Icnctrl Help Contents
Icons Control version 4.2 Help Contents

This program was designed to manage and display as many Windows icon (ICO) or small (32x32) bit-mapped (BMP) files as possible.  New icons can be quickly created and existing icons can be copied, renamed, or deleted with a click of the mouse.

In addition to manage and display icons, Icons Control can be used for simple editing jobs.  Simply double click on the icon itself to enlarge the image 10 times for easy editing.  Icons Control supports a palette of 48 colors.  Each of these is user-definable by double-clicking on the desired color on the color palette.  The new settings will be saved for future use.  For those of you with sound blaster, the opening screen is kind of fun.  To make the opening screen play another piece of music, just save the Icnctrl.wav and rename your own wave file to Icnctrl.wav.

•	Features

•	Diffrencesbetween shareware and registered Icons Control

•	Hardware & software requirements

•	The toolbars

•	How to delete, copy, or rename an icon?

•	How to capture any part of the screen and save as an icon or bitmap?

•	How to make any part of icon shows the background behind it (transparent)

•	How to turn the editing grid on or off?

•	How to highlight an icon using the file list box?

•	How to highlight a file name in the file list box using the icon grid?

•	How to view icons embedded inside DLL or EXE files?

•	How to extract icons from DLL or EXE files?

•	How to edit an icon?

•	How to change the color palette?

•	How to bypass the opening screen upon startup?

•	How to convert ICO file format to BMP file format and vice versa?

•	Known problems

•	Version history

•	Contacting the author

•	Registration


Tool bar

Main toolbar

Create new icon/bitmap

Convert the selected bitmap to icon

Convert the selected icon to bitmap

Help using Icons Control

About Icons Control

Capture any portion of the screen into an icon

Exit Icons Control

Drag item to delete over this trash can

Editing toolbar

Free hand drawing tool

Line drawing tool

Box outline drawing tool

Box fill drawing tool

Circle outline drawing tool

Circle fill drawing tool

Flood fill drawing tool

Color probe tool

Save the current icon/bitmap

Undo last operation

Exit editing mode


How to capture any part of the screen into an icon

Click on the capture icon, the Icon Viewer will minimize itself into the upper left corner of the screen to make room for you to capture screen graphics.  A square will also appear as a tracking window.  Move this tracking window to any part of the screen you want to capture and click the left mouse button again to capture that part (to abort the capturing process, simply click on the right mouse button.)  You will be asked a file name to save the captured image in.  Select either ICO to save the captured image as an icon file or BMP to save the captured image as a bitmap file.  To move 1 pixel at a time for greater accuracy, use the mouse to bring the tracking window to a vicinity of the region you want to capture then use the arrow keys to slowly position the tracking window on top of the part you want to capture.

NOTE:

•	To capture the graphics beneath the capturing window, press the HOME button to move the capturing window over.  You will also notice that the tracking window will not go below the lower bottom of the screen.  This is not a bug.  In order to go over this limit, you have to press HOME again to bring the capturing window back to its original position.

•	To allow you to capture ANY part of the screen, I provided the Page Up and Page Down keys to enlarge or reduce the size of the tracking window.  Please note that capture enlarging the tracking window larger than the default size will dramatically degrade the image quality of the captured image.  This is because I use the Windows API StretchBlt to squeeze that portion of the window into a smaller box.  And the StretchBlt is optimized for speed, not palette handling.  I recommend using the default size of the tracking window of 32x32 for best performance.


How to make any part of icon transparent

Some icons were created with a white opaque rectangle which covers everything under it.  To make this surrounding area or any part of an icon shows the background behind it (transparent):

1. Check the Transparent under Fill Type on the menu bar in the editing grid.

2. Click the flood fill tool and flood the part of icon you want to make transparent.

NOTE:

•	If you use the flood fill tool to make any part of an icon transparent, make sure that you click the mouse button which does NOT have same color with that part of the icon you want to make transparent.  For example: your left mouse color is blue and your right mouse color is red.  If you want to make a blue part of the icon transparent, after selecting Transparent under Fill Type you will have to click the right mouse button (red).

•	The transparent part of the actual icon is represented in black in the magnified icon for easy identification.  This is not a problem.  The actual pixel data will be saved correctly once you save the icon.

•	If you have problem using the flood fill tool then the file you are editing may not be Windows 3.1 icon format.  To verify this, check the file size of the icon, if it is not 766 bytes, then it is not a standard VGA 32x32 Windows icon.

1.


Features
•	Displays 100 icons simultaneously for easy viewing and selecting.

•	Quickly creates new icons & copies, renames, and deletes existing icons with a click of the mouse.

•	Supports Macintosh-style trash can.

•	Clicking on one of the icons in the viewing mode will enlarge it and enter the editing mode.

•	Color Probe tool.

•	Captures any part of the screen and saves as an icon.

•	Supports icons up to 65,536 colors.

•	Extracts icons from DLL and EXE files (individual selection or batch mode).

•	Converts icon file format to bitmap file format (individual selection or batch mode).

•	Converts bitmap file format to icon file format (individual selection or batch mode).

•	Makes parts of icon transparent.

•	Editing functions:

 Free-hand drawing tool (pixel by pixel).

 Line drawing tool.

 Box drawing tools (outline/fill).

 Circle drawing tools (outline/fill).

 Flood fill drawing tools (solid/transparent) .

 Image shifting tools (up, down, left, and right).

 Image flipping tools (horizontal and vertical).


Differences between shareware and registered versions
Shareware:

•	Copy.

•	Rename.

•	Delete.

•	Edit.

Registered:

•	Above functions plus:

•	ICO to BMP conversion.

•	BMP to ICO conversion.

•	Icons extraction from DLLs and EXEs.

•	Captures any portion of the screen into an icon.

•	Access to image flipping and shifting tools.


How to  delete or rename an icon

There are 3 ways to delete, copy, or rename files since version 4.0:

1.	Simply click, hold down the left mouse and drag the icon or bitmap over the trash can.  The icon will turn from the image to an regular mouse pointer and the trash can will turn black to confirm that this item is trashable.  At this point, release the mouse button and a confirmation box will appear with the name of the to delete for final confirmation.

2.	File can also be trashed by clicking and holding the file name in the drive list box, drag the file over the trash can similar to the above procedure.

3.	Or

1)	Select the desired icon using the icon grid or highlight the icon using the file list box.

2)	Choose Delete (or Copy, or Rename) under File in the pull-down menu.

or

Press Del (or Ctrl+C, or CTRL+R).

NOTE:

Deleted files cannot be recovered after trashed.  Be absolutely sure before deleting files.


Grid

The grid in the editing mode can be turned on or off by checking or unchecking Grid on the toolbar.  For heavy editing, I suggest you turn off the grid to prevent the flickering caused by the redisplaying of the grid after each operation.


Hardware & software requirements

Hardware Requirements

•	Any computer capable of running Window 3.1 (a 386 or better is recommended.)

•	A standard VGA (a Windows-accelerated board is recommended.)

•	A mouse or trackball.

•	Sound blaster (optional).

Software Requirements

Icons Control was designed and tested under Microsoft Windows 3.1 on a 486DX66 with 8MB RAM, a mouse/trackball, and a Diamond Stealth 24 graphic board under the following video modes: 640x480x16, 640x480x256, 640x480x65536, 800x600x256, 800x600x65536, 1024x768x16, and 1024x768x256.  It has not been tested in other environments because I do not have all the time and resources in the world.


How to highlight an icon using the file list box

Single-click on a specific file in the file list box will also make the corresponding icon flash. If none of the icons in the view window is flashing then the selected icon is not within view of the grid.  In this case, click on the down arrow in the icon grid until the flashing icon comes within view.

NOTE:

Clicking on an icon embedded inside either a DLL or EXE file will not flash that icon.


How to highlight a file name using the icon grid

Single-click on any icon will make that icon flash and will also highlight the file name of that icon in the file list box.

NOTE:

Clicking on an icon embedded inside either a DLL or EXE file will not flash that icon.


How to view icons embedded inside DLL or EXE files

First select the DLL or EXE extension in the File Type box.  Then single-click on the desired DLL or EXE file (do NOT double-click on files in the file list box, this will be interpreted as 2 single-clicks and cause Icons Control to display the icons (if any) inside the DLL or EXE twice.)

NOTE:

The number of icon will be 0 if none of the DLL or EXE file is currently selected.


How to extract icons from DLL or EXE files

1.	If you wish to extract all icons in the selected DLL or EXE file, put a check mark next to Batch Mode under Options first.  Otherwise, make sure to uncheck Batch Mode to extract only the selected icon.

2.	If you wish to extract only selected icons:

•	Double-click on the icon you want to extract, a file dialog box will appear and ask you to give the icon a file name.  Type in the name of the icon and click OK.  The selected icon will be saved under Windows icon format with the new file name.

or

If you wish to extract all embedded icons:

•	Select Extract under Image on the menu bar.

NOTE:

Extracting capability is only available to registered users of Icons Control (see Contacting the author  for more information.)


How to edit an icon

There are 2 ways to enter the Icon Editor:

•	Single click on the desired icon/bitmap or file name and select Edit under Image on the menu bar.

or

•	Double-click on the desired icon/bitmap or file name.

The selected icon/bitmap will be enlarged 10 times for easy viewing and editing of the pixels representation.  Use the left and right mouse buttons to single-click on the color palette to pick out the 2 colors which will be available for editing at any given time.  These 2 colors will be saved in the Icnctrl.ini file for later use.

Make sure to save your work regularly by clicking on the disk icon.

To abort the last operation, click on the undo icon.

To start the editing session all over again, click on the original icon box.

NOTE:

Editing capability is only available to registered users of Icons Control (see Contacting the author for more information.)


Disclaimer
REGISTRATION POLICY & SOFTWARE SUPPORT

There is no 30-day evaluation period to use Icons Control.  Registration is not required to use the shareware version of Icons Control.  Non-registered users may use Icons Control as long as they wish.  However, in order to use the additional features, you must register the software to receive the registered, full-featured version.

A single user license permits a user to use Icons Control only on a single computer.  Licensed users may use the program on different computers, as long as there is NO POSSIBILITY of it being used at one location while it is being used at another, or on a computer network by more than one user at a time.

No one may modify or patch the Icons Control executable files in any way, including but not limited to decompiling, disassembling, or otherwise reverse engineering the program.

A limited license is granted to copy and distribute Icons Control only for the trial use of others, subject to the above limitations, and also the following:

1)	Icons Control and all of its release files must be copied in unmodified form, complete with the file containing this license information.

2)	Operators of electronic BBSs (sysops) may make Icons Control available for downloading only as long as the above conditions are met.  An overall or time-dependent charge for the use of the bulletin board system is permitted as long as there is not a specific charge for the download of Icons Control.

3)	Shareware copies may be uploaded to BBSs, FTP sites, Usenet newsgroups, and any network sites with the condition that all of its release files must be included in unmodified form, complete with the file containing this license information.

4)	Vendors of user-supported or shareware software approved by the ASP may distribute Icons Control, subject to the above conditions, without specific permission.  Non-approved vendors may distribute Icons Control only after obtaining written permission from myself.  Please write to:

Chris Doan

4891 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., #401

San Diego,  CA 92117

4)	Non-profit user groups may distribute copies of the Icons Control diskette to their members, subject to the above conditions, without specific permission. Non-profit groups may collect a disk duplication fee enough to cover the cost of the media and handling.

DISCLAIMER

I, CHRISTOPHER C. DOAN, MAKE NO GUARANTEE THAT THIS SOFTWARE WILL FUNCTION FLAWLESSLY NOR WILL I TAKE ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR DAMAGES INCURRED BY THE USER EITHER ACCIDENTALLY OR  INTENTIONALLY THROUGH THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE. THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED AS IS. IT IS SHAREWARE AND YOU MAY DISTRIBUTE IT AS SUCH PROVIDING YOU KEEP THE HELP FILE, THE PROGRAM FILE AND THE INTRODUCTORY TEXT FILE IN ORIGINAL INTACT CONDITION. THE PROGRAM MAY BE DISTRIBUTED IN SHAREWARE\FREEWARE PACKAGES IN WHICH FEES COVER DUPLICATION/MEDIA COSTS. THIS PROGRAM MAY NOT BE SOLD COMMERCIALLY OR PRIVATELY WITHOUT MY PERMISSION.

Use of this product for any period of time constitutes your acceptance of this agreement and subjects you to its contents.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT

I am not obligated to provide technical or other support of Icons Control.  However, I am very responsive most of the time to feedbacks from my users about bugs report.  If bugs were found and I could reproduce them on my systems, I  usually fixed the bugs within a few days and sent the bug-fixed version to the users who took the time to report them first, next to all registered users, and then to other shareware sites later.

REFUNDS

1)	The registered version of Icons Control is guaranteed to deliver all the features listed in the Features section, if any of these features dont work as stated under the system hardware/software configurations mentioned in the Hardware & software requirements section, you may be entitled to a refund.

2)	No refund will be given other than the condition stated in section 1.


How to change color palette

The color palette can be changed by double-clicking on the desired color square.  Doing this will bring up 3 separate scroll bars, one for each component of the color spectrum (red, green, blue).  You can set the square color to any of the 16 millions possible colors (only if your graphic board supports this many colors) by mixing the RGB components together.


How to bypass opening screen

Remove the check mark next to Opening Screen under Options to bypass the opening screen and music.


How to convert an icon (ICO) file to bitmap (BMP) file

If you wish to convert all ICO or BMP files in the current directory, check the Batch Mode under Options first.

To convert an icon (ICO) file to a bitmap (BMP) file, follow these 2 steps:

1.	Single click on the icon you wish to convert to bitmap.

2.	Click on the BMP icon on the toolbar or select the Convert to Bitmap from Options on the menu bar.

To convert a bitmap (BMP) file to an icon (ICO) file, follow these 2 steps:

1.	Single click on the bitmap you wish to convert to icon.

2.	Click on the ICO icon on the toolbar or select the Convert to Icon from Options on the menu bar.

NOTE:

File conversion capability is only available to registered users of Icons Control (see Contacting the author or more information.)


Problems

PROBLEM:

Upon running Icons Control the very first time, you get the message No wave device is installed.

SOLUTION:

Uncheck the Sound On under Options on the menu bar.  This will instruct Icons Control to bypass the sound hardware in certain operations that support sound.

PROBLEM:

Icon pixels were misaligned with the editing grid.

SOLUTION:

Your video driver may not be fully compatible with the Windows API.  Set the lowest possible color depth and try again.  If this problem goes away, then increase the color depth to a point where the problem occurs again.  Use the color depth one level below this point.

PROBLEM:

After the editing, the bottom part of the icon became all black.

SOLUTION:

Reduce the color depth.

PROBLEM:

The flood fill tool does not work on some parts of the icon.

SOLUTION:

The selected icon may not be a standard Windows 3.1 icon.  Try using the free-hand drawing tool instead.

PROBLEM:

The number of icons box shows 0 even though the number of files box shows some DLL or EXE files

SOLUTION:

None of the DLL or EXE file was selected.  You have to select of those files first before Icons Control will calculate the number of icons embedded inside that file and display the number of icons.

PROBLEM:

Moving the RGB bars in the color palette does not change the selecting color.

SOLUTION:

The current color depth of your video board is not sufficient to show all the colors.  Switch the video board to a higher color mode and try again.

OTHER PROBLEMS:

Please send e-mail to doanc@netcom.com and explain in details the sequence to reproduce the problem.  If possible, please also send the snapshot of the problem screen under any graphics format (if its a formatting problem) or the DLL or EXE files that you have problems extracting icons from (if its an icon extraction problem.)  Ill figure out whats going on, fix the bugs, and e-mail you the revised version immediately.  Bug fixes have the highest priority over any new development in progress.


Version history

Version 1.0

Initial public release.

Version 2.0

•	New drive list box.

•	Views icons embedded inside DLL and EXE files.

•	Extracts icons inside DLL and EXE files and saves them under ICO format.

•	Fixes the subscript out of range error message when the left and right mouse are clicked simultaneously.

•	Faster icons loading time.

Version 2.1

•	New tool buttons for easy access to commonly used functions.

•	Even faster icons loading time.

•	Fixes a bug that causes icons being loaded twice upon startup.

•	Fixes a bug that causes icons being overlaid on top of one another in DLL & EXE viewing modes.

Version 3.0

•	Adds 6 new editing tools:

*  Line drawing tool.

*  Rectangle drawing tool.

*  Rectangle fill drawing tool.

*  Ellipse drawing tool.

*  Ellipse fill drawing tool.

*  Flood fill drawing tool.

•	The editing grid can now be turned on or off.

•	Fixes a bug that displayed the incorrect number of icons in the Viewer.

•	Help can now be accessed from the editing screen.

Version 3.1

•	Supports 256-color icons.

•	Adds the dotted grid option besides line grid in the editing screen.

Version 3.2

•	Converts BMP file format to ICO file format.

•	Fixes a bug that causes the flood fill function not working properly.

•	Fixes a bug that displays the incorrect number of icons if the number of icons was between 91 and 100.

Version 3.3

•	Supports icons up to 65,536 colors.

Version 4.0

•	Supports Macintosh-style trash can.

•	Copies, deletes, or renames icons visually or quickly using hot keys.

•	Captures any part of the screen into an icon.

•	Turns portions of icon transparent.

•	Flashes currently selected icon for easy identification among 100 icons.

•	New color probe tool in the editing screen.

•	Undo capability in the editing screen.

•	Icon viewer background and editing grid can be set to any color.

•	Clicking on the original icon restored the original icon without exiting and entering editing mode again.

•	Faster icons loading time and 3D controls repaint time in the viewing mode.

Version 4.0a

•	Supports 1024x768 screen resolution.

•	Fixes a bug in that disables the Save As in the Editor in the registered versions.

•	Fixes a bug that invokes the Screen Captures bitmap to image conversion process when clicking on the Viewer background.

Version 4.1

•	New image shifting, flipping features in the Editor.

•	Adds the Edit and Extract icon on the pull-down menu for easy access to the editor or extract the selected icon besides double-clicking on the actual icon.

•	Fixes a bug that causes the flashing of wrong icons/bitmaps when moving to an empty Viewer cell using the up, down, left, and right arrow keys.

•	Camera and trash can sounds added for confirmation on these operations.

Version 4.2

•	Supports video modes with large fonts.

•	Adds the batch mode extraction and conversion for mass processing of icons/bitmaps.

•	Supports icons extraction and conversions in batch (mass extraction and conversions).

•	Faster icons loading time with the redesigned of the bar gauge.

•	Fixes a bug which caused a problem in the BMP to ICO conversion function in v.4.0, 4.0a, and 4.1.

•	Fixes a bug which caused the flashing of the wrong icon/bitmap when using the arrow keys to navigate around the Viewer.

•	Significantly reduces annoying image-scanning pattern in the Viewer after clicking on the trash can or other controls.  This is more noticeable on slower machines than on faster ones.

NOTE:

The first digit in the version number indicates a major change in the software, addition of new features, or a change in the Icnctrl.ini file format.  The second digit implies minor changes or bug fixes in the software.  The third letter indicates a bug-fixed version.  All shareware/registered users will receive bug-fixed versions free of charge.  Only registered users are eligible to order the latest version with the latest features for a nominal fee of $10 (or $15 on 1.44M 3.5 floppy disk by regular mail.)


How to contact the author

I first wrote this program for my own use using the Microsoft Visual BASIC 3.0 Professional Edition but I am releasing it to the public as shareware (versions 3.3 and older were Display Icons.)  I hope others find it as useful as I do.  There is no evaluation period to use Icons Control.  You may use it as long as you wish to display and edit icons.  In order to use additional features, you must register it.  Registered users will receive a registered copy of Icons Control through internet e-mail (uuencoded) for $25.  For those of you who wish to receive the software on a 3.5 floppy disk, the registration fee is $29.  As of this writing, I only accept money orders, cashiers checks, bank checks, or personal checks.  I am working with Bank of America to allow me to process Visa/Master Cards soon.  Please send your check or money order to (must be payable to a U.S. bank with U.S. funds):

Chris Doan

4891 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., #401

San Diego,  CA 92117

For my bookkeeping purposes, please refrain from sending cash.  But if you have to send cash, please also include a written order so I can keep track of my users. For your payment, you will receive a copy of Icons Control with additional features. I would rather send you a registered copy via internet e-mail than snail-mail because its instantaneous, convenient, and it saves me the task of putting the software on floppy disk, packing it, and making a trip to the local post office to mail it.  However, for those of you dont have access to the internet and receive Icons Control from a local BBS, I can mail you a 3.5 floppy disk (I dont have 5.25 disk drive) via the U.S. postal service as soon as I receive your payment.

Please let me know if you found any bugs, glitches, or send your comments, feedback to me on the internet at doanc@netcom.com.

Thank you for your interest in Icons Control.

San Diego, July 1995

C.C. Doan