A Windows user may want to change file type icons for a couple of reasons. Maybe you don’t like icons assigned for a file type by one of the installed programs, or maybe you want to have your own icons for one or more file types.

For instance, I love the popular GOM Player but not the default icons that GOM assigns for media files.

In Windows XP, changing the default file type’s icon was very simple and one could change file type icons without the help of third-party tools. But in Vista and Windows 7, one needs to either use third-party tools or manually edit Windows Registry to do the same job.

Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8 users who have been looking for a way to change file type icons can now download a free tool named Types.

Types is a standalone tool for Vista and Windows 7 operating systems that gives you access to a few hidden options related to file types. As we mentioned earlier, changing the default icon for a specific file type is cake walk with this tiny utility. In fact, Types is the first and probably the only free tool available to change file type icons in Windows 7 and Windows 8.

The best thing about this is that you can change file type icons of native Windows programs but also installed third-party programs. That is, you can use this to change icons associated to almost all file types. An option to integrate this feature into file context menu would have been awesome. Nevertheless, it’s a wonderful piece of software.

How to change file types icon with Types:

Step 1: Download, extract and run Types to see list of extensions in your Windows.

Step 2. Right-click on a file extension and select Properties.

Step 3: Switch to the Icon tab, browse to your desired icon to change the default file type’s icon.

Step 4: You are done. Good luck!

Download Types