In Windows XP, changing file type icons was possible in a couple of ways; unfortunately it is not the same for Window 7. I have found comments using the registry but would rather not go down that path. If you can assist, I would appreciate the help.
David, the only solutions I found that didn’t involve registry hacks, required third party software. The File Types Manager from Nirsoft, seemed the best and easiest to use. I tried it here, and within minutes, I’d changed the icons for all the mp3 files in my work computer (all three of them). You’ll find the download link at the bottom of the page on the Nirsoft website. Once you’ve completed the download, unzip the folder and double click on the File Types Manager application file. This will open the File Types Manager window seen below.
If you have a particular file type in mind that you’d like to change, you can search for it by holding the Ctrl key and hitting the F key (Ctrl+F). This will bring up the search dialog box. Type the file extension into the box and hit the Enter key. Here, .mp3 files were chosen.
At that point, you can either select the file you want to change and right click, to bring up the context menu and choose Edit Selected File Type, or hit the F2 key.
Either method will bring up the Edit File Type dialog box. Click the button to the right of the Default Icon: field to find an icon.
From there, you can either choose from the Windows Change Icon Gallery, or hit the Browse button to add a custom icon.
If you decide to create a custom icon, the three file types that File Types Manager accepts are, .dll, .exe, or .ico. I took the easy route and selected the musical note from the Windows Gallery. If a custom icon is what you want, detailed information on finding and selecting them can be found here.
Thanks for the question, David.
~Kevin
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