By Bob LaFave, Tampa PC Users Group
boblala@ij.net

In the April 2003 newsletter, http://www.tpcug.org/newsletter/nl_2003/april2003/icons.htm, I did a review on IconUtilities Suite by Aha-soft, http://www.aha-soft.com, and now I’ll look at just one program that has been updated from the suite, ArtIcons Pro 4.0. You can find a complete description on the web at http://www.iconutils.com/articons/index.htm. From the main page you can link to pages for the cost, $39.95 for the full version and variable costs for upgrading from various other Aha-soft products, along with history, awards received, F.A.Q., and screenshots of the program. I will try to add to the previous article with more details on the program and what is “NEW” in version 4.0.

I’ll start with the main program window showing the location and description of the individual controls. As you hover your mouse over each button you have a Hint over each but you also have a description of the button in the lower left Statusbar area. I would like to ask you to look at the two sections that I consider the most useful, the Color Palette and the Frame Bar. In the Color Palette you can see how the colors are presented in different gradients for each. This allows easier color transaction and blending. The predominate colors of the individual icon are shown when editing or changing an existing icon, and when creating a new icon, the full color spectrum is presented. If you need a transition, the shade is easily available without calling up an individual color palette from within the program. The Frame Bar area shows the individual icons that are in the different display resolutions. The newer icons are created in Libraries that include multiple icons. With ArtIcons you can Export any specific icon from the viewing area to work on or to use. This gives greater clarity in the high resolutions available today. You can create a new icon or convert an existing icon from a monochrome (1 bit) up and through 256 colors (8 bit) and finally to True Color + Alpha (32 bit).

The Customize Windows Icons feature is much like the Effects tab in Windows Display Properties but with much greater control over how and what icons are used and displayed in your Windows environment. As you can see in the picture below, under the Desktop tab there are many more choices for you to use in customizing your work. From the picture you can see Control Panel, Printers, Desktop and History to name just a few. Each tab offers more choices in a particular area. The Start Menu tab allows you to change the icons being used on your Windows Start Bar such as the Run, Shut Down, etc. buttons.

The Drives tab allows you to change how hard drives, CD ROMs and other icons in My Computer are displayed. Change any of these icons to what you would like, not what Microsoft decided. The Miscellaneous tab shows icons such as the Default icon Windows uses to represent unknown file types and even the Printers default icon. Once a Tab is chosen, you can use the buttons on the right not only to change the icons that are displayed, but also to restore any changes to any group or to change any individual icon back to the Windows default.

The new feature that is added to this version is Layers. What I like about layers is how you can use layers like you would use transparencies in adding to a drawing. Think of having a pretty uncolored painting on a sheet of paper and placing a clear plastic sheet over the paper. You then can add colors to the plastic without affecting the paper below. This leaves the original intact from editing mistakes that would destroy the original. Any changes are easily accepted or deleted. For example, I can start with an icon of a tower computer, Layer 1, and make additions of colors in two more layers, defining the shape and adding color to what was a grey, dull icon. I never changed the original, and it is left alone as I tried to be creative. Once I am satisfied, I save the colored project and have the new icon to play with.

This program allows you to easily change or create icons to enhance your computer’s visual appearance. It is not for everyone but can be quite fun and allows you to create a little bit of individuality in your computer. I love it. u