Filenames appear in blue type. How to Revert to black?

[delcash]

Hi, Just about all of the filenames in my folders now appear in blue type. I
understand I might have accidentally told the computer to compress files. How
do I go back to the original settings and revert to black-type filenames?
Thanks! Mike.

 

[smlunatick]

Hi, Just about all of the filenames in my folders now appear in blue type.. I
understand I might have accidentally told the computer to compress files.How
do I go back to the original settings and revert to black-type filenames?
Thanks! Mike.

Whenever a filename is listed in blue, this means that the Windows XP
has automatically compressed the file. This is done usually when a
file has not been accessed for some time and the disk tools where told
to "compress older files." This is a "core" setting to Windows XP.
It does not matter if the file(s) are compressed or not as XP will
"expand" the file when it is next accessed.

 

[delcash]

Well, it's only lately that these files "turned blue." I find it annoying and
would oike to turn them black again. Can someone help me do that? Thanks,
Mike.

 

[Lem]

Well, it's only lately that these files "turned blue." I find it annoying and
would oike to turn them black again. Can someone help me do that? Thanks,
Mike.

Open a Command Prompt window and navigate to the folder that has the
compressed files.

Type compact /u /s /a /q /i [press Enter]

The /s switch performs the operation on all subdirectories as well as
the current directory.

 

[Anteaus]

Apollo 11 - 40 years ago this month:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/40th/index.html

Today, if you said, "I'm going to navigate to the moon with 4K of RAM"
people would think you were either joking or crazy. ;-)

Such is the progress of systems bloat.

 

[Nepatsfan]

Hi, Just about all of the filenames in my folders now appear in blue type.
I
understand I might have accidentally told the computer to compress files.
How
do I go back to the original settings and revert to black-type filenames?
Thanks! Mike.

Go to Control Panel and double click Folder Options. Click on the View tab.
In the Advanced Settings box, remove the check mark from the box next to
"Show encrypted or compressed NTFS files in color". Click OK. All your file
names should now be displayed in black.

Note: If you have XP Pro installed on your computer and have encrypted any
files, following the above steps will mean that you will not be able to
visually distinguish them from non-encrypted files. By default, encrypted
file have their names displayed with green text. If you have XP Home
installed on your computer this will not be an issue since XP Home does not
include the ability to encrypt files.

Good luck

Nepatsfan

 

[Lem]

Go to Control Panel and double click Folder Options. Click on the View tab.
In the Advanced Settings box, remove the check mark from the box next to
"Show encrypted or compressed NTFS files in color". Click OK. All your file
names should now be displayed in black.

Note: If you have XP Pro installed on your computer and have encrypted any
files, following the above steps will mean that you will not be able to
visually distinguish them from non-encrypted files. By default, encrypted
file have their names displayed with green text. If you have XP Home
installed on your computer this will not be an issue since XP Home does not
include the ability to encrypt files.

Good luck

Nepatsfan

Yes, but they'll still be compressed. What's the opposite of "putting
lipstick on a pig?"

 

[delcash]

Thanks, nepatsfan; that did the trick.

 

[delcash]

Yes, but they'll still be compressed. What's the opposite of "putting

lipstick on a pig?"

Is it, Putting a pig on lipstick? Seriously, Lem, even though the change is
purely cosmetic, I like it. Thanks for weighing in.

 

[Jose]

Thanks, nepatsfan; that did the trick.

nepatssfan idea changes the color of compressed files.

So your issue of not liking the colors is resolved.

The files are still compressed.

The is no mechanism (that I know of) where XP "automatically"
compresses files from lack of use. File are compressed on purpose by
human intervention. Maybe by accident, but for a reason - somebody
did it.

The idea from Lem will uncompress any files that are compressed and
the colors will change to show uncompressed files.

There are pros, cons and cautions to compressing files, so maybe you
will be happy with them just not showinf up blue.

I use the "you can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig" with
some regularity!

 

[Nepatsfan]

Yes, but they'll still be compressed. What's the opposite of "putting
lipstick on a pig?"
--
Lem -- MS-MVP

Apollo 11 - 40 years ago this month:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/40th/index.html

Good point. I glossed over the part where the OP thinks that he may have
accidentally compressed the files. I figured he was finding files that may
have been compressed by Windows automatically or during a running of Disk
Cleanup.

Thanks for pointing it out.

Nepatsfan

 

[Nepatsfan]

Thanks, nepatsfan; that did the trick.

Actually, Lem's right. The advice I gave you simply glosses over the main
issue. If these files and folders you saw with blue names are ones you
created then it would be in your best interest to uncompress them. If you
leave them compressed, you will see a slight lag in access time whenever you
open them in the future.

OTOH, if these compressed files and folders are contained in your C:\WINDOWS
folder, odds are they were compressed by Windows automatically. Also, if you
ran the Disk Cleanup utility lately you may have checked the option to
compress older files. This could account for your seeing blue file names.

You can uncompress a folder and its contents through the folders properties
sheet. Right click the folder and select Properties from the menu. On the
General page, click on the Advanced button. If the box next to "Compress
contents to save disk space" is checked remove the check mark and hit the OK
button twice. You should be asked if you want the changes to apply to the
folder and its subfolders and files. Click OK.

Good luck

Nepatsfan