How to change the folder's icon? And how to save the icon as My.Settings?

Question

Hey,

As this is the first question for me here, so i hope that someone helps me! So, i'm making file/folder protector in VB.Net also, in the same application, i have a drive locker. All of these things work well. What i need is how to change the folder's icon (from the path, for eg: C:\Users\PC\Desktop\Files) So here i wanna change "Files" I have a code but it only works for .EXE Files. Also i've searched and i've found alot of solutions such as making the "desktop.ini" but i don't understand it.

If .exe code will help then tell me and i will post it.

Kind Regards,

John Zack.

Answer 1

Hi,

One method is to create a desktop.ini file via code and set the icon there e.g.,

ini

[.ShellClassInfo]
IconFile=\\ASD\DEV\Shared\SandBox\KP\DotNet\wizard.ico
IconIndex=0
ConfirmFileOp=0
InfoTip=My Dotnet files

---

Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they help and unmark them if they provide no help, this will help others who are looking for solutions to the same or similar problem. Contact via my Twitter (Karen Payne) or Facebook (Karen Payne) via my MSDN profile but will not answer coding question on either.
VB Forums - moderator

Answer 2

Hi,

One method is to create a desktop.ini file via code and set the icon there e.g.,

ini

[.ShellClassInfo]
IconFile=\\ASD\DEV\Shared\SandBox\KP\DotNet\wizard.ico
IconIndex=0
ConfirmFileOp=0
InfoTip=My Dotnet files

---

Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they help and unmark them if they provide no help, this will help others who are looking for solutions to the same or similar problem. Contact via my Twitter (Karen Payne) or Facebook (Karen Payne) via my MSDN profile but will not answer coding question on either.

So the only way is creating desktop.ini? If yes, then how to make it via that "code" and how to put it in the folder from the folder Path?

thanks!

Answer 3

  You will also need to set the file attributes of the Desktop.ini file and the Folder so they include the System attribute or the Desktop.ini file will not do any good.  Also,  the icon for the folder must be located on the hard drive so,  if it is added to your application`s  resources,  you need to write it to the hard drive.  Placing it inside the folder would work fine.

 You can also set the Hidden attributes to the Desktop.ini file and the icon so that they are not visible in the folder.  Below is an example that works good for me to do all this by calling the SetFolderIcon sub.

Public Class Form1
    Private myFolder As String = "C:\TestFolder\My Folder"

    Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
        'Create your folder if it does not exist yet
        If Not IO.Directory.Exists(myFolder) Then IO.Directory.CreateDirectory(myFolder)

        'Set the folder Icon and Baloon Tip Text
        SetFolderIcon(myFolder, My.Resources.MyIcon, "My Icon Test Folder")
    End Sub

    Private Sub SetFolderIcon(ByVal folder As String, ByVal ico As Icon, Optional ByVal tip As String = "")
        If IO.Directory.Exists(folder) Then
            Try
                'Copy the Icon from the Resources to the folder if it does not exist in the folder. This must be a real icon file (.ico)
                Dim iconFile As String = IO.Path.Combine(folder, "FolderIcon.ico")
                If Not IO.File.Exists(iconFile) Then
                    Using st As New IO.FileStream(iconFile, IO.FileMode.Create)
                        ico.Save(st)
                    End Using
                End If

                'Set the Hidden attribute for the icon file so it is not seen
                Dim ifa As New IO.FileInfo(iconFile)
                ifa.Attributes = ifa.Attributes Or IO.FileAttributes.Hidden

                'Create a new Desktop.ini file in the folder
                Dim iniFile As String = IO.Path.Combine(folder, "Desktop.ini")
                If tip <> "" Then
                    Dim iniStr() As String = {"[.ShellClassInfo]", "IconFile=FolderIcon.ico", "IconIndex=0", "InfoTip=" & tip}
                    IO.File.WriteAllLines(iniFile, iniStr)
                Else
                    Dim iniStr() As String = {"[.ShellClassInfo]", "IconFile=FolderIcon.ico", "IconIndex=0"}
                    IO.File.WriteAllLines(iniFile, iniStr)
                End If

                'Set the System and Hidden file attribute for the new Desktop.ini file
                Dim fa As New IO.FileInfo(iniFile)
                fa.Attributes = fa.Attributes Or IO.FileAttributes.System Or IO.FileAttributes.Hidden

                'Set the System attribute for the folder if it is not set already
                Dim di As New IO.DirectoryInfo(folder)
                If (di.Attributes And IO.FileAttributes.System) <> IO.FileAttributes.System Then
                    di.Attributes = di.Attributes Or IO.FileAttributes.System
                End If
            Catch ex As Exception
                MessageBox.Show(ex.ToString)
            End Try
        End If
    End Sub
End Class

 

 Here you can see that i create a folder named "My Folder" which uses a camera icon that i have added to the apps Resources.

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If you say it can`t be done then i`ll try it

Answer 4

Here is an example, you would need to point to the icon file and folder to save the desktop.ini file too. Here I'm using mocked file and folder.

    Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
        Dim desktopFile As String = IO.Path.Combine(AppDomain.CurrentDomain.BaseDirectory, "Desktop.ini")
        Dim iconFile As String = "C:\SomeFolder\SomeFile.ico"
        Dim theTip As String = "My special tip"
        Dim Template As String =
            <Template>
[.ShellClassInfo]
IconFile=<%= iconFile %>
IconIndex=0
ConfirmFileOp=0
InfoTip=<%= theTip %>
            </Template>.Value

        IO.File.WriteAllText(desktopFile, Template)
        IO.File.SetAttributes(desktopFile, IO.FileAttributes.Hidden)
    End Sub

Produces

[.ShellClassInfo]
IconFile=C:\SomeFolder\SomeFile.ico
IconIndex=0
ConfirmFileOp=0
InfoTip=My special tip

---

Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they help and unmark them if they provide no help, this will help others who are looking for solutions to the same or similar problem. Contact via my Twitter (Karen Payne) or Facebook (Karen Payne) via my MSDN profile but will not answer coding question on either.
VB Forums - moderator

Answer 5

Thanks, all. I will try it tomorrow, because i've to close now!

cya and thanks again

Answer 6

Okay, look, i want it to be done by getting the folder path from txtPath.text, and then changes the folder path not to create another folder..

Answer 7

 Well,  it is very easy to just use your folder path in place of the path i used.  The only reason i create the folder if it does not exist before setting the icon is so that i don`t have to create it in Explorer before running the example code.  It is just an example and i figured you would understand how to change it slightly to fit your needs.  All you need to do is call the SetFolderIcon sub using the txtPath.Text path.

    Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
        'Set the folder Icon and Baloon Tip Text
        SetFolderIcon(txtPath.Text, My.Resources.MyIcon, "My Icon Test Folder")
    End Sub

 

 Edit:  I should also add that some of the common folders that already have a special icon such as the Documents,  Videos,  Pictures,  and other folders, will already have a hidden Desktop.ini file in them.  If you set the icons of those folders,  you better back up the existing Desktop.ini file before you overwrite the Desktop.ini file.  If you don`t,  you are not going to be able to set it back to it`s original icon.

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If you say it can`t be done then i`ll try it

Answer 8

Okay, thanks guys, it worked! Now another question but the same idea, it's about icon too.

I want to choose the icon from the open file dialog with a text box , is it possible?

Answer 9

So? Any help?

Answer 10

  All you need to do is use an OpenFileDialog Class to let the user choose an icon file.  You could also use a FolderBrowserDialog Class to let the user select the folder too.  Below is a modified version of my example that will let you pass the path of an icon to the SetFolderIcon sub instead of an actual Icon image.

 You should be able to modify this to fit your needs.  Also,  now that your original question has been answered,  any additional questions should be asked in a new question.  You can link back to this thread from your new question if needed.

Public Class Form1
    Private FolderPath As String = ""
    Private IconPath As String = ""

    Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
        'have the user select a folder
        Using fb As New FolderBrowserDialog
            fb.Description = "Select a folder to change icon of..."
            fb.ShowNewFolderButton = True
            If fb.ShowDialog = DialogResult.OK Then
                FolderPath = fb.SelectedPath
            Else
                Exit Sub
            End If
        End Using

        'have the user select an icon file
        Using ofd As New OpenFileDialog
            ofd.Filter = "Icon Files|*.ico"
            If ofd.ShowDialog = DialogResult.OK Then
                IconPath = ofd.FileName
            Else
                Exit Sub
            End If
        End Using

        'Call the SetFolderIcon sub to set the folder Icon and tooltip text of the selected folder
        SetFolderIcon(FolderPath, IconPath, "My special tooltip text for the folder.")

        'Or you can call the SetFolderIcon sub without the tooltip text if you don`t want to set that. The system will use the default tooltip if you don`t.
        'SetFolderIcon(myFolderPath, myIconPath)
    End Sub

    Private Sub SetFolderIcon(ByVal FolderPath As String, ByVal IconPath As String, Optional ByVal ToolTipText As String = "")
        If IO.Directory.Exists(FolderPath) Then
            Try
                'Copy the Icon from the IconPath to the folder you want to change the icon of
                Dim iconFile As String = IO.Path.Combine(FolderPath, "FolderIcon.ico")
                IO.File.Copy(IconPath, iconFile)

                'Set the Hidden attribute for the icon file so it is not seen in the folder
                Dim ifa As New IO.FileInfo(iconFile)
                ifa.Attributes = ifa.Attributes Or IO.FileAttributes.Hidden

                'Create or Overwrite a Desktop.ini file in the folder. If you passed a tooltip in the (tip) parameter, then it will be added to the file.
                'if it is not passed in the (tip) parameter, then it is not writen in file and the system will use the default tooltip.
                Dim iniFile As String = IO.Path.Combine(FolderPath, "Desktop.ini")
                If ToolTipText <> "" Then
                    Dim iniStr() As String = {"[.ShellClassInfo]", "IconFile=FolderIcon.ico", "IconIndex=0", "InfoTip=" & ToolTipText}
                    IO.File.WriteAllLines(iniFile, iniStr)
                Else
                    Dim iniStr() As String = {"[.ShellClassInfo]", "IconFile=FolderIcon.ico", "IconIndex=0"}
                    IO.File.WriteAllLines(iniFile, iniStr)
                End If

                'Set the System and Hidden file attributes for the new Desktop.ini file
                Dim fa As New IO.FileInfo(iniFile)
                fa.Attributes = fa.Attributes Or IO.FileAttributes.System Or IO.FileAttributes.Hidden

                'Set the System attribute for the folder if it is not set already
                Dim di As New IO.DirectoryInfo(FolderPath)
                If (di.Attributes And IO.FileAttributes.System) <> IO.FileAttributes.System Then
                    di.Attributes = di.Attributes Or IO.FileAttributes.System
                End If
            Catch ex As Exception
                MessageBox.Show(ex.ToString)
            End Try
        End If
    End Sub
End Class

---

If you say it can`t be done then i`ll try it

Answer 11

Thanks, as i said, the question is the same so no need to create a new thread + I've marked the answers for the half of my question, now i will try it and will tell ya!

Thanks!!

Answer 12

Thanks, it worked.

Have a nice day!