Greetings, and welcome to the new generation of Macintosh color icons!
System Software Version 7.0 has at long last been released to the general Mac-using public, and that means we’re finally able to move on to the advanced color icon technology offered by the newest version of the Mac operating system!
Okay, enough promotional hype-talk, just what are these things?
With the new version of the Mac System, the icons displayed by the Finder no longer have to be only black & white - they can be color as well. System 7.0 supports direct display of 8-bit (256-color) and 4-bit (16-color) icons in standard and small sizes, with no need for a memory-hungry system extension like SunDesk or Icon Colorizer. These two programs were used by System 6.0 to display color icons in the Finder, but System 7.0’s built-in abilities are far more powerful. Not only does Finder 7.0 display color icons, but the System can use color small icons in the Apple menu and in the menu bar to display which program is currently active. Plus, since System 7.0 uses a new, highly efficient desktop file format which stores the image of icons to be used by the Finder and System, the amount of RAM you need to display color icons is only slightly more than to display black & white ones. Before, using SunDesk or Icon Colorizer, the icons had to stored in a separate storage file and in RAM to be used, which meant that the image of the icons occupied both valuable memory and disk space.
Under System 7.0, color icons behave just like black & white icons did under earlier System versions. Icon families are made up of six different types of resources (the basic building-blocks of Mac software):
• ICN# - Standard-size black & white icons
• icl4 - Standard-size 16-color icons
• icl8 - Standard-size 256-color icons
• ics# - Small black & white icons
• ics4 - Small 16-color icons
• ics8 - Small 256-color icons
These separate resources all work together as a team. When you view a Finder window on a black & white monitor, the particular ICN# (let’s say, #128) for a program would be displayed in that window. If you switched the monitor to 16-color mode, the Finder would automatically display the icl4 icon with the same resource ID# in place of the ICN#, and if you switched to 256 color (or more) mode, icl8 #128 would be displayed. Likewise, if you viewed a finder window containing the same program by “Small Icon”, the ics#, ics4, or ics8 resource with a resource ID# 128 would be displayed when needed. The System does all the work of deciding which icon to display; you don’t need to use a control panel or any other means to designate whether color or black & white icons are shown.
Icons are stored within a file with a bundle bit set to “on”. This is a single bit of information which simply lets the Finder know to look for icons within that file. For example, the icon which represents your favorite word processing program might have a resource ID# (the means by which the Macintosh keeps track of resources) of 128. If the p
Icon families are stored within the resource fork of applications or files with active “bundle bits”; this is a single bit of information that tells the Finder to look for icons in that file. Every file has a bundle bit, but usually only applications, control panels, and extensions have bits turned on. Most applications store icons for all their subsidiary files within themselves, so the Finder only has to read one file to get the icons that apply to multiple types of documents. So, for example, your favorite word processor may contain the icons for all its dictionary, help, and document files, and is thus the only file with a bundle bit set to on. When you copy your word processor from disk to disk, or rebuild the desktop files, the Finder reads in the icons, and stores them in the desktop files, so they’re available when you create a new document or display the contents of a window.
If you’ve already upgraded to System 7.0, you’ll immediately notice that the System already comes with a basic set of color icons already installed which are displayed on your color or grey-scale monitor. As time goes by, you’ll discover that a number of your favorite programs also have color icons that show up when viewed by Finder 7.0. This begs the question: “Why should I bother with these icons I’ve just downloaded when there’s a set already in the programs I use?” The answer to that is that if you pay attention to the icons included by various software publishers, you’ll discover that their icons are a patchwork of good and bad design, attention to detail, and aesthetics. Even within the icons shipped with System 7.0, there are some well-designed icons that are pleasing to look at, and some icons that look like they were drawn by three-year olds. Very quickly, you’ll find your Macintosh a chaotic mish-mash of icons that don’t really work well together or even look good.
I started working with graphics and design in 1983, and with computer graphics in 1986. I started designing icons, both black & white and color, when it became clear that the people doing Macintosh icon design weren’t always taking best advantage of the tools and capabilities offered by the Mac, and that many programs’ icons were a dreadful mess. I attempted to bring the techniques of non-computer fine art and design to the realm of Macintosh icons, merging those techniques with effective use of color and suggestion to create a balance between what what could be done and what looked best. While working on these icons, I’ve paid special attention to make the entire set of System icons, application and document icons, and more, part of a coherent design. While for familiarity’s sake I had to stick as close as possible to the original designs of the black & white icons, all the icons in the Immedium Design collection are designed to fit together, like members of a family, so that when you use them, they create a consistent desktop environment that is both elegant and non-distracting. No garish “color for the sake of color” or designs that look out of place. Those of you who have seen Immedium Design’s previous icon releases know what I mean.
This can be considered a preview look at Immedium Design’s System 7.0 icons. We’re hard at work polishing up icons for the major applications previously released for SunDesk and Icon Colorizer; registered users of those icons will be receiving upgrade information by mail in a couple of weeks. We'll also be releasing new versions of the Apple 7.0 set as new software releases and tweaks to the icons require them. The new versions of our icons will also be available online and through user groups. Also, we’ve just released iContraption™, our astoundingly easy-to-use utility for merging our icons into the programs you use, eliminating the need to go mucking around with ResEdit or rebuilding desktop files.
Immedium Design’s icons are shareware, which means you get to “try before you buy”. It doesn’t mean you’re free to use them without paying for them. I’ve been extremely gratified by the response to my earlier icon releases, but I cannot afford to do these for free. Creating these icons requires a lot of pain-staking work; the System 7.0 set amounted to almost 100 hours of bit-by-bit editing in ResEdit and Studio/8, and you can expect similar effort to go into future sets. Since each set of icons now contains six icon formats rather than just two, I’ve increased the shareware fee to $20.00, which overall, I think is fair considering the amount of work that goes in to them. If you register now, here’s what you get:
• All current sets of System 7.0-compatible Immedium Design icons, delivered to you by first-class mail, PLUS a coupon for a FREE update disk anytime in the future. This allows you to get in on the ground floor now, and bring yourself up-to-date as more and more sets are released, without having to download them from expensive online services or from user groups. Considering what you’d spend in access fees downloading new sets, the $20.00 fee seems quite reasonable.
• Until the end of 1991, you’ll also receive the complete set of SunDesk- and Icon Colorizer-compatible icons that Immedium Design has been releasing and supporting for over a year and a half. After Dec. 31, 1991, only System 7.0-compatible icons will be supported and offered.
If you like what you see in this file, and would like to become a registered user, send a check or money order for $20.00 US to:
Tom Poston
Immedium Design
2114 Lockhart Drive
Charlotte NC 28203-6040
I mail out orders every other week, so you can expect delivery within three weeks.
Support is available on America Online through the Immedium Design Direct Connect area within the Macintosh Utilities forum, which contains message boards and libraries for easy access to information and files. I can also be reached directly at address “TPoston”.
On CompuServe, I can be reached at address 71551, 2020.
