# Updating existing apps

## The basics

You can help the project without any knowledge of how to create icons or code. Each app and its icon corresponds to a line in a file called the *appfilter.xml*. These lines look like this:

{% code overflow="wrap" %}

```xml
<item component="ComponentInfo{com.donnnno.arcticons/com.donnnno.arcticons.activities.MainActivity}" drawable="arcticons"/>
```

{% endcode %}

The first part tells us which app we're working with:

<mark style="color:red;">`com.donnnno.arcticons`</mark><mark style="color:blue;">`/com.donnnno.arcticons.activities.MainActivity`</mark>

And the last part corresponds to the icons:

<mark style="color:blue;">`drawable="`</mark><mark style="color:red;">`arcticons`</mark><mark style="color:blue;">`"/>`</mark>

We can change the *drawable* name to the name we want, as long as there's an icon for it.

You can find the appfilter file located inside `newicons/appfilter.xml`

## Add possible updates

Knowing the basics, we can add new entries to the appfilter.

Apps change their code constantly, that means that often the link with the icon breaks, that's why there's the [possible updates](https://arcticons.com/dashboard/updatable) tab at our request dashboard.

<figure><img src="https://1579052187-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F2RrVVBRQ3dxPE4yo9gYS%2Fuploads%2FobrXgLDEPTAr0Zt9KR8m%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=c4d05b06-757d-40b1-85fe-27fc2a051533" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

On your local copy of Arcticons, open the appfilter.xml and search for the package name.

<figure><img src="https://1579052187-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F2RrVVBRQ3dxPE4yo9gYS%2Fuploads%2FWZFJ6d5HvFpv3t2UxA4w%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=35460225-c0ae-4342-ace0-c69a6a251ef3" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

As you can see, the package name is in there, so we can paste our update by pressing the copy button, and pasting it above or below the existing entry.

<figure><img src="https://1579052187-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F2RrVVBRQ3dxPE4yo9gYS%2Fuploads%2FFmIku26jT1iG5i9GRhjD%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=83723d8c-521c-44f4-a2d1-cd14c5bb4c4a" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Be sure to change the drawable name so that it's the same as the already existing one, in our case "browser".

### Get the Appfilter code for your app

You want to update an appfilter code for an app installed on your phone and don't  know how to get it.&#x20;

{% content-ref url="the-iconrequest-app/gather-the-appfilter-code-for-an-installed-app" %}
[gather-the-appfilter-code-for-an-installed-app](https://docs.arcticons.com/contribute/the-iconrequest-app/gather-the-appfilter-code-for-an-installed-app)
{% endcontent-ref %}

## Connect generic apps to existing icons

There are many apps that don't *need* their own icon because they can use a generic one. This gives Arcticons the ability to have support for even more apps.

By searching through our [massive request list](https://arcticons.com/dashboard/requests) for apps that have similar icons to existing ones, you can link them. Below there are examples of what we consider generic apps:

* bible&#x20;
* browser&#x20;
* calendar&#x20;
* camera&#x20;
* chess
* cleaner&#x20;
* clock&#x20;
* contacts&#x20;
* download&#x20;
* gallery&#x20;
* launcher&#x20;
* keyboard&#x20;
* kwgt&#x20;
* mail
* mediaplayer&#x20;
* messages&#x20;
* music&#x20;
* office&#x20;
* phone&#x20;
* quran&#x20;
* sudoku
* vpn&#x20;
* wallpaper&#x20;
* weather

View the GitHub guide on how to add updates to the appfilter:

{% content-ref url="github-guide" %}
[github-guide](https://docs.arcticons.com/contribute/github-guide)
{% endcontent-ref %}