Customizing Application icons on my Mac min running macOS Ventura

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Level 1

8 points

Customizing Application icons on my Mac min running macOS Ventura

This has been a growing frustration. My old alias workarounds aren't working anymore.

For accessibility's sake, we need to be able to customize icons for system folders (applications, docs, downloads, etc.) so they can be differentiated in the doc at a glance. We are faced with either a too-small differentiator, or a generic white letter (the txt file icon) for multiple locations. UGH.

I tried making little apps with AppleScript but they will only live on the left hand side of the divider and not the lower right where I need them. They also won't pop up above other open apps in a consistent way.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Mac mini (M1, 2020)

Posted on Apr 6, 2024 8:48 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

jeffreythefrog

Level 6

14,220 points

Apr 6, 2024 5:33 PM in response to Old Toad

Old Toad wrote:

The system folders, System, Library, Home/Library, Pictures, Documents, Music, Library, etc. are now in a read only volume with the system as part of Apple's system protection scheme. They can't be modified but the contents can be as that's where you keep your user files.

I'm not sure that is correct. in sonoma, I am still able to assign custom icons in place of system folders in my home folder. and I tested before posting to ensure my custom icons could still be changed and were not carryovers from pre Sonoma macOSes.

and if i drag them from my home folder onto the dock, the icons are still the custom ones I chose.

although, I needed to "control-click" on the "stack" dock icons and set "Display as" to "Folder" for the icons to be shown instead of a stack.

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Answer 2

Old Toad

Level 10

215,622 points

Apr 6, 2024 10:40 AM in response to skwee

The system folders, System, Library, Home/Library, Pictures, Documents, Music, Library, etc. are now in a read only volume with the system as part of Apple's system protection scheme. They can't be modified but the contents can be as that's where you keep your user files.

However, your home folder can have a custom icon:

Any folder you create can have a custom icon.

However, you can create an alias to those folders and give them a custom icon. Then add them to the Desktop:

It's not a solution but a possible workaround.

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Answer 3

Old Toad

Level 10

215,622 points

Apr 6, 2024 3:29 PM in response to Old Toad

Another possible approach to the problem is to use a macro editor like Keyboard Maestro . You can program a set of keys to open an app, folder or file or just about anything else you do on a Mac. I have a folder titled "Online Orders" for pdf files of my online orders. I open it with the key combination Command+Option+Shift+O. I have one for the Applications folder: Command+Option+Shift+A.

I can also change the css file I use with Safari and minimum font size with Command+Tab which works like this:

It goes by pretty fast to watch carefully for the settings window that pops up.

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Answer 4

Old Toad

Level 10

215,622 points

Apr 6, 2024 2:59 PM in response to skwee

Try creating an Apple Script app to open the folder as this one does my Documents folder:

tell application "Finder"

open ("/Users/toad/Documents" as POSIX file)

end tell

Then add a custom icon to the app and put in the Dock like this:

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Answer 5

skwee Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 6, 2024 12:26 PM in response to Old Toad

Greetings, Old Toad: thank you for the quick response :)

This is something I have done (color and icon coding is very helpful to my eyes and process) but the trick is getting things into my Dock. Some visual things are getting tougher for me from an accessibility/workflow point of view and it's easier to use the dock and click once than have to shrink or minimize windows in order to access icons on the desktop and double-click. There's also risk of random movement of Desktop items upon restart, etc. if I shrink the Dock and have folders living down in the corner or something.

I've added custom icons to my aliases, and they work on the desktop. I just wish aliases could handle hanging onto a custom icon rather than default to this when I get them into the Dock:

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