Wow! What a cool idea! I noticed a new addition to the Tip of the Day. To add or replace a folder icon, all you have to do is drag the icon (.ico or .PNG file) right onto the folder that's on the Dock!

I was doing it the long way by right-clicking on the folder -> Dock Entry Properties -> Change Icon -> Browse.

I was going to test this with applications/programs on the Dock but could not find a "pure" .ico or .PNG file for any of them. Al of the ones I found are active, not static, and I wanted to locate a static one that's from that manufacturer so I don't screw something up before attempting to change it.

I did an .ico search on my computer and still didn't find any. However, when I used right-click on the folder -> Dock Entry Properties -> Change Icon -> Browse, I can see other active icons available for the program, but if I open the folder I don't see the others. I even un-hid the protected Windows files, but still could not see them.

What magical powers is Winstep using to make these otherwise invisible files visible, and is it not possible to use a static image to replace a application/program icon?

Do a search for .png instead of .ico - or go to 'My Documents -> Winstep -> Icons -> Samples', you'll find plenty of PNG files there which you can use to 'replace' the icons of applications on your dock.

Not sure what you mean by 'active' and 'static' icons, though.

He probably thinks of "active" in relation to icons "hidden" in .exe files or .dll files, against "static" icons which would be plain .ico files.
Care to explain the difference to him?

SKAGON, you're exactly right! I would appreciate it if someone has the time to explain the difference.

Hi Jorge. I do know about the Winstep Icon Samples, some of which I use on the Dock. I thought about trying out some of the default manufacturer icons by using the drag feature in the Winstep Xtreme Tip of the Day.

To better explain what I mean by active and static, my external hard drive comes with a static .ico file which can be used for something other than the hard drive itself.

However, say I decide to try to use Chrome's icon, it isn't static but active. Meaning I don't think I could use the icon for something other than opening Chrome.

Here's an example of some of the "invisible" files that Winstep un-hides and want to know if they are static or active, and if these type of icons can be used.

Basically, mate, you have to drop this distinction between "active" and "static" icons. All icons are icons, it's just a matter of location.
Let's go into a bit of (simplified) history here:
In the past, an executable file was just machine code. The operating system (DOS) was simplistic in nature, so the contents of an executable file were not ever read, unless that executable was ran. The contents of each .exe were the business of its creator, which meant that any data that the contained programme would need, were kept in internal structures decided by the programmer and the compiler. However, with the advent of Windows, the operating system needs to extract information from each file, therefore, all that data will have to be kept in predetermined structures. Microsoft decided upon a specific structure within such files (.exe and .dll and others) and calls all such data "resources". Actually, a resource can be plain text, bitmaps, cursors, icons, XML (a variation of text), basically anything. So... that's where your "active" icons are hidden.
As you can see, there's nothing "active" about them, and yes, you can use an icon "hidden" in an .exe file somewhere else. Those icons are not "hidden" per se, just "embedded" in a different type of file. For example, you could make a shortcut of notepad.exe on the desktop, and change its icon to be one from
"C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" (or anywhere else). The operating system will just read firefox.exe, extract the necessary resource (i.e. the icon) and use that in conjunction with the shortcut. Nexus can do the same thing as well.

Questions?

What he said.

Thanks SKAGON! I tried out using Notepad and now I get it. I also tried it on a "active" program on the Desktop and it works!

Just wondering, when I first tried it using Notepad the icon didn't change. I thought to myself, I'll try closing Winstep. When I did, the icon changed. Why didn't it show while Winstep was open? I have Winstep set to hide icons until I bump the top to show the Desktop items in the Shelf.

Now for a couple of questions.

1. Is there a way to call up all icons of the type I posted the screenshot of instead of having to specifically pick and know the location of an icon?

2. Can I drag an "active" (a shortcut to open a program) icon to replace one on the Dock?
My feeling is that if I try that it will either screw something up, or simply replace what's there changing it to the newly added icon/program. and not just the icon. For example, I decide to drag A program icon onto B on the Dock, it would then open A instead of B or screw something up.

P.S. SKAGON, your point is well taken about "active" and "static" icons. I still used it to make clear what I'm asking.

Actually, you should stop using the "active" and "static" nomenclatures, because noone else knows what you mean by them. It's something you and you alone understands. The proper terminology is "icon", "embedded icon", "shortcut", "shelf shortcut", "executable" and so on.

Anyway, answers as best I can provide:
1. I assume you are looking for a way to see *all* the icons that exist in your system, regardless of being plain .ico files or embedded to executables or DLLs. Short answer: no, there's no such way. However, there are a couple of programmes like Microangelo or IconPackager or other icon editors, that have a "file navigator" which is like Windows Explorer, only it scans the current directory and all files in it, and shows you how many embedded icons each file has. However, I'd say, don't go that way, because you'll only be wasting time. Just go to Google or Bing and search for images with a subject you want, and select "icons" in the advanced properties. Trust me, you'll get a LOT more icons that way, and better icons at that.

2. No, you can't 'drag and drop' an .exe file onto a shortcut, like you would with an icon. Not only it won't work, but it also doesn't make sense. You see, .exe files usually include a few icons, so there. However, you can right-click on the dock object, select "properties" and then, in the "change icon" field, go to "browse" and find the .exe file that's got the icon you want. You'll see that you can actually see all the icons inside it, and use them as well.

As to the first thing you said, I hope you made a shortcut of notepad on the desktop, and didn't just copy it there or something -- interesting point: you can't change the icons of executables (at least, not without a special tool). Now, I don't know why it didn't change straight away, but only after closing Winstep. Maybe it's some setting you have or the way you've set up Winstep. On a 'normal' computer, changing the icon of a shortcut takes place immediately, and you can see the new icon as soon as you press "OK" or "Apply" on the properties dialogue.

Thanks for the terminology. I had to lookup "embedded icon" and "executable" to make sure I know specifically what those two means.



I managed to find a program that indeed searches the whole drive and can extract EXE/DLL/OCX/CPL files. http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/iconsext.html Although it took quite some time, I was able to extract well over 32,000 icons, some of which I've never seen before and saved using the program. The only drawback is that it presently only works on a 32-bit system so 64-bit users are out of luck unless they find another program that can do it.



I did make a shortcut straight from the Start Menu to the Desktop. I'm able to reproduce the issue of having to close Winstep Xtreme before the Notepad icon will change. Maybe Jorge can let me know if a setting causes this, or it's some other reason.

As I stated in my previous post, I configured it to hide my Desktop icons until I bump the top of my screen.

Winstep caches icons in memory to increase performance.