HT201067: OS X: Working with icons and previews

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sbeckas

Q: how do i change my mail icon on OS X Yosemite 10.10.1

how do i change my mail icon on OS X Yosemite 10.10.1 I am using a Mac Book Air with trackpad-no mouse

I want a different icon for mail-too blue and too similar to safari icon.

MacBook Air (13-inch Mid 2011), OS X Mavericks (10.9)

Posted on Jan 27, 2015 12:04 PM

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Q: how do i change my mail icon on OS X Yosemite 10.10.1

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  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Jan 27, 2015 12:12 PM in response to sbeckas
    Level 10 (271,174 points)
    Desktops
    Jan 27, 2015 12:12 PM in response to sbeckas

    Safari's icon is round with a compass face. Mail is square and looks like a postage stamp. How are these similar except for their color?

     

    Mac 101- Change Your Icons

  • by Japib,Helpful

    Japib Japib Jan 27, 2015 12:14 PM in response to sbeckas
    Level 4 (2,798 points)
    Desktops
    Jan 27, 2015 12:14 PM in response to sbeckas

    Applications --> right click on the Mail app, open info and drag the image you want to the top left mail icon.

  • by sbeckas,

    sbeckas sbeckas Jan 27, 2015 12:20 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 27, 2015 12:20 PM in response to Kappy

    Hello-thank you.

    When I have both Safari and Mail open-the icons are even smaller on the dock - The colors on my dock stand out more than the shape for ease of finding the right icon-I am almost 70 - so Screen Shot 2015-01-27 at 12.19.53 PM.pngcolors are more helpful than shape at a quick glance.

  • by sbeckas,

    sbeckas sbeckas Jan 27, 2015 12:30 PM in response to Japib
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 27, 2015 12:30 PM in response to Japib

    I am using your advice to search for an icon image-what size pixels will work or will it adjust accordingly? I had thought perhaps apple had other icons choices to select from instead of the standard one?

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Jan 27, 2015 12:30 PM in response to sbeckas
    Level 10 (271,174 points)
    Desktops
    Jan 27, 2015 12:30 PM in response to sbeckas

    That's not what you asked about. You are asking about the aliases as they appear in the Dock. You cannot change those icons. You can make them larger or smaller by using the sizing icon in the Dock - the vertical line separating the right from the left side in the Dock or by opening Dock preferences.

     

    These items are not icons. They are actually special aliases used to display items in the Dock.

  • by sbeckas,

    sbeckas sbeckas Jan 27, 2015 12:44 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 27, 2015 12:44 PM in response to Kappy

    I did not know that they are called "Aliases"-perhaps your grandmother knows that but I did not.

    So if I have an icon image for mail and I open it and then minimize it - it changes names and then becomes an Alias? If the original image for mail app cannot be changed I could not find that info by doing a search.

    Thank you for your time. No need to reply.

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Jan 27, 2015 12:57 PM in response to sbeckas
    Level 10 (271,174 points)
    Desktops
    Jan 27, 2015 12:57 PM in response to sbeckas

    She may but she's also dead. I don't know your frame of reference, but simply an alias is a name that is used in place of another name. In the case of the computer it is something used to refer to something else: Alias (Mac OS) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. All the items in the Dock are icons used to refer to the real item usually located in the Applications folder.

     

    I never said you cannot change the icon used for Mail.

  • by sbeckas,Solvedanswer

    sbeckas sbeckas Jan 27, 2015 2:13 PM in response to Japib
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 27, 2015 2:13 PM in response to Japib

    You put me on the right path! Thank you, Japib - I found the basic step by step here Mac Basics: Icons represent the files on your computer - Apple Support

  • by rebecca43c,

    rebecca43c rebecca43c Jul 2, 2015 5:40 AM in response to sbeckas
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 2, 2015 5:40 AM in response to sbeckas

    worked perfectly--- my only caveat is that it doesn't tell you to copy an image you want to use before you open edit so that you can paste it but that was easy enough to figure out... My reason for wanting to change the icon was quite shallow I guess... I just didn't like the one that came with it. I found a round airmail envelope after typing in macbook air mail icons... Now I like leaving it in the dock.