How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows
This wikiHow teaches you how to change a desktop icon's appearance on Windows, both by changing the icon to a different system icon and by downloading or creating your own icon. You can also add your own custom shortcuts to the desktop,...
Method 1 of 6:
Changing System Desktop Icons
-
Picture 1 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Open StartPicture 2 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows -
Picture 3 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click SettingsPicture 4 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows -
Picture 5 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click Personalization. This is the monitor-shaped icon on the Windows Settings page.- You can also access this page by right-clicking a blank space on the desktop and then clicking Personalization in the drop-down menu.
-
Picture 6 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click Themes. It's a tab on the left side of the Personalization window. -
Picture 7 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click Desktop icon settings. This link is in the upper-right side of the Themes page. Clicking it opens the Desktop Icon Settings window.- If you haven't edited your theme at all, this link will be in the middle of the page beneath the "Related Settings" heading.
- You can also click Get more themes in the Store below the "Apply a theme" heading to browse desktop themes. Some themes will change your desktop icons' appearances.
-
Picture 8 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click an icon you want to change. This will select the icon.- For example, you might click This PC or Recycle Bin.
- You can also check the box next to a desktop icon's name at the top of the window to make it appear on your desktop, or uncheck the box to remove it from the desktop.
- Check the "Allow themes to change desktop icons" box on this window to enable theme-related icon changes.
-
Picture 9 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click Change Icon. It's near the bottom of the window. -
Picture 10 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Select an icon. You can select two different types of icons:- System icon - Click an icon in the window.
- Custom icon - Click Browse, then click the folder that your custom icons are in on the left side of the window. Select the icon you want to use, then click Open.
-
Picture 11 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click OK. This will assign your selected icon to the desktop program. -
Picture 12 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click Apply, then click OK. Doing so confirms your decision and changes the desktop program's icon to your selected icon.
Method 2 of 6:
Changing Shortcut and Folder Icons
-
Picture 13 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Open StartPicture 14 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows -
Picture 15 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click the File ExplorerPicture 16 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows -
Picture 17 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click Desktop. It's a folder in the left-hand column of options in the File Explorer window. -
Picture 18 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click a shortcut or folder icon. Shortcut icons have a white box with an arrow in their lower-left corners.- You cannot change the icons of specific files (e.g., Notepad files or .exe files) using this method.
-
Picture 19 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click the Home tab. It's in the upper-left corner of the File Explorer window. Doing so will open a toolbar at the top of the window. -
Picture 20 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click Properties. This is a white box with a red checkmark in the "Open" section of the toolbar.- You can also right-click on the icon on your desktop and then click Properties to get to this menu.
-
Picture 21 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Open the icon's "Change Icon" window. This process will vary depending on the type of icon you're editing:- Shortcut - Click the Shortcut tab at the top of the Properties window, then click Change Icon near the bottom of the window.
- Folder - Click the Customize tab at the top of the Properties window, then click Change Icon near the bottom of the window.
-
Picture 22 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Select an icon. You can select two different types of icons:- System icon - Click an icon in the window.
- Custom icon - Click Browse, then click the folder that your custom icons are in on the left side of the window. Select the icon you want to use, then click Open.
-
Picture 23 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click OK. This will assign your selected icon. -
Picture 24 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click Apply, then click OK. Doing so confirms your decision and changes the original icon to your selected icon.
Method 3 of 6:
Downloading Icons
-
Picture 25 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Open a web browser. Microsoft Edge is the official Windows 10 browser, though you can use Google Chrome, Firefox, Opera, or Internet Explorer as well. -
Picture 26 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Search for Windows icons. Type download windows desktop icons into your browser's address bar and pressing ↵ Enter.- You can narrow your search by entering the program's name (e.g., windows my computer icon) or by using the icon file type (e.g., ICO.
-
Picture 27 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Download the icons you want. You can do this by opening a site that has your icons and clicking the Download button. Doing so will save the icons to your computer.- If you download multiple icons at once, you may have to extract the icons to a regular folder before continuing.
-
Picture 28 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Open File ExplorerPicture 29 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Picture 30 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Picture 31 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows -
Picture 32 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click Desktop. This folder is on the left side of File Explorer. -
Picture 33 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click your icons folder. Doing so selects it.- If you just downloaded one icon, select the icon instead.
-
Picture 34 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click Home. This tab is in the upper-left corner of the File Explorer window. -
Picture 35 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click Move to. It's in the "Organize" section of the toolbar at the top of the File Explorer window. -
Picture 36 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click Pictures. This folder is near the middle of the pop-up window.- You can select any folder on your computer if you don't want to place your icons in Pictures.
-
Picture 37 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click Move. This will send your icons to a folder where you won't move or delete them. -
Picture 38 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Change a program's icon using your downloaded icon. You'll use the Browse method and then select an icon from within the Pictures folder to do this.
Method 4 of 6:
Creating Icons
-
Picture 39 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Open StartPicture 40 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows -
Picture 41 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Type paint into Start, then press ↵ Enter. Make sure you don't press ↵ Enter until the Paint icon, which resembles a paint palette, appears at the top of the Start window. -
Picture 42 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click File. It's a blue button in the upper-left corner of the Paint window. -
Picture 43 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click Open. This option is in the File menu. Doing so opens a window where you can open a file location.- If you'd rather create your own icon by drawing in Paint, skip this step and instead create your drawing.
-
Picture 44 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Select a picture. You may have to click a location on the left side of the Open window (e.g., Pictures) to find the picture you want to open.- Skip this step if you're drawing your own icon.
-
Picture 45 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click Open. This will open your image in the Paint window.- Skip this step if you're drawing your own icon.
-
Picture 46 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click File again. It's in the top-left corner of Paint. -
Picture 47 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Select Save as. This option is near the top of the File menu. -
Picture 48 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click BMP picture. It's an option to the right of the Save as button. Doing so opens a Save As window where you can name your file. -
Picture 49 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Type in your file's name followed by.ico
. This will ensure that your file is saved as an icon file.- For example, you might name your file "shortcut.ico".
-
Picture 50 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click a folder to save your file in. Do so in the left-hand pane of the Save As window.- The Pictures folder is a safe place to save your shortcut file.
-
Picture 51 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click Save. It's at the bottom of the window. Doing so will save your icon in your selected folder. -
Picture 52 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Change a program's icon using your created icon. You'll use the Browse method and select your custom icon from the folder where you saved it.
Method 5 of 6:
Adding Shortcuts to the Desktop
-
Picture 53 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Open StartPicture 54 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows -
Picture 55 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click File ExplorerPicture 56 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows -
Picture 57 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click the Desktop folder. It's on the left side of the File Explorer window. -
Picture 58 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click the Home tab. You'll find this tab in the upper-left side of the File Explorer window. -
Picture 59 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click New item. It's in the "New" section of the tool bar at the top of the window. -
Picture 60 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click Shortcut. This option is in the New item drop-down menu. A window with options for your new shortcut will appear. -
Picture 61 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click Browse. It's in the middle of the page. Doing so opens a pop-up window. -
Picture 62 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Scroll down and click the program's or file's folder. For example, if the program or file is in the Documents folder, you'd click My Documents.- You may have to click through several different folders to find the program or file for which you want to create a shortcut.
-
Picture 63 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click OK. Doing so sets the desktop shortcut's target as your selected item.- If you rename the desktop icon or move it to a new folder, your shortcut will no longer work.
-
Picture 64 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click Next, then enter a name. The default name for the shortcut is the same name as the program itself. -
Picture 65 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click Finish. It's in the bottom-right corner of the window. This will create your shortcut in the folder you selected.
Method 6 of 6:
Removing Arrows from Shortcut Icons
-
Picture 66 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Open StartPicture 67 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows -
Picture 68 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Type regedit into the Start window. This will bring up the "regedit" program at the top of the window. -
Picture 69 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click regedit. It's a blue group of blocks at the top of the window. -
Picture 70 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click Yes when prompted. This will open the Registry Editor. -
Picture 71 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Navigate to the Explorer folder. To do so:- Expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE by clicking V left of it. This folder is in the top-left side of the Registry Editor window.
- Expand SOFTWARE.
- Expand Microsoft.
- Expand Windows.
- Expand CurrentVersion.
- Click Explorer.
-
Picture 72 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click Edit. It's in the top-left corner of the Registry Editor window. -
Picture 73 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Select New, then click Key. Doing so creates a new "key", which resembles a folder, in the column of folders below the Explorer folder. -
Picture 74 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Type Shell Icons into the key's name, then press ↵ Enter. Doing so renames the key.- Make sure you type this name exactly as it appears here.
-
Picture 75 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click the Edit tab. It's in the upper-left corner of the window. -
Picture 76 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Select New, then click String Value. This creates a new code item in the Shell Icons key. -
Picture 77 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Type in 29, then press ↵ Enter. Doing so renames your string value. -
Picture 78 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Double-click the 29 string value. This opens the Edit String window. -
Picture 79 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Type%windir%System32shell32.dll,-50
into the Value data field. This field is at the bottom of the "Edit String" window. -
Picture 80 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Click OK. Doing so saves your edit to the registry. -
Picture 81 of How to Change or Create Desktop Icons for Windows Restart your computer. Once your computer reboots, you should no longer see the icon arrow in the bottom-left corner of your desktoUpdate 04 March 2020You should read it
- How to delete the arrow on the Shortcut icon in Window 10
- How to fix the problem of left clicking on Windows
- How to Disable Avira on PC or Mac
- Corel Draw: Draw the Windows XP icon
- How to Open a Terminal Window in Mac
- How to Create a Windows Icon
- How to Change File Properties
- How to Change Trackpad Sensitivity on a Mac
- How to Protect Folders With Passwords
- How to Invert Scrolling on a Mac
- How to Create an Icon in Paint
- How to Determine the Bit Count for a Windows Computer
Maybe you are interested
TOP-5 Software Developers for an Online Casino How to turn off data collection and telemetry in Windows 10 If this feature is real, Apple will take the iPad to a new level What software developers need to do to earn $ 500,000 a year and this is an inspirational answer Opera Mini and the journey to Windows Phone How to choose Christmas presents for meaningful lovers
Category
System
Mac OS X
Hardware
Game
Tech info
Technology
Science
Life
Application
-
Web Email -
Website - Blog -
Web browser -
Support Download - Upload -
Software conversion -
Simulator software -
Online payment -
Office information -
Music Software -
Map and Positioning -
Installation - Uninstall -
Graphic design -
Free - Discount -
Email reader -
Edit video -
Edit photo -
Compress and Decompress -
Chat, Text, Call -
Archive - Share