Having an organised lifestyle is very important both in your personal and professional life. Similarly it is important to keep the systems organized that you use in your daily life. While naming files properly so that you can easily find what you are looking for is clearly the most important step, a visual solution to quickly recognize the folder is what you need to boost your productivity.
Changing the folder icon on Mac to a graphic or using different colours for different folders makes it simple to locate what you need at a glance. Graphic folder icons help differentiate the contents of the folder, while using another color could help to classify the folder by type: music, movies, photos, etc. And when used together your options are limitless.
And if you ever think you might have got carried away or you decide to change up your classification system, you can always revert back to the original icon by using Command + X in place of Command + V, as outlined below.
Here are some ways to change the folder icons in your Mac.
1) Using your own picture or a picture from the web
- First, copy the picture you want to use to the Clipboard. To do this double-click the picture file, which then opens it in the Preview app, then choose Edit → Copy.
- Select the file or folder whose icon you want to replace then choose File → Get Info.
- At the top of the Info window, click on the icon.
- Choose Edit → Paste.
If Edit → Paste isn’t available, make sure you click the icon at the top of the Info window.
After you paste, you will see your picture as the icon of the folder.
2) Use an icon from another file or folder from your Mac
- Select the file/folder whose icon you want to use. Then choose File → Get Info.
- Click on the folder icon at the top of the Info window and choose Edit → Copy.
- Select the other file or folder you want to change, then choose File → Get Info.
- Select the folder icon at the top-left corner of the Info window.
- Choose Edit → Paste.
3) Change the folder color
- Right-click to select the folder you would like to change the icon .
- In the menu that opens click Get Info.
- In the Info dialogue box, Select the folder icon at the top-left corner → Edit→Copy.
- Search Preview using Spotlight.
- Click Preview to open it.
- On the Preview menu bar, click File.
- From the drop-down menu, click New from Clipboard, to open the icon copied before.
- Open the Tools menu from the Preview menu bar.
- In the Tools menu, select Adjust Color.
- Now, adjust the Tint to get the color you want.
- Click Edit on the Preview menu bar > Copy.
- Select the folder icon in the folder Info window > Edit > Paste.
Restore the original icon for an item
- Select the file or folder on your Mac. Then choose File > Get Info.
- At the top-left of the Info window, select the custom icon > Edit > Cut.