Icon libraries, program files and DLLs

Introduction

Windows icon libraries (.icl), program files (.exe) and DLLs contain embedded resources such as icons, cursors and bitmaps. With Greenfish Icon Editor Pro you can extract these resources, replace them, or assemble your own icon libraries.

A resource is uniquely identified by its type, name and language:

Creating an icon library

  1. Choose File | New library or click the ICL icon found on the Startup screen.
  2. Use the actions in the Library menu or on the toolbar above the library editor to add or remove resources.
  3. Double-click a resource to edit it in a graphic editor tab.
  4. With the library tab being active, choose File | Save and save the library as <something>.icl.

Editing a Win32 .res file

For programmers: Greenfish Icon Editor Pro also functions as a specialized resource editor as it can load/save .res files. Non-image resources such as strings or dialogs are not shown in the library editor window but they are still preserved.

Extracting resources from program files and DLLs

  1. Choose File | Open and select an EXE, DLL or ICL file.
  2. Resources in a program file
  3. Select the resources you want to extract.
  4. Choose Library | Extract and save and select an output folder.

Editing or replacing resources in programs

Greenfish Icon Editor Pro allows you to replace resources in .exe or .dll files to make an application use another icon or cursor. However, this can cause programs to stop working so be careful about what you do and always create a backup of the original program file or DLL.

  1. Create a backup of the .exe or .dll file in question.
  2. Open the .exe or .dll file in Greenfish Icon Editor Pro.
  3. Use Library | Replace resources to replace resources with an existing icon, cursor or bitmap file.
  4. Or, double-click a resource and edit it in a graphic tab.
  5. Switch back to the library tab and choose File | Save to commit the changes.

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