CUSTOMISE WINDOWS FOLDERS
Windows 11 has redesigned the appearance of folders and other icons but not radically so – they look flatter and have rounded corners rather than square ones. If you really want to hack the design of your folders in Windows 10 or 11, you need to install a third-party customisation tool.
Our favourite is Folder Marker Free (www.snipca.com/40175), which lets you change a folder’s colour and icon in a few quick clicks. Simply click the Folder button at the top of the program window to choose a folder, then select a colour from the options on the Colors tab (see screenshot right) and click Apply.
Alternatively, click the Main tab to choose an icon that represents the contents of the folder, such as ‘High priority’, ‘Half-done work’ or ‘Private files’, or click the User Icons tab to apply a completely different icon design. This can either be from Windows’ own icons collection (located at C:\windows\ System32\imageres.dll – see screenshot far right) or a custom icon you’ve created or downloaded from a site such as Icon Archive ( https://iconarchive.com). You can also change a folder’s appearance by right-clicking it and selecting an option from the Mark Folder menu.
Folder Marker was recently updated to work with Windows 11, but its free version has limitations, such as a maximum of 12 colours and 10 custom designs, and no support for PNG or JPEG files for folder icons (they must be BMP or ICO). The Pro version ( www.snipca.com/40177) costs $34.95 (£26), after a 30-day free trial, and offers all the folder-tweaking options you’ll ever need.
If you’d prefer not to pay anything, Customfolder ( www.snipca.com/40178) is a good free alternative and similarly lets you customise folders with the colours and icons of your choice, with no restrictions. However, it’s not as easy to use as Folder Marker. For more on Customfolder see Issue 612, page 20.