<!-- $XConsortium: Concepts.sgm /main/8 1996/09/08 22:26:48 rws $ -->
<!-- (c) Copyright 1995 Digital Equipment Corporation. -->
<!-- (c) Copyright 1995 Hewlett-Packard Company. -->
<!-- (c) Copyright 1995 International Business Machines Corp. -->
<!-- (c) Copyright 1995 Sun Microsystems, Inc. -->
<!-- (c) Copyright 1995 Novell, Inc. -->
<!-- (c) Copyright 1995 FUJITSU LIMITED. -->
<!-- (c) Copyright 1995 Hitachi. -->
<!-- Help volume: Iconed   -->
<!-- File name:   Concepts -->
<Chapter Id="Concepts">
<Title>Icon Editor Concepts</Title>
<ItemizedList Mark="&bull;" Role="tight">
<ListItem Id="HICND.CNCP.item.1">
<Para><XRef Linkend="UsingIconEditorSI"></Para>
</ListItem>
<ListItem Id="HICND.CNCP.item.2">
<Para><XRef Linkend="IconDesignRecommendationsSI"></Para>
</ListItem>
<ListItem Id="HICND.CNCP.item.3">
<Para><XRef Linkend="IconFileNameConventionsSI"></Para>
</ListItem>
</ItemizedList>
<Sect1 Id="UsingIconEditorSI">
<Title>Getting Started with Icon Editor</Title>
<IndexTerm>
<Primary>using: Icon Editor</Primary>
</IndexTerm>
<IndexTerm>
<Primary>Icon Editor: using</Primary>
</IndexTerm>
<IndexTerm>
<Primary>editing: icons</Primary>
</IndexTerm>
<IndexTerm>
<Primary>icons: editing</Primary>
</IndexTerm>
<Para>Icon Editor enables you to create and edit images in two formats:
</Para>
<ItemizedList Mark="&bull;">
<ListItem Id="HICND.CNCP.item.4">
<Para><Emphasis>X pixmap (XPM format)</Emphasis> -- Multicolor images that include static
and dynamic colors. Pixmap files are normally identified by a <ComputerOutput>.pm</ComputerOutput>
file-name extension.</Para>
</ListItem>
<ListItem Id="HICND.CNCP.item.5">
<Para><Emphasis>X bitmap (XBM format)</Emphasis> -- Black-and-white images. Bitmap files
are normally identified by a <ComputerOutput>.bm</ComputerOutput> file-name extension.</Para>
</ListItem>
</ItemizedList>
<Para>You draw images by selecting a tool and a color, and then drawing in the work
area. As you draw, Icon Editor displays an actual-size copy of your icon
in both formats. Even if you are drawing an image for use on color
systems, you should be sure the black and white version is legible because
icons may revert to the bitmap format if there are not enough free colors
to display the full color version.</Para>
</Sect1>
<Sect1 Id="IconDesignRecommendationsSI">
<Title>Icon Design Recommendations</Title>
<Para>Try to use a common theme among related icons. For example, if you are
designing icons for an application, have purposeful similarities between
the application's icon and icons for related data files.</Para>
<Para>Be sure the black-and-white version of any color icon you design is acceptable.
If the icon is displayed on a monochrome or grayscale display (or if there
are not enough colors available), the icon is automatically displayed in
its black-and-white form.</Para>
<ItemizedList Mark="&bull;" Role="tight">
<ListItem Id="HICND.CNCP.item.6">
<Para><XRef Linkend="ColorManagementAndUsageSI"></Para>
</ListItem>
<ListItem Id="HICND.CNCP.item.7">
<Para><XRef Linkend="IconSizeRecommendationsSI"></Para>
</ListItem>
</ItemizedList>
<Sect2 Id="ColorManagementAndUsageSI">
<Title>Color Usage</Title>
<IndexTerm>
<Primary>color: usage in icons</Primary>
</IndexTerm>
<IndexTerm>
<Primary>icons: color usage</Primary>
</IndexTerm>
<Para>Icons in the desktop use a palette of 22 colors:
</Para>
<ItemizedList Mark="&bull;">
<ListItem Id="HICND.CNCP.item.8">
<Para>Eight static grays
</Para>
</ListItem>
<ListItem Id="HICND.CNCP.item.9">
<Para>Eight static colors: red, blue, green, cyan, magenta, yellow, black,
and white
</Para>
</ListItem>
<ListItem Id="HICND.CNCP.item.10">
<Para>Six dynamic colors: foreground, background, top shadow, bottom shadow,
select, and transparent
</Para>
</ListItem>
</ItemizedList>
<Para>This palette is rich enough to create attractive, easy-to-read icons
without taking too many color resources that may be needed by other
applications.
Icons provided with the desktop use mostly grays with color for accent.</Para>
<Para>The dynamic colors are useful for icons that change color as different
color palettes are selected in Style Manager.</Para>
<Para>The transparent color is useful for creating icons that have the
illusion of being nonrectangular, since it allows the color behind
the icon to show through.</Para>
</Sect2>
<Sect2 Id="IconSizeRecommendationsSI">
<Title>Icon Size Recommendations</Title>
<IndexTerm>
<Primary>icons: size recommendations</Primary>
</IndexTerm>
<IndexTerm>
<Primary>size: icons</Primary>
</IndexTerm>
<Para>Following are the recommended sizes -- in pixels, width&times;height -- for
creating new icons.</Para>
<Para>File Manager (Large):
</Para>
<Para Role="indent">High resolution: 32&times;32&newline;Medium resolution:32&times;32&newline;Low resolution: 32&times;32</Para>
<Para>File Manager (Small):
</Para>
<Para Role="indent">High resolution: 16&times;16&newline;Medium resolution:16&times;16&newline;Low resolution: 16&times;16</Para>
<Para>Application Manager (Large):
</Para>
<Para Role="indent">High resolution: 32&times;32&newline;Medium resolution:32&times;32&newline;Low resolution: 32&times;32</Para>
<Para>Application Manager (Small):
</Para>
<Para Role="indent">High resolution: 16&times;16&newline;Medium resolution:16&times;16&newline;Low resolution: 16&times;16</Para>
<Para>Front Panel:
</Para>
<Para Role="indent">High resolution: 48&times;48&newline;Medium resolution:48&times;48&newline;Low resolution: 32&times;32</Para>
<Para>Front Panel Subpanels:
</Para>
<Para Role="indent">High resolution: 32&times;32&newline;Medium resolution:32&times;32&newline;Low resolution: 16&times;16</Para>
<Para>Minimized Windows:
</Para>
<Para Role="indent">High resolution: 48&times;48&newline;Medium resolution:48&times;48&newline;Low resolution: 32&times;32</Para>
<Para>Desktop:
</Para>
<Para Role="indent">High resolution: 32&times;32&newline;Medium resolution:32&times;32&newline;Low resolution: 32&times;32</Para>
<Para>Backdrop images can be any size. The pattern is repeated to fill the
entire workspace.</Para>
<Procedure>
<Title>See Also</Title>
<Step>
<ItemizedList Mark="&bull;" Role="tight">
<ListItem Id="HICND.CNCP.item.11">
<Para><XRef Linkend="ToResizeTheCurrentIconTA"></Para>
</ListItem>
</ItemizedList>
</Step>
</Procedure>
</Sect2>
</Sect1>
<Sect1 Id="IconFileNameConventionsSI">
<Title>Icon File-Name Conventions</Title>
<IndexTerm>
<Primary>icons: how files are found</Primary>
</IndexTerm>
<IndexTerm>
<Primary>image files: see icons</Primary>
</IndexTerm>
<IndexTerm>
<Primary>icons: naming conventions</Primary>
</IndexTerm>
<IndexTerm>
<Primary><ComputerOutput>.pm</ComputerOutput> file-name</Primary>
</IndexTerm>
<IndexTerm>
<Primary><ComputerOutput>.bm</ComputerOutput> file-name</Primary>
</IndexTerm>
<IndexTerm>
<Primary>bitmaps: how files are found</Primary>
</IndexTerm>
<IndexTerm>
<Primary>pixmaps: how files are found</Primary>
</IndexTerm>
<IndexTerm>
<Primary>conventions, image file naming</Primary>
</IndexTerm>
<Para>Each icon and backdrop image is stored as a separate file.
Typically, an
icon is specified with just the base part of its file name. For example,
an icon might be referenced with just the name <ComputerOutput>mail</ComputerOutput> when the file is
actually stored as:</Para>
<ProgramListing>/usr/dt/appconfig/icons/<Symbol Role="Variable">language</Symbol>/mail.l.pm</ProgramListing>
<Para>The file-naming convention of adding suffixes helps group icons by size and
type. For desktop components, many icon names are in these general
formats:</Para>
<ProgramListing><Symbol Role="Variable">basename</Symbol>.<Symbol Role="Variable">size</Symbol>.<Symbol Role="Variable">format</Symbol>
<Symbol Role="Variable">basename</Symbol>.<Symbol Role="Variable">format</Symbol>
</ProgramListing>
<Para>where <Symbol Role="Variable">basename</Symbol> is the image name used to reference the image, <Symbol Role="Variable">size</Symbol>
is a single letter indicating the icon size, and
<Symbol Role="Variable">format</Symbol> is <ComputerOutput>pm</ComputerOutput> for X pixmaps or <ComputerOutput>bm</ComputerOutput> for X bitmaps.</Para>
<Para>The valid icon sizes are:</Para>
<VariableList>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>Name</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>Size Suffix
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>Tiny</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>16&times;16 <Symbol Role="Variable">t</Symbol>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>Small</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>24&times;24 <Symbol Role="Variable">s</Symbol>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>Medium</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>32&times;32 <Symbol Role="Variable">m</Symbol>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
<VarListEntry>
<Term>Large</Term>
<ListItem>
<Para>48&times;48 <Symbol Role="Variable">l</Symbol>
</Para>
</ListItem>
</VarListEntry>
</VariableList>
<Para>For example, suppose you specify an icon named <ComputerOutput>mail</ComputerOutput> for a file type
you've written. If you have a color display and have set the File Manager
preferences to use small icons, the assumed icon name is <ComputerOutput>mail.s.pm</ComputerOutput>
(the <ComputerOutput>s</ComputerOutput> represents small, and <ComputerOutput>pm</ComputerOutput> is for <Symbol Role="Variable">pixmap</Symbol>, the color
icon format).</Para>
<Procedure>
<Title>Search Paths</Title>
<Step>
<Para>The directory where an image is stored is determined by searching for the
file in a list of directories. This list of directories is defined
by a "search path" for icons.</Para>
<Para>If you are using a color display, the desktop searches for files ending
in <ComputerOutput>.pm</ComputerOutput> first. Otherwise, it looks for files ending in <ComputerOutput>.bm</ComputerOutput>.</Para>
<Para>If an image is specified with a complete path name, the search
path is not used.</Para>
</Step>
</Procedure>
<Procedure>
<Title>See Also</Title>
<Step>
<ItemizedList Mark="&bull;" Role="tight">
<ListItem Id="HICND.CNCP.item.12">
<Para><XRef Linkend="IconSearchPathsSI"> lists the search path specifications.
</Para>
</ListItem>
</ItemizedList>
</Step>
</Procedure>
<Sect2 Id="StoringIconFilesTO">
<Title>Storing Icon Files</Title>
<IndexTerm>
<Primary>storing icon files</Primary>
</IndexTerm>
<IndexTerm>
<Primary>icon file: storing</Primary>
</IndexTerm>
<Para>By default, the desktop components look in these directories for icon files:
</Para>
<ItemizedList Mark="&bull;">
<ListItem Id="HICND.CNCP.item.13">
<Para>Personal icons: <ComputerOutput>/<Symbol Role="Variable">HomeDirectory</Symbol>/.dt/icons</ComputerOutput></Para>
</ListItem>
<ListItem Id="HICND.CNCP.item.14">
<Para>System-wide icons: <ComputerOutput>/etc/dt/appconfig/icons/<Symbol Role="Variable">language</Symbol></ComputerOutput></Para>
</ListItem>
<ListItem Id="HICND.CNCP.item.15">
<Para>Built-in icons: <ComputerOutput>/usr/dt/appconfig/icons/<Symbol Role="Variable">language</Symbol></ComputerOutput></Para>
</ListItem>
</ItemizedList>
<Para>For English icons, use <ComputerOutput>C</ComputerOutput> for <Symbol Role="Variable">language</Symbol>.</Para>
</Sect2>
<Sect2 Id="StoringBackdropImageFilesTO">
<Title>Storing Backdrop Image Files</Title>
<IndexTerm>
<Primary>backdrop: storing backdrop image files</Primary>
</IndexTerm>
<IndexTerm>
<Primary>image file: storing backdrop</Primary>
</IndexTerm>
<Para>Each backdrop listed in the Style Manager Backdrop dialog box represents
an image file. By default, Style Manager looks for backdrops in these
directories:
</Para>
<ItemizedList Mark="&bull;">
<ListItem Id="HICND.CNCP.item.16">
<Para>System-wide images: <ComputerOutput>/etc/dt/appconfig/backdrops/<Symbol Role="Variable">language</Symbol></ComputerOutput></Para>
</ListItem>
<ListItem Id="HICND.CNCP.item.17">
<Para>Built-in images: <ComputerOutput>/usr/dt/backdrops/<Symbol Role="Variable">language</Symbol></ComputerOutput></Para>
</ListItem>
</ItemizedList>
<Para>If you create a new backdrop image that you want all system users to
be able to access,
place the backdrop image in <ComputerOutput>/etc/dt/appconfig/backdrops/<Symbol Role="Variable">language</Symbol></ComputerOutput>.
To restrict access to a backdrop image to particular users, put the
backdrop image in a different directory and add that directory to
the <ComputerOutput>*backdropDirectories</ComputerOutput> resource for those users.</Para>
<!-- EOF: Concepts -->
</Sect2>
</Sect1>
</Chapter>
<!--fickle 1.15 help-to-docbook 1.4 01/17/96 16:36:17-->
