GConvert 5 Current Version reference: 5.0.0 Changes History Version 5.0.0 - major release - open and edit any Vista icon (any size and color format including new 256x256 icon images with different color depths, and even higher). - create Vista-compatible icons (with or without PNG compression). - now recognizes 256x256 (starting with Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger®) and 512x512 (future releases) icons in Macintosh ICNS files so you can convert them to Windows icons. - new memory manager and optimized code. - sort icon images by size into ascending or descending order. - full support for Windows Vista. - extract Vista icons from programs and other files with embedded icons, manage Vista icons (with PNG compression or not) in icon libraries, EXE, DLL. - improved support for PNG partial transparency & color conversion. - manipulate large icon images (512x512, etc...). - batch convert several images (BMP, PNG, PSD, GIF, JPEG, CUR, ICNS) into Windows icons (ICO). - can add or remove PNG compression in Vista icons (up to 256x256 icons). - optionally calculate new palettes for color-indexed images if the selected background color isn't available in the palette (useful for 8-bit GIF and bitmap images). - remove PNG compression in "Save Icon" options => désactive toutes compressions PNG. - create, read, modify, manage 32-bit icon libraries (new 32-bit ICL format). 16-bit icon libraries are not compatible with Windows Vista, GConvert can convert them to 32-bit. - when creating DLL files, icons can now optionally get the same order in the exported DLL as in the source icl file. - editing an icon selects the same icon image as in the Image Viewer. - improved cursor conversion expert. - create icons from clipboard (copy and paste image in GConvert directly with CTRL+V, the Image To Icon expert is immediately started). - new "Add Vista Default" icon images in the "Generate Other Images" expert. This option automatically creates icon images that should be available in icons designed for Vista. - improved icon patcher in EXE/DLL files. - Web Export: images are now exported into ascending or descending order. - Fixed some minor memory leaks, improved drawing code. - improved GIF plug-in: better transparency support for non 8-bit icon images; optionally create non-transparent GIF images; takes account of existing color palettes. - updated JPEG plug-in. - drag-drop support now enabled in Vista although this still requires testing. - support for .LNK files => just drag and drop links from your desktop and GConvert will open associated icons, when they are available. - several minor changes. - documentation updated. Version 4.1.0: minor release - Improved color management and conversion routines: GConvert now correctly takes account of color palettes. - You can now view and select colors from the palette of the current image. - Added support for the Adobe Photoshop file format: you can convert icons into PSD files or create icons from PSD files using the "Import a file as new image..." command for instance. - New useful drag/drop support: you can now drag icons and drop them onto applications that are drag/drop aware (like Windows Explorer, Microsoft Word, image processing tools...). GConvert supports bitmap & file drag/drop, and can export icons converted in the wished format without using the Save button. To drag/drop icons from GConvert, just open the Preview Window by double-clicking on an icon image in the Image Viewer. Please see the help file for more information about how this works. Note that you can also drop files from other applications onto GConvert. - The conversion of 32-bit icon images into non 32-bit ones has been improved. - New PNG options: you can create 8-bit PNG (with palettes) which are smaller and useful for the Web. Improved transparency support too. - Fixed GIF color problems: the GIF plug-in did not correctly generate colors when converting 8-bit and less icons. Now GConvert should generate correct GIF image files. Please remember that the GIF plug-in is available separately for free on our website (GConvert add-ons page). - Better display of icon transparency in preview windows: GConvert now paints a grey-and-white checkered background like in traditional image processing tools. - New "Import Picture" window: real preview of the icon when you import an image, scale options, better transparency detection... - New Background Color Selection window. - Enhanced Main Viewer: you can select the colors for the different icon states: focused, selected, etc... Icon rendering has also been improved. - Enhanced Image Viewer: you can also select the colors for the background & font of the selected icon. - The Favorites window can be displayed like a drop-down menu when you click on Favorites in GConvert. - Environment Options: new "Color Conversion" tab with options dedicated to the color conversion routines. - You can specify your favorite bitmap editor in the Environment Options. - The "Export icons to a folder" expert has been removed, because the same goal can be easily achieved with the Save button (just click on Edition|Select All, then click on Save, choose Icon Format and specify the folder). - Improved the Icon Browser expert. - The "Generate other images" function of the icon editor has been completely rewritten; it now generates better images. - The "Icon Editor" has been redesigned. - Enhanced skin support. - Minor bug fixes, small improvements and optimizations. Version 4.0.2: minor update - improved startup speed (for old computers). - skin system updated and improved. - internal code changes. Version 4.0.1 : minor update - improved startup speed. - minor bug fixes. - internal code changes. Version 4.0.0 : initial major release - the entire program code has been rewritten from A to Z. - improved interface and behavior. - new icon editor to create, edit, add, remove, batch generate icon images and export/update icon files. - powerful icon library manager to create/edit/manage icon libraries in three formats: traditional icon libraries (.icl), true 32-bit DLL files and compressed Zip archives (containing .ico files). - improved 32-bit icon support with 8-bit alpha channel (smooth transparency of Windows XP and Mac OS X icons). Support of 32-bit bitmaps (.bmp) and PNG files with alpha channel. - now opens Macintosh icons (any format and color depth supported including 128x128 32-bit thumbnail image format for Mac OS X). - new batch icon export (select and export/convert several icons in some clicks). - creates mouse cursors and modifies icons in EXE/DLL. - imports image files (BMP, PNG with alpha channels and others) to create icon images. You can also generate other icon images using the imported image. - enhanced support for displaying icons (better Main Viewer, Image Viewer). - fixed problem for displaying 256x256 icons in the Image Viewer. - skinning support for the interface. - improved icon browser. - now uses an enhanced open/save dialog system to access to additional loading/saving options. Note that this system is currently under Beta as it needs to be widely tested (not only by a Beta team), especially under different Windows versions. - better internal memory manager. - displays icon properties, masks and alpha channels. - and much more. Version 3.8.0.2: - A XP compatibility problem caused icons not to display correctly in the Images Viewer (you would get 32-bit alpha icons only). This bug was only reported for XP. Has been fixed, so icons seem to work fine now. - Added a new export function: now if you wish to only save the selected image in the Images Viewer as an icon file, you can select "Icon (single image) format" in the formats menu list. The other "Icon Format" menu command will save all images from the selected icon when exporting to an ICO file. - Some really minor changes. Version 3.8.0 - Several parts of GConvert have been rewritten in order to support new 32-bit alpha-blended icons. These wonderful icons were introduced with Windows XP and they feature nice transparency effects. 32-bit icons are 24-bit images with a 8-bit alpha channel. - Now displays a progress bar when loading icons libraries and programs, and during process like icons extraction, compilation into libraries... - The Icon Browser expert can now export search results to icons libraries. Once a search is complete, clicking on “Export” will allow you to save the list of icons as an icons library (ICL), including their images if wished. - Added a Properties window to the Image Viewer. It basically displays properties of the selected image; in future versions, maybe in the future it will support more functions. - GConvert now supports the PNG (Portable Network Graphic) format because it can handle alpha channel transparency, so GConvert will include the alpha mask when saving 32-bit icons as PNG pictures. - A new expert that allows you to convert icon files from a Zip archive into an icons library without needing of extraction to your hard disk. It can save space on your hard disk and file operations. - Now you can change the colors of the toolbar, buttons and general labels in the Environment Options. - Added some topics to the help file, including a F.A.Q. - Note: because their authors compressed some executable files, GConvert or any other icon extractors are unable to read some of their icons. Consequently the “Icon resource not found” error message may be displayed or a «NOT FOUND» picture may replace the corrupted icon in the Images Viewer. - The Freeware edition no longer disables the Images Viewer when the icons number reaches the freeware limit. It will show a registration reminder instead. A message is still better than a disabled feature, especially a vital feature. This message disappears of course in the Registered edition. - Minor changes and bug fixes. Please report any problems, bugs or feedback!! Copyright G.D.G. Software.