Maximum PC - UK (2019-09)

31

Customize Folder

Behavior

Windows can be instructed to treat

folders in a specific way depending on the

contents inside. Right-click a folder and

choose “Properties > Customize,” where

you can optimize it for a specific file type,

such as pictures or documents.

32

Change the Folder Icon

Yo u’ l l a l s o s e e a n o p t i o n to c h a n g e

the folder icon—useful if you want a more

visual prompt as to the folder’s contents.

Click “Change Icon” to browse files for

any icons they contain (“shell32.dll” is

selected by default, with lots of options).

You can also select previously created

or downloaded icon (ICO) files—see the

step-by-step guide on the page opposite

for a way to extract icons from other

files. Alternatively, click “Choose File” to

choose a picture to display instead—this

is perfect for photo folders, where you’d

rather focus on one of the photos inside

than have Windows display several of

them at once.

33

Set up Individual

Folder Views

Windows also remembers any individual

customizations that you perform on a

folder, so after opening it, switch to the

“View” tab on the File Explorer’s Ribbon,

where you can experiment with the

“Layout” and “Current View” sections to

apply settings that will remain specific

to that particular folder whenever you

reopen it.

34

Adjust Icon Spacing

Further tweaks can be

performed using Winaero Tweaker—

navigate to the “Advanced Appearance

Settings > Icons” section, where you can

adjust the horizontal and vertical spacing

of icons in both File Explorer and on the

desktop, plus change the default font used

to display names.

35

Tweak File

Explorer Panes

File Explorer displays two panes—

Navigation and Details—by default, but

you can also add a Preview pane via the

Ribbon’s “View” tab, plus restore Libraries

to the Navigation pane by clicking it and

choosing “Show Libraries.”

36

Set Up Quick Access

The Quick Access section of the

Navigation pane is File Explorer’s best

feature, bar none. You can drag frequently

accessed folders into here to pin them for

one-click access from any File Explorer

location. You can also click and drag

existing entries to rearrange their running

order, or right-click to unpin them.

37

Clean the

Navigation Pane

The Navigation pane can get cluttered with

lots of entries you don’t use. The simplest

way to review and remove these is to open

up Winaero Tweaker to “File Explorer >

Navigation Pane—Default Items.” Want

to add your own links? Select “Navigation

Pane—Custom Items” to do so.

38

Customize Navigation

Pane Items

You can rename the “Quick Access,”

“Libraries,” and “This PC” icons in the

Navigation pane via Winaero Tweaker’s

“File Explorer” section, too. You can also

change their icons in the same way that

you edit any folder icon.

39

Customize the

“This PC” View

Given that most of us open File Explorer

to “This PC” by default, it helps if you

can tailor it to your exact needs. Fire up

Ultimate Windows Tweaker, and navigate

to the “Customization > This PC” option,

where you can decide which user folders

should be displayed, as well as adding

various useful system shortcuts at the

same time.

File Explorer

Adjust the spacing between

icons using Winaero

Tweaker—you’ll need to

log off and on again.

Customize folders using icons or images to help provide a visual reference to their contents.

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customize Windows

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