Reverting Mac Dock Icon Problem

Posted on in System Administration

Those that know me may have heard me rant about my "Reverting Mac Dock Icon Problem." The problem is this: I have put a folder on my Dock and every time I log out or reboot, the icon reverts from my custom icon to the default folder icon. To fix the problem I have to Ctl-Click (or right click) on the icon, change it to display as a stack, Ctl-Click again, and change it display as a folder. This problem has confounded me for months.

I finally solved the puzzle last night.

I reset my Dock preferences by removing com.apple.dock.db and com.apple.dock.plist from my Preferences directory ($HOME/Library/Preferences). Logging out and back in gave me a fresh (and ugly) Dock. I then added my folder with the custom icon and logged out again. Magically, everything is working now.

My assumption is that I changed the folder icon some time AFTER adding the folder to the Dock. Therefore, every time I restarted, the Dock used my own preferences against me! I assume that I could have fixed this problem by removing the folder from my Dock, restarting, and adding it back. Anyway, the problem appears to be fixed now.

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