Let's Make a Theme: Customize Windows XP
Published: June 30, 2003
By Ciam Sawyer, Microsoft Windows XP Expert Zone Producer
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I'm constantly fussing with my computer by changing the desktop settings. Every few days I add new icons or another background photo. I can't help myself. I use the computer every day and I get bored if it looks the same all the time. In fact, changing desktop settings is usually the first thing I do with a new machine.
None of these changes are necessary for me to actually work on the computer. They have nothing to do with working better/smarter/faster. Instead, they make the computer mine. It's like painting your home—it's not necessary to choose new colors and paint rooms, but it sure is fun. With some planning, you can make your home express your personality. The same thing is true with your computer.
In this column, I'll show you how to make a few basic changes to the desktop that totally personalize your computer without much effort at all. You'll learn how to customize desktop icons, icons on the Quick Launch bar, and some file-type icons for the entire system. I'll also show you how to change the desktop background and then save the changes so you can switch back to this theme (a coordinated set of visual elements) any time you like.
Figure 1 below shows my desktop before any changes.
What Is an Icon?
An icon is a small image displayed on the screen to represent an object that can be manipulated by the user. Icons serve as visual mnemonics (devices that help you remember) and let you control certain computer actions without having to remember commands or type them at the keyboard.
I like this definition. It hints at what makes icon customization work. The visual mnemonic is yours, especially if you're the only one using the computer or if all users have their own accounts. (For information on setting up user accounts, see Sharing Your Computer.) As long as you remember what it represents, you can make the icon anything you like. Because you defined the icon, you know what it means and the visual mnemonic works.
Before we can get started changing icons, we need to find some icons we like. There are tons of icons available for download on the Web. Your favorite search engine should provide a number of places to download icons. Some of my favorite sources include DotIco, DeskMod, Gort's Icons, and the Iconfactory. As examples in this column, I'll be using some great icons from Foood's Icons.
Create Icons Folder
After you download the icons, you'll need to put them someplace where you can leave them untouched. Wherever you decide to create this folder, you'll want it to be easy to find—you'll have to navigate to it several times. I've created a folder in My Documents called Icons and store all my icons there.
Now that I have some icons to choose from, I have to decide what icons I want to change. In this column, I'll show you how to customize the following icons:
| • | All icons on the desktop. |
| • | Icons on the Quick Launch bar. |
| • | Some of the file-type icons for the entire system. Note: there are shareware and freeware applications available that can streamline icon changes (Stardock's IconPackager, for instance), making is super simple and easy to change everything. In this column I'll discuss making these changes without any additional software. |
Customize Desktop Icons
Here's what the icons on my desktop look like before any changes. Note that there are the standard icons (My Computer, My Documents, and the Recycle Bin, plus a folder called Miscellaneous, and two shortcuts.
Figure 2
To customize the default desktop icons
1. | Click Start, click Control Panel, click Appearance and Themes, and under Pick a task, click Change the desktop background. |
2. | On the Desktop tab of the Display Properties dialog box, click Customize Desktop. |
3. | In the Desktop Items dialog box, shown in figure 3, select the icon you want to change and click Change Icon. The Change Icon dialog box opens, which shows all icons in the currently selected file. In it, you can specify which icons are shown on the desktop by default. I selected the My Computer, My Documents, and Recycle Bin icons.  Figure 3 |
4. | To select from icons not currently displayed, click Browse, and in the Change Icon dialog box, navigate to the icons you downloaded, select the icon you want to use, click Open, and then click OK |
5. | In the Desktop Items dialog box, select the next icon you want to change and repeat steps 3–4. |
6. | When you're finished changing the icons listed here, click OK, and in the Desktop Properties dialog box, click OK to apply the changes. |
I changed only the My Computer and My Document icons, as shown in the figure below, leaving the Recycle Bin as-is.
Figure 4
Now let's change the rest of the icons on the desktop, starting with the Miscellaneous folder.
To customize a folder icon
1. | Right-click the folder, and then click Properties. |
2. | On the Customize tab, click Change icon. |
3. | In the Change Icon dialog box, click Browse, navigate to the new icon you want to use, select it, and then click Open. |
4. | Click OK, and then click OK again to apply the change. |
And now, the shortcuts.
To customize a shortcut icon
1. | Right-click the shortcut you want to customize, and then click Properties. |
2. | On the Shortcut tab, click Change Icon. |
3. | In the Change Icon dialog box, click Browse, navigate to the new icon you want to use, select it, and then click Open. |
4. | Click OK, and then OK again to apply the change. |
Beginning to see a pattern here? In each of these cases, changing the icon happens in—wait for it—the Change Icon dialog box. This is true in the next procedure as well.
Customize Quick Launch Bar Icons
In the first screenshot of my desktop, you see that I enabled the Quick Launch bar. All the icons that appear there can be customized as well. In fact, these icons are really just shortcuts, so the procedure to change them is identical.
To customize Quick Launch bar icons
1. | Right-click the Quick Launch icon you want to change, and then click Properties. |
2. | On the Shortcut tab, click Change Icon. |
3. | In the Change Icon dialog box, click Browse, navigate to the new icon you want to use, select it, and then click Open. |
4. | Click OK, and then click OK again to apply the change. |
Customize File-Type Icons
Files with a common file extension (.doc, .html, and so on) are the same file type. The icons for file types aren't accessible individually, but it's still possible to change them. Since most of my work has to do with the Web, I'll customize a small set of icons specific to those file types that I work with often. The figure below shows a folder with a few files for which I'll change the file type icons, and again I'll use a few of Foood's Icons.
Figure 5
You may need administrator privileges to make the following changes.
To change file type icons
1. | Click Start, click Control Panel, click Appearance and Themes, and then click Folder Options. |
2. | In the Folder Options dialog box, click the File Types tab. |
3. | Select the file type you wish to change, and then click Advanced. |
4. | In the Edit File Type dialog box, click Change Icon. |
5. | In the Change Icon dialog box, click Browse, and navigate to the new icon you want to use, select it, and then click Open. |
6. | Click OK, and then click Close. |
Here's the same folder after I've made these changes. It's much easier to instantly see what sort of file I'm looking at.
Figure 6
Change the Desktop Background
Ok, so the icons have been changed. That was the tough part. Now I'll change the desktop background. First I need to find an image that I want to use as a background. There are hundreds of online sources for desktop backgrounds, also called wallpaper. A couple of my favorite sources are DeviantArt and Customize.org.
I want a standard location to save the images to, just like with custom icons. For this example, I've created a folder called Wallpaper in the My Pictures folder in My Documents. When I download images, I save them to this folder. It doesn't really matter what you call the folder as long as you don't move things around after you select a new desktop wallpaper.
Now that we've got some images to choose from, let's change the desktop background.
1. | Open the folder you just created in which to store your images. |
2. | Select an image to use as a desktop background. |
3. | In the Picture Tasks pane, click Set as desktop background. |
Both screen savers and sound effects can be customized easily as well. However, it's not something I normally do, so I haven't covered how to make those changes here. I actually find it annoying if my computer makes noise every time I do something. As for screen savers, well, I just don't care since when a screen saver is on, I'm not there to see it. If changing these elements is something you want to do, read the instructions for changing screen savers and for setting sound effects.
Save That Theme
After all the work I've put into making these customizations, I don't want to accidentally lose the changes. Luckily, it's easy to save all these settings and reapply that theme at any time.
1. | Click Start, click Control Panel, click Appearance and Themes, and then click Change the computer's theme. |
2. | In the Display Properties dialog box, next to the theme menu, click Save as. |
3. | Enter a new name and click Save. |
You can save the theme any place you'd like. For instance, you might make a Themes folder in your My Documents folder and save it there. That's all there is to it. See how easy it is? With a little work anyone can make Windows XP completely personal.
Visual Styles Coming Next
Windows customization is like an onion; each layer you peel away exposes another layer beneath. In this column I've introduced personalizing a computer. In my next column, we'll expose another layer and take a look at visual styles. Happy customizing!
Ciam Sawyer is a Web producer for Microsoft, and has worked on the Windows Web sites for several years. He balances his interest in computers and Windows customization with a deep interest in dogs and dog training. Send Ciam email at ciams@microsoft.com.
