October 20th, 2025
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What about the icons in pifmgr.dll?

Raymond Chen
Raymond Chen

Some time ago, I discussed the intended uses of the icons in progman.exe and moricons.dll and we even looked at those icons (progman.exe, moricons.dll).

But what about pifmgr.dll?

The pifmgr.dll file was added in Windows 95. Its job was, as the name might suggest, to manage PIF files, which are Program Information Files that describe how to set up a virtual MS-DOS session for running a specific application.

Whereas the icons in moricons.dll were created with specific programs in mind (list) and the icons in progman.exe were created for general categories of applications, the story behind the icons in pifmgr.dll is much less complicated.

The icons in pifmgr.dll were created just for fun. They were not created with any particular programs in mind, with one obvious exception. They were just a fun mix of icons for people to use for their own homemade shortcut files.

MS-DOS logo MS-DOS logo
Umbrella Umbrella
Play block Play block
Newspaper Newspaper
Apple with bite Apple with bite
Cloud with lightning Cloud with lightning
Tuba Tuba
Beach ball Beach ball
Light bulb Light bulb
Architectural column Architectural column
Money Money
Desktop computer Desktop computer
Keyboard Keyboard
Filing cabinet Filing cabinet
Desk calendar Desk calendar
Clipped documents Clipped documents
Crayon with document Crayon with document
Pencil Pencil
Pencil with document Pencil with document
Dice Dice
Window with clouds Window with clouds
Eye chart with magnifying class Eye chart with magnifying class
Dominos Dominos
Hand holding playing cards Hand holding playing cards
Soccer ball Soccer ball
Purse Purse
Decorated tree with wand Decorated tree with wand
Race car with checkered flag Race car with checkered flag
Cruise ship Cruise ship
Biplane Biplane
Inflatable raft Inflatable raft
Traffic light Traffic light
Rabbit Rabbit
Satellite dish Satellite dish
Crossed swords Crossed swords
Sword and shield Sword and shield
Flail weapon Flail weapon
Dynamite and plunger Dynamite and plunger

I don’t know if it was intentional, but I find it interesting that clouds were the theme image for Windows 95, and we have a window with clouds. At the same time we have an apple with a bite, but the bite is on the left hand side, as opposed to the right hand side in the logo of Apple Computer.

Coincidence? Tip of the hat? Subtle jab? You decide.

Category
Old New Thing
Topics
History

Author

Raymond Chen

Raymond has been involved in the evolution of Windows for more than 30 years. In 2003, he began a Web site known as The Old New Thing which has grown in popularity far beyond his wildest imagination, a development which still gives him the heebie-jeebies. The Web site spawned a book, coincidentally also titled The Old New Thing (Addison Wesley 2007). He occasionally appears on the Windows Dev Docs Twitter account to tell stories which convey no useful information.

3 comments

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  • Adam Jensen

    Sexy. They don’t draw this pixel art anymore.

  • David Loder 40 minutes ago

    Wow, memories. Cruise ship for Civ, swords for Warcraft. Played on a massive 2-foot-tall tower with incredibly heavy monitor.

  • Danielix Klimax 2 hours ago

    Two things:
    Is that a tree or black hat? That wand would suggest it’s more likely an old-school magician’s hat.

    Anyway they were quite popular. Saw them sued frequently.

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