Folder icon

A tabbed folder standing for a container of files.

Also known as: Directory icon

Everyday & digitalStandard profile

Meanings

A rectangle with a raised tab along its top edge stands for a directory. The tab is what distinguishes it from a plain document, and it comes from the manila folders of a filing cabinet.

InformalCommon usage
Stands for a directory: a container holding files and other directories.
Contexts: Software
Historically documentedVerified fact
The shape is a manila office folder, carried into the desktop metaphor alongside the document and the bin.
Contexts: Software

Visual description

A wide rectangle whose top edge steps up over its left portion to form a raised tab, the whole read as a folder seen from the front.

Symmetry: none
Orientation: upright

Part of the same system as: Trash bin icon
Both are built from objects, and both are used in software contexts.

Confidence

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is documented in encyclopedic references.
Historical originModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useHigh confidence: High confidence because the current use is documented in encyclopedic references.
Visual matchHigh confidence: High confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references.

Sources

Icon (computing)
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-08-01
Tertiary reference. Used for widely-agreed identity, origin and current use, not for contested detail or exact dates.
Directory (computing)
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-08-01
Tertiary reference. Used for widely-agreed identity, origin and current use, not for contested detail or exact dates.

Last reviewed 2026-08-01

Part of

Interface menu and action controls

Meanings

Visual description

Related & commonly confused symbols

Meanings

Visual description

Related & commonly confused symbols