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There are different dimensions for taskbar(big icons, small), desktop, start menu, etc. What are all dimensions one needs for a Windows application? And is there a way to put them all into a single file?

I have already designed the icon in Photoshop.

errorcode007
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  • possible duplicate of [Which icon sizes should my windows application's icon include?](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3236115/which-icon-sizes-should-my-windows-applications-icon-include) – Paolo Moretti Apr 16 '12 at 16:01
  • Wasn't sure what to place this under and these two seemed to be the most relevant (The application is made with C# and WPF) – errorcode007 Apr 16 '12 at 16:02

2 Answers2

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Well, the desktop alone can use almost any standard (Joey named most, if not all, of them) size.

I find it works well to combine 16x16, 32x32, 48x48, and 256x256 (and maybe more sizes) into one .ico file. I use IcoFx, and it is super easy to create multi-size icons from one 256x256 image.

Kendall Frey
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  • IcoFx looks nice, I'll try that out! – errorcode007 Apr 16 '12 at 16:03
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    I was in the middle of writing about IcoFX as an amazing free .ico generator - went to the site to get the link and it is no longer free! Reguardless, it is that good I would happly pay the small fee for it! – MoonKnight Apr 16 '12 at 16:04
  • What? How can they do that to my favorite image editor? First Reflector, now this... :_( – Kendall Frey Apr 16 '12 at 16:06
  • IcoFX is no longer free, but there appear to be downloads of 1.6.4 available, which is the latest free version. AniFX seems to have disappeared, at least it doesn't have an official site. – Kendall Frey Apr 16 '12 at 16:10
  • I've downloaded the latest version (2) as a trial and it worked. Marking this as the correct answer! – errorcode007 Apr 16 '12 at 16:18
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Icon files (.ico) can contain variaous sizes. Common sizes for icons on Windows are:

  • 16×16 (e.g. in the notification area of the taskbar or in default settings for the system menu of an application). This often shows a different icon than the other sizes due to the small area, e.g. perspective is often left out (which is in the recommendations for icons as well, if I remember correctly).
  • 24×24
  • 32×32 (e.g. in the taskbar unless small icons are configured for it)
  • 48×48
  • 64×64
  • 128×128
  • 256×256

If a size is missing then a larger one will be used to downsample the image or, if no larger one is present, a smaller one will be upsampled (with quality loss). The different sizes are thus not particular important except to provide the artist some control over the icon in standard sizes (it's not uncommon to have the icon in a vector format and edit the rasterised version in various sizes so they look good in all of them).

The uses mentioned above are approximate and depend on various things, e.g. the user's DPI setting.

Joey
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