ActivIcons: How To?

[aob]

Using XP.
Downloaded ActivIcons, but cannot get any interesting icons. One site suggested that I should also download Icon Forge (or some such, costing $35), but I do not want to spend $35 to get a free ActivIcons to work.

I open ActivIcons and click on Empty Recycle Bin, to change that icon on my desktop. I Click on Change Icon and ActivIcon apparently wants a File Name and File Type. What File Name do I put in? What File Type? Suppose, hypothetically, I wanted to change the default icon from a waste basket to the picture of a cow, or pretty girl, that I found on the internet, what do I do? If I find a pretty cow and click on that image to save it, it is saved as a jpeg file, but that is not one of my File Type choices.

I have no idea how to make ActivIcon work to change my boring default icons to more interesting ones.

[oldhermit]

Is your ACTIVEICONS program compatible with XP?

[aob]

It appears to be. It loaded in. It opens. I was able to change two icons on my desktop with two of the icons named icons shown when ActivIcon is opened. But, there are no other icons, apparently, that I can select.

[oldhermit]

Hmmm, by your description it sounds more like a program that will replace icons with your own collection of icons.
Is it possible that only two were included with the program?
Size of download should be a good indicator.
Otherwise, it would need a database on the Internet somewhere from which to fetch the icons you want.

[Welshjim]

aob--How did you come to chose ActivIcons? It seems like a pretty limited bunch of icons.
If you want more icons, search at www.google.com. A search for " Download Icons" resulted in 8.6 million references.
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2004-31,GGLD:en&q=download+icons
You can narrow that down by modifying what you search for.
However changing the Recycle Bin icon takes a specialized approach (not just right click on a file|Properties|Change Icon).
In summary, right click on Desktop|Properties|Desktop tab|Customize Desktop|highlight Recycle Bin (empty or full)|Change Icon. I suspect you will be asked to browse to the place you have stored some icons.
Maybe that is why you chose ActivIcons.
More details here.
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2004-31,GGLD:en&q=%22change+icon%22+%22recycle+bin%22

[aob]

Welshjim:

Thanks. Will try google. Have bookmarked your recommended address.

[dannidasilva]

Follow WelshJim's instructions, i could not have said it better myself. I personally also installed ActiveIcon on my computer, but quickly uninstalled it after using it. I don't recommend it. It slows you down too much, and you can really change any icon you want through windows. I also use i great little program called TWEAKXP, and it does not slow you down, and is small in size. http://www.tweakxp.com/

[aob]

Thanks dannidasilva:

ActivIcons is now gone to that Great Recycle Bin in the sky. Will follow-up on suggestions from you and welshjim.

[Welshjim]

aob--I did not realize that the same people who offer ActivIcons also offer Change Icons and Iconphile
For the first go here
http://www.grafxfreeware.homestead.com/changeicons.html
For the second click on IconPhile in the left margin. Should give you some icons to play with in addition to the ones Windows will offer when you follow my suggestion above.