One of the macOS peculiarities is that it allows you change the image with which you identify an application, a document or a folder. And it is much easier than you can imagine. Thus, you can customize the folders on your Mac beyond the folders of Documents, Applications either Imageswhich have their own icons.
And to personalize folders or documents, just you need a picture. Better if it fits the default folder shape or the document you are going to customize, but you can easily put emojis, rectangular or square images. Each one has his own preferences. The fact is that, using the image you use, it will be very easy for you to differentiate some folders from others and so on. find what you are looking for at a glance.
The best of all is that you do not need external applications to customize your Mac documents or folders. Just copy and paste with the help of Finder. Of course, to create your own personalized images, you may have to go to photo retouching tools such as Photoshop, Pixelmator, Canvas either pixlr. Especially if you are going to customize the default icon. Let’s see what you can do.
Change the icon of a folder
On macOS, you can change icon that identifies a folder, a document or an application. And it’s as simple as drag and drop an image on that icon. Specifically, you open Finderselect the folder or document you are going to customize, press the keys command + i to open the information window and you will see the tiny icon of that folder or document.
In addition to its aesthetic functionality and to differentiate folders of documents or applications, that icon can be manipulated. First, you can copy and paste it into an external application. For example in Preview. Select the icon, press Command + Cyou open Preview and press Command + N. You already have that icon at your disposal in several resolutions. It also works in other text or image editing applications, so you can insert that icon or image into other images or documents. Or, directly, edit them.
Second possibility to customize the folders on your Mac. You can drag and drop an external image on top of the icon and replace it. So can change the look folders, documents, etc. Combining these two functionalities of Finder it is possible, for example, to create colored folders for different utilities, to create differentiated folders with emojis or, directly, insert a logo or any object. Otherwise, you can use JPEG or PNG images.
If you opt for a PNG, you can play with the transparent background to create images with original shapes. For example, a folder with the image of an iPhone or a camera. In my personal case, I have a folder with the icon of my NAS where I save the files that I will save there. The possibilities are endless.
Restore the original icon of a folder
Changing file or folder icons by copying and pasting or dragging the image is fine. But what if you want return to the original icon? Do I have to look for it there? Nothing of that. you just have to open Finderselect the folder you want to depersonalize, press command + i to see the information and the icon, and select the icon.
Once the icon is selected, to restore it to its original state, you just have to press the keys Command + X, that is, “cut” the icon. Or if you prefer, go to Edit > Cut. As simple as that. You now have the original icon again. As you can see, changing icons and restoring them is very simple. And unlike when you edit an image or a document, you can always go back to the original without you having to search for that icon in a hidden macOS folder.
Change the color of a folder
Let’s implement a very practical solution to differentiate macOS folders from each other. For example, something as simple as creating colored folders. Is a simple but effective way to customize the folders on your Mac without overcomplicating yourself. By default, the folders are light blue. But you can go to color palette in order to have a folder for each thing or for different projects or contents. It is faster to differentiate colored folders than reading their labels or names.
To create colored folders we will use the default icon of any folder. And then we will apply different shades to it without installing any application. For this, we will use the macOS Preview, which, as you know, is used for much more than reading PDFs or viewing full-screen images. For example, you can sign documents, write on them, draw or make simple touch-ups.
As we saw before. First we want a folder icon. For this, we are going to Finderselect a standard folder and press command + i to see its icon. We select it, copy it with Command + C and finally we will Preview and open that icon with Command + N. Now to color.
We could customize macOS folders by coloring them by hand. But that would take a long time and it would be fatal. So we better opt for a tool that brings with it Preview. It’s called Color Adjustment and you’ll find it by pressing the keys Option + Command + C or from Tools > Adjust Color…. Now you can apply the color you want. You won’t see a color palette, but you will see a series of tweaks that, with a slight change, will alter the color of the folder. The result, colored folders.
Yes indeed. Once you have the folder of the color you like, you will have to apply the change to the folder. So far, we have colored the icon image. So we select the main colored image, press Command + Cselect the icon to change from the information window and press Command + V. changed. You do not like? Undo the change with Command + X. And start again.
Add emojis to a folder
If you’re more conservative, you might just want standard folders but with a picture on top. Customizing the folders on your Mac has no limits. As it happens, for example, with the folders where you save Pages, Numbers, Keynote or QuickTime Player documents. For this you can again use the Preview of macOS. We copy the original icon, open it as a new image in Preview with the hotkey Command + N and, finally, we add images on top of it.
In case you want to use emojis, you can insert them as if it were any text. You will have to activate the marking tools (Shift + Command + A) and select the tool Text. Then press the keys Function + E and you will see the emojis window. Choose the one you want, double-tap or drag it to the folder. Too small? Select it and enlarge it from the dropdown text stylewhose icon is oh. At most it supports size 200.
