 IconWorks Help Contents

The Contents lists Help topics available for IconWorks.  Use the scroll bar to see entries not currently visible in the Help window.

To learn how to use Help, press F1 or choose Using Help from the Help menu

Editor

Commands and Tools

Shortcut Keys

Procedures

Viewer

Commands

Shortcut Keys

Procedures

ICONWRKS.INI File


 Editor: Commands and Tools

Click the part of the Editor window you want to know more about.


 Editor: Shortcut Keys

Click a menu name to list the shortcut keys for menus in the IconWorks editor:

File Menu

Edit Menu

View Menu

Help Menu


File Menu Shortcut Keys

To choose	Press

Save	SHIFT+F12
Save As	F12
Exit	ALT+F4


Edit Menu Shortcut Keys

To choose	Press

Undo	ALT+BACKSPACE
Cut	SHIFT+DEL
Copy	CTRL+INS
Paste	SHIFT+INS
Opaque Paste	CTRL+SHIFT+INS
Delete	DEL
Select All	CTRL+A
Flip Horizontal	CTRL+H
Flip Vertical	CTRL+V
Rotate Right	CTRL+L
Rotate Left	CTRL+R
Invert	CTRL+I


View Menu Shortcut Keys

To choose	Press

Status bar	CTRL+S
Tool Palette	CTRL+T
Color Palette	CTRL+C
Zoom Scroll bar	CTRL+Z
Grid	CTRL+G
Zoom In	CTRL+F11
Zoom Out	CTRL+F12


Help Menu Shortcut Keys

To choose	Press

Help Contents	F1


 Editor: File Menu

New

This command clears the editing area to start a new icon.  The new icon appears in the  iconbox selected the Status Area.

If there are any unsaved changes in the editing area when you select the New command, IconWorks asks if you want to save the changes.  IconWorks then clears the editing area to the currently selected screen color and changes the Title bar to [Untitled].

Open

This command opens the IconWorks Viewer so you can select an icon for editing.  When you double-click the name of an icon in the Viewer, IconWorks opens the selected icon in the Editor.

Save

This command saves changes made to the icon in the editing area.  If the Title bar shows that the icon is untitled, the Save icon dialog box appears so you can give the icon file a name.

Save As

This command saves the icon in the editing area.  The Save icon dialog box appears so you can save the icon with a different file name.

Exit

This command closes the IconWorks Editor.  If any of the six icons in the Status Area have unsaved changes, IconWorks prompts you to exit any way or cancel the Exit command.  If the Viewer is also open, IconWorks lets you close the Viewer too if you started the Viewer after the Editor.  If you started the Viewer first (using the V command line argument), the Editor closes leaving the Viewer running.


 Editor: Edit Menu

Undo

This command removes any changes from the icon since the time you changed editing tools or selected another icon.  Once you select a new tool or another icon from the Status Area, the Undo command cannot remove the changes made in the editing area.  The Undo icon button in the Status Area displays the condition the icon will return to if you select the Undo command.

Cut

This command copies the portion of the editing area you select to the Clipboard and clears the selected area to the current screen color.  The Cut command does not work if you move the part of the icon you select before cutting it.  You must reselect the area you want to cut then use the Cut command.

Copy

This command copies the portion of the editing area you select to the Clipboard.  The editing area is not affected.  The Copy command does not work if you move the part of the icon you select before copying it.  You must reselect the area you want to cut then use the Copy command.

Paste

This command inserts the contents of the Clipboard as a selected group of pixels in the upper-left corner of the editing area.  You can then move the selected pixels anywhere in the editing area before pasting them in the current icon.  To paste the selection into the icon, click the mouse anwhere in the editing area outside of the selection.

All pixels in the pasted bitmap that match the current screen color appear transparent and do not affect the icon below.  Pixels that match the inverse of the screen color replace the pixels in the icon.

Paste Opaque

This command inserts the contents of the Clipboard as a selected group of pixels in the upper-left corner of the editing area.  You can then move the selected pixels anywhere in the editing area before pasting them in the current icon.  To paste the selection into the icon, click the mouse anwhere in the editing area outside of the selection.

All pixels in the bitmap cover any pixels in the icon below.

Delete

This command deletes the selection in the editing area from the icon, replacing the selection with the current screen color.

Select All

This command selects the entire icon in the editing area.  You can also double-click the Select tool to select the entire icon.

Flip Horizontal

 This command flips the current selection in the editing area from left to right.

Flip Vertical

This command flips the current selection in the editing area from top to bottom.

Rotate Right 90 degrees

This command rotates the current selection in the editing area 90 degrees to the left.

Rotate Left 90 degrees

This command rotates the current selection in the editing area 90 degrees to the right.

Invert

This command changes all the colors in the current selection to their opposites.  The following picture shows the normal color palette in IconWorks and the inverted color palette so you can see how the colors change when using the Invert command.


 Editor: View Menu

Status Bar

This command hides or displays the Status Area.  This command is unavailable if the Editor window is too small to display the Status Area.

Tool Palette

This command hides or displays the Tool Palette.  This command is unavailable if the Editor window is too small to display the Tool Palette.

Color Palette

This command hides or displays the Color Palette.  This command is unavailable if the Editor window is too small to display the color palette.

Zooming Scroll bar

This command hides or displays the Zooming Scroll bar.

Show All

This command displays all hidden Editor controls: The Status Area, Tool Palette, Color Palette, and Zooming Scroll bar.  If the Editor window is too small to display a specific control, that control remains hidden.

Grid

This command turns the grid on and off.  The grid helps you tell individual pixels apart in the editing area.  When the grid is on you can select between a solid line grid or a dotted grid.

Line Grid

This command displays the grid as solid lines.  This command is unavailable when the grid is turned off.

Dotted Grid

This command displays the grid as rows and columns of dots.  This command is unavailable when the grid is turned off.

Zoom In

This command magnifies the appearance of the icon in the editing area.  You can also zoom in on an icon with the Zooming Scroll bar.

Zoom Out

This command reduces the appearance of the icon in the editing area.  You can also zoom out from an icon with the Zooming Scroll bar.

Focus to Editor on Drag and Drop

When switched on this command automatically brings the Editor to the foreground any time an icon is dragged from the Viewer and dropped onto the Editor.  When switched off you can drag up to six icons from the Viewer and drop them on iconboxes in the Status Area without bringing the editor to the foreground each time.

Display Border on Selected Icon

This command displays or hides a narrow border showing the edge of the selected icon in the Status Area.

Pop-up Tools menu

When switched on this command lets you pop-up the Tools menu when you click the right mouse button to the left or right of the editing area.


Editor: Tools Menu
 Editor: Tools

How to Select a Tool

You can select tools in the Editor in either of two ways:

1.	Clicking on the icon for the tool in the Tool Palette

2.	Selecting the name of the tool from the Tools menu

Select Tool

This tool selects a rectangular region in the editing area.

To use the Select tool, click in the editing area to anchor one corner of the area you want to select.  Drag the mouse until the flexible box that appears surrounds the area you want to select.  Release the mouse button.  If you make a mistake while selecting, click outside of the current selection and start over.

Paint Tool

This tool paints pixels in the editing area according to the selected brush size.

To use the Paint tool, click the mouse in the editing area and drag to begin painting.

 Fill Tool

This tool fills a closed area with the color selected in the Color Palette.

To use the Fill tool, click in the area to be filled.  The area will be filled with the color selected in the Color Palette.  The Fill tool fills adjacent pixels which are the same color as the starting pixel.  If you fill an area with a dithered color rather than solid color, the result will be a checkerboard pattern.

 Line Tool

This tool draws straight lines.

To use the Line tool, click in the editing area to anchor one end of the line.  Drag the mouse until the mouse reaches the other end of the line you want to draw.  Release the mouse button to draw the line in the icon.  The width of the line corresponds to the current brush size.  The color of the line is the color selected in the Color Palette.

To draw a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line, hold down the SHIFT key as you drag the mouse.

Square Tool

This tool draws rectangles and squares.

To use the Square tool, click in the editing area to anchor one corner of the square.  Drag the mouse until the square is the size and shape you want.  When the square or rectangle is the right size and shape, release the mouse button.  The brush size determines width of the box's border.  The color of the outline of the square is determined by the Color Palette.

To draw a perfect square, hold down the SHIFT key as you drag the mouse.

Filled Square Tool

This tool draws filled rectangles and squares.

To use the Filled Square tool, click in the editing area to anchor one corner of the square.  Drag the mouse until the square is the size and shape you want.  When the square or rectangle is the right size and shape, release the mouse button.  The brush size determines width of the box's border.  The color that fills in the square is determined by the Color Palette.

The border of the square is a line and therefore cannot be drawn using dithered colors.  If you select a dithered color the border of the square will appear in the nearest solid color.  If you want the entire square to be drawn with a dithered color, first draw the square with a solid color then use the Fill tool to fill it in with the desired dithered color.

To draw a perfect square, hold down the SHIFT key as you drag the mouse.

Circle Tool

This tool draws circles and ellipses.

To use the Circle tool, click in the editing area to anchor one corner of a flexible box containing an ellipse.  The box appears while you draw to show the anchor point and current mouse position.   It disappears when you finish drawing.  Drag the mouse until the ellipse is the size and shape you want.  When the circle or ellipse is the right size and shape, release the mouse button.  The brush size determines the border width of the circle or ellipse border.  The color of the circle or ellipse border is determined by the Color Palette.

To draw a perfect circle, hold down the SHIFT key as you drag the mouse.

Filled Circle Tool

This tool draws filled circles and ellipses.

To use the Filled Circle tool, click in the editing area to anchor one corner of a flexible box containing an ellipse.  The box appears while you draw to show the anchor point and current mouse position.   It disappears when you finish drawing.  Drag the mouse until the ellipse is the size and shape you want.  When the circle or ellipse is the right size and shape, release the mouse button.  The brush size determines the border width of the circle or ellipse border.  The color that fills the circle or ellipse is determined by the Color Palette.

To draw a perfect circle, hold down the SHIFT key as you drag the mouse.

The border of the ellipse is a line and therefore cannot be drawn using dithered colors.  If you select a dithered color the border of the ellipse will appear in the nearest solid color.  If you want the entire ellipse to be drawn with a dithered color, first draw the ellipse with a solid color then use the Fill tool to fill it in with the desired dithered color.


 Editor: Icons Menu

Enables you to select and display an icon from the Status Area when it is not displayed.

Choose...	To select and display the icon from...
1 - [path]  Filename	the upper-left iconbox
2 - [path]  Filename	the upper-right iconbox
3 - [path]  Filename	the middle-left iconbox
4 - [path]  Filename	the middle-right iconbox
5 - [path]  Filename	the lower-left iconbox
6 - [path]  Filename	the lower-right iconbox

The full path and filename of the currently loaded icons appear in the appropriate menu item.  Selecting an icon from the Icons Menu is equivalent to clicking the corresponding iconbox in the Status Area.


 Editor: Color Menu

Colors

This command opens the Custom Color Palette Window, where you can define custom colors and assign them to the current color palette.  You can use the Custom Color Palette window to select colors in the same way you select colors with the Color Palette displayed in the Editor.  You can display your custom Color Palette as a floating palette instead of the Color Palette in the Editor.

Default Color Palette

This command resets the Color Palette to the default colors.

INI File Color  Palette

This command sets the Color Palette to the values currently stored in the ICONWRKS.INI file.  If this file doesn't exist, or you have never saved changes to the displayed Color Palette, the color palette resets to the default colors.

Solid Colors Only

This command sets the current color palette to solid colors only.  Each column of cells is set to the same color.  Because some tools cannot use dithered colors, this command ensures that any color you select can be used by any tool.

Save Color Palette to INI file

This command saves the current color palette to ICONWRKS.INI.  IconWorks creates this file If it doesn't exist.

Left/Right Colors

This command sets the current mouse colors to those currently displayed in the Status Area for the Left and Right colors.  You can also set the current mouse colors by selecting the corresponding option button in the Status Area.

Screen/Inverse Colors

This command sets the current mouse colors to those currently displayed in the Status Area for the Screen and Inverse colors.  You can also set the current mouse colors by selecting the corresponding option button in the Status Area.


 Editor: Brush Menu

Choose...	To set drawing tool size to...
Small (1 x 1)	1 pixel wide
Medium (3 x 3)	3 pixels wide
Large (5 x 5)	5 pixels wide

The brush size does not affect the Select tool or Fill tool.


Editor: Help Menu

The commands in this menu open the help file you are now reading.


 Editor: Status Area

The Status Area is the part of the IconWorks Editor window that is to the right of the editing area and the Color Palette.  The Status Area displays information and provides controls that help as you use IconWorks.

When you resize the Editor window, IconWorks removes items from the Status Area as the Editor becomes too small to display them.  IconWorks displays these items again when the Status Area becomes big enough to fit them in the window.  The entire Status Area disappears if the Editor window becomes too small to display the six icon boxes.  In this case, you must choose the Status Area command from the View menu to redisplay the Status Area.

The Status Area has four sections:

Icon Boxes

Mouse Position display

Undo Icon display

Mouse Button controls


Icon Boxes

The top part of the Status Area contains six icon boxes.  The icon boxes serve the following uses:

Displays icons open for editing.  IconWorks can edit up to six icons at one time.  You can open icons by dragging them from the Viewer and dropping them onto an icon box.

Indicates the currently selected icon with a square border.

Displays the actual size of the icons being edited.

Switches between any open icons by clicking on the icon box of the icon you want to edit.

Lets you test how icons appear when dragged.

See Also

Status Area


Mouse Position

Displays the current X and Y position of the mouse when in the editing area.

See Also

Status Area


Undo Icon

Displays the condition the icon will return to if you select the Undo command in the Edit menu or if you double-click on the Undo Icon.

See Also

Status Area


Mouse Buttons

Displays the colors applied by the left and right mouse buttons when editing an icon.  You can choose between foreground colors or screen and inverse screen colors.

See Also

Status Area


 Editor: Color Palette

The Color Palette contains solid and dithered colors you can use when editing an icon.

To select a color from the palette, click a color cell with the left or right mouse button.  IconWorks assigns the selected color to the mouse button used to click the color cell.  You use this procedure to assign foreground colors as well as screen and inverse colors.

Double-clicking a mouse button assigns the selected color to that button then opens the Custom Color Palette Window.  You can define your own colors in this window.


 Editor: Defining Colors

You define colors using the Custom Color Palette shown below.  To open the Custom Color Palette, double-clicking the Color Palette in the Editor or select the Colors command form the Color menu.  Minimizing or closing the Editor window also hides or closes the Custom Color Palette window.

Color Elements and Values

Custom colors are composed of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) elements.  These elements have values ranging from 0 to 255.  A value of 0 means none of that color appears in the custom color.

Setting Color Values

Use the RGB scroll bars to set the individual color elements.  You can also enter color values into the fields to the right of each scroll bar.  The color cell to the right of each field displays the color matching the value chosen for each element (red, green, or blue).

The Selected Color cell displays the RGB color created by combining the individual RGB elements.  Since some of the tools cannot use dithered colors, the Nearest Solid Color is also displayed.

Adding Custom Colors to the Editor

To add a color to the Color Palette in the Editor, click the Set button.  The color cell currently selected in the Editor changes to display the new custom color.

Clicking the Reset button resets the RGB elements to the color values for the color cell currently selected in the Editor.

Defining Additional Colors

To define another color, click on a color cell in the Color Palette in the Custom Color window.


Editor: Screen/Inverse Screen Colors
 Editor: Screen and Inverse Colors

Screen Color

The color you select as the Screen color controls the background of the icon.  When you drag the icon in Program Manager, any part of the icon colored with the Screen color is transparent, displaying whatever is beneath.  You can test this transparency by dragging an icon using the Screen color from the Status Area.

Inverse Color

The Inverse color is also transparent when you drag the icon in Program Manager, however it inverts the colors on the screen beneath the icon.  You can test this inverted transparency by dragging an icon using the Inverse color from the Status Area.

Selecting Screen and Inverse Colors

The Screen and Inverse colors can only be solid colors.  The Screen and Inverse colors act as a pair when selecting colors.  When you select a color for either the Screen or Inverse color, IconWorks automatically sets the other color in the pair to the inverse of the color you select.  For instance, if you set the Screen color to black, IconWorks sets the Inverse color to white.


 Editor: Undo Icon

The Undo Icon button, which appears in the Status Area, shows the condition the icon in the editing area returns to if you undo your changes.  You can undo your changes by clicking the Undo Icon button or by choosing the Undo command from the Edit menu.

IconWorks hides the Undo Icon button if you size the Editor window too small to display the entire Status Area.


 Editor: Procedures

Zooming In and Out

Moving a Selection

Flipping a Selection

Rotating a Selection

Testing an Icon


 Editor: Zooming In and Out

The vertical scroll bar along the left side of the editing area increases or decreases the magnification of the currently selected icon.

You can use this scroll bar to display the icon at actual size or magnify it to fill the editing area.  When you resize the Editor, the scroll bars adjusts to the new window size so that the icon stays at the same magnification.


 Editor: Moving a Selection

Once a region in the icon has been selected with the Select tool, there are two ways to move it:

Opaque Move	Use the right mouse button to click and drag the selected pixels.  The selection is moved as is, including all foreground colored pixels and all screen and inverse screen colored pixels.
Transparent Move	Use the left mouse button to click and drag the selected pixels.  Only the foreground colored pixels move.  This lets you move regions in the icon that appear to be a non-rectangular.

Once you move a selection of pixels, the selection rectangle changes from a dotted rectangle to a solid rectangle.

Holding down the SHIFT key while moving a selection leaves a copy of the selected pixels at their original location.  Selecting another tool or selecting another icon also deposits the moved pixels to their current location.


 Editor: Flipping a Selection

Once you select part of the icon with the Select tool, you can flip the selected pixels either vertically or horizontally.  You can use the Flip Horizontal and Flip Vertical commands in the Edit menu.  You can also use these shortcut keys:

Flip Horizontal	CTRL+H
Flip Vertical	CTRL+V

The selection does not have to be square in order to be flipped.  You can also flip a selection while it is being moved.


 Editor: Rotating a Selection

Once you select part of the icon with the Select tool, you can rotate the selected pixels 90 degrees to the left or right.  You can use the Rotate 90° Left and Rotate 90° Right commands in the Edit menu.  You can also use these shortcut keys:

Rotate Left	CTRL+L
Rotate Right	CTRL+R

The selection must be square in order to be rotated.  You cannot rotate a selection that you are moving.


 Editor: Testing an Icon

You can test the icons you create to see what they look like when dragged.  This ability is especially helpful when your icon contains transparent regions.

To test an icon, drag the icon from its icon box in the Status Area.  You can test only the currently selected icon.  You cannot drop icons dragged from the Status Area.


 Viewer: Shortcut Keys

To...	Press...

Close IconWorks Viewer	ALT+F4
Open the Editor (Does not load icon)	F7
Show all icons	CTRL+V
Open Help	F1


  Viewer: Commands

File Menu

Edit Menu

Options Menu


 Viewer: File Menu

Open

This command opens the IconWorks Editor and loads the currently selected icon it for editing.  There are several ways to select and load an icon into the Editor.  The menu item is active only when an icon is selected.

Exit

This command closes the IconWorks Viewer.  If the Editor is open and the Viewer was started first, you will be asked if you also want to close the Editor.  If the Editor was started first, the Viewer will be closed leaving the Editor running.


 Viewer: Edit Menu

Copy

This command copies the bitmap image of the selected icon onto the Clipboard.  The icon itself is not copied to the Clipboard.   The Copy command is unavailable if you haven't selected an icon.


 Viewer: Options Menu

Editor

This command opens the IconWorks Editor without loading an icon.  If the Editor is already opened, this command brings it to the foreground.

Show all Icons

This command displays all of the icons listed in the Icons list box in the scrollable viewing window to the right.

Show all icons on DIR Change Command

This command causes IconWorks to update the scrollable viewing area whenever you change directories in the Viewer.


 Viewer: Procedures

Selecting an Icon to Edit

Viewing Icons


 Viewer: Viewing Icons

Viewing Individual Icons

You can view individual icons one at a time, by selecting them from the Icons list box.  The selected icon appears beside the Selected Icon label.

Icons that aren't valid under Windows appear as solid black squares.

Viewing All Icons in a Directory

To view all the icons in a directory at the same time, choose the Show all Icons command from the Options menu.  Each of the icons in the current directory appears in the viewing area to the right of the list.  You can scroll the viewing area if not all the icons in the directory fit in the viewing area.  You can also resize the Viewer window to increase the size of the viewing area.

IconWorks clears the viewing area when you change the current directory unless you switch on the Show all icons on DIR Change command in the Options menu.


 Viewer: Selecting an Icon to Edit

There are several ways you can select an icon from the Viewer to open in the Editor:

 Drag the from the Viewer and drop it on the editing area or on one of the six icon boxes in the Status Area of the Editor.

 Double-click a filename in the file list box.

 Clicking a filename in the file list box then press ENTER.

 Enter the name directly into the FileName text box then press ENTER.

 Select an icon then choose the Open command from the File menu.


 Initialization File: ICONWRKS.INI

When you close the Editor or Viewer most settings are saved to ICONWRKS.INI in your Windows directory.  The only exception is the current Color Palette settings.  To save the Color Pallette settings, choose the Save Color palette to INI File command from the Color menu.

The ICONWRKS.INI flag is an ASCII text file, which should not be edited since values read from this file are not validated.  Items can be deleted from the file, but not modified.

The following information is saved to the ICONWRKS.INI file:

Editor:

Visibility state of the Status Area

Visibility state of the Tool Palette

Visibility state of the Color Palette

Visibility state of the Zooming Scroll bar

Visibility state of the grid

Status of the Grid type:

Line Grid

Dotted Grid

Status of the Focus to Editor flag

Status of the Display Icon Border flag

Status of the Tools Pop-up Menu flag

Current Color Palette values

Current Color Palette:

Default Colors

Solid Colors

INI File Colors

Viewer:

Status of Show Icons on DIR change flag


 Glossary

Term	Definition

Color Palette	Part of the IconWorks Editor window where you can select colors to create an icon.
Dithered	Non-solid colors created by patterns of solid color dots.
Editor	The window in IconWorks where you can create, change, and test icons.
Grid	A pattern of dots or lines that you can display in the editing area of the Editor to help position pixels in the icon.
Icon	A 32 by 32 pixel bitmap used in Windows to represent an application or other window.
Icon boxes	Six boxes in the Status Area that each displays a single icon open in the Editor.  You can also test icons by dragging them from the icon boxes.
Inverse color	A solid color used in an icon that becomes transparent and inverts the pixels beneath when you drag the icon.
Screen color	A solid color used in an icon that becomes transparent when you drag the icon.
Status Area	The region on the right side of the Editor window containing: Six icon boxes Mouse position Undo condition of the current icon Foreground, Screen, and Inverse color controls
Tool Palette	A column of tools along the left side of the Editor window.  You use tools in the Tool Palette to create and edit icons.
Viewer	The window in IconWorks where you view groups of icons and select icons to open in the Editor.
Zooming Scroll bar	Scroll bar along the side of the Tool Palette that lets you zoom in and out of the editing area of the Editor.