Most PC users prefer pinning their favorite programs to the taskbar for quick and easy access. In addition to mouse, programs pinned to the taskbar can also be launched using keyboard shortcuts.
Icons for some of the programs out there are outdated and they don’t look nice on a modern operating system like Windows 10. Also, users who have heavily customized their Windows 10 desktop might also want to change the taskbar icons for pinned programs to match the desktop.
Changing taskbar icons of programs is relatively easy and can be done without the help of third-party applications.
Please note that it’s not possible to change the icons for apps pinned to the taskbar at this moment. You can change the taskbar icons for classic desktop programs only. We will update this guide if and when we come across a way to easily change taskbar icons for apps.
Change taskbar icons for programs in Windows 10
Complete the given below directions to change the icon of a program pinned to Windows 10 taskbar.
Step 1: Pin your favorite programs to the taskbar. To do so, when a program is running, simply right-click on its taskbar icon, and then click Pin to taskbar option.
Step 2: Next is changing program’s icon on the taskbar. Right-click on the program’s icon on the taskbar to see the jump list.
Step 3: On the jump list, right-click on the name of the program and then click Properties (refer to the picture). This will program’s properties.
Step 4: Under the Shortcut tab, click Change Icon button to open Change icon dialog.
NOTE: If you cannot see the Shortcut tab, it’s likely because you have not pinned the program to the taskbar as mentioned in Step 1 of this guide.
Step 5: Click the Browse button to browse to the icon file that you would like to use as program’s taskbar icon, select the icon file and then click Open button. Click OK button.
Remember that the icon that you would like to use must be in .ico format. If you have an image file, use free online services or tools to convert images to .ico format.
Step 6: Finally, click Apply button to change the taskbar icon of the program. If the old icon is still appearing, please sign out and then sign in or reboot your PC once.
To restore the original icon for the program, simply unpin the program from the taskbar and then pin it again. Simple as that!
Don’t forget to check our 13 ways to customize Windows 10 taskbar guide.