How do i put icons on my home screen

The trend of customizing your home screen has become ever more popular in iOS, and some users are choosing to add custom app icons to their home screen using the Shortcuts app in iOS 14 and later.

How do i put icons on my home screen

Custom home screen posted by @BenZhu8. Custom cloud icons from icons8.

Replacing default app icons with images of your choosing allows you to freely customize the look of your home screen. Before you follow this guide, you will need to find or make an image for your new home screen app icon, and there are plenty of alternate looks available for download online.

The following steps explain how you can add a custom icon, for any app of your choosing, to the Home screen. The process effectively involves creating a Shortcut to open an app, and then adding an image to that Shortcut on the Home screen.

Widgets and App Icon Tutorial Video

We've also made a video that walks through the topic of widgets, home screens, as well as custom app icons.


If you want to skip to the section where we go step-by-step on how to customize your App Icon, it's at timestamp 3:58. But before embarking on this plan, you should understand there are two major limitations in this technique.

Limitations

  • Tapping Custom App Icons launch Shortcuts first, and then the App
  • No Notification badges

If you feel that being kicked to and from the Shortcuts app whenever you open an app with a custom icon is a nuisance, it may be best to only create Shortcuts for apps you use infrequently, or not at all.

Shortcuts can be a complex app to use, as it allows users to create multi-step processes to run on their device, but in this instance, the Shortcut only involves one basic component.

  1. Launch the Shortcuts app on your iPhone or iPad.
  2. Tap the + icon in the top-right corner of the screen.
  3. Tap Add Action.
  4. How do i put icons on my home screen
    How do i put icons on my home screen

  5. Use the text field to search for Open App.
  6. Select Open App.
  7. Tap Choose.
  8. How do i put icons on my home screen
    How do i put icons on my home screen

  9. Use the search for the app you want to change the icon of, and select it.
  10. Tap the three dots in the top-right corner.
  11. Tap Add to Home Screen.
  12. How do i put icons on my home screen
    How do i put icons on my home screen

  13. Tap the placeholder app icon.
  14. From the drop-down menu, select Take Photo, Choose Photo, or Choose File, depending on where your replacement app icon image is located.
  15. Select your replacement image.
  16. In the text field, rename the app as you want it to appear on the home screen.
  17. Tap Add.
  18. How do i put icons on my home screen
    How do i put icons on my home screen

  19. Tap Done. Your Shortcut has now been created.
  20. Return to the home screen.

How do i put icons on my home screen
How do i put icons on my home screen

If you already had the app on your home screen, you will now have two icons. In order to keep only your newly-created icon, simply move the old icon to the App Library. You must not delete the original app.

Since this process can be quite time-consuming, especially when it includes finding or making custom icons, you will likely not want to do it for every app.

Tap and hold the application icon you want to add to your Home screen. The Applications screen will close so that you can place the icon on the Home screen.

  • Lift your finger to place it or drag the icon to where you want it on the screen, then lift your finger.

  • NOTE

    To add a hot key for direct access on the Quick Keys bar, place the application icon to Quick Keys area in the same way.

    Your Windows computer has a certain set of integral files built-in to it, such as the Computer, User Files, Network, Recycle Bin, and Control Panel folders. 

    Now, you can get to any of these folders at any time by looking them up in the Windows Start Menu, or by typing their name into the search bar. However, if you find yourself using one or more of them frequently, you may find it easier to simply add it to your desktop instead.

    Adding these shortcuts to your desktop will allow you to click on them to open them in one step, as well as click and drag other files to them to easily keep your desktop organized.

    Here's how to add icons to your desktop on your Windows 10 computer.

    Check out the products mentioned in this article:

    Windows 10 (From $139.99 at Best Buy)

    Lenovo IdeaPad 130 (From $299.99 at Best Buy)

    How to add icons to your desktop on your Windows 10 computer

    1. Open the Start menu by clicking the Windows icon at the bottom-left of your screen.

    2. Select the Settings button, the gear icon above the power button.

    How do i put icons on my home screen

    Microsoft Windows 10 Home

    $139.99 from Best Buy

    How do i put icons on my home screen

    Lenovo IdeaPad 130

    $469.99 from Walmart

    $299.99 from Best Buy

     

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    Melanie Weir

    Freelance author

    Melanie Weir is a freelance author for Insider, mainly focusing on the Tech Reference section, but occasionally contributing to Lifestyle and Entertainment topics as well. She is also a freelance writer for ScreenRant, and is the Lead Weekend News Editor at TheThings.com. In her spare time she writes plays for both stage and screen. She can be reached at [email protected], or through LinkedIn.

    How do I put an icon on my iPhone home screen?

    Add a shortcut to the Home Screen on iPhone or iPad.
    In the Shortcuts app on your iOS or iPadOS device, tap on a shortcut, then tap to open Details..
    Tap Add to Home Screen..
    Optional: To use a custom photo for a Home Screen icon, tap the icon (in the Home Screen Name and Icon area), then choose one of the following:.

    Why are my icons not showing up on my home screen?

    Check If the Missing Apps Are Hidden Some models of Android devices are allowed to hide or freeze the apps. Once the apps are set to be hidden, they will disappear on the home screen.