In this blog, we are going to change application icon in ubuntu using a simple trick. (By editing .desktop files). This trick will work in all versions of Ubuntu. Using this trick you can change the icon of any application like Terminal, Libreoffice, calculator, chrome, firefox, Settings, etc.
What is .desktop Files?
A .desktop file is simply a shortcut that is used to launch applications in Linux. Without the .desktop file, your application won’t show up in the Applications menu. When the application is installed in the system, it will create the .desktop file automatically and place themselves in the Application menu for quick access.
These files, are generally a combination of meta-information resources and a shortcut of an application. These files usually reside in /usr/share/applications/ . Follow the below step to change the application icon in ubuntu.
Follow the Steps to the Change Application icon in Ubuntu:-
(1) Open Files and Click on Computer (root Folder) or Go to Root Folder directly.
(2) Open usr Folder ==> share Folder ==> application Folder.
(3) Now Press Ctrl + l and copy the location of the directory(that is– copy the location applications folder).
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(4) Open the Terminal and type cd and paste the location of the folder (i.e For Pasting the Copied Location of applications directory type Ctrl + shift + v).
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(5) Type in Terminal sudo gedit gnome-terminal.desktop
(6) gnome-terminal.desktop file will be Open in gedit Application and search for Icon Line in the File.
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(7) Now Open the Image that you want to replace with Icon and Copy the location of Image. (Press Ctrl + L to copy the location of image)
(8) And Paste in gnome-terminal.desktop file after the Icon=/home/amit/Pictures/Icons/terminal.png at the end add terminal.png and save the File.
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(9) Now Close the Terminal and Open again. If the icon does not change just restart your system and you will see the new icon.
To change the Icon of Other Applications Like LibreOffice:-
- libreoffice-calc.desktop For Excel ( Spreadsheet )
- libreoffice-writer.desktop For Word ( Word processor )
- libreoffice-impress.desktop For PPT ( Presentation )
Go to Step 5 and instead of sudo gedit gnome-terminal.desktop type in the terminal sudo libreoffice-cal.desktop for Excel ( Spreadsheet ) and follow the same steps. Now you will able change icon for Excel and follow the same for word and ppt.
If you have any doubt just watch the video below or comment below.