# Feature request: custom icons in sidebar **URL:** \ **Category:** TotalFinder\ **Created:** [May 21, 2016, 10:00pm UTC](https://discuss.binaryage.com/t/feature-request-custom-icons-in-sidebar/4663 "2016-05-21T22:00:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![skiaddict1](https://discuss.binaryage.com/user_avatar/discuss.binaryage.com/skiaddict1/32/1722_2.png) [@skiaddict1](https://discuss.binaryage.com/u/skiaddict1)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2016, 10:00pm UTC](https://discuss.binaryage.com/t/feature-request-custom-icons-in-sidebar/4663/1 "2016-05-21T22:00:38Z")
Greetings, I am a 12-hour convert to TF (already registered) and am loving the return of old-style label behaviour in my Finder. Coloured icons in my sidebar are also wonderful, although I do miss my own custom icons. I’m sure others have already asked for this (I’ve searched but not found anything), but just in case: could custom icons in the sidebar be possible in a future release? I can’t believe that Apple, who pioneered graphical UIs, has now decided that all-grey-all-the-time is a good idea. Before I ungraded to El C®apitan I had a series of icons which enabled me to very quickly tell my various favourites apart. Now I’m forced to slow down and actually read the names. Having TF colouring them is a good start, but I’d really prefer to have my icons back. Ideally this would also work with custom icons for e.g. external disks. Many many thanks for enabling those of us who have relied on Finder labels for decades to continue to use that feature! Boo to Apple for taking away that ability and not allowing us any choice in the matter! Not to mention for abandoning their own human user interface guidelines… ---
**Author:** ![Levanah10](https://discuss.binaryage.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/a698b9/32.png) [@Levanah10](https://discuss.binaryage.com/u/Levanah10)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2016, 9:40pm UTC](https://discuss.binaryage.com/t/feature-request-custom-icons-in-sidebar/4663/2 "2016-05-23T21:40:02Z")
I recommend folderol, a little utility by Erica Sadun, available for $5.99 in the App Store and (to me) worth every penny. It colors any folder icon (custom colors if you want them), and has an option to substitute your own icons too. My “can’t do without it” use: when navigating to a folder from within an app (to open some file), some apps don’t render TF’s colored labels, making it very hard to spot the folder I’m looking for. But if I color the folder to match, the colored folders alone are almost as easy to spot. Read the FAQ at [http://ericasadun.com/category/faq/](http://ericasadun.com/category/faq/) for more stuff this little utility can do. --Developer is also _very_ responsive; a query re whether she’d tested it in El Capitan was answered within hours (after performing the test) – and yes, it works fine. Highly recommended as an adjunct to TF if you depend on colored labels to keep from going cross-eyed. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BinarySteve](https://discuss.binaryage.com/user_avatar/discuss.binaryage.com/binarysteve/32/1668_2.png) [@BinarySteve](https://discuss.binaryage.com/u/BinarySteve)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2016, 6:36am UTC](https://discuss.binaryage.com/t/feature-request-custom-icons-in-sidebar/4663/3 "2016-05-26T06:36:54Z")
I do plan on adding a hidden method for changing any icon in TotalFinder based on name. ---
**Author:** ![skiaddict1](https://discuss.binaryage.com/user_avatar/discuss.binaryage.com/skiaddict1/32/1722_2.png) [@skiaddict1](https://discuss.binaryage.com/u/skiaddict1)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2016, 8:57pm UTC](https://discuss.binaryage.com/t/feature-request-custom-icons-in-sidebar/4663/4 "2016-05-26T20:57:57Z")
Thanks Steve! I thought I’d found a workaround last night (changing SidebarXXXXX.icns files in /System/Library/CoreServices/CoreTypes.bundle/Contents/Resources/ ) but now my sidebar icons are solid grey! Guess I’ll live with the TF standard coloured icons until you can implement this feature… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Michael1](https://discuss.binaryage.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@Michael1](https://discuss.binaryage.com/u/Michael1)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2016, 6:38pm UTC](https://discuss.binaryage.com/t/feature-request-custom-icons-in-sidebar/4663/5 "2016-06-01T18:38:40Z")
this is undocumented, and certainly the developers may change the implementation but try this that I worked out trial and error: using 1.7.12 on El Capitan Locate this file: /Library/ScriptingAdditions/TotalFinder.osax/Contents/Resources/TotalFinder.bundle Select Show package contents on this TotalFinder.bundle In this location: /Library/ScriptingAdditions/TotalFinder.osax/Contents/Resources/TotalFinder.bundle/Contents/Resources there are two files: icons.plist and icons2.plist icons.plist is used for Yosemite Icons2.plist seems to be specific to El Capitan. AFTER MAKING ANY CHANGES TO ICONS2.PLIST, RUN KILLALL FINDER, forces TF to reload config and Finder to reload, otherwise change in icons won’t take effect. Changes I’ve made below, in any of the examples, where I redirect to a different icns file in the CoreType.bundle/contents/resources folder, those are my CUSTOM icns file that I placed there over writing the default OS X. You do NOT have to use the default icns files in the Coretypes.bundle/contents/resources folder, you can replace them or point to a totally different icns in a different location, TF will load using the path you insert, just make sure the icns files are properly formatted and comparable in resolution to the original OS X ones (1024x1024, 72 dpi, and have all the proper other resolutions in the icns (512x512, 256x256, etc) For the most part the String of each entry defines the location of the folder and the Key defines the path to the icns file to display if that folder is visible in the sidebar. For me, that’s backward, I would have swtiched Key and String, but that’s just me. Good luck! Sorry BinarySteve if I spilled the beans, but actually Darwin pointed me in the right direction in a post he made back in Oct 2015. PS , the examples below, there are supposed to be key and string XML embedded tags as part of the code sample, but when I posted these got stripped out because I think the editor is interpreting them as HTML formatting tage in the post, just remember the first line is the key value and the second line is the string value For Desktop icon, Lines: /System/Library/PreferencePanes/Displays.prefPane/Contents/Resources/Displays.icns ~/Desktop changed to: /System/Library/CoreServices/CoreTypes.bundle/Contents/Resources/DesktopFolderIcon.icns ~/Desktop This now shows the icon DesktopFolderIcon.icns for the Desktop in the Sidebar. * * * For Music Folder icon Lines: NSMediaBrowserMediaTypeAudio ~/Music NSMediaBrowserMediaTypeAudioTemplate32 changed to: /System/Library/CoreServices/CoreTypes.bundle/Contents/Resources/MusicFolderIcon.icns ~/Music NSMediaBrowserMediaTypeAudioTemplate32 * * * For Application Folder icon Lines: /System/Library/CoreServices/AppDownloadLauncher.app/Contents/Resources/appStore.icns /Applications ~/Applications Changed to: /System/Library/CoreServices/CoreTypes.bundle/Contents/Resources/ApplicationsFolderIcon.icns /Applications ~/Applications * * * For Pictures Folder icon Lines: NSMediaBrowserMediaTypePhotos ~/Pictures NSMediaBrowserMediaTypePhotosTemplate32 Changed to: /System/Library/CoreServices/CoreTypes.bundle/Contents/Resources/PicturesFolderIcon.icns ~/Pictures NSMediaBrowserMediaTypePhotosTemplate32 * * * For Movies Folder icon lines: NSMediaBrowserMediaTypeMovies ~/Movies NSMediaBrowserMediaTypeMoviesTemplate32 Changed to: /System/Library/CoreServices/CoreTypes.bundle/Contents/Resources/MovieFolderIcon.icns ~/Movies NSMediaBrowserMediaTypeMoviesTemplate32