Create icons of any size using images created on deluxe paint using ICON-MAKER. Also edit existing icons using deluxe paint with ICON-MAKER. At long last you can have KING TUT as an icon! It converts icon images into iff files to use on deluxe paint. and it converts iff files into icon images. Never again will you have to grope around with feeble icon-ed's facilities. This programme is completely user friendly totally question and answer driven by extensive use of gadgets.It replies very fast to your selections on the whole. It was written with Lattice c version 4. IT IS PROBABLY BEST TO RUN THIS PROGRAMME FIRST BEFORE READING THIS DOCUMENTATION. Please note that libs:icon.library must be present on your bootup disk for ICON-MAKER to work for self-evident reasons ! To create icon images: 1.Create a palette file containing the workbench colours using ICON-MAKER.You can choose either the current workbench colours or the default ones.(You don't have to do this but it makes life much more comfortable if you do). 2.Load this palette file as a brush on deluxe paint in any resolution mode.(preferably 640X200got by typing "dpaint med" from the CLI)without the inverted commas.(If you wish you might change Deluxe Paint's startup-sequence to say "loadwb" followed by "dpaint med").Then to make the colours appear use menu sequence "picture color-control use-brush-palette". Draw your icon image anywhere on the screen using colours 0 to 3 only. Cut it out as a brush using the brush gadget which is the third gadget above the "undo" gadget. Then save this brush to disk by selecting "brush" on the menu and "save as..." on the submenu and typing the files' directory in "drawer" and name in "file" to save it. 3.Run ICON MAKER again to make your icon. 4.Your newly created icon will only become visible if you close the window it's supposed to appear in and then reopen that window by double clicking on the appropriate icon. NOTE If your icon is for a disk then it will usually only become implemented by resetting and rebooting unless you haven't loaded workbench yet.In this case type "loadwb" from the CLI to implement your icon. How to load images on deluxe paint created by ICON MAKER: 1.Put deluxe paint in 640X200 mode by typing "dpaint med" from the CLI followed by return key. Load the file as a brush using the menu "Brush" followed by the submenu "Load" and type it's name .And click load. 2.Then (VERY IMPORTANT) to get the colours right .Choose menu item "picture" and the submenu "color control" and then select "use brush palette" on the subsubmenu. To modify and edit icon images use ICON MAKER to convert the icon's image(s) to iff files.Load these as explained above on deluxe paint.Draw the brushes on the screen.Only use colours 0 to 3. Modify them using all of Deluxe Paint's tools.Cut them out as a brush again Save the brush and convert it back to the icon again using ICON MAKER. You may create images in any resolution mode and they will come out just as you drew them.The only restriction is to use at least 2 bit planes. COLOUR INTERPRETATION PROCEDURE: ICON MAKER interprets colours 0,4,8,12 etc as colour 0. colours 1,5,9,13, etc as colour 1.colours 2,6,10,14,etc as colour 2 .colours 3,7,11,15,etc as colour 3. Sorry about the explicitness! However you are recommended to only draw in colours 0,1,2,3. This programme and it's documentation will work in both 60 and 80 text modes. To create icons you may use both pictures and brushes or any standard non HAM iff file .You may find pictures a bit too bighence probably stick to brushes . Although as a pose you may create a full sized venus icon or king tut icon. ICON MAKER understands cmpByteRun1 compressed iff files as used by Deluxe Paint. On detecting any kind of error eg an iff file doesn't exist ICON MAKER exits.Unless you click the closewindow gadget ICON MAKER only exits on an error.You may click the closewindow gadget at absolutely any time in the programme. You may change the name of an iconized object by clicking on the icon and then selecting "workbench rename" from the workbench menu. You may view information about an iconized object by clicking on the icon and selecting "workbench info" from the workbench menu:it will tell you how big the object is.It will tell you what the default tool if any is.And you may change this tool using this menu command. You may throw away such an object using the menu command workbench-discard eg if there's no trashcan. workbench-duplicate sometimes duplicates objects. Note that AmigaDOS works much FASTER when a disk contains only one or two directories.Each of which only contains one or two subdirectories etc finally reaching the files. Without icons this setup becomes tedious.But with them it is very pleasant to use.ICON MAKER will enable you to work in a completely icon driven environment. How to create a new image for your ram: disk : Create the image for an existing disk say df0: with ICON-MAKER.Then do the following type "copy df0:disk.info sys:rampic" then in your startup-sequence type "copy sys:rampic ram:disk.info" before the statement "loadwb". How to boot up with a trashcan directory in your ram: disk Type "makedir ram:trashcan" from CLI ,create an icon for this directory using ICON-MAKER .Then from CLI type " copy ram:trashcan/.info sys:ramtrash1" "copy ram:trashcan.info sys:ramtrash2" and in your startup sequence before "loadwb" type "makedir ram:trashcan" "copy sys:ramtrash1 ram:trashcan", "copy sys:ramtrash2 ram:trashcan.info". clever use of brush remap and picture remap on deluxe paint can be used to convert the colours of a picture with a different palette to the workbench palette as closely as possible. You can prevent an iconized object from accidently being deleted by clicking it's icon then selecting "workbench info" from the menu and clicking where it says DELETABLE. It is informative to click on icons that you did not make and select "workbench info" from the menu and examine the DEFAULT TOOL entry and the TOOL TYPES entry. Clicking on an icon and selecting "special last-error" from the menu will display in the titlebar the last error that happened to that object. At no point in using ICON-MAKER will you have to append ".info" to a name to type in. If you create an icon for a trashcan directory the directory must exist before you make the icon else you could get into trouble.A trashcan directory can have any name you wish. You empty its contents by clicking on its icon and selecting "Disk empty-trash" from the menu.Make a trashcan directory exactly as you do any other directory eg makedir ram:junk .To delete a trashcan directory you have to use the CLI. If you have deluxe paint II then use it instead of deluxe paint I because it enables you to use just 2 bit planes which is good for using the remap menu command eg to make a KING TUT icon whose colours look correct with your current workbench colours. If ICON-MAKER is run in 60 text mode (set on preferences) ICON-MAKER's window will be wider to fit the extra length of text.I made it 60 text compatible because I am a 60 text mode lover.It is 80 text compatible because that is the amiga default.I find that 60 text with a black foreground pen on a whiteish background pen makes for the crispest text. Note when you have an alternate image the two images DO NOT have to be the same size.ICON-MAKER takes care of all this for you.Although for pleasure of the user it is advisable to make the two images similar in size. (If you must one image can be 1X1 pixels and the alternate image 640X200 pixels) When waiting for a reply from the user ICON-MAKER goes to sleep so it doesn't waste processor time.ie it won't slow down your other programmes.