Programs to change icons

So, you can use almost any image as an icon. Some people might find this to be unnecessary, but others welcome any opportunity to customize anything and everything about their computer screens. Things can get a little repetitive and boring with the icons. Even the EXE files can start to look similar after a while. Products Articles. How to Change Icons on Windows 10 It is a good way to customize your own Windows OS and improve the using experience by changing the icons on Windows Change Desktop Icons on Windows 10 2.

Change Folder Icons on Windows 10 3. Resource Hacker is my favorite freeware to change icon for program files. Resource Hacker is basically a resource editing tool which can be used as a software to change program icon.

To change icon for executable, just follow below steps:. It is primarily a tool to view, compile, decompile, and recompile resources for Windows executables. You can create resources from blank script, add or modify resources within executable files, etc.

To change icon for executable. Now, click on Change Icon button and the icon of the selected executable file will be changed. As simple as that. Check the "Allow themes to change desktop icons" box on this window to enable theme-related icon changes. It's near the bottom of the window. 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. This will assign your selected icon to the desktop program. Click Apply , then click OK. Doing so confirms your decision and changes the desktop program's icon to your selected icon. Method 2. Click Desktop. It's a folder in the left-hand column of options in the File Explorer window. 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. 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. 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. 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. This will assign your selected icon.

Doing so confirms your decision and changes the original icon to your selected icon. Method 3. Open a web browser. Search for Windows icons. You can narrow your search by entering the program's name e. 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.

This icon is used on wikiHow as fair use because it is being used to provide how-to instructions. This folder is on the left side of File Explorer. Click your icons folder. Doing so selects it.

If you just downloaded one icon, select the icon instead. Click Home. This tab is in the upper-left corner of the File Explorer window. Click Move to. It's in the "Organize" section of the toolbar at the top of the File Explorer window.

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. Click Move. This will send your icons to a folder where you won't move or delete them. 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. Click File. It's a blue button in the upper-left corner of the Paint window. 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. Select a picture.