How To Change Icons Of Application Tiles On Windows 8 Start Screen

The all new Metro Start screen in Windows 8 is the central place to view and access apps. By default, the Start screen displays shortcuts to Windows Explorer, Control Panel (Metro), Windows Marketplace, and many other Metro apps. The screen also displays shortcuts in the form of tiles when you install new applications.

The Start screen is customizable in a number of ways. Windows 8 lets you personalize the Start screen by adding or removing default app tiles. You can move tiles from one group to another.

In the past, we covered how to change the default Start screen background and also a simple way to edit the “Start” text on the Start screen with the help of third-party tools. How to customize the user interface (UI) of Metro apps guide is also available for advanced Windows users.

After customizing the Start screen background, “Start” text, and Metro apps, you may want to change the app tile icon (the icon that appears on a tile) on the Start screen. The app tile icon can easily be changed without using third-party utility. In this article, we will guide you to replace application tile app icon with a custom icon.

Step 1: Switch to Metro Start screen. Right-click on the tile (on which the icon that you want to change appears) to see Advanced option at the lower bottom of the screen.

For example, if you want to change the icon on Windows Explorer tile, you need to right-click on the same tile.

Step 2: Click Advanced option and then select Open File Location option. This will open the shortcut of the application in Windows Explorer.

Step 3: Do a right-click on the shortcut’s entry and then select Properties to open program’s properties. Here, under Shortcut tab, click Change Icon button and select an icon to replace the default one. You can also use the Browse button to select a custom icon for the shortcut (the icon must be in .ico extension).