How to fix
Change Folder Picture
on Windows

I’m a new Windows 10 user and have many questions regarding its customization. I used to change folder pictures on previous versions, so I would like to do the same in Windows 10. Is it possible?

In Windows 10, Microsoft left much space for people’s creativity by adding many customization options. For example, people can change Windows themes, customize start menu, change folder icons, and so on. Recently, we noticed several threads were people ask if it’s possible to change folder pictures.

By default, Windows displays a thumbnail preview of the folder’s contents on the folder’s icon. One may not confuse the folder icon and folder picture because these two are not the same. Folder picture is seen on a folder when viewing the thumbnail views, while folder icon is automatically created by File Explorer (former Windows Explorer) for the thumbnail view rendering the first four pictures stored in the folder. Sometimes, to recognize the folder easier, people opt for changing folder picture, which is possible not only in Windows 10, but also in other Windows version. The following are the image file types that can be set as a Windows 10 folder picture: .jpg, .jpeg, .gif, .png, .tif, .tiff, .bmp, .ico, .wmf, .dib, .jfif, .jpe, .fpx, or .mix.

Changing Folder Picture in Windows 10

Although changing folder picture is as easy as a pie, many Windows enthusiasts don’t know the way how to do that up-till-now. So, here’s what you have to do:

• Find the folder for which you want to set a new folder picture and open it.
• If files do not exhibit the file extensions, click View.
• Mark the File name extensions check box.

• Then find the file that you prefer to set as a folder picture and rename it to Folder.gif.
• When a confirmation window shows up, click Yes.

NOTE: if you cannot open the Folder.gif file after renaming it, rename it back to the original file extension.

Alternatively, folder picture can be changed by following these steps:

• Right-click on a folder for which you want to set a new folder picture.
• Click Properties and open Customize tab.
• Locate Folder picture section and click Choose file.
• Find the image that you want to set as folder picture, mark it, and click Open.
• Finally, click Apply button.

If, after all, you would like to restore the original folder picture, perform the steps given above to access Folder picture section and then select Restore Default button.