Editing Icon (computing) (section)

== Icon creation ==
Because of the design requirements, icon creation can be a time-consuming and costly process. There are a plethora of icon creation tools to be found on the Internet, ranging from professional level tools through utilities bundled with software development programs to stand-alone freeware.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dmoz.org/Computers/Software/Desktop_Customization/Utilities/Icons/|title=''Open Dictionary Desktop Customization: Icons'', 10 May 2011}}</ref> Given this wide availability of icon tools and icon sets, a problem can arise with custom icons which are mismatched in style to the other icons included on the system.

=== Tools ===

Icons underwent a change in appearance from the early 8-bit [[pixel art]] used pre-2000 to a more photorealistic appearance featuring effects such as softening, sharpening, edge enhancement, a glossy or glass-like appearance, or drop shadows which are rendered with an [[alpha channel]].

Icon editors used on these early platforms usually contain a rudimentary [[raster image editor]] capable of modifying images of an icon pixel by pixel, by using simple drawing tools, or by applying simple image filters. Professional icon designers seldom modify icons inside an icon editor and use a more advanced drawing or 3D modeling application instead.

The main function performed by an icon editor is generation of icons from images. An icon editor resamples a source image to the resolution and color depth required for an icon. Other functions performed by icon editors are icon extraction from executable files (exe, dll), creation of icon libraries, or saving individual images of an icon.

All icon editors can make icons for system files (folders, text files, etc.), and for web pages.
These have a file extension of .[[ICO (icon image file format)|ICO]] for Windows and web pages or .[[Apple Icon Image|ICNS]] for the Macintosh. If the editor can also make a cursor, the image can be saved with a file extension of .[[ICO (icon image file format)|CUR]] or .[[ANI (file format)|ANI]] for both Windows and the Macintosh.  Using a new icon is simply a matter of moving the image into the correct file folder and using the system tools to select the icon. In Windows XP you could go to My Computer, open Tools on the explorer window, choose Folder Options, then File Types, select a file type, click on Advanced and select an icon to be associated with that file type.

Developers also use icon editors to make icons for specific program files. Assignment of an icon to a newly created program is usually done within the [[Integrated Development Environment]] used to develop that program. However, if one is creating an application in the [[Windows API]] he or she can simply add a line to the program's resource script before compilation. Many icon editors can copy a unique icon from a program file for editing. Only a few can assign an icon to a program file, a much more difficult task. There are also resource editing tools that allow users to extract or replace icons embedded in Windows executable files, such as [[Resource Hacker]] or [[Resource Tuner]].

Simple icon editors and image-to-icon converters are also available online as [[web application]]s.

=== List of tools ===
{{See also|List of 2D graphics software}}
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This is a list of notable computer icon software.
* [[Axialis IconWorkshop]] – Supports both Windows and Mac icons. (Commercial, Windows)
* [[IcoFX]] – Icon editor supporting Windows Vista and Macintosh icons with PNG compression (Commercial, Windows)
* [[IconBuilder]] – Plug-in for Photoshop; focused on Mac. (Commercial, Windows/Mac)
* [[Microangelo Toolset]] – a set of tools (Studio, Explorer, Librarian, Animator, On Display) for editing Windows icons and cursors. (Commercial, Windows)
* [[Visual Studio|Microsoft Visual Studio]] - can author [[ICO (file format)|ICO/CUR]] files but cannot edit 32-bit icon frames with 8-bit transparency.<ref>{{cite web |title=Resource editors - Image Editor for Icons (C++) |url=https://learn.microsoft.com/cpp/windows/image-editor-for-icons |website=Microsoft Learn |date=11 November 2021 |access-date=29 November 2022 |language=en-us}}</ref> (Commercial, Windows)

The following is a list of raster graphic applications capable of creating and editing icons:
* [[GIMP]] – Image Editor Supports reading and writing Windows [[ICO (file format)|ICO/CUR]]/[[ANI (file format)|ANI]] files and [[Portable Network Graphics|PNG]] files that can be converted to Mac [[Apple Icon Image format|.icns files]]. ([[Open-source software|Open Source]], [[Free software|Free Software]], [[Cross-platform|Multi-Platform]])
* [[ImageMagick]] and [[GraphicsMagick]] – Command Line image conversion & generation that can be used to create [[ICO (file format)|Windows ICO files]] and [[Portable Network Graphics|PNG]] files that can be converted to Mac [[Apple Icon Image format|.ICNS files]]. ([[Open-source software|Open Source]], [[Free software|Free Software]], [[Cross-platform|Multi-Platform]])
* [[IrfanView]] – Support converting graphic file formats into Windows ICO files. (Proprietary, free for non-commercial use, Windows)
* [[ResEdit]] – Supports creating [[classic Mac OS]] icon [[resource fork|resources]]. (Proprietary, Discontinued, Classic Mac OS)