When it comes to customization, Windows lets you customize anything and everything, giving the user the freedom to make the OS look and feel like something that would go well with them. You have a lot of customization options on Windows 11. From changing themes, desktop wallpapers, sounds, and even the option of changing the fonts and color of your system.
While you can customize a lot of things on your Windows PC, do you also know that you can easily customize the icons on your desktop as well as change the icons for third-party programs? Oh yes, you certainly can. This is a feature that has been available from early versions of Windows. Thankfully, this option is still available in Windows 11. Here is our guide on how you can change the icons on your Windows 11 PC.
How to Customize Icons on Windows 11
Customizing icons on your Windows 11 PC is quite simple. It makes it even easier if you already have the icons available on your system. You can find a good number of customized icons for Windows on websites like Devian Art, check out the sample by Dizl Icons (the same icon pack shown in this article’s thumbnail). A lot of users have created custom icon packs for a lot of programs. So feel free to check the icons on third-party websites.
Once you have got access to the icons and have downloaded them to your Windows PC, it is now time to change the icons. There are different ways that you can follow to customize the icons on your Windows 11 PC.
Change Desktop Icons from Settings App
The Settings app for Windows 11 is feature rich and has been improved a lot when you compare it to the Settings app for Windows 10. Now, to change the desktop icons from the Settings app, do the following steps.
- Click on the Start button on the Taskbar to pull up the Start Menu.
- Select the Settings app icon.
- Now, on the left-hand side, click on Personalization
- With the Personalization settings page open, click on Themes.
- Under Themes, scroll down a bit.
- You should see the Desktop Icon Settings option. Click on it.
- The Desktop Icon Settings window should pop up.
- Simply click on the desktop icon that you wish to change and click on the Change icon button.
- You will be able to choose from a list of various icons that are available in Windows itself. Simply scroll through and select the one that you like.
- Click on the OK button to apply the icon.
- The desktop icon has now been changed successfully.
- If you want, you can click on the Browse button to search for an icon that you have downloaded to your PC.
Change Icon for Third-Party Applications
With third-party applications and programs, the developers try to make sure that the icons are good enough for you. If you think otherwise, you can always change the icon for the third-party program. In this case, I would advise you to download third-party icon packs from Devian Art which is a great resource for Windows icons. Once you have the icons downloaded to your PC, follow these steps to customize the icon for a third-party application.
- Have the shortcut of the third-party application on your Desktop.
- Now, right-click on the shortcut and choose Properties from the Context menu.
- With the Properties window open, click on the General tab. At the bottom, you should be seeing the Change icon button. Click on it.
- You will have to click on the Browse button at the top to search and select the icon that you just downloaded.
- Once you have selected the icon click on the OK button.
- The third-party application’s icon has now been changed.
Change Folder Icon on Windows 11 PC
Apart from changing the desktop icons and third-party application icons, you can easily change the icons for the folders that you create as well. Over here, you can choose the icons that you have downloaded or use any of the icons that come with the operating system itself. Here are the steps to change the Folder icon on your Windows 11 PC.
- Right-click on the folder whose icon you wish to change.
- Now, choose the Properties option from the context menu.
- Click on the Customize tab of the Properties window.
- At the bottom under the Folder icons header, you should see the Change Icon button. Click on this button.
- You can now choose from the list of various icons that come with Windows 11. Or, you can click on the Browse button to easily change the icon with one you have downloaded from the internet.
- This is how you can change the icons of your Folders on your Windows 11 PC.
Change Icons by File Type
Another way you can customize the icons is by their file type. Suppose you have audio or mp3 files on your PC and don’t like how the default icon for the file is, you can make a few changes that will let you apply a custom icon to all types of audio files right away. Here are the steps.
- First, you will have to download a third-party app called FileTypesMan.
- You can find this program for free. Download the program from reputable and trusted sources.
- Now, launch the program. It will display all the file types that are on your Windows 11 PC.
- Simply select the file type whose icon you wish to change.
- Right-click on the file type and choose Edit Selected File Type from the context menu.
- Now, the Edit File Type window will open up.
- You should see the Default Icon option.
- Next to the file path, click on the three-dot menu next to it.
- Here, you will see the icon window open up.
- Click on the Browse button to search and select the custom icon you have downloaded for your Windows 11 PC.
- Click on OK when you select the custom icon.
- Now, all the files that have the particular file type will have the icon changed right away.
This concludes the guide on how you can easily change the different types of icons on your Windows 11 PC for free. Ideally, you always keep the icons that you want to apply downloaded in a folder that you can easily remember and at the same time won’t delete by mistake.
If you have questions or queries, feel free to leave them in the comments section below.
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