Rename Libraries Folder in Windows 10

Today, we'll see how to rename the Libraries folder visible in File Explorer. Windows 10 does not come with an option to change its name, but we can use a special Registry tweak to bypass this limitation.

Libraries is a special folder in Windows, introduced in Windows 7. It allows you to create libraries - special folders which can aggregate files from several different folders and show it under a single, unified view. A library is an indexed location, meaning Windows Search will be completed faster in a library compared to a regular non-indexed folder. In Windows 7, when you opened Explorer using the mouse, it opened the Libraries folder.

By default, Windows 10 comes with the following libraries:

• Documents
• Music
• Pictures
• Videos
• Camera Roll
• Saved Pictures

Note: If the Libraries folder is not visible in your File Explorer, see the article:

Enable Libraries in File Explorer navigation pane in Windows 10

If you want to rename the Libraries item, here is a very simple Registry tweak that will allow you to do it.

To rename the Libraries folder in Windows 10, do the following.

1. Open Registry Editor.
2. Go to the following Registry key:

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}

   Tip: How to jump to the desired registry key with one click. If you don't have such a key, you can create it manually.
   The path name is a GUID which describes the Libraries virtual folder, so once you create it here, you will be able to customize the folder. Any changes you make here, e.g. a custom icon which we are going to set, will affect only your user account. Other user accounts won't have this change.

3. On the right, create a new string (REG_SZ) value and name it LocalizedString.
4. Set it to the new name you want to use for the Libraries folder.
5. To make the changes done by the Registry tweak take effect, you may need to sign out and sign in to your user account. Alternatively, you can restart the Explorer shell.

Voila, the File Explorer app will use your custom icon instead of the default one.
Before:

After:

That's it.

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