Changing Desktop Icons

[BillW]

Is there a way that I can change the icon (picture) on a desktop shortcut to something different? If so, are there other icons available that I can choose from?

Thanks,
BillW

[HansV]

Right-click a desktop shortcut.
Select Properties from the context menu.
In the Shortcut tab, click the Change Icon... button.
By default, you'll see a list of icons from Shell32.dll.

S2658.png

You can click Browse... to find other sources of icons.

[BillW]

Thanks Hans. Right off I don't see a bunch of pictures similar to the picture in your message but I haven't explored everything yet. Right now I get a group of maybe 10 pictures to choose from. I'll explore some more later and see what I can find!

Thanks,
BillW

[stuck]

...By default, you'll see a list of icons from Shell32.dll...

Not on my win 11 laptop. I only see icons that are contained within the .exe that the shortcut points to.

I suspect that's why BillW isn't seeing many alternative icons.

The 'fix' of course is to use the Browse button and paste in this path:
    %systemroot%\system32\shell32.dll

Ken

[HansV]

My apologies - I tested with a shortcut to a document, not to an application.

[BillW]

OK Hans, I am back on this subject now. I am confused by your mention of a shortcut to a document vs an application. Mine are shortcuts to document. I can't think of an example of a shortcut to an application! Also, I don't know where to paste-in that alternative expression.

Thanks,
BillW

[BillW]

I forgot to mention that my shortcut is to a text document that was created by a program called Edin.

Edin seems to be a strange animal that is not like anything I have encountered before. I ran into it when I was trying to remember the name of a program that could create a simple text document. I suspect there is a better program for doing that!

BillW

[HansV]

1) Shortcuts to applications are ubiquitous - for example, the Start menu is full of application shortcuts, and the Taskbar too.

2) In the screenshot in my first reply in this thread, you can see an address bar near the top of the Change Icon dialog. You can enter a path here, or click the Browse... button to look for an appropriate file.

3) If I want to create or edit a really simple text file, I use Notepad - it comes with Windows.
For more advanced use (for example program code), I use the excellent free utility Notepad++.

[stuck]

...created by a program called Edin...

You don't by any chance actually mean a program called edlin, with an 'l'?

That really would be a strange animal that is not like anything you'd have encountered before. It's the line editor that came with the original versions of MS DOS, but apparently still exists within 32 bit versions of Windows.

Ken

[BillW]

Yes Ken, I did mean edlin. I failed to spell it correctly in my message.

Hans I have felt all along that there was a simple program for editing plain text files but couldn't remember the name. Now I know, Notepad is what I was trying to remember.

Thanks to both of you.

BillW