Open a new Finder window from the OS X Desktop and hit Command+Shift+G (or go to the “Go”.
It is very easy to create a custom icon for any file or folder on your Mac. Changing the appearance of different file or folder icons will help you easily locate and identify your files and folders.
Do you see wrong document icons instead of the icon associated with the app / file etc? Sometimes, the icons for your files and folders may appear as generic white documents (blank page image with folded down corner). Sometimes, not all, but some of your folder icons may appear as generic document icons. Some users said that this problem they discovered this problem after upgrading to the latest version of macOS. If you are having this problem, this article teaches you how you can restore your icons.
How to fix Mac file icon problem
Please try each step until your issue is fixed.
Free Desktop Folder Icons Mac
1. Update your Mac if there is an update available.
2. The first thing you should try is to restart your Mac in Safe Mode. This will do some system cache cleaning and that may solve your issue. Here is how:
- Turn off your Mac
- Turn on your Mac and immediately press and hold the Shift key
- Release the key when you see the login screen
- Enter your password to log in (you may have to log in a few times)
- Now you are in Safe Mode.
- Are your file icons still generic? Either case, restart your Mac. This time start your Mac normally, without pressing the Shift key.
- You can view your Mac folders as icons, columns, or even as album covers. You can change the view of your Mac folders by simply clicking the appropriate View button in the toolbar at the top of the Finder window. The View Options window changes depending on which view you have chosen. Icon View The.
- On your Mac, copy the picture you want to use to the Clipboard. One way to do this is to open the picture in the Preview app, choose Edit Select All, then choose Edit Copy. Select the file or folder whose icon you want to replace, then choose File Get Info. At the top of the Info window, click the picture of the icon, then choose Edit Paste.
- See and organize your files in the Finder on Mac. The Finder is the home base for your Mac. The Finder icon looks like a blue smiling face; click the icon in the Dock to open a Finder window. You use Finder windows to organize and access almost everything on your Mac.
Mac Icon Folders
3. If you are still having this problem, try the steps below. Here is how:
- Open the Terminal app (Applications / Utilities) and enter the following command:
- Press enter
- It may take some time, wait for the cursor to return normal.
- And then restart your Mac.
4. If Safe Mode does not work, let’s try to rebuild macOS’s Launch Services. This is because what Launch Services do is to manage app and document associations. Here is how:
- Open the Terminal app. (Applications / Utilities, or you can use Spotlight)
- Enter the following command and hit enter:
- It may take a few minutes so just wait.
- When it is done, restart your Mac
5. If you are having this problem with apps, meaning if you see generic icons for some apps, here is what you can do:
- Go to Finder
- Click Go and then Go to Folder
- Type the following command and then hit go
- ~/Library/Caches/com.apple.finder/Cache.db
- Drag Cache.db to the Trash and then restart your Mac.
If you are still having issues, contact Apple Support.
macOS provides a lot of customization options and one of them is to change apps and folder icons. There isn’t any desperate need to do so, but it’s good to keep things the way we like. It also serves the purpose of confusing people, in case you have colleagues or friends using your Mac without your permission. Here we’ve explained detailed guide on how you can change app and folder icons on Mac with ease.
How to Change App and Folder Icons in macOS
As far as this guide is concerned, we will use the Desktop folder as an example but don’t worry as the process remains the same for any other folder, app, or even website bookmark.
Step #1. Very first thing you’ll need to do is select any image of your choice and copy it to the clipboard by double clicking thepicture to open it in Preview. Now click on Edit→Select All. Next, press Command + C to copy the image to clipboard.
Step #2. To locate the Desktop folder, ensure you are in Finder and press Shift + Command + H. Alternatively, you may also click on Go from top bar and then click on Home.
Step #3. Right click on the Desktop folder icon/name and select “Get Info“.
Step #4. On the info panel of the folder, click on the folder icon located at the upper-left corner.
Step #5. All you need to do now is to paste the image we copied in the first step by pressing Command + V.
Free Windows 10 Folder Icons
You can repeat the same process for any folder. To restore the original image follow Step #3, Step #4 and now press Command + X to cut the image and it will automatically restore the original default image.
For changing app icon on Mac, you’ll need to access Application folder by looking for it in Finder and then select any App for which you wish to customize the icon. Thereafter, follow on from Step #3.
Wrapping up…
There are many websites which let you download icons and icon packs for Mac; search for them. If you are changing website shortcut icon, one good idea is to download the website’s logo and use that.
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What’s the extreme level of customization you have ever done on your Mac? Share your feedback with us in the comment section.
Jignesh Padhiyar is the co-founder of iGeeksBlog.com who has a keen eye for news, rumors and all the unusual stuff that happens around Apple products. During his tight schedule, Jignesh finds some moments of respite to share side-splitting contents on social media.
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