The following fix only applies to Finder 5.0 or greater.
The color menu in the finder allows users to colorize icons. The color applied to an icon will outline the icon with the chosen color.
If you are handy with ResEdit, you can change the color function to FILL icons with color rather than outline them. Here is the procedure:
1. Start ResEdit.
2. Locate the file "Finder" and double-click on it.
3. Scroll to find the resource "LAYO" in the list of resources.
4. Double-click LAYO. The resource "LAYO ID = 128" will appear.
5. Double-click this resource.
6. Scroll down this list until you find an option "COLOR STYLE".
7. Change the value in the "COLOR STYLE" field to 200.
8. Quit ResEdit and save changes to the Finder when asked.
When you return to the Finder, all icons that haven't been previously colorized will be solid black. Don't panic. The last color in the COLOR menu is the default color (black). You can select all these icons and change the color to one other than black.
NOTE: The suggested value of 200 is not the only value that will affect color fills, it was simply the first value I tried.
I've found that the default colors in the COLOR menu are rather dark for icon fills, and have also posted a modified CLUT resource with pastel colors. To replace the existing clut resource in the Finder with this one, follow this procedure:
1. Start ResEdit.
2. Find the file "clut.r" and double-click it.
3. In the list of resources, double-click the "clut" resource.
4. Single-click on "clut ID = 256".
5. Choose COPY from the clipboard.
6. Close this file.
7. Locate the file "Finder" and double-click on it.
8. Locate the clut resource and double-click on it.
9. Choose PASTE from the EDIT menu.
10. Choose QUIT from the File menu.
11. Choose "Save changes to Finder" when asked to do so.
As always, install and modify the resources on a spare copy of the file first. Murphy's Law:
"Nothing can go wrong.... go wrong.... go wrong...."
