FolderIcon is a utility which creates custom folder icons based on other files' icons. To use it, drag any application, control panel, desk accessory, or document, etc. onto FolderIcon and it will create a custom folder icon at the location you specify in the preferences (by default, the folder enclosing the file dragged). Note that the file which you use must have a non-generic icon. Also note that aliases are resolved by the Finder, so the enclosing folder of the original item will get the custom icon.
The system folder is an example of this type of custom icon. I.e., if you used FolderIcon to create a custom icon based on the Finder, it would look just like the System folder.
A custom folder icon created by FolderIcon for itself looks like this:
Note: FolderIcon requires System 7 and works best with applications/files which have a full complement of icons, especially ics8 and ics#.
What's new in 2.2:
• The basic icon to use for folders can be specified. Thus, you can get something that looks like the icons shown in demos of what Copland (System 8) might look like:
Several alternate icons are provided within the preferences dialog. You can add your own icons by copying them from the Finder (or copying from a graphics program) and pasting them in. Note: If you choose to delete any of the alternate icons, the only way to get them back is to delete your FolderIcon Preferences file.
• The position of the small icon within the folder icon can be changed. To do this, bring up the preferences dialog, and simply drag the small icon within the large folder icon preview area (the smaller preview area is just there to show you what it looks like at normal size.):
• Scriptability - Everything in the preferences dialog can now be set via AppleEvents as application properties. See the AppleEvent dictionary via your favorite script editor for the details.
• Error handling — errors are better reported. The cases where the enclosing folder is being used and that folder is either a disk or the desktop folder are now reported as errors.
What was new in 2.1:
• With the scriptable Finder (System 7.5, or 7.1 with the Finder Scripting extension), you now have the option of changing the icon of the enclosing folder, instead of creating a new folder, which is what most people want in the first place. If your Finder isn't scriptable, then that option will be disabled in the Preferences dialog. Note: if you upgrade from a previous version of FolderIcon, you'll get your original preferences. You may wish to change them to use this new functionality.
• If the file resides at the top level of a volume, then the volume icon will be changed, using the default floppy icon as a template. This is probably not what you want for a hard drive! The default Apple hard drive icon isn't really big enough to accommodate an embedded icon. Some hard drives have larger icons (a function of the SCSI driver), but there's no standards, so I'm open to suggestions here.
• If a file has a custom icon, that icon will be used in creating the folder icon.
• All volumes' desktops are now searched for icon information, not just the boot volume.
• The behavior of the Folderize event has changed slightly to allow for the enclosing folder option. If you specify a folder which already exists, the Folderize event will change the icon for that folder.
What was new in 2.0:
• Now supports non-Color QuickDraw machines (Plus, SE, Classic, PowerBook 100).
• Works better with B&W icons; if you have a color capable system, you'll now get color folder icons, even if the file you're folderizing doesn't have a color icon.
• Destination preferences: folders automatically created can appear on your desktop, in the same folder as the original, or on your startup volume.
• Configurable suffix: default is " ƒ", but you can have anything you like.
• Scriptable: supports standard AppleEvents, plus the Folderize event:
folderize sourceFile into destinationFolderName
The included example script "Apple Folderize" shows how you might use this functionality. I don't consider this script to be particularly useful (it's just an example), but someone who likes having a scrolling Apple menu might like it. ;-)
For what it's worth, FolderIcon is also factored and recordable.
Feedback:
FolderIcon is freeware. As such, support for it is spurious at best. Feel free to send me email (wombat@claris.com) regarding suggestions or problems.
Known Limitations:
• If you're using a non-Color QuickDraw machine (SE, Plus, Classic, PowerBook 100...), then you only get a black and white icon for the folder. You don't get a small B&W icon or any color icons.
• Small icons look pretty cruddy. For example, the small version of
looks like
I might be able to do a little better if with dithering — possibly something like
but because it's so dim due to the color averaging, I'm not convinced that it's really any more useful.
• Lack of icon editing. Yeah, I know, it'd be nice to be able to simply edit the basic folder icons within the program instead of having to copy/paste them. The best way to get what you want is to copy icons from the Finder after having edited them. You can paste pictures directly in, but chances are you won't be too happy with the automated scaling.
• No, I don't have my own distribution site. For new releases try your favorite Macintosh archive site (such as Info-Mac: sumex.aim.stanford.edu or University of Michigan: gopher.archive.umich.edu / mac.archive.umich.edu).
• Yes, there are several similar Copland-esque icons. Since Copland (at the time of this writing) has not been released and there are several guesses at the exact look, I just added all the various flavors (some of which vary by only a few pixels). It's up to you the user to decide what you like best. Note that there are some extensions out there which provide faux-Copland interfaces for System 7. Some of these change the basic folder icon that the Finder uses. In this case, the very first icon in the scrolling list will also be changed. This icon is always the same as the one that the Finder will use.
-- Scott Lindsey <wombat@claris.com>
FolderIcon is copyright 1993-1995 by Scott Lindsey. It is neither a product of nor is supported by Claris Corporation. This program is freely distributable. Permission to redistribute as a part of a collection or other publication is hereby granted provided there is no incremental cost to the customer (or if it is being published by a non-profit organization) and the author receives notification of intent to redistribute. I try to respond to all email regarding problems or suggestions, but please don't expect a reply if you're just asking about redistribution (see the previous sentence).
