Tech Team Newsletter - Volume 5 Issue 6

Tech Team: In the Trenches

December 2007 Volume 5 Issue 6

In this Issue:

Customizing Windows Vista Icons

Q. Is there a way to change folder icons in Windows Vista from something besides those annoying manila folders?

A. As in previous versions of Microsoft Windows (and on the Macintosh), you can change many of the desktop and folder icons to other images.

One way to change the standard Windows desktop icons (like the Recycle Bin) is by right-clicking on the desktop and selecting Personalize from the menu. On the left side of the next window, choose “Change desktop icons” and select the icon you want to change. Click on the Change Icon button to open a window to select a new icon from the offerings, or browse to a file or folder of icons you may have downloaded from the Web already.

You can change a folder’s icon by right-clicking on it and selecting Properties from the resulting menu. Click on the Customize tab in the Properties box and then click on the Change Icon button at the bottom of the box. If you don’t want to use one of the standard Windows icon options, click the Browse button to hunt around your hard drive for the icon you want and click the Open button to select it. Click on the O.K. button to complete the process.

If you’re interesting in getting new icons, the IconFactory Web site is a good place to start. It offers free icon downloads for both Windows and Macintosh systems. (For Mac OS X users wanting to change their desktop icons, the site also has instructions at iconfactory.com/help/help_mac.html.) If you’d like to make your own icons, there are plenty of programs to choose from, including Microangleo’s Toolset 6 and Axialis IconWorkshop.