Customize Windows icons and branding with CustomizerGod

Martin Brinkmann
Jan 31, 2016
Updated • Jan 16, 2016
Software
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11

CustomizerGod is a free portable program for Windows that provides you with options to customize icons and the branding of the operating system.

Windows offers only limited icon customization options. While you can change some icons, either directly or by changing settings in the Windows Registry, the operation is not comfortable and error prone at the same time.

CustomizerGod has been designed to make things easier on the customization front. The portable program can be run from any location on the machine to provide you with the means to modify icons and branding on Windows PCs.

CustomizerGod

The program may display an UAC prompt on start, and if you are running Windows 8 or newer, may display several read-only listings.

Read-only indicates items that CustomizerGod cannot modify at the time because of the signed nature of the files on the operating system. The developer hopes however that future versions will provide options to modify these files as well.

The program displays a list of sections such as taskbar, volume icons or battery on the left, and the icons that belong to it once it has been selected on the right.

You can preview any icon (the different sizes it is available) with a click, or use the change or restore options to replace an icon or restore the original.

For instance, to change the icon of zip folders simply select the category on the left, then one of the icons displayed on the right, and finally the change button to replace it with an icon of your choosing.

You can pick different image formats such as bmp, gif or jpg for that, and are not limited to standard icon formats.

If something goes wrong, use the restore option to remove the modification and restore the original icon again.

As far as branding is concerned, you may use CustomizerGod to modify base and system branding, and depending on the version of Windows you are using, also the logon screen branding.

A click on the menu button displays additional options that advanced users may appreciate. Among them, are the following options:

  • Run, Exit, Force Close or Restart Explorer.
  • Quick or Full Clear the icon cache.
  • Restore Backup using SFC or CustomizerGod.
  • Set image resizing and bitmap pixel formats.
  • Export resources, or check file information.
  • Extract resources from RES or iPack files.

It is advised to create backups before you use the program to make modifications as system data may be manipulated using the program. While the program's own backup options worked fine during tests, it is better to have a second option at hand should the need arise.

Closing Words

If you like interface customizations, and want an easy solution for it, then you may want to give CustomizerGod a try as it offers that. While it is not complete, it has a lot to offer in this regard.

Summary
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1.5 based on 12 votes
Software Name
CustomizerGod
Operating System
Windows
Software Category
System
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Comments

  1. gabriel leduc said on June 29, 2020 at 7:21 pm
    Reply

    Screw this thing. Restoring icon doesn’t work, and it changes icons that you dont want. The program stopped desktop icons from showing on my brothers account. 1 Star.

  2. CustomizerDog said on February 1, 2016 at 5:48 am
    Reply

    Note that you should understand how such programs “customize” icons. They replace the icon resources inside system files and can invalidate digital signatures on system files, instead of using official APIs or supported methods to customize icons. You shouldn’t recommending crappy programs like this just to increase your article count.

    1. Corky said on February 2, 2016 at 9:08 am
      Reply

      You stick to using official APIs just like Microsoft tells you to, maybe your name should be MicrosoftLapDog. :)
      The rest of us will do what we want with our personal computers as we don’t live in a Microsoft dictatorship (yet)

  3. Ken Saunders said on February 1, 2016 at 2:34 am
    Reply

    “change button to replace it with an icon of your choosing”
    Does that mean that I can use icons that I’ve made and have collected, or do I have to choose from what the program offers?

    I still use Default Programs Editor (on Win7).
    http://defaultprogramseditor.com
    It’s a great program that still works and it offers a lot more than CustomizerGod, but, Default Programs Editor hasn’t been updated since 2010 so I wouldn’t mind using something that is updated.
    If you know of other programs that have some, or all of the features that Default Programs Editor has, please let me know.
    http://defaultprogramseditor.com/#features

  4. 2015 said on January 31, 2016 at 6:46 pm
    Reply

    Or, the author can make CustomizerGod more popular and/or user-friendly: allowing a user to export 3rd-party items into d client. For me, I am a fan of iconarchive. With it, I can create beautiful PDF, .DOC and alike.

  5. Maga said on January 31, 2016 at 3:04 pm
    Reply

    Well, well, well. What a coincidence. I have just this morning spent time tidying an old folder and found a print-out on how to make icons in Windows Paint to customise Windows 95! What a long way we have travelled since then. I can’t remember the last time I made an icon and these days am just grateful when Windows does what it is supposed to do without throwing a tantrum. All the same it is great to know that it is actually still possible to play around and change icons to fit ones needs.

  6. Anonymous said on January 31, 2016 at 1:57 pm
    Reply

    Norton 360 quarantined it as harmful.

    1. Anonymous said on February 1, 2016 at 3:58 pm
      Reply
    2. Soxism said on February 1, 2016 at 3:02 am
      Reply

      Thats because Norton is a terrible terrible program. Id argue that Norton is the one thats Harmful.

      1. Corky said on February 2, 2016 at 8:51 am
        Reply

        I’d be inclined to agree with Soxism, most if not all software developed/taken over by Norton tends to be pretty bad.

      2. Anonymous said on February 1, 2016 at 4:00 pm
        Reply

        Your argument is invalid. Norton did exactly as it was designed. It identified this app as a potential system threat and killed it.

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