Contents:

General

System Requirements

Installation

Navigation

Context Sensitive Help

Program Operation

Command Line

Icon Magnification

Liability

Distribution

Shareware


Context Sensitive Help

Icon Cleaner has Context Sensitive Help. This means that you can TAB to any control or use the ARROW KEYS to highlight any menu item, and press F1 to pull up a Help Window associated with that control or menu item. This allows rapid reference when you need help on a particular feature.


General:

Icon Cleaner is an icon viewer that allows you to view individual icon files. It allows you to Delete, Copy, Rename and Move the icon file being viewed. Icons can be converted to Bit Map (BMP) files and the Program permits you to eliminate duplicate icons in a single directory. The Program also permits you to Extract Icons from EXE and DLL files, and ZIP icons into Zip files to save disk space. You may also View a full directory of icons or all the icon resources in an EXE/DLL file in a single scrollable picture box. Icons can also be magnified approximatly 2X for viewing at a single click of the mouse.


Navigation:

The Directory Status Bar at the top of the form indicates the current directory and/or file. To change drive click the drive list box and select a new drive. To change directory double-click on the desired directory in the directory list box.


Program Operation:

Icon Cleaner Form

Viewing Icons

Copy

Delete

Move

Rename

To BMP

X Dups

File|Extract Icons

File|ZIP Library

File|Refresh

File|Make Directory

File|Exit

View|Icon Directory

View|Reread Directory

Icon Cleaner - Icon Extractor Form

Extracting Icons

Extract

Extract Scroll Bar

File|View EXE/DLL Icons

File|Extract All Icons

File|Refresh

File|Exit Extractor

Icon Cleaner - ZIP Library

Using ZIP Library

Add to ZIP

Delete after ZIP

Extract to

Delete from ZIP

ZIP File Content List

File|Create New ZIP

File|Copy ZIP File

File|Move ZIP File

File|Rename ZIP File

File|Refresh ZIP File List

File|ZIP all Icons to ZIP

File|Extract all Icons from ZIP

File|Rename Icon File

File|Refresh Icon File List

File|Exit ZIP Library

Icon Cleaner Big Viewer

Close

Main Form

Picture Double-Click


Exit ZIP Library:

Click this option to exit the ZIP Library and return to the Icon Cleaner.


Rename Icon File:

Click this option to rename the currently selected icon file. When you click, the Rename Icon File form will appear. Enter the New Icon File Name (8 characters max). The file extension will be added automatically. Click Ok to complete the rename operation. Click Cancel to cancel the operation.


Extract all Icons from ZIP:

Select this option to Extract all icons in the currently selected Zip file to the currently selected Icon Directory. When you click, a confirmation form will appear. Click Yes to begin the operation. Click No to cancel the operation. When you click Yes the Icon Library Extracting All Icons form will appear and the extracting operation will begin. You may cancel the operation at any time by clicking the Cancel button. You may minimize the form and do other things while the operation is being carried out. The following items should be noted.

1. If an icon in the selected Icon Directory already exists the extraction will not be carried out for that particular icon. This will prevent an OVERWRITE of that file.

2. While you may minimize the form and carry out other activities while the extracting operation is proceeding, DO NOT DO ANY FILE OPERATIONS ON THE SELECTED ZIP FILE OR SELECTED ICON DIRECTORY WHILE THE OPERATION IS IN PROGRESS. If you do it may lead to data loss or a system crash.


ZIP all Icons to ZIP:

Select this option to ZIP all the icons in the currently selected Icon Directory to the currently selected Zip file. When you click, a confirmation form will appear. Click Yes to begin the operation. Click No to cancel the operation. When you click Yes the Icon Library Zipping all Icons form will appear and the zipping operation will begin. You may cancel the operation at any time by clicking the Cancel button. You may minimize the form and do other things while the operation is being carried out. The following items should be noted.

1. This operation will OVERWRITE an icon in the Zip file if the selected Icon Directory contains an icon of the same name. A Update operation will be carried out in this case for that particular icon.

2. If the Delete after ZIP option is checked the original icon file will be deleted after the icon file is successfully zipped.

3. While you may minimize the form and carry out other activities while the zipping operation is proceeding, DO NOT DO ANY FILE OPERATIONS ON THE SELECTED ZIP FILE OR SELECTED ICON DIRECTORY WHILE THE OPERATION IS IN PROGRESS. If you do it may lead to data loss or a system crash.


Rename ZIP File:

Click this option to rename the currently selected Zip file. When you click, the Rename ZIP File form will appear. Enter a New File Name (8 characters max). The file extension will be added automatically. Click Ok to complete the rename operation. Click Cancel to cancel the operation.


Move ZIP File:

Click this option to move the selected Zip file. When you click, the Move to ... form will appear. Select the drive and directory to move the file to. Click Move to complete the move operation or click Cancel to cancel the operation.


Copy ZIP File:

Click this option to copy the selected Zip file. When you click, the Copy to ... form will appear. Select the drive and directory to copy the file to. You may change the file name during the copy operation (8 characters max). Click copy to complete the copy operation. Click Cancel to cancel the operation.


Create New ZIP:

Click this menu option to create a new empty Zip file. When you click this option the New Zip File ... form will appear. Enter the drive, directory and new file name (8 characters max). The file extension will be added automatically. Click Create to make the new Zip file. Click Cancel to cancel the operation. When you click Create a new empty Zip file will be made and opened on the ZIP Library form.


ZIP File Content List:

This list is displayed in the lower right corner of the form. It is a list of all icon files in the currently selected Zip file. When you click on an icon name in the list, the icon is displayed and readied for Extraction or Deletion. The list is automatically updated as Zipping operations are carried out.


Delete from ZIP:

Click this button to Delete the currently selected icon in the ZIP File Content List. You will be prompted to continue the operation before it is carried out. Note that this operation deletes the icon from the Zip file without Extracting a copy. The icon is gone for good. Use it with CAUTION !


Extract to:

Click this button to Extract the currently selected icon file in the ZIP File Content List. The icon will be Extracted to the drive and directory selected on the left side of the form. If an icon with the same name already exists in the directory you will be prompted for permission to overwrite the existing file before the operation is carried out. Note that the Extraction does not remove the icon from the Zip file. Also please note that any directory information in the Zip file is ignored during the Extraction.


Delete after ZIP:

If this option is checked the currently selected icon will be deleted after it is successfully Added to the Zip file. This option allows for additional disk space savings.


Add to ZIP:

Click this button to add the currently selected icon file to the currently selected Zip file. The ZIP operation will add the icon to the Zip file and update the File Content List. The icon added to the Zip file will be displayed in the File Content List. Note that if an icon with the same name already exists in the Zip file you will be prompted for permission to Add the icon to the Zip file. In this case an Update operation will be carried out instead. This means that the currently selected icon will replace the icon of the same name in the Zip file. It should also be noted that directory information is not saved during the ZIP operation. Only the icon filename is saved.


Using ZIP Library:

The ZIP Library allows you to ZIP icons into Zip files to save disk space. You may view the icons contained in the Zip file and Extract any icon from the Zip file with the click of a button. The form function is divided into two major parts. On the left side of the form you may select icons in the File List Box for viewing and Zipping. As you click on the icon names the icon is displayed. You may change drive and directory as needed to access the icons you wish. On the right side of the form you may select the Zip file that you wish to Add to, Extract from or Delete from. As you click on the Zip file in the File List Box the names of all icons contained in the Zip file are displayed in the ZIP File Content List at the bottom of the form. You may click on any name in this list to display the icon and ready it for Extraction or Deletion from the Zip File. Note that all ZIP operations are compatible with any Zip File that adheres to the PKZIP Standards, however, only icon files are displayed in the File Content List.


Picture Double-Click:

When Viewing icons in the Big Viewer you may double-click any icon and the Main Form will appear with that icon displayed ready to work on. This may save time in finding a specific icon in the Main Form's File List Box.


Main Form:

Click this button to display the Icon Extractor or Icon Cleaner Form. The Form displayed will depend on which Form most recently called the Big Viewer. You may switch back and forth between the Forms while you work.


Close:

Click this button to hide the Big Viewer on the screen. The Big Viewer may be redisplayed by clicking File|View EXE/DLL in the Icon Extractor or View|Icon Directory in the Icon Cleaner. Note that if you click Close during the icon loading operation the loading operation will be cancelled and the Big Viewer hidden.


Extract All Icons:

Click on this Menu Item to Extract all icons in the selected EXE or DLL file to a specified directory. When you click Extract All Icons the Extract All Icons to Form will appear. Select the Drive and Directory that you wish to extract the icons to. Click Extract to continue or Cancel to cancel the operation. If you select Extract you will be prompted for permission to continue. This operation names the icons extracted as numbers ( 0 to Total Icons-1). If an icon exists in the directory selected for extraction with the same name, IT WILL BE OVERWRITTEN. Therefore, to be safe it is best to do the extraction to an EMPTY directory. Click Yes to continue or No to cancel the extraction operation. If you select Yes the Icon Extractor - Extracting Icons Form will appear and the extraction operation will begin. You may cancel the operation at any time by clicking Cancel or you may minimize the Form and go about other things while the operation is being carried out. When the operation is complete a Message box will appear telling you how many icons were extracted. Note that the extraction operation only extracts GOOD icons (i.e. 32 X 32). All other types are skipped.


ZIP Library:

Click this menu item to bring up the Icon Cleaner - ZIP Library. This feature allows you to ZIP icons into ZIP Files to save disk space. Once Zipped the icons can still be viewed from within the ZIP File and are available for immediate Extraction with the ZIP Library. Any program that handles ZIP Files may also be used to Extract the icons since the ZIP operations are compatible with PKZIP standards.


Rename:

Click this button to Rename the selected icon in the File List Box. The Rename File Form will appear. Enter a New File Name (8 characters max). The .ico file extension will be added automatically. Click Ok to complete the Rename operation or click Cancel to cancel the operation.


Exit Extractor:

Click on File|Exit Extractor to end the Icon Extractor and return to the Icon Cleaner.


Extracting Icons:

Click on the EXE or DLL file names listed in the File List Box. If the EXE or DLL file contains Icon resources the first icon in the file will be displayed. If more than one Icon resource is in the file the Extract Scroll Bar will be enabled. You may scroll thru the file displaying each icon present in the file. You may Extract any icon that you are viewing by clicking the Extract Button.


Icon Magnification:

Icons displayed on the Icon Cleaner Forms can be magnified 2X by clicking on the icon pictures on the Icon Cleaner Forms. This helps seeing details of the icon when viewing them.


Reread Directory:

Clicking this option will Refresh the File List and Reread the present icon directory. This may be necessary after deletion, moving and copying of icons in a directory has been carried out. It is provided as a user convenience.


View EXE/DLL Icons:

Click this option to view all icon resources in a EXE or DLL file in the Big Viewer. Operation is very similar to viewing an Icon Directory except that all icons displayed are contained in a single EXE or DLL file. The Viewer must read each file after it is selected in the File List Box of the Icon Cleaner - Icon Extractor Form.


Icon Directory:

When you click this option the Icon Cleaner Big Viewer will appear. Each icon in the current directory will be read and displayed in a single large picture box. The picture box will be scrollable if necessary. The operation may be cancelled by clicking the Close Button during the loading process. After display you may return to the Icon Cleaner Form by clicking Close (Viewer Form is no longer visible), clicking Main Form or double-clicking any icon in the Picture Box of the Viewer. Once the Viewer has been activated for a directory of icons, it may be redisplayed by clicking View|Icon Directory from the Icon Cleaner Form. Redisplay will be much more rapid since rereading of the icons is not necessary. The Viewer displays 150 icons at one time.

Note:

When you change drive or directory or eliminate duplicate icons from the directory the Viewer is cleared and the directory will have to be read again for display. Reading a directory may take considerable time depending on the number of icons in it. However, a big view is sometimes better suited for the user's purpose.


System Requirements:

1. Windows 3.1 or better.

2. VBRUN300.DLL - this is a Visual Basic 3.0 program. Make sure you have a copy of this DLL in your Windows\System directory. You may obtain a copy from most BBS's.

3. THREED.VBX, DUNZIP.DLL, DZIP.DLL, VBZIP.VBX and VBUNZ.VBX - Supplied with the program. Please copy them to your Windows\System directory. Make sure that these copies are the ONLY ones on your PATH and that older versions are not in your Windows directory. This will prevent an older version of the VBXs or DLLs from loading by accident, and preventing the program from running.

4. VGA Graphics - Recommended for the best display.


Installation:

1. Copy the files ICONCLEN.EXE, ICONCLEN.HLP, ICONREAD.TXT and ICONREG.TXT to the same directory of your choice. ICONCLEN.HLP must be in the same directory as ICONCLEN.EXE to access the on line help feature.

2.Copy THREED.VBX, DUNZIP.DLL, DZIP.DLL, VBZIP.VBX and VBUNZ.VBX to your Windows\System Directory. Again, please make sure that these are the ONLY copies of the VBXs and DLLs on your PATH. Make sure that no older versions are in your Windows directory.

3. Install ICONCLEN.EXE in the Program Manager Group of your choice per your Windows Manual.

4. Make sure you have a copy of VBRUN300.DLL in your Windows\System directory.

5. Double-Click the program icon to start the program.


Liability:

The Author assumes no liability for any losses you may associate with the use of the program ICONCLEN.EXE. Icon Cleaner has been tested and run on the Author's computer with no problems. However, due to variations in computing systems the Author can make no guarantee about Icon Cleaner's operation on the user's computer.


Command Line:

Icon Cleaner accepts a Command Line on start-up. If you use it as your primary icon viewer, then Associate the *.ico file extension with the program in File Manager. When you double-click an icon file in File Manager Icon Cleaner will start-up and automatically display that icon file.


Shareware:

Icon Cleaner is a Shareware program. This means that you may use the program freely for a 30 day evaluation. However, if you continue to use the program past 30 days you must pay for it. Please send $10.00 to the Author if you continue use.

Michael J. Murphy

1385 Majolica Road

Salisbury, NC 28147

If you have problems with the program operation or installation you may contact me at the address shown above, or you may send me a message on CompuServe at the address shown below. I will be glad to help if I can.

Michael J. Murphy

Compuserve ID - 71160,1275


Copy:

Select the icon file you want to copy from the file list box. Click the Copy ... button on the Icon Cleaner form. The Copy to ... form will appear. Select the drive and directory that you want to copy the icon file to. If you want to rename the file, type the new name in the "New File Name:" text box. Only DOS file name characters are accepted and the extension is added automatically for you. Click the Copy button on the Copy to ... form to complete the copy operation. You may click the Cancel button at any time to cancel the operation.


Delete:

Select the file you want to delete in the file list box. Click the Delete button on the Icon Cleaner form. The Confirm Delete form will appear. Click the Yes button to complete the deletion. Click No to cancel the delete operation.


Move:

Select the file you want to move in the file list box. Click the Move ... button on the Icon Cleaner form. The Move to ... form will appear. Select the drive and directory you want to move the file to. Click the Move button to complete the move operation. You may cancel the operation at any time by clicking the Cancel button.


To BMP:

Select the file you want to convert to a Bit Map form in the file list box. Click the To BMP ... button on the Icon Cleaner form. The To BMP ... form will appear. Select the drive and directory where you want the new BMP file placed. You may rename the BMP file by typing a new name in the "New File Name:" text box. Only DOS file name characters are accepted and the file extension is added automatically. Click the Copy button to complete the conversion operation. You may cancel the operation at any time by clicking the cancel operation.

Note:

Icons with a transparent background are converted to BMP files with a white background.

The number of colors in the new BMP file will equal the current Windows System palette. If Windows is operating with 256 colors then the BMP file will contain a 256 color palette. If Windows is operating with 16 colors the BMP file will contain a 16 color palette.


Exit:

Click File|Exit on the Icon Cleaner form to end the program.


X Dups:

This procedure automatically compares all icon files in the specified directory and deletes any duplicate icon files (duplicate pictures). Select the drive and directory that you want to scan for duplicate icons. Click the X Dups button. The Eliminate Dups ... form will appear. The per cent of files processed is displayed on a status bar. You may cancel the operation at any time by clicking the Cancel button. The "Icon Being Scanned:" status line indicates the name of the icon being processed. When the scan is complete an Information Box is displayed showing the number of duplicate icon files eliminated from the directory.

Note:

The first icon file name found in the directory is the file name preserved when duplicates are found.

X-Dups carries out icon comparison in two steps. First it creates a Check Sum for each icon file. Then it compares those Check Sum values. Ultimate comparison of icon files is made on a byte by byte basis (slow but sure).

You may start duplicate scanning at any point in the directory. Simply click the file name from the file list box that you want to start at. This allows you to handle large directories a piece at a time.

You may minimize the Eliminating Dups ... form while it is running. This allows you to continue work on other items while the X Dups operation is running. The program will advise you when it is done. The Icon caption tells you the percent complete in the minimized state.


Refresh:

Clicking File | Refresh will reread the current directory selected and update the file list box. This may be necessary if another program (such as File Manager) has moved, copied, or deleted files from the directory you are working on. Refresh makes the file list box current.


Distribution:

You may freely distribute this program. Please make sure that you include the following files.

ICONCLEN.EXE

ICONCLEN.HLP

THREED.VBX

ICONREAD.TXT

ICONREG.TXT

DUNZIP.DLL

DZIP.DLL

VBZIP.VBX

VBUNZ.VBX


Viewing Icons:

Click on the Icons Listed in the File List Box. As you click the Icon Names the Icon will be displayed in the Picture Box in the upper left hand corner of the Icon Cleaner Form. You may change Drive and Directory per the Navigation instructions.


Extract Icons:

Click on this option to bring up the Icon Cleaner - Icon Extractor. You may use this part of the program to View and Extract Icons in EXE and DLL files. While you are using the Icon Extractor the Icon Cleaner will not be Visible. When you Exit the Icon Extractor the Icon Cleaner will become Visible again.


Extract:

If icons are present in the EXE or DLL file selected this button will be active. To extract the icon currently being displayed click on the Extract button. The Extract to ... Form will be displayed. Select the directory and supply an 8 character file name for the extracted icon in the "New File Name" text box. Click Extract to save the icon to disk as an ICO file. You may cancel the operation by clicking the Cancel button.


Extract Scroll Bar:

If the EXE or DLL file being viewed has more than one icon resource this Scroll Bar will be active. Click on the scroll bar to view the additional icons. You may Extract any icon being displayed.


Make Directory:

To Create a new directory change to the parent directory for the new directory (see Navigation). Click File | Make Directory. The Make Directory Form will appear. Type in the new directory name and click Ok. The new directory will be created. Click Cancel to cancel the operation.