This wikiHow teaches you how to change the appearance of the desktop icons on a Windows computer, either by changing the icon to a different system icon and downloading or creating your own icon. You can also add custom shortcuts to your desktop, change icons, and even remove arrows from shortcut icons.
Step
Method 1 of 6: Changing the System Icon on the Desktop
Step 1. Open the “Start” menu
Click the Windows logo in the lower-left corner of the screen, or press Win.
Step 2. Click “Settings”
It's in the lower-left corner of the Start window.
Step 3. Click Personalization
This monitor icon is on the “Windows Settings” page.
You can also access this page by right-clicking an empty space on the desktop and selecting “ Personalization ” from the drop-down menu.
Step 4. Click Themes
This tab is on the left side of the “Personalization” window.
Step 5. Click the Desktop icon settings
This link is in the upper-right corner of the “Themes” page. Once clicked, the “Desktop Icon Settings” window will be opened.
- If you haven't edited your theme at all, this link will be in the middle of the page, under the " Related Settings " heading.
- You can also click “ Get more themes in the Store ” below the " Apply a theme " heading to select desktop themes. Some themes can change the appearance of the icons on the desktop.
Step 6. Click the icon you want to change
After that, the icon will be selected.
- For example, you can click the “ This PC " or " Recycle Bin ”.
- You can also check the box next to the desktop icon's name at the top of the window to display it on the desktop, or uncheck it to remove it from the desktop.
- Check the "Allow themes to change desktop icons" box in this window to enable icon changes based on the current theme.
Step 7. Click Change Icon
It's at the bottom of the window.
Step 8. Select the icon
You can choose from two different icon types:
- “ System default icons ” – Click the icon displayed in the window.
- “ Custom icon/modify ” – Click “ Browse ”, then click the folder containing the custom icons on the left side of the window. After that, select the icon you want to use and click “ Open ”.
Step 9. Click OK
Once clicked, the selected icon will be applied to the corresponding desktop program.
Step 10. Click Apply, then click OK.
After that, the selection will be confirmed and the desktop program icon will be changed to the icon you selected.
Method 2 of 6: Changing Shortcut and Folder Icons
Step 1. Open the “Start” menu
Click the Windows logo in the lower-left corner of the screen, or press Win.
Step 2. Click “File Explorer”
It's in the far-left corner of the Start window.
Step 3. Click Desktop
This folder is in the left options column of the File Explorer window.
Step 4. Click the shortcut or folder icon
The shortcut icon has a white square with an arrow in its lower left corner.
You cannot change the icon of certain files (eg. Notepad files or.exe files) using this method
Step 5. Click the Home tab
It's a tab in the upper-left corner of the File Explorer window. After that, a toolbar will appear at the top of the window.
Step 6. Click Properties
This white box with a red checkmark is in the " Open " section of the toolbar.
You can also right-click the icon on the desktop and select “ Properties ” to access this menu.
Step 7. Open the "Change Icon" window for icons
This process may differ depending on the type of icon to be edited:
- Shortcut - Click the tab " Shortcuts ” at the top of the “Properties” window, then click “ Change Icon ” at the bottom of the window.
- Folders - Click the tab " Customize ” at the top of the “Properties” window, then click “ Change Icon ” at the bottom of the window.
Step 8. Select the icon
You can choose from two different icon types:
- “ System default icons ” – Click the icon displayed in the window.
- “ Custom icon/modify ” – Click “ Browse ”, then click the folder containing the custom icons on the left side of the window. After that, select the icon you want to use and click “ Open ”.
Step 9. Click OK
After that, the selected icon will be applied.
Step 10. Click Apply, then click OK.
Once clicked, the selection will be confirmed and the original icon will be changed to the icon you selected.
Method 3 of 6: Downloading Icon
Step 1. Open a web browser
Microsoft Edge is the official browser for Windows 10. However, you can also use other browsers like Google Chrome, Firefox, Opera, or Internet Explorer.
Step 2. Look for the icon for Windows
Type download windows desktop icons (or “download desktop icons”) into your browser's address bar and press Enter.
You can narrow the search results by entering the program name (eg windows my computer icon) or using the icon file type (eg ICO
Step 3. Download the desired icon
You can download it by going to the site that contains the icon and clicking the “ Download After that, the icon file will be downloaded to your computer.
If you download multiple icons at once, you may need to extract the icons to a regular folder before proceeding
Step 4. Open the File Explorer program
You can open it by accessing the "Start" menu
and click
Step 5. Click Desktop
This folder is on the left side of the File Explorer window.
Step 6. Click the folder icon
Once clicked, the folder will be selected.
If you only downloaded one icon, select it
Step 7. Click Home
It's a tab in the upper-left corner of the File Explorer window.
Step 8. Click Move to
It's in the " Organize " section of the toolbar at the top of the File Explorer window.
Step 9. Click Pictures
This folder is in the middle of the pop-up window.
You can select any folder on your computer if you don't want to place the icon in the “ Pictures ”.
Step 10. Click Move
The downloaded icons will be moved to a folder which you will not move or delete later.
Step 11. Change the program icon using the downloaded icons
You need to use the file browsing method (“ Browse ”) and select the icon stored in the folder “ Pictures ” to change it.
Method 4 of 6: Creating Icons
Step 1. Open the “Start” menu
Click the Windows logo in the lower-left corner of the screen, or press Win.
Step 2. Type paint into the “Start” window, then press Enter
Make sure you don't press Enter until the Paint program icon that resembles a paint palette appears at the top of the “Start” window.
Step 3. Click File
It's a blue button in the upper-left corner of the Paint window.
Step 4. Click Open
This option is in the menu " File " After that, the file location selection window will be displayed.
If you want to create your own icon by drawing it in the Paint program, skip this step and create your own image
Step 5. Select an image
You may need to click on the image storage location on the left side of the “Open” window (eg folder “ Pictures ”) to find the image you want to open.
Skip this step if you want to draw the icon yourself
Step 6. Click Open
The image will open in the Paint window.
Skip this step if you want to draw the icon yourself
Step 7. Click the File button again
It's in the upper-left corner of the Paint window.
Step 8. Select Save as
This option is at the top of the “ File ”.
Step 9. Click the BMP picture
This option is to the right of the “ Save as Once clicked, a “Save As” window will appear and you can give the file a name.
Step 10. Type in the file name, followed by the extension
.ico
.
With this extension, the image will be saved as an icon file.
For example, you could name the file as "shortcut.ico"
Step 11. Click the file storage folder
Select a folder in the left pane of the “Save As” window.
Folders " Pictures ” is a safe place to save the shortcut icon file.
Step 12. Click Save
It's at the bottom of the window. Once clicked, the icon will be saved in the selected folder.
Step 13. Change the program icon using the icon you created
Use the file browsing method (“ Browse ”) and select the custom icon from its storage folder.
Method 5 of 6: Adding a Shortcut to the Desktop
Step 1. Open the “Start” menu
Click the Windows logo in the lower-left corner of the screen, or press Win on your keyboard.
Step 2. Click “File Explorer”
It's in the lower-left corner of the Start window.
Step 3. Click the Desktop folder
This folder is on the left side of the File Explorer program window.
Step 4. Click the Home tab
It's a tab in the upper-left corner of the File Explorer window.
Step 5. Click New item
It's in the " New " section of the toolbar at the top of the window.
Step 6. Click Shortcuts
This option is in the drop-down menu “ New items After that, a window with options for the new shortcut will appear.
Step 7. Click Browse
It's in the middle of the page. Once clicked, a pop-up window will be displayed.
Step 8. Scroll down and click on the program or file folder
For example, if the desired program or file is in the “Documents” folder, click the “ My Documents ”.
You may need to click a few different folders to find the program or file for which you want to create a shortcut
Step 9. Click OK
After that, the desktop shortcut target will be selected.
If you name the desktop icon or move it to a new folder, the shortcut won't work again
Step 10. Click Next, then enter a name
By default, the name of the shortcut is the same as the name of the program it represents.
Step 11. Click Finish
It's in the lower-right corner of the window. After that, a shortcut will be created in the folder you selected.
Method 6 of 6: Removing Hot Marks from Shortcut Icons
Step 1. Open the “Start” menu
Click the Windows logo in the lower-left corner of the screen, or press Win.
Step 2. Type regedit into the Start window
After that, the program "regedit" will be displayed at the top of the window.
Step 3. Click regedit
A blue block group icon will appear at the top of the window.
Step 4. Click Yes when prompted
Once clicked, the Registry Editor window will open.
Step 5. Visit the Explorer folder
To access it:
- Expand options” HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE ” by clicking the button “ V' which is on his left. It's in the upper-left corner of the Registry Editor window.
- Expand options” SOFTWARE ”.
- Expand " Microsoft ”.
- Open " Windows ”.
- Expand " CurrentVersion ”.
- Click " Explorer ”.
Step 6. Click Edit
It's in the upper-left corner of the Registry Editor window.
Step 7. Select New, then click Key.
After that, a new key or “key” that resembles a folder will be created in the folder column under the “Explorer” folder.
Step 8. Type Shell Icons into the key name, then press Enter
After that, the key name will be changed.
Make sure you name it as shown here
Step 9. Click the Edit tab
It's in the top-left corner of the window.
Step 10. Select New, then click String Values.
After that, a new code entry will be created in the “Shell Icons” key.
Step 11. Type 29, then press Enter key
Once pressed, the value row name will be changed.
Step 12. Double-click the value row 29
Once clicked, the “Edit String” window will be opened.
Step 13. Type
%windir%\System32\shell32.dll, -50
in the "Value" data column.
This field is at the bottom of the " Edit String " window.
Step 14. Click OK
After that, the edits will be saved to the register.
Step 15. Restart the computer
Once the computer starts up, you will no longer see the arrow in the lower-left corner of the desktop icon.
Tips
- You don't have to pay when you want to download desktop icons.
- Some themes will also change the desktop icons. To enable this feature, open the “Desktop Icon Settings” window via the “Desktop Icon Settings” option. Personalization ”, check the “Allow themes to change desktop icons” box, and click “ OK ”.
- You can find themes for Windows 10 in the Store app that comes pre-installed with Windows 10 installation packages.
