Change system wide icon for file types?

So yea, I know you can change the icons for individual files.

But how do you change the icon for file types?

I'm guessing it goes by the default program that opens the file, but in my case i'm guessing the program i use to open the file(Plex) doesn't have an smaller icon. I have no idea, and I don't really want to go through a lot of work of repackaging the programs icon to include a smaller version.

So yea, basically how can I change a file format's (mkv) icon so it shows up throughout OSX?

If its not possible i'll just go back to having to 'open with' the files from now on, so i can keep an icon.

 

Download candybar, it rocks. It's a trial, but if I remember correctly you can work around the limitations.

 

http://www.panic.com/candybar/

there.

 

Hey Sulkorp, good timing on asking this as I have been engaged in changing all of my icons, filetypes, OSX and applications over the past week. Candybar is amazing and I would recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone looking to personalize their system. It does unfortunately have certain limitations. Although it does allow you to alter some system icons most filetypes like .mkv, .pdf etc cannot be changed with it. The trick with Leopard (I'm assuming your running the latest kitten) is actually Preview.app. Turns out its not just their as a default for viewing a file type but actually stores and controls all the icons for all filetypes. to alter go here

Applications> (right-click) Preview.app (select 'show package contents')> Contents> Resources

Everything should be in there. The only reason it won't be in there is if an application has rights to the filetype. For example iTunes has control of Mp3, Wav filetypes etc, Archive Utility has .zip etc. To change those to the app and click 'show package contents'> resources as per Preview.app. Just rename your new file to that of the old and replace it. Some types may not show immediately and may need a restart so dont go crazy copying/pasting over and over if it doesn't happen straight away.

Please please please make a backup of the Preview.app resource folder and put it somewhere safe before changing icons. Although nothing should ever go wrong just changing icons some bad programming can always upset something on the system.

I've collected thousands of icons from Deviantart.com (amazing site BTW). If you want me to send you an iContainer of them to save you some time collecting them all gimme a PM. None are copyright as they are downloadable and as long as not for commercial use its ok.

 

Thanks for the advice jurisprudence.

I had no idea thats where all the icons were for different files. I did copy and paste the icon in the new programs resource folder, but it doesn't look like it worked after a restart. Weird, but nothing much I can do about it.

Thanks again though.

 

Its might be a problem with the file associations. From looking around different programs resource folders I spotted the same filetype icons .wav .mp3 etc in several programs folders as if they were there because they were capable of opening that type of file even if not currently set to do so. I think the trick is to associate the program to the filetype and then try it. Can you try this.

1) Find a .mkv file.
2) RIght-click get info and set it to and all of this file type to open with quicktime system wide.
3) Then replace the icon in quicktimes resource folder.
4) Make sure the icon is in the .icns format and nothing else. I think it may effect it.

Hope this works. If not can you post the icon on the forum and the program you want to run it with and I'll try it myself. Its no bother as I'm in the middle of making icon changes right this second.

If you have an icon in another format, .png for example import it into Candybar then export it as a .icns format icon. I generally do this in batches.

 

What I was pretty much doing was copying the icon from the previous program it was associated with(Niceplayer), and pasting it into the new program(Plex).

So from one resource folder to another. .icns format, etc

Right now its pretty much a blank file icon, im guessing because it cant find it in the new folder, but yea : s

It's times like this when logic fails, and weird things come into play. I'm guessing that there's something that I'm missing, and that I may not know about.

 

Hey Sulkorp, I don't think your missing anything at all. In fact I think its the team who made Plex who are missing something, namely a set to replacement icons. I just downloaded Plex and Niceplayer to try it out (Plex looks awesome BTW) and I went through each and every one of Plex's folders one by one. It doesn't have a standard icon cache to use to overwrite icons with. It uses the Leopard standard 'blank' icon instead. Niceplayer has an icon for .mkv which is why you see it. VLC doesn't have an mkv icon but has its own 'blank' icon which looks like its other .mpeg .mp3 icons. Since Plex relies on the Leopard blank you could set the Leopard blank as the Nieplayer .mkv icon but then everything leopard didn't recognise would show as .mkv which would be stupid. The only way to do it is this

1) Open Candybar
2) Drag the Niceplayer .mkv icon to its library and highlight it so it shows in the icon well bottom left of candybar.
3) Open a finder window and do a search for '.mkv'
4) Select all files and drag to the Candybar icon well.
5) All .mkv files will take on that Niceplayer visual.

Only problem is any files added after that date will have to be added to the well again as Candybar won't change them automatically. After you have dragged the files to the well they won't have changed in the finder search window but will have changed in their actual folders so click on 'open enclosing folder' to check. There is no need to restart.

Sorry I had no real solution. That Plex structure is really weird and definitely not standard fare for Leopard apps.