Learn how to alter the icon of Apps, Folders, and Shortcuts without utilizing any third-party software for Windows 11. Windows 11.
The ability to customize icons for specific apps or folders can be a fantastic way to personalize Windows 11. There are many options offered by Windows itself and, if you’d like to investigate more, several websites offer free icons to download.
The default icons can be a bit generic or plain You may like to change things by a little. Changes to the icons do just this. Let’s look at how you can alter the icons using the built-in options or download icons off the internet.
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Change Icons by utilizing Built-in Options
Windows offer a variety of options for all types such as Desktop icons (This PC Network, This PC, Recycle Bin) folders, folders, or shortcuts.
Change Icons for Folders
To alter the icons of folders, right-click the folder and choose Properties in the contextual menu. You can also select the folder, then press the keys ALT + ENTER to open the properties.
In the properties of the folder go to the tab ‘Customize and then select ‘Change Icon under the folder icons’.
There is now an array of icons that you can use for the folder. Click on the right side to see more options available on the list. After you have selected the desired option, click on “OK” at the end of the page.
Then, click “OK” within the Properties to save the changes then close the browser.
The icon for the folder will change. If the changes don’t take effect immediately, refresh the page to make the change be put into effect.
Change Icon for Desktop Icons
The process of changing the icons to the desktop icons isn’t as easy as other icons which will require some extra effort on your behalf.
To alter the icon to Dekstop icons, click right-click the ‘Start’ icon on the Taskbar or press Windows + X to open the Quick Access menu, and choose ‘Settings’. Alternately, use WINDOWS + I to immediately start the Settings application.
In Settings Navigate to the tab ‘Personalization’ from the navigation pane to the left. Select Themes from the list of options to the right.
Then, click the ‘Desktop icon settings’ option under the ‘Related settings’.
The desktop icon settings window will now appear. Choose your you want to use as the Desktop icon, and then click “Change Icon” under them.
Select one of the icons shown in the box that pops up then click “OK”.
Then, click ‘OK’ in the middle of the “Desktop Icon Settings” to save the changes, and shut the application.
It will be the icon of your Desktop icon you previously selected will change.
Change Icon for Shortcuts
You can also alter the icon of any shortcut whether it’s the app’s shortcut one that is for an entire folder, or even the Command Prompt command. The steps are the same for each. Additionally, the icon you select for a particular shortcut will only be applied to that shortcut and will not impact other shortcuts in the same application.
To alter the icon used for shortcuts, click right-click on the shortcut and choose Properties in the contextual menu. Alternately, use ALT + ENTER to open the window ‘Properties.
In the Properties Navigate to the tab ‘Shortcut’ and then click on the ‘Change icon’ option.
Select the icon you want to use from the icons listed within the window that opens after you click “OK” at the end.
Then, click “OK” at the end of the window ‘Properties’ to apply the modifications.
The icon you previously selected will now be available as the shortcut.
Change Icon for Programs Pinned to Taskbar
You can also alter the icons of programs that are that are pinned to the Taskbar and the procedure is similar to that for shortcuts.
To alter the icon of apps or programs that are pinned to the Taskbar by right-clicking on the item that is pinned, then click on the name of the app in the menu, then select Properties from the menu of options that pop up.
From here on, the procedure is the same as for ‘Shortcuts’, and you may refer to the earlier section.
This is all there is to changing icon icons for folders on Windows 11. It isn’t possible to change the icon of a specific file type with the built-in options and would need to use third-party applications like FileTypesManager to accomplish the task.
Change Icons using Custom Images
The icons available on your computer are limited and a lot of users may prefer to create custom icons. It’s fairly easy, all you need to do is download icons from the internet, and convert them into ICO format. Download creative iconography on flaticon.com or convert any other image (preferably high-quality) to the ICO format, and then set the image as an icon.
NOTE: We recommend downloading the icons as PNG format due to the simplicity of conversion, however any format will work.
Once you’ve downloaded icons that are in PNG format, it’s now time to convert them into ICO which is a format that is recognized as a standard format by Windows to display icons. To convert, visit cloudconvert.com, upload the PNG files, then convert them to ICO then transfer them to your computer.
Then, copy the ICO files into a separate folder. Make sure you do not move them around as this could cause problems finding them on Windows.
Once you have all the necessary pictures in ICO format, and placed in a folder that you have designated It’s the time to start making changes to the icons. The procedure is basically similar to the previous steps, but instead of selecting one from the choices, you will need choose to browse through and select your ICO file.
We’ll walk you through the steps to change the icons in folders. Using similar concepts it is possible to modify the icons of other folders too.
To alter the icon to one that you prefer click on the folder with a right-click and choose ‘Properties’ in the contextual menu. You can also choose the folder and then press the keys ALT + ENTER to open the Properties.
Similar to what we did with the icons that come with Windows, go to the tab ‘Customize’ and click ‘Change Icon under the folder icons’.
This is the section that differs from the previous. Instead of choosing one of the icons from the menu Click on Browse to choose the icon you downloaded previously.
Then, go to the directory where you saved the ICO files to set icons choose the icon you wish to set then click “Open”.
Then, click “OK” to confirm the icon choice.
Then, click ‘OK’ in the middle of the Properties window to apply the changes , and then close the application.
The icon you chose earlier will be added in the directory. If the changes don’t immediately reflect A simple refresh will be sufficient.
It is also possible to change the icons for shortcuts and other apps that are pinned to the Taskbar as well as Desktop icons by pressing “Browse” and choosing the desired file instead of selecting one from the options that Windows displays. Windows.
Changing Icon for Drives
It is listed as an individual item and not in conjunction with other options because the procedure for this is completely different. You may choose to use an application from a third party to alter the icon of the drive, or to make changes in the Registry. Here’s how you can do it via the Registry.
Before proceeding, transfer the image you want to use to ICO format into a specified folder. Ensure that you don’t alter the place of the folder or the file, as you will require the path to your ICO images file. To do this, go to the folder where the file is located and select it, then click the ‘See More icon’ at the top and then select ‘Copy path’ in the drop-down menu.
After you’ve copy the entire path you are now ready to move on to the next step of the procedure.
NOTE: Since you are planning to modify the Registry It is recommended to follow the procedure in the same order and do refrain from making any additional modifications. If you make a mistake when making changes can make the system inaccessible.
To alter the icon of an Drive to change the icon, use Windows + R to open the Run command. Type’regedit in the text field or select OK or press ENTER to open the registry editor. Select ‘Yes’ in the confirmation window that pops up.
In the Registry Editor you can either go to the following URL or paste it into the address bar and then press Enter.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerDriveIconsNow you must create two new keys. Click on the ‘DriverIcons’ tab in the navigation pane to left. Hover your cursor over the word the word ‘New’ and then select Key from the list of choices. Select the letter ‘Drive’ to identify the drive that you wish to alter the icon to be is the title of your key. For example, we are altering the icons for the drive ‘D’ and thus have used identical names for keys.
NOTE: This method may not be perfect for removable drives , if they are not assigned an address for permanent drives.
Then, right-click the key you created, move the cursor over the word ‘New’ then select Key from the menu. Then, name the key “DefaultIcon”.
In the key ‘DefaultIcon that you made, double-click the string ‘Default’ to the left side to alter the value.
Then, copy the path to the ICO file that you copied earlier in the text field beneath the heading ‘Value data’. Then, click “OK” at the bottom of the page to save the modifications. Be sure to include the path in double quotes. (“). Now you can close the Registry Editor window.
The changes will be reflected on The File Explorer and the new icon will be displayed.
By using the above methods you can easily alter the icons of your computer and make it more personal. If the options provided by Windows do not appeal to you, you could create a custom image to be the icon.