Change Desktop Icons in Windows 8- Tutorial

Change Desktop Icons in Windows 8: Video Lesson

            This video lesson, titled “Changing Desktop Icons,” shows how how to change Desktop icons in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. This video is from our Windows 8.1 training, titled “Mastering Windows Made Easy v.8.1.”

Change Desktop Icons in Windows 8: Overview

            You can change Desktop icons in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. By default, you will only see the “Recycle Bin” icon shown on the Desktop, however, you can also add icons for other items that you frequently use to the Desktop so that you can simply double-click the Desktop icons to view them.

            To change Desktop icons in Windows 8, right-click in the blank area of the Desktop app and select the “Personalize” command from the pop-up menu to open the “Personalization” window. Alternately, you can open the Control Panel within the File Explorer window, click the “Appearance and Personalization” hyperlink, and then click the “Personalization” hyperlink to also open the “Personalization” window.

            Within the “Personalization” window, click the “Change desktop icons” hyperlink shown at the left side of the window to open the “Desktop Icon Settings” dialog box. Under the “Desktop Icons” section, check the name of any icons shown to add them to the Desktop or remove the checks from the checkboxes to remove the icon from the Desktop. The available icons are: “Computer,” “User’s Files,” “Network,” “Recycle Bin,” and “Control Panel.” After selecting the icons to add to the Desktop, click the “OK” button to apply your choices.

Change Desktop Icons in Windows 8- Tutorial: A picture of the “Desktop Icon Settings” window in Windows 8.1.

            After adding the icons to the Desktop, you can double-click the icon to open the associated folder. For example, if you added the “Control Panel” icon to the Desktop, you can double-click that icon in the Desktop to easily open the “Control Panel” window.

Change Desktop Icons in Windows 8: Instructions

1. To change Desktop icons in Windows 8, right-click in the blank area of the Desktop app and then select the “Personalize” command from the pop-up menu to open the “Personalization” window.

OR

1. Open the Control Panel within the File Explorer window, click the “Appearance and Personalization” hyperlink, and then click the “Personalization” hyperlink to also open the “Personalization” window.
2. Within the “Personalization” window, click the “Change desktop icons” hyperlink shown at the left side of the window to open the “Desktop Icon Settings” dialog box.
3. Under the “Desktop Icons” section, check the name of any icons shown to add them to the Desktop or remove the checks from the checkboxes to remove the icon from the Desktop. The available icons are: “Computer,” “User’s Files,” “Network,” “Recycle Bin,” and “Control Panel.”
4. After selecting the icons to add to the Desktop, click the “OK” button to apply your choices.
5. To open the associated folder after adding the icons to the Desktop, double-click the icon.