Customize tab is missing in Folder Properties
Published: November 2004Send your feedback
Symptom
When you right-click a folder and choose Properties, the Customize tab may be missing. The Customize tab lets you choose a Folder icon, Thumbnail image and set the Folder type of a folder.
Note that the system folders such as Windows, Program Files, My Documents, My Pictures, My Music do not have the customize tab. This is by design, and cannot be changed.
If the Customize tab is missing for each and every folder in the hard disk (non-system folders), follow these steps to get the Customize tab back.
Resolution
To restore the customize tab for the normal folders (non-system folders), follow these steps:
- Open Registry Editor and navigate to the following key:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Directory \ shellex \ PropertySheetHandlers
- Create a sub-key named {ef43ecfe-2ab9-4632-bf21-58909dd177f0}
- Close Registry Editor and restart Windows. If the Customize tab is still missing, navigate to this key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Explorer
-and-
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Explorer
- In the right-pane, double-click the following values and set their
Value-data to 0. If a value does not exist, ignore and proceed further.
- NoCustomizeThisFolder
- NoCustomizeWebView
- ClassicShell
- Restart Windows.
Articles about folder customization
Customizing Folders with Desktop.ini - MSDN Library
How to modify your folder view settings or to customize a folder
