How to change an app icon on the Windows 11 taskbar

Change the Windows shortcut

Windows has a shortcut-based way to do this. File Explorer is one example of a pinned app whose icon can be changed through its shortcut.

1. Open the pinned shortcut's Properties. Right-click the app's taskbar icon, then right-click the app's name near the bottom of the menu and choose Properties.
2. Choose Change Icon. Browse to your icon file, select it and confirm the change. Close Properties.
3. Refresh the icon if the old picture remains. Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Task Manager. Under Processes, find Windows Explorer, right-click it and choose Restart. Check the taskbar again.

Glassline puts the picture choice in each dock item's own menu.

Change the dock icon

1. Install Glassline from the Microsoft Store and open it. Its dock replaces the Windows taskbar. If Glassline is already running, go straight to the app you want to change.
2. Right-click the app in the dock. Its menu opens.
3. Choose Change Icon. Pick a PNG, ICO, SVG, JPEG, BMP, GIF or WebP file of your own. The chosen picture becomes that item's dock icon.
4. Move the pointer away. Look at the new picture beside the other icons, then click it to open the app.

The same Change Icon command works for anything in the dock, including folders, Downloads and the Recycle Bin.

Choose a readable picture

Start with a simple shape that you can recognize at a glance. Small lettering and busy photographs can be hard to read in a row of icons. Try one picture first and look at it beside the apps you use most.

For a matching set, choose pictures with similar colours and outlines. Glassline accepts the image formats above, so you can use a saved picture directly.

Bring the original back

1. Right-click the changed dock icon. Open the same menu you used to choose the picture.
2. Choose Use Default Icon. The item's original icon returns to the dock.

You can try another picture through Change Icon whenever you want to change the look again.