How to indicate a folder or its sub-folders are empty

I am using windows 7 professional x32

I have a layout of folder organization for my projects. This means each of my project folder have a dedicated number of folders and sub-folders such as Diagrams folder will have sub folders like network, P&ID, wiring etc.

In some of my projects, some of the above folders may be empty but they should be there in order make harmony in the layout. Now I have added a column "size" but it doesn't show the size of the folder.

Is there an immediate way of telling that the folder and sub folders are empty ? I know hovering the mouse over the folder will tell you that its empty but why bother :)

Also, I don't want to install a separate software.

For me, the icon usually changes to the Empty Folder icon.

I have attached an image. My diagrams folder is empty only. How can I tell ?

Thanks

Oh wait, yeah: if a folder has a folder in it, then the parent folder will have the icon you're seeing because there's something in it - even though the only thing in it is an empty folder. You could have nothing but empty folders in a folder and it would still have that icon. The only way to have the Empty Folder icon is to have absolutely nothing in the folder - not even empty folders.

The reason Windows is set up this way is so that we know when a folder is truly empty. That is, so we know that it doesn't even have any empty folders in it. That can be very important.

najamfazal said:

I have attached an image. My diagrams folder is empty only. How can I tell ?

Thanks

Hello najamfazal!

The "Diagrams" folder icon shows that it has something in it, right? That's because it did have data in it in the past. When you totally cleared the folder, the folder thumbnail that was generated when you had data in it wasn't updated by Windows after you deleted data to show an empty folder icon like this:

Windows does not update the folder thumbnails sometimes (after data in them is changed). Maybe that a Windows bug, I am not sure.

To solve this problem, you need to remove the thumbnail cache so that Windows regenerates it.

Click Start > Type in "disk clean" and hit Enter.

Now select C drive, check mark everything in the list including "Thumbnails" and click OK, then "Delete". Repeat this for all drives.

Now check your empty folder icon. Does it show like the picture above? Now you know that the folder is empty.

Hope this helps. :)

najamfazal said:

I am using windows 7 professional x32

I have a layout of folder organization for my projects. This means each of my project folder have a dedicated number of folders and sub-folders such as Diagrams folder will have sub folders like network, P&ID, wiring etc.

In some of my projects, some of the above folders may be empty but they should be there in order make harmony in the layout. Now I have added a column "size" but it doesn't show the size of the folder.

Is there an immediate way of telling that the folder and sub folders are empty ? I know hovering the mouse over the folder will tell you that its empty but why bother :)

Also, I don't want to install a separate software.

I want to clarify something that I said before: if you have a folder that has nothing but empty folders inside of it, then the parent folder's icon will not have the Empty Folder icon because that parent folder is not empty. This is true even if the contents inside are just empty folders. The only way a folder will get the Empty Folder icon is when it truly has nothing inside of it - not even one single empty folder.

TwoCables: You are right. If the folder is truly empty as shown in Fig2 only then it will show empty folder icon
Nilank: I've tried your solution, clean up everything but the problem remains Fig1.

I think win7 will only show the folder empty if it is truly empty as TwoCable said. However this seems a lack in windows 7 (as i observed on other forums as well) I will accept TwoCables reply as answer as it is most nearest solution.

Thank you all :)

Yeah exactly, 2C is right. Folder icon will be shown as in your second figure only when there are not even empty folders inside. I thought you already had a really "empty" folder you were talking about.