CandyBar has long been the easiest way of changing Mac OS X’s default icons for folders, application icons, the Dock, and so on. CandyBar was originally launched in 2002 by The Icon Factory and Panic and soon became a popular tool for replacing icons in Mac OS X. In August 2012, Panic announced that it would not be continuing its development and that it would become an unsupported app. But being as awesome as they are, Panic decided to offer CandyBar for free and distribute the licence code required to register it.
Panic says:
“So where does CandyBar go from here? Well, there’s the other half of the app: the convenient icon organizer, and Quick Drop icon changer, that many of us use often. We’re handing the reins of CandyBar over to our friends at The Iconfactory. They’ve got some thoughts on CandyBar’s future, and where they might take it from here. If you bought CandyBar from us, you will of course be considered if something new shows up. Stay tuned.”
Today, there are a couple of limitations. You can’t change the icons of apps downloaded from the Mac App Store due to code signing. The Dock in Mac OS X 10.8 ‘Mountain Lion’ was changed and also cannot be altered like it used to.
Icon Resources
There are several places to download icon sets for use with CandyBar.
- InterfaceLift – A popular site which isn’t updated as frequently as it used to be, but it still has a good selection of icons available.
- The Iconfactory – The people who worked with Panic to create CandyBar, and the famous icon creators that have been around since 1996! I fondly remember using the free icons provided on Macworld magazine discs that were created by The Iconfactory.
- David Lanham – This guy seems to know what he’s doing when it comes to creating nice icons, and he’s even been interviewed by The Verge, MacThemes, MacUser and Apple Matters.
- ResExcellence – Ah, of course. How could we almost forget ourselves? Now where did we put those icons? … That’s it, they’re in the Archive! You might have to do some digging though… 🙂
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