Top 5 Icon Programs

1. Microangelo: If you're feeling the need to transform the icons on your desktop--or if you just want to manage the ones you have--this is an effective, if somewhat expensive, utility. A winner of the Shareware Industry Association's Best Graphic Program award, this is a suite of tools, sort of like a Norton Utilities for icons.

You can find icons with the Microangelo Explorer, which lets you navigate through drives and folders, browsing files that contain individual icons and mouse pointers. Another utility extends that functionality so that you can view entire icon libraries. The included graphics editor offers a pencil, brushes, and an eraser (as well as dodge and burn functions) so that you can tweak to your heart's content. You can also animate your icons to add some sizzle to your desktop.

2. ActivIcons: Tired of your yellow folders and your uninspiring, pale-gray Recycle Bin? Express your individuality with custom Windows icons. This program is one of the most popular icon managers. It shows you the typical icons on your desktop, such as the Recycle Bin, the My Computer icons, Briefcase, Network Neighborhood, and your folders. It then allows you to select the icon you want to change. You can change icon groups or specific icons. You can also change the Windows mouse pointers, make the text labels transparent, alter the color of the text, or change the icon cache. The program also lets you restore your default Windows icons, in case the novelty of custom icons wears off.

3. Icon Viewer: This utility lets you view all the icons that are in a .dll, .exe, or .ico file. It's rather bare-bones, but it does the job (and, of course, it's free). You can also search for duplicates by comparing one icon with another. The program includes an About dialog box that links to the icon author's Web site and e-mail address.

4. The Best Icons: Make a refreshing change to your desktop by replacing your icons. This free collection of 5000 icons includes items such as animals, faces, holidays, movies, music, science fiction, sports, cartoons, transportation, art, food, and plants. Overall, the icons are well drawn. For instance, the Red Sox baseball cap, part of a collection of all the major league baseball teams, shows the team logo and dark shadows outlining the curvature, where the front meets the bill.

The icons are suitable for any display of 256 colors or better. The file includes an installation program, along with a utility that lets Windows owners use the program even if they haven't installed Microsoft Plus.

5. 3DFolders: It doesn't take much of an eye for aesthetics to think that the default folder icons in Windows are a bit ... plain, to put it charitably. This program lets you add a bit of nuance to your desktop with its collection of shaded folder icons. There are seven different colors, and every kind of system folder is included. The icons are best viewed in 24-bit color mode or higher.