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re: Question about 'Change the icon for Internet Shortcuts' Monday, January 21, 2008 at 10:40 am Posted by Ms. Eagle (33640 messages posted) You should have posted this under an existing discussion in that section. Those of us on the forum have nothing to do with it. I don't know what the instr. are about changing the icon. It should be pretty simple to change one icon. Blocking Unwanted Parasites with a Hosts File [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Question about 'Change the icon for Internet Shortcuts' Monday, January 21, 2008 at 10:52 am Posted by MW (4 messages posted) I DID reply to the original message in its thread (entitled as the subject of my message - I didn't made up the title, it's a reply), and I have NO IDEA why it appeared here. I can assure You I did NOT open a new subject. Well anyway, if it's simple to change the icon of an internet shortcut on the desktop, just try (and tell me how you did it :). Cheers! [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Question about 'Change the icon for Internet Shortcuts' Monday, January 21, 2008 at 11:10 am Posted by Steve (23809 messages posted) I use to put my own icon files in a Folder I created, then point the Desktop Shortcut to that folder for the Icon I wanted to assign a particular IE shortcut. [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Question about 'Change the icon for Internet Shortcuts' Monday, January 21, 2008 at 11:14 am Posted by Ms. Eagle (33640 messages posted) First you tell me how you did it, albeit unsuccessfully. I can change it just like any other shortcut on my desktop. Blocking Unwanted Parasites with a Hosts File [Reply or follow-up to this message] P.S. re: Question about 'Change the icon for Internet Shortcuts' Monday, January 21, 2008 at 11:43 am Posted by Ms. Eagle (33640 messages posted) You don't need to make any registry changes. Just create a shortcut on your desktop to the URL of your choice and select an icon. I'm curious about those instr. you followed. I've no clue where you saw that. Blocking Unwanted Parasites with a Hosts File [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: P.S. re: Question about 'Change the icon for Internet Shortcuts' Tuesday, January 22, 2008 at 3:57 am Posted by MW (4 messages posted) I saw it there: http://www.annoyances.org/exec/show/article04-405 [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: P.S. re: Question about 'Change the icon for Internet Shortcuts' Tuesday, January 22, 2008 at 2:09 pm Posted by Ms. Eagle (33640 messages posted) OK, thanks. I didn't know it was a problem, but I don't use IE, or web site shortcuts. Did you get it worked out then? Blocking Unwanted Parasites with a Hosts File [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: P.S. re: Question about 'Change the icon for Internet Shortcuts' Wednesday, January 23, 2008 at 2:49 am Posted by MW (4 messages posted) Nope, I didn't. The Properties -> Change Icon function just doesn't work in Windows. At least not for Internet Shortcuts (be it IE or not IE - I don't use IE either but that doesn't change anything). At least not in my Windows (XP x64). [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: P.S. re: Question about 'Change the icon for Internet Shortcuts' Wednesday, January 23, 2008 at 12:30 pm Posted by Ms. Eagle (33640 messages posted) I don't know exactly how you're going about it, but it works for me. Right click your desktop... create a shortcut, add the URL, then continue and change the icon. Blocking Unwanted Parasites with a Hosts File [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Internet shortcuts’ custom icons (favicons) from IconPath not displayed Thursday, March 20, 2008 at 10:02 am Posted by bachware (2 messages posted) I have both Firefox and MSIE 8β on my XP SP2 system. Internet shortcuts (.URL files) used to display any custom icons (favicons) their IconFile= strings pointed to, but, regardless of what these specify, I started just seeing the MSIE e icon. Since I prefer Firefox, I applied Annoyances’ Internet Shortcut Registry hack (EditFlags=0, renamed the IconHandler key to IconHandler.old, etc.) to free up Internet shortcuts’ default icon from showing only MSIE’s e, so I now see only the global, default Firefox icon specified in the Registry. But favicons, when specified in the Internet shortcut’s IconFile= string, are still not seen. If I edit such string to customize it, it’s shown in the customization dialog’s pane afterward, but the Desktop still shows the default icon. If I then re-open the .URL file in Notepad to check, it indeed has the right (customized) string in there, but when clicking on the file's properties and selecting Properties | Change Icon, the string it shows is "%SystemRoot%\system32\SHELL32.dll" and not the customized IconFile string in the .URL file (Internet shortcut). This tells me that the shell is disconnected from the customized string, and it “snaps back” despite all I try. I suspect there’s something in the Registry that needs to be reset (hacked) to connect Explorer’s Desktop handler to the code module that reads the IconPath string, so that it shows the customized favicon. Instead, Explorer is throwing up its hands in confusion, and just putting up the default. Any ideas? On Monday, January 21, 2008 at 10:22 am, MW wrote: >Well, I tried to change the icon of a single internet shortcut on the desktop, and >didn't make it. Before I applied the advice here, it just stubbornly stayed the big >"e". After I made the registry change, the icon changed... to an ugly Windows default >one. [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Internet shortcuts’ custom icons Friday, April 25, 2008 at 11:46 pm Posted by GeoNOregon (5 messages posted) I was looking for something else and stumbled upon this multi-year old discussion regarding Internet shortcuts. Something I'd like to point out is that with XP, the age old method of using the file association applet is a nightmare waiting to happen. There is a problem with this applet. I haven't heard anything about it being fixed in SP2. I'm sure not going to open it on my system and test it if it is! :) I can't remember what screws up in XP as this happened to me 2+ years ago. I was making a new file association and afterwards, I starting having problems -- come to find out there's probs with the File Association applet. It's fairly well documented, just search on it. I've been using Firefox for a long time, so it's been a while since I converted my icons and file association from IE to Firefox, but I'm working on something similar right now. I'll refresh my memory and write a quick how-to. My method WILL involve editing your registry, but this is something you shouldn't be scared of. Just make sure you back the dang thing up. Here's a couple of methods and a short info piece on the registry: Here's some info about the Registry you should be familiar with. (**copy & keep this somewhere as a reference) What is the System Registry? ------------------------------- The precursor to the registry was *.ini files. Initialization files if memory serves me well. Simply, .ini files were startup info files for applications. They also contained some info for the program while it was running. Each program usually had one, some had more. Windows had several. There was also a registry in the early days, but it's presence didn't become much of a factor until W95. The .ini files were all but dumped with W95 as the registry became a central repository for the info formerly contained the the multiple .ini files. The operating system, (OS), uses it as well as applications. By the time XP came along most programs were registry compliant and .ini's were history.... (except for a few places in the OS. I discovered a year or so ago that Desktop Theme files are actually .ini files, MS just doesn't call them that!) * In Windows 95, 98, and Me, the Registry is contained in two hidden files in your Windows directory, called USER.DAT and SYSTEM.DAT. * In Windows 2000 and Windows XP, the Registry is stored in several Hives, located in the \windows\system32\config and \Documents and Settings\{username} folders. Structure of the Registry -------------------------- The Registry has a hierarchal structure, like the directories on your hard disk. Look below at 'Using the Registry Editor' for a detailed description. Each branch (denoted by a folder icon in the left side of the Registry Editor) is called a Key. Each Key can contain other Keys, as well as Values. Each Value contains the actual information stored for the OS and applications. (values & hteir data are shown in the right side of the Registry Editor) There are three types of Values: String Binary DWORD The use of these depends upon the context. There are six main branches (five in Windows 2000 and Windows XP), each containing a specific portion of the information stored in the Registry. They: * HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT - this branch contains all of your file types as well as OLE information for all your OLE-aware applications. * HKEY_CURRENT_USER - this branch points to the part of HKEY_USERS appropriate for the current user. * HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE - this branch contains information about all of the hardware and software installed on your computer. Since you can specify multiple hardware configurations, the current hardware configuration is specified in HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG. * HKEY_USERS - this branch contains certain preferences (such as colors and control panel settings) for each of the users of the computer. (In Windows 95/98/Me, the default branch here contains the currently-logged in user. In Windows 2000/XP, the default branch here contains a template to be used for newly-added users.) * HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG - this branch points to the part of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE appropriate for the current hardware configuration. * HKEY_DYN_DATA (Windows 95/98/Me only) - this branch points to the part of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, for use with Windows' Plug-&-Play subsystem. Using the Registry Editor --------------------------- The Registry Editor (regedit.exe or regedit32.exe) is included with Windows to enable you to view and edit the contents of the Registry. When you open the Registry Editor, you'll see a window divided into two panes. The left side shows a tree with folders (see Structure of the Registry), and the right side shows the contents (values) of the currently selected folder (key). To expand a certain branch, click on the little plus sign [+] to the left of any folder, or just double-click on the folder. To display the contents of a key (folder), just click the desired key, and look at the values listed on the right side. You can add a new key or value by selecting New from the Edit menu. You can rename any value and almost any key with the same method used to rename files; right-click on an object and click rename, or click on it twice (slowly), or just press F2 on the keyboard. Lastly, you can delete a key or value by clicking on it, and pressing Delete on the keyboard, or by right-clicking on it, and choosing Delete. A tip for working with the Registry Editor is to learn how the 'Copy Key Name' funciton in the right click context menu works. It's a good way to keep a log of what you are doing/have done. Right click on a key and choose 'Copy Key Name'. Then paste it into Notepad. Here's an example of typical note I will in a log: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run C-Media Mixer C:\WINDOWS\NewMixer.exe /startup ## removed '/startup' This log entry is 90% cut & paste with no manual highlighting involved. The Key name is copied using the 'Copy Key Name'. The 'C-Media Mixer' was copied using the right click context menu's 'rename' function. I then doubled-click on the name of the Value (C-Media Mixer) and copied the automatically highlighted value. The point being, I quickly made the log enter with a few clicks, and three copy-pastes, only typing the note following '##'. The Registry Editor makes it easy to create a log of your changes, there's no excuse not to. Importing, Exporting, and Applying Registry Patches ------------------------------------------------------- Although you can edit the Registry with the Registry Editor, you can also make changes by using Registry patches. A Registry patch is a simple text file with the .REG extension that contains one or more keys or values. If you double-click on a .REG file, the patch is applied to the registry. This is a good way to share or back up small portions of the registry for use on your own computer. You can create a Registry patch by opening the Registry Editor, selecting a branch, and choosing Export from the File menu. Then, specify a filename, and press OK. You can then view the Registry patch file by opening it in Notepad (right-click on it and select Edit). Again, just double-click on a Registry patch file (or use Import in the Registry Editor's File menu) to apply it to the registry. With that said, I don't agree with the common wisdom that using a .reg files is easier or less dangerous. In my opinion, they are easier or less dangerous for the person that writes them, but I've never liked the idea of clicking on something that changes the registry and not knowing what it does. Generally, there's way too much fear of 'manually editing' the registry. It's easy to do, you can't do anything really stupid unless you try real hard. With that said, the easiest really stupid thing is to not back up your registry before making a change. The thing that CAN sneak up and grab you is deleting something by accident. There is no 'Save' function in Registry Editor, when yo make a change, it's changed. Fortunately, the typical 'Are you sure you want to do this, stupid?' messages are consistently there to save you from yourself. Registry Backup ----------------- Windows 2000 & XP Method =========================== Before editing the Registry, back it up. Open the Registry Editor (Start/Run, and type regedit in W2K or NT type RegEdit32), and pull down the Registry menu. Choose Export Registry File. Decide where you want to store the backup file, type a name for the file, select All under Export range, and click Save. Your Registry file is now backed up. * If ever you need to restore the Registry, here's how. Double-click the Registry file that you created. Choose Import Registry File under Registry, select the Registry file, and click Open. * Or, simply navigate to the *.REG* file in Windows Explorer (Explorer.exe) and double click on it. The registry values are restored automatically. Windows 95, 98, and Me Method =============================== 1. Open Windows Explorer 2. Navigate to C:\Windows\ 3. Right click on C:\Windows 4. Select Find from the context menu 5. Type, or copy and paste the following into the Find What box: system.dat,user.dat 6. Highlight and copy these two files into a neutral folder. * A neutral folder is anything in the folder tree which does not show a pointer to vital system files. These system files are generally stored in: o C:\ o C\Windows o C\Windows\Command o C\Windows\System o C\Windows\System32 * Any other folder than the above is fine or create a folder of your own. Something like: C:\RegistryEdits 7. If once you reboot your system and it starts acting a little flaky, simply go to the folder in which you stored these two files and copy them back to the: C:\Windows Folder 8. Be sure to choose "Overwrite" if prompted. I'll post the icon fix later tonight or tomorrow. [Reply or follow-up to this message] Tip: Use one of the [Reply or follow-up to this message] links above to add a message to this thread Search this forum Start a new thread on a different subject Report abuse of the forum Return to the Windows XP Discussion Forum