custom icons for dock folder - how to keep background invisible?

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Level 2

221 points

custom icons for dock folder - how to keep background invisible?

I have a folder in the dock (the kind that fans out and shows you its contents). I'd like to give it a custom icon. I create an icon in Photoshop with background set to transparent, copy it, and paste it over the icon of the relevant folder in apple-I (get Info). Once I set that folder's view options to "stack" and then back to "folder", it looks like it works - the dock folder's icon changes and the background is indeed invisible. BUT: when I click on it and choose (run) one of its contents (without trying to change any of its options), the background suddenly changes again and acquires an ugly white background! How do I prevent this - what's the way to keep the folder icon in the dock with its transparent background?

thanks,

Mike

Intel Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.2)

Posted on Oct 26, 2010 5:10 AM

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Answer 1

macjack

Level 10

111,292 points

Oct 26, 2010 5:42 AM in response to Michael Levin

Try this...Just put any custom icon inside your stack folder. Name it _ (Name of Stack) and be sure to put the " _ " or even two " _ _ " before the name. It will then appear as the first item in the stack. Choose "show as folder" for the Stack. Then restart.

-mj

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Answer 2

Michael Levin Author

Level 2

221 points

Oct 26, 2010 5:54 AM in response to macjack

put any custom icon inside your stack folder. Name it _ (Name of Stack) and be

you mean, create a separate file containing the icon image rather than pasting it over the get-info of the folder? What format should this icon file have?

sure to put the " _ " or even two " _ _ " before the name. It will then appear
as the first item in the stack.

so this icon file will be one of the items I see when I mouse/click over the folder in the dock?

thanks,

Mike

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Answer 3

macjack

Level 10

111,292 points

Oct 26, 2010 6:20 AM in response to Michael Levin

Michael Levin wrote:

put any custom icon inside your stack folder. Name it _ (Name of Stack) and be

EDIT: My mistake, I meant to say folder

What format should this icon file have?

I use JPEG I think a tiff also works and png has to handled differently.

-mj

Message was edited by: macjack

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Answer 4

Oct 26, 2010 9:33 AM in response to Michael Levin

I'm not quite sure what you mean about the Dock, but I do sometimes go to the trouble to make an icon with transparency and use it on a folder, and even put such folders in the Dock from time to time, and the transparency is maintained.

In my experience there is something VERY strange and funky going on between Photoshop transparency and the way Mac OS and Mac programs consider transparency. I use Apple's own Preview to construct an icon with transparency effects, save it as a png, and when I want to use it I open it in Preview, select all there, then copy and paste onto the folder I want to have the icon. Using Photoshop for such a purpose never turns out right.
Francine

Francine
Schwieder

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Answer 5

thomas_r.

Level 7

32,081 points

Oct 26, 2010 9:51 AM in response to Michael Levin

You should really use an icon editor to create these icons, IMHO. Icon Composer is a part of the free developer tools package you can download from Apple, with a developer membership. You can get a free ADC membership here:

http://developer.apple.com/programs/register/

Alternately, you could search MacUpdate for "icon editor" and choose something there. Icon Brush is one of them, which I own a copy of and have used in the past, but last time I used it it was showing its age.

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Answer 6

Michael Levin Author

Level 2

221 points

Oct 27, 2010 1:57 AM in response to thomas_r.

You should really use an icon editor to create these icons, IMHO.
Icon Composer is a part of the free developer tools package

ok, I've got it and I've used it to save an icon. But how do I associate it with the folder I want to have that icon?

thanks,

Mike

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Answer 7

Michael Levin Author

Level 2

221 points

Oct 27, 2010 2:02 AM in response to Francine Schwieder

I use Apple's own Preview to construct an icon with transparency effects, save
it as a png, and when I want to use it I open it in Preview, select all there,
then copy and paste onto the folder I want to have the icon. Using Photoshop for
such a purpose never turns out right.

sounds good. How do you use Preview to make an icon with transparency effects?

thanks,

Mike

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Answer 8

thomas_r.

Level 7

32,081 points

Oct 27, 2010 8:36 AM in response to Michael Levin

Copy and paste - but there's a difference between copying and pasting a full icon set and just copying and pasting a transparent graphic. Icon Brush used to have a menu item in the Edit menu to copy the full icon set to the clipboard. I don't know if Icon Composer does, but look for one.

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Answer 9

Oct 27, 2010 8:56 AM in response to Michael Levin

Preview has selection tools, including a fairly effective "magic" selector (the instant alpha wand, accessed from the selection tool drop down). Use them to select what you want to be transparent, then press the delete key. Here's an example, I used the instant alpha to remove most of the white background:

User uploaded file

I could then use one of the other selection tools to delete the rest of the white space, if I wanted, then I would save it as a png. When I wanted to use it as a custom icon, I would open it in Preview, select all, copy, paste where wanted. If you use Icon Composer to make icns files, you can open the icns file in Preview, then select the largest version, select all of it, copy and paste where wanted.
Francine

Francine
Schwieder

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Answer 10

macjack

Level 10

111,292 points

Oct 27, 2010 11:32 AM in response to Francine Schwieder

Francine Schwieder wrote:

Yum! 😉

-mj

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Answer 11

Michael Levin Author

Level 2

221 points

Oct 27, 2010 5:37 PM in response to Francine Schwieder

hmmm. I've already got the white background removed and saved as .png. I open it in Preview, select all, copy, and paste it onto a folder's icon in Get Info. It then shows up correctly in the dock (without the white background). But: when I go into that folder (from the dock), it automatically re-acquires its white background!! I still don't know how to make it stay the way it is after it's "used" in the dock 😟

Mike

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Answer 12

Oct 28, 2010 8:14 AM in response to Michael Levin

All I can say is that I have put folders in the Dock with custom icons, made the way I described, and have never seen the behavior you are experiencing. Of course, I also keep my Dock pinned on the far right side, rather than having the 3D bottom thingy. Whether that makes a difference or not, I don't know, but it might.
Francine

Francine
Schwieder

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