How to change a folder icon in Windows 10 and 11

Short answer: Windows 10 has a hidden Properties → Customize → Change Icon button (one folder at a time), and Windows 11 removed it entirely. A free tool like Folder Icon Changer does the same job for a whole list of folders: pick an .ico or an icon from any installed program, press Apply — Explorer updates instantly, and a Reset button brings everything back.

Method 1: the built-in way (Windows 10 only)

  1. Right-click the folder → Properties.
  2. Open the Customize tab → Change Icon…
  3. Browse for an .ico file, pick an icon, press OK twice.

Three catches: it works on one folder at a time, the picker only accepts .ico files, and the Customize tab does not exist in Windows 11 at all. Under the hood Windows writes a desktop.ini into the folder and sets the read-only attribute — the same thing our tool does automatically.

Method 2: Folder Icon Changer — free, bulk, both Windows versions

  1. Add folders. Any number — the list is remembered between runs.
  2. Choose the icon. An .ico file, or point at any .exe or .dll and its embedded icon is used as-is (no extraction step).
  3. Press Apply. The app writes the desktop.ini entry, sets the hidden/system attributes and pings Explorer via SHChangeNotify, so the new icon shows immediately. Reset to default removes the entry, deletes the file it created and clears the read-only flag.

Download free — FolderIconChanger-Setup.exe

Good to know

  • The icon travels with the folder. The settings live inside the folder's own desktop.ini, so moving it to another drive keeps the icon.
  • No admin rights needed. Everything happens in folders you can already write to.
  • Your icon files are not copied. The folder references the .ico (or exe/dll) by path — keep the file where it is, or the folder falls back to the default icon.
  • Synced folders. OneDrive and other sync clients usually sync hidden files; desktop.ini included — the icon appears on other devices too.
  • Custom icons show in Explorer. Some programs with their own folder pickers read the default icon instead; that is not a bug of the folder itself.

FAQ

Why is there no Customize tab in Windows 11 folder properties?

Microsoft removed the folder icon picker in Windows 11. The underlying mechanism (desktop.ini + attributes) still works — tools like Folder Icon Changer write it for you.

Can I use an icon from a program I have installed?

Yes — point the app at the program's .exe or any .dll and its embedded icon is used. That is handy for making a game or project folder look like the app it belongs to.

How do I get the original icon back?

Press Reset to default in the app — one click, no leftovers. Manually you would delete the IconResource line from desktop.ini, remove the file and clear the folder's read-only attribute.

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