[CaptainChaos]

I was looking around the net to find a program that can convert desktop icons into png files that I could modify in Photoshop to use in some themes I have been creating.

Well I found something even better. I don't even have to use Photoshop for the final editing as this program can do it all. Surprisingly enough, it is free. What a bargain, what a bargain.

It works with Mac icons and Windows icons (including Vista) and it can convert them back and forth as well. Got a Windows icon you want to use on a Mac? Got a Mac icon you want to use on a Windows box? This program does it for you.

It has a ton of features that continue to surprise me as I dig deeper into it including:

• Support for Vista icons with PNG compression
• Create icons for Windows 98 / ME / 2000 / XP / Vista / Macintosh
• Support for alpha channel (transparency)
• Batch processing for handling multipple files
• Built in resource editor for creating icon libraries or changing icons inside exe files
• Zoom icons up to 10000% for increased precision
• Import image dialog, for creating icons from images
• Convert Macintosh icons to Windows icons and vice versa
• Open, save, edit and convert Macintosh OS X icons
• Extract Macintosh icons from resource files
• Snapshot window for creating overviews of the icons
• More than 40 built in effects, including Drop Shadow
• Use custom filters to create your own customized effects
• Multiple language support
• Resolutions up to 256x256
• Data types: 2, 16, 256, True Color, True Color + Alpha (optional dithering for 2, 16, 256 colors)
• Extract icons (including Vista icons) from 32 bit exe and dll
• Import / export images (transparency also) from bmp, jpg, gif, png, jp2
• Many useful drawing tools like brush, line, rectangle and more
• Transparent, Brighten/Darken, Blur/Sharpen tools for retouching
• Create icon from an image with a single click
• Adjust the contrast, brightness, hue, saturation, transparency and color balance of icons
• Change the dimension of images
• Images can be faded using the fadeout dialog
• Increase / decrease the opacity of an image
• Easy shadow handling
• RGB and HSB color modes
• History of recently opened files
• Window menu for easy window switching
• Possibility to store favorite colors
• Capture image from the desktop
• Grid for precision work
• Side bar for easy image switching
• File Explorer window for easy file browsing and importing
• Full drag and drop support
• Sizable preview window
• Multiple undo
• Blur the edge of the brush
• Rotate the image at any angle

It defaults to working with icon sizes 16x16, 24x24, 32x32, 48x48, 128x128, and 256x256, but you can also set a custom image size which I do for my themes (60x60).

Below are a few screenies from my original testing of the app and here is the link for the download and support: IcoFX - The Free Icon Editor