How do I change the Icon for Dolphin?

[Shabakthanai]

I have opened Dolphin using kdesudo so that it is in 'Root'. Under File>Properties, it provides the ability to change Icons, however after installing 'Bluefish' so that there is an Icon of a Dolphin, I select the Bluefish Icon to replace the default Dolphin Icon. Nevertheless, even after Restarting and also Shutting the System Down and Restarting, the Bluefish Icon does not appear in the Dolphin Start Menu item.

In older issues of Kubuntu, I have made the change. It is a very handy addition. I do not have any application icons on my desktop. I prefer using the Start Menu and having a clean Desktop. When I click on the start menu and the default Dolphin Icon appears, it kind of gets lost in my 'Favorites', however when the Bluefish Icon appear for Dolphin it is immediately recognized.

Every Kubuntu version change, I have the problem repeated, and am facing that issue again. Where the ability to change Icons is available in applications, I have never had a problem changing the Icons for any other package, only with Dolphin. Is there a way to force this issue?

Thanks for any help. It may appear a minor issue, however using the file manager is one of the more often used applications in my computer, and I would prefer not to have to read each menu item to find the Dolphin program. It is a very convenient and improved change. Thanks!

[SteveRiley]

There's an easier way to this than to muck about in root.

1. Right-click the Kickoff icon and choose Edit applications.


2. Open the System menu, select Dolphin, and click the file cabinet icon.


3. Locate the icon for Bluefish. I don't know where exactly it will be; you'll need to search for it in the various places the dialog offers.

[gldvorak]

I do this also. I have two versions of Dolphin in one of my panels. One is the original Dolphin. The other after I put it on the panel I right click and select 'Icon Settings' Then click on the icon image and do like Steve suggests to find the new Icon that you want to use. After that I click on the 'Application' tab and then near the bottom click the 'Advanced Options' button. In that window tick the 'Run As Different User' and fill in root (although I have found that just leaving the user name blank puts one in root mode!


The other thing that I do is go to 'Settings' 'Configure Dolphin' and under 'View Modes' I change the font settings so that at a glance I am aware of which version I am running. This saves me from being in root mode when I think that I am running the ordinary version.

[Shabakthanai]

Thanks Steve. I have attempted to fix the problem many times over the past year, always resulting in failure. This worked perfectly.

For those of you who are attempting to make the same change. When I restarted the OS, the Icon for "Dolphin" remained with the appearance of the file cabinet in my Favorites menu. I went to "system" and relocated the entry for "Dolphin" and the Bluefish Icon was changed there, so I right-clicked on the item and Added it to my Favorites Menu. Then I went to the Start Menu and opened Favorites and found that the Dolphin with Bluefish Icon was included, removed the Dolphin with file cabinet Icon from Favorits to get the desired solution.

You are amazing Steve; you always seem to have the correct answer. I really appreciate this one. Being an old guy, the Bluefish Icon immediately grabs my eye when I open Start>Favorites. Always I seem to have to read the list to find the File Cabinet Icon. This is a bigger help for me than you might realize and is greatly appreciated. It was important enough for me to spend several hours, over the past year or so trying to find a solution on my own. In most cases, when I want to make that type of change, I simply have clicked on the Icon I want to change, when settings appear, I click on the Icon and make the change. This never worked when I right-clicked the Dolphin program. The icon could not be changed using that method.

There's an easier way to this than to muck about in root.

1. Right-click the Kickoff icon and choose Edit applications.


2. Open the System menu, select Dolphin, and click the file cabinet icon.


3. Locate the icon for Bluefish. I don't know where exactly it will be; you'll need to search for it in the various places the dialog offers.

[SteveRiley]

Aww thanks... and glad you got what you needed.

[Shabakthanai]

I cause you so many problems and am aprehensive as a result, but you guys seem to be able to enjoy something that eludes me. When I did as you instructed relating to right-clicking the "Kickoff Icon", I did just that. I changed the Icon to the Bluefish Icon, and the image remained the fish --- it still does. But, when I open my Kickoff Menu, there is the old file cabinet Icon where the Bluefish Icon should be. It doesn't make any sense.

If I open Dolphin and click on properties, where the Icon for Dolphin should appear, It shows the Bluefish Icon, more or less confirming that even in properties, the Bluefish has been adopted and the Dolphin Icon, still, the old file cabinet Icon remains when I select the Kickoff Menu for Dolphin.

If you are willing to spend another thought on the matter, what am I doing wrong now?

I haven't replied on this for quite a while, because I am concerned you may just stop helping me for the harrassment I provide, but you are the Genius of the gurus and probably know why, and can probably fix the matter finally. The problem is like a Scratch you just can't itch.

Aww thanks... and glad you got what you needed.

[SteveRiley]

But, when I open my Kickoff Menu, there is the old file cabinet Icon where the Bluefish Icon should be. It doesn't make any sense.

Do you mean in the Favorites tab of Kickoff, as shown below?



Try removing the favorite and re-adding it. If that doesn't work, then clear the KDE resource cache thusly:

1. Log out of the desktop
2. At the login screen, press Ctrl+Alt+F2 to switch to a console TTY
3. Log in with your normal user ID and password
4. Type rm -rfv /var/tmp/kdecache-$USER and press Enter
5. Type exit and press Enter to log out
6. Press Ctrl+Alt+F7 to return to the graphical desktop
7. Log in as normal.

Now how is it behaving?

[Shabakthanai]

You are absolutely the king of the mountain. I actually think I am learning. Maybe not exactly as I should, but the process of thinking about the problem seems to be anchoring in. I am embarrassed at how important that is to me. Like when I hear the voices of my kids or grandkids, I broke into laughter with joy. And both you and Teunis gave me some new stuff to think about. I can't thank you enough. Cudos! I just hope you can feel my appreciation. A small reward for your help, but a very real one.

Do you mean in the Favorites tab of Kickoff, as shown below?



Try removing the favorite and re-adding it. If that doesn't work, then clear the KDE resource cache thusly:

1. Log out of the desktop
2. At the login screen, press Ctrl+Alt+F2 to switch to a console TTY
3. Log in with your normal user ID and password
4. Type rm -rfv /var/tmp/kdecache-$USER and press Enter
5. Type exit and press Enter to log out
6. Press Ctrl+Alt+F7 to return to the graphical desktop
7. Log in as normal.

Now how is it behaving?

[Shabakthanai]

This sounds very interesting. Nevertheless, when I opened Dolphin and chose Settings, there were only 5 options available:

Show Menubar
Show Toolbar
Configure Shortcuts...
Configure Toolbars...
Configure Dolphin...

I just continued by downloading new stuff and found it. There were 2 and only the second succeeded the download. I will take time and see some of the possibilities. I have never even read this page in System Settings. On the surface it looked quite complex and difficult; I chickened out because I am a bit stupid and it looked like it would give me a braintoot. In any event I have been planning to give the page a serious read, and will for certain now. Thanks, friend!

Maybe you are already aware of this option but instead of starting Dolphin as root I usually prefer the Root Actions Menu.

Under Dolphin settings we can select Services and add Root Actions, upon right-clicking a file or directory this will give a bunch of root operations or Actions.