OS X Icons

ByMike Moffit

One of the things I enjoy about OS X is how much more customizable it is, and how easy it is to change application, and hardware icons. I myself have changed my Machintosh HD icon and my flash drive icon. There are a couple of web sites out there that provide icons for you to use on your computer. Two of my favorites are Pixel Girl Presents and xicons. The icons provided at these websites are 100% free unless specifically noted.

If you wish to change an icon, here’s a little how-to! I’ll assume you’ve downloaded some icons already.

To change an icon, for example the Macintosh HD icon, go to your Desktop, then click once on the icon.

Hit the Apple+I keys and a little window comes up displaying some information. You’ll see a little icon of the default Macintosh HD icon in the upper left corner of that window which represents the current icon.

You can then find the icon you’ve downloaded, and do the same thing, click on it once, then hit Apple+I. You will be presented with the same little informational window and again the little icon in the upper left corner.

From the replacement icon window, click on the little icon in the upper left corner, you’ll noticed it gets highlighted blue. Now hit Apple+C to copy it.

Now, click on the window of the icon to be replaced (in this case, the Macintosh HD). Now, click on the little icon in the upper left corner, again notice it highlights blue. Now hit Apple+V, this pastes.

All done! Change are immediate, so you should be able to look on your desktop and see that the icon for the Macintosh HD is now different!

If my steps were difficult to follow or you just can’t get this working, there are programs that make this process much easier, or allow you to change tons of icons at once without having to do all this copying and pasting. My favorite program for this sort of thing is done by one of my favorite developers, Panic. It’s called CandyBar. They do have a version you can download and try out, and if you like it, you can purchase it. I myself did buy it, because it really is a great piece of software, and I love to customize my Mac interface!

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