Solved Best program to edit Windows 8 Folder Icons?

[davidvkimball]

Hey EightForums friends,

I'm trying to reorganize my PC files, and am creating custom icons to more easily identify folders.

For example, I have a folder dedicated to .ISOs (called Virtual CDs) and one for Books (see the icons attached).

I make them by using three PNG layers in PhotoShop: the closest folder flap, the further part of the folder, and then whatever icon I choose in the middle. Then I export to ICO.

While it works well for the most part, one problem I have though is when I have to view "details" or other small-icon views in File Explorer, it looks gritty and pixilated (see the comparison screenshot below).



Is there a method I can use to edit various sizes of an .ico file so it looks better in other sizes?

 

[bassfisher6522]

This is the only one that comes to mind straight away.....

IconPackager - Custom Windows Icon Themes

 

[David Bailey]

Microangelo Toolset springs to mind:

Home of Microangelo: The Grand Daddy of Icon Software

 

[OptimalVorteX]

One program, pre-installed to your PC, is Paint. Go to your Start Menu (I recommend getting ClassicShell Start Menu), and search "mspaint.exe" not "paint.exe" (w/out quotes). Go to File>Open>And select the .ico file you want to customize. Once selected and put in Paint, go to the "Resize" option on the Ribbon and it should open a dialogue window named "Resize and Skew". Select the option "Pixels". Try different sizes of the Horizontal/Vertical. I also recommend having it as an even number (2, 4, 6, etc.) and if you're not sure where to start, just keep doubling the number.

 

[davidvkimball]

Thanks for the answers, guys, but for the record I found the perfect solution.

The program is called IcoFX. You can edit each size of icon separately, and generate .ico files from PNG images.

If anyone has my problem with the gritty-looking icons, check out this program (it has a free trial)!

 

[Dragon Drop]

If you want to assign a folder an icon that you already have in an icon file, you can use the regular Windows "change icon" function on the "Customize" tab of the folder's "Properties" box. But the icon won't include any picture of a folder, unless you choose one that already does include it. "%SystemRoot%\system32\imageres.dll" contains a lot of those.

 

[menace97]

a little late, but i find axialis iconworkshop to be great for creating icons. it works together very well with photoshop layers as well.

http://http://www.axialis.com/iconworkshop/

but i do like IcoFX as well