Background colour

Mav 10.9.5.
How change Docs background colour?
The spectrum is presented for selection but I can't change from 'B+W' to 'colour'
Also. can't change overall blue to graphite.
Must be doing something wrong.
Thanks

We need more details. What documents are you talking about? What spectrum? What blue to graphite are you referring to?

Sorry, something came up whilst I was typing and I 'sent' in optimism.
I am new to Mac; I have a 4 year old Mini 4.1 OSX Mavericks v10.9.5 with Office 2011.
From the desktop, if I click on a blue folder in the Dock I get a smallish panel containing Documents that I have transferred from my pc. Also there is an 'Open in Finder' option. If I click on this I get an almost full screen showing all of my documents, palish blue folders on a white background and it is these two colours that I want to change.
If I right click on the white background, then 'Show view options', up comes a small tall panel with 'Background: White, Colour and Picture' together with a small square frame. The black dot is on 'White'.
Clicking on the frame produces a circular spectrum or colour wheel about 130mm on my screen. When clicking on it the same colour shows in the square frame. I now have the chosen colour in the frame and the selection dot (whatever) still against 'White'.
What do I do next to confirm or apply this colour?
Thanks in advance for your answers to this simple question.

The colour should change automatically once you select it. Does it work in any other folder?

The system for background colour changing works ok when I am in any one of my folders. It is simple and obvious.
When I am in Dock/Documents/Open in Finder, so showing all the document folders transferred from pc to Mac/show view options, I can't get the back dot to move from White to Color or Picture.
Thanks

It could be because you don't have the proper permission to change that folder's settings or view.

That info will be shown using a Get Info (command+I) on the selected folder.

PS: they can be changed by an admin user.

This has been and still is a private ie non-commercial Mac, bought from a friend so I would be surprised if there are any restrictions of any sort, except accidental ones.

If I right click in the white background then on 'Get Info' I see in the resulting panel that the 'Shared Folder' and 'Locked boxes' are not ticked.
Clicking on 'Sharing and Permissions' shows: 'Minimac (me)' privelege 'read and write', and below that 'everyone' privelege 'no access'.
I clicked on 'no access' and changed it to 'read and write'.

There is still no change to the background colour problem - the dot still won't move down to colour or picture. i can produce a selected colour in the square frame/box.

Now, should I click back on 'read and write' to set it back where I found it?

Thanks for helping

That's weird.

If you're logged in as 'Minimac (me)' and that folder has 'Minimac (me)' with read & write permissions, and it's not shared, I'd think you should be able to use it's color change options.

Maybe run Disk Utility and run the Repair Permissions on the boot volume anyway.

Or maybe that's a special folder that the OS doesn't allow changing.

Try making the same change on a new folder you create and see if things work with it.

Personally I usually prefer using list view of folders, and it doesn't even have a color view option!!

I just went through mine, and could only change Desktop, Documents, Music and Movies and all others were locked out for me, and no changing of permissions would allow me access to them. I think it could be a System Safe Guard for some reason.

Many thanks for your replies.
I have just discovered that one of my folders, seemingly no different to its brothers either side of it, also cannot or will not change background. The backgrounds to all the others can be changed.
Ah well, it is not important.
Thanks again and now I move on to my next question for the forum!

Strange. I just did some more checking on some of my folders and there doesn't seem to be any logic as to why I can't even change the colors on some folders, even on some that I created. Sharing doesn't seem to make any difference. Some work, others don't.

Running Mavericks OS X 10.9.5 for info sake.

I am back after a four-day break, during which I visited an Apple Store where I was able to ask about this file and folder background colour changing.
Two folders out of nineteen refuse to have their backgrounds coloured; a newly created folder can be coloured.
I was told that it can't be done on the computer that I am using i.e. OSX Mavericks 10.9.5, 13 F34, 4.1, about 4 years old.
I don't understand why it is possible in some folders but not in others.
I asked whether there could be a restriction placed somewhere and was told that the only restriction was regarding content (not sure of the words used but I took it to be a filter for childrens' viewing).
Never mind; on to other things.
Thanks for all the replies.

People may be interested in this site. How to change the folder color in Mac: Yosemite, Mavericks
This is essentially the old method of changing Folder Icons and has worked for me since Snow Leopard. The english is not great but the steps are easy to follow. I only have a couple of folders permanently on my desktop and I have changed them to a restful green.

I can't get far with that way of changing folder colours - I stick at the drop-down Get Info stage.
There are various other suggestions on the Internet but they are nearly all talking about the little coloured tags/discs for marking folders.
Thanks

Sorry Rod Sprague, but his method doesn't work for me or my Mavericks.

That seems to be just the lame color tagging Apple gave us with OS X. And not anywhere close to what asking was asking.

Gee, that last part sounds a bit strange.

Sorry guys it certainly works for me and always has. Perhaps it's because I'm familiar with the procedure from the past. What you are doing or mean to be doing is copying the folder image from the Get Info window, pasting it into Preview, editing the Folder image in Preview and Pasting it back to the folder image in the Get Info window.
The image you want is at the top left corner of the Get Info window. When you click on it it should highlight. Then Copy > Paste > Edit > Paste.
Try it with a New empty folder.
Dont give up. And yes pm-r that last sentence does sound a bit strange.

Sorry Rod, but I think you're on different page for what the OP was wanting to do, and I and possibly the OP are familiar with the procedure you describe, but it's not the same thing or what the OP wanted. Unless of course I'm misunderstanding something, but I don't think so.

They simply, or not so simply, change the Background colour of the folder you opened, not change the Folder itself. Changing the Icon is considerably different, than changing the Background colour via the view options.

changing folder colours

Yes I agree but thats the only thing I know can be easily done with the native software. As to changing the background colour of windows/docs well I didn't think that could be done, but if there is a way I would be very interested in finding out how. I understand that is what the OP was wanting but at least changing the folder colours makes what some people think of as an objectionable default blue into what might be more acceptable to the eye. I like green and once you have one green folder using the method described its easy to make others the same via copy and paste.

As seen before Rod p, there are some Backgrounds that can't be changed, but to do it, go into a folder, then 'Command+J' brings up the View Options window, and down the bottom of that, you can change background colour or use a image.
As said there are certain Folders that can't be changed, like folders you havn't made, but that doesn't sit with me, bc I can change system folders?? Go figure


Sent iPad Mini using Mac Forums App