A lightweight GUI based .ico file creator that supports mixed icon sizes, and provides fine-grained control over source images and automatic image resizing.
The standard sizes Windows expects (and recommends) for inclusion in a desktop icon are already selected by default. If you intend to use the icon with Godot, you should also select x64
and x128
under Extended
sizes.
For a breakdown of what each image-size is intended for, see this relevant Microsoft design document
Source-images can be loaded by clicking the load (up-arrow) button for an image-size. A source-image of any size can be used on any output image-size, although it's best to choose the closest in size or a size that's a multiple of the source, to reduce quality-loss due to resizing.
If a source-image is no longer required, it can be removed by clicking the remove (X)
button for an output image-size.
Source-images do not need to be resized variants of each-other. In fact, it's often recommended that different designs be used for various icon sizes, to improve readability. Some programs have been known to hide easter-eggs by hiding different images in uncommon icon sizes.
For image-sizes that don't have a source-image, ICOGen will attempt to find a best-match and use that. This can be overridden by manually selecting a source-image from the SOURCES
drop-down for that image-size. Image-sizes that have a source-image loaded cannot have their source-image overridden, instead it will display the source-image used.
The interpolation-mode drop-down changes how the corresponding image-size will resize the source-image it uses. Play around with this setting to see which mode works best for your current situation. Different styles work better with different interpolation-modes.
As an example, the ICOGen icon is in a pixel-art style and resizes the clearest when using NEAREST
, whereas CUBIC
as shown in the image above, introduces noticeable blurriness.
Once you have an icon you're happy with, you can generate the corresponding .ico
by pressing the [GENERATE ICO FILE]
button. If you'd like to save your icon in an editable format you can load and edit again later, click the [EXPORT ICOGEN]
button to generate a .icogen
file that can be imported later to make additional changes. Load an existing .icogen
file by clicking the [IMPORT ICOGEN]
button.
When you export a .icogen
file, it doesn't embed any source-images. When loaded, ICOGen will look for the source-images at their original location and in the same directory as the .icogen
file if the image isn't found.
If you'd like any additional info or licensing/copyright information, click the info (i)
button.
ICOGen was developed for use in our own projects. The .ico for ICOGen was generated by ICOGen.
- Better error-handling. Currently errors are printed to the output log, but issues like missing images should show a warning in-program and potentially give the user an attempt to fix on-the-spot.
- Check for changes in source-images and auto-refresh them. Currently an image must be cleared and loaded again to show any changes made on disk.
- Support auto-updates, or at minimum the ability to check for updates and allow the user to visit the download page and manually update.
- Add theme support. Preferably support for native Godot themes due to the large pre-existing catalog of available themes.