What Do Green Folders Mean in Windows 7 Explorer?

windows 7windows-explorer

I downloaded a ZIP file and dragged the files out of the ZIP into a directory. The subdirectories I copied displayed in Windows Explorer in green instead of the default black.

What does the green folder text mean?

Windows Explorer green folders in Windows 7

(In case you're wondering, the download was from Baseline CSS)

Best Answer

Green means encrypted, blue means compressed.

If you right-click a file, go to properties and click advanced (under general tab) you have the option to encrypt the folder.

If this is a domain computer, it can be set centrally through group policy by your domain administrator which may be the reason you did not know about it… otherwise, I have not seen a program that does this automatically so you must have accidentally enabled it.