How to open an ICO file?

[aa]

What application shall I use to open an ICO image?
Paint and Photoshop do not recognise the format

 

[Dan Seur]

There is a free Photoshop plugin to handle ICOs.
IrfanView handles ICOs.
Icon-sushi handles ICOs.

What application shall I use to open an ICO image?
Paint and Photoshop do not recognise the format




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[Steve Parry]

What application shall I use to open an ICO image?
Paint and Photoshop do not recognise the format

Rename it to a *.bmp and edit it in Paint, save, then rename back to *.ico

 

[Dan Seur]

Before posting earlier, I tried renaming one to a *.bmp and couldn't
open it with Photoshop. Or any other imagers I use a lot. Never occurred
to me to try Paint. Gave up too soon maybe?
....
Just tried it (W2k Paint) - 'Paint can't read it; it ain't a valid BMP
or its format not currently supported.'
Does this actually work for you, Steve?

Rename it to a *.bmp and edit it in Paint, save, then rename back to *.ico

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[Steve Parry]

Before posting earlier, I tried renaming one to a *.bmp and couldn't
open it with Photoshop. Or any other imagers I use a lot. Never occurred
to me to try Paint. Gave up too soon maybe?
...
Just tried it (W2k Paint) - 'Paint can't read it; it ain't a valid BMP
or its format not currently supported.'
Does this actually work for you, Steve?

Just tried it and yes it works fine

 

[Steve Parry]

Before posting earlier, I tried renaming one to a *.bmp and couldn't
open it with Photoshop. Or any other imagers I use a lot. Never occurred
to me to try Paint. Gave up too soon maybe?
...
Just tried it (W2k Paint) - 'Paint can't read it; it ain't a valid BMP
or its format not currently supported.'
Does this actually work for you, Steve?

PS don't know if it makes any difference but I accessed the file from Paint
File>open menu as opposed to double clicking it.

 

[Sid Knee]

PS don't know if it makes any difference but I accessed the file from Paint
File>open menu as opposed to double clicking it.

Doesn't work for me whether I double-click it or use file > open from
Paint. PaintShop pro won't open it either.

 

[Dan Seur]

I tried it both ways before last post.

Talk about "Your mileage may vary" ... This is a great mystery which
I'll leave to future generations, along with a cancer cure, a proof of
Goldbach's Conjecture, and the recipe for Classic Coke.

PS don't know if it makes any difference but I accessed the file from Paint
File>open menu as opposed to double clicking it.

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[Steve Parry]

I tried it both ways before last post.

Talk about "Your mileage may vary" ... This is a great mystery which
I'll leave to future generations, along with a cancer cure, a proof of
Goldbach's Conjecture, and the recipe for Classic Coke.

)

Only thing I can think of is if some software I've installed has added
filters to Paint, although I tend to have had the same software on for a few
years now.

 

[Dan Seur]

Sid's post is personally reassuring but somehow deepens the mystery.
Maybe not all ICOs are exactly alike? Like quarks, restaurants, and
politicians - altho that last example is a matter of steamy debate ...

In any event, if the original poster is still needful and watching: what
I'd do is grab one of the many freeware Icon Editors or follow that
first response of mine (product of a quick Google.)

)

Only thing I can think of is if some software I've installed has added
filters to Paint, although I tend to have had the same software on for a few
years now.

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[Sid Knee]

Sid's post is personally reassuring but somehow deepens the mystery.
Maybe not all ICOs are exactly alike? Like quarks, restaurants, and
politicians - altho that last example is a matter of steamy debate ...

To add to the mystery, I tried opening the file in IE and got the same
message from Paint (it leads me to assume that IE uses Paint to open bmp
files).

I then tried opening it in Firefox and it opened just fine.

This was an icon file extracted from shell32.dll and then renamed with a
..bmp extension. I thought perhaps the extraction program (IconExtractor)
made a quirky file so I tried the whole process again using MicroAngelo
with exactly the same results.

Wouldn't be the first time that graphics file have had
interchange/compatibility problems though. .tif's used to be notorious
for this (still are I think).

 

[Dan Seur]

That's a relief! Thanks for posting back.

Thanks everybody who contributed. The plugin Den mentioned worked.
Paint complained that this is not a BMP format




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[aa]

Thanks everybody who contributed. The plugin Den mentioned worked.
Paint complained that this is not a BMP format