ICO

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'''ICO''' is a Microsoft Windows icon format.
 
'''ICO''' is a Microsoft Windows icon format.
  
ICO files can have multiple icon images of different sizes in the same file, so that programs displaying them can pick the size that is appropriate for a particular use. Image data within the file is either in [[BMP]] or [[PNG]] format, with some header bytes defined by the ICO standard.
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ICO files can have multiple icon images of different sizes and color types in the same file, so that programs displaying them can pick the best image for a particular use.
  
 
[[CUR]] (cursor) files are in a nearly identical format with only a few bytes different.
 
[[CUR]] (cursor) files are in a nearly identical format with only a few bytes different.
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== Format ==
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An ICO file begins with a header, and then an index listing all of the images in the file. For each image, the index contains information about its size, color format, and location in the file.
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The rest of the file contains the actual images, which usually use a variant of [[BMP]] format (without the file header, and with a transparency mask). Alternatively, they may use [[PNG]] format.
  
 
== See also ==
 
== See also ==
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== References ==
 
== References ==
 
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICO_%28file_format%29 ICO (Wikipedia)]
 
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICO_%28file_format%29 ICO (Wikipedia)]
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* The evolution of the ICO file format: [http://blogs.msdn.com/b/oldnewthing/archive/2010/10/18/10077133.aspx part 1], [http://blogs.msdn.com/b/oldnewthing/archive/2010/10/19/10077610.aspx part 2], [http://blogs.msdn.com/b/oldnewthing/archive/2010/10/21/10078690.aspx part 3], [http://blogs.msdn.com/b/oldnewthing/archive/2010/10/22/10079192.aspx part 4]
  
 
[[Category:Microsoft]]
 
[[Category:Microsoft]]

Revision as of 07:43, 2 March 2013

File Format
Name ICO
Ontology
Extension(s) .ico
MIME Type(s) image/vnd.microsoft.icon, image/x-icon

Contents

Overview

ICO is a Microsoft Windows icon format.

ICO files can have multiple icon images of different sizes and color types in the same file, so that programs displaying them can pick the best image for a particular use.

CUR (cursor) files are in a nearly identical format with only a few bytes different.

Format

An ICO file begins with a header, and then an index listing all of the images in the file. For each image, the index contains information about its size, color format, and location in the file.

The rest of the file contains the actual images, which usually use a variant of BMP format (without the file header, and with a transparency mask). Alternatively, they may use PNG format.

See also

References

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