IconPackager Explorer

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On your Start Menu, click on All Programs, then Stardock, then Object Desktop and you will see two applications: IconExplorer and IconPackager.  IconExplorer (IconPackager Explorer) is a Windows Explorer like program that makes it easier for you to manage your icons (.ICO) & libraries of icon packages (.ICL).

After clicking on IconExplorer, you will see a window like the one below open.  In the title bar is the name of the program "IconPackager Explorer (same as IconExplorer) - followed by the current folder.  Below the title bar is a standard Windows Explorer menu bar, beneath that is a toolbar, with a "View Files" filter, and a "Format" pull-down menu to select the size of icons supported by the selected icon that you can view.  The left pane is a standard Windows Explorer type view, the upper right corner lists files under the folder you click on in the left pane.  It gives details like file type, and number of icons in file/library.  In the lower right is a preview of the icon(s) enclosed in the file.  You can look inside icon files (.ICO), but also .EXE, .DLL, and others.

On the bottom of the window is a Status Bar that displays the file path to the icon you clicked on.  To the right of that it lists the number of formats supported by that icon (i.e. 6 formats), number of icons enclosed in the file (i.e. 1 icons), number of images (i.e. 1 image) and number of icons selected in the lower right window pane (i.e. 1 selected).

A single file (i.e. .ICO, .EXE, .DLL, ...) can store one or more images inside it and at different formats (sizes) and color depths.  When you click on a file in IconPackager Explorer, it will tell you how many icons are inside it.  You can see this information in different places; if the browser is set to Details (under the View menu), on the Status Bar (View menu > check "Status Bar"), and if you right-click on the icon image in the lower right corner of the browser and select "Properties".  Each format is a separate icon.  A "Format" is a size & number of colors, like: 16x16 Windows XP, 32x32 Windows XP, 256x256 Windows XP, and so on.  "Windows XP" means it supports truecolor.  (For technical information on truecolor, see : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truecolor.) For more technical information about icon (.ico) files, please see Wikipedia at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICO_%28icon_image_file_format%29. When using IconPackager Explorer, it helps to know where icon packages are stored, so here is a reminder: (C: drive is the most common, but if you installed IconPackager to a different drive then the path maybe different.) Windows Vista: C:\Users\Public\Documents\Stardock\IconPackager Windows XP & 2000: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Stardock\IconPackager Beyond these paths, you can browse your whole hard-drive for all sorts of files.  Use IconPackager Explorer to look inside to see if there any icons.  If you find something you like, right-click on the lower right browser pane & select "Add Icon". Menus The table below describes each option on the menus, located on the top of the window.  Hot Keys are keyboard shortcuts that consist of one or more keys pressed together and act as an alternate to clicking on the menu option with your mouse.

 

Action	What it does
File Menu
New	Creates a new Icon Library, ready to add icons too. Hot Key: Control key & letter N.
Open...	Opens the "Open Library" window to let you select the file type & file or package to open.  You can for example, open an .EXE file & any icons inside it will be displayed in the lower right browser pane.  You can then delete any you don't want & click on "File", then "Save As..." to save the icons as a new library file. Hot Key: Control key & letter O.
Save	Save the current library file. Hot Key: Control key & letter S.
Save As...	Save As under a new Icon Library (.ICL) filename, which can contain one or more icons.
Export As...	Export the selected icon as a icon file (.ICO), Cursor (.CUR), Bitmap image (.BMP).  This allows you to look inside of various types of files (i.e. .EXE, .DLL) for icons to export & save.  You can then use those icons in IconPackager. Hot Key: Control key & letter E.
New Window	Opens another copy of the IconPackager Explorer. Hot Key: Alt key & letter N.
Language	Change the language used in IconPackager Explorer.
(History)	As you open, save, etc. files, they will appear in the history (last used) as numbered items.
Exit	Closes IconPackager Explorer. Hot Key: Alt key & F4.
Edit Menu
Edit Icon	Opens default graphic program to edit selected icon.
Add Icon...	Adds icon to the selected file. Hot Key: Control key & letter D.
Cut	Standard Cut, used with Paste.  Removes the file, so you can paste it elsewhere. Hot Key: Control key & letter X.
Copy	Copy the selected file on to the clipboard. Hot Key: Control key & letter C.
Paste	Paste a file from the clipboard. Hot Key: Control key & letter V.
Create Copy	Create a copy of the selected file with the new name of "Copy of " <filename>.
Delete	Delete the selected file. Hot Key: Delete key.
Delete Format	Delete a format (i.e. icon of 32 x 32, Windows XP type).
Rename	Rename a file. Hot Key: F2.
Select All	Select All (like block mark), used for copying, etc.. Hot Key: Control key & letter A.
Invert Selection	Selects all files, except the one(s) you selected.
Properties	Displays properties of the selected icon, including: filename, image dimensions (i.e. 48x48 pixels), image file size (i.e. 9,640 bytes), icon formats (i.e. pixel sizes & version(s) of Windows). Hot Key: Alt key & Enter.
View Menu
Toolbar	Checked, (default) toolbar appears. Unchecked, toolbar is hidden.
Status Bar	Checked, (default) status bar is visible on bottom of window. Unchecked, disables status bar.
Browser	Checked, (default) the left & upper-right browser panes are visible. Unchecked, turns off the left & upper-right panes.
Large Icons	Displays a large icon & filename in the upper, right-corner browser pane.
Small Icons	Displays a small icon & filename in the upper, right-corner browser pane.
List	Displays a small icon & filename in the upper, right-corner browser pane.
Details	Displays a small icon, Name (filename) column, Type (i.e. icon) column, and Icons (number of icons in file) in the upper, right-corner browser pane.
Refresh	Refreshes the browser window (i.e. drives, folders, files) after changes were made outside of IconPackager Explorer, CD inserted, etc.. Hot Key: F5.
Tools Menu
Run IconPackager...	Launches IconPackager.
Run IconDeveloper	If installed, launches IconDeveloper.  Otherwise, you're prompted to download & install it, click or .
Rebuild Icon Cache	If you see the icons from the previous package still being displayed after applying a new package, click this to rebuild the Windows Explorer cache.
Options...	Allows you to change these settings: "Save IconPackager Explorer settings between sessions": Checked, (default) it will save settings (i.e. window sizes & positions). Unchecked, it won't save settings. "Open icon library files with IconPackager Explorer": Checked, (default) IconPackager Explorer will open library files (.ICL). Unchecked, it won't open .ICL files.  Handy if you want .ICL files associated & opened by another application. "Ignore resource names": Checked, resource names stored in Icon Library (.ICL) files will be ignored. Unchecked, (default) resource names won't be ignored.
Help Menu
Contents and Index	Displays the help file. Hot Key: F1.
History	Display the history of changes made to this program.
On The Web (sub-menu)	Displays a sub-menu of: IconPackager Web Site - your web browser opens this web site. IconPackager Email - your web browser opens the Stardock Support website. IconPackager Forum - opens the Stardock online Forums. Download Additional Packages - Opens www.wincustomize.com in your default web browser, so you can browse & download icon packages.
About IconPackager Explorer	Displays the: program name, version, credit, links to web sites, etc..

Toolbar The toolbar gives easy access to standard options, in addition to View Files (filter) to select what files to list in the browser and what Format to view.

 

Action	What it does
	Creates a new icon library.
	Opens Explorer type window to browse for & open a file.
	Saves changes.
	Standard Cut, used with Paste.  Removes the file, so you can paste it elsewhere.
	Copy the selected file on to the clipboard.
	Paste a file from the clipboard.
	Delete the selected file.
	Displays properties of the selected icon, including: filename, image dimensions (i.e. 48x48 pixels), image file size (i.e. 9,640 bytes), icon formats (i.e. pixel sizes & version(s) of Windows).
	Toggles Browser visible/hidden.
	View menu - gives choices of viewing icons in the upper, right corner of the browser pane as: Large Icons - large icon & filename. Small Icons - small icon & filename. List - smaller icon & filename. Details - smaller icon, filename, Type & Icons columns.
	Displays Help for this program.
	View Files menu allows you to select (filter) what type of files you want displayed in the browser.
	Format menu allows you to select which icon format to view in the browser that is supported by the selected file.

Icon Options Right-clicking on an icon in the lower, right browser pane will display a menu with a number of options.

 

Action	What it does
Edit Icon	Opens default graphic program to edit selected icon.
Edit using IconDeveloper	If installed, launches IconDeveloper.  Otherwise, you're prompted to download & install it, click or .
Add Icon...	Adds icon to the selected file. Hot Key: Control key & letter D.
Export As...	Export the selected icon as a icon file (.ICO), Cursor (.CUR), Bitmap image (.BMP). Hot Key: Control key & letter E.
Cut	Standard Cut, used with Paste.  Removes the file, so you can paste it elsewhere. Hot Key: Control key & letter X.
Copy	Copy the selected file on to the clipboard. Hot Key: Control key & letter C.
Create Copy	Create a copy of the selected file with the new name of "Copy of " <filename>.
Delete	Delete the selected file. Hot Key: Delete key.
Rename	Rename a file. Hot Key: F2.
Properties	Displays properties of the selected icon, including: filename, image dimensions (i.e. 48x48 pixels), image file size (i.e. 9,640 bytes), icon formats (i.e. pixel sizes & version(s) of Windows). Hot Key: Alt key & Enter.

Creating a New Icon Library By creating an Icon Library (.ICL) file, you can store icons you like from other sources.  Then in IconPackager, you can change an icon to one of the icons stored in the library file you created.  This allows you to use icons that are stored in various files (i.e. .EXE, .DLL, ...) on your hard-drive, not just icon files (.ICO) or Icon Packages (.ICONPACKAGE, .IPTHEME). To create a new library file and use the icon(s) in IconPackager, do the following:

Click the new library icon. Use the browser to select a file.  It will scan the file to find any icons inside.  IconPackager Explorer has to read the file, so if the "Icons" column (Details view) shows a number greater than zero, but nothing is displayed in the lower right preview wait until it's done scanning the file. If you find icon(s) you want, you can save all of them or delete ones you don't want. To delete unwanted icons, right-click on the icon in the lower right pane & select "Delete". To save the icons to an Icon Library file, click on "File", then "Save As..." and to the folder where you want the library file located and save it.  By default, the filename is the same as the name of the original file with the .ICL extension. Click on "Tools", then "Run IconPackager...", then click on the sub-menu (i.e. Desktop, Start, Folders, ...) and the icon you want to change & click "Change this Icon...". Then to the library file you just created, select it and click . All of the icons will be displayed.  Now select the icon you want & click .  Click "Apply My Changes" to change your computers icon(s).

Alternate methods of adding icons to a library in IconPackager Explorer, include:

Open Windows Explorer, locate the icon (.ICO) file(s) & drag & drop them into the IconPackager Explorer's lower right pane.  This will copy the file from Windows Explorer, it won't cut (remove) it from its original folder.  Then you can continue with step #4 above. Another way is to right-click in the lower right pane of IconPackager Explorer and select "Add Icon".  This will open a Windows Explorer type window which allows you to locate files to add.  Then continue with step #4 above.

You can use any of these three ways interchangeably to find & add icons to a new library file.