[SOLVED] how to set SCALABLE application icon ?

[soroush]

Hi

I want to set my application's icon for windows platform. I would like it to be a scalable graphic. (probably a svg). Is this possible?

[giesbert]

Afaik, the application icon must be a QIcon (if you mena the one on the left top edge of an application). This icon is typically not strechable. If you mean the one that is displayed in windows explorer, that must be an windows ico file which is used inside an rc file.

[soroush]

I already do that, but afiak .ICO files are bitmapts and not vector-based. I see applications installed on win like firefox an msvs have vector icons. I mean when I zoom on desktop their icons become greater but my application's icon does not grow! I also set more than one size in my icon (16x16, 32x32, 64 128 256).

[dialingo]

Scaling icons is problematic from a graphical point of view, even if you are able to build in an icon scaling functionality. Make the following test. Download an icon set with all icons available in different sizes, for example: http://www.everaldo.com/crystal/crystal_project.tar.gz

Scale a big size icon down to small size --> the result is crap
Scale a small size icon up to big size --> the result is crap

[andre]

I think you are talking about the windows icon, that you can embed in the .exe file using a windows resource file, right? The one that you see on the desktop, or in your file browser.

A little bit of Googling brought me to the Windows 7 requirements for icons. It seems that you should supply a 256x256 icon nowadays. From that "document":http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa511280.aspx :

[quote]
Application icons and Control Panel items: The full set includes 16x16, 32x32, 48x48, and 256x256 (code scales between 32 and 256). The .ico file format is required. For Classic Mode, the full set is 16x16, 24x24, 32x32, 48x48 and 64x64.
[/quote]

and:

[quote]Icon files require 8-bit and 4-bit palette versions as well, to support the default setting in a remote desktop. These files can be created through a batch process, but they should be reviewed, as some will require retouching for better readability.

(..)
Bit levels: ICO design for 32-bit (alpha included) + 8-bit + 4-bit (dithered down automatically—pixel poke only most critical). Only a 32-bit copy of the 256x256 pixel image should be included, and only the 256x256 pixel image should be compressed to keep the file size down. Several icon tools offer compression for Windows Vista.
[/quote]

So, you'd better include some nicely rendered icons in different sizes in your .ico file, and include them in different color depths as well as resolutions.

[soroush]

Thank you.
I'm going to add all possible sizes and to my icon.

[giesbert]

Thats correct. You donj't have vector icons in Win7, you just have icons with several resolutions. To create them, "icoFX":http://icofx.ro/ could be used for example.