Change Windows Icons

With IconBook you can almost change every Windows icon. Icons which can be changed are;

Procedure
Select the icon you want to change by selecting the appropriate node below the ‘Your Icons’ node, except when changing folder icons. Select the icon you want to change and select File, Change in the main menu of the corresponding button in the button bar. A window will popup with in the left frame the icon to change. Drop any icon from IconBook within the right ‘New’ frame and select File, Apply from the Change... window menu.

The new icon is saved in your Windows folder in the Icons subfolder. The icon filename is a unique number, only used by a specific shortcut, file type, folder, cursor or system icon. Do not delete it or use it for other purposes. IconBook will replace the icon file with a new iconfile with the same number when you change the icon settings which is related to the file. Uninstalling IconBook will not delete this folder or any icons in it, to preserve the icon integrity of your system.

System Icons
Select the ‘System’ node and select the desired group. Change the icon according to the above Procedure. Changing system icons requires a rebuild of the windows icon cache, IconBook will prompt you to do so. IconBook contains equivalents of system icons. View these by selecting View, Look-a-Likes from the Change System Icon window menu. System Icons can be set to there default icon by selecting View, Windows Default. Then choose File, Apply

Program Shortcut icons
Select the ‘Program Shortcut’ node and select the desired group. Change the icon according to the above Procedure. Changing shortcut icons requires a rebuild of the windows icon cache if the current shortcut icon is an IconBook icon, IconBook will prompt you to do so. Shortcut icons can be set to their default icon by selecting View, Windows Default. The default icon of a shortcut will be the first icon in the executable of the application where the shortcut points to.

You can also drag shortcuts them from your desktop or the Windows Explorer onto an IconBook icon. If the dropped file is not a shortcut file (*.lnk), IconBook will prompt you to create a new shortcut with the selected icon. Select a location where to save the new shortcut. You can also drag folders to create shortcuts to folders.

Hold the dragged shortcut a few seconds over the IconBook button in your system tray if IconBook is not visible. This will bring IconBook to the front so you can drop the dragged Shortcut onto the IconBook icon.

Cursors
Select the ‘Cursors’ node and select ‘Current’ node. Change the icon according to the above Procedure. IconBook will prompt you to point out the hotspot of the cursor. ANI’s are also supported. Only one icon of the ANI will be shown however. Changing cursors requires at least a re-logon or restart, IconBook will prompt you to do so. Cursors can be set to their default cursor by selecting View, Windows Default. Cursors are updated after a complete Windows restart.

File Type icons
Select the ‘File Type Icons’ node. Change the icon according to the above Procedure. Changing File Type icons requires a restart of Windows, IconBook will prompt you to do so. File Type icons can be set to their default icon by selecting View, Windows Default. Some File Types may point to the same icon registry setting. Changing the icon of one of the File Type will change the icon of all related File Types. File type icons are updated after a complete Windows restart.

Any Folder Icon
You must have Windows 98/2000 or Internet Explorer 4 or higher to change the icon of any folder. Select Tools, Change Any Folder in the main menu. Browse to the desired Folder and select OK. Changing Folder icons requires a rebuild of the windows icon cache. Folder icons can be set to their default icon by selecting Tools, Set Any Folder Icon to Default in the main menu. Since Windows stores the changed folder icon information in the hidden file DESKTOP.INI in the folder itself, you should not remove this file or you will remove the customized icon. IconBook will store the new icon (folder.ico) also as a hidden file in the changed folder. You can also change folders on remote computers.