Part of the Customization Windows 10 guides.
Topic list:
-Using Custom Themes
-CustomizerGod
-Installing and taking advantage over external shells
-Tweaking Windows 10, disabling useless features
Before we begin:
<This program is only used to change shell icons>
You shouldn't play around with it and it's best to have a system backup ready. If your explorer ends up completely kill, you can always revert back to the previous state.
-Don't set images/icons which are above 256x256 resolution [Although that resolution is also overkill, I suggest doing max. 120x120 icon size]
-Don't screw around with this tool as it might kill off your explorer entirely
-Some icons can't be changed program-wise and need you to replace them by yourself which involves modifying system files and resources which are currently used by explorer yada-yada you get what i'm saying.
This program requires admin privs to run. If you don't have administrator rights, build yourself your own pc or ask someone to give them to you, even temporarily.
This method should be only used if icon pack comes in .ico or other file photo format like .jpg .jpeg and so on. If icon pack comes with installer [Arc, other icon packs] then you don't need to use this program at all.
1. Finding icon pack of your own liking
I suggest looking at this DevianArt page, they include icon pack installer and will save you trouble. Keep in mind that artist has passed out and will no longer update/support them. RIP. https://niivu.deviantart.com/gallery/63003950/Icons
You can also browse for some other icon packs. The installation methods are really simple, just rename .ex_ to .exe and also some other files like .ba_ to .bat and install and patiently wait.
But what if icon pack comes with a .rar/.zip bundled with .ico or other format icons? This is where our fun begins.
This is where we will use CustomizerGod - A very powerful yet simple program which can even render your computer unusable.
2. Downloading and Using CustomizedGod properly
http://www.door2windows.com/customizergod/ - Visit this URL, Download and extract .rar/.zip to somewhere safe.
After you did that, double click on CustomizerGod and allow it to make changes to your PC. You should now see following program:
View attachment 99073
Remember when I said you will not be able to modify some elements from CustomizerGod? Yeah, you have to replace these manually and hope that nothing gets ruined in process.
Let's explain most of the stuff:
Volume Icons - It's that little speaker icon. It changes it's appearance depending on the volume
Network Icons - Wi-Fi/Ethernet Connection icon, that's a thing you see and changes it's appearance based on signal
Safety Remove Hardware Tray Icon - It appears when hardware like USB Pendrive is plugged in and by clicking on it you can safely remove it.
File Explorer Address Bar - Well, I guess I don't have to explain this
-=- Ribbon - RibbonUI. You don't have to change it if you did follow my previous blog. RibbonUI is basically that little toolmenu you see on top of Windows Explorer.
General Icons - Basically this is where most of icons are kept like Trashbin icons and overally, whole system icons. This is where you will be mostly changing stuff
ZIP Folder Icons - I don't need to explain it
Battery - Battery icon and appearance. It might error out on you while accessing
Base Branding - System branding, You can't visit it if you don't have any branding like your producent logo
System Branding - I don't really know, probably something related to Windows 10 logo, it errors out on me.
Time and Date - Windows 7 style clock, only visible when editing time and date.
So, take for example you have folder full of this:
View attachment 99074
"How to I apply it?" Well, you will have to play the legendary "guessing game" where you need to figure out by yourself to what each icon belongs to.
Visit General Icons tab.
Tap/Click on something you want to change and press "Change"
View attachment 99075
Head over to directory where your icons are stored and select your icon.
Press "Open".
Your explorer should restart. If icon still hasn't changed, clear image cache by clicking that button near restore in CustomizerGod and in Icon Cache option select "full clear" and reboot your computer.
[I already applied different trashbin skin before making this guide just to see if it doesn't brick everything]
If everything went well, you should see your new icon
View attachment 99076
If you feel like having need to restore stuff, then this program does automatically create a shell backup for you, yay! Press that button near Restore
View attachment 99077
and you can restore yourself back to the previous state!
What to do when icon like on photo, repeats itself? Change it to the same thing cooresponding in your theme. Like if your theme has SDCard icon, replace it on every SDCard icon which looks the same.
SFC backups might require to reboot your computer and then while it's booting up, it might revert that icon pack if backup isn't corrupted.
Helpful? Probably. Useful? Very useful.
Next time we'll cover: Using external shells because no one likes that big metro start!
See ya in the next blog post!
Topic list:
-Using Custom Themes
-CustomizerGod
-Installing and taking advantage over external shells
-Tweaking Windows 10, disabling useless features
Before we begin:
<This program is only used to change shell icons>
You shouldn't play around with it and it's best to have a system backup ready. If your explorer ends up completely kill, you can always revert back to the previous state.
-Don't set images/icons which are above 256x256 resolution [Although that resolution is also overkill, I suggest doing max. 120x120 icon size]
-Don't screw around with this tool as it might kill off your explorer entirely
-Some icons can't be changed program-wise and need you to replace them by yourself which involves modifying system files and resources which are currently used by explorer yada-yada you get what i'm saying.
This program requires admin privs to run. If you don't have administrator rights, build yourself your own pc or ask someone to give them to you, even temporarily.
This method should be only used if icon pack comes in .ico or other file photo format like .jpg .jpeg and so on. If icon pack comes with installer [Arc, other icon packs] then you don't need to use this program at all.
1. Finding icon pack of your own liking
I suggest looking at this DevianArt page, they include icon pack installer and will save you trouble. Keep in mind that artist has passed out and will no longer update/support them. RIP. https://niivu.deviantart.com/gallery/63003950/Icons
You can also browse for some other icon packs. The installation methods are really simple, just rename .ex_ to .exe and also some other files like .ba_ to .bat and install and patiently wait.
But what if icon pack comes with a .rar/.zip bundled with .ico or other format icons? This is where our fun begins.
This is where we will use CustomizerGod - A very powerful yet simple program which can even render your computer unusable.
2. Downloading and Using CustomizedGod properly
http://www.door2windows.com/customizergod/ - Visit this URL, Download and extract .rar/.zip to somewhere safe.
After you did that, double click on CustomizerGod and allow it to make changes to your PC. You should now see following program:
View attachment 99073
Remember when I said you will not be able to modify some elements from CustomizerGod? Yeah, you have to replace these manually and hope that nothing gets ruined in process.
Let's explain most of the stuff:
Volume Icons - It's that little speaker icon. It changes it's appearance depending on the volume
Network Icons - Wi-Fi/Ethernet Connection icon, that's a thing you see and changes it's appearance based on signal
Safety Remove Hardware Tray Icon - It appears when hardware like USB Pendrive is plugged in and by clicking on it you can safely remove it.
File Explorer Address Bar - Well, I guess I don't have to explain this
-=- Ribbon - RibbonUI. You don't have to change it if you did follow my previous blog. RibbonUI is basically that little toolmenu you see on top of Windows Explorer.
General Icons - Basically this is where most of icons are kept like Trashbin icons and overally, whole system icons. This is where you will be mostly changing stuff
ZIP Folder Icons - I don't need to explain it
Battery - Battery icon and appearance. It might error out on you while accessing
Base Branding - System branding, You can't visit it if you don't have any branding like your producent logo
System Branding - I don't really know, probably something related to Windows 10 logo, it errors out on me.
Time and Date - Windows 7 style clock, only visible when editing time and date.
So, take for example you have folder full of this:
View attachment 99074
"How to I apply it?" Well, you will have to play the legendary "guessing game" where you need to figure out by yourself to what each icon belongs to.
Visit General Icons tab.
Tap/Click on something you want to change and press "Change"
View attachment 99075
Head over to directory where your icons are stored and select your icon.
Press "Open".
Your explorer should restart. If icon still hasn't changed, clear image cache by clicking that button near restore in CustomizerGod and in Icon Cache option select "full clear" and reboot your computer.
[I already applied different trashbin skin before making this guide just to see if it doesn't brick everything]
If everything went well, you should see your new icon
View attachment 99076
If you feel like having need to restore stuff, then this program does automatically create a shell backup for you, yay! Press that button near Restore
View attachment 99077
and you can restore yourself back to the previous state!
What to do when icon like on photo, repeats itself? Change it to the same thing cooresponding in your theme. Like if your theme has SDCard icon, replace it on every SDCard icon which looks the same.
SFC backups might require to reboot your computer and then while it's booting up, it might revert that icon pack if backup isn't corrupted.
Helpful? Probably. Useful? Very useful.
Next time we'll cover: Using external shells because no one likes that big metro start!
See ya in the next blog post!
