How to Change Icons on Windows 11

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By Porbeni Johnson

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Wondering how to change icons on your Windows 11 PC? This guide teaches you how to change icons on Windows 11.

Option 1: Change Desktop Icons

In order to change the desktop icons of your Windows 11 PC, follow the steps below.

  1. Right-click the Windows 11 Start icon on the taskbar and select Settings.
How To Change Icons On Windows 11
  1. Then, on the left pane of the Settings window, click Personalization.
  1. Next, on the right pane of the Personalization page, scroll down and click Themes.
How To Change Icons On Windows 11
  1. When the Themes page opens, scroll down to the Related Settings sub-menu and click Desktop Icon Settings.
How To Change Icons On Windows 11
  1. On the Desktop Icons Settings window, select the desktop icon you wish to change, then click Change Icon. For instance, according to the screenshot below, I want to change the Network icon.
How To Change Icons On Windows 11
  1. By clicking Change Icon, the Change Icon pop-up window appears, showing a bunch of icons you can choose. Hence, select your preferred icon and click the OK button.
  1. The desktop icon will change to the newly selected icon. Then, to save your changes, click OK.
How To Change Icons On Windows 11
By default, the Network icon is not available on Windows 11 desktop. Hence, to make it available, check the Network checkbox under Desktop Icons and click OK.
  1. Finally, the desktop icon has been changed.
How To Change Icons On Windows 11

Option 2: Change Folder Icons

You can also change folder icons on your Windows 11 PC. Follow the steps below to do so.

  1. Right-click a folder on your Windows 11 PC and select Show more options to expand the menu.
How To Change Icons On Windows 11

2. On the expanded menu, click Properties.

  1. This will take you to the folder’s properties page. Then, switch to the Customise tab.
How To Change Icons On Windows 11
  1. On the Customise tab, beneath the Folder Icons section, click Change Icon.
  1. Thereafter, select a new icon and click the OK button.
How To Change Icons On Windows 11
  1. Doing that will take you back to the folder’s properties page. Thus, click OK to apply your changes.
How To Change Icons On Windows 11

Option 3: Change File Type Icons

The following steps show how to change the icon of a file type on your Windows 11 PC. However, you will need to download and install a 3rd party tool called FileTypesMan.

Below are the steps.

  1. Click FileTypesMan link. When the webpage opens, scroll down to the bottom and click the download link for your Windows 11 System Type.
How To Change Icons On Windows 11
  1. If your system is 64-bits, click on the second link. Otherwise, click the first link.
To know if your computer uses a 32-bits or 64-bits Windows 11 OS, right-click the Start icon and click System. On the right pane of the System settings page, you will find Device specifications.

From the device specifications, you will see System type. Underneath the system type, you will be able to confirm if your PC uses a 32-bits or 64-bits Windows 11 OS.
How To Change Icons On Windows 11
  1. The file will be downloaded to your computer’s default download folder as a zip file.
  1. Thereafter, unzip the downloaded zip file. Then, open the unzipped folder and double-click FileTypesMan.
How To Change Icons On Windows 11
  1. You will receive a User Account Control prompt requesting you to allow FileTypesMan to make changes to your PC. Click Yes to proceed.
  2. When the application opens, locate the file extension type you wish to change its icon. For example, according to the screenshot below, I want to change the icon of the “.docx” extension – the “.docx” extension is for Microsoft Word files.
How To Change Icons On Windows 11
Alternatively, you may press Ctrl + F to open the find option on the application. Then, type the file extension you wish to change the icon and click Find Next.
How To Change Icons On Windows 11
  1. Next, right-click the file type and select Edit Selected File Type.
  1. After that, on the right side of the Default Icon field, click on the 3 dots.
  1. Thereafter, select a new icon and click OK.
How To Change Icons On Windows 11
  1. Then, you will be directed back to the Edit File Type window. Hence, click OK to conclude the process.

Option 4: Change Shortcut Icons

Impressively, you can also change shortcut icons on your Windows 11 PC. To do so, follow the steps below.

The steps in this section can also be used to change the icon of a program shortcut.
  1. Firstly, right-click the shortcut you wish to change its icon and click Show more options.
How To Change Icons On Windows 11
  1. Then, at the bottom of the expanded menu, click Properties.
  1. By default, the Shortcut Properties window will be on the Shortcut tab. Thus, click Change Icon towards the bottom of the window.
How To Change Icons On Windows 11
  1. Then, a Change Icon pop-up window will appear – select a new icon for the shortcut and click OK.
How To Change Icons On Windows 11
  1. In doing so, you will return to the Shortcut Properties window. So, click OK to save the changes and close the window.
  1. You have successfully changed the shortcut icon.
How To Change Icons On Windows 11

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do I change desktop icons in Windows 11?

a) Navigate to Windows Settings. To do that, press Windows + I.
b) On the left pane of the Settings window, click Personalization.
c) Then, on the right pane, scroll down and select Themes.
d) Next, scroll down to the Related settings sub-menu and click Desktop icon settings.
e) On the Desktop icon settings window, select the icon you want to change and click Change Icon.
f) Then, choose a new icon and click OK.
g) Finally, back to the Desktop icon settings window, click OK to save the changes, and close the window.

2. Can you change app icons on Windows 11?

Yes, you can. Follow the steps below to change the app icons on your Windows 11 computer:
a) Right-click on the shortcut of the app and navigate to Properties.
b) On the Shortcut tab of the Properties window, click Change Icon found at the bottom.
c) Next, choose a new icon and click OK.

3. Does Windows 11 have desktop icons?

Yes, it does. However, if your PC is not showing desktop icons, follow the steps below:
a) Right-click any area on your computer’s desktop.
b) Then, select View from the menu.
c) Finally, click Show desktop icons.

4. What are icons in Windows 11?

Icons are graphical representations of folders, files, programs, and shortcuts that identify the type of item they represent.

5. What file format are Windows icons?

Windows icons are in the ICO file format. This is an image file format containing small-size images used for Microsoft Windows icons.

Conclusion

As small as they can be, icons help to give a graphical representation of file types in a Windows 11 computer. Furthermore, they beautify the desktop area of your computer.

Moreover, as discussed in this guide, you can change your Windows 11 desktop icons as well as file, shortcut, and folder icons. Hence, by following the steps provided in this guide, you should be able to achieve that easily.

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Finally, visit our Windows 11 How-To page for more Windows 11 guides.

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About the Author

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Porbeni Johnson

Porbeni Johnson is a Technical Writer for Itechguides.com. He has a B.Eng in Electrical/Electronic Engineering. Porbeni loves reading, movies, playing soccer, and gadgets. In Itechguides.com, he writes gadget buying guides, apps and software reviews, movies, and video games reviews.

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