While the default Windows icons become the job done, they aren't particularly exciting. If you want to put a personal spin on your estimator, changing Windows 10 icons is a slap-up way to do this.

Nosotros'll show you how to change icons on Windows 10, including program and binder icons. With a bit of work, you'll have an all-new interface with a unique look! While we focus on Windows 10 here, these tips largely work the same on Windows 11.

Where to Find Custom Icons for Windows x

Before you starting time irresolute your electric current Windows 10 icons, you need some new icons to supercede them with. The OS has a few additional icons built-in, but they're not that great.

Flaticon is a not bad resources for all your Windows icon needs. The site contains millions of high-quality icons arranged in thousands of convenient packs. Yous can grab everything in a pack at once, or download single icons.

FlatIcon Computer Icons

The site offers downloads in several formats. We recommend downloading them in PNG for easy conversion to the ICO format. Proceed all the raw downloads in a folder called PNG Icons or similar.

If you don't discover what you're looking for hither, try Findicons, IconArchive, or GraphicBurger. We've also looked at some dandy Windows icon packs in the by.

Converting PNG Images to ICO Icons

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

ConvertICO offers an piece of cake way to practise this. Y'all tin upload upwardly to 50 PNG images at one time to convert them into the ICO format. If you lot prefer, y'all tin can besides enter the URL of an image you want to convert, cutting out the eye pace of downloading the PNG.

ConverICO Converter

Keep all your ICO files in their own folder. Brand sure y'all put this somewhere permanent, as moving icon files subsequently you have assigned them will break the link, requiring you to set them upward once again.

How to Alter Plan Icons in Windows 10

Windows 10 makes it easy to change the program icon for a shortcut, but non the master executable. Thus, you should make a desktop shortcut for the app icon you want to alter, if yous don't have ane already.

To do this, search for an app in the Outset menu, then correct-click its proper noun and cull Open file location. In the resulting folder, correct-click the program name and choose Transport to > Desktop (create shortcut).

Now you tin can modify the new shortcut on your desktop. Right-click it and cull Backdrop to open up a new window. Hither, switch to the Shortcut tab and click the Alter Icon button at the bottom.

You'll see a listing of alternative icons included in the app, if in that location are any. To set your own icon, click Browse and navigate to the place where y'all 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'southward all you have to exercise to alter a program icon in Windows 10.

Pinning Custom Icons to the Taskbar

Desire to customize the icons on your Taskbar too? The easiest way to do this is to follow the steps in a higher place to create custom desktop icons. After that, but right-click a shortcut and choose Pin to Taskbar.

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

Windows 10 Taskbar Icons Properties

You may demand to wait a few moments for changes you lot make in this way to accept effect.

How to Modify Individual Folder Icons in Windows x

Changing a folder icon is similar to the higher up process: to begin, correct-click the folder you'd like to change and cull Backdrop.

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, but nigh of them are old-school and ugly. Hit Scan to locate your custom icons instead.

Windows Select New Folder Icon

If you lot ever change your mind, just open this window and choose Restore Defaults to get the original binder icon back.

How to Change All Windows Folder Icons at Once

Desire to change all the standard binder icons on your computer with one action? You lot'll have to dig into the Registry to do so.

Call back that it's possible to damage your organisation by modifying the Registry, so take care not to bear upon any other values while inside.

Offset, type regedit into the Start carte du jour 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        

Now, right-click on the Explorer folder in the left navigation tree and select New > Key. Name the new primal Vanquish Icons, so select it in the left panel. In the blank space on the right, correct-click and cull New > Expandable Cord Value. Set its name as 3. Repeat this to create some other string chosen iv.

Windows Registry Editor Folder Icons

Now, double-click the 3 string you just fabricated. In the Value data field, enter the location of your binder icon in quotes. An easy style to practice this is by belongings Shift while right-clicking your ICO file, so selecting the Copy equally path pick. It should look something similar this:

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

Echo this for the four string, then click OK and exit the Registry Editor.

Windows Registry Folder Icon Change

If y'all don't meet the modify have effect upon opening a new File Explorer window, yous'll demand to restart File Explorer for your changes to accept effect. To do this, printing Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open the Task Managing director. Click More details to expand it if needed. On the Processes tab, observe Windows Explorer. Right-click this and choose Restart.

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

Windows 10 Custom Folder Icons All Folders

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

How to Change File Icons by Blazon

Ordinarily, for each file type, Windows shows an icon of the default program. If you'd like to alter this, you can apply a free utility chosen FileTypesMan to alter the icon for any file type.

After downloading and running it, press Ctrl + F to locate the file type you desire to change. Double-click it in the list to open a new window with many more options. Next 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, yous tin can fix upward dissever icons to distinguish file types, fifty-fifty if they open in the same program. You might want to make information technology easier to highlight JPG and PNG files at a glance, or spot old DOC Word files non using the newer DOCX format, for instance.

How to Change Drive Icons in Windows

Drive Icon Changer Windows

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

Information technology's similar to FileTypesMan mentioned higher up, but much more basic. Simply select a drive and the desired icon, and it volition apply them for you afterward a restart. That'due south all it takes.

How to Create Blank Taskbar Icons

Commonly, all of your Taskbar icons appear aslope each other. If you lot'd like to add together some infinite—maybe to separate icons by type—you tin reach this with a workaround.

Creating Dummy Batch Files

To start, create a new binder somewhere y'all can continue permanently. Name it Spaces or something like. Inside this folder, right-click again and cull New > Text document. Double-click the file to open it.

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

          @echo off
exit

Later this, go to File > Save As. In the saving dialog box, give the file a proper noun catastrophe in .BAT. If you want to create multiple spaces, you should then copy, paste, and rename the file and so you have several named Space1.bat, Space2.bat, and and then on.

Windows Create Dummy Batch Files

Fix Up a Bare Icon

Windows has blank icons congenital-in. Only in our testing, these can appear equally blackness squares on your Taskbar instead of transparent boxes, which is no good. This ways you'll demand to apace make your own "blank" icon.

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

However, if you exit it similar this, you'll run into the aforementioned black block problem. Thus, you need to take the Pencil tool, zoom in, and utilize it to draw a single pixel in a corner of the epitome. This volition effectively be invisible when it sits on your Taskbar.

Paint.Net Single Pixel Transparent

Save the file as a PNG, then employ an online converter as mentioned higher up to catechumen this into an ICO file.

Creating and Pinning Shortcuts

Now, correct-click each Space file you made and choose Create shortcut, equally you'll need a shortcut, not the main BAT file, in lodge to modify the icon. Then right-click each shortcut file, select Properties, and use the Change Icon button to select your new blank icon.

In one case this is done, y'all'll need to add ane more element in order 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 certain there's a space before the opening quotes.

Windows Create Blank BAT Shortcut

Now yous tin can right-click all your Space files and choose Pivot to taskbar. They'll appear as blank icons, allowing you to elevate them wherever you like and group your other icons.

Windows 10 Spaced Icons Taskbar

How to Alter the Desktop Icon Size on Windows 10

Just want to adjust the size of Windows x icons on your desktop? That's an easy prepare. On the desktop, yous can right-click any empty infinite and cull View to select Small icons, Medium icons, or Big icons.

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

Windows 10 Change Desktop Icon Size

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

Windows 10 Desktop Icons Missing?

If yous don't come across whatever icons on your desktop, chances are that you've hidden them all. Getting them dorsum takes simply a few clicks. Correct-click anywhere on your desktop, and so select View > Evidence desktop icons if it's not already checked. With this enabled, you should see your desktop icons with no trouble.

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

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

This will launch a new window where you can toggle the icons for This PC, your user folder, Network, Control Panel, and the Recycle Bin. While hither, you tin also change the icons for these shortcuts if you want.

Windows 10 Change Desktop Icon Options

Customize Every Icon in Windows

At present you know how to change nearly every icon on your Windows system. Whether you lot want to completely overhaul everything or only want to change a few shortcut icons, you take the tools to personalize your computer in a fun way.

If yous beloved personalization, it thankfully doesn't stop here. There are many other ways to customize the look and feel of your Windows environment.

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

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