How to make a modern .ICO Windows application icon file

A desktop .ICO file can contain an icon image at a variety of sizes. Most of the info out there on the net about .ICO files is pretty old. I was looking around to answer the question of "Which formats should I include in my ICO file?." In-depth details about ICO files for Windows XP can be found in this MSDN article. Vista will also add support for 256x256 and 128x128 size images.

The .ICO file I just created contains these images:
  • 256 x 256 at 32-bit (this is forward looking for Vista, 32-bit = 24 + alpha)
  • 48 x 48 at 32-bit
  • 32 x 32 at 32-bit
  • 16 x 16 at 32-bit
  • 48 x 48 at 8-bit
  • 32 x 32 at 8-bit
  • 16 x 16 at 8-bit
Some software that might help you in creating the perfect ICO file:

Posted by dustin on November 28, 2006 with category tags of

3 comments
I remember when you and I downloaded Axialis IconWorkshop for the first time. Did ever end up buying that app, you philthy pirate?

What are your plans for christmas again? -James
   comment by James on November 28, 2006

It turns out that we didn't fully understand ICO files at the time. We only put in a few sizes, so it didn't look the best all the time.

I never bought Axialis IconWorkshop, since it comes with a full 30-day trial. I very rarely ever have to make an ico file, so the demo works for me.

I do my best to no longer pirate softwares, seeing as how I make my living as one.
   comment by dustin (#1) on November 28, 2006

Hi, I'just been trying to create a reasonable ICO-Picture Container and I found a great "Freeware-Tool" which is easy to handle and creates the ICO-File for you. Check at http://greenfish.cixx6.com/ for Greenfish Icon Editor Pro. Its absolutely free and works fine. First time user just check on "Help" -> "Create an Icon". You can also test the created Icon very easy using this tool.
   comment by Dragonfly on November 28, 2011

   

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