MacOS – Where did these missing OS X application icons go

dockiconmacos

On my Mac mini, app icons have gone missing for some apps (Terminal, Chrome, Spotify, Skype) from the Dock and elsewhere.

See a screenshot of the Dock. When I hover over the empty spots, I can see the names of the apps and launch them normally.

And here's one of the app switcher (it was kind of challenging to take this with cmd-shift-3, btw):

alt text

I don't remember doing anything special to make OS X lose the icons.

At first I thought it was some temporary glitch, but logging out & back in didn't help, and neither did rebooting the machine.

Upgrade from 10.6.4 to 10.6.5 didn't improve the situation either. Anyone have ideas how I could fix this?

Best Answer

If restarting and all that doesn't help, here's how i fixed mine.

  1. Open finder.
  2. Go to /Applications.
  3. Drag the offending application to the desktop to create a shortcut.
  4. Shortcut should have the proper icon.
  5. Right click shortcut and click on Get info.

  6. Click on the icon on the top left of the info view. Example:

    See Example

  7. When icon is selected (blue highlight), hit Cmd+C to copy it. Example:

    See example

  8. Delete shortcut (not necessary).

  9. Go back to /Applications in finder.
  10. Right click on the offending application.
  11. Click Get info.
  12. Notice the place where the icon should be Top left.
  13. Click on that location to highlight it.
  14. Press Cmd+V

You should now see your icon again.

Tip: This method can also be used to change any icon to something else and customise your Mac !

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