Changing an icon in Snow Leopard is simple. You don’t need fancy software like CandyBar. Although it makes changing system icons a lot simpler than by hand, you can customize file, folder and app icons right in Finder.
Find an icon
There are a number of different places where you can find icons and system replacements sets for your Mac. Here are just a few great resources:
- InterfaceLIFT: Probably the largest Mac icon collections on the Web
- We Love Icons: Icons of the finest quality
- Apple Downloads: Icons and Screensavers category
Wherever you look for icons, make sure they are Mac compatible. This is usually illustrated by the symbol.
Changing the icon
Once you’ve downloaded the icon or set, unzip it and take a look inside. Most sets come in a variety of formats. These may include PNG, ICO, ICNS and Macintosh formats but the naming may be different depending on the author.
Here we see the contents of a typical icon set. Look for 'Icons' or 'Macintosh Icons'.
Look for the Mac format. You can easily tell thesite apart because the icons themselves are folders. Simply put, if you double click on an icon, you will be shown the contents of an empty folder.
Once you’ve found the icon you like, right-click it and chose Get info. Do the same for the icon you wish to change.
In the info window, click on the new icon. You know it is selected when you see a glow around it. Hit ⌘+c to copy it to the clipboard. With the Info window of the target opened, click on the old icon and hit ⌘+v to paste it. If all went well, your file should now show the new icon.
