 |
|
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
|
 | ||||||||
|
 |
 |
|
 Cash Register Icon |
|
Add Cash Register icon to cartIcon sizes: 256x256, 48x48, 32x32, 24x24, 16x16
File formats: ICO, GIF, PNG, BMP
Purchase entire Desktop Business Icons now! View Desktop Business Icons now!
Download demo icons
What Are Icons?
A number of independent vendors are offering custom icons in sizes and resolutions standard to certain computer platforms. The article explains what icons are, how they are used and implemented in various systems, and what standards exist for Windows icons, Mac icons, and PNG icons.Computer icons are an integral part of any modern GUI. Icons are small pictograms of standardized resolutions that visually represent objects, actions, and other concepts. In graphical user interfaces, icons are used as a quicker, more intuitive way to communicate with the user. Icons depicting typical elements of a user interface are better visible than text, can be recognized faster, and are easier for new computer users.
Originally developed in 1970 by the Xerox Research Center and widely popularized by the Mac OS and Microsoft Windows systems, icons make computer novices feel more comfortable with computer systems, learn faster and work more efficiently. Icons can be used to replace or supplement text commands. Widely used in menus, toolbars, on buttons and in the latest ribbon-style user interfaces, icons have come a long way from the original concept.
There are several file formats for storing icons. Microsoft Windows systems use Windows icons in the platform-specific ICO format. Mac OS systems store Mac icons in their specific formats, while Unix-based systems use PNG icons for most applications. As such, icon software is generally available for the Windows and Apple systems, while Unix users can design their icons with any image editor.
Generally speaking, icons are square pictograms that come in a number of standard sizes and color resolutions. Most systems support icon sizes of 16x16 to 128x128 pixels, while some systems readily accept icon images as large as 512x512 pixels. The large 512x512 pixel icons were first used in Mac OS Leopard.
Pixel dimensions of all icons are operating system dependent. For example, Windows icons are specified as pictures in 16 and 256-color gammas as well as True Color images with alpha channel. Windows icons come in standard sizes of 16x16, 32x32, and 48x48 pixels. Windows Vista implements new standards for Windows icons, including icons in sizes of up to 256x256 pixels in True Color only. Optionally, images of 128x128 and 512x512 pixels are supported. Interestingly, the high-resolution Windows Vista icons are stored in compressed PNG format instead of Windows ICO used in older versions of Windows and for lower resolution images. Other platforms such as Windows Mobile can employ standard icons of other sizes, such as 24x24 pixels.
Numerous independent vendors are offering custom icons. Aha-Soft offers a variety of Windows icons, Mac icons, and PNG icons in all sizes and resolutions common to those platforms. The company provides royalty-free icons individually and in matching sets incorporating icons drawn a common style or theme.
Copyright © 2005-2012 Aha-Soft. All rights reserved.
|
More info
