Change icon

[LucB]

Some of my desktop shortcuts have self-made icons. When I modify one of
those icons (and keep the original file name), it may take some time before
the new version actually appears on the desktop. Even Properties > Change
Icon to a different .ico-file and back to the original .ico-file does not
make the new icon appear. How can I force it to appear?

 

[Sharon F]

Some of my desktop shortcuts have self-made icons. When I modify one of
those icons (and keep the original file name), it may take some time before
the new version actually appears on the desktop. Even Properties > Change
Icon to a different .ico-file and back to the original .ico-file does not
make the new icon appear. How can I force it to appear?

Try forcing a refresh of the desktop. To do this: Right click desktop>
select Refresh or click desktop and press F5.

 

[LucB]

Alas, that doesn't do the trick...

Try forcing a refresh of the desktop. To do this: Right click desktop>
select Refresh or click desktop and press F5.

 

[Ramesh [MVP]]

1. Right-click Desktop, choose Properties, Appearance Tab.
2. Click "Advanced" button, choose Icon from the drop-down list and set it's size to 31 and press OK
3. Close the dialogs.
4. Repeat the same procedure (1&3) and set the icon size to 32 and press OK, OK.

See if this helps. If not, try rebooting.

 

[Sharon F]

Alas, that doesn't do the trick...

What about a soft restart: Log off and log back on?

 

[LucB]

Is a bit cumbersome, but works OK. Thanks!

1. Right-click Desktop, choose Properties, Appearance Tab.
2. Click "Advanced" button, choose Icon from the drop-down list and set it's
size to 31 and press OK
3. Close the dialogs.
4. Repeat the same procedure (1&3) and set the icon size to 32 and press OK,
OK.

See if this helps. If not, try rebooting.

 

[LucB]

This solution works too, but it's kind of a nuisance to have to reboot each
time I want to see what my new icons look like 'for real'. Thanks anyway for
the hint!

 

[Ramesh [MVP]]

You're welcome. Even TweakUI's 'Rebuild Icons' feature can help!

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k
---------------------------------------
What You Should Know About the Sasser Worm and It Variants:
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Is a bit cumbersome, but works OK. Thanks!

1. Right-click Desktop, choose Properties, Appearance Tab.
2. Click "Advanced" button, choose Icon from the drop-down list and set it's
size to 31 and press OK
3. Close the dialogs.
4. Repeat the same procedure (1&3) and set the icon size to 32 and press OK,
OK.

See if this helps. If not, try rebooting.

 

[Sharon F]

This solution works too, but it's kind of a nuisance to have to reboot each
time I want to see what my new icons look like 'for real'. Thanks anyway for
the hint!

It is cumbersome but it sounds like your system is slow to propagate the
icon designation. This designation is recorded in the registry and needs to
be renewed in the icon cache before it shows up on the desktop. Logging on
fresh loads the updated registry info and the cycling of log off/log on is
all part of normal icon cache maintenance.

I see that Ramesh has given you some help that has made this work better
for you too. That's good.

 

[David Candy]

It's actually that something has to tell windows the icon is changed. Programs do this with ShellNotify (Hey windows I've changed an icon). Logging off/on may not fix it. Changing an icon in a windows dialog will do the ShelliNotify. Changing the icon file will load the new file in memory. Editing the file is just tricking windows as it doesn't know it's been done.

 

[Sharon F]

It's actually that something has to tell windows the icon is changed.
Programs do this with ShellNotify (Hey windows I've changed an icon).
Logging off/on may not fix it. Changing an icon in a windows dialog will
do the ShelliNotify. Changing the icon file will load the new file in
memory. Editing the file is just tricking windows as it doesn't know
it's been done.

Thanks for the explanation, David. I appreciate it.