Since upgrading to Catalina several folders in my Documents folder are displaying as the generic document icon (blank page with turned down corner) rather than the plain blue folder icon. What can I do to restore folder icon to these folders? Thank you.
iMac Line (2012 and Later)
Well, it turns out that I dug deeper into my hard drive, and I in fact found some old folders from years ago which still do have the white generic document icon. So, I decided to put Kapitan Kloss's instructions to the test. Leave it to those "Germans" to figure out this kind of stuff. :) :)
For the sake of any inexperienced users who may be having a hard time understanding all of this, I am going to give you a simple, clear example in the Terminal app, which you will find in /Applications/Utilities.
Suppose that your user name on your machine is "Tom". On your hard drive, in your "Documents" folder, you have another folder called "My Work Reports", and within that folder you have a subfolder called "Languages". Now, inside of the "Languages" folder, you have discovered some folders which have the white generic document icon. So the first thing you need to do is to navigate to the "Languages" folder like this by using the "cd" -- or "change directory" -- command:
cd /users/tom/documents/my\ work\ reports/languages/
After typing that, you obviously have to hit your "return" key.
After using the previous command, you will be in your "Languages" folder.
The next step is to list everything that is found in the "Languages" folder, so we use this command:
ls -l
Again, hit your "return" key after typing it. That command will produce something like this:
drwxr-xr-x 3 tom staff 96 Apr 25 06:20 Afrikaans
drwxr-xr-x@ 5 tom staff 160 Apr 25 06:23 English
drwxr-xr-x 3 tom staff 96 Apr 25 06:32 French
drwxr-xr-x@ 4 tom staff 128 Apr 25 06:30 German
drwxr-xr-x@ 6 tom staff 192 Apr 25 06:35 Korean
drwxr-xr-x@ 4 tom staff 128 Apr 25 06:23 Portuguese
drwxr-xr-x 3 tom staff 96 Apr 25 04:38 Slovak
drwxr-xr-x@ 6 tom staff 192 Apr 25 07:02 Spanish
As you can see, five of the folders are marked with the "@", which, as Kapitan Kloss explained, means that they "have the "extended attributes" (Finder metadata) included" with them.
So, let's say we want to find out what extended attributes that "English" folder has. Thus, in the Terminal again, we would type the following:
xattr english
Again, hit your "return" key after typing that.
The above command will produce the following result, and immediately return you to your command prompt, like this. Incidentally, "HD" represents the supposed name of our hard drive in this example. As you can see, we are still in the "Languages" folder:
com.apple.FinderInfo
com.apple.macl
HD:languages tom$
So, to remove the "com.apple.FinderInfo" attribute from the folder named "English" we would type the following, and hit the "return" key:
xattr -d com.apple.FinderInfo english
Now, you can do the same thing individually with the other four folderes, and hit the "return" key after each command like this:
xattr -d com.apple.FinderInfo german
xattr -d com.apple.FinderInfo korean
xattr -d com.apple.FinderInfo portuguese
xattr -d com.apple.FinderInfo spanish
As you do each one, you will immediately see each folder on your hard drive revert back to the normal blue folder.
Or, as Kapitan Kloss also explained, you can save time and use the wildcard symbol "*" to do all four of them at once like this:
xattr -d com.apple.FinderInfo*
Again, hit your "return" key after typing that command.
Please note that this will only affect folders in the "Languages" folder. To change folder icons in other folders, you obviously need to navigate there first using the "cd" command.
I hope these more extended instructions help some of you.
Thanks Kapitan Kloss for pointing us in the right direction. :)
Well, bingo, Wordweaver. On my sloooow external drive, I saw pretty blue folders! Now my other drive is a new ssd and I got this message: "Running bless to place boot files failed." I suspect (and hope) that's because SuperDuper is not-quite-ready-for-prime-time Catalina! I did get a new error message on restart back to my internal drive: "Adobe Acrobat Pro (X from 2010) may damage your computer and should be moved to trash." I complied, though I think that was just the alias. The Acrobat folder is still in the Applications folder (with the big circle with a line through it.) The need to use adobe CS6 apps was my main reason for the Mojave backups, though I think I have found affordable substitutes.
I just went looking for the folder in which I keep all of my receipts and it's gone. I found the white "documents" icon that appears to hold all of my former files in the "Security" folder, which is in Relocated Items in the Shared users folder - in other words, buried on my computer.
There is a pdf file in there titled "What Are Relocated Items?" that gives this worthless explanation:
During the last macOS upgrade or file migration, some of your files couldn’t be
moved to their new locations. This folder contains these files.
Files needing new locations
Some of your files had been in a location that is now incompatible with macOS security settings.
These files were moved to the Security folder for your review.
If there are any files you want to keep, you can move them to a new location, as long as it is
different from their location before the upgrade or migration.
Configuration files
These configuration files were modified or customized by you, by another user, or by an app.
The modifications are incompatible with the recent macOS upgrade. The modified files are in
the Configuration folder, organized in subfolders named for their original locations.
To restore any of the custom configurations, compare your modifications with the configuration
changes made during the macOS upgrade and combine them when possible.
Copyright © 2019 Apple Inc. All rights reserved.
I'm very happy that you are able to understand and simply fix your problem. Apparently the "same message we all receive" is not helping any of the others who are having difficulties with this, either.
I had/have thousands of files that "may be a little more tricky" and I resent that Apple has made this so time-consuming and frustrating to resolve.
Same problem. I have two Macs and the problem occurs on both. Also, if you try to paste the correct folder icon on one of those "blank" ones in the "get info" window – whether a generic folder icon, or a special graphic – it will be displayed briefly and then turn into the blank document icon again. It seems in general that it's impossible to change the folder icon.
Yes, both are running Catalina. One is a MacBook Pro and the other an iMac. I haven’t checked if the same folders get generic icon documents on both or if they’re different, because the iMac is in the office and the MacBook is at home. But I definitely get quite a few of the genetic icons on both.
i, too, tried various things but couldn’t get the folder icons back. But seeing the same effect on both computers convinced me it’s an OS issue.
It may be worth mentioning that my Documents folder is actually on a Dropbox account, so I can share it on all my computers.
Did not work for me. Curiously, one icon changed to the blue folder (the one I dropped the new folder on), but nothing else. And I couldn't even repeat that one change by dropping the blue folder on others. I have no idea why.
Looks like we can all waste our time trying things, or we can wait for Apple to fix this. I can't imagine how it slipped through.
Well, there are no answers in that thread either . . . unless OldToad's idea of booting into Safe Mode, and then booting normally works. I no longer have the white generic document icon problem, but maybe someone else here who still does have the problem can try it out and let us know if it helps or not.
Very interesting Kapitan Kloss. Personally, I am unable to test this, because I no longer have an folders with the white generic document icon.
However a question for you: If I understand you correctly, the "xattr -d xxxxxx" command has to be used on every affected folder individually. If so, then if a person has hundreds or thousands of affected folders, then this is really not a practical solution, being as it would be very time-consuming to perform this operation on so many folders.
Also, although you don't mention it here, I am assuming that a person has to navigate -- via the Terminal -- to the actual location on their hard drive where each affected folder is located, using the "cd" command. Correct? Again, this makes it quite a time-consuming process for people who have dozens, hundreds or even thousands of such folders.
I am wondering, is there is possibly a batch "xttr -d" command which could automatically search out and change every affected folder, without knowing the actual folder names, kind of like a catch-all grep pattern?
If not, maybe someone more talented than I can write some kind of AppleScript or Automator script which could perform such a grep-like batch operation.
I am going to write to a talented AppleScript writer I know. Maybe he will be willing to help those of you who are still afflicted with this issue.
@4score Please don't post random links without any description of what it is or why you are posting it. For one thing you link could be a link to spam or trojans or adware crap. We don't know. Second, what is your experience with this app and have you actually tried it on the problem being discussed in this thread? Or are you just a shill for this piece of software which may be helpful or could just as easily be a giant POS designed to infect people's computers.
Also noting that they seem to be appropriating the nickname of "CCC" which has long been associated with Carbon Copy Cloner which makes me think these people don't care which makes me wonder further about this piece of sw.
I think it is not my job – and millions of other users in the community – to play around with terminal commands because of a mistake which Apple has made. I probably could do the thing, though. I started studying computer science in Helsinki University 1972 when there was only one computer size of three rooms in the house...
Now I'll just wait for an upgrade... This issue really doesn't have anything to do with usability. Just a cosmetic thing for me when using my computers.
Hello Henry. Thank you for the additional information regarding the Terminal command, as well as the more refined command which only addresses folders, and does not touch other types of files. Well done! I was hoping to try out your refined command before I add it to my tutorial on my blog. However, I no longer have any generic folders on my machine with which to test it.
[Edited by Moderator]
Hi all.
My problem with folder icons is different but still related to the Catalina upgrade.
My folders all retained the traditional blue folder icons. My problem is that many of my folders had icons that were a visual image of what was actually in the folder. Not only have I lost all of these 'customised' icons, but I can no longer add images (.jpg's etc) to replace the standard folder icons. I have always done this by simply copying the image and then, using the 'Get Info' option, using command+v to paste them into the icon.
Apologies for widening the problem. Terminal commands will not fix this, unless I am missing something.
Cheers....Scotty
As others have said, I have literally a thousand of these icons to change buried in nested folders. I cannot afford the time to go hunt these down and change them one by one in terminal or the finder.
Thanks!
That did do it. I suspect I did not have the directory set (cd) properly the first time I tried it. I was running the command on the default terminal cd. My dropbox is large and on an external drive. Drag and drop to set the file path.
I suspect that Dasher is correct. I have folders and files that have copied over since OS 7
For anyone else following this, be patient. Since I have about a terabyte of nested folders, the terminal command took about 10 minutes to drill through all of the folders. There is no hint that the process is running and reopening the window seems necessary.
I had another look at my above published Terminal command and made it more bullet-proof.
- it touches only real folders, not files;
- it drills recursively down into subfolders, subsubfolders etc;
- applications are, for Terminal, also folders, but they are skipped (new);
- Library folder is skipped (new);
- folders without the FinderInfo generate an error that we don't want to see;
- but real errors (there shouldn't be) are displayed (new).
find $PWD -type d -not \( -path "*.app" -prune \) -not \( -path "$HOME/Library" -prune \) -exec xattr -d com.apple.FinderInfo {} \; 2>&1 | grep -v -e 'No such xattr'
(copy the complete italic line(s) above, paste in Terminal and hit return)
Don't use the command with your root-folder, your startup disk, as starting point. System and Library and a lot of invisible Unix folders are there that you don't want to process.
OK are:
- your home folder, where Terminal is when you launch it
- one up, the Users folder: cd /Users
- all other folders, except System and Library: cd drag&drop_a_folder_into_Terminal
- external disks with just data and applications (but not a complete CCC backup, with System etc)
In Terminal file- or folder-names with funny characters ($/`| etc) can cause problems, but find is quite safe in this regard. And be patient, the execution can take quite some time.
(my problem with other shorter solutions here is that they also process files and applications)
Folders with generic "document" icon
