Libraries Icon - Change Default Icon

How to Change the Default "Libraries" Folder Icon in Windows 7​

   Information

This will show you how to change the main default Libraries icon to any custom icon that you want instead in Windows 7.

   Warning

• You can only do this while logged into an administrator account.
• This will affect all user account's Libraries icon on the computer.

EXAMPLE: Libraries Icon
NOTE: This is the default (left screenshot) and custom (right screenshot) Libraries icon.





Here's How:
1. Open the Start Menu and type regedit.exe in the search line, then press enter.

2. If prompted by UAC, then click on Yes.

3. In Regedit, go to the location below: (See screenshot below step 4)

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}\DefaultIcon

4. In the left pane of regedit, right click on the DefaultIcon key and click on Permissions. (See screenshot below)

5. At the top, select the Administrators group. At the bottom, check the Allow box to the right of Full Control and click on OK. (See screenshot below)

6. In the left pane of regedit, right click on (Default) and click on Modify. (See screenshot below)

7. To Restore the Default Libraries Icon
A) In the Modify window from regedit, type in the path below and click on OK.
%SystemRoot%\system32\imageres.dll,-1023
B) Go to step 10.
8. To Use a Icon of Your Own
A) In the Modify window from regedit, type in the full path of where you have your custom icon (.ico file) stored at, then click on OK. (See screenshot below)
WARNING: You will need to use a 256x256 pixel icon that was made for Windows 7 and Vista for them to display properly at all of the available icon view sizes in Windows 7. You will also need to leave the icon (.ico file) saved at the exact location you typed below for it to continue to work. If you delete or move this icon, then it will no longer be displayed.

B) Go to step 10.
9. To Use another Windows 7 Icon
A) Download and install the free program IconViewer to add the Icons tab in the screenshot below step 9B.
NOTE: Be sure to download the correct 32-bit or 64-bit version for your Windows 7.

B) In Windows Explorer navigate to the .exe (ex: for program icons) or .dll (ex: Windows 7 icons) file that contains the icon that you want to use for the default Library icon, then right click on the file, click on Properties, and the Icons tab. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: The most common Windows 7 icons come from the C:\Windows\System32\imageres.dll file.

C) Make note of the icon number for the icon that you want to use instead. (See screenshot above)
NOTE: For example, the default Libraries icon number is 1023. I'm going to change it to the 1027 icon number just as an example.

D) In the Modify window from regedit, type in the full path of the .exe or .dll file followed by ,-icon# (fullpath,-####) and click on OK. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: For example, if I want to use the path (step 9B) and the 1027 icon (step 9C), I would type:
%SystemRoot%\system32\imageres.dll,-1027

OR

C:\Windows\System32\imageres.dll,-1027

NOTE: This is the default Libraries icon value.
10. If you have 64-bit Windows 7 Installed

   Note

To also change the Libraries icon in the "Open" and "Save as" type windows as well in 64-bit Windows 7, you will also need to do this step.

If you have a 32-bit Windows 7 installed, then skip this step since doing steps 1 to 7/8/9 will change the Libraries icon in the "Open" and "Save as" type windows as well.

A) In regedit, go to the location below:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Classes\CLSID\{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}\DefaultIcon

B) Repeat steps 4 to 7/8/9 above.
11. Close regedit.

12. Restart the computer to fully apply.
That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Change a Library Icon in Windows 7
• How to Add or Remove the Libraries Desktop Icon in Windows 7
• How to Change or Restore Default Windows 7 Desktop Icons
• How to Change the Windows 7 Default User Folder Icons
• How to Change the Windows 7 Default Folder Icon
• How to Change Windows 7 Default Folder Icons using Resource Hacker
• How to Change Windows 7 Default Control Panel Icons
• How to Change the Open Folder Icon in Windows 7
• How to Change the Default New Library Icon in Windows 7
• How to Add or Remove the Windows 7 Libraries Folder from the Navigation Pane
• How to Change a Drive Icon in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8
• How to Change Default Icon of Favorites in Navigation Pane in Windows 7 and Windows 8
• How to Change the Default HomeGroup Icon in Windows 7
• How to Change Windows 7 System Icons Using Resource Hacker
• How to Rename "Libraries" in the Windows 7 Explorer Navigation Pane

 

[Uber Philf]

Great tut Brink, just what i was after.

 

[Brink]

You're welcome. Thank you.

 

[Psych0t1c]

When I pin it to the taskbar it comes up as the default yellow icon.

 

[Brink]

Hello Psyh0t1c,

That would be because it is actually pinning the Windows Explorer icon with the Libraries icon in it's jump list instead. Sorry.

 

[Psych0t1c]

Yeah so what I did was just changed the explorer icon and now everything is cool.

 

[Brink]

That'll work. I'm happy to hear that you got it sorted.

 

[Shrantellatessa]

Perfect! Thank you

 

[mhelseth93]

this seems like a completely great tutorial but i ran into a problem, why dont i have a CLSID folder in my HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT folder?

 

[Brink]

Hello Mhelseth,

You do. You will just need to keep scrolling past the file extensions until you see it.

 

[mhelseth93]

Hello Mhelseth,

You do. You will just need to keep scrolling past the file extensions until you see it.

lol im dumb, found it thanks

 

[Brink]

LOL, you're most welcome. Nar, if you didn't know, it would be easy to assume that it wasn't there.

 

[mickey megabyte]

if all this regedit stuff seems too complicated for you, you could try the free librarian program to make it a little easier.

it has a few other library features as well.

 

[vor12]

These tutorials have worked out great for the Favorites and Homegroup icons, but for some reason my Libraries icon refuses to change. I even tried applying the same icon that worked fine for Favorites, and still it remains the default icon. Any ideas for what might be causing the problem?

 

[Brink]

Hello Vor12, and welcome to Seven Forums.

If you like, please post back with screenshots showing all of your registry locations that are in the tutorial to see if something may stand out as a reason.

 

[vor12]

Thanks so much for the welcome and reply Brink! I'm kind of new to W7 so I've been tinkering around with customization only recently ^^;

Here are the relevant screenshots of the registry:

 

[Brink]

Yeah, it takes a bit to get the hang of it, but once you, you'll be fine.

Did you restart the computer afterwards to apply?

I noticed that you have the .ico file on your desktop. I would recommend keeping it saved in one of your C:\Users\Public folders instead to avoid access issues with any other user account since the Public folders can be accessed by all users by default. Afterwards, you could just mofify the registry for the new path.

If the above doesn't help, then please go ahead and ZIP the add.ico file, and upload it. I'll be happy to do some playing with it to help rule it out as a cause or not as well.

 

[vor12]

Gah, still no luck! I initially had the icon in my documents folder, but saw a suggestion to test it by moving it to the desktop if it failed to apply. I've restarted each time I change the registry, but even after moving it to a Public Users folder and restarting, it isn't sticking.

Here is the icon in question: View attachment add.zip

Thanks again for all your help! I really appreciate it!

 

[Brink]

Vor,

I'm not sure why it's not working for you. Your registry screenshots look fine other than not using a Public folder. I used your add.ico file in my C:\Users\Public\Pictures folder, and it worked fine for me.


Making changes to the locations in the registry in the tutorial would normally change the locations below as well after restarting the computer, but you might also double check them to make sure that they have the correct "DefaultIcon" for them as well.

• HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Wow6432Node\CLSID\{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}\DefaultIcon
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}\DefaultIcon
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Wow6432Node\CLSID\{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}\DefaultIcon

 

[vor12]

I checked those three locations and they had changed to matched my modifications - I guess I'm stuck with the default icon at this point, though I can't figure out for the life of me why :shock:

Thanks for your help either way Brink