How To Change Facebook Group Shortcut Icon

Personalizing your icons is a groovy way to make a PC uniquely yours. Let's take a look at the different ways Windows lets you customize your icons.

RELATED: How To Brand Loftier Resolution Windows vii Icons Out of Whatever Image

Windows has some built-in icons y'all can choose from, but there is also an untold number of icons you tin can download from sites similar IconArchive, DeviantArt, and Iconfinder—all of which accept loads of costless icons. And if yous tin't find something you like, you lot tin can even make high-resolution icons out of any image.

Once you have the icons of your dreams, save them in a prophylactic place—some of these processes will crave they stay in a item location on your PC. In other cases, you lot'll probably want them there just in case something goes wrong and you have to re-apply them.

Modify Your Desktop Icons (Computer, Recycle Bin, Network, then On)

Icons similar This PC, Network, Recycle Bin, and your User folder are all considered "desktop icons," even though modern versions of Windows don't show them all on the desktop. Windows 8 and x don't show whatsoever of the desktop icons except for Recycle Bin, and even Windows seven doesn't show them all. For a complete rundown, check out our guide to restoring missing desktop icons in Windows 7, eight, or ten.

But you tin nevertheless alter how these icons appear elsewhere on your system. To practice so, you'll need to access the "Desktop Icon Settings" window to plow these icons on and off or to change the associated icons. In Windows 10, you can admission this window through Settings > Personalization > Themes > Desktop Icon Settings. In Windows 8 and 10, it's Command Panel > Personalize > Modify Desktop Icons.

Use the checkboxes in the "Desktop icons" section to select which icons you want on your desktop. To modify an icon, select the icon y'all want to change and then click the "Change Icon" push button.

In the "Alter Icon" window, you tin can select any icon you lot desire from the built-in Windows icons, or you lot can click "Browse" to locate your own icon files.

If you browse for your own icons, you can select any EXE, DLL, or ICO file. Afterward selecting the file, the "Change Icon" window will show the icons contained in the file y'all selected. Click the one you want and so click "OK." Here, we're changing the "This PC" icon to use ane that looks more like a laptop than a desktop.

Later changing your icon, you should see the new icon used in File Explorer, on the Desktop, and in the taskbar when the folder is open up.

And if you want to reverse the change, yous tin can ever go dorsum to the "Desktop Icon Settings" window, select the icon yous want to modify back, and then click "Restore Default."

Change Folder Icons

Changing the icon for a folder is not only a proficient way to pretty things up, simply also to telephone call attention to important items. To change a folder icon, correct-click the folder you want to change and then cull "Properties."

select properties from a folder's context menu

In the folder's properties window, switch to the "Customize" tab and and so click the "Change Icon" button.

In the "Change Icon" window, you can select any icon you want from the built-in Windows icons, or yous tin can Click "Browse" to locate your own icons.

If you browse for your own icon file, yous can select any EXE, DLL, or ICO file. After selecting the file, the "Alter Icon" window will evidence the icons independent in the file you selected. Click the ane yous want and and then click "OK." Here, we're changing the icon for this folder to a red one to make information technology stand out more.

And back in the properties window, click "OK."

click OK to exit properties window

The folder should at present show upwardly with the new icon.

This feature works by creating a hidden Desktop.ini file inside the folder that contains a few lines of data something like the following:

[.ShellClassInfo] IconResource=D:\Walter\Documents\Icons\Oxygen-Icons.org-Oxygen-Places-folder-red.ico,0 [ViewState] Mode= Vid= FolderType=Generic

This is one of the cases where you absolutely must keep the ICO file in any location you had it when you lot applied the icon. Put it somewhere you know you won't delete it first, or make the ICO file hidden.

And if you want to fine-melody how folders look and operate on your PC, y'all should also explore how to customize folder views with Windows' v templates and how to customize binder view settings in Windows.

Change the Icon for a Type of File

You can also change the icon for specific file types (those that end in certain extensions) and so that all files of that type use the new icon. Why bother to do this? Suppose, for instance, y'all use an paradigm editing programme that uses essentially the aforementioned icon for all the different types of paradigm files information technology supported—PNG, JPG, GIF, and so on. You might notice it more convenient if each of those file types used a unlike icon, so they were easier to distinguish—particularly if y'all continue multiple file types in the aforementioned folder.

Unfortunately, there's no built-in manner to do this in Windows. Instead, you'll need to download a free tool to practise the job: File Types Manager by Nirsoft. We've got a consummate guide to using File Types Director to change the icon for a certain file type, and so if you call back this would be useful for y'all, requite it a read!

filetypesman window

The ane blazon of file that File Types Manager is non good at handling, though, is executable (EXE) files. For that, we've got another free tool recommendation: Resource Hacker. And of course, we also have a guide on using it to modify the icon for an EXE file.

Change the Icon of Any Shortcut

Changing the icon for a shortcut in Windows is likewise pretty simple and works the aforementioned whether it's a shortcut to an app, folder, or even Control Prompt command. Correct-click the shortcut and choose "Backdrop."

choose properties command on shortcut's context menu

On the "Shortcut" tab, click the "Change Icon" button.

This opens the standard "Alter Icon" window we've seen a couple of times already. Choose ane of the default icons or browse to whatever EXE, DLL, or ICO file that contains icons. Afterwards making and applying your selection, you'll see the new icon in File Explorer, on the Desktop, or on the taskbar if you have your Shortcut pinned there.

If you desire, you lot can even customize those shortcut icons further past removing (or changing) the pointer overlays or preventing Windows from adding the "- Shortcut" text.

Alter the Icon of Apps that Are Pinned to the Taskbar

Icons that are pinned to your taskbar are really shortcuts—they simply don't take the arrow overlay and "- Shortcut" text normally associated with shortcuts. As such, you tin can customize their icons in almost the aforementioned mode that yous customize whatever shortcut icon. You lot just need to proceed a few things in mind:

Yous can only customize the icons of apps that are actually pinned to the taskbar. If the icon is only on the taskbar because the app is currently running and it isn't pinned there, you can't customize it. Then, pin it kickoff.
If an app is pinned, but is currently running, you'll demand to close the app before you tin alter the shortcut icon.
Just right-clicking a pinned app shows you the app's jumplist. To access the regular context carte du jour instead, concur the Shift key downwardly while right-clicking the icon. Choose "Properties" from that menu and then the residue of the process volition be familiar to y'all from the previous department.

choose properties command on taskbar shortcut's context menu

Change the Icon of whatever Bulldoze in File Explorer

There's no simple built-in style to alter the icons for drives in Windows. That doesn't hateful yous can't do it though. The easy way is to use a gratis app named Drive Icon Changer. There's as well a fashion that works a bit differently and involves a niggling Registry editing. You can read all about both methods in our guide to changing drive icons in Windows.

Drive Icon Changer is the easiest way, though you can do information technology from the registry if you'd prefer not to use actress software.

Hopefully, this gives y'all enough information near irresolute icons that you can make things look but the way you lot want them.