Personalising Desktop Icons

You may have to put the existing shortcuts in a folder off the desktop, then create a shortcut to each one in order to be able to change the icons . .

I just created a shortcut on my desktop to one of the links in my Favorites folder. Right clicking on the shortcut, click properties, there is a change icon button on the web document tab. Browse to where you stored your custom icons, select the one you want, click OK, Apply, OK.

 

To stop IE 7 from changing your selected icon to the site's favicon or the default IE icon when you use the shortcut, right clicvk on the shortcut, click properties, general tab, check read only, click apply, OK.

 

If your problem is that when you select an icon, you get a message that it cannot change it, check that the shortcut is not already read only. If it is, uncheck read only, click apply, OK, change your icon, then recheck read only.

To Rich and JRosenfield:   Thank you for your replies.    I tried to use a separate forlder for the icons but this did not work and I also tried to create shortcuts on the Desktop using the Favorites list and this did not work.     One of the reasons may be because on the Inspiron, the computer on which I am trying to personalise the shortcuts to particular weboages,  I no longer have Internet Explorer installed since IE7 will not run and this is discussed elsewhere in this Forum.      I am using Avast as the default browser for the Kids Account that I set up to allow my grandchildren to use the laptop.    I updated the program yesterday and managed to create relevant icons on the laptop and these are suitable for most of my grandchildren, seven year olds and upwards.    Ffor the four year olds and their Grandmother, on other computers I have used special icons I have created these  have a picture clearly identifying the website.    Examples are the Tweenies site, the Mighty Book Club, and CBeebies.      These are the icons that I want to use on the Desktop in the Kids account on the Inspiron but I am unable to change the icons which have been created by the browser for these webpages.

 

I am following up this problem in the Avast Forums and will report back when I have some success.

 

T.Hyde

OK, you did not say you were not using IE. Also, I take it you meant Avant browser, as far as I know Avast is an antivirus app.

 

Instead of making a shortcut to a link, make one to open Avant at a specified page. You should then be able to change the icon for such a short cut, as it is one to a program .exe file.

 

Make or copy a shortcut to Avant browser. Right click on it, click properties in the target line at the end add {space} then the URL of the site.

 

For example for a shortcut that opens Avant at www.google.com, the target line would read

 

"C:\Program Files\Avant Browser\avant.exe" http:\\www.google.com

 

[I assume you have installed Avant in C:\Program Files\Avant Browser\, if not change the path to avant.exe accordingly]

 

Change the icon and rename the shortcut as you like.

To JRosenfeld:   Thanks for the successful reply and please accept my apologies for the lack of full information in my first letter and the incorrect browser name my last one.    I have now managed to replace the Avant icons with infant-recognisable ones.

 

T.Hyde

 

 

You're welcome.