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IconBuilder
By Trey Yancy

If you create software the last thing you think of are the icons - those tiny representations of all your hard work that are the first thing users see. If you are an average Mac user and want to customize your system, icons are among the first things you think of. In either case, if you are looking for a tool for cranking out those icons, including icons for Windows XP and earlier, take a look at IconBuilder Pro from the folks at the IconFactory - the Mecca of great icons.

IconBuilder enables the user to tweak the image and immediately see the result in all the instances and components of the icon simultaneously, ranging from the 128 x 128 pixel preview to the 16 x 16 pixel window icon and from 1 bit to 32 bits. Unlike competing all-in-one products, IconBuilder is a Photoshop 7 Photoshop Elements 2 plug-in, sparing the hassle of using the crude MacPaint-style tools of some icon editors while harnessing the power of Photoshop. Creating Icons

The first step in using IconBuilder is to open a provided Photoshop template. You design or import your art and modify it using any tools that you want. You then merge the art and layer effects into a single layer above the template layer, highlight it, and then select IconBuilder in the filters menu. To the left of the IconBuilder window is a default preview of the 48 x 48 pixel version of the icon, while the window on the right contains a grid for the various instances. You center the image in the window and option-click on the QuickBuild button, triggering a Photoshop action to create the various instances. Due to the blending effect of downsizing art, you may have to do a bit of retouching.

The result of the process is a PICT resource file that contains all the instances, masks and other elements of the icon. You can then use ResEdit (not provided) or ProjectBuilder (on the OS X developer tools disk) to burn the icon into the desired file.

Burning Question

Simple copy-and-paste Finder icons are one thing, but the real issue for non-programmers is how to permanently integrate the icons you create. With 0S 8 and earlier this was easy, but OS 9 introduced a fundamental change in the way that icons work. This brings me to my only criticism of IconBuilder: Although there is documentation on a range of topics, including icon states (such as interactive open/closed folder icons), and even the correct shadow angle for XP icons, there are no comprehensive step-by-step directions for burning icons into OS 9 and OS X files. The folks at IconFactory are working on creating this documentation, but until it appears, there will be limitations to what the average IconBuilder user can do. If, however, you have the know-how, IconBuilder gives you the capability.

IconBuilder Pro 4 > www.iconbuilder.com > Pros: Photoshop integration, easy to use > Cons: Incomplete instructions for attaching permanent icons > Price: $69.00 (shareware)