Mac|Life - December 2009

>>>Ask

TECH SUPPORT & TECHSPLANATIONS

>>>THE OL’ ICON SWITCH-A-ROO

I’m having trouble seeing the Dock icons for the latest Office for Mac applications. I thought the Office 2004 for Mac icons were darker and easier to see in my Dock. Is there a way to alter the Office 2008 for Mac icons, or can I substitute one for the other?

Yes! In the screenshot you sent us, we noticed you had Office 2008’s icons in your Dock next to Office 2004’s icons. You can reassign Office 2004’s icons to your Office 2008 applications, but then you should probably drag the Office 2004 apps out of your Dock, so you don’t get confused!

First, right-click (or Control-click) the Dock icon for Word 2008 (on the left in your screenshot), and choose Show In Finder. This will launch a new Finder window with the Word 2008 application selected. Press Command-I to open the Get Info window for that application. Now do the same thing to open the Get Info window for Word 2004.

Each app’s icon is at the top-left of the Get Info window. All you need to do is click the Word 2004 icon to select it (it’ll be highlighted blue when you do), and then press Command-C to copy that icon. Now over in the Get Info window for Word 2008, click that app’s icon to select it, and press Command-V to paste in the icon you copied (Word 2004) instead. Close the Get Info windows.

The icon in your Dock won’t change instantly—you have to kick the app out of your Dock and then re-add it for the icon to be updated. Right-click the Word 2008 app’s Dock icon and select Show In Finder again, so you can remember where the application is stored—it should be showing its new icon in this window. Then drag the Word 2008 out of your Dock and watch it disappear with its little poof. In the Finder window that you just opened, drag Word 2008 sporting its new icon back into the Dock. Now you can repeat the process for your Excel and PowerPoint icons too.