The infamous mass-producing market of software has its upsides. It’s cost-efficient; has a global outreach; and the software coming out of the great churn is mostly reliable.
One of its biggest downside, however, is the general sameness and mundaneness of the apps. In Windows operating system, nowhere does it hold more true than for the Windows icons. Thankfully, Microsoft has left some room for individuality and creativity. Let’s look at how you can jazz up the default icons in your Windows computer.
How to customize icons in Windows 10 or Windows 11
Microsoft has given us plenty of ways to change the default Windows icons. One of the most popular ones—and also the most straightforward one—is that of tweaking your desktop icons. Here’s how:
- Head to the Start menu search bar, type in ‘settings,’ and select the best match.
- From the Settings menu, select Personalization > Themes.
- From under the Related Settings, select Desktop icon settings.
The Desktop Icon Settings dialog box will be launched. Select the desktop icon you’d like to change and click on Change Icon. Now pick a new icon from the given list, or click on Browse to choose a manual icon.
Click on OK and your new icon will be set up.
Set a new folder icon
Microsoft has also given you the ability to tweak the icon’s of your folders. It’s pretty simple as well. Here’s how.
Pick the folder whose icon you’d like to change and select Properties. Now head to the Customize tab, and select the Change Icon… button.
Again, like you did above with the desktop icon, either choose a specific icon from the list or pick an icon manually that you've downloaded or created.
Finally, click on OK to finish saving your new icon.
Tweak the icon of a specific Windows program
Windows also lets you change the default icon of an app on your PC. However, the caveat being that you can’t do with the main .exe file. To have an app with a different icon, you’ll first have to create a shortcut of that specific app.
To do that, head to the app, right-click on it and select Create shortcut.
Now, the process of changing the icon is same as the above methods. Right-click on the app and select Properties. In the new dialog box, select Shortcut and select the Change Icon… tab.
From the next dialog box, choose the icon you’d like your app to have and click on OK.
That’s it. Your app’s icon will be changed.
Changing the driver’s icon on Windows
Interestingly, you can also change your PC’s driver icon. You know, the boring box-like thing in This PC? Yes, that driver.
However, you’ll need to use a third-party app for this. The best app for this job is the Driver Icon Changer. The app is free and light, so it won’t eat too much of your PC’s resources, either. Here’s how you can get started.
Firstly, get the app from here and then install it. Then, launch the app and select the diver whose icon you’d like to change. Choose the new icon by clicking on search icon in red; then choose an icon from the variety of icons that come with the Driver Icon Changer, and click on OK.
Your driver’s icon will be changed.
Customizing icons in your Windows 10 or Windows 11
And that's it, folks. These were some of the easiest ways to spice things up in your computer. Follow these methods and your Windows icons will be changed without any hassles.
