If you are someone who is a bit pedantic about how the background of your folders look, or you just like to customize the OS where you see fit so you can have things your own way, you might be interested in checking out a third-party tool called the QTTabBar.
Many people got used to having a unique background folder color in earlier versions of Windows such as Windows XP when it was a feature that was easily obtainable by adjusting the desktop.ini file. By modifying the same file, it was even possible to set an image as the background and not just have a lay with solid colors.
7 and later: Windows system32 spool drivers color. XP: Windows system32 spool drivers color. 2000+ME: WinNT system spool drivers color. Some programs incorrectly install profiles to Win NT System32 Color on Windows 2000, if there are any profile location problems it can be advantageous to duplicate profiles to both that folder and the one. I have certain files and folders that I would like to distinguish from others, without creating a new folder. (I have enough folders as it is.) Is there a way to make individual file name fonts look different than others (bold, color, italics, etc)? I would prefer not to use a 3rd party file manager.
All of that fun that was once available in Windows XP has been taken away in Windows 10. There is no way to be setting background colors of folders at all unless you are willing to use a third-party application. The best application known to date for the job is the QTTabBar tool.
Changing the folder background color in Windows 10
Head to the QTTabBar web page and click on the download link that is available in green.
Once you have clicked on the link, you then get the file downloading above the taskbar. Click on the file once the download completes.
Click on the “QTTabBar” application and then click on the “Extract all” button when it appears on the computer screen.
Select a destination for the extracted application by clicking on the “Browse” button or just leave it on the default option if you don’t know where you would like it stored on the computer.
Click on the “Extract” button at the bottom once you have made your choice.
You now have the extracted version of the QTTabBar application available that you can click. Do that now, and you then get the setup wizard that needs following to set up the tool.
Click on the “Next” button from the front page of the setup wizard.
Color Folder App
Click on the “Install” box from the “Choose action” page and deselect the “Create shortcut in Start menu” box if you don’t want the program to install a shortcut in the Start menu if you are anything like me and prefer to keep the Start menu reserved for the essentials.
Click on the “Next” button to continue.
The QTTabBar then installs on the computer. Click on the “Exit” button when you get to the “Installation finished successfully” screen.
Click on the Windows icon to open the “Start” menu.
Click on the “File Explorer” icon available from the left-hand side pane.
Click on the “View” button from the menu.
Click on the small arrow that is available under the “Options” button.
Doing so presents you with a new drop-down menu with some options. Make sure you select the “QT Command Bar” and “QTTabBar” options, so they now have a tick next to them.
Once that is done, you get a new bar available. Look for the “Settings” gear icon available in that bar and click on it to open the settings that are associated with the tool.
Click on “Appearance” from the left-hand side pane.
Click on “Folder view” under the “Appearance” heading.
Choose your colors from the Folder View.
Clicking on the “Base background color” then makes the color pallet available for you to use.
Click on the “Navigation pane” option in the menu and choose your colors again. The color you choose this time is going to be for the navigation pane that is available on the left-hand side of the screen when you open your File Explorer (similar to the area that is featured in blue for this tool).
Now click on the “Compatible Folder view” from the left-hand side pane and click on the “Compatible list view style” and check the box for the “Selected column bg color in Details” and then choose your color.
Click on the “Apply” button from the bottom of the screen.
You have now applied the colors, and they are available for you to use next to you visit the File Explorer after resetting the computer.
That is all you need to change the folder background color using a version of the Windows 10 operating system.
Drivers depend on your machine.
| Ricoh | ||
|---|---|---|
| Multifunction Products | Color Multifunction Products | SP C250SF SP C252SF SP C260SFNw SP C261SFNw SP C262SFNw Aficio MP C305 MP C306 MP C307 SP C360SFNw SP C360SNw SP C361SFNw MP C401 MP C406 MP C407 MP C2003 MP C2004 MP C2004ex MP C2011 MP C2094SPJ MP C2094exSPJ MP C2503 MP C2504 MP C2504ex MP C2594SPJ MP C2594exSPJ MP C3003 MP C3004 MP C3004ex MP C3503 MP C3504 MP C3504ex MP C4503 MP C4504 MP C4504ex MP C5503 MP C5504 MP C5504ex MP C6003 MP C6004 MP C6004ex MP C6503 MP C8003 MP CW2201 Pro C5200S Pro C5210S |
| Monochrome Multifunction Products | SP 220SNw SP 220SFNw SP 221S SP 221SNw SP 221SF SP 221SFNw SP 277NwX SP 277SNwX SP 277SFNwX SP 320SN SP 320SFN SP 325SNw SP 325SFNw SP 377SFNwX SP 3600SF SP 3610SF MP 401 MP 402 SP 4510SF MP 305+ MP 501 MP 601 MP 2001 MP 2501 MP 2554 MP 2555 MP 2595SPJ MP 3054 MP 3055 MP 3095SPJ MP 3554 MP 3555 MP 3595SPJ MP 4054 MP 4055 MP 5054 MP 5055 MP 6054 MP 6055 MP 6503 MP 7503 MP 9003 | |
| Printers | Color Printers | SP C250DN SP C252DN SP C260DNw SP C261DNw SP C262DNw SP C340DN SP C342DN SP C352DN SP C360DNw SP C435DN SP C440DN Aficio SP C730DN Aficio SP C830DN Aficio SP C831DN SP C840DN SP C842DN |
| Monochrome Printers | SP 220Nw SP 221 SP 221Nw SP 320DN SP 325DNw SP 377DNwX SP 400DN SP 450DN SP 3600DN Aficio SP 4310N SP 4510DN SP 4520DN SP 5300DN SP 5310DN SP 6430DN SP 8400DN | |
| Savin | ||
|---|---|---|
| Multifunction Products | Color Multifunction Products | SP C250SF SP C252SF SP C261SFNw SP C262SFNw MP C305 MP C306 MP C307 SP C360SFNw SP C361SFNw MP C401 MP C406 MP C407 MP C2003 MP C2004 MP C2004ex MP C2011 MP C2503 MP C2504 MP C2504ex MP C3003 MP C3004 MP C3004ex MP C3503 MP C3504 MP C3504ex MP C4503 MP C4504 MP C4504ex MP C5503 MP C6003 MP C6004 MP C6004ex MP C6503 MP C8003 MP CW2201 Pro C5200S Pro C5210S |
| Monochrome Multifunction Products | SP 3600SF SP 3610SF MP 401 MP 402 SP 4510SF MP 305+ MP 501 MP 601 MP 2001 MP 2501 MP 2554 MP 2555 MP 3054 MP 3055 MP 3554 MP 3555 MP 4054 MP 4055 MP 5054 MP 5055 MP 6054 MP 6055 MP 6503 MP 7503 MP 9003 | |
| Printers | Color Printers | SP C250DN SP C252DN SP C261DNw SP C262DNw SP C340DN SP C342DN SP C352DN SP C360DNw SP C435DN SP C440DN SP C730DN SP C830DN SP C831DN SP C840DN SP C842DN |
| Monochrome Printers | SP 3600DN SP 4310N SP 4510DN SP 4520DN SP 5300DN SP 5310DN SP 6430DN SP 8400DN | |
Color Folder Icons
| Lanier | ||
|---|---|---|
| Multifunction Products | Color Multifunction Products | SP C250SF SP C252SF SP C261SFNw SP C262SFNw MP C305 MP C306 MP C307 SP C360SFNw SP C361SFNw MP C401 MP C406 MP C407 MP C2003 MP C2004 MP C2004ex MP C2011 MP C2503 MP C2504 MP C2504ex MP C3003 MP C3004 MP C3004ex MP C3503 MP C3504 MP C3504ex MP C4503 MP C4504 MP C4504ex MP C5503 MP C6003 MP C6004 MP C6004ex MP C6503 MP C8003 MP CW2201 Pro C5200S Pro C5210S |
| Monochrome Multifunction Products | SP 3600SF SP 3610SF MP 401 MP 402 SP 4510SF MP 305+ MP 501 MP 601 MP 2001 MP 2501 MP 2554 MP 2555 MP 3054 MP 3055 MP 3554 MP 3555 MP 4054 MP 4055 MP 5054 MP 5055 MP 6054 MP 6055 MP 6503 MP 7503 MP 9003 | |
| Printers | Color Printers | SP C250DN SP C252DN SP C261DNw SP C262DNw SP C340DN SP C342DN SP C352DN SP C360DNw SP C435DN SP C440DN SP C730DN SP C830DN SP C831DN SP C840DN SP C842DN |
| Monochrome Printers | SP 3600DN SP 4310N SP 4510DN SP 4520DN SP 5300DN SP 5310DN SP 6430DN SP 8400DN | |
Folder Manager Windows 10
| NRG | ||
|---|---|---|
| Multifunction Products | Color Multifunction Products | MP C305 MP C306 MP C307 SP C360SFNw SP C360SNw SP C361SFNw MP C401 MP C406 MP C407 MP C2003 MP C2004 MP C2004ex MP C2011 MP C2503 MP C2504 MP C2504ex MP C3003 MP C3004 MP C3004ex MP C3503 MP C3504 MP C3504ex MP C4503 MP C4504 MP C4504ex MP C5503 MP C5504 MP C5504ex MP C6003 MP C6004 MP C6004ex MP C6503 MP C8003 MP CW2201 |
| Monochrome Multifunction Products | SP 3600SF SP 3610SF MP 401 MP 402 SP 4510SF MP 305+ MP 501 MP 601 MP 2001 MP 2501 MP 2554 MP 2555 MP 3054 MP 3055 MP 3554 MP 3555 MP 4054 MP 4055 MP 5054 MP 5055 MP 6054 MP 6055 MP 6503 MP 7503 MP 9003 | |
| Printers | Color Printers | SP C340DN SP C342DN SP C352DN SP C440DN SP C730DN SP C830DN SP C831DN SP C840DN SP C842DN |
| Monochrome Printers | SP 3600DN SP 4310N SP 4510DN SP 4520DN SP 5300DN SP 5310DN SP 6430DN SP 8400DN | |
How To Change Folder Color
| infotec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Multifunction Products | Color Multifunction Products | MP C305 MP C306 MP C307 MP C401 MP C406 MP C407 MP C2003 MP C2004 MP C2004ex MP C2011 MP C2503 MP C2504 MP C2504ex MP C3003 MP C3004 MP C3004ex MP C3503 MP C3504 MP C3504ex MP C4503 MP C4504 MP C4504ex MP C5503 MP C5504 MP C5504ex MP C6003 MP C6004 MP C6004ex MP C6503 MP C8003 |
| Monochrome Multifunction Products | MP 401 MP 402 SP 4510SF MP 305+ MP 501 MP 601 MP 2001 MP 2501 MP 2554 MP 2555 MP 3054 MP 3055 MP 3554 MP 3555 MP 4054 MP 4055 MP 5054 MP 5055 MP 6054 MP 6055 MP 6503 MP 7503 MP 9003 | |
Folder Color Manila
| Gestetner (China) | ||
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| Monochrome Multifunction Products | DSm1020sp DSm1025sp DSm2525sp DSm2625sp DSm2530sp DSm2630sp DSm2535sp DSm2635sp DSm2540sp DSm2640sp DSm2550sp DSm2650sp DSm2560sp DSm2660sp | |