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 Tower Model with Shadow Icon |
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Add Tower Model with Shadow icon to cartImage sizes: 256x256, 128x128, 64x64, 48x48, 32x32, 24x24, 20x20, 16x16
File formats: BMP, GIF, PNG, ICO
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What Are Windows Icons?
A number of independent vendors are supplying custom icons in sizes and resolutions common to certain systems. The article explains what icons are, how they are used and implemented in various platforms, and what standards exist for Windows icons, Mac icons, and PNG icons.Computer icons are incorporated into any graphical user interface. Icons are small pictograms of standardized sizes that depict objects, actions, and symbols. In graphical user interfaces, icons are used as a quicker, more intuitive way to communicate with the user. Icons depicting typical elements of a user interface are better visible than text, can be recognized faster, and are certainly easier on the eyes.
Originally developed in 1970 by the Xerox Research Center and widely popularized by the Apple Macintosh and Microsoft Windows platforms, icons make new users feel more comfortable with operating systems, learn quicker and interact more efficiently. Icons can be used to replace or supplement text messages. Widely used in menus, toolbars, on buttons and in new ribbon-type user interfaces, icons have come a long way from the original concept.
There are several image formats for storing icons. The Windows systems store Windows icons in the platform-dependent ICO format. Mac OS computers use Mac icons in their specific formats, while Unix-based systems use PNG icons for most applications. As such, icon editing software is generally available for the Windows and Apple systems, while Unix users can create PNG icons with any image editor.
Generally speaking, icons are square pictograms that come in a variety of standard sizes and color resolutions. Most systems support icons of 16x16 to 128x128 pixels, while some systems readily accept icons as large as 512x512 pixels. The big 512x512 pixel icons were first used in Mac OS Leopard.
Pixel resolutions of all icons are operating system dependent. For example, Windows icons are defined as pictures in 16 and 256-color gammas as well as True Color images with alpha channel. Windows icons are supplied in standard resolutions of 16x16, 32x32, and 48x48 pixels. Windows Vista defines new standards for Windows icons, including icons in resolutions of up to 256x256 pixels in True Color only. Optionally, icons of 128x128 and 512x512 pixels are supported. Interestingly, the higher resolution versions of Windows Vista icons are stored in compressed PNG format instead of Windows ICO used in older versions of Windows and for lower resolution icons. Other systems such as Windows Mobile can use standard icons of other resolutions, such as 24x24 pixels.
Many independent vendors are offering custom icons. Aha-Soft offers a wide selection of Windows icons, Mac icons, and PNG icons in all sizes and resolutions standard to those platforms. The company sells royalty-free icons individually and in matching sets that include icons drawn a common style or theme.
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