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mrmeee17

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 6, 2013
6
0
Quite new to OS X.

I changed some of my (blank) folder icons to some system ones (iTunes, Notes, etc.) However, upon rebooting, they reset to blank ones again.

What I did was "get info" for both of them, then simply copy and paste the icon at the top left over.

Anyone knows what I am doing wrong?

Thanks!
 

skinny*k

macrumors regular
Feb 21, 2011
130
0
California
Actual icons are different than the images we paste over them; the icon files—with the extension “.icns”—are actually a set of images, not a single image. For system icons, the images are actually a part of the OS, and the OS will only allow them to be used with files with certain names, so, for example, if you rename your “Documents” folder to “My Documents” the system will change the folder’s icon to a blank folder. This is really done to make things easier for you—or at least less confusing for the system itself—so that you’ll know which are the “official” folders or files.

To get around it:
Let’s say that you want to use the system’s “Music” folder icon for your “Song Lyrics” folder;
1.)*******Select the “Music” folder and then “Get Info”.
2.)*******Select the folder’s icon in the information window and “Copy” the icon.
3.)*******Close the infomation window and open the “Preview” app. In Preview, select “File” —> “New from Clipboard” and you will see the images that make up the “.icns” file.
4.)*******Select the top image from the column and “Copy” it. Close and do not Save.
5.)*******Select (or create) the folder that you want to paste the image onto and then “Get Info”.
6.)*******Select the folder’s icon in the information window and “Paste” on your new icon icon.

I’m not recommending that you do this, but, at least as far as the system goes, it won’t do any harm.
 
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