An application is not ready for use unless you have the proper icons for using into the application. Having the right icons for your application is not difficult if you have the help of a specialist or a specialized company to design the icons. The icon designer takes care of the whole design process starting from understanding what kind of icons are you looking for, designing them, submitting them for your approval and finalizing the icons to be used. The designer can also help you with choosing the most appropriate file types for the icons used into your application. But because you know better then anybody else the application for which the icons are, it is understandable that you'll be one of the people involved in choosing the file type for the icons. This is why it is a wise thing to know few things about the most common file types for icons.
First of all we have to mention that the most common file types for icons are: ico, png, bmp, gif, icns. From the start we have to point out that ico file type is the one used by windows for its icons to assign an icon for every application. This ico file type is unique and it either assignees a system icon or represents individual types of files. All the files in your computer use icons depending on the file type they are. The ico files are very flexible in order the icons to change itself according to the file type. If the ico files are altered they will loose flexibility and will not be able to properly display the icons according to the type of the files. The ico file must remain with its factory settings. Another thing to be careful about when dealing with ico files, is when you plan to install any icon editor. During the installation process, some of this type of applications will ask the user if it is ok to make a file type association between the application and the .ico file type; in every situation the answer should definitely be no or else this option will mess up all the icons in your computer. In order to achieve the best quality for the ico files, certain parameters should be used depending on the operating system. For Windows XP it is recommended to use 32-bit ico files with Alpha Channel, parameters that allow using of full transparencies and shades. For the versions of Windows prior to XP the recommended parameters are 8-Bit ico files with 256 colors.
From the above mentioned file types, the icns are the correspondent of ico files for the MAC operating systems. They are a bit different from the ico files; icns files act like a container with more individual icon resources enclosed within it. So, with a single click the system accesses all the necessary icon resources that he needs. It is possible that for the previous versions of MAC this icns file type will not be recognized. So, for safety reasons, an older icn# resource should be included in the resource file in order to avoid problems. Another thing about icns files is that they are not like the traditional icon files, meaning their images are not displayed outside the icon, but the images are enclosed inside the files as data and to be able to view them you should actually open an icns file. Icns files are only used and recognized by the MAC operating system. To transfer these icons into more commonly used image file types; there are special applications that can convert icns files into jpg, bmp, gif, files.
Another file type used for icons is png; this is used only for Windows operating system and it was designed to replace the gif format file, that was older and simpler, and the tiff format file that was rather complex. Png is a superior file type; if you want to display a photograph exactly like it is in its best quality, the png format should be your choice because it produces smaller files and allows more color. Png is also able to compress the image files to smaller sizes without altering the image, and if you want to recover the original image the compression is exactly reversible. Also, the png files allow more colors, enables drop shadows and, quite important, support partial transparency that can be used for various purposes. Png files are supported by most web browsers and various development environments. A useful trick for png files when they are used with Internet Explorer for windows: 32 bits png files with alpha channel should be converted into non-transparency png file with the preferred BG color; using png Behavior from WeBX is an alternative.
Gif file types are perfect for images that do not contain more than 256 colors and has large areas of uniform color, so gif file type is not recommended to be used for photographic images because they will not be shown in their best format. If the number of colors is smaller then 256 then there will be no problem for the gif file type to show the image exactly like it is. If the image has too many colors gif will use various algorithms to approximate the extra colors in the image. Gif format also compresses files but during compression it looses many of the colors. Gif compresses image files in two ways: either he reduces the number of bits needed per pixel or he abbreviates common patterns. Gif files do not support full transparency that is why it is recommended pastel colors or light tones to be used for the background whenever with gif files.
We have talked about the most commonly used file types for icons and pointed out some useful information that can be handy whenever trying to choose the right file type for icons.
If you are looking for professional icons please go to http: http://www.iconshock.com - icon design
Mercedes Benz s500 rentals Salem ..Unless you are an inventor, most likely you are selling... Read More
Novice and professional designers alike ? you may probably be... Read More
Ever browse across a website that took ten million years... Read More
Content is undoubtedly the most important element of a website.... Read More
If you have a business, big or small you may... Read More
Your website is your tool for showing the online community... Read More
Easy That's how you'd like life to be, right? Especially... Read More
Not all links are created equal.While all of your links... Read More
We would all like to have the best looking website,... Read More
Have you seen Jesse James on the... Read More
When you're self-employed, choosing a website designer is a crucial... Read More
In this article we will be looking at why you... Read More
Ever wonder how HTML color codes are put together? For... Read More
Does your website need a re-design? Here are some questions... Read More
Websites, there's literally billions of them out there in cyber-space.... Read More
One of the challenges of moving a web site up... Read More
Here's a really simple way... any novice can create a... Read More
Regardless whether you manage a small business, charitable organization, or... Read More
Many Internet sites that try to sell you something have... Read More
Most web designers and web design companies will try to... Read More
Creating a web site takes thought, planning and execution. Unfortunately,... Read More
Websites that have multiple pages usually have a Frequently Asked... Read More
What Will My Site Do?This is the first of eight... Read More
One of the most frequent questions I get asked about... Read More
Are you in a dilemma whether to create a mini... Read More
Dowagiac cheap limo service ..Learning how to convert visitors to your web site into... Read More
Ecommerce is just exploding right now on the Net. More... Read More
Creating your own website can be fun and easy, as... Read More
Chris, a new consulting client, asked me to help him... Read More
About two years ago, I had a go at commercial... Read More
I want to give you a free web page template... Read More
Design sells. It's something that all of us know, but... Read More
If you are reading this, I assume you either have... Read More
Does website design make a difference in how long people... Read More
If you've just finished building your new website (or revamping... Read More
So, what's in a website design anyway? And, how do... Read More
Then it was a choice among crayons, paints and palettes... Read More
Geared Up with a website and lots of energy to... Read More
STEP 1:Do your homeworkPlan and think about your content. Think... Read More
Due to the large number of people offering website design... Read More
Part one of this article is available at ... Read More
The most popular method to build webpages today is to... Read More
It starts off simply; a few HTML pages, a few... Read More
When you start building your online business and search for... Read More
If you are one of those who wonder how people... Read More
I once created a notepad-like editor. It is possible with... Read More
Making a poorly designed website is one of the easiest... Read More
There are often many mistakes encountered when creating a webpage... Read More
So you need a website. You are not sure if... Read More
Colors have long been known to have psychological affects on... Read More
Web Design |