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 Repeat Icon |
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Add Repeat icon to cartIcon sizes: 256x256, 64x64, 48x48, 32x32, 24x24, 16x16, 512x512
File formats: ICO, GIF, PNG, BMP
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What Are Mac Icons?
Many 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 are defined for Windows icons, Mac icons, and PNG icons.Computer icons are an integral part of any graphical user interface. Icons are small pictures of standard resolutions that visually represent objects, actions, and other concepts. In window-based systems, icons are used as a faster, more intuitive way to communicate with the user. Icons representing standard elements of a user interface are better visible than text, can be recognized faster, and are easier for new computer users.
Originally introduced in 1970 by the Xerox Research Center and widely deployed by the Apple Macintosh and Microsoft Windows systems, icons make computer novices feel more comfortable with operating systems, learn faster and work more efficiently. Icons can be used to replace or supplement text messages. Widely used in menus, toolbars, on buttons and in new ribbon-type user interfaces, icons have come a long way from the original concept.
There are multiple graphic formats for storing icons. The Windows systems store Windows icons in the platform-dependent ICO format. Mac OS computers use Mac icons in their specific formats, while Unix-based systems use PNG icons for most applications. As such, icon editing software is generally available for the Windows and Mac OS systems, while Unix users can design PNG icons with just about any image editor.
As a rule of thumb, icons are square images that come in a variety of standard sizes and color resolutions. Most systems support icon sizes of 16x16 to 128x128 pixels, while some systems readily accept icons as large as 512x512 pixels. The high-resolution 512x512 pixel icons were first employed in Mac OS Leopard.
Pixel resolutions of all icons are platform dependent. For example, Windows icons are defined as pictures in 16 and 256-color gammas as well as True Color images with alpha channel. Windows icons are supplied in standard sizes of 16x16, 32x32, and 48x48 pixels. Windows Vista defines new standards for Windows icons, including icons in resolutions 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 icons. Other platforms such as Windows Mobile can employ standard icons of other resolutions, e.g. 24x24 pixels.
Many independent designers are offering custom icons. Aha-Soft offers a wide selection of Windows icons, Mac icons, and PNG icons in all sizes and resolutions common to those systems. The company sells royalty-free icons individually and in matching sets that include icons drawn a common style or theme.
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