Is there ANY way to change the Mac app icon for Freeform?

[Turnpike]

I have "solved" a version of this problem a while back, but now the FreeForm app has become my main solution for a work process. I click on it 50+ times a day.

My question is if there is ANY way (paid or not) to change Mac brand icons in my dock. I use FreeForm constantly throughout the day, most pages are squares of multi colored sticky notes, and not only do I have to look for the FreeForm app in my dock, I'm constantly confused with the new "Launchpad" app icon, which looks exactly like most of my FreeForm pages. It's incredibly confusing, and constantly.

I have bought (and enjoy) Replacicon which is an app to replace most non-Apple icons in your dock with designs that you prefer more than the current stock app, but most solutions I found back when I bought this software did everything except factory-installed Mac apps like Calander, Notes, Reminders, etc... (iMovie seems to be one exception).

Does anyone know (even if it's with cost and/or great effort) of a way to change the Mac factory-installed app icons? I'm using Monterey the latest version.

Thanks!

 

[BigBlur]

A lot of the built-in apps reside in the read-only system volume now, so I don't think the icons for those can be changed as easily like we used to be able to. iMovie and other apps from the App Store don't reside in this location, which is why you're able to change those.

A potential workaround is to use Shortcuts. Create shortcuts to open your apps or launchpad, customize the icon and color, and add them to the Dock. Here's an example of a Launchpad shortcut I created a few minutes ago.

Some caveats...

• For Launchpad or other apps that have a context menu, it will not show when right-clicking/control-clicking the shortcut icon.
• The actual app icon will still show in the dock in the active and recently used apps area (except for Launchpad).
• The indicator for open applications does not show under the shortcut icons.

 

[bogdanw]

but now the FreeForm app I'm using Monterey the latest version.

Freeform is available in Monterey?

"Availability
Starting today, Freeform comes free on every iPhone, iPad, and Mac supporting iOS 16.2, iPadOS 16.2, or macOS Ventura 13.1."
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2022...-new-app-designed-for-creative-collaboration/

You can create a "launcher" with AppleScript
Open Script Editor (/Applications/Utilities/Script Editor), copy-paste the code

tell application "Freeform" to activate

save it as an app, change its icon to whatever you want and drag it in the Dock.

 

[Turnpike]

Oh sorry, I meant Ventura. LOL. All my iMacs were on Mojave until the Freeform app was too much to miss out on, and then I updated everything. I don't even know the order of the OS's after Mojave.

 

[Turnpike]

Freeform is available in Monterey?

"Availability
Starting today, Freeform comes free on every iPhone, iPad, and Mac supporting iOS 16.2, iPadOS 16.2, or macOS Ventura 13.1."
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2022...-new-app-designed-for-creative-collaboration/

You can create a "launcher" with AppleScript
Open Script Editor (/Applications/Utilities/Script Editor), copy-paste the code

tell application "Freeform" to activate

save it as an app, change its icon to whatever you want and drag it in the Dock.

OMG!!! I sat here and dedicated 20 minutes to what you told me to do (and Googling the stuff I didn't understand) and you just opened up a whole new world of possibilities to me. I always mentally logged out when people told me anything to do with "code" or "script" in a solution to a problem, this time I didn't and it was worth it.

Thank you a ZILLION times over, bogdanw.




For my future reference and anyone else who is here with a similar problem, here is how to do what bogdanw suggested, if you don't understand this stuff (like me). This is from the Apple Support pages:


__________________________________________________________

Save a script as an app in Script Editor on Mac​

In Script Editor, you can save your script as an app. To run the script, just open it in the Finder, just like any other app.

1. With a script open in the Script Editor app
   
   on your Mac, choose File > Export.
2. Enter a name for the app.
3. To save your app in a different location than shown, click the disclosure triangle, then select a folder.
4. Click the File Format pop-up menu, then choose Application.
5. Select any combination of options:
   • Show startup screen: Displays a dialog with the text from the script’s Description field when the script is run. The dialog also contains Run and Quit buttons that allow you to stop or continue the script execution.
   • Stay open after run handler: Causes the app to remain active until you quit it. Choose this option if the script contains an idle handler.
   • Run-only: Saves only the compiled version of the app. Choose this option if you don’t want the script source included in the app bundle.
6. Click Save.

 

[Oneechan69]

@Turnpike @bogdanw I came across this problem myself, and I actually found a better solution on Reddit: Make a new .app file that symlinks the contents of Safari.app:

mkdir ~/Applications/Safari.app
ln -s /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/ ~/Applications/Safari.app/

 

[bogdanw]

Make a new .app file that symlinks the contents of Safari.app:

mkdir ~/Applications/Safari.app
ln -s /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/ ~/Applications/Safari.app/

That’s something malware would do. At least use sudo so it can’t be modified without asking for your password.

The Mac Security Blog - OSX/Linker: New Mac malware attempts zero-day Gatekeeper bypass
https://www.intego.com/mac-security...-malware-attempts-zero-day-gatekeeper-bypass/

 

[Oneechan69]

That’s something malware would do. At least use sudo so it can’t be modified without asking for your password.

The Mac Security Blog - OSX/Linker: New Mac malware attempts zero-day Gatekeeper bypass
https://www.intego.com/mac-security...-malware-attempts-zero-day-gatekeeper-bypass/

That's a long read, can you summarize it?

I'm not worried about malware because all I did was create an empty .app and symlinked the contents of Safari, a system app, inside it. I don't see anything wrong with that, I'm know my way around the command line.

 

[3166792]

That's a long read, can you summarize it?

Researchers recently discovered new Mac malware called OSX/Linker that attempts to exploit a zero-day vulnerability in macOS Gatekeeper to bypass security protections. The malware takes the form of disk image files that link to an app hosted on an external server. It is unclear if the malware was used in any attacks as the app linked to was no longer available when analyzed. However, indicators suggest the malware was created by the developers of the OSX/Surfbuyer adware. Mac users should remain vigilant against malware threats and ensure they have security software that includes real-time scanning to block malware before it can infect their devices.

 

[Oneechan69]

Researchers recently discovered new Mac malware called OSX/Linker that attempts to exploit a zero-day vulnerability in macOS Gatekeeper to bypass security protections. The malware takes the form of disk image files that link to an app hosted on an external server. It is unclear if the malware was used in any attacks as the app linked to was no longer available when analyzed. However, indicators suggest the malware was created by the developers of the OSX/Surfbuyer adware. Mac users should remain vigilant against malware threats and ensure they have security software that includes real-time scanning to block malware before it can infect their devices.

If that's it, I guess I should've described what it does and to be careful I guess? This malware involves downloading and using a 3rd party DMG, whereas the commands I posted are completely on-device.

 

[GerritV]

Open the Applications folder
Right-click the Freeform app icon
Pick "Show Package Content"
Select Contents / Resources and find the Freeform.icns file
Create your icon, google for "create icns file Mac"
Backup your app (or at least the .icns file inside
Replace the original by your custom
Log out / log in your mac

This method used to work in previous macOS versions - I did not try it on Ventura, so don't blame me if something goes wrong ;-)

 

[Oneechan69]

Open the Applications folder
Right-click the Freeform app icon
Pick "Show Package Content"
Select Contents / Resources and find the Freeform.icns file
Create your icon, google for "create icns file Mac"
Backup your app (or at least the .icns file inside
Replace the original by your custom
Log out / log in your mac

This method used to work in previous macOS versions - I did not try it on Ventura, so don't blame me if something goes wrong ;-)


View attachment 2241514

That in fact does not work, if I did I doubt OP would've posted it in the first place.

 

[iStorm]

Open the Applications folder
Right-click the Freeform app icon
Pick "Show Package Content"
Select Contents / Resources and find the Freeform.icns file
Create your icon, google for "create icns file Mac"
Backup your app (or at least the .icns file inside
Replace the original by your custom
Log out / log in your mac

This method used to work in previous macOS versions - I did not try it on Ventura, so don't blame me if something goes wrong ;-)


View attachment 2241514

Don't think I've seen it done this way before, but I guess it makes sense. Easier way is to just paste the icon/image on the "Get Info" screen (link).

Regardless, neither of these methods will work for this situation. For the past few OS versions, built-in apps are now stored in a read-only volume, along with the OS, and cannot be modified. You can still change app icons for 3rd party apps though.

 

[Oneechan69]

@Turnpike @bogdanw I came across this problem myself, and I actually found a better solution on Reddit: Make a new .app file that symlinks the contents of Safari.app:

mkdir ~/Applications/Safari.app
ln -s /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/ ~/Applications/Safari.app/

@iStorm @GerritV I already posted a working solution though.