Recently I upgraded to Parallels version 4 then noticed that the icons were ugly! Other people were talking about it too. So I decided to re-create my own that were easy on the eyes. First I downloaded IconBuilder plugin for photoshop or fireworks. Then I grabbed some images to work with in Photoshop (new iMac and Windows 7 desktop) then tied them together all nice and peerdy. With icons on a Mac OS X you need 4 sizes (128×128 48×48 32×32 and 16×16). Then I flattened the layers into one layer.
- Selected that layer and -> Filter -> IconFactory -> IconFactory.
- Set them up and saved them as “Parallels.icns”.
- Then went to Applications -> Parallels and right click or ctrl click -> Show Package Contents -> Contents -> Resources and re-named “Parallels.icns” to “~Parallels.icns”.
- Then I copied my file over to that folder, ran a killall Finder and booya!
- Way better Parallels Desktop and File icons.
I have zipped up a psd and the icns files so you can make your own or use mine. If you use mine, I take no responsibility for your actions or the file if you happen to mess your S*!T up. Always backup your stuff, and re-name the original file!
Download: parallels-desktop-icons.zip
Sooooooooooooooooooo much better, and I was only able to stand the old icon for like 4 hours.
Nice work! It seems like this can’t be applied to Parallels 5 though. I’ve been poking around the file bundles and replaced every icon possible, but still those pesky reds show up.
I’ve yet to upgrade to 5, so when I do I’ll take a look. There should be no reason it wouldn’t work similar. Any Mac OS app should be able to be hacked like this. Not that I suggest doing it, but replacing icons is NBD.
This really doesn’t seem to work with Parallels 5. I replaced the following icons:
/Applications/Parallels Desktop.app/Contents/Resources/Parallels.icns
/Library/Parallels/Parallels Service.app/Contents/PlugIns/Parallels VM.app/Contents/Resources/Parallels.icns
/Library/Parallels/Parallels Service.app/Contents/Resources/Parallels.icns
But soon after starting the Parallels Desktop app, the icon is reverted back to the ugly original. You can select to show the windows start menu icon instead of the original icon but this is still not ideal.
What I just noticed: when you switch all VMs into Crystal mode, then the Parallels Desktop icon will be hidden and you will see only the application icons (which is at least a little better).
@Carine, I think it’s a bad joke played on us design type… The ‘app running’ logo cannot be found as an asset anywhere in that application. I’ve look for hours.