Chipp Walters wrote: > >> I'm looking for an app to build both Win and Mac icons from my Mac. >> >> IconBuilder is out -- Photoshop only, and I use Fireworks >> >> Iconographer is out -- it messes up the mask on Win ICOs, and >> their tech support has failed to reply >> to any of my three requests over a six >> week period. >> >> What else should I look at? > > You don't have a copy of Photoshop? TskTsk
Having and enjoying are two very different things. :)
I have Photoshop 7, I just don't care much for it. Since I do little photo retouching but a LOT of UI stuff, I find Macromedia Fireworks to be infinitely more productive for me. I realize I'm in a minority on this one and I don't think badly of anyone who uses Photoshop, but I do so love what Fireworks has done for me.
Fireworks is almost the opposite of Photoshop: primarily a vector graphics tool with very strong support for working with raster images (they're discrete objects within Fireworks, so if you've spent 15 years working with SuperCard and Rev it feels quite at home). It supports most Photoshop plugins, does gorgeous anti-aliasing with lots of fine-tune control, and has one of the most sensible interfaces for making multi-state buttons this side of Button Gadget. :)
Fireworks is everything I had always wanted from SuperPaint, with extra bonus points for making sliced images with HTML in multiple code styles, including tight code for their competitor's product, Adobe GoLive (something not even Adobe could do with their own LiveMotion when they had the chance).
Firework has a number of iunique UI conveniences, like on-the-fly font and pattern previews as you drag the mouse across menu items (that's right, in real-time; pretty nifty and way convenient). Plus, with its focus on vectors I can save styles (line width, pattern, shading, bevelling, glow, etc.) from any object and apply them to any other with a simple drag-and-drop.
Another benefit to working in vectors it independence from output resolution: I can change output resolution on the fly as needed, and the program offers fine control for all export formats, from GIF and PNG to Flash, with an excellent real-time-update preview.
I know, I know: Photoshop's been earnestly adding in vector workflows in the last few versions, but for me it's no comparison with a tool designed for that from the ground up.
I got turned on to Fireworks by a contractor many years ago, and it's been the best investment in a graphics package I've ever made (after the venerable and way underpriced GraphicConverter, that is; Thorsten Lemke is a god, and an inspiration to all independent software developers).
As for Win icons, I think I may have found my solution at VersionTracker -- icon2ico:
<http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/15327>
I can make my images in Fireworks, drop them into Apple's free Icon Composer, save them, then drop that .icns file onto icon2ico to make the Win .ico files.
I've only been playing with it a few minutes, but thus far it seems to do quite a nice job.
-- Richard Gaskin Fourth World Media Corporation __________________________________________________ Rev tools and more: http://www.fourthworld.com/rev
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