Damir on February 2nd 2013
1711 views

RealWorld Icon Editor - saving files issue

Suggestion

I just downloaded evaluation copy of Icon Editor and it's great! I was able to whip up my imagined icon design in 10 min - something I struggled with for more than couple of hours in a competitor program (one with an "I" in logo) with unsatisfactory results.

The only issue I noticed so far is that it's easy to screw up and save the template in wrong format. The Save Document window has an additional "File Format" combo at the bottom which is confusing. I accidentally changed it to Windows icon and lost all my layers because what I thought was .ric file was actually .ico format file with .ric extension. I'm not sure how useful is that.

Also, how can I apply effects such as shadow to all layers without flattening the image? I couldn't find that option.

Vlasta on February 2nd 2013 0

It is true that having a one combo for filtering files by extension and another for the file format is confusing - it will be changed in future version (it will look just like in the current RWPaint).

Applying shadow to all layers is not possible without changing the GUI layout. It is possible, but requires detailed knowledge about how the internals of the application work. If you feel particularly adventurous and are running on a 32-bit system, you can try right-clicking on the toolbar above the list of images in the icon and selecting the "Configure" command. In the second popup menu, you may try duplicating one of the commands and changing it to drop shadow. If the layout becomes unusable, you can always reset it. Again, applying effects on multiple layers will be easier in the future version - just like in the latest RWCursorEditor (selecting multiple layers and running the effect).

If you ask why the future version is not out yet, it is because I have started improving too many things simultaneously and finishing them all is kind of time-consuming.

Damir on March 1st 2013 0

Thanks for the reply Vlasta. Didn't see the reply because I assumed e-mail notification will come in.

Do you have a ballpark when the new version will be released? We haven't made the purchase yet, but are planning to do so in the next month. What would be the upgrade pricing?

The workaround that I was using for drop shadow issue is to temporarily merge all layers, copy image, then paste it as a new layer. Then I'd apply shadow to the merged image layer why disabling all the "component" layers.

Vlasta on March 1st 2013 0

I am afraid, it is going to take some time to finish the next version, definitely more than one month. As I mentioned, I started to change too many things, including some related to the 3D rendering and they all need to be finished before I can release the thing. Though, maybe there will be a beta version with not-quite-functional 3D, but other things working, in a foreseeable future.

Upgrades are usually free.