Using custom icons on network

[Little-Miss]

I think i should sponser this forum... Learning Network Manager - sponsered by Little-Miss!

 

Anyhoo, A very kind fella made me some lovely icons and i wanna use them on me network, but what ive tried so far doesnt seem to have worked. We got redirected desktops so ive tried changing each desktops icons but i doesnt filter down. When i say changing icons its the folders im trying to change!

 

[Haptic]

I think i should sponser this forum... Learning Network Manager - sponsered

 

Sponsor and sponsored hun lol;)

[mb2k01]

Anyhoo, A very kind fella made me some lovely icons and i wanna use them on me network, but what ive tried so far doesnt seem to have worked. We got redirected desktops so ive tried changing each desktops icons but i doesnt filter down. When i say changing icons its the folders im trying to change!

 

You'll need to make sure the .ico files (I assume they are .ico?) are in a shared location that the users who are picking up the redirected desktop have permission to read

[Michael]

If you open any picture with a picture editing application, resize it to icon size 16 x 16, 32 x 32 or 48 x 48 pixels then save it as example.ico you can create your own icon files.

[Little-Miss]

Thanks Simon! lol Got too many things going on to be worrying about my spelling

 

PNG's have been converted to Ico's.

 

Maybe its where i have them. Will try another folder that i know users read from...

[mb2k01]

Maybe its where i have them. Will try another folder that i know users read from...

 

If it is a redirected desktop make sure that the path you use to the icon in the shortcut is a path that a user access (E.G. If the .ico file is on your server at D:\shared\icons\icon1.ico make sure you edit the shortcut on a workstation and use P:\icons\icon1.ico or \\server1\shared\icons\icon1.ico - something that users can actually access)

[Michael]

I was under the impression icon files are similar to fonts. The actual files should be stored on the local drive and not a network or remote location.

[ZeroHour]

Take a look at:

IcoFX - The Free Icon Editor

 

Awsome bit of freeware to make ico files.

[Little-Miss]

hmm, ok....where would they go...all users?

[HodgeHi]

If i needed to change an icon for a folder i tended to stick them inside the folder whose icon i was changing then made them hidden. The users didn't have access to unhide them anyway.

[ZeroHour]

hmm, ok....where would they go...all users?

 

You could be stealthy and put a hidden folder in the shared desktop with all the icons in it and link them using the shortcuts then?

Or just stick all your ico's in the share and then add each of then to each shortcut.

[Michael]

hmm, ok....where would they go...all users?

 

XP's own icon files are located in: C:\Windows\system32\SHELL32.dll

 

Custom icons should be OK in: C:\Windows\system32\

 

Fonts are stored in: C:\Windows\Fonts\

[mb2k01]

hmm, ok....where would they go...all users?

 

Without knowing your network, I'd hazard a guess that you have a mapped P: which users have read access to? If so, just make a new folder in there and call it "Icons" then put your icons in there.

[mb2k01]

I was under the impression icon files are similar to fonts. The actual files should be stored on the local drive and not a network or remote location.

 

I'm not really an Icon Guru (if such a title exists!), but no. Windows default icons are normally in DLL files or exe files. If you have your own .ico file it can be added to the shortcut to a file or program regardless of where it is saved.

 

For an icon to showup on a network for a particular user, that user would need to be able to access the location of the icon.

You could copy the icon to the C: of every single workstation if you really wanted, but a network share is far easier and quicker. It also means if you change the icon slightly in the future you only have to change the one source file - the share will be the same and reflect the icon change

[Michael]

I'm not an icon guru either! I understand what you're saying, but it's probably just as easy to copy it to every machine within a logon script. Personally I'd still prefer each machine to have its copy rather than getting it from the server each time.

[mb2k01]

I suppose it depends on the enviroment really.

As little-miss said she has folder re-direction I don't think that an additional 30kb being pulled off the server is much to worry about. If it was a roaming profile kind of enviroment then it would probably matter more.

 

Either way Little-Miss, Mine or Michael's scenario should work for you!

Edited August 24, 2009 by mb2k01
Provide more of a summary!

[Little-Miss]

Thanks both of you, i appreciate the input.

 

MB2K01, you are spot on, i have a P drive which i planned to put them on early but hadnt got round to. I shall let you know tomorrow!

[Little-Miss]

I still havent cracked this you know.

 

I've tried placing it in P: though i may try this one again as it had a hissy fit everytime i tried to point it to the share.

I placed it in the folder itself and hid it, still didnt work.

 

These all work fine on the server, but never seems to filter down to the client like everything else does.

[ZeroHour]

Have you tried setting the icons using a client?

[Little-Miss]

Excuse my stoopidness, brain has left me tonight. you mean doing it locally on the client? Nope i havent..

[HodgeHi]

Here's what i do.

 

Map P: to \\servername\Apps on the server. Create a folder in there called icons. Hide this folder and give the users read only access. Create a shortcut to the application (which should now point to P:\application\application.exe. Now place this in the desired loation on your re-directed desktop. Now right-click on your shortcut for the application and click change icon. Go to your p: and choose the icon from your hidden folder that you want.

 

Because the users map p to the apps folder and they have access to the share then they will see the new icons.

 

Hope this helps.