Identifying open folders in Explorer and Registry Editor in Windows Vista

While XP makes the opened folder or the registry key properly recognizable by a different icon and a marking, there is absolutely no difference in the registry in Vista any longer. Hence, you have to constantly check the key you are currently navigating by looking at the status bar.


There is certainly no system setting for the folder display, but you can define different icons for the individual statuses using Shell icons within the system. That’s how you can show the opened folder or key with a different icon. For that, enter ‘regedit’ ‘in the search bar of the Start menu and press [Enter]. Navigate to the key ‘HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ Explorer’. Locate the ‘Shell Icons’ sub-key or generate it via ‘Edit | New | Key’. Once created, add a new character string ‘4’ via ‘Edit | New | Character String’.
'4' stands for the name and not the value of the character string that is applicable to the characteristic for the system symbol of an opened folder. Now double-click to open the new character string, enter ‘shell32.dll,-173’ as the ‘Value’ and confi rm with ‘OK’. Now exit the Registry Editor.
The next time you start an Explorer window or the Registry Editor, the active folders will always be marked with an additional star in the icon. If you want it clearer, use the ‘imageres.dll,-115’ or ‘shell32.dll,-290’ icons to highlight the folder in a different color as well. Normally, you can use any icon from an ICO or DLL file. The number stands for the position of the icon in the file that has been used.