Index
Icon Library Builder Index

Introduction

General use and operation

Operations

Adding icons to ICL file

Deleting icons from ICL files

Exiting ICL Builder

Exporting icons

Importing bitmap files

Opening ICL files

Opening ICO files

Opening EXE,DLL files

Saving ICL files

Setting a default icon directory


General use and operation

Icon Library (ICL) Builder allows you to build and maintain icon libraries for use with CEO:Desktop Manager and any other programs which are able to extract icons from files.  ICL Builder is capable of extracting icons from icon files (.ico), executable files (.exe) and dynamic link libraries (.dll) for use in icon libraries.  It can also be used to export icons from libraries to either .ico files or .bmp files.

ICL Builder allows you to create as many icon libraries as you desire with up to 1000 icons in each library.  You may add new icons or delete unwanted icons from any icl file created.

To edit an icl, simply load it into the 'To' list box using the associated 'Open' button.  Using the 'From' list box, you can load icons from ico files, exe files, dll files or any other icl library available.  Once loaded, any icon displayed in the 'From' list box may be added to the 'To' list box using the 'Add' or 'Add All' buttons.  The 'Save' or 'Save As' buttons may be used to save the new or modified icl file once completed.

Note that if working with very large icon libraries, such as ones containing 1000 icons, you need large amounts of hard drive space and free system memory.  For instance, a 1000 icon library file requires about 1 meg of hard drive space and 1 meg of system memory to load into ICL Builder.  Its recommended you do not store more than 500 icons in any one icon library to keep system demands from becoming too excessive.

Finally, you may export individual icons as bitmaps which then may be edited using a program such as PaintBrush.  After editing, the bitmap may be imported into ICL Builder as an icon.  The only drawback in using this method to edit icons is that bitmaps do not support transparency masks.  This means any icon created or edited in this manner will always appear as a 32x32 bit square.

For instructions on registering ICL Builder see the readme file or the orderfrm.txt file.

To un-install ICL Builder delete the files iclbuild.exe and iclbuild.hlp.  There may also be a section named [ICL Builder] in your win.ini file that may be deleted.


Adding icons to ICL files

1. Open the ico, exe, dll or icl file containing the icon or icons you wish to add to an icon library using the 'Open' button under the 'From' list box.  To open all ico files in a directory at once, use the 'Open All' button, instead.

2. If you wish to edit an existing icon library, load it into the 'To' box using the 'Open' button under the list box.  This step may be skipped if you wish to create a brand new icon library.

3. In the 'From' box, select the icon or icons you wish to add to the icon library.  Multiple icons may be selected by clicking on each icon while holding down the CTRL button.  Click on the 'Add' button to add them to the library.  To add all icons in the 'From' box, click on the 'Add All' button.  You may also add icons by double-clicking on the icon to be added in the 'From' box.  Once added, the selected icons will appear in the 'To' list box.

Related Topics

Deleting icons from ICL files

Importing bitmap files

Saving ICL files


Deleting icons from ICL files

1. Select the icon or icons to be deleted in the 'To' list box.  Multiple icons may be selected by clicking on each icon while holding down the CTRL key.

2. Click on the 'Delete' button to remove the icons from the icon library.  Icons may also be deleted in the 'To' box by double-clicking on the icon.

Related Topics

Adding icons to ICL files

Saving ICL files


Exiting ICL Builder

Clicking on the 'Close' button will terminate Icon Library Builder.  Should any changes have been made to the currently loaded icon library, you will be given the opportunity to save the library before the program terminates.


Exporting icons

You may export individual icons in an icon library to either an icon file (.ico) or to a bitmap file (.bmp).  To export an icon follow the procedure below.

1. Open the icon library which contains the icon you wish to export in the 'To' list box (see Opening ICL files).

2. Select the icon in the library you wish to export by clicking on it.

3. Click on the 'Export icon...' button.

4. From the dialog which appears select the file type you wish to save the icon as (either .ico or .bmp).  Enter a file name for the new file.  Be sure that if you wish to export the icon as a bitmap the file name has the .bmp extension as part of it.  Otherwise, the save dialog will default to an ico file.  Click on OK.

Once exported, the icon will be available in the file specified in the save dialog.  Note that if the icon was exported as a bitmap file the transparency mask associated with the icon will be lost.  That is, the icon will now have a solid white background in any areas where the background could have been seen through in the original icon.

Related Topics

      Importing bitmap files

      Opening ICO files


Importing bitmap files

ICL Builder can import bitmap files provided the bitmap is exactly 32x32 pixels in size and uses no more than 16 colors.

1. Select the 'Open...' command under the 'From' list box on the left.

2. From the 'Open' dialog select 'Bitmap File' as the file type.  Then simply select the bitmap file to be imported.  Click on OK.

The bitmap should now appear as an icon in the 'From' list box.

Related Topics

      Opening ICO files


Opening ICL files

1. Click on the 'Open' button located under the 'To' or 'From' list box to load an icon library into ICL Builder.

2. From the dialog which appears, select an icon library to be loaded.  The current directory may be changed through use of the right list box in the dialog.

3. Once a file has been selected, all icons in the selected library will appear in the 'To' of 'From' list box dependent on which 'Open' button was used.


Opening ICO files

1. Click on the 'Open' button located under the 'From' list box to load an icon file into ICL Builder.  To open all icon files in a directory, click on the 'Open All' button.

2. From the dialog which appears, select an icon file to be loaded.  The current directory may be changed through use of the right list box in the dialog.  If using the 'Open All' button, it is not necessary to select a file.  All icon files in the selected directory will be loaded.

3. Once a file has been selected, all icons in the selected file will appear in the 'From' list box.  For 'Open All', all icon files in the selected directory will be appear in the 'From' box.

Related Topics

      Importing bitmap files


Opening EXE,DLL files

1. Click on the 'Open' button located under the 'From' list box to load a file into ICL Builder.

2. From the dialog which appears, select an executable or DLL file to be loaded.  The current directory may be changed through use of the right list box in the dialog.

3. Once a file has been selected, all icons in the selected file will appear in the 'From' list box.


Saving ICL files

1. To save an existing icon library which has been loaded into ICL Builder, click on the 'Save' button.  Any changes made to the library will be saved into the library file.

2. To save a new library or to save an existing library to a new file, click on the 'Save As' button.  From the dialog which appears, enter a name for the new library and select the directory the new file is to be placed in.


Setting a default icon directory

A default directory may be set for ICL Builder.  Whenever ICL Builder is run it will automatically go to this directory initially for all open and save commands.

1. To set the directory click on the 'Set icon directory...' button.

2. Enter the name of the directory you wish ICL Builder to use upon start up.  Click on OK.

Once a default directory is set ICL Builder will always start in this directory.  Of course, the directory may be changed in the normal manner using the open and save commands.