Windows 10: Change Quick Access Icon in File Explorer in Windows 10

How to: Change Quick Access Icon in File Explorer in Windows 10

How to Change Quick Access Icon in File Explorer in Windows 10


Windows 10 replaced Favorites from previous Windows with recent files.

This tutorial will show you how to change the icon for Quick Access in File Explorer to any icon for your account or all users in Windows 10.


CONTENTS:

• Option One: Change Quick Access Icon for Current User
• Option Two: Change Quick Access Icon for All Users

EXAMPLE: Default Quick Access icon in File Explorer










OPTION ONE [/i] Change Quick Access Icon for Current User

*note This option will override Option Two.

*note This option will only be applied to the current user, and no other user account on the PC.
1. Press the Win+R keys to open Run, type regedit into Run, and click/tap on OK to open Registry Editor.

2. Navigate to the key below in the left pane of Registry Editor. (see screenshot below)
*Arrow HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{679f85cb-0220-4080-b29b-5540cc05aab6}\DefaultIcon

*note If you do not have a {679f85cb-0220-4080-b29b-5540cc05aab6} key, right click on the CLSID key, click/tap on New, click/tap on Key, type {679f85cb-0220-4080-b29b-5540cc05aab6} for the name, and press Enter.

*note If you do not have a DefaultIcon key, right click on the {679f85cb-0220-4080-b29b-5540cc05aab6} key, click/tap on New, click/tap on Key, type DefaultIcon for the name, and press Enter.




3. In the right pane of the DefaultIcon key, double click/tap on the (Default) string value (REG_SZ) to modify it. (see screenshot above)

4. Type the full path of the .ico file wrapped in quotes you want to use for the icon, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)

*note The default icon is: %SystemRoot%\system32\shell32.dll,-51380



5. You can now close Registry Editor if you like.

6. If File Explorer (Win+E) is currently open, close and reopen it to apply.

*note If the icon doesn't change, then sign in to apply instead.





OPTION TWO [/i] Change Quick Access Icon for All Users

*note You must be signed in as an administrator to do this option.

*note If any user uses Option One, it will override this option for their account.
1. Press the Win+R keys to open Run, type regedit into Run, and click/tap on OK to open Registry Editor.

2. If you used Option One, delete the DefaultIcon key located below. (see screenshots below)
*Arrow HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{679f85cb-0220-4080-b29b-5540cc05aab6}\DefaultIcon






3. Navigate to the key below in the left pane of Registry Editor. (see screenshot below)
*Arrow HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{679f85cb-0220-4080-b29b-5540cc05aab6}\DefaultIcon




4. Change the owner of the DefaultIcon key to the Administrators group.

5. Change the permissions of the DefaultIcon key to "Allow" Administrators "Full control" of it.

6. In the right pane of the DefaultIcon key, double click/tap on the (Default) string value (REG_SZ) to modify it. (see screenshot above)

7. Type the full path of the .ico file wrapped in quotes you want to use for the icon, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)

*note The .ico file will need to be saved at a location (ex: "C:\Windows" or "C:\Users\Public") that all users have access to. If it's not, the icon may show as a default folder for some users instead.

*note The default icon is: %SystemRoot%\system32\shell32.dll,-51380



8. You can now close Registry Editor if you like.

9. If File Explorer (Win+E) is currently open, close and reopen it to apply.

*note If the icon doesn't change, then sign in to apply instead.

That's it,
Shawn


Related Tutorials

• Set File Explorer to Open to This PC or Quick access by Default in Windows 10
• How to Add or Remove Quick access in Navigation Pane of File Explorer in Windows 10
• How to Pin or Unpin Locations from Quick access in Windows 10
• How to Add or Remove Frequent folders from Quick access in Windows 10
• How to Add or Remove Favorites from Quick Access in Windows 10
• How to Add or Remove Recent files from Quick access in Windows 10
• How to Hide a Specific File or Folder from Quick access in Windows 10
• How to Add or Remove 'Pin to Quick access' on Context Menu in Windows 10

:)

 

Windows 10 Tweaks

Pressing “Windows+Pause Break” (it’s up there next to scroll lock) opens the “System” Window.

Windows 10: In the new version of Windows, Explorer has a section called Quick Access. This includes your frequent folders and recent files. Explorer defaults to opening this page when you open a new window. If you’d rather open the usual This PC, with links to your drives and library folders, follow these steps:

• Open a new Explorer window.
• Click View in the ribbon.
• Click Options.
• Under General, next to “Open File Explorer to:” choose “This PC.”
• Click OK

credit to Lifehacker.

 

Quick Access Crashes Explorer

Hi Bill,

Quick Access is a new feature in Windows 10 File Explorer navigation pane which helps users quickly navigate to locations which are frequently used. However, if you're having issues with Quick Access, you can try to disable and enable it. To disable Quick
Access, follow these steps:

• Type File Explorer Option in the search box.
• Click on File Explorer Options.
• Under General tab, choose This PC in the Open File Explorer to: drop down menu.
  
• Uncheck Show recently used files in Quick access and
  Show frequently use folders in Quick access.
• Click Apply an OK.
• Restart the computer and re-enable Quick access.

Let us know how it goes after performing the suggested troubleshooting steps.

 

File Explorer/Quick Access

I recently started having a problem with File Explorer and Quick Access. When I start my computer, all works fine but then gradually the files as listed in File Explorer and Quick Access start to disappear and soon there are none present. I need to
restart and again they are there but also again they start to disappear. Has anyone else had this problem and any suggestion to correct? Thanks/

Moved from: Windows 10 / Ease of access / PC

 

Why no Quick Access button on Windows 10 File Explorer?

Hi,

Thank you for replying.

It might be that File Explorer is being opened in This PC instead of Quick Access, so follow the below steps to change the same.

Open File Explorer > Go to View tab > Select
Options > In the Open File Explorer to list, select
Quick Access from the drop-down list > click on Apply >
OK.

Once you change the option to Quick Access, File Explorer will be opened in Quick Access with the recent files.

Once you make these changes, let us know the result.

We await your reply.

 

File Explorer Quick Access change

Hi,

It is quite possible that your Quick Access is broken or corrupted. As an initial troubleshooting step to try resolve the issue, kindly follow the steps below:

• Open File Explorer and paste the following folder paths in the address bar and hit
  Enter.
  • %AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\AutomaticDestinations
  • %AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\CustomDestinations
• 
  Once the folder is opened, press Ctrl+A to select all files. Right-click and select
  Delete, to delete all files in the folder.
  
• 
  Do the same for both the above-mentioned folders.
  
• 
  Restart your Windows 10 computer.
  

If you need further assistance, don't hesitate to get back to us.