Icon Editor Help

Drawing Tools

Selecting a Drawing Tool

Pencil

Lines

Hollow Squares, Rectangles

Filled Squares, Rectangles

Hollow Circles, Ellipses

Filled Circles, Ellipses

Brush Fill

Move/CopyTool

Horizontal Flip

Vertical Flip

Rotate

SnapShot

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Pencil Size

Eraser

Selecting a  Color

Extracting Icons from EXE and DLL Files________________________________________________________________________

File Menu

New

Open

Save

Save As

Exit

Edit Menu

Undo

Copy to Clipboard

Paste from Clipboard


Pencil

The pencil tool allows drawing on a pixel level.  If the pencil size is (2x2), (3x3) or (4x4) then the pixel size increases accordingly.  Icons have a resolution of (32x32) pixels.  With a brushsize of (1x1) you can draw 32 pixels horizontally and 32 pixels vertically.

To draw a pixel:

1.   Select the pencil tool if it is not already selected.  The tool indicator displays the

      currently selected tool.

2.   Place the mouse cursor over the editing area and click the left mouse button.


Lines

1.   The line tool allows drawing of straight lines.  The width of the lines varies according

     to the pencil size (1x1, 2x2, 3x3, or 4x4).

2.   To draw a straight line:

3.   Select the pencil line if it is not already selected.  The tool indicator displays the

      currently selected tool.

4.   Place the mouse cursor over the editing area .

5.   Press and hold the left mouse button.  This anchors the beginning point of the line.

6.   Drag the mouse to the entend the line as desired.

7.   Release the left mouse button.


Hollow Squares and Rectangles

This tool allows drawing of hollow squares and rectangles.  The width of the edges of these shapes vary according to the pencil size (1x1, 2x2, 3x3, or 4x4).

To draw a square or rectangle:

1.   Select the hollow square and rectangle tool if it is not already selected.  The tool

      indicator displays the currently selected tool.

2.   Place the mouse cursor over the editing area .

3.   Press and hold the left mouse button.  This anchors the top left corner of the box.

4.   Drag the mouse to shape the box as desired.

5.   Release the left mouse button.


Filled Squares and Rectangles

This tool allows drawing of filled squares and rectangles.

To draw a filled square or rectangle:

1.   Select the filled square and rectangle tool if it is not already selected.  The tool

      indicator displays the currently selected tool.

2.   Place the mouse cursor over the editing area .

3.   Press and hold the left mouse button.  This anchors the top left corner of the box.

4.   Drag the mouse to shape the box as desired.

5.   Release the left mouse button.


Hollow Circles and Ellipses

This tool allows drawing of hollow circles and ellipses..The width of the edges of these shapes vary according to the pencil size (1x1, 2x2 3x3, or 4x4).

To draw a circle or ellipse:

1.   Select the hollow circle and ellipse tool if it is not already selected.  The tool indicator

      displays the currently selected tool.

2.   Place the mouse cursor over the editing area .

3.   Press and hold the left mouse button.  This anchors the center of the circle.

4.   Drag the mouse to shape the circle or ellipse as desired.

5.   Release the left mouse button.


Filled Circles and Ellipses

This tool allows drawing of filled circles and ellipses.

To draw a filled circle or ellipse:

1.   Select the filled circle and ellipse tool if it is not already selected.  The tool indicator

      displays the currently selected tool.

2.   Place the mouse cursor over the editing area .

3.   Press and hold the left mouse button.  This anchors the center of the circle.

4.   Drag the mouse to shape the circle or ellipse as desired.

5.   Release the left mouse button.


Brush Fill

This tool allows filling of closed objects such as rectangles or circles.  It can also be used to change the background color behind an existing icon image.

Filling Closed Objects

1.   Select the brush fill tool if it is not already selected.  The tool indicator displays the

      currently selected tool.

2.   Place the mouse cursor inside the object to fill .

3.   Click the left mouse button.

Changing the background color behind an existing icon image.

1.   Select the brush fill tool if it is not already selected.  The tool indicator displays the

      currently selected tool.

2.   Place the mouse cursor in an area outside the main icon image.

3.   Click the left mouse button.


Move/Copy Tool

This tool allows you to move or copy a selected object within the editing area

To move or copy an object, follow the procedure listed below.

1.   Select the move tool if it is not already selected.  The tool indicator displays the

      currently selected tool.

2.   Press the left mouse button and draw a rectangle around the object you wish to

      move, and then release the left mouse button.  You have just drawn a selection

      rectangle.

3.   Place the mouse cursor inside the selection rectangle, and press the left mouse

      button.

Move

4.   Drag the selection rectangle to the new location you wish to move the selected

      object.

Copy

4.   Press the Shift key and drag the selection rectangle to the destination location.

5.   Release the left mouse button.

6.   To complete the move, position the mouse cursor anywhere outside the selection

      rectangle and click the left mouse button.


Horizontal Flip

This command produces a mirror image in the horizontal direction of the entire icon or a selected part of the icon.  Left becomes right and right becomes left.  To cancel the effect of a Horizontal Flip, click the Horizontal Flip command again, or click the Undo command.

To flip the entire icon

   If the Horizontal Flip tool is not already selected, select it.  Subsequent clicks of this

   tool flips the entire icon.

To flip a selected area of the icon.

1.   If the Horizontal Flip tool is not already selected, select it.

2.   With the mouse cursor over the editing area, press the left mouse button and

      draw a selection box around the area you wish to flip.

3.   Click the Horizontal Tool to flip the selected area.

4.   To complete the move, position the mouse cursor anywhere outside the selected area

      and click the left mouse button.


Vertical Flip

This command produces a mirror image in the vertical direction of the entire icon or a selected part of the icon.  Bottom becomes top and top becomes bottom.  To cancel the effect of a Vertical Flip, click the Vertical Flip command again, or click the Undo command.

To flip the entire icon

   If the Vertical Flip tool is not already selected, select it.  Subsequent clicks of this tool

   flips the entire icon.

To flip a selected area of the icon.

1.   If the Vertical Flip tool is not already selected, select it.

2.   With the mouse cursor over the editing area, press the left mouse button and

      draw a selection box around the area you wish to flip.

3.   Click the Vertical Tool to flip the selected area.

4.   To complete the move, position the mouse cursor anywhere outside the selected area

      and click the left mouse button.


Rotate

This command rotates the entire icon 90 degrees to the right.  To cancel the effect of the rotate command click the Undo command or click the Rotate command three more consecutive times.


SnapShot

This command enables you to take a picture of Any Area on the Windows Desktop.  To take a SnapShot perform the following steps.

1.   With the Left Mouse Button click on the SnapShot tool, even if it is already

      selected.

2.   Move the Mouse Cursor over the area of the Windows Desktop you wish to

      SnapShot.

3.   Click the Left Mouse Button, or press the Enter key.

To restore the previous image click the UNDO command.


Edit Area

The area where the icon is actually drawn.  With the aid of the mouse pixels, lines, boxes, and circles are drawn directly on the edit area.


Pencil Size

The following pencil sizes, in pixels, are available.

1.	1x1

2.	2x2

3.	3x3

4.	4x4


Eraser

The eraser erases pixels on the editing area  The size of the eraser corresponds to the pencil size selected.

To activate the eraser, press the right mouse button and move the mouse over the areas you wish to erase.  When erasing is complete release the right mouse button.

To select the color of the eraser, place the mouse cursor over the desired color, in the color palette area, and press the right mouse button.


Copy to Clipboard

This command copies the currently displayed icon to the windows clipboard. This command is normally used to transfer an icon to another Windows application, such as CorelDraw! or Excel for Windows.  It can also be used to temporarily store an icon.


Paste from Clipboard

This command copies the contents of the Windows clipboard onto the editing area.  This command is very useful if you previously used the clipboard to temporarily store an icon.

Note: This command will only be useful if the current contents of the clipboard is an icon or a bitmap.


Undo

Use the Undo command to undo your previous drawing action.  For example, if you've just drawn a circle using the Filled or Hollow Circle tool, you can restore your previous icon image by clicking the Undo command.  You can also Undo the results of a Move command with the Undo command.


Selecting a Drawing Tool

To select a drawing tool place the mouse cursor over the desired tool and press the left mouse button.  The seleted tool is displayed in the top left corner of the screen.


Extracting Icons from EXE and DLL Files

As well as editing regular icons files this program enables you to extract icons from Windows EXE program files, and some Windows Dynamic Link Libraries (files with the extension DLL).Two files included with Windows 3.1 each contain many icons.  They are:

     C:\WINDOWS\PROGMAN.EXE

     C:\WINDOWS\MORICONS.DLL

To extract these icons perform the following steps.

1.   Execute the File Open command and specify a file type with extension EXE or

      DLL

2.   Change the default directory to the WINDOWS directory.

3.   Select the PROGMAN.EXE file or the MORICONS.DLL file depending on which

      file extension you selected.

4.   This will open the selected file and extract all available icons.  The icons will appear in

      a grid with 10 columns and a variable number of rows.  If the number of available

      icons exceeds what is visible on the screen, a scroll bar will automatically appear on

      the right side of the grid.  Use the scroll bar to scroll up or down the grid to see more

      icons.

To select an icon do the following

5.   Click on the icon you wish to select

6.   Click on the Load Selected Icon command button

To cancel selection of an icon do the following

7.   Click on the exit command button.


Icon files

Files which contain a single icon.  An icon file should always have the extension ICO.


DLL Files

Files which may contain icons.  Windows 3.1 comes with a file named \WINDOWS\MORICON.DLL.  This file contains 106 icons which are available to windows users.


EXE Files

Windows executable files  which always contain at least (1) icon..One Windows EXE file which contains (46) icons is \WINDOWS\PROGMAN.EXE.  In general if you know the location of a specific Windows program you can extract its icon(s) and modify it.


New

This command clears the editing area to begin drawing a new icon.  If the icon currently being edited requires saving you are prompted to do so via the Save As dialog box.


Open

This command displays the Open Icon dialog box and permits you to open a new icon for editing.  If the icon currently being edited requires saving you are prompted to do so via the Save As dialog box.  The Icon Editor permits opening of the following files.

1.	Regular Icon Files (Files with the ICO extension)

2.	C:\WINDOWS\MORICONS.DLL

3.	C:\WINDOWS\PROGMAN.EXE

4.	Any Windows EXE file

For more information see the section on extracting icons from DLL and Windows EXE files.


Save

This command saves the currently open icon file if one exists.  The previous icon file is overwritten with the icon image currently being edited.  If no icon file is currently open, then the Save As dialog box is displayed, permitting you to create a new icon file.  By default icon files are given the ICO extension.


Save As

This command saves the currently open icon file, if one exists, under a new file name.  The Save As dialog box is displayed permitting you to specify a new icon file name.


Exit

This command exits the Icon Editor and returns you to Program Manager.  If the icon currently being edited requires saving, you are prompted to do so via the Save As dialog box.


Selecting a Color

For outlining tools, such as the pencil and hollow shapes, (16) solid colors are available.  For filled shapes and the brush fill tool, (32) colors are available.  To set the color for the drawing tools place the mouse cursor over the desired color, in the color pallete area, and press the left mouse button.

For the Eraser (16) solid colors are available.  To set the color for the Eraser place the mouse cursor over the desired color, in the color palette area, and press the right mouse button.