Disks and network shares

A mounted disk or network share can have its own sidebar icon, either as a row under Favorites or on the row Finder already shows under Locations. This page explains the choice, how to add a volume, and which rows cannot take an icon. Read it if you want an icon on an external drive or a server.

On this page

What this page is for
Choose where the icon appears
Add a disk or share
What the app does to Locations rows
Ejected, offline, turned off or removed
Rows that cannot take an icon
If it does not work

What this page is for

Finder lists every mounted disk and server under Locations in the sidebar, whether or not you have a favorite for it. A volume favorite gives that disk or server a custom icon. A disk shows up twice when you also add it under Favorites, so the app can either icon both rows or only the one Finder already has.

Choose where the icon appears

When the folder you choose is a mounted volume, the favorite editor shows a switch named Show in Locations only. It is not shown for ordinary folders.

Option	What appears in the sidebar	Choose it when
Show in Locations only off (the default)	A row under Favorites with your icon. Finder’s Locations row for the same disk gets the same icon, so the two agree.	You want the disk in Favorites, or it is a network share.
Show in Locations only on	No row under Favorites. Only Finder’s Locations row for the disk gets your icon.	The disk already appears under Locations and you do not want a second row.

For a network share, leave the option off. Finder builds a share’s Locations entry itself and it cannot take an icon, so with the option on the app reports that it can’t show the share in Locations only.

Add a disk or share

Mount the disk or connect to the server so it is available in Finder.
Click + in the manager window, then Browse..., and choose the disk.
You seeThe Show in Locations only switch appears under the folder path.
Decide whether to turn Show in Locations only on.
See the table above. Leave it off if you are not sure.
Choose an SF Symbol or a custom SVG for the icon.
Click Add.
You seeThe icon appears in the sidebar: under Favorites and Locations, or in Locations only, depending on your choice. If Finder still shows a stale icon, press Restart Finder on the banner.

If the disk has a custom icon of its own, the editor asks what to do about it. See Keeping both icons.

What the app does to Locations rows

Finder owns the rows in Locations. The app only changes the icon property of a row that is already there.

The app does	The app never does
Sets your icon on Finder’s existing row for the disk.	Inserts a row into Locations.
Takes the icon off the row when you turn the favorite off or remove it.	Moves or deletes a row in Locations.
Adds a row under Favorites when Show in Locations only is off.	Adds a row under Favorites when Show in Locations only is on.
Skips rows it cannot patch and reports when a share cannot be shown in Locations only.	Sets an icon on iCloud Drive, Computer, AirDrop or a cloud provider’s row.

Ejected, offline, turned off or removed

The favorite stays in the manager window in every case below. Nothing is deleted from the disk.

What happens	Result
The disk is ejected or the share is offline.	The manager window shows a warning. A favorite with Show in Locations only off says Name: folder no longer exists at followed by the path. One with it on says that Finder only lists mounted disks and servers in Locations. Press Refresh after the disk is mounted again.
You turn the favorite off.	The icon is taken off Finder’s Locations row. A Favorites row the app added is removed after you confirm Turn Off and Remove Row; one that was already in your sidebar stays with its own icon back.
You remove the favorite.	The app asks you to confirm. It takes the icon off the Locations row. It removes a Favorites row it added, and keeps one that was already there.

Rows that cannot take an icon

These rows ignore a custom icon, so the app leaves them alone.

Row	Why
iCloud Drive	Finder builds it as a special entry. macOS stores an icon on it and never draws it.
Computer	The same: a special entry that never draws a custom icon.
AirDrop	The same: a special entry that never draws a custom icon.
Network	The same: a special entry that never draws a custom icon.
Cloud-provider rows	Finder shows these as special entries. Add a folder inside the provider instead; see Cloud folders.
The Locations entry of a network share	Finder builds it from the mount table instead of storing a row, so there is nothing to patch. Leave Show in Locations only off to give the share a row under Favorites.

If it does not work

What you see	Cause	Fix
There is no Show in Locations only switch.	The chosen folder is not the root of a mounted volume.	Choose the disk itself, not a folder inside it.
A warning that the favorite can’t be shown in Locations only.	The favorite is a network share, or Finder has no Locations row for it.	Turn Show in Locations only off.
A warning folder no longer exists at followed by the path.	The disk is not mounted.	Mount the disk, then press Refresh in the manager window.
The icon disappears again and again.	The disk carries its own icon, which Finder redraws from.	Open the favorite and choose one of the options in Keeping both icons.
Finder still shows a stale icon.	Finder has not redrawn the row yet.	Press Restart Finder on the banner, or in Settings.

For other problems, see Troubleshooting.