Do You Have a Mac? Try Changing The Folder Icon

It’s always nice to learn something new. And in todays menu we have the changing your folder into an icon dish.

Did you know that you can change the icons of your folder on your Mac? Well, if you haven’t already, then I will explain everything about it in this article. So after finishing this article, you’ll have your customized folders that will help you clean up your files and get you more organized.

How to change the folder icon on your iMac (or MacBook)

Besides changing the color of your folder, you can now even change the whole image of that folder and replace it with an image you think represents that particular folder the most.

And the best part is that you don’t have to change any code or open the terminal to make this happen. Instead, you can do it just by clicking and tweaking a few things.

So to change the icon of your folder, you need to:

Open the PNG image and press cmd + A to select it
Once selected, press cmd + C to copy the image you’ve chosen.
Right-click the folder you want to customize and click Get Info
In the upper left corner, you’ll see a picture of your folder. Click on it
Press cmd + V to paste the image you’ve just selected.

After pasting the image you’ve selected from that PNG file, your folder should turn into that image. If you don’t like how it looks, delete that folder and repeat the whole process with a new icon.

After following the steps your folder should now have the image of the icon you’ve chosen. It should look something like this:

Unfortunately, the shape of the folder doesn’t remain

Too bad, though, that the actual shape of a folder doesn’t remain. So the folders will not like look like in the image above.

At first, I thought that the icon would be encoded in that folder so that we got to see the actual shape of a folder with that PNG icon inside it, just like how the Applications, Desktop, and Downloads folders look like. But that doesn’t happen in this case. The whole icon replaces the folder, and if you’re not careful you can easily loose that folder among all you other files.

If you’re not careful you can easily loose that folder among all you other files.

Where to find these icons to customize your folder with

Icons are nowadays just like the alphabet. Whether you notice it or not, on a certain day you see way more icons than you think. But where to find beautiful icons that you can use for, let’s say, customizing the folder of your iMac?

Well, that’s actually a good question and the answer is, flaticons.com. This website is just awesome when it comes to finding the right PNG icons for your work. So whether you’re a game designer, a video editor, or just someone who likes to customize his/her folders, then flaticons is the right place to be.

Make Sure To Read Their Terms Carefully

If you’re intended to use these icons for commercial purposes, then read their terms properly. You may need to credit the maker of that icon or even maybe buy a premium membership, which is, by the way, not that expensive.

If you are using those icons for private matters, you don’t have to buy the premium membership, since you will not share your work with the world. So, in that case, I wouldn’t purchase a premium membership.

I’ve followed the steps but it didn’t work

If your folder is not changing into an icon after following the steps in this article, then you may be doing something wrong. Most likely, you haven’t selected and copied the PNG file that should represent the image of that folder.

Most likely, you haven’t selected and copied the PNG file that should represent the image of that folder.

Make sure to open that PNG icon > selected it by pressing on cmd + A > and copy it by pressing cmd + C. Now you can go back to your folder, Right-Click it > Get info > Click the folder image in the upper right corner of your screen and tap cmd + v to paste it right in.

One more thing

Before you go, I have one thing that might interest you. I write a lot on the internet, but when it comes to those golden nuggets, I like to share them with my friends first. So make sure to join the club by subscribing here to my email list!