Challenge
Client required to upgrade his existing icon editor to stay competitive with other icon editor products. He also required below mentioned features:
- Support for XP style icons
- Tools and functionalities to load, edit and save .ico files
- Easy to use yet feature rich for both a professional graphic designer and novice user
- Features like the window for the tools, color palette, icon list (for navigation, preview, and summary of all sizes and depths for the icon), info window, and layer window
- Should Support icons of all the format size which includes 16x16, 24x24, 32x32, 48x48, 64x64, 128x128 and all custom size pixels and Color Depth includes 1 bit (Monochromatic), 4 bit, 8 bit (256 color), 24 bit (True Color),and 32-bit images (also known as Windows XP Icons with alpha channel)
Expertise
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Operating System
Microsoft Windows
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Programming Language
Visual C++
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Development Tool
Visual Studio
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Project Management Tool
Microsoft Visio
Solution
After analyzing client requirement, TatvaSoft Australia created IconEdit custom desktop application with below mentioned functionalities:
It offered following features which include:
- Helps to create, load, save and edit icons format files as well as project files
- Supports saving image as bitmap (bmp)
- Includes a variety of drawing tools like pen, brush etc. with customized thickness
- Enables creating and editing multiple icons in a single icon file
- Contains image filters and effects like smooth, blur, noise, drop shadow, outer glow, and inner level
- Support for layers that enable the user to work on separate layers to create rich icons
- Allows to scale an image from one size to another
- Actions toolbar supports moving, flipping, zooming, rotating layer and windows visibility
- Information Window which displays pixel coordinates and color, Notifies if the pixel is transparent or colored, information about Width & height of the currently selected area etc.
- Over 20 different drawing tools like selection tools, pencil, brush, gradient, blur, text, color box etc.
- Support for XP style icons
To know more about this software product, visit PC Magazine site.
Result
The client PC Magazine's greatest challenge was to reinvent their own icon editor to stay competitive with other icon editors like IconCool Studio and Microangelo. The client desired the tools, color palette, icon list (for navigation, preview, and summary of all sizes). It should even support XP icons.
