pingel

Join Date 06/2010

Support Favicons

This is more a suggestion than issue:

Windows (for some weird reason) still doesn't support favicons. This means that when I drag a URL from my web-browser to my desktop, it will show the icon for my currently chosen default browser, and not the favicon from the actual website I am dragging it from.

It will actually show the facicon while I am dragging, right up until I release my mouse button, and then it becomes this dull and useless either Chrome, Edge, or Firefox icon.

This is an opportunity for Stardock to update some of your software packages, to include an option to always try to check the URL, and see if there is a favicon assigned, and replace the icon on the shortcut with that actual icon. That would be a really great addition to either fences, object desktop, or maybe a function for an updated Icon Packager software.

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Hello,
I have forwarded your request to the Stardock Support Team for their review and recommendations. Please keep an eye on this thread for any updates. We really do appreciate your feedback, Thanks

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant.

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sdrohan

Join Date 10/2012

+674

Thank you for the request, I will document it.

Sean Drohan
Stardock Product Lifecycle Manager

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There is a small workaround in Chrome to achieve your end goal.

Three dots in upper right > More tools > Create Shortcut...

You'll be presented with an option to rename the shortcut from the page default, and an option for "Open as window" which defaults to off.

This will create a shortcut on the desktop, with the favicon used as the shortcut icon.

With "Open as window" set to off, this shortcut will open as a tab - either in a current browser window, or it will launch a default browser window if one is not open. This version of the shortcut will operate no different than a standard tab in Chrome.

With "Open as window" set to on, this shortcut will open a new and specialized window of Chrome in Application Mode, where the tab bar is hidden, and some other specialized settings are applied. This version of the shortcut will operate as a separate application in Windows, appearing on the taskbar using the favicon.

Chrome achieves this by storing the favicon and some other bits of data locally in:

%AppData%\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Web Applications

Hope that helps!

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I am familiar with this solution from Chrome as well as a similar one for Edge.

The problem here is that you get a shortcut to Chrome with some cryptic parameters and not a shortcut to the URL. That means you can't share the link with others, and you can't copy the link to your other computers, etc. Also, an issue if you have to upgrade your computer - i.e., a new laptop or complete OS refresh. You will have to regenerate those links from scratch again.

It would be much nicer if Windows (or some add-on) would generally support favicons.

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Quoting pingel,

reply 4

Hence why the solution posted is labeled "a workaround". It was also posted for those who may not be familiar with said workaround.

It's certainly not ideal, and there are some caveats, but it does solve the issue. To quote the famous philosophizers Richards and Jagger, "You can't always get what you want. But if you try sometimes... well, you might find, you get what you need."

Quoting pingel,

reply 4

It would be much nicer if Windows (or some add-on) would generally support favicons.

Absolutely agreed.

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