With Windows 8.1, Microsoft introduced a set of folders inside the This PC folder. These folders include Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures and Videos. Windows 10 initially came with the same set of folders in This PC. Starting with Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, a new folder has been added to that set, named 3D Objects. Today, we will see how to customize icons for these folders.
The folders mentioned above are just links to the folders located in your user profile. Microsoft only provided quick access to them because they hid Libraries by default. This is very convenient, because you have 1-click access to these folders when you open File Explorer using the Win+E hotkey.
Tip: You can quickly remove unwanted folders as described here:
Remove 3D Objects From This PC (Along with Other Folders)
Each folder has a unique icon. The ability to customize the icons is missing in the GUI, so at first glance, changing the icons seems impossible. However, it is not a big problem. The icons are specified in the Registry, so by editing the required values, you can change the icons of folders in This PC to what you want.
You must be signed in with an administrative account to continue.
To change icons of folders in This PC in Windows 10, do the following.
- Download the ExecTI freeware and start regedit.exe using it. This will open the Registry Editor app with the highest privilege level.
- Go to the following Registry key.
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{B4BFCC3A-DB2C-424C-B029-7FE99A87C641}\DefaultIconSee how to go to a Registry key with one click.
- On the right, change the default (unnamed) parameter to the full path to your new icon.
- To make the changes done by the Registry tweak take effect, you need to sign out and sign in to your user account. Alternatively, you can restart the Explorer shell.
The sequence above will change the icon of the Desktop folder in This PC.
To change other icons, repeat the steps under the following Registry keys:
3D Objects = HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{0DB7E03F-FC29-4DC6-9020-FF41B59E513A}\DefaultIcon
Desktop = HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{B4BFCC3A-DB2C-424C-B029-7FE99A87C641}\DefaultIcon
Documents = HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{d3162b92-9365-467a-956b-92703aca08af}\DefaultIcon
Downloads = HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{088e3905-0323-4b02-9826-5d99428e115f}\DefaultIcon
Music = HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{3dfdf296-dbec-4fb4-81d1-6a3438bcf4de}\DefaultIcon
Pictures = HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{24ad3ad4-a569-4530-98e1-ab02f9417aa8}\DefaultIcon
Videos = HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{f86fa3ab-70d2-4fc7-9c99-fcbf05467f3a}\DefaultIcon
Tip: If the new icon that you set doesn't appear in File Explorer, you need to reset the icon cache.
For reference, here are the default icon paths for all folders:
3D Objects = %SystemRoot%\system32\imageres.dll,-198 Desktop = %SystemRoot%\system32\imageres.dll,-183 Documents = %SystemRoot%\system32\imageres.dll,-112 Downloads = %SystemRoot%\system32\imageres.dll,-184 Music = %SystemRoot%\system32\imageres.dll,-108 Pictures = %SystemRoot%\system32\imageres.dll,-113 Videos = %SystemRoot%\system32\imageres.dll,-189
That's it.
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Эхх. Жаль, что прочёл только сейчас, а не пару дней назад.
Пришлось использовать RegOwnershipEx для замены иконок панели управления.
Остальные иконки в пуске отображались выбранные мной, а панель управления выбивалась из общего стиля.
З.Ы, Програмка эта была у меня, только подзабыл про неё.
Жаль, что ExecTI показывает только последнюю программу. Удобно было бы иметь историю 10-ти файлов (можно реализовать настройку через ini -> value=XX).
Будет всё, как только руки дойдут)
Hi Sergey…
This was very helpful for default folders under “This PC” in Explorer. BUT How do you find the editable icon registry entry for a CUSTOM folder that you may have added to the “This PC” menu ?
I tried just “customizing” the new folder by selecting a new icon for it under “properties” but it won’t take and just keeps showing the bland Windows default folder icon. So, I think it needs a registry edit too… but I don’t know how to find the registry entry that contains the default icon for the newly created foler. Any advice would be most appreciated.
Thanks !