Icon library

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|subcat=Graphics
 
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|extensions={{ext|icl}}, {{ext|dll}}, others
 
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'''Icon library''' (.icl) is a format used on Microsoft Windows for storing multiple icons in one file. It is an [[New Executable|NE]] (or maybe [[Portable Executable|PE]]) "executable" file stripped down to the bare minimum needed to use it as an icon container. The individual icons are resources within the library file, in [[ICO]] format.
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:''This article is about a particular family of formats. For more icon library formats, see [[Graphics#Icon, Cursor, and Avatar files]].''
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'''Icon library''' is a loosely-defined family of Microsoft Windows file formats that store multiple [[ICO|icons]] in a [[Dynamic-link library (Windows)|DLL]] or DLL-like [[New Executable|NE]] or [[Portable Executable|PE]] file.
  
 
== Discussion ==
 
== Discussion ==
The .icl files we've examined are [[New Executable|NE]] files that contain icon resources, and that have nearly all the nonessential fields set to 0. One might expect the files to be labeled internally as [[Dynamic-link library (Windows)|DLL]]s, but that is not the case for some or all .icl files. They're just generic NE files.
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Broadly speaking, an ''icon library'' could be any such file whose only significant content is icon resources. An example is the moricons.dll file included with Windows 3.1 and later.
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More narrowly, there are varieties of this format that use a special filename extension, and/or have other distinguishing characteristics. One of the most notable is the '''.icl''' format made by ''Icon Manager'' (and later ''Microangelo'') by Impact Software.
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== Formats ==
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Some specific Icon library formats have their own article:
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* [[Icon library (Easy Icons)]] (.icl)
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* [[Icon library (hDC Icon Designer)]] (.il)
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* [[Icon library (Impact Software)]] (.icl)
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* [[Icon library (Norton Icon Editor)]] (.nil)
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== Identification ==
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There's no simple way to determine that an NE or PE file contains only icons.
  
The origins of the '''.icl''' file extension, and any other differences it may have from a typical resource-only [[Dynamic-link library (Windows)|.dll]] file, are unclear.
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Refer to the articles [[#Formats|listed above]] for specific derivative formats.
  
== Tools ==
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== Software ==
 
* [http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ms648068%28v=vs.85%29.aspx ExtractIcon function]
 
* [http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ms648068%28v=vs.85%29.aspx ExtractIcon function]
 
* [http://en.softonic.com/s/icl-extractor ICL extractor programs]
 
* [http://en.softonic.com/s/icl-extractor ICL extractor programs]
  
 
== Sample files ==
 
== Sample files ==
* http://cd.textfiles.com/desktopworks/ICON_LIB/
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* {{CdTextfilesURL|desktopworks/ICON_LIB/}}
 
* [http://zapatopi.net/icon/ Zapaticons]
 
* [http://zapatopi.net/icon/ Zapaticons]
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* {{CdTextfiles|svgold/CDR56/VARICONS.ZIP|VARICONS.ZIP}} → MORICONS.DLL
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* [https://archive.org/details/pegasusvol7 Pegasus Vol.7] → PEGASUS/WIN95/FUN/NEKO9510.ZIP → *.icl (some NE format, some PE)
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* {{CdTextfiles|psl/pslv5nv02/WIN/UT_SYSTM/TBAR32.ZIP|TBAR32.ZIP}} → TOOLBAR.ICL (PE format)
  
 
== Links ==
 
== Links ==
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* [[Wikipedia:ICO (file format)#Icon library]]
 
* [[Wikipedia:ICO (file format)#Icon library]]
  
[[Category:Microsoft]]
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[[Category:Windows]]

Latest revision as of 17:54, 1 November 2024

File Format
Name Icon library
Ontology
Extension(s) .icl, .dll, others
This article is about a particular family of formats. For more icon library formats, see Graphics#Icon, Cursor, and Avatar files.

Icon library is a loosely-defined family of Microsoft Windows file formats that store multiple icons in a DLL or DLL-like NE or PE file.

Contents

[edit] Discussion

Broadly speaking, an icon library could be any such file whose only significant content is icon resources. An example is the moricons.dll file included with Windows 3.1 and later.

More narrowly, there are varieties of this format that use a special filename extension, and/or have other distinguishing characteristics. One of the most notable is the .icl format made by Icon Manager (and later Microangelo) by Impact Software.

[edit] Formats

Some specific Icon library formats have their own article:

[edit] Identification

There's no simple way to determine that an NE or PE file contains only icons.

Refer to the articles listed above for specific derivative formats.

[edit] Software

[edit] Sample files

[edit] Links

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