Using Icon and Graphics sets

[MortimerJazz]

Hi there,

Bit of a newbie to Macs here.

I think it's time to brighten up the icons that I use for the folders on my desktop.

There seem to be a load of really nicely designed alternatives which I've downloaded ... but I'm just not quite sure what to do with them.

Do I just drag them out of the zip folder and into the relevant place on my desktop ... or do I need to 'install' them somehow?

Thanks alot,

 

[catachip]

If you just want to change individual folders that you have on your desktop or in the Finder, then you can do that without getting anything extra. Just right-click (or control-click) on the folder and select "Get Info". In that window you'll see the default folder icon in the top, left-hand corner. Now, go to the icon you have downloaded and want to use as a replacement. Open the "Get Info" window for that icon file as well. Then, click on the icon picture in the top left-hand corner and select "Copy" from the Edit menu (or press Command-C). Then, switch to the "get info" window for the folder, select the old folder icon in the "Get Info" window, and paste in the new one (command-V or Edit, Paste). Repeat for as many folders as you want, with as many different icons as you want.

To change the default icon for all folders you'll need to pay for third-party software. The application "Candy Bar" is the best for this. It costs $29. It will also let you change the default icon for all other system components and applications.

http://www.panic.com/candybar/

 

[MortimerJazz]

Thanks for that - am I right in assuming that PNGs won't work then?

I've just done as you suggested but rather than getting the correct artwork, I'm just seeing the generic symbol for a .png as the folder artwork ...

 

[ergdegdeg]

Just convert them: img2icns
Edit: Oh, and a free alternative to CandyBar: LiteIcon

 

[MortimerJazz]

Can someone just clarify, what file format I should be using?

I've just tried changing my folder icons using iconLite (thanks for the link btw!), and used .ico, .icns and .png files ... and yet I'm still only getting those generic .png file icon, which is starting to mess up the look of my desktop.

 

[ergdegdeg]

Try chosing "Icns file" in img2icns and drop any image file you have in the area on the right. You get a new .icns file on the desktop or wherever the original file was. Now do the procedure catachip suggested.

 

[catachip]

Can someone just clarify, what file format I should be using?

I've just tried changing my folder icons using iconLite (thanks for the link btw!), and used .ico, .icns and .png files ... and yet I'm still only getting those generic .png file icon, which is starting to mess up the look of my desktop.

.icns (Apple Icon Image) is the format the files should be in. What you've got are just image files showing what someone would want to be as an icon, they are no different than any other picture. The above posters have recommended options to convert these images into icons. Alternatively, you should be able to find the true icon files online. There are tonnes of icons at www.interfacelift.com - check them out!

 

[MortimerJazz]

I've already got .icns files, which I've dragged into iconLite and applied the changes, but they're still not showing up on my desktop