Free Icon Editors

[helmut]

A while back various forum users have been very busy drawing icons for XnView. At that time we have used various icon editors and Dreamer has found the good free "IconCool". Unfortunately IconCool is no longer free.

Can you recommend a good and free icon editor?

[Stitscher]

IconSushi is a nice little freeware icon editor.

But I prefer to draw and save my work as png.
To convert these PNGs I use the commandline tool png2ico.

Stitscher

[Drahken]

http://www.snapfiles.com/Freeware/gmm/fwicontools.html

[Clo]

—> helmut

• Hi !

• I use SnIco Editor which is free and so good.

- You can download it HERE. Just wait for some seconds and the download starts…
- A while ago, I gave it to Pierre in order he studies the *.ICO issues in XnView…
- No feedback about this…

- The programme is multilingual and provides a language editor, so you can correct your language if needed
(that I did, the French was pretty bad !)

• I use IconSushi too, it can create ICLs, but unfortunately, only 16-bit ones. This caused issues in the ß of Vista;
however, I heard yesterday that this has been changed, 16-bit icon-DLLs work in Vista now via a patch …

G.
Claude
Clo

[XnTriq]

Lesmo16's tip (@icon sushi - image to icon converter) has already been brought up here.
With respect to Clo's recommendation (SnIco Edit) I'd like to mention that “SnideSoft.com is down, and (temporarily) replaced by snidesoft.eu”.

• Attila Kovrig: IcoFX
  Update: ckv sez that “2.0.1 is no longer freeware. :?”
  IcoFX is an award winning freeware icon editor. It is an all-in-one solution for icon creation, extraction and editing. It is designed to work with Windows XP and Windows Vista icons supporting transparency.
  With a wealth of tools and more than 40 effects at your fingertips, there’s virtually no limit to the icons you can create. You can convert your favorite images into icons, or icons into images. With IcoFX you can extract icons from other files, including Windows Vista files. You can easily work with multiple files using the batch processing capability of IcoFX.
• X2 Studios: LiquidIcon XP
  LiquidIcon XP is one of the most popular Icon Editors in the world. Best of all, it's completely FREE (no Adware, Spyware, Guaranteed), portable and lightweight, and works on every version of Windows!
• CoffeeCup: Free Icon Studio
  Want to change the dull icons on your desktop? Or maybe you are a developer that needs a better icon editor that comes with your development tools? Free Icon Studio can help you create icons for multiple sizes and color depths. Some features include flip, rotate, import from EXE or DLL, and transparency. Don?t be fooled by how easy this program is to use, as it is more versatile then most icon editors out there.
• Microsoft: AniEdit
  Animated Cursor Editor works together with Image Editor (also included in the Windows 98 Resource Kit) to create animated cursor (.ani) files.
• AxiomX: PixelToolbox
  PixelToolbox is the complete solution for designing desktop graphics for Windows. Create, edit, and apply 1-bit patterns, wallpaper tiles, icons, and cursors - all from a single integrated environment. PixelToolbox offers the standard set of painting tools along with a few filters and features not found in other software. The unique interface, tools, and workflow were engineered to maximize your creative potential.
• HumanBalance: GraphicsGale
  Windows icons, cursors & animated cursors are not supported in the free version :-(
  GraphicsGale is a software for editing raster format image. You can retouch a photo, paint a picture, and so on. Unlike most bitmap editors, GraphicsGale can make an animated image with seeing its preview. This feature must be useful for making an animated GIF or a video game character.
• Lion Tech: IconShop
  IconShop is a librarian that offers the tools to manage ICL icon libraries.
  Read and write ICL icon libraries. Drag and drop files and folders from the Windows Explorer onto the IconShop window to process them. Drag and drop icons or icon images between IconShop windows. Extract icons from Windows icons, cursors, animated cursors, BMP bitmaps, GIF bitmaps, TIFF bitmaps, XPM bitmaps, resources, executables and libraries. Extract icons from Macintosh icons, resources, executables, IconDropper icon packs and Kaleidoscope schemes, including MacOS 8.5 24-bit icons. Export icons to icon, cursor or BMP bitmap format. Tiny executable size.
• Philipp Spöth: DragonFly´s Icon & Cursor Photoshop Format Plug-ins
  With this plugs your host will be able to load and save Windows Cursor and Icon files.
  This plug was intended to result in a usefull icon resource tool. Due to missing functionality in the Photoshop Format plugin type I was not able to make it as good as I wanted it to be. I release the result of that effort anyway because it is enough to load and save simple ico and cur files.

[helmut]

Wow, XnTriq, what an impressive list. Thank you very much! I'll see whether I find the time to try out one or the other icon editor.

Vielen Dank & Gruß, Helmut

[Clo]

—> XnTriq

Hello !

• Still the Best librarian of the Web ! Thanks for that huge job !

- I gave a try to LiquidIcon XP, bad naming, since it doesn't support the 24² size … which exists in Win XP ! English only

• BTW : Yes, the SnIco Editor is nowhere to be found on the site, but I gave the link to a general downloads site (in French) from which you can get it…

KR, Cordialement,
Claude
Clo

[Clo]

—> XnTriq

Hello !

• You have placed the IcoFx soft at the head of the list, and you were right !

- It's a very perfected programme, multilingual using plain ANSI text-files
- BTW, I've translated it into French, this is available already on the download page of the soft (fast Author !).

- I've reported too some minor bugs and lacunæ (some missing strings to translate, especially) but globally, what a wonder !

• I tested to draw a 32 BPP icon with transparency, IT IS displayed in XnView in View¦Preview,
while the ones made converting a 24 BPP (or their BMP-sources) in XnView don't, like I showed in the related threads.

• The best game of this hunting, thanks !

KR
Claude
Clo

[XnTriq]

- BTW, I've translated it into French, this is avalable already on the download page of the soft (fast Author !).

So are you, Clo!

Francais v1.0 - Translation by Claude Charries

I was about to ask how you like it. I totally agree: This one is a keeper!

[helmut]

I've just downloaded IcoFX and think that it's pretty cool: Clean user interface, lots of effects & filters. And support for various icon formats including Windows Vista. Good stuff!

Again, thank you XnTriq for pointing us to this gold mine.

[XnTriq]

@ helmut & Clo:

Do you guys have these bugs too...

• Error message (“Cannot change Visible in OnShow or OnHide”) when switching visibility of the Explorer pane
• Cannot open generic.png

... or is it just me?

[Clo]

—> XnTriq

Hello !

…• Error message (“Cannot change Visible in OnShow or OnHide”) when switching visibility of the Explorer pane

¤ No, here no problem. We miss a handier shortcut, though… AltGr is not supported (instead of Ctrl+Alt), reported lacuna.

…Cannot open generic.png

¤ Your sample is displayed in XnView and other viewers as 38*38 - 8 BPP.
- When attempting to open it in IcoFx, I don't get any error message, but I get the “New icon” dialogue,
preset for a 48² icon…
…which is already totally black for the 38² original area…
- I tested with the image below, PNG 24 BPP :

       

- Still the “New icon” dialogue, with still the wrong size 48² pre-ticked…
- I ticked the right size = 32², then the image is displayed OK as a new icon.
- All is saved in the Registry, that's not very good… and from my point of view, rather a mast in the b** !
• Opinion already reported to the Author…

KR
Claude
Clo

[XnTriq]

Thanks for checking, Clo.

¤ Your sample is displayed in XnView and other viewers as 38*38 - 8 BPP.
- When attempting to open it in IcoFx, I don't get any error message, but I get the “New icon” dialogue,
preset for a 48² icon…
…which is already totally black for the 38² original area…

I don't get any error message either. What I meant to say was that the IcoFX explorer/browser displays the preview of generic.png just fine, but when the image data is imported into the program it gets distorted beyond recognition (black):

• 
  [ Zoom ]

- All is saved in the Registry, that's not very good… and from my point of view, rather a mast in the b** !

Are you sure the settings are saved in the registry? I usually monitor all changes made to the system during installation and first start of a program. One of the reasons why I like IcoFX is the fact that it doesn't rely on DLLs/OCXs or registry entries.

Please look for an IcoFX folder in your %AppData%\IcoFX\ directory. There should be two files:

• colors.dat = BMP file (custom palette)
  config.cfg = INI formatted text file

[Clo]

Hello !

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-1390067357-308236825-682003330-1003\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ComDlg32\OpenSaveMRU\*]
"MRUList"="bgdcjehfia"
"b"="E:\\IcoFx\\Images_test\\reopen.reg"
"d"="K:\\Icones\\Souches24²\\Commandes_fonds\\Ico_FX_USER.bmp"
"e"="K:\\Icones\\24²\\attente_vte.ico"
"g"="K:\\Icones\\24²\\commandes_fond\\Ico_FX_USER.ico"
"h"="E:\\XnVIew_190_beta\\skins\\Mus_Musculus\\Ico_plus\\Extract_movie_extraire_animation.ico"
"i"="E:\\IcoFx\\Projets\\coloured_tools.png"
"a"="E:\\IcoFx\\Images_test\\13_convert-multi_convertir-lot.png"
"c"="K:\\Icones\\24²\\Progammes_divers_fonds\\Ico_fx_24bg.ico"
"f"="E:\\Courrier\\IcoFx\\Discussion_about_IcoFx---.htm"
"j"="K:\\Icones\\Souches24²\\Divers_progrs_fonds\\Ico_fx_24bg.bmp

• Like you can see above, the Recent files (and some others ?) list is saved also in the registry,
because the soft uses some Win function from the ComDlg32.dll library…

• At the first start up, I checked the <User> mess, and the folder of IcoFx was not created yet.
- It has been later, and I've this rathole too… Here :
E:\Documents and Settings\CLAUDE\Application Data\IcoFX\
- Such a path sucks a lot… I'd to set a button in Total Commander to reach it easily ! I never install any programme in "Program Files", I'm the only user-admin of my PC, so I would prefer the CFG file in the folder of the soft,
with an Option like XnView offers…
• Requested, wait and see…

• Point #1 : You were talking of an error message to switch the Explorer, were you not ? I've not that issue.

• Point #2 : Like I said above, I get the same when importing your sample.
- Plus the fact that before I have set the size as Custom >> 38², and that I got a default 48² coming from… nowhere =
- When you set a rectangular image and untick [ ] “Square”, you get a square canvas as the largest side size,
and the Square box is ticked again by itself when you verify…

- I reported too some cosmetical¦comfort issues, pending too…

- The source-file of the CHM help is a binary whatsit needing to install another soft to translate, no, thanks…
- So if I don't get normal HTML or even TXT sources, then no French help, sorry. Pending too…

FR
Claude
Clo

[XnTriq]

Hello Clo!

Sorry about the delayed response.

• Like you can see above, the Recent files (and some others ?) list is saved also in the registry,
because the soft uses some Win function from the ComDlg32.dll library…

Yes, of course. But this is — as the name indicates — a common, not an application-specific MRU list. Every Windows program that accesses files through Explorer-style dialog boxes temporarily leaves its traces in this particular registry key upon opening and saving.
I was referring to programs like CDBurnerXP Pro 3 which comes with a trailer load of exotic DLLs + ActiveX controls, dumping tons of entries into the registry.

• At the first start up, I checked the <User> mess, and the folder of IcoFx was not created yet.
- It has been later, and I've this rathole too… Here :
E:\Documents and Settings\CLAUDE\Application Data\IcoFX\
- Such a path sucks a lot… I'd to set a button in Total Commander to reach it easily ! I never install any programme in "Program Files", I'm the only user-admin of my PC, so I would prefer the CFG file in the folder of the soft,
with an Option like XnView offers…
• Requested, wait and see…

I certainly don't want to get into a discussion about the pros & cons of always running as administrator or the risks involved therein.
However, let me say this: One can't blame developers for being security-conscious and writing software that adheres to the principle of least privilege. Unlike some other programs IcoFX is fortunately non-admin/LUA friendly by complying to XP's User Data & Settings Management and Vista's User Account Control requirements.

Just put a shortcut to the “rathole” into the program folder and you're set.

• Point #1 : You were talking of an error message to switch the Explorer, were you not ? I've not that issue.

When I rapidly toggle the visibility of IcoFX's explorer panel (Ctrl+Alt+E) an error messages pops up, sometimes followed by a second one:

• “Cannot change Visible in OnShow or OnHide.”
• “Cannot focus a disabled or invisible window.”

This occurs with both v1.5 and v1.5.01.