Some icons are pretty much universally recognized by now. Examples that come to mind are a ? for help, trash can for delete, x for close, or magnifying glass for search.
Many of these are microsoft icons that are just so widely recognized that they can be used elsewhere for specific actions without explanation (or copyright infringement).
Currently I am looking for an icon whose meaning would be “change this”. I could use a(delta) triangle, but I think that would be confusing, as it is often used for more info or expand this.
I can also design a new icon …
But is there a standards for icon images? Or a least, a best practices? If so, can you provide me a link or the name of a book?
Microsoft and Apple have UX design guidelines that detail such things and much more.