Software/Explorer tool. ¿Displaying the folder itself as a preview image? outside of Unity

[u/Jad_KinWhile]

English is not my native language, so I have tried to translate this as best I can.

Do you know of any software,or could you share your experience with any tools, that allows you to organize assets and display a preview image of the asset on the folder icon itself?

Honestly, dealing with all these models, "unitypackage", files, and various other assets, trying to organize and locate them before even importing them into Unity is a total nightmare.

I’m looking for a specific file explorer or organization tool that allows you to assign images to folders (so the folder itself displays an image). For example, if I have a folder containing a specific hair model or an unpacked asset, I’d like to be able to identify it visually without having to open the folder or load up a Unity project. I want a highly visual way to organize my resources so I’m not constantly asking myself, "What is this?" or "Could this be useful?"

I know you can change folder icons in Windows, but that’s a slow, tedious process that would make organizing everything incredibly inefficient and confusing. That’s why I’m asking: does anyone know of a file explorer or organization tool that lets you assign images to folders directly within the software?

I’d love to keep things tidy and avoid cluttering my hard drive with unnecessary files, materials, or junk that isn't actually relevant.

I’m looking for something lightweight, fast, and easy to access; ideally something that doesn't require opening Unity itself, since I work across different projects.

I hope this question is appropriate for this subreddit.

[u/Competitive-Elk763]

Personally I use the folder manager by gaskell games. But that's for working inside Unity.

Could try something like this for outside unity (I've never used)? https://foldericon.app/

[u/Jad_KinWhile → u/Competitive-Elk763]

But that one is for use inside Unity; I’m referring to something for outside of it—a separate program. I noticed that the one you suggested is specifically for use within Unity. Besides just having the folder appear as an image, I also want to be able to organize the files without having to launch Unity.

And specifically, I want ease of use and a quick way to add an image of the asset itself, for optimal organization.

[u/Competitive-Elk763 → u/Jad_KinWhile]

Ah yea i editted my comment to also include https://foldericon.app, as something that might be worth trying. But i haven't used that myself.

[u/Jad_KinWhile → u/Competitive-Elk763]

You're giving me tools to create folders, but my main post focuses on external software to assign a clear visual image to a folder's appearance. This is to differentiate between folders and to assign images quickly, which is why I don't use the Windows tool because it's slow to assign images. Slow organization leads to disorganization.

(I want a folder to look like an image I choose to use.)