While the default Windows icons get the chore done, they aren't particularly exciting. If you lot want to put a personal spin on your calculator, changing Windows 10 icons is a great way to practise this.

We'll show you lot how to change icons on Windows x, including program and folder icons. With a fleck of work, you'll have an all-new interface with a unique expect! While we focus on Windows 10 here, these tips largely work the same on Windows 11.

Where to Find Custom Icons for Windows 10

Before you start changing your current Windows 10 icons, you demand some new icons to replace them with. The OS has a few additional icons built-in, simply they're not that keen.

Flaticon is a peachy resources for all your Windows icon needs. The site contains millions of loftier-quality icons bundled in thousands of user-friendly packs. You can catch everything in a pack at once, or download single icons.

FlatIcon Computer Icons

The site offers downloads in several formats. Nosotros recommend downloading them in PNG for easy conversion to the ICO format. Keep all the raw downloads in a binder chosen PNG Icons or similar.

If you don't find what you're looking for here, try Findicons, IconArchive, or GraphicBurger. We've besides looked at some bang-up Windows icon packs in the past.

Converting PNG Images to ICO Icons

Windows uses ICO files for its icons. Thus, you'll need to catechumen images from PNG (or other image formats) earlier you lot use them as icons.

ConvertICO offers an easy mode to do this. You can upload up to 50 PNG images at once to convert them into the ICO format. If you prefer, you can likewise enter the URL of an epitome yous want to convert, cutting out the middle stride of downloading the PNG.

ConverICO Converter

Keep all your ICO files in their own binder. Make certain you put this somewhere permanent, every bit moving icon files subsequently you take assigned them will pause the link, requiring you to set them upward once again.

How to Change Program Icons in Windows 10

Windows x makes it easy to change the program icon for a shortcut, but not the main executable. Thus, you should brand a desktop shortcut for the app icon you want to change, if you don't have one already.

To do this, search for an app in the Start bill of fare, then right-click its proper noun and choose Open file location. In the resulting folder, right-click the program name and choose Send to > Desktop (create shortcut).

Now you can modify the new shortcut on your desktop. Right-click it and choose Properties to open a new window. Here, switch to the Shortcut tab and click the Change Icon button at the lesser.

You'll come across a list of alternative icons included in the app, if at that place are whatsoever. To set your ain icon, click Browse and navigate to the place where you saved your ICO files.

Windows Change Program Icon

Double-click one to select it, and then choose OK on both open up dialog boxes. That's all you accept to do to change a program icon in Windows x.

Pinning Custom Icons to the Taskbar

Want to customize the icons on your Taskbar as well? The easiest way to do this is to follow the steps above to create custom desktop icons. After that, just right-click a shortcut and choose Pivot to Taskbar.

If y'all'd rather, you can customize an icon already pinned to your Taskbar. While holding Shift, correct-click the app icon and choose Properties. From hither, you lot can follow the same steps as above to ready a new icon.

Windows 10 Taskbar Icons Properties

Y'all may need to wait a few moments for changes you make in this way to take effect.

How to Change Individual Folder Icons in Windows 10

Changing a folder icon is similar to the above process: to brainstorm, right-click the folder you'd like to change and choose Properties.

On the resulting window, switch to the Customize tab. Select the Change Icon button at the bottom to select a new icon from your computer. Windows includes many default icons for this, merely virtually of them are one-time-school and ugly. Hit Browse to locate your custom icons instead.

Windows Select New Folder Icon

If you ever alter your mind, just open this window and choose Restore Defaults to get the original folder icon dorsum.

How to Alter All Windows Folder Icons at One time

Desire to change all the standard folder icons on your computer with 1 activity? You'll have to dig into the Registry to practice so.

Recollect that it's possible to damage your system by modifying the Registry, so accept care non to touch any other values while within.

Starting time, blazon regedit into the Start carte to open the utility. You'll need to provide administrator permissions to continue. Navigate to the following location:

          HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer        

At present, correct-click on the Explorer binder in the left navigation tree and select New > Central. Proper name the new key Shell Icons, and so select information technology in the left panel. In the blank space on the right, right-click and choose New > Expandable Cord Value. Fix its proper noun as 3. Repeat this to create some other string called 4.

Windows Registry Editor Folder Icons

Now, double-click the 3 string you just fabricated. In the Value data field, enter the location of your folder icon in quotes. An easy mode to exercise this is past holding Shift while correct-clicking your ICO file, then selecting the Copy as path pick. It should wait something like this:

          "C:\Users\User\Documents\ICO Icons\folder.ico"        

Repeat this for the 4 string, then click OK and exit the Registry Editor.

Windows Registry Folder Icon Change

If you don't see the change take result upon opening a new File Explorer window, you'll demand to restart File Explorer for your changes to take effect. To exercise this, press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open the Task Managing director. Click More details to expand information technology if needed. On the Processes tab, discover Windows Explorer. Right-click this and choose Restart.

This should apply your new icon to all folders. To remove this in the future, simply delete the Shell Icons Registry cardinal you created.

Windows 10 Custom Folder Icons All Folders

Nosotros tested this method as working in Windows 10 version 20H2, but other users have reported that information technology has no event. Your mileage may thus vary depending on your version of Windows 10.

How to Change File Icons by Type

Normally, for each file type, Windows shows an icon of the default programme. If you'd like to change this, you can employ a free utility called FileTypesMan to change the icon for whatever file type.

After downloading and running it, printing Ctrl + F to locate the file type you want to change. Double-click it in the list to open a new window with many more than options. Adjacent to the Default Icon field, you'll see a ... (ellipsis) button.

Click this and you'll open the familiar Windows dialog box that lets you alter the icon.

Windows FileTypesMan Change Icon

Using this, you lot tin can fix split icons to distinguish file types, even if they open in the same program. You might want to brand information technology easier to highlight JPG and PNG files at a glance, or spot one-time Doctor Word files not using the newer DOCX format, for instance.

How to Change Bulldoze Icons in Windows

Drive Icon Changer Windows

Want to alter the icons that you see in This PC for your various computer drives? A gratis utility called Bulldoze Icon Changer makes this easy.

Information technology'due south similar to FileTypesMan mentioned above, merely much more basic. Simply select a drive and the desired icon, and it will apply them for you after a restart. That's all it takes.

How to Create Blank Taskbar Icons

Usually, all of your Taskbar icons appear alongside each other. If y'all'd similar to add together some space—perhaps to dissever icons by type—you lot can achieve this with a workaround.

Creating Dummy Batch Files

To start, create a new folder somewhere you tin go along permanently. Proper noun information technology Spaces or something like. Inside this folder, correct-click over again and choose New > Text certificate. Double-click the file to open information technology.

Inside the text file, enter the following. This will create a batch file that'due south a dummy; information technology immediately opens and closes a Command Prompt window if you click on it.

          @echo            off
get out

After this, go to File > Relieve As. In the saving dialog box, give the file a name ending in .BAT. If y'all want to create multiple spaces, you should then copy, paste, and rename the file so you take several named Space1.bat, Space2.bat, and and then on.

Windows Create Dummy Batch Files

Fix Up a Blank Icon

Windows has blank icons born. But in our testing, these can announced as blackness squares on your Taskbar instead of transparent boxes, which is no good. This means you'll need to apace make your ain "blank" icon.

Open up an image editor (we used Paint.Internet) and hit Ctrl + Shift + R to change the canvas size. Create 1 that'south perfectly foursquare; 256x256 will work. Printing Ctrl + A to select the entire image, and so press Del to erase it. This volition create a transparent square when saved as a PNG.

However, if you lot exit it like this, you'll meet the aforementioned black block problem. Thus, you need to accept the Pencil tool, zoom in, and use it to draw a single pixel in a corner of the image. This will effectively exist invisible when it sits on your Taskbar.

Paint.Net Single Pixel Transparent

Salve the file as a PNG, so use an online converter as mentioned above to convert this into an ICO file.

Creating and Pinning Shortcuts

At present, right-click each Space file you made and choose Create shortcut, every bit yous'll need a shortcut, not the main BAT file, in order to change the icon. Then right-click each shortcut file, select Properties, and use the Alter Icon push to select your new bare icon.

Once this is washed, you'll need to add one more element in social club to add these shortcuts to your Taskbar. In the Shortcut tab of each BAT file, enter explorer in front of everything in the Target box. Make sure there'south a space earlier the opening quotes.

Windows Create Blank BAT Shortcut

Now you can correct-click all your Space files and cull Pin to taskbar. They'll announced as blank icons, assuasive you to drag them wherever you like and group your other icons.

Windows 10 Spaced Icons Taskbar

How to Change the Desktop Icon Size on Windows x

Simply desire to adjust the size of Windows 10 icons on your desktop? That'due south an easy prepare. On the desktop, you tin right-click whatsoever empty infinite and cull View to select Small icons, Medium icons, or Large icons.

If you don't like 1 of those presets, hold the Ctrl key and scroll your mouse wheel. This gives yous more granular control over icon size.

Windows 10 Change Desktop Icon Size

In a File Explorer window, you'll find more than size options nether the View menu. The method of scrolling your mouse wheel while holding Ctrl works, too.

Windows ten Desktop Icons Missing?

If you don't see whatsoever icons on your desktop, chances are that you've hidden them all. Getting them back takes just a few clicks. Right-click anywhere on your desktop, so select View > Show desktop icons if it'due south not already checked. With this enabled, you should see your desktop icons with no problem.

If this didn't fix your problem, your computer may exist in tablet mode, which prevents your desktop icons from showing. To disable tablet way, visit Settings > System > Tablet.

Finally, if you're missing the default Windows 10 system icons, you lot'll demand to restore them in another carte. Go to Settings > Personalization > Themes and on the right side of the window, select Desktop icon settings.

This will launch a new window where y'all can toggle the icons for This PC, your user folder, Network, Control Panel, and the Recycle Bin. While here, you can too alter the icons for these shortcuts if you lot want.

Windows 10 Change Desktop Icon Options

Customize Every Icon in Windows

Now you know how to change most every icon on your Windows system. Whether you want to completely overhaul everything or just desire to change a few shortcut icons, you have the tools to personalize your computer in a fun way.

If yous love personalization, it thankfully doesn't cease here. There are many other ways to customize the await and experience of your Windows environment.

How to Change the Await and Feel of Your Windows 10 Desktop

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