Opinions sought…how make PC desktop ICONS?

GC
Posted By
George_C.
Feb 27, 2004
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683
Replies
8
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Closed
Am using Windows XP-Pro. Is it possible to create icons like the ones on the desktop… like for instance, an icon with my company logo? Are there rules like __x__ pixels for size.

Is it possible to "retrieve" something like the generic icon with the yellow folder, then open it up in a graphics program like Photoshop, put a logo on it, save it under new name, then put on desktop as a shortcut.

Would this be a Photoshop kind of thing, or Illustrator, or something else? Thanks
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Sandy_J
Feb 27, 2004
I’m not familiar with XP, but in other Win versions you can create anything to use as an icon. It’s best to keep it square (as it will stretch otherwise). I’ve had luck with index (system) colors and saving as a .bmp, then rename the extension .ico and point to it in the properties>change icon area of the shortcut.
JM
John_Mensinger
Feb 27, 2004
George, yes, icons are essentially just graphics that can be created in just about any software, but you should check into a icon editor. A number of very good ones are available as shareware. Do a search for ‘Icon Editor’ at ZDNet, CNet’s Download.com, etc.
GC
George_C.
Feb 27, 2004
Great ideas! Sure enough I searched PC for *.ico and lots of icons came up in many folders. Just a few questions if someone might know…

1) Are icons only changeable if they are for shortcuts? I right clicked a shortcut, clicked properties, and got the familiar "Change icon" button… which is easy to point to something else…which means I could put new custom-icons about anywhere to point to. But if you save an actual Word document to your desktop, the icon is NOT a SHORTCUT per se (rather, it gives a Word-looking icon representing an actual FILE)…and right clicking for properties brings up an entirely different window…nothing I could see in there about icons. So, does it HAVE to be a shortcut to be changeable?

2) Can anyone offer another confirmation of good experience on just changing .ico to .bmp. This would make it extremely easy, if this is an orthodox way of doing this, and there aren’t any consequences or loss of some feature/attribute or something by using a forced change-by-renaming.

3) Wondered what the benefits of using an icon-maker package would be…seems like if it’s as easy as above, why would anyone need one? If its just to "organize" icons…well not much value. If its to get a graphics package…well that’s what Photoshop is for, right.

4) Just an FYI to help others… Another site says…"Icons come in three different sizes: 16×16, 32×32, and 48×48. 32×32 is the default, the size you see on your desktop. To create icons for your system tray or taskbar, go with 16×16." So there’s the size for Photoshop.
DM
dave_milbut
Feb 27, 2004
an associated document file, like a word doc or a psd photoshop image will generally take the icon of the app that opens them.

and there aren’t any consequences or loss of some feature/attribute or something by using a forced change-by-renaming.

there are loss of features. an ico file is really a collection of bmps that differ according to the screen res and color depth. if you only have one bmp in there so be it, but it can cause problems on occasion.

Wondered what the benefits of using an icon-maker package would be…

fully supported icons. see this page for everything an icon needs to do… scroll down to ico and download the document.

<http://www.wotsit.org/search.asp?page=19&s=ALLFILES>
RH
r_harvey
Feb 27, 2004
an ico file is really a collection of bmps that differ according to the screen res and color depth.

With transparency.

if you only have one bmp in there so be it, but it can cause problems on occasion.

Scaling or uglification, depending on the size and color depth.
SW
Susan_Walters
Feb 27, 2004
Just yesterday, I bought the program MicroAngelo, about $60 for the deluxe version. It’s been loads of fun, making icons & cursors. No learning curve to speak of, but it takes most of a day to learn some of the finer points of making good icons. Generally, an icon file has several sizes saved in the same *.ico file, for small & large icons, etc. But the most common size seems to be 32×32 pixels, which adapts nicely to both large & small icon representations.

Interestingly, the best looking icons I’ve been able to make start out as actual photo-type images. You get much better depth of color (even with just 256 colors), than I can create by drawing from scratch.

I think there’s a demo version of Microangelo, and there’s another shareware program called Icon Maker that works pretty well.
DM
dave_milbut
Feb 28, 2004
thanks for more clearly defining my points r_. I really like uglification. Is that a graphic designers term? : )
FN
Fred_Nirque
Feb 28, 2004
Look at Axialis icon workshop. It is brilliant for creating XP icons.

<http://www.axialis.com/iconworkshop/index.html>

You might also try a tweaker such as Xteq (free) to enable easy replacement of drive icons etc. which are not normally changeable in the standard XP settings, plus a host of other tweaks that M$ should have thought about.

<http://www.xteq.com/>

And if you want your whole interface to no longer look like anything to do with M$, take a look at StyleXP – download it here:

< http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_description/0,fid,2234 9,00.asp >

Additionals here:

<http://www.customize.org/list/stylexp>

Fred.

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