In previous iterations of Mac OS I knew how to change the app thumbnail image by going to Get Info and clicking on the little image in the top left corner. That doesn't seem to work any more.
Is there a way to change the preset image on an app in Mac OS Sequoia 15.7.7?
MacBook Air 13″, macOS 15.7
Yes. In macOS Sequoia, Apple still documents the traditional method.
Select the app in Finder and press ⌘I. In the Get Info window, click the small icon at the very top, just below the title bar.
Copy your replacement image in Preview, then choose Edit >> Paste in the Get Info window.
If Paste is not available, Apple says you may have selected the larger preview icon instead. (support.apple.com)
Apple's instructions are here: Customize the look of folders and files on Mac
Yes. In macOS Sequoia, Apple still documents the traditional method.
Select the app in Finder and press ⌘I. In the Get Info window, click the small icon at the very top, just below the title bar.
Copy your replacement image in Preview, then choose Edit >> Paste in the Get Info window.
If Paste is not available, Apple says you may have selected the larger preview icon instead. (support.apple.com)
Apple's instructions are here: Customize the look of folders and files on Mac
What you are actually trying to change
You want to change the icon displayed for an application in the Dock, because two applications have similar icons and you want to make one visually distinctive.
Apple's current documentation about Get Info → small icon → Paste is specifically a general procedure for changing the icon of a file or folder.
It does not provide a separate procedure for changing the Dock representation of an application. (Apple Support)
Apple's developer documentation does establish that an application's icon is associated with its Dock tile: NSApplication has an applicationIconImage property, described by Apple as “the image used for the app's icon,” and Apple specifically discusses it in connection with the Dock app tile. (Apple Developer)
So you were right to point out that Apple's page I gave you wasn't really addressing your specific objective.
I also shouldn't assume that the Get Info procedure will or will not work for your particular application without knowing which application it is.
Some of the Mac applications that ship with the operating system actually reside on the read-only, signed System volume, even though they may appear in the Finder sidebar Applications. Thus, you cannot replace any icon on them using the older traditional method since that would involve a write operation.
Personally, I leave application icons alone.
Your instructions are what I tried. I also tried a small icon image. It doesn't paste. Your link on Apple's instructions are to change the image on a folder. I don't want to change the folder, I want to change the tiny thumbnail image that shows up in the dock, as I am constantly confusing two apps with similar images.
Kathy Kendall wrote:
I want to change the tiny thumbnail image that shows up in the dock, as I am constantly confusing two apps with similar images.
Which apps are you talking about? I was skeptical that you could even change this since the Dock isn't the Finder and apps can even change their runtime dock image if they want.
However, when I tried it, I discovered that it was possible, at least for 3rd party apps. So if you tell us which apps you are looking at, we might be able to give you better information.
Changing Mac App thumbnail image
