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PBIcon
Release 1.1
7/12/90
PBIcon provides all of the tools you need to begin customizing the icons
displayed in your Windows 3.0 program groups. This includes:
- Capture any area of your display screen for use as
potential icon material.
- Transfer bitmaps to and from the clipboard, providing a
convenient method for editting with PaintBrush or other
Windows paint/design program.
- Bitmaps pasted into PBIcon may be 'panned' behind the icon
viewport allowing a precise lineup of the image you would
wish to save.
INSTALLATION
------------
PBIcon can be copied to any location on your hard disk. I would suggest
creating a sub-directory for PBIcon as a convenient way of keeping track
of *.ICN files that you create. C:\WINDOWS\PBICON or C:\PBICON are
good choices. Copy PBICON.EXE, PBICON.BMP, and PBICON.ICN to this
sub-directory.
If you create a program group item for PBIcon, use the included icon file,
PBICON.ICN, for a full-color, Windows 3.0 icon. Select 'Change Icon...'
when building the group item and change the icon file name to use the
PBICON.ICN file.
A bitmap file, PBICON.BMP, is included. PBIcon will look for this file
and, if found, will paint a full-color icon when minimized instead of
the monochrome 2.x bitmap that it was created with.
OPERATION
---------
PBIcon has two main menus, 'File' and 'Edit'. The 'File' menu is used
to save an icon for use by Program Manager, to open an icon file you have
previously saved, or to exit the program.
The 'Edit' menu is used to control copying to and pasting from the
clipboard. You may 'Paste' a bitmap from the clipboard into PBIcon and
it will be displayed in the icon viewport. The bitmap must be at least
32 x 32 pixels in dimension. If it is larger, PBIcon will activate
scrollbar controls that can be used to 'pan' the bitmap behind the icon
viewport.
Yoy may select 'Copy' to copy the entire bitmap contents of PBIcon to the
clipboard, or 'Copy Viewport' to transfer only the 32 x 32 pixel image
visible in the icon viewport.
Selecting 'Capture' places PBIcon into screen capture mode. The cursor
will change to a cross-hair. Capture screen data to PBIcon's internal
bitmap by positioning the cursor at one corner of your desired clip,
press the left mouse button down, and drag the cursor to the opposite
corner before releasing the left mouse button. The screen will 'flash'
inverted colors while the cursor is being dragged to let you know the
area is being selected. You must select at least a 32 x 32 pixel area
or PBIcon will inform you to try again. Once you have selected 'Capture',
PBIcon will have full control of the mouse until you click the left mouse
button down and up.
PBIcon is intended to be used in the following ways:
- Design your own icon in PaintBrush. The icon should be 32 x 32
pixels. A 32 x 32 pixel bitmap is included with PBIcon for you
to start with. This is the size you will want your icon to end
up as. You can draw into a square this size, or, begin by first
'drawing' your icon into a much larger square area, then use the
shrink command to size it down to the icon size (see WORKING IN
PAINTBRUSH below).
Select the scissors clip tool and select an area around your new
icon. Select 'Copy' from the 'Edit' menu to transfer the selected
bitmap to the Windows clipboard.
Now switch to PBIcon. Select 'Paste' from the 'Edit' menu. Your
bitmap should appear in the icon viewport. Use the scrollbar
controls to pan the image into proper position. Now select 'Save'
from the 'File' menu to select a filename for your new icon.
After you have saved the icon file, you may use it in place of
any icon that is in a Program Manager program group. Simply select
the icon you wish to replace, then choose the 'Properties...'
selection from the Program Manager's 'File' menu. Now select
'Change Icon...'. Replace the File Name: with the name of your new
icon file. Be sure to include the full pathname, for example:
C:\WINDOWS\PBICON\MYICON.ICN
Do not hit 'Enter'. Select 'View Next' and your new icon should
be displayed on the screen. Confirm the replacement by selecting
'OK' on both dialogs.
- Use PBIcon's 'Capture' feature to select any icons, clip art, or
other pictures that you can display. Save these images as icons
or 'Copy' them to the clipboard and then 'Paste' them from Paint-
brush to make changes. 'Copy' and 'Paste' back to PBIcon to save
the updated image.
WORKING IN PAINTBRUSH
---------------------
The following information is included to assist designing icons within
Windows Paintbrush. Please refer to your Windows Reference manual for
more information on how to use any of Paintbrush's features.
Depending on your design, you may desire to create your icon to scale
initially, OR to first design a larger scale image which can be later
scaled down with the 'Shrink' feature. After a creating a couple of
icons you will soon become comfortable with either method.
To create an icon to scale, begin by selecting the 'Paste From...'
command from the 'Edit' menu in Paintbrush. Use the 'Files' and
'Directories' list boxes to select the 32x32.BMP file in your PBIcon
sub-directory. Select 'OK' to paste this bitmap into your screen. While
the clipping is still selected (dotted lines around it) drag it to the
middle of your display area by positioning the cursor inside of the clip,
pressing the left mouse button down, and dragging the image.
This is your paint area. The solid black line is included in the avail-
able paint area. The dotted red line lies just outside of the area.
You might choose to modify this scheme to suit your own taste and/or task
at hand. You may use Paintbrush's drawing tools while the image is in
the normal mode, OR, you can select 'Zoom In' from the 'View' menu to
enlarge the image for pixel-by-pixel editting.
The second method (using the 'Shrink' feature) can be used to design a
'draft' copy of the icon at a larger size. This allows more convenient
use of the drawing tools as well making it easier on your eyes. Begin
by pasting in the 32x32.BMP clip as above, only drag it to a corner of
your display instead of the center. Now create a much larger square in
the remaining area of the display to draw your large image into.
After designing the large image, use the scissors clipping tool to select
the entire large square. Now select 'Shrink + Grow' from the 'Pick'
menu. Position the cross-hair cursor over one corner of the small 32x32
icon square, press the left mouse button down, drag the cursor to the
opposite corner, and release the mouse button. The selected large area
will be duplicated into the smaller icon area. If you are not satisfied
with the 'Shrink', select 'Undo' from the 'Edit' menu.
Using the shrink approach introduces some side effects during the process.
Colors may be changed or positioned slightly off from their larger source
picture. It is never-the-less a good way to begin many icons if you are
creating them from scratch. Polish the shrunk icon image by using the
'Zoom In' mode and touching up colors and pixels.
LIMITATIONS
-----------
PBIcon has been totally designed and programmed with the Windows 2.x
development kit. (The 3.0 kit is on its way!!!) All of the knowledge
required to construct the program as it exists so far was acuired in a
'lab' environment by observing data structures and debug messages.
Although a formidable tool already, there are a few features I hope to
add or enhance after learning from the 3.0 reference materials. This
includes the 'transparent' mode. If you do not change the Windows default
color of white for your application workspace, you may never notice that
icons do not have a transparent background. Never-the-less PBIcon will
continue to be updated with the latest, state-of-the-art, features and
tools for your use!
Enjoy, and thank you very much for your support!
Len Gray
Impact Software
2321 S. Magnolia Ave. #9D
Ontario, CA 91762
CIS ID: [71630,1703]