1 FJJKLMNIcon Magic Written by Steve Stedman and Jeff Ayars Documented by Christian Becker Icon Magic gives you the ability to make professional icons for Microsoft Windows. The numerous drawing tools allow you to create your own 16-color (icluding Clear and Inverse) icons, edit standard icon (*.ICO) files, and modify icons captured from executable (*.EXE) files or directly from the screen. Icon Magic can directly assign your custom icons to your applications with built-in DDE support to Program Manager, allowing you to bypass File Properties. Drawing Tools The drawing tools can be used with either the left or right mouse button. Tools and Colors can be selected from the Toolbox and Palette with either button, but the right mouse button has no effect in the menus. As you edit, the icon window will be updated to display the icon as it will appear in Program Manager, with the exception of Clear and Inverse regions. The Clear, Inverse, Left Button, and Right Button colors can be selected by clicking the mouse on the appropriate button in the Colors/Tool window. Pressing the left mouse button scrolls through the colors and tools in one direction, and the right mouse button scrolls in the opposite direction. If you are diplaying the Toolbox, the current tool will be outlined. Pencil: The Pencil can be used to color indivudual pixels or draw freehand lines in the icon. Select the Pencil either from the Toolbox or the Tools menu, and choose the color to draw in ewither from the Palette or the Colors menu. To color a single pixel, place the mouse cursor in the drawing area, then press and release the mouse button (CLICK). To draw a line, DRAG the pencil by holding the button down as you move the mouse in the drawing area. Note: The Pencil is not affected by the size of the line set by the LineSize option in the Utilities menu. It is always one pixel in width. Note: Icon Magic is precise, and will color every pixel that the mouse is dragged over. This precision causes the program to appear to be "lagging" if the mouse is moved quickly. Flood Fill: The Fill tool is used to quickly color an area. Select the Filler either from the Toolbox or the Tools menu, and choose the color to use. Place the mouse cursor in the area you want to Fill and click the appropriate button. The Fill tool will change the selected color to the new color and stop when a boundary (a different color, or the edge of the drawing area) is encountered. Line: The Line tool is used to create straight lines between two points. Select the Line tool either from the Toolbox or the Tools menu, press either mouse button where you want the line to start, and then drag the mouse to the endpoint. A rubber-band line will stretch between the two points until the button is released and the real line drawn in the selected color and size. Note: The width of the line can range from 1 to 8 pixels, and is set by choosing the LineSize option from the Utilities menu. Snap shot: The Snap shot tool is used to capture an icon-size image from the screen and place it in the drawing area. Select the Snap shot either from the Toolbox or the Tools menu, and activate the Snap shot by placing the mouse cursor in the drawing area and pressing either mouse button. The cursor will appear as a 32 X 32 square that you can drag out of the drawing area and select a section of the screen. While the button is held down, the drawing area will display the image that will be captured, but the icon window will not be updated until the button is released. Note: When the Snap shot is activated in the drawing area, it will automatically magnify whatever it is covering. Ellipse: The Ellipse tools draw circles or ovals that are either hollow or filled in. Select either Ellipse or Disk from the Toolbox or the Tools menu, and choose the drawing color. Click and drag in the drawing area to create the desired shape. A rubber-band ellipse will indicate the size and shape of the object as the mouse is dragged in the drawing area. When the button is released, the ellipse will be drawn with the width set by the LineSize option in the Utilities menu. Rectangle: The Rectangle tools are used to create boxes that are either hollow or filled in. Select Rectangle or Box from the Toolbox or the Tools menu, and specify the drawing color, then click and drag in the drawing area to define the size of the rectangle. A rubber-band box will stretch from the starting corner and indicate the sides of the rectangle as you drag the mouse to create the desired shape. When the button is released, the rectangle will be drawn with the width set by the LineSize option in the Utilities menu. Special Effects Clear: The Set Clear Color option allows you to specify regions or pixels of your icon that will be transparent and show the Window Background colors through the icon. To activate this feature, set the color you wish to represent Clear (the default is Teal) by choosing the Set Clear Color option in the Utilities menu. When the icon is saved, the pixels and areas in the icon that have the color displayed in the Clear box will be saved as clear. Note: If the Set Clear Color option is changed before the icon is saved, only those areas which have the current Clear color will be saved as Clear. Note: The Window Background color is set in the Color utility of the Windows Control Panel. Inverse: The Set Inverse Color option allows you to specify regions or pixels of your icon that will have the opposite color of the Window Background. To activate this feature, set the color you wish to represent Inverse (the default is Uranium) by choosing the Set Inverse Color option in the Utilities menu. When the icon is saved, the pixels and areas in the icon that have the color displayed in the Inverse box will be saved as Inverse. Note: If the Set Inverse Color option is changed before the icon is saved, only those areas which have the current Inverse color will be saved as Inverse. Note: The Window Background color is set in the Color utility of the Windows Control Panel. Magic Inverse: Magic Inverse is a variation of the Inverse feature, and is set in the Utilites menu. When the icon is displayed in Program Manager, the Inverse color will be a different shade of the Window Background. When the icon is dragged with the mouse, the true Inverse shade will be displayed, but will revert to the Magic Inverse when the mouse button is released. Opening and Saving files Open .ICO: To open an existing icon, select the Open .ICO file... option in the File menu. A dialogue box will appear asking for the File Name (*.ICO is proposed), which can be typed in or selected from the Files list below the File Name box. The current path is displayed immediately under the File Name, and can be changed by selecting the desired drive or directory in the Directories box. Open .EXE: To capture an existing icon from an .EXE file, select the Open .EXE file... option in the File menu. A dialogue box will appear asking for the File Name (*.EXE is proposed), which can be typed in or selected from the Files list below the File Name box. The current path is displayed immediately under the File Name, and can be changed by selecting the desired drive or directory in the Directories box. The number of icons available in the selected .EXE file will be diplayed immediately below the Files and Directories boxes, and up to eight icons will be diplayed in the window. If there are more than eight icons in the file, the scroll bar will allow you to scan to the left and the right to see the other icons. To capture an icon from this window, put the mouse cursor on the icon and double-click the left mouse button. Save .ICO: When you have finished editing your icon, choose the Save or Save As option from the File menu. If the icon is untitled, Icon Magic will prompt you for a file name to save the icon as. If the icon already has a name, Save will automatically save it with that name. To change the name displayed under the icon window, choose the Save As option. Note: We suggest you save your icons in your Icon Magic program directory. This will allow Icon Magic and Program Manager to quickly find and utilize your icons. will stretch from the starting cowsolhd b^ZXTRN$$$$$$PH yvtp* n/ j& h2 db^\XV wsqmakqgea][WUQ$$ Xybve to q o l j g e bWUQ xxxuu uuuu#uuuuuZuuuuux( x* x1 xu x x& x( x4 x xkxxxx8xxxx%xxxxxxxxJxxxxCxgxxaxcxsxxxxxxTxxxxxxx(xxxx8 x x x xxxxxf=/28`';(lor you wish to represent^ %_  Uranium) by choosing the Set Inverse Color option in the Utilities menu. When the icon is saved, the pi ' 3ve the color displayed in the Inverse box will be saved as Inverse. Note: If the Set Inverse CG Times (E1) Tms Rmnhe icon is saved, only those areas which have the current Inverse color will be saved as Inverse