Change Vivaldi icon in the task bar

vmtxx

patman0227

@STALL0EVAN Thank you!!
I didn't know about vivaldi://apps
I've been wanting to manage my website shortcuts, and found this is the place to do it! This is where the website shortcuts live that are created when you right click a tab and click 'create shortcut.'
I meant to mark a shortcut to open in a new window, and tried deleting the shortcut. I then found that I was unable to right click the tab and select 'create shortcut,' which was frustrating.

I found your post and it lead me my website shortcuts, and I was able to right click and go to Settings to manage my shortcuts, and update my desired shortcut to open in a new window.

So thanks again!

KulaGGin

@stardepp said in Change Vivaldi icon in the task bar:

@Primokorn

This doesn't change the icon in the task bar. This only changes the icon of the shortcut.
When you double click on the shortcut, the browser is launched with the icon of the executable in the taskbar, not with the icon of the shortcut.

KulaGGin

@stardepp said in Change Vivaldi icon in the task bar:

This is my very first self made gif

Same here. This only changes the icon of the shortcut in the taskbar that you use to run the actual browser, this doesn't change the icon of the running program when you launch it.

KulaGGin

@Pathduck said in Change Vivaldi icon in the task bar:

AFAIK the only way to change the icon for a running program is to change the icon in the executable itself, this can be done but has to be done on every update...

What can be created is a program that changes Vivaldi's icon dynamically during runtime. Then we wrap it in a proxy DLL.
So, what happens then:

User drops ntdll.dll(our custom icon-changing proxy dll) and Vivaldi.ico in the same folder with the executable.
User runs Vivaldi.exe.
Windows loads our custom ntdll.dll, which changes the icon at startup but also works same as the original ntdll.dll that Vivaldi.exe imports.

That's it. Also, works after Vivaldi.exe updates for as long as it uses ntdll.dll.

This way we should be able to get different icons for different standalone versions and won't have to update icons with every update.

DoctorG

@KulaGGin said in Change Vivaldi icon in the task bar:

User drops ntdll.dll

Oh yes, user runs unsiged, unsafe third-party software with kernel access. Good way to trojanise Windows for spying and backdorr access.

KulaGGin

@DoctorG said in Change Vivaldi icon in the task bar:

@KulaGGin said in Change Vivaldi icon in the task bar:

User drops ntdll.dll

Oh yes, user runs unsiged, unsafe third-party software with kernel access.
Good way to trojanise a Windows.

This kind of project would to be open-source, so users can build it themselves and see what's happening. This kind of a program would only be like 50 lines of code.
Application dlls(the .dll files) don't have kernel access. Only drivers do. Windows loader won't even load unsigned driver even if the .dll files were a driver.

No need to express your opinion when you don't really understand what you're talking about.

DoctorG

@KulaGGin And where is your DLL now with source to check?

pelaird

@Primokorn

In Windows 10 Pro:

Create a shortcut to the Vivaldi application and change the icon of the shortcut using the Properties dialog. Once you have the icon changed, drag that shortcut to "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs"

It may be necessary to restart Explorer for the change to take effect.

This will change the icon in the All Apps section of the Start Menu and on the Taskbar when you open Vivaldi.

Pathduck

@KulaGGin Sounds like you're volunteering to write such a tool

@pelaird Unfortunately, this will only change the start menu/task bar icon, not the icon of the running program.

Hadden89

@DoctorG would be a modding tool, they always been in a gray area. Also, windows will pretty much try to remove it or act unstable, harder with current OS shields.
I don't think a source for a reverse engineered dll can exist

DoctorG

@KulaGGin said in Change Vivaldi icon in the task bar:

No need to express your opinion when you don't really understand what you're talking about.

It was your unfamilar post, not mine.
Is this a idea, a Proof-of-Conecpt or a existing project in Alpha state? Tell us.

DoctorG

@Hadden89 said in Change Vivaldi icon in the task bar:

Also, windows will pretty much try to remove it or act unstable, harder with current OS shields.

Yes, i think DLL side-loading protection of several security apps will hinder such user-created ntdll.dll to work.

pelaird

@Pathduck

The OP was asking for a way to change the Vivaldi icon in the taskbar because he uses a dark taskbar.

Dhry

Posted about the problem of the nightly builds of Vivaldi having a black built-in icon (instead of red) on Mastodon recently, and briefly spoke with Vivaldi Support on there. They directed me to this thread.

I solved the issue and will post how I did it here. But first:

Icons for shortcuts on the Windows desktop, and "pinned" icons in the taskbar, are NOT the same thing as what I wanted to achieve. I think some people on this thread understand that, but others do/did not.
The icon for "regular" Vivaldi is red. The icon for "desktop snapshot" Vivaldi is black. These icons are not changeable via normal options. They are hard-coded.

That being said:

The first thing I did was look through Vivaldi's comprehensive customization/theme options looking for the ability to change the actual app icon, that appears when the app is running in the taskbar. Honestly I didn't think it was possible to change it in its built-in config, this is rare for ANY Windows app. The most I've ever seen possible is where an app allows you to change the icon it displays for itself in the systray area itself - not the taskbar.
Vivaldi support suggested I rightclick the taskbar footprint when the app is running, then rightclick the name and change the icon there, from Properties. This is not correct - that only changes the pinned icon (like a shortcut icon). NOT the built-in icon which is black.
Busted out Resource Hacker for the next step in solving the issue. It's a free download from here - https://www.angusj.com/resourcehacker/
Ran the app, found my Vivaldi executable (in my case, C:\Users\Dhry\AppData\Local\Vivaldi\Application\vivaldi.exe) and dragged the exe into Resource Hacker.
Expanded the - Icon folder on the left, and voila. There were the black Vivaldi icons, as internal resources in the app.
I found a red Vivaldi.ico file. Don't remember where from - I think actually it was from here - https://icon-icons.com/icon/vivaldi-browser-logo/152945 - downloaded the 128px ico file.
Rightclick the Icon folder in Resource Hacker and select Replace Icon. Choose Open File with New Icon. Find and load your vivaldi.ico file. Click replace. Boom, resource is now the red icon.
Went to File/Save and saved out the new Vivaldi executable.
Ran it and was disappointed to see that the taskbar icon was still black! Meaning - the red vivaldi image was in a different resource than vivaldi.exe. Not uncommon but whatever. Now I had to find the resource it was from.
Luck and intuition helped me find the correct file on the very next try. I found a folder containing a stack of Vivaldi resource files. On my system the folder was C:\Users\Dhry\AppData\Local\Vivaldi\Application\6.9.3425.3
In that folder is a vivaldi.dll file. Gut feel told me that that would be likely to be the file that needed the resource replaced.
I was right! Drag vivaldi.dll from that folder into Resource Hacker and voila, there was the black icon again. Repeat the previous steps, rightclick on Icon folder, replace icon, use the red vivaldi.ico file, save out the modified vivaldi.dll file.
Run vivaldi.exe and lo and behold, I now have the red icon.

This was all done due to my OCD. I have too many black or darker icons for my apps in the tasktray and have gotten used to looking for the red icon for my browser. Black is too close to my XYPlorer icon, Sublime Text and several others. Now I'm happy.

Before doing the above modifications, of course make sure that Vivaldi is not running or you likely won't be able to modify the files as they'll be in use.

FWIW. Hope this helps folk.

Dhry

Pathduck

@Dhry Well done

But... cough cough
https://forum.vivaldi.net/post/437118
I suggested that tool oh about 3 or so years ago

Trouble is, you're on Snapshots, so while it's been quiet lately with the summer holidays, Snapshots are usually released several times a week. You'll have to redo this process every time.

OCD or not, better to pride yourself on being the elite Snapshot testers with the nice dark icon

Oh and they're not "nightly builds" - they're Snapshots, not the same thing.

Dhry

@Pathduck said in Change Vivaldi icon in the task bar:

But... cough cough
https://forum.vivaldi.net/post/437118
I suggested that tool oh about 3 or so years ago

I know, I read your post mentioning the app. But the post didn't have the specific instructions on how to use it to achieve the desired end result. I found out where to change the icon (not vivaldi.exe) and wrote up the instructions in case anyone explicitly needed to know how to do this, which was the original ask.

OCD or not, better to pride yourself on being the elite Snapshot testers with the nice dark icon

Disagree. I wouldn't have gone through this process and spent an hour or so of my life if I thought I could live with an incorrectly-colored icon. Happy to repeat the process anytime needed as it takes seconds, but I don't plan on upgrading that frequently anyway. Could likely be automated with AutoHotKey anyway.

Oh and they're not "nightly builds" - they're Snapshots, not the same thing.

Potato potahto.

edwardp

@Dhry said in Change Vivaldi icon in the task bar:

Luck and intuition helped me find the correct file on the very next try. I found a folder containing a stack of Vivaldi resource files. On my system the folder was C:\Users\Dhry\AppData\Local\Vivaldi\Application\6.9.3425.3

6.9.3425.3 is Vivaldi Snapshot, icon.

Stable is still on 6.8, icon.

Dhry

@edwardp said in Change Vivaldi icon in the task bar:

@Dhry said in Change Vivaldi icon in the task bar:

Luck and intuition helped me find the correct file on the very next try. I found a folder containing a stack of Vivaldi resource files. On my system the folder was C:\Users\Dhry\AppData\Local\Vivaldi\Application\6.9.3425.3

6.9.3425.3 is Vivaldi Snapshot, icon.

Stable is still on 6.8, icon.

And if you follow my instructions, Vivaldi Snapshot too will have icon.

cssyphus

Further to @Dhry's great instructions above - and Thanks, Dhry, for providing those! - here is what worked on my system.

Before you start, make a backup copy of [ C:\Program Files\Vivaldi\Application\6.9.3447.51\vivaldi.dll ].

Download / Open the [ ResourceHacker ] app (see/read Dhry's post above)
In ResourceHacker, open [ C:\Program Files\Vivaldi\Application\6.9.3447.51\vivaldi.dll ] (of course, your version of Vivaldi will have a different folder name)
In the left-panel folder tree, double-click the [ Icon ] folder
Right-click on folder [ 1 : 1033 ] -- this is the icon for the taskbar icon
Choose [ Replace icon ]
Click [ Open File With New Icon ] button (you are replacing icon [ 101 ] )
Use the Open dialog to choose the new icon. Note that the new icon must be a 16 x 16 .ico file. I used GIMP 2.x to create what I needed and EXPORTED it as a 16x16 .ico file
Save and exit

If you did it right, Vivaldi will now have a different taskbar icon . . . if you did summat wrong, that is what the backup is for.

For those wondering WHY anyone would want to do this: I am not as young as ... well, YOU ... and my older, lazy, lasered, leathered eyeballs sometimes complain about distinguishing the Brave icon from the Vivaldi icon (I have several browsers open at once). Since Jon VonT did not jump at my idea of changing the Vivaldi icon to something I preferred, I had to do it myself. That's why. Wait 'til you get old... you'll understand.