would not change before still would not. Also, the Help feature does not work in Windows 7, and Microsoft's solution — a download of WinHlp32.exe — is not available for x86.
Hey, it was free, right?)

Anyway, as the cow says, moooooving right along....

I moved on to Shedko FolderIco. (Thanks again, Sarah, for offering more than one solution.) I, too, like how it looks. But I've come to find out that the ability to change several folders at once is the most requested feature for a future version. (It does not yet do it. I'll watch for it.)

I also took a look at IcoFX, per your great suggestion. Nice! I had already found some good icons, but I could really made some great ones with IcoFX! Thanks! Too bad it won't change multiple folder icons....

I just have to laugh: In all this time and effort we have both spent looking for a shortcut, I could have them all changed by now, one by one. There is only 872 of them, with several hundred yet to come. LOL

It's ironic. I just changed my directory to get rid of "- Shortcut", and now I may end up adding "- Vinal", "- CD", and "- MP3" to my folder names! :D

My sincere thanks to you, Sarah. It sure was worth a shot!

David

P.S. I like your penguin.

Hi, Sarah :)

Thanks, again.

The free version is FolderMarker 1.4. It does not have the section entitled "(3) Options", with that cool subfolder option. (In fact, 1.4 does not even have different colors.) Perhaps I should not be so stingy and just buy the upgrade. The option to "Apply selected icon to all subfolders" would make it worth the $25, as long as the icon changes stick to the folders no matter where I move them.

When you use the option "Apply selected icon to all subfolders", do all your folders stay changed when you move them about? (I would put a batch of folders into a temporary top folder, just long enough to use that wonderful option "Apply selected icon to all subfolders". Then I would move the subfolders back to their home, and delete the temporary top folder.)

Great information on the icon cache and thumbnail clean-up! (I have Renamer or I would not consider renaming the folders! Thanks for that recommendation, though.)

David

Some screenshots to go with the above description:

and this is the browse window - by default it goes to Shell32.dll. You can use an ico or icl to browse to as long as you don't move that file after doing this. Otherwise use the 'Make customized folder distributable' (in this case I'd use that just to be safe).

Super!

And thanks, you made me smile :)