Hey all. I've seen it done somwhere before, but can't figure it out. How do you change an app's icon, like the Safari dock icon, to anything else? I've already tried clicking on Get Info and tragging a new icon, but it doesn't work. Any ideas? Thanks!
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Change Safari icon
- Thread starter fBaran
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jxyama
macrumors 68040
you need to do "copy and paste" for the icons.
pull up info screen for the icon you want to use and the app (or files, etc.) you want to change the icon of. highlight and copy the icon of you want to use, paste into the other after highlighting the icon you want to change.
to change the icon in the dock, just drag and erase the dock icon once. start the app again after the icon is changed and drag that dock icon to the original place...
pull up info screen for the icon you want to use and the app (or files, etc.) you want to change the icon of. highlight and copy the icon of you want to use, paste into the other after highlighting the icon you want to change.
to change the icon in the dock, just drag and erase the dock icon once. start the app again after the icon is changed and drag that dock icon to the original place...
timnosenzo
macrumors 6502a
Octobot
macrumors regular
It takes a refresh of sorts.. I've noticed when changing a lot of my icons in leopard that some weren't updating right away.
You may need to restart, relaunch your dock/finder or pull the icon out of your dock then add it again...
This has solved the problem for me.
GSMiller
macrumors 68000
It doesn't work on my friends MacBook running Leopard either. It only does it with .icns files (not .ico, they work) and it just changes it to the icon of the program that opens it, such as...
...It used to do this on mine but one day it miraculously stopped.
the easy way to change it
i found an easier way to do this that will work every time
find safari in your finder and then control click it click show package contents, then open the contents folder and then the resources folder, and then rename the file you want to use as your icon compass.icns drag it into the resources folder and click replace when the dialog box comes up, and viola you've got yourself a new safari icon.
i found an easier way to do this that will work every time
find safari in your finder and then control click it click show package contents, then open the contents folder and then the resources folder, and then rename the file you want to use as your icon compass.icns drag it into the resources folder and click replace when the dialog box comes up, and viola you've got yourself a new safari icon.
But if you want to keep the original icon, make a copy of compass.icns first.
I did that but it didn't come back and i did the icon thing for Quicktime but it wouldn't show. it just shows the application paper sign. how do i get rid of that.
Btw, I just found a pretty cool set of Safari icons by Michael Flarup.
http://pixelresort.com/goodies/
http://pixelresort.com/goodies/
I too was trying to change my safari icon and after reading all of the suggestions here, nothing worked but after several trial and error attempts, I figured it out.
First, open the "Get Info" window for Safari. Second, double click the icon or picture you want to make the new Safari icon (I'm not sure if it has to be a png file or icns file but I used an icns file). Once the file is open and it opens in preview, hide the sidebar and select the entire picture. Copy the selected picture and go into the Safari "Get Info" window, click on the Safari compass in the upper left corner and paste.
The picture in the "Get Info" window should change automatically and on the spot, however the dock icon and the icon in the applications folder wont change. Restart your computer and everything changes.
First, open the "Get Info" window for Safari. Second, double click the icon or picture you want to make the new Safari icon (I'm not sure if it has to be a png file or icns file but I used an icns file). Once the file is open and it opens in preview, hide the sidebar and select the entire picture. Copy the selected picture and go into the Safari "Get Info" window, click on the Safari compass in the upper left corner and paste.
The picture in the "Get Info" window should change automatically and on the spot, however the dock icon and the icon in the applications folder wont change. Restart your computer and everything changes.
Andrew#Mac
macrumors newbie
allan.nyholm
macrumors 68020
There has apparently been a growing concern within Apple that users change too much in their OS and makes macOS inoperable. System Integrity Protection is there to keep users and rogue patchers from tampering with core system files, despite just being Safari or iTunes. Apple has had a difficult time with some users in the past installing Application Enhancer from a developer named Unsanity(On Mac OS X Tiger) and not being that well versed in how to remove and restore default conditions of their system should the user want that. The story goes that Apple Genius' would find this particular framework on Macs that users brought in because the framework patched system files to be able to allow for theming and such. The user would have updated the OS and the APE-framework wouldn't be compatible with the next OS update causing various issues. Booting and such.
So SIP is there to prevent a user from doing anything that might invalidate an application and its operation. Changing an icon for a macOS Mojave application like Safari is now a thing that Apple prevents. I have my doubts that it would hurt macOS to do that. But that's the Apple way of doing this now.