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Custom-coloring folder names in Windows ExplorerWindows XP Pro, using Widows Classic folder view option.
My computer has hundreds of sub-folder names within a single folder. A few of these sub-folders are 'key' folders that I access frequently via the folder trees in the left pane of Windows Explorer. I've re-named these 'key' sub-folders using ALL-CAPS -- this makes them **somewhat** easier to see, but... Is it possible to assign a **color** (like red) to individual folder icon and/or folder and sub-folder names so they can be easily found within a long list? Thanks, John let it be known on Tue, 16 Oct 2007 15:56:00 -0700
John Cutler <JohnCut***@discussions.microsoft.com> scribed: Show quote |Windows XP Pro, using Widows Classic folder view option. I don't know about being able to use colors but what I do is to start the folders name with an _ (underscore) or !_ (exclaimation-underscore). If all the other folders begin with letters or numbers this will place the _KEY or !_KEY folders at the top of the lists and eliminates having to scroll down (at least for me!).| |My computer has hundreds of sub-folder names within a single folder. A few |of these sub-folders are 'key' folders that I access frequently via the |folder trees in the left pane of Windows Explorer. | |I've re-named these 'key' sub-folders using ALL-CAPS -- this makes them |**somewhat** easier to see, but... | |Is it possible to assign a **color** (like red) to individual folder icon |and/or folder and sub-folder names so they can be easily found within a long |list? | |Thanks, John hth -- cf <cfnews@NOcharterSPAM.net> I may be dumb, but I'm not stupid. Terry Bradshaw Yes, I've done things like that too, and probably should do that for the
current situation --- but it will require changing that folder path name in a lot of other software.... There is a way to have Windows Explorer open in a specified folder (other than My Documents). I created a folder named "_" which is a dummy with no contents (since the names of folders with content can change from time to time). The target in the Windows Explorer shortcut says: %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /e,::{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}, /select,c:\orlt\_ I found this trick years ago somewhere Microsoft's website. Thanks for the reply John Show quote "cf" wrote: > let it be known on Tue, 16 Oct 2007 15:56:00 -0700 > John Cutler <JohnCut***@discussions.microsoft.com> scribed: > > |Windows XP Pro, using Widows Classic folder view option. > | > |My computer has hundreds of sub-folder names within a single folder. A few > |of these sub-folders are 'key' folders that I access frequently via the > |folder trees in the left pane of Windows Explorer. > | > |I've re-named these 'key' sub-folders using ALL-CAPS -- this makes them > |**somewhat** easier to see, but... > | > |Is it possible to assign a **color** (like red) to individual folder icon > |and/or folder and sub-folder names so they can be easily found within a long > |list? > | > |Thanks, John > > I don't know about being able to use colors but what I do is to start the folders name with an _ (underscore) or !_ (exclaimation-underscore). If all the other folders begin with letters or numbers this will place the _KEY or !_KEY folders at the top of the lists and eliminates having to scroll down (at least for me!). > > hth > -- > cf <cfnews@NOcharterSPAM.net> > I may be dumb, but I'm not stupid. > Terry Bradshaw > John you can change the color of the text but unfortunately it has to be all
the icons in a directory and not just one folder icon alone. The following won't solve your problem but try adding an eye catching custom icon to the folders you want, not just that but maybe breaking down the directory into sub systems and viewing the folder by details and view icons by groups you would be better off. I have a large music collection so I broke the artists up into genre>sub genre>artist>albums, this way I dont see all 1.100,010 (or whatever) folders at once. the folder opens faster this way also. but here it is anyway â—‹â—‹â—‹â—‹â—‹â—‹â—‹â—‹â—‹â—‹â—‹â—‹â—‹â—‹â—‹â—‹â—‹â—‹ Change the icon text color â—‹â—‹â—‹â—‹â—‹â—‹â—‹â—‹â—‹â—‹â—‹â—‹â—‹â—‹â—‹â—‹â—‹â—‹ either edit or create a desktop.ini in the folder you wish to see the colors and add this to the bottom of it [{BE098140-A513-11D0-A3A4-00C04FD706EC}] IconArea_Image=C:\background image.jpg** IconArea_Text=0x00DDDDDD*** Attributes=1 ** add a directory to add a background image *** Icon area text is the HEX color you will see in the icon text, you can google "hex color code" for color charts. this example is 'grey 40%' or something See this for more http://delta9-4hc.deviantart.com/art/explorer-background-hack-65210393 -- Show quoteBrandon Dub., TO canada, Shell ''explorer'' "John Cutler" wrote: > Windows XP Pro, using Widows Classic folder view option. > > My computer has hundreds of sub-folder names within a single folder. A few > of these sub-folders are 'key' folders that I access frequently via the > folder trees in the left pane of Windows Explorer. > > I've re-named these 'key' sub-folders using ALL-CAPS -- this makes them > **somewhat** easier to see, but... > > Is it possible to assign a **color** (like red) to individual folder icon > and/or folder and sub-folder names so they can be easily found within a long > list? > > Thanks, John geez I write a detailed reply then I have to log in again when I press
"send"..I forgot you have to keep singing in every 5 minutes here.... this sucks. Anyway to spit the gist of what I tried to send you was that you can only add icon colors to ALL the icons text inside a directory and not just one folder. I will show you how but first I might suggest that you break down your directory somehow and groups similar folders together. This will also improve the folders loading speed. You can also customize them with bright icons to be more visible and view the folder in 'details > groups icons b name'. ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○◘◘◘◘☻ Change Text Color ☻◘◘◘◘○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ Either create a desktop.ini file or add this inside the directory you want to modify icon text color in [{BE098140-A513-11D0-A3A4-00C04FD706EC}] IconArea_Text=0x00DDDDDD** Attributes=1 * Icon text hex color Google "hex color codes" for more colors , this example is a light grey. see here for more advanced desktop.ini uses; http://delta9-4hc.deviantart.com/art/explorer-background-hack-65210393 I created some templates as an example of how I organized a large directory -- Show quoteBrandon Dub., TO canada, Shell ''explorer'' "John Cutler" wrote: > Windows XP Pro, using Widows Classic folder view option. > > My computer has hundreds of sub-folder names within a single folder. A few > of these sub-folders are 'key' folders that I access frequently via the > folder trees in the left pane of Windows Explorer. > > I've re-named these 'key' sub-folders using ALL-CAPS -- this makes them > **somewhat** easier to see, but... > > Is it possible to assign a **color** (like red) to individual folder icon > and/or folder and sub-folder names so they can be easily found within a long > list? > > Thanks, John hmm last time I was here it wouldnt send my message if I had to re sign in,
sorry for the multiple posts ok I wrote this twice already and by the time I was done I had to sign in and
rewrite. basically you CAN change the icon text but only to the directory and one directory at a time. You do this through the Desktop.ini file found in the folder, if its not there just create one Just check this out http://delta9-4hc.deviantart.com/art/explorer-background-hack-65210393 you can change a folders icon text by adding [{BE098140-A513-11D0-A3A4-00C04FD706EC}] IconArea_Image=C:\background image.jpg** IconArea_Text=0x00DDDDDD*** Attributes=1 to the folders desktop.ini file. See the above link for more details This isnt what you wanted but I recommend you group your folders into sub folders, view it by details > group by name and add bright icons to the folders you want to see first. John Cutler;2993227 Wrote:
> Windows XP Pro, using Widows Classic folder view option.
Show quote > An altenative method is to change the icon of the folder to a relevant
image. I've done this to a master folder containing a collection of
software folders that I use to rebuild PC's over our network.> My computer has hundreds of sub-folder names within a single folder. A > few > of these sub-folders are 'key' folders that I access frequently via the > > folder trees in the left pane of Windows Explorer. > > I've re-named these 'key' sub-folders using ALL-CAPS -- this makes them > > **somewhat** easier to see, but... > > Is it possible to assign a **color** (like red) to individual folder > icon > and/or folder and sub-folder names so they can be easily found within a > long > list? > > Thanks, John If you create/locate the icon that easily represents the contents - I use the relevant program's icon - then you can spot the folder very quickly when in icon view. To do this: In the parent folder, set the attribute to the relevant subfolder to system ( attrib fldername +s ) In the relevant subfolder you wish to identify: Place/create the icon file Create a Desktop.ini file containing: ------------------------ [.ShellClassInfo] IconFile=Real.ico IconIndex=0 InfoTip="Simple Versions of Quicktime & Real Player" -------------------------- If you don't want to see these files when you browse the folder contents, set their attributes to hidden ( attrib desktop.ini +h ) Note, the InfoTip line is not required, but it's another useful aid. -- PeterHolgate yes but it has to be a folder which can be modified, you have to right click
the folder > customize [tab] > change icon. some program will modify system folders like C:/ , program files and windows directories. Stardock probably has one of the better ones check out my templates at http://delta9-4hc.deviantart.com/art/explorer-background-hack-65210393 I illustrate how you can use the folder or its sub folder to hold the icon and background image. Another tip though if you create folder, add an icon inside it and do as PeterHolgate said and make copies of them you can have a directory of modified folder icons. If there are a lot of folders you dont use often then give the folder a transparent or a small icon for example, this will also increase visibility to the folders you would like to see I know of some programs that ill mass change folder icons in a directory you choose, look into it as some of them also offer to change the icon text color as well -- Show quoteBrandon Dub., TO canada, Shell ''explorer'' "PeterHolgate" wrote: > > John Cutler;2993227 Wrote: > > Windows XP Pro, using Widows Classic folder view option. > > > > My computer has hundreds of sub-folder names within a single folder. A > > few > > of these sub-folders are 'key' folders that I access frequently via the > > > > folder trees in the left pane of Windows Explorer. > > > > I've re-named these 'key' sub-folders using ALL-CAPS -- this makes them > > > > **somewhat** easier to see, but... > > > > Is it possible to assign a **color** (like red) to individual folder > > icon > > and/or folder and sub-folder names so they can be easily found within a > > long > > list? > > > > Thanks, John > > > An altenative method is to change the icon of the folder to a relevant > image. I've done this to a master folder containing a collection of > software folders that I use to rebuild PC's over our network. > If you create/locate the icon that easily represents the contents - I > use the relevant program's icon - then you can spot the folder very > quickly when in icon view. > > To do this: > > In the parent folder, set the attribute to the relevant subfolder to > system ( attrib fldername +s ) > > In the relevant subfolder you wish to identify: > Place/create the icon file > Create a Desktop.ini file containing: > ------------------------ > > > [.ShellClassInfo] > IconFile=Real.ico > IconIndex=0 > InfoTip="Simple Versions of Quicktime & Real Player" > > > -------------------------- > > > If you don't want to see these files when you browse the folder > contents, set their attributes to hidden ( attrib desktop.ini +h ) > > Note, the InfoTip line is not required, but it's another useful aid. > > > > > -- > PeterHolgate > Thanks, all --
I've printed off your suggestions and will work on it. Having a specific Icon for the "Key" folders should work. Sub-folder groups won't work in this situation. The parent folder is C:\ORLT\, and the sub-folders are 'Projects' within that -- C:\ORLT\Able\, C:\ORLT\Baker\, C:\ORLT\Charlie, and so on. The custom software that process the contents of the sub-folders looks for "C:\ORLT\" + "Project\" (the project name is entered by the operator). The 'key' sub-folder is "C:\ORLT\RELATED\", whose contents are not automatically processed in the same ways as Projects. I often select it manually within Windows Explorer; having the custom icon will do the job. Changing it to "C:\ORLT\_RELATED\" to force it to the top of the folder tree would cause custom programming/processing issues in other ways. Kinda busy for now - getting ready for major surgery. Will have time while recuperating from the surgery to play with this. Thanks. John Show quote "John Cutler" wrote: > Windows XP Pro, using Widows Classic folder view option. > > My computer has hundreds of sub-folder names within a single folder. A few > of these sub-folders are 'key' folders that I access frequently via the > folder trees in the left pane of Windows Explorer. > > I've re-named these 'key' sub-folders using ALL-CAPS -- this makes them > **somewhat** easier to see, but... > > Is it possible to assign a **color** (like red) to individual folder icon > and/or folder and sub-folder names so they can be easily found within a long > list? > > Thanks, John this might be too much work for you if you really have a lot of files but
make a new folder , customize it then make a copy. drop that folder into the firsst one and copy more inside until you have what you need. now you have C:]ORLT/copy of ORLT (x16 or whatever amo9unt of copies you made), rename them all and now you can create desktop.ini files (like templates in anoher directory) and drop them into specific folders and the icons will change. Its easier than custoizing EVERY folder but you would have to migrate files into this new directory. sounds complicated, sorry but I think you get what I mean..I hope good luck in surgery, break a leg -- Show quoteBrandon Dub., TO canada, Shell ''explorer'' "John Cutler" wrote: > Thanks, all -- > > I've printed off your suggestions and will work on it. Having a specific > Icon for the "Key" folders should work. > > Sub-folder groups won't work in this situation. The parent folder is > C:\ORLT\, and the sub-folders are 'Projects' within that -- C:\ORLT\Able\, > C:\ORLT\Baker\, C:\ORLT\Charlie, and so on. The custom software that process > the contents of the sub-folders looks for "C:\ORLT\" + "Project\" (the > project name is entered by the operator). > > The 'key' sub-folder is "C:\ORLT\RELATED\", whose contents are not > automatically processed in the same ways as Projects. I often select it > manually within Windows Explorer; having the custom icon will do the job. > Changing it to "C:\ORLT\_RELATED\" to force it to the top of the folder tree > would cause custom programming/processing issues in other ways. > > Kinda busy for now - getting ready for major surgery. Will have time while > recuperating from the surgery to play with this. > > Thanks. > > John > > "John Cutler" wrote: > > > Windows XP Pro, using Widows Classic folder view option. > > > > My computer has hundreds of sub-folder names within a single folder. A few > > of these sub-folders are 'key' folders that I access frequently via the > > folder trees in the left pane of Windows Explorer. > > > > I've re-named these 'key' sub-folders using ALL-CAPS -- this makes them > > **somewhat** easier to see, but... > > > > Is it possible to assign a **color** (like red) to individual folder icon > > and/or folder and sub-folder names so they can be easily found within a long > > list? > > > > Thanks, John  |
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