To change a folder icon in Windows 11, right-click the folder and select Properties, open the Customize tab, and under Folder icons select Change Icon. Pick one of the built-in icons (or select Browse to use your own icon file), select OK, then select Apply and OK in the Properties window.
Applies to: Windows 11.
Before you start
- The change affects one folder at a time. The icon you choose replaces the yellow folder icon only for the folder you customize. Other folders keep their normal look.
- Windows stores the setting in a small hidden file. When you customize a folder, Windows records the choice in a file named desktop.ini inside that folder. The file is marked as hidden and system, so you don’t normally see it. Don’t delete it if you want to keep the custom icon.
- Decide where your icon comes from. Windows includes hundreds of icons you can use without downloading anything. If you want your own picture, it works best as an icon file with the .ico extension. Files with the .bmp, .exe and .dll extensions that contain icons are also valid icon sources.
- Keep custom icon files in a permanent place. The folder points to the icon file; it doesn’t copy it. If you later move, rename or delete that file, the folder can lose its custom icon. A good habit is a dedicated folder, such as an Icons folder in Documents, that you never clean out.
Change a folder’s icon
- Open File Explorer by selecting it on the taskbar or pressing Windows logo key + E, and go to the folder you want to change. You can also work with a folder on the desktop.
- Right-click the folder and select Properties. If you don’t see Properties in the menu, select Show more options to open the full menu, then select Properties. The folder’s Properties window opens on the General tab.
- Select the Customize tab at the top of the window. It has separate sections for folder pictures and folder icons.
- Under Folder icons, select Change Icon. A window opens with a grid of built-in Windows icons.
- Select the icon you want. To use your own file instead, select Browse, find your .ico file, and open it; its icons appear in the grid so you can select one.
- Select OK to close the Change Icon window. You’re back on the Customize tab.
- Select Apply, then OK. The folder shows its new icon in File Explorer and on the desktop.
Where the built-in icons come from
The grid you see after selecting Change Icon is the contents of a Windows system file that stores icons. Many of Windows’ own folder-style icons, such as the ones used for Documents, Music, Pictures and Videos, are kept in the file imageres.dll in the %SystemRoot%\System32 folder. Another large set lives in shell32.dll in the same folder. You can browse to either file in the Change Icon window to see more choices. Picking an icon from these files is safe: you are only pointing the folder at an existing icon, not changing the system file.
Don’t try to add your own icons into these system files. Keep your own icons as separate .ico files instead, and browse to them when you need them.
Use your own image as a folder icon
If you have a picture you’d like to use, convert it to an .ico file first. A real .ico file works more reliably than a picture that has only been renamed to end in .ico, because renaming doesn’t change the file’s format. Square images keep their shape best, and higher-resolution images look sharper at larger icon sizes.
When you download icon packs, be careful about what’s inside. An icon download should contain image or icon files only. If it asks you to run a program or installer just to get the icons, don’t run it. Prefer icons you’ve made yourself or ones from a source you trust.
A useful trick for folders you share or copy: store the .ico file inside the folder you’re customizing. A folder icon set with a relative path stays available to people who view the folder over the network, because the icon travels with the folder.
Show a picture on the folder instead
The Customize tab also has a Folder pictures section, which is separate from Folder icons. It lets you pick an image file to represent the folder rather than an icon. If you want the folder graphic itself replaced, use Change Icon under Folder icons instead. Whichever you use, undo the change in the same section where you made it, because restoring one section doesn’t reset the other.
Go back to the original folder icon
- Right-click the folder and select Properties.
- Select the Customize tab.
- Under Folder icons, select Change Icon.
- Select Restore Defaults, then select OK.
- Select Apply, then OK. The folder returns to the standard Windows folder icon.
Change other icons
Folder Properties only changes folders. Other icons are changed in different places:
- Shortcuts: Right-click the shortcut, select Properties, and on the Shortcut tab select Change Icon. Choose an icon or select Browse, then confirm. Only that shortcut changes, not the app it opens.
- This PC, Recycle Bin, Network and your user folder on the desktop: Open Settings > Personalization > Themes > Desktop icon settings, select the icon, and select Change Icon. Changing desktop icons in Windows 11 has the full steps.
If the folder icon doesn’t change
The new icon doesn’t appear right away
Windows can keep showing the old icon for a moment. Make sure you selected Apply before closing the Properties window. Then right-click an empty area of the desktop and select Refresh, close and reopen File Explorer, or restart your PC.
The custom icon disappeared after a Windows update
Starting with Windows security updates released on or after June 9, 2026, Windows ignores a folder’s desktop.ini file when it can’t confirm the file comes from a trusted source. When that happens, the custom folder icon (and any custom folder name set by desktop.ini) no longer appears, even though the folder and its files are untouched. This most often affects folders downloaded from the internet, folders copied from some web-based or WebDAV locations, and folders on network paths that aren’t treated as trusted. The workarounds come from the support article Custom folder icons or localized folder names might not appear after installing the June 2026 Windows security update:
- Add the location to Trusted Sites. This is Microsoft’s recommended option for internal or managed network sources you know are safe.
- Remove the internet mark from desktop.ini, for content you trust only. In PowerShell, run Unblock-File on that folder’s desktop.ini file. Unblock-File does the same thing as selecting Unblock in a file’s Properties window. Only do this for folders whose source you trust.
- Turn on the policy “Allow the use of remote paths in file shortcut icons.” This restores the older behavior for all locations, but it reduces protection, so it’s a choice for administrators rather than a quick fix.
For a folder on your own PC, the simplest fix is often to set the icon again with Change Icon, using an .ico file stored on your PC.
The icon reverted to a plain folder
Check that the .ico file you chose is still where it was when you set it. If you moved or deleted it, put it back or choose the icon again from its new location. Also check that the hidden desktop.ini file in the folder wasn’t deleted by a cleanup tool or a sync app; if it was, set the icon again.
The icon looks blank or blurry
A blank icon is often a sign that Windows can’t use the icon file. Make sure the file is a real .ico file, not a renamed picture, and that it still exists where you chose it. A blurry icon usually comes from a small, low-resolution image; recreate the .ico file from a larger, square image.
There’s no Customize tab
Check that you right-clicked a folder, not a file or a shortcut. Shortcuts show a Shortcut tab with their own Change Icon button. If a regular folder on a work or school PC has no Customize tab, your organization may limit folder customization; ask your IT department rather than editing the registry.
Frequently asked questions
Can I change the icon for every folder at once?
Not through the Customize tab. It changes only the folder you opened, so you need to repeat the steps for each folder you want to change.
Can I change the color of a folder in Windows 11?
There’s no separate color option on the Customize tab. To get a different color, use an .ico file of a folder in the color you want and apply it with Change Icon, as shown in changing folder color in Windows 11.
Do I need administrator rights to change a folder icon?
For your own folders, such as those in Documents or on the desktop, you generally just need permission to change the folder, because Windows saves the setting in a file inside it. Folders you can’t write to, or that your organization manages, may not keep the change.
Will the custom icon show up on other PCs?
Only if the other PC can read both the folder’s desktop.ini file and the icon file. If the icon file is stored elsewhere on your PC, other computers won’t find it. After the June 2026 security update, other PCs may also ignore the setting when the folder comes from a source Windows doesn’t trust.
Is it safe to delete desktop.ini?
Deleting it won’t harm your files, but the folder loses its custom icon and any other customization stored in that file. Because it’s marked as a hidden system file, you won’t see it with File Explorer’s normal settings. Showing hidden folders in Windows 11 explains the settings that control which hidden files appear.
Once your folders look the way you want, consider keeping all your .ico files together in one folder so every custom icon keeps working.
Related: making an icon for Windows 10 and making an invisible folder in Windows 11.
Matt Jacobs writes and maintains the guides on Support Your Tech, which he started in 2017. He spent most of his career keeping small-business PCs running and still takes the occasional consulting job, so the steps here come from fixing the same problems on other people’s computers. Every guide is checked on his own Windows 11, Windows 10, Mac, iPhone and iPad before it goes up.