How to Turn Your Personal Pictures into Windows Icons the Really Quick and Easy Way

Do you have some favorite pictures that you have been wishing could be used to create icons for your PC? Well, wait no longer. There is a very simple way to create a whole album of icons.  Why should your desktop look just like all the other desktops? This tip will show how to convert your favorite JPG, PNG, and GIF files into your own personalized icons.

The beauty of the method is that there is nothing to install and no program to learn how to use. It is an online Flash app that converts picture files into the special sizes and format necessary for icons.  All you have to do is go on the web and click a few buttons. The one catch is that you must have Adobe Flash enabled on your browser. Here are the details:

1. Go to the site converticon.com where you will see the simple small window shown below:
   
2. Click the button “Get Started”
3. A Windows file dialog on your own PC will open where you can select the picture you want converted to an icon
4. Select the picture, click “Open” and a window like the one shown below will open:
   
5. If you don’t like the picture you chose, click the button “Browse “and choose another picture. Otherwise, click the button “Export” to open the next window shown below:
   
6. Choose the size for your icon. Note that Windows XP uses different size settings compared to Windows Vista/7. 
7. For Windows XP, it is best to choose the three sizes 16x16, 32x32, and 48x48, as shown in the graphic above. Check the buttons by all three sizes and choose the format “Icon”. All three sizes will be incorporated into a single file with extension ico. Note that choosing multiple sizes does not work for Windows 7 icons.
8. For Windows Vista/7, it is best to choose the single size 256x256 for the ico file.
9. Click “Save as” and in the file dialog that opens choose a convenient name and place for the icon.
10. To continue creating icons, click the “Browse” button, select another picture file and repeat the process to your satisfaction

Note that icons are given square dimensions whereas most pictures are rectangular. The Flash app takes care of this automatically by filling in blank space where required to make things square. You don't have to worry about getting the dimensions right.

And there you have it. Icons that couldn’t be much easier to create.

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This tips section is maintained by Vic Laurie. Vic runs several websites with Windows how-to's, guides, and tutorials, including a site for learning about Windows and the Internet and another with Windows 7 tips.

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