Tutorial: How to easily change Android app shortcut icons & app names [sans root]

[Arlen Holder]

First pass, for review...

Tutorial: How to easily change Android app shortcut icons & app names [sans root]
<https://i.postimg.cc/X7T7DX9H/icon04.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/760FbPgP/icon03.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/284sC5C0/icon02.jpg>
<https://i.postimg.cc/59PS5qWM/icon01.jpg>

If you installed Nova launcher free, you _already_ have this capability
of editing app icons and app names to whatever makes sense to you:
o Nova Launcher, by TeslaCoil Software
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.teslacoilsw.launcher>

For example, this shows how to change app icons using Nova:
o How to Change The Icon of Any Android App? [Without Root]
<https://www.viralhax.com/change-android-app-icon/>

Note that, with Nova, you can change both the app icons and the app names:
o Choose the homescreen shortcut to any app icon/name which you want to change.
o Touch and hold on the shortcut until an "Edit" pop up appears on your screen.
o Select "Edit" to change the name of the app icon in the "Edit shortcut" form.
o Repeat to change the app icon but tap the icon in the "Edit shortcut" form.
o When you select the icon, you get various options for icon files:
(a) Built-in icons
(b) Gallery apps (e.g., if you have a photo you wish to be your app icon)
(c) {any icon packs you have intalled}
o Select the icon which you want to make the default icon of the selected app.
(You can also create a new icon using an image.)
o To restore the original app icon, repeat, but select the default icon.

Note: You can get icon packs by searching for "(#Nova.Theme Icon)" in Google Play.
<https://play.google.com/store/search?q=(%23Nova.Theme%20Icon)&c=apps>
For example, these are free, ad-free, GSF-free icon packs:
o Monoic Icon Pack, by KD Pixels
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kdpixels.iconpacks.monoic>
o Viral - Free Icon Pack, by DrumDestroyer Themes
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=vintage.icon.pack.ddt>
o Whicons - White Icon Pack, by Randle
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.whicons.iconpack>
o Minma Icon Pack, by Rohit S Shetty
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.minma.icon.free>

In my first test, I created a shortcut to this ng using Website Shortcut:
o Website: https://groups.google.com/forum/m/#!forum/comp.mobile.android
o Label: Android ng
o Icon: {tap to select any icon on your device}

The results of that first icon-changing test are screenshotted here:
<https://i.postimg.cc/59PS5qWM/icon01.jpg>

My second test was to change the "YouTube" app icon using Nova free:
<https://i.postimg.cc/284sC5C0/icon02.jpg>

If you don't use Nova free as your app launcher, you can still modify icons
using these free ad-free GSF-free apps I found today on Google Play:
o Website Shortcut
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.deltacdev.websiteshortcut>
o Shortcut Maker
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=rk.android.app.shortcutmaker>
o QuickShortcutMaker
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sika524.android.quickshortcut>
o Shortcut Creator
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.alextern.shortcuthelper>

For example, in each of those programs, you essentially:
1. Start the program & select the app icon to change (e.g., YouTube)
2. Select which image or icon pack you wish to choose from (e.g., Viral Icon Pack)
3. Press the create button to modify the icon and/or create a new shortcut
<https://i.postimg.cc/760FbPgP/icon03.jpg>

In my third test, I used Shortcut Maker to change the YouTube app icon yet again:
<https://i.postimg.cc/X7T7DX9H/icon04.jpg>

As always, please improve what & where you can so everyone benefits from all
your actions, now, and in the future (when this is found by a search engine).
--
Usenet is a useful permanent archive of helpful tutorials and solutions.

[Arlen Holder]

This week I've updated this tutorial with lots of new ways to create both
shortcuts (to files, folders, URLs, and even to app settings deep inside
apps) over here, in this thread, so that, as always, all can benefit:

o Quick tutorial for creating Android homescreen shortcuts using custom icons
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/if4FD2NFEnk>

I show how to instantly create shortcuts to web pages, files, folders, etc,
o Then I set custom icons from Windows & elsewhere for those shortcuts.

It's essentially exactly the same process on Android as it was on Windows!
o So all your knowledge % tools are instantly leveraged to both platforms.

o Tutorial for creating custom Windows icons from screenshots using only Irfanview freeware
<https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.comp.freeware/qeHbJySBp0M>

It takes about two minutes from scratch, it's that easy cross platform:
1. Snap any screenshot on Windows & edit as desired at the desired size
2. Save as a square PNG with a transparent background, if desired
3. Copy over to Android & set any Android shortcut to your Windows icon

It's even quicker than two minutes if you download the Windows icons
1. Download any Windows icon from any repository you like, e.g., I used...
2. <https://www.iconarchive.com/show/sleek-xp-software-icons-by-hopstarter/Windows-Turn-Off-icon.html>
3. That Windows icon PNG became my Android "kill -9" shortcut icon.

If you use existing icons on Android, it takes about half a minute:
1. Extract any icon you want from any Android app on your device
2. Or obtain bajillions of customized icons in various icon packs
3. Then simply create a File/Folder/URL/Setting shortcut & set the icon

Here are screenshots for those who do the same things on all platforms.
o <https://i.postimg.cc/KzrX0Kdw/shortcut01.jpg> Custom shortcut icons
o <https://i.postimg.cc/RFs4CPxv/shortcut02.jpg> Creating URL shortcuts
o <https://i.postimg.cc/J4WzDQKc/shortcut03.jpg> Creating FOLDER shortcuts
o <https://i.postimg.cc/MKmPDnKC/shortcut04.jpg> Editing shortcut icons
o <https://i.postimg.cc/13RWYy8f/shortcut05.jpg> Choosing custom icons
o <https://i.postimg.cc/N0SpMTpH/shortcut06.jpg> Squaring the custom icon
o <https://i.postimg.cc/DybJkMNF/shortcut07.jpg> Finding icons to extract
o <https://i.postimg.cc/fRn3wv4d/shortcut08.jpg> Extracting icons to PNG
o <https://i.postimg.cc/GhQcYjVV/shortcut09.jpg> Net icon, before & after
o <https://i.postimg.cc/43KZDRyR/shortcut10.jpg> Copy net icon to Android
o <https://i.postimg.cc/JzFCcYq6/shortcut11.jpg> Select & edit custom icon
o <https://i.postimg.cc/c4brT9qq/shortcut12.jpg> Windows screenshot icon
o <https://i.postimg.cc/50b0jDzz/shortcut13.jpg> Windows icon on Android

See also:
o How to set a shortcut to any settings in System or in any application
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/_1oTdgCIpkc>

o How to create a custom "kill -9" shortcut to kill background jobs
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/Did0Rd3mRmo>

o Have you been successful creating symbolic links on your Android phone?
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/RrRbZytwwGM>
--
I update threads so that they serve as a single-source quickref for others.