How to...

# Assemble a so-called icon library

## Introduction

Icon libraries are special DLL (Windows dynamically linked library) files which may contain embedded icons and cursors called resources. These icon libraries have the extension ICL and are mainly used for distributing a huge collection of icons over the Internet.

The properties of a resource are:

- Type

  Icon or cursor. Although there are many other types of resources (string, dialog, font, etc.), ICL files rarely have these types of resources and GFIE does not support editing them.

- Name

  An identifier which consists of uppercase letters, numbers and underscores.

- Language

  Stored as an integral number, this property has little importance at icon and cursor resources. Mainly used for dialog and string resources.

These three properties uniquely identify a resource. No two resources are allowed with the same type, name and language.

## Creating an icon library with GFIE

1. Choose File|New library or click the New ICL icon found at the Startup screen.

2. Click the button marked with a plus sign or use the commands of the Library menu to add resources to your icon library.

3. Choose File|Save and save the library as <filename>.icl.

## For software developers

Saving resource compilations in Win32 .RES file format is also supported. This makes GFIE a specialized resource editor. (Opening and saving a .RES file should also keep the other resources like strings or dialogs - which are hidden in GFIE's library editor window -, but creating a backup of your original file is recommended.)