How do I create a .ICO?

I need to create a windows icon for a shortcut, but I'm not allowed to
download or install software.

The icon I need is very custom, so it's pointless to search for one
(I've even tried).  I can draw the icon from scratch, or convert from
another format. (.BMP .GIF, etc.).  I guess I am looking for an
on-line graphics conversion engine that exports to the .ICO format.

Alternatively, if I've missed something, I'd use something that is
already resident on my PC.  I'm running Win2000Pro, MSO2000Pro, and
IE5.5. AFAIK, there's nothing here I can use to output .ICOs.

Price is $2, so I'm not expecting an answer worth more than a buck and
a half.

I'll pay-up for a solution (like a URL, description not strictly
necessary) and rate anything quick *****.  Kinda quick gets ****.
Others unrated.

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Request for Question Clarification by joseleon-ga on 28 Feb 2003 00:25 PST

Hello:
  How many icons do you need to create? If are just a few, send it to
me and I will convert them for you. I have been looking for an online
conversion utility and I think it's extremely rare (I'm not saying it
doesn't exists). If you need more conversion or a continued service, I
could design it for you, but this is not a 2 bucks answer ;-)

Regards.

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Clarification of Question by spurious-ga on 28 Feb 2003 00:48 PST

Yes, that'd do; I only need just the one pic. Can I get it to you by
some means like email or an external service? And are there any
specifications, like pixel dimensions, colors, format [ not .ICO,
obviously ;-) ]

>I have been looking for an online conversion utility and I think it's
extremely rare

FYI, the following links mey be useful to you:

http://www.giftools.com/
http://magick.net4tv.com/MagickStudio/scripts/MagickStudio.cgi

They don't do .ICO

Hi spurious,

You can use Microsoft Paint to create a 32 by 32 bitmap graphic file
and then use that as an icon.  The Paint program should already be on
your computer.

For a detailed procedure, see:

http://www.zdnet.com/products/stories/reviews/0,4161,2412965-1,00.html

If you save the file with the extension .ICO, the image will show as
the graphic file's own icon, but you can assign it as a shortcut's
icon even if it doesn't have that extension, as long as you save it as
a bitmap graphic.

I tried this out in Windows 98 and it worked fine, at least as an icon
for a shortcut, which is what you wanted.

If you need any further information, please ask for a clarification.


Search strategy:

A general search on "Windows icon files" led me to

http://www.purple-owl.com/favicon-icon-files.html

Although the link from that page to a page about making icon files in
Paint didn't work, this gave me the clue that it could be done, which
I had already suspected.  A following search for "windows icons paint"
led me to the description cited above.

I hope this information is helpful.

--efn

Wow! That's exactly what I needed and much better than the solution I
was originally seeking. Very quick too, especially considering it's
the middle of the night.

Spurious,

An *.ICO file can contain several images in one, different sizes &
resolutions for different display purposes. One program to create such
icon files is the following by Impact Software:

Microangelo - Download.com
http://download.com.com/3000-2195-10001673.html
"Microangelo provides a total solution for Windows software
developers, graphic designers, and home users. You can create and edit
icons in all image formats, including Windows XP. You can create and
edit cursors and animated cursors, and access and organize icon
libraries with four viewing modes. You can edit or replace icon images
in any type of executable file, as well as browse drives and folders.
Locate and access icons in any file type."

You can try out the 2.9MB program by Impact Software for free, and pay
$39.95 to license it. Microangelo can also be used to import images
from other formats to save them as icons.
Hope it helps!

Thanks for your help j_philipp-ga. I'll try out Microangelo as soon as
I can convince my sysadmin to relax a bit.

I am sure that my problem is not unique and that a portion of the
freeware/PD/shareware market will eventually migrate towards
JAVA/remote processing. It's universal (PC,MAC,Linux,Unix), it's lower
risk for users, there's never an issue of intellectual property
violation and stability/ reliability is much better.

The most appropriate applications for this format are processing
applications like file conversion that require little real-time user
interaction.

As joseleon-ga said, such on-line applications do exist, but are very
rare.  One thing I have been looking for for some time is an online
.zip utility. I think I'll make that the topic of my next question.

Your very best solution would be this:

http://www.favicon.com/beta.html;jsessionid=EECDDPBBPAFD

if that link is not valid head to www.favicon.com, they offer a
competing product to Microangelo and they also offer an online
Java-based program that is currently in Beta and free.  They've been
around for years (every since IE5.0 started supporting the
"favicon.ico" standard for icons in browsers.  This is an excellent
resource for creating icons for you in the future!