IconUtils Editor's Review

IconUtils is a software package which can help you create, edit, and convert icons or cursors. Various formats are supported, allowing you to work with just about any graphic file. The package consists of four applications. The most important tool is the IconLover application, which allows you to create or edit icons or cursors. Two other applications allow you to easily convert to and from many graphic formats including ICO, CUR, BMP, PNG, GIF, JPG, TIF, PSD, and so on. AhaView is the fourth tool distributed in the IconUtils package. It allows you to browse your computer in order to view icons, cursors, and other image files stored on your hard disk.

The user interface of IconLover resembles other icon editing programs that I have seen. On the left, you have a set of drawing tools, which allow you to edit images. On the right, there is a color palette, and the list of icons contained by the current file. Icon files can contain multiple images. This is why the list on the right allows you to see each item's resolution and color depth. You can also define new items in this list. When you click an item it is displayed in the middle panel.

IconLover supports adding effects like shadow, stroke, colored image, smoothing, and others. Each effect has several properties which you can adjust. For example when setting up a shadow you can adjust its size, opacity, distance, and angle. The program also supports layers and Windows Vista compressed icons.

Pluses: You can use the image resolution to generate filenames when working with the "Any to Icon" or with the "Icon to Any" tools. Both tools support converting icons that contain multiple images inside.

Drawbacks / flaws:

In conclusion: For about $60 you should be able to use it for creating, editing, and converting any type of icon or cursor, even animated ones. Meanwhile, you can download and try it 30 days for free.

version reviewed: 4.16