Noise in Windows icon when standalone compiled on Mac

[J. Landman Gay]

Bruce Pokras wrote:

> But what happened to "write 
> once and compile for multiple platforms" when you need separate 
> computers to make the apps look right? I don't buy the excuse that some 
> kind of "improvement" makes Rev 4 unable to do as good a job with an 
> icon as Rev 3.5 did. That is not an improvement in my mind, and I hope 
> that the Rev developers don't think so either.

It doesn't bother me at all. Icons are an external resource and we've 
always needed a third-party app to create them. The old way of embedding 
Windows icons was based on Windows 95 and had some unusual requirements 
even back then. I'm sure you've bumped up against the restrictions for 
icon size, color depth, number of icons in the file, etc. With Vista and 
Win 7 it became apparent that the file structure needed to be updated so 
that Rev apps would function like any other on that platform and comply 
with standards.

So all that is required is that you use a different icon editor than the 
one you used to use, one that creates icons that fit with today's file 
structure. I don't know what you were using before, but for now there 
aren't many Mac alternatives. If someday one appears, you can use that 
one and not need a Windows machine.

There were some good reasons to change the file structure, including the 
ability to certify your Windows apps with a manifest, just like any 
other Windows program. That's necessary in today's more restrictive 
Windows environment. Vista introduced some stiff security measures and 
your app is more likely to fail if it doesn't comply. That change 
doesn't mean that Rev is deficient -- in fact, it indicates that Rev is 
keeping up with the OS -- but it does mean you need to change the icon 
editor you use. Virtually any newer Windows icon editor will work. To 
date, almost no Mac one will.

What were you using before?

-- 
Jacqueline Landman Gay         |     jacque at hyperactivesw.com
HyperActive Software           |     http://www.hyperactivesw.com