1. A method of operating a computer system having a display screen, the method comprising the steps of: constructing a window on said display screen; displaying an icon comprising at least two icon components within said window, wherein at least one of said at least two icon components is a user-modifiable non-text icon component; for each said user-modifiable non-text icon component, selecting an object from a set of objects for representing said user-modifiable non-text icon component by using a pointing device to select a window element associated with said user-modifiable non-text icon component, wherein only one object from said set of objects is displayed on said display screen during said selecting step; and for each said user-modifiable non-text icon component, responsive to said selecting, modifying said icon by overlaying said selected object on said icon, wherein said modifying occurs automatically without additional input from a user following said selecting; wherein said modifying each said user-modifiable non-text icon component does not effect a modification of any other ones of said at least two icon components.