How to Change Folder Icon and Color on Mac

macOS has a pretty solid search feature that lets you easily find files in the Finder app. However, organizing files into folders can be tricky, especially if you’re used to other operating systems like Windows. So if you care about how your files and folders look on your Mac or MacBook, you may want to find a way to make them easier to see and categorize at a glance.

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One way is to change the icon or color of files and folders. However, this can be quite confusing, regardless of the operating system you use. Even if you are already familiar with other operating systems in the Apple ecosystem, such as iOS and iPadOS, changing the colors and icons of folders can be puzzling if you haven’t done it on a Mac before.

To help you organize and customize your files, here are the steps you need to take to change the icon or color of folders on your Mac. We’ll start with the first one because it’s much simpler. But once you know these basic steps, you’ll be able to change the color and icon image of most files and folders on your macOS device.

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Changing the icon of a folder on your Mac using a photo is pretty easy. If you already have a photo ready, here’s how:

1. On your Mac, open the image you want to use as an icon, preferably using the Preview app.
2. With the image open in Preview, click Edit > Copy on the menu bar to copy the photo.
3. Now go to Finder and select the file or folder whose icon you want to change. You can select multiple files and folders if you want to change multiple icons.
4. On the menu bar, click File > Get Info to open the file or folder properties window.
5. Click the small icon at the top of the information window (the one next to the file or folder name and the date and time it was last modified).
6. Return to the menu bar and select Edit > Paste.

Once you do this, the copied image will replace the original icon in Finder. Keep in mind that you can use any image file as an icon, unlike Windows where you have to use an existing icon or convert the photo you want to use to a Windows icon.

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While changing the icon to something else is as simple as selecting the image you want, changing the color of a folder is a bit more complicated. Here’s how:

1. Select the folder whose icon color you want to change.
2. Go to the menu bar and select File > Get Info.
3. In the information window that opens, select the small folder icon at the top.
4. Click Edit > Copy on the menu bar.
5. Now open the Preview app and select File > New from Clipboard.
6. Then the Preview app will open the folder icon images you copied. Then click the Show Markup Toolbar icon and then select Adjust Color.
7. In the Adjust Color window, drag the Saturation, Temperature, and Tint sliders to change the colors accordingly. Remember, you need to do this for each icon size in the stack, from one to 10.
8. After changing the colors of all folder icons, click Edit > Copy on the menu bar.
9. Go back to the info window and re-select the small folder icon at the top of the window.
10. On the menu bar, click Edit > Paste.

And with this, you will see that the folder has changed color to the copied one. If you want to apply this colored icon to other folders in the future, remember to save the preview file so that you can simply load it as an image later.

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While custom colors and folder icons are some of the ways you can organize your desktop, there may come a time when you want to revert it back to its original state. So if you want to reuse the blue folder icon for your folders, here’s what you need to do:

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1. Select the file or folder whose icon you want to restore to its original icon.
2. Click File > Get Info on the menu bar to open the information window for the file or folder.
3. Select the small custom icon located at the top of the info window.
4. On the menu bar, click Edit > Cut.

This will move the custom image to your Mac’s clipboard, and restore the original file or folder icon. Keep in mind, however, that the custom image you use won’t be available on your clipboard. Instead, if you open the Preview app and choose File > New from Clipboard from the menu bar, you’ll just see a plain blue folder.

Changing the image or color of folders on your Mac is one way you can customize them. That way, you’ll have visual cues about what’s inside a folder before you read its name or open it. But if you want even more customization, check out these Mac apps that can help you get the experience you want from your Apple device.