How to Make Icons

Converting an image to a desktop icon is easy with the right software.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Image editing program

1. Open an image editing program. Free software is readily available for download, such as Corel Paint Shop Pro, GIMP and ImageMagick (see Resources below).

2. In the editing program, open the image you want to convert into an icon.

3. Resize the image to 32 pixels by 32 pixels. This function is usually under the "Edit" or "Image" tab and is usually called "Scale Image."

4. Save the image with an ".ico" file extension.

Tips & Warnings

• You must know how to write command lines to use ImageMagick.
• Icons that appear in the Windows Taskbar and in the top-left corner of software programs are 16 pixels by 16 pixels.

Resources

• ImageMagick
• GIMP
• Paint Shop Pro