Chapter 15

Using Icon Editor

Icon Editor is a tool for creating both bitmap and pixmap image files for use as icons or backdrops.

Introducing Icon Editor

Icon Editor enables you to create and edit images in two formats, described in Table 15-1.

Table 15-1 Icon Formats

Format	Description	File Name
X pixmap (XPM)	Multicolor images that include static and dynamic colors	`*.pm`
X bitmap (XBM)	Two-color images limited to a foreground and background color (used for black and white icons)	`*.bm`

Figure 15-1 Icon Editor main window

You create images by selecting drawing tools and colors, and using them in the work area. As you draw, Icon Editor displays an actual-size copy of your icon in both formats. You need to consider the two-color version of the icon even if you are drawing an image for use on color systems, because icons may revert to two colors if there are not enough free colors available on the workspace.

For information on designing icons, read the Visual Design chapter in Common Desktop Environment: Style Guide and Certification Checklist.

Startup

To start Icon Editor:

Open Application Manager and display the Desktop_Apps folder therein.

Double-click Icon Editor.
Icon Editor starts with an empty drawing work area.

You can also start Icon Editor and have it load an icon into the work area in one of the following ways:

In a File Manager view, locate the icon file and double-click it to open it. (The default action for pixmap and bitmap files runs Icon Editor and loads the file.)

Type the following command in a Terminal window:
dticon -f filename &

Note - If the path /usr/dt/bin has not been set in your .cshrc file, then type /usr/dt/bin/dticon to run Icon Editor from the command line.

Basic Drawing Tasks

This section describes how to create and edit an icon and how to use the Icon Editor drawing tools.

To Open an Existing Icon

Choose Open from the File menu.
If you have unsaved changes, Icon Editor warns you that your changes will be lost by loading another icon. Click Cancel to cancel the Open command. Click OK if you don't want to save your changes.

Type the name of the file you want to load in the Enter file name field, or select the icon file you want to load from the Files section of the Open File dialog box.

Click Save.
Note - When you load a file, the Output Format (in the Options menu) is automatically set to the format of the file you load.
You can also open an existing icon by double-clicking the icon file in File Manager.

To Start a New Icon

Choose New from the File menu.

If you have unsaved changes, Icon Editor warns you that your changes will be lost by starting a new icon. Click Cancel to cancel the New command or click OK if you don't want to save your changes.

Icon Editor clears the work area and resizes it to the default size (32x32).

If you have an icon already loaded, you can choose Clear Icon from the Edit menu to start a new icon with the same size and name as the previously loaded icon.

To Clear an Icon

Save your current icon, if necessary.

Choose Clear Icon from the Edit menu.
The entire icon drawing work area is cleared.

To Draw an Image

Select one of the drawing tools (listed in Table 15-2).

Select a color (static color, static gray, or a dynamic color).

Begin drawing with the tool you've selected.
More details on drawing with each tool are provided below.

Drawing Tools

The drawing tools area of Icon Editor is shown in Figure 15-2.

Figure 15-2 Icon Editor drawing tools

Table 15-2 Using the Drawing Tools

Tool	Purpose	Action
Pencil	For drawing freehand lines and individual pixels.	Press and hold to draw freehand lines.
Line	For drawing straight lines.	Press and hold to stretch the line. Release to draw the line.
Rectangle	For drawing solid or outlined rectangles.	Press and hold to stretch the outline of the rectangle. Release to draw the rectangle.
Circle	For drawing solid or outlined circles.	Point to where you want the center of the circle, press and hold, drag to the desired size, and release.
Eraser	For erasing large areas of the image.	Press and hold; then drag over the area to erase. To erase individual pixels, select the Pencil tool and the Transparent color.
Flood	For flooding a region of one color with the selected color.	Click any pixel within the region to be flooded. The selected pixel and all adjacent pixels of the same color are recolored with the selected color. The filled region extends in all directions, bounded only by pixels of a different color.
Open Polygon	For drawing connected straight lines.	Click the starting point; then click for each segment. Double-click to end the last segment.
Closed Polygon	For drawing connected straight lines, where the first line and last line are connected to form a closed polygon.	Click the starting point; then click for each segment. Double-click to end the last segment.
Ellipse	For drawing solid or outlined ovals.	Press and hold, drag to the desired size and shape, and release.
Selection	For selecting an area to work on. Several commands in the Edit menu require an area to be selected.	Point to the corner pixel of the region to be selected, press and hold, drag to the desired region, and release.
Fill Solids	For changing the rectangle, circle, ellipse, and closed polygon tools to draw filled-in shapes instead of outlines.	Select the check box to automatically draw filled-in shapes. Deselect the check box to return the tools to drawing outlines.