How to create a directory or folder

There are multiple ways to create or add a folder, subfolder, directory, and subdirectory on a computer. The methods depend on the operating system or where the directory is being created. Select a link below for steps on how to create a directory and folder in each major operating system.

Creating a folder in Microsoft Windows

My Computer or Windows Explorer

1. Open My Computer or Windows Explorer.
2. Open the drive or folder where you’d like to create the new folder; for example, the C: drive. If you do not want to create a folder in the root directory, browse to the location of your choosing.
3. In Windows 10 on the Home tab, click the New folder icon. In Windows 7 and earlier on the file menu bar, select File and then Folder.

In all versions of Windows, you can also right-click with your mouse on a blank portion of the folder, select New and then Folder.

If you’re using Windows 7 or earlier and do not see the file menu bar at the top of Windows Explorer, press the Alt key and it should become visible.

Windows desktop

1. Navigate to the Windows desktop.
2. Right-click any blank portion of the desktop.
3. In the menu that appears (like that shown in the picture), click New and then Folder.
4. A new folder appears. Type the name of the folder you want to use and then press Enter .

Create a new folder using a shortcut key

While in Windows Explorer, you can press Ctrl + Shift + N to create a new folder without using the mouse.

Windows command line

See the following MS-DOS and Windows command line user section for information about creating a directory in the Windows command line.

Creating a directory in MS-DOS and the Windows command line

It is more appropriate to use «directory» instead of «folder» when referring to the command line.

To create a directory in MS-DOS or the Windows command line (cmd), use the md or mkdir MS-DOS command. For example, below we are creating a new directory called «hope» in the current directory.

You can also create multiple new directories in the current directory with the md command. In the next example, we are creating three new directories, called «user1,» «user2,» and «user3,» in the current directory.

If you want to create a directory with spaces, you need to surround the directory name with quotes. In the example below, we are creating a directory called «my example directory» in the current directory.

To create a directory in the parent directory, without first moving into that directory, you can use the command below. This example moves back one directory to create the «example» directory.

To create a subdirectory in a different directory without moving it, use a command similar to the example below. This command creates a «test» directory in the hope directory.

Once a directory is created, you can use the cd command to change the directory and move into that directory.

To make a directory in another drive without moving into that drive, use a command similar to the example below. This command creates an «example» directory on the F: drive. The drive letter «f:» can be substituted from any drive letter.

Related pages

Create a directory with a batch file

A batch file is a series of commands that can be entered in the command line. Therefore, you can use any of the examples from the section above in the batch file to create a new folder.

Creating a directory in Linux, Unix, and their variants

It is more appropriate to use «directory» instead of «folder» when in a command line.

You must have the permissions to create a directory outside of your home directory.

To create a directory in Linux, Unix, or any variant, use the mkdir Linux and Unix command. For example, below we are creating a new directory called hope in the current directory.

Once the directory is created, you can use the cd command to change the directory and move into that directory.

If you want to change the permissions of a directory after its been created, use the chmod command.

Creating a folder and directory in Microsoft Windows 3.X

File Manager

1. Open File Manager
2. Open the folder where you’d like to place the new folder and on the top menu of File Manager, select File and then new folder.

MS-DOS

See the above MS-DOS user section for information about creating a directory in MS-DOS.

Creating a folder in macOS X

Desktop folder

1. Navigate to the macOS desktop.
2. Right-click (tap two fingers on the mouse) any blank space on the desktop.
3. Select New Folder from the drop-down menu that appears.
4. Name the folder, and then press Return .

Create a folder in a directory

1. Open Finder and navigate to the directory where you’d like to create the folder.
2. Click File in the upper-left corner of the screen.
3. Select New Folder in the drop-down menu that appears.
4. Name the folder, and then press Return .

Users may also press the shortcut key combination Command + Shift + N to create a new folder.

To create a directory in the Terminal command line, see the Linux steps.

Creating Folders from a List in File Explorer — Windows 10

I see some solutions for creating a bunch of file folders from a list for older versions of Windows and was wondering if there is a new and improved way with Windows 10?

We have a set of file folders we create to organize client documents and I would love to be able to automatically create and or update them from another source, rather than right clicking and renaming a ton of file folders.

Thanks in advance!

Replies (4) 

Where does this existing file structure reside, you mention another source — is it on another PC?

And do you mean you want to recreate that folder structure on a new PC, and will this contain the same files as on the other PC?

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Sorry for the inconvenience caused to you, Thank you so much for your valuable question please, If my understanding is right, I would suggest you to please see the below mentioned article once please (if not tried before) and see if it helps. I am hopeful that your query will be resolved, If the issue persists or if my understanding is different from your concern, kindly do let me know,waiting for your kind reply please.

Useful article by Andre Da Costa

Note: This is a non-Microsoft website. The page appears to be providing accurate, safe information. Watch out for ads on the site that may advertise products frequently classified as a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products). Thoroughly research any product advertised on the site before you decide to download and install it.

Please let me know, if that helps and feel free to ask back any question.

How to Create a New Folder in Windows 10

Do your files and documents need better organization? Group related files into distinct folders on your laptop or desktop and you’ll always easily find what you need. You can also change the icon size to make it more visually pleasing. Here are a few ways to quickly create a new folder in Windows 10, and after you master this, learn how to password protect a folder in Windows 10.

Method 1: Create a New Folder with a Keyboard Shortcut

The fastest way to create a new folder in Windows is with the CTRL+Shift+N shortcut.

1. Navigate to the location where you want to create the folder. You can create a new folder at any location on your hard drive or within another folder (creating a subfolder) in File Explorer. You can also create a new folder on your desktop with this method.

2. Hold down the Ctrl, Shift, and N keys at the same time. Windows will immediately create the new folder with the not-very-imaginative suggested folder name of «New folder.»

3. Enter your desired folder name. It takes just seconds to create a new folder this way, but be sure to immediately begin typing your folder name when the folder first appears, because if you click on the folder or click away from File Explorer, the folder name will be «New folder» and you’ll have to rename it.

Method 2: Create a New Folder by Right-Clicking

If you don’t remember the keyboard shortcut or you prefer using the mouse:

1. Navigate to the location where you want to create the folder.

2. Right-click on a blank space in the folder location. Take care with this: If you right-click on an existing item in the folder, you’ll get the wrong menu.

3. Select New then Folder from the contextual menu. Windows will create the new folder at your current location.

4. Enter your desired folder name to replace «New folder» and hit Enter.

You can create folders on the Desktop using this method too. Right-click on a blank space on the Desktop, then go to New > Folder.

Method 3: Create a New Folder from the Ribbon Menu

Another simple way to create a new folder is to use the New folder button in the File Explorer menu.

Just navigate to the place you want the folder and click or tap «New folder» in the Home tab

In addition to the methods above, you can create a new folder in Windows 10 by using the Command Prompt (navigate to the location you want your folder in and type mkdir foldername, replacing «foldername» with your folder name). These three methods, however, are the simplest and quickest ways to create a new folder, so you can get right to organizing your files.

Add custom Folders to Favorite Links in Windows File Explorer

When you open Windows File Explorer or whenever you create a new file, open a new file or save a new file, you are presented with a File Dialog Box, where you can save the files. On the left side, in the Navigation Pane, you will see standard locations or places like Desktop, Computers, Pictures, etc, mentioned, which are easily accessible. This is called the Places Bar or the Favorites Links in Windows 10/8/7/Vista. If needed, you can with this tip, add your desired custom shortcuts to Open and Save dialog boxes in Windows.

Add or Remove Folders to Favorite Links in Explorer

There are several ways to add custom Folders to Favorite Links in Windows 10 File Explorer:

1. Create a Shortcut
2. Use Add current location to Favorites link
3. Use Drag and Drop
4. Tweak the Registry
5. Using Group Policy Editor
6. Using a third-party tool.

Let us look at these options in detail.

1] Open Explorer and navigate to the following folder:

Right-click in the window pane and choose New > Create Shortcut. Paste the path of the folder, which you are desirous of adding > Next > Give Shortcut a Name > Finish. Or else you can simply cut-paste its shortcut in this location.

Your Favorites will now show the custom desired place.

2] You may navigate to the folder you want to add here, then right-click on Favorites

Then select Add current location to Favorites.

3] Simply drag and drop the folder in this Favorites link.

4] Open Registry Editor and navigate to the following key:

Right-click on the Place0 in RHS pane and click on Modify. Add the desired folder path in Value Data and click OK. Do so similarly for other places.

5] The Places bar can also be changed using Group Policy.

To do so, Type gpedit.msc in Start Search bar and hit Enter. Navigate to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Explorer or File Explorer > Common Open File Dialog > Items Displayed In Places Bar.

Click on Display Properties, to open its Dialog Box. Select Configured, and add the folder paths in the boxes provided. Click Apply > OK.

The valid items you may display in the Places Bar are:

1. Shortcuts to local folders — (ex. C:\Windows)
2. Shortcuts to remote folders — (\\server\share)
3. FTP folders
4. web folders
5. Common Shell folders.

The list of Common Shell Folders that may be specified: Desktop, Recent Places, Documents, Pictures, Music, Recently Changed, Attachments and Saved Searches.

If you disable or do not configure this setting the default list of items will be displayed in the Places Bar.

In Windows 10/8/7/Vista, this policy setting applies only to applications that are using the Windows XP common dialog box style. This policy setting does not apply to the new Windows Vista common dialog box style.

6] Use some small freeware applications which are available, like the PlacesBar Editor, where you can customize Windows as well as Office Dialog Places. Some other freeware are Shell Places Bar Editor, PlaceBar Constructor, & PlacesBar Tweaker.

How to Add a Custom Folder under “This PC” in Explorer?

You can add custom folders to the the Explorer navigation pane, in pretty much all versions of Windows. This post has the instructions on how to add a custom folder under This PC in the navigation pane in Windows 10 File Explorer.

The easiest way to manually add a custom folder to the navigation pane is to mimic the settings of an existing or built-in shell folder like Music or Videos, and use them with a custom GUID. For example, here is the Videos shell folder’s registry setting that we’ll use with a different GUID and point to a custom folder.

How to Add a Custom Folder under “This PC” in Explorer?

1. Copy the above contents to Notepad, and save with .reg extension (e.g. mytools.reg ). Don’t close the file yet.
2. Generate a unique ID (GUID) string by running the command New-Guid in PowerShell. Alternately, you can visit GuidGen.com website that generates random GUID strings for you (uses Microsoft’s GUIDGen.exe at the backend.)
3. Copy the GUID to Clipboard. In this example, the GUID is
4. In Notepad, replace every occurrence of the string with
5. Save the .reg file, and close Notepad.
6. Double-click the .reg file to apply the settings to the registry.
7. Start the Registry Editor ( Regedit.exe ) and navigate to the following branches one by one:
8. In the right-pane, change the value data for (Default) and InfoTip accordingly.

(InfoTip text will be shown when you hover the mouse over the custom folder in File Explorer.)
Then navigate to the DefaultIcon subkeys below:

Set the icon value accordingly. I chose the shell32.dll,35 icon for the My Tools folder we’re adding.

Navigate to the Instance\InitPropertyBag subkeys below:

Delete the TargetKnownFolder value, as we’re going to add a custom folder path.

Create a string value (REG_SZ) named TargetFolderPath and set its value data, with the full folder path.

Thats it! The My Tools folder should show up in the navigation pane, as well as in the Folders section in This PC view.

Bonus Tips

Tip #1: Add the custom folder under “Folders (6)” and/or “Network Locations” section

If you’re adding a mapped drive or folder pointing to network location, you can make the item appear under the Network locations section in This PC view. To do so, modify the DescriptionID value (see screenshot #2 above) in this registry key:

Set the DescriptionID to 9 (0x00000009)

• Setting DescriptionID to 3 shows it under Folders category.
• Setting DescriptionID to 9 shows it under Network locations category.

Tip #2: Move “My Tools” folder to the top of the This PC hierarchy

To move My Tools to the top of the This PC hierarchy, create a DWORD (32 bit) value named SortOrderIndex, in the following registry key:

Set the SortOrderIndex to a low value.

For example, setting it to 0x00000030 moves the item up, like this: