UbuntuHandbook

How to Change Color of Folder Icons in Ubuntu 16.04

Last updated: July 10, 2016

Want to make a difference on your file folders? There’s a simple Nautilus, Caja, Nemo extension called “Folder-Color” that allows to change the color or emblem of a folder, or set the global folder color from context menu.

Linux Mint has integrated this feature into its Cinnamon and MATE Desktops. All you have to do is to right-click on a folder and choose a color or emblem from “Folder’s color” menu:

Only for changing Folder Color:

For Ubuntu 16.04, the tool has been made into the universe repository, but it only allows to change the color of folder icons.

Open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run the command below to install it for Unity or Gnome:

sudo apt install folder-color

For MATE Desktop, use the command below instead:

sudo apt install folder-color-caja

Apply changes by running command nautilus -q or caja -q.

For Full Feature version:

For full feature version that changes the color or emblem and global folder color, use the developer’s PPA.

Open terminal and run commands to remove previous version and install the extension from PPA:

sudo apt remove folder-color folder-color-caja folder-color-common

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:costales/folder-color

sudo apt update

sudo apt install folder-color folder-color-caja

Also restart your file browser via command nautilus -q or caja -q.

For Ubuntu MATE, if this does not work for you, try the commands below and finally restart Caja browser:

sudo ln -s /usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/girepository-1.0/Caja-2.0.typelib /usr/lib/girepository-1.0/Caja-2.0.typelib

sudo ln -s /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/girepository-1.0/Caja-2.0.typelib /usr/lib/girepository-1.0/Caja-2.0.typelib

In Howtos Change folder colors

How to Colorize Folder Icons in Ubuntu, Linux Mint Cinnamon Mate

Last updated: October 30, 2014

Folder Color, simple Nautilus extension to colorize folder icons, now adds support for Cinnamon’s Nemo and Mate’s Caja File Manager.

Folder Color is a simple extension to customize your Ubuntu / Linux Mint folder icon, create colorful and unique folder icons for your computer to classify and manage your folders highly efficient.

The project was originally designed for Ubuntu Nautilus file browser. Now, it supports Caja – default for Mate Desktop in Linux Mint and Ubuntu Mate, and Nemo – default for Linux Mint Cinnamon.

Colorize Nautilus Folder Icons (Ubuntu)

Colorize Nemo Folder Icons (Linux Mint Cinnamon)

Install Folder Color in Ubuntu/Linux Mint:

The developer has made the binary packages into PPA, available for Ubuntu 14.10, Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 12.04 and Linux Mint 13/17.

To get started, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, do:

1. Add PPA

Paste the command below into terminal and hit Enter to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa:costales/folder-color && sudo apt-get update

Type in your user password when it asks, note that there’s no visual feed back.

2. Install the extension:

Select install below package via your Package Manager or by running the given command:

For Ubuntu Nautilus file browser, install folder-color:
```
sudo apt-get install folder-color
```
For Linux Mint Cinnamon’s Nemo file brower, install folder-color-nemo:
```
sudo apt-get install folder-color-nemo
```
For Linux Mint/Ubuntu Mate’s Caja file browser, install folder-color-caja:
```
sudo apt-get install folder-color-caja
```

Tip: For those don’t want to add the PPA, grab the .deb installer directly from the launchpad page. Note that folder-color-common need to be installed first.

3. Apply changes

Finally restart your file browser by either logging out and back in or running the command below and re-open it:

For Nautilus run: nautilus -q
For Nemo run: nemo -q
For Caja run: caja -q

4. Fix Caja issue

For Mate Caja file browser, if you don’t see the Folder Color in context menu, run command to fix:

For 32-bit:

sudo ln -s /usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/girepository-1.0/Caja-2.0.typelib /usr/lib/girepository-1.0/Caja-2.0.typelib

For 64-bit:

sudo ln -s /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/girepository-1.0/Caja-2.0.typelib /usr/lib/girepository-1.0/Caja-2.0.typelib

And finally restart caja by running caja -q.

via: tuxfamily.org

In Howtos, Linux Mint Change folder colors

Set Different Colors on Folder Icons in Ubuntu 14.04/13.10/12.04

Last updated: April 27, 2014

Want to change the color of your folders in Nautilus file browser to get a better visual layout? Well, there’s a small extension for Nautilus can do the job in Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty, Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy and Ubuntu 12.04 Precise.

See my file browser:

So far, the tool support following colors: Blue, Light Blue, Pink, Black, Yellow, Violet, Orange (Ubuntu’s default), Green, Gray, Red. Also there’s an option to reset to default.

To install this simple tool, Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open the terminal. When it opens, run the commands below one by one:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:costales/folder-color

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install folder-color

Don’t like Ubuntu PPA? Download & install the .deb package from launchpad page.

Once installed, restart Nautilus via:

nautilus -q

Finally you’re able to change a folder color in its context menu:

Webpage: https://launchpad.net/folder-color

In Howtos Change folder colors, Ubuntu 12.04, Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 14.04

Archives For November 30, 1999

How to Change Color of Folder Icons in Ubuntu 16.04

How to Colorize Folder Icons in Ubuntu, Linux Mint Cinnamon Mate

Set Different Colors on Folder Icons in Ubuntu 14.04/13.10/12.04

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