🎨 Folder Painter for Windows

A native, lightweight, and modern folder colorizer for Windows that seamlessly integrates into the Windows Explorer right-click context menu with a beautiful cascading flyout menu.

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✨ Features

• 🎨 Paints the Official Default Folder Icon: Instead of replacing your folders with artificial or third-party icons, Folder Painter extracts the exact official default folder icon from your Windows system (shell32.dll / imageres.dll) and directly applies your paint color to it while preserving the authentic 3D shading, bevels, gradients, and highlights!
• ⚡ Instant Apply: Changes appear in Windows Explorer in real time without restarting explorer.exe or logging out (powered by native Windows Shell API SHChangeNotify).
• 🔒 Persistent Across Restarts: Colors sustain permanently through PC reboots, folder moves, and renames using standard Windows folder customization standards (desktop.ini + folder ReadOnly class flag).
• 🗂️ Cascading Flyout Menu: Right-click any folder to reveal a clean flyout submenu with icons for each color option.
• 🎨 11 Curated Presets: Modern Fluent/macOS style high-resolution icons:
  • 🔴 Red (Coral / Crimson)
  • 🟠 Orange (Tangerine / Sunset)
  • 🟡 Yellow (Golden Amber)
  • 🟢 Green (Emerald)
  • 🩵 Teal / Cyan (Aqua Mint)
  • 🔵 Blue (Azure Cobalt)
  • 🟣 Purple (Royal Amethyst)
  • 🌸 Pink (Hot Rose)
  • 🟤 Brown (Warm Bronze)
  • ⚫ Dark Charcoal (Stealth Black)
  • ⚪ Silver Grey (Cool Slate)
• 🌈 Custom Color Picker: Pick ANY custom shade using the full RGB/hex color dialog. High-resolution multi-size .ico files are rendered dynamically!
• 🔄 Restore Default Color: Reverts any painted folder back to the standard yellow Windows icon with 1 click.
• 🖥️ Standalone GUI Window: Run FolderPainter.exe directly to browse folders, preview colors, and manage context menu settings in a modern visual interface.
• 🚀 Zero Bloat / 100% Native: Built using native Windows .NET Framework and Win32 Shell APIs. No bulky background processes, services, or third-party dependencies.

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📁 File Structure

File	Description
Install.bat	Double-click to install Folder Painter into your right-click context menu.
Uninstall.bat	Double-click to remove Folder Painter from your context menu and clean up.
FolderPainter.exe	Compiled native GUI & context menu engine (can also be launched directly).
FolderPainter.cs	Complete C# source code (self-contained, compiles with built-in csc.exe).
Install.ps1	PowerShell alternative installer script.
Uninstall.ps1	PowerShell alternative uninstaller script.
EnableClassicContextMenu_Win11.bat	(Optional for Windows 11) Makes the classic full context menu appear on single right-click.
RestoreDefaultContextMenu_Win11.bat	(Optional for Windows 11) Restores Windows 11 default simplified context menu.

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🚀 Quick Start & Installation

Option 1: 1-Click Batch Installer

1. Double-click Install.bat.
2. That's it! Folder Painter will:
   • Copy itself into %LocalAppData%\FolderPainter (so it continues working even if this download folder is moved).
   • Generate all high-resolution icons (16×16 up to 256×256).
   • Register the cascading flyout context menu in the registry.

Option 2: PowerShell Installer

Run PowerShell as your standard user and execute:

.\Install.ps1

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🎯 How to Use

1. Right-Click Any Folder

• Right-click any folder in Windows Explorer.
• Hover over Folder Painter in the context menu.
• Click any preset color (e.g., Red, Blue, Green).
• The folder icon updates instantly!

2. Choose a Custom Color

• In the flyout menu, click 🎨 Custom Color....
• Pick any color from the palette or enter custom RGB values.
• Click OK — the folder is painted with your custom color!

3. Remove / Reset Color

• Right-click any painted folder.
• In the flyout menu, click 🔄 Restore Default Color.
• The folder immediately reverts to the default Windows folder icon.

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🪟 Windows 11 Tips

On Windows 11, Microsoft displays a simplified context menu by default:

• Quick Access: Right-click a folder and click Show more options (or press Shift + F10), then hover over Folder Painter.
• Make it Primary (Recommended for Win 11): Double-click EnableClassicContextMenu_Win11.bat to restore the full classic right-click menu so Folder Painter is immediately visible on single right-click! (You can undo this anytime using RestoreDefaultContextMenu_Win11.bat).

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🛠️ How It Works (Technical Details)

1. Persistent & Portable Icon Customization:
   • Copies the rendered .ico directly into the customized folder as a hidden, system-protected file (icon.ico).
   • Generates a hidden, system-protected desktop.ini inside the customized folder:

     [.ShellClassInfo]
     IconResource=icon.ico,0
     [ViewState]
     FolderType=Generic

   • Sets the ReadOnly attribute on the folder (FILE_ATTRIBUTE_READONLY). Because the icon is stored locally using a relative path, customized folders are 100% portable and keep their color when moved to another drive, USB, or computer!
2. Instant Visual Update:
   • Calls Win32 Shell API SHChangeNotify(SHCNE_UPDATEITEM, SHCNF_PATHW | SHCNF_FLSH, folderPath, NULL) and SHChangeNotify(SHCNE_ASSOCCHANGED, ...).
   • Forces Windows Explorer to invalidate the cached folder thumbnail and repaint immediately without needing to restart explorer.exe.
3. Cascading Flyout Submenu:
   • Registered under HKCU\Software\Classes\Directory\shell\FolderPainter.
   • Uses native Windows cascading verb syntax (SubCommands = ""), displaying custom colored folder icons next to every sub-item.

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🗑️ How to Uninstall

1. Double-click Uninstall.bat (or run .\Uninstall.ps1).
2. The context menu entries will be immediately removed from the Windows Registry.
3. You will also be prompted if you'd like to delete the icon files from %LocalAppData%\FolderPainter.