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Filed under: Design, Photo, Windows, Adobe, Microsoft, Freeware, Imaging Tips

Photoshop plugin of the day: Icon Plugin by Sibcode

Icon Plugin

Anyone who uses Adobe Photoshop regularly has probably learned to both love and loath Adobe's signature product. Despite being the top-contender in the image editing business, Photoshop is still missing some features.

For example, out of the box, Adobe Photoshop has no option to save files as .ICO or icon files. One option is to make a bitmap (.bmp) image first and then rename it to .ico . However that creates a problem with icon backgrounds occasionally. Then there are the more expensive additives or plugins. But now you can make, edit and save icon files with Photoshop without spending a single dime using the Icon Plugin by Sibcode.


The Icon Plugin is a small (~ 700 k) Photoshop extension. it lets you export or save image files as icon or .ICO files, fully compatible with Windows XP. This plugin supports a wide range of features including multi-format icons, transparency and semi-transparency. The icons created can also be made Windows Vista compatible from the icon creation dialogue by enabling .png compression. It also supports non-standard icons of different sizes, colors and resolutions, including monochrome, 16 colors, 256 colors, 24-bit True Color, and 32-bit True Color with semi-transparency. The users also have the handy option to add/remove sub-icons from the root icon file.


Icon Plugin is compatible with a slew of front running image/graphics editors like Elements, AfterEffects, Premiere, PhotoDeluxe, Corel PhotoPaint, PaintShop Pro, Painter, and Photo. As for OS compatibility, for the time being, this plugin goes fine with Windows, no MAC/Linux support (sorry apple/unix boys and girls). The plugin is a freeware and comes compressed in a zip file. The installation instructions are available in a tidy "read me" file inside the package. Go on, start belching out cute icons with Photoshop today.

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