Setting Custom Icons in Mac OS X
Note: This article is written for Mac OS X 10.2 (Jaguar). If you are using a prior version of the operating system, please read this article instead.
Getting Started
In order to use the icons downloaded from this website, you will have to do two things: decompress the archive, and paste the icon over an existing file, folder, or application's existing icon.
All of the Mac OS X icon sets available from InterfaceLIFT.com are in Stuffit archives, some of which have been binhex encoded. Mac OS X comes with Stuffit Expander, a freeware utility that will take care of decoding and decompressing the downloads for you. Simply double-click the archive and Stuffit Expander should take care of the rest.
If you no longer have Stuffit Expander installed on your system, or if it is not working properly, you can download it directly from Allume Systems, Inc.
Making the Switch
You should now have a folder of icons. To apply them to your files, folders, or applications simply click on the icon you would like to use. Select 'Get Info' from the File menu (or press command-i).
Click on the icon that appears in this window and select 'Copy' from the Edit menu (or press command-c). Close the window when you are finished with it.
Next, select the object in the Finder whose icon you would like to change. Bring up the Get Info window for this object by clicking on it's Finder icon and selecting 'Get Info' from the File menu.
Click on the icon displayed within this window and chose 'Paste' from the Edit menu (or press command-v). The icon should now be updated and you can close the window.
This should work for any Finder object for which you have write permissions.
To undo your changes, bring up the Inspector window for the object you would like to change and click on it's icon in the window. Select 'Cut' from the Edit menu (or press command-x). The icon has now reverted to its default state.