Is it possible to convert a Linux Icon set to an Icon Package compatible format?

from Stardock Forums

Hi. I'm new to customizing windows interfaces. I've played with it some in the past but it's been a good while and I decided I'd go ahead and buy the full Object Desktop to have as many tools at my disposal as possible. 

In the process of doing this I'm also learning about how to customize my Linux Ubuntu 18.04 Gnome desktop interface. In Gnome and KDE there are icon packs that are distributed by users. Some of them are very nice and very very extensive. I found one that I think has a great selection of flat modern Mimetype icons for almost every conceivable file type or need. Here's a link: https://github.com/thedonquixotic/Dex

I'd like to import one of these archives into Icon Packager so that I can apply them automatically across my system. As this seems to be a common icon pack format across multiple Linux distros I assume there must be some interoperiltiy with Icon Packager, which to my knowledge is the only Icon pack solution for Windows. (if I'm wrong on this point please tell me). 

Is there not an automated way for me to do this, rather than having to laboriously go through each and every icon and assigning each and every icon by hand?

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Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I'd like to import one of these archives into Icon Packager so that I can apply them automatically across my system. As this seems to be a common icon pack format across multiple Linux distros I assume there must be some interoperability with Icon Packager, which to my knowledge is the only Icon pack solution for Windows. (if I'm wrong on this point please tell me).

I haven't looked at Icon Packager, but I doubt the naming scheme is the same. The Linux icon packs use freedesktop.org naming scheme. Most icon packs work across desktop environments that follow this naming convention. Windows, Mac and Android are probably very different.

Linux icons are often in png format while Windows icons are in ico format. The archive (usually tar.gz) is just a compressed folder.

Most standard Windows icon-packs have been ported to Linux, but it's labor-intensive and the results are not top-notch because every icon has to be extracted, converted and renamed. Somewhere along the way it gets tiring and the different desktop environments are slightly different from each other. And then there is also a legal aspect when porting from Windows to Linux which doesn't really exist in the other direction.

You can bring icons from Linux to Windows, but it's a lot of work. Of course it's less work than designing icons from scratch.

I happen to like the Windows icons so I have never changed them. My nitpick is that I find Windows 10 folders slightly too yellow, but Windows 10 has bigger problems than that so no big deal.

One annoying trend is that many applications have hard-coded icons. Google Chrome and Firefox for example and then there are web/Electron apps like Skype. I guess the Windows XP decade (2000-2010)

was when skinning peaked. Every platform has to deal with more hard-coded stuff since then.

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Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting anotherside, reply 1




I'd like to import one of these archives into Icon Packager so that I can apply them automatically across my system. As this seems to be a common icon pack format across multiple Linux distros I assume there must be some interoperability with Icon Packager, which to my knowledge is the only Icon pack solution for Windows. (if I'm wrong on this point please tell me).



I haven't looked at Icon Packager, but I doubt the naming scheme is the same. The Linux icon packs use freedesktop.org naming scheme. Most icon packs work across desktop environments that follow this naming convention. Windows, Mac and Android are probably very different.

Linux icons are often in png format while Windows icons are in ico format. The archive (usually tar.gz) is just a compressed folder.

Most standard Windows icon-packs have been ported to Linux, but it's labor-intensive and the results are not top-notch because every icon has to be extracted, converted and renamed. Somewhere along the way it gets tiring and the different desktop environments are slightly different from each other. And then there is also a legal aspect when porting from Windows to Linux which doesn't really exist in the other direction.

You can bring icons from Linux to Windows, but it's a lot of work. Of course it's less work than designing icons from scratch.

I happen to like the Windows icons so I have never changed them. My nitpick is that I find Windows 10 folders slightly too yellow, but Windows 10 has bigger problems than that so no big deal.

One annoying trend is that many applications have hard-coded icons. Google Chrome and Firefox for example and then there are web/Electron apps like Skype. I guess the Windows XP decade (2000-2010)

was when skinning peaked. Every platform has to deal with more hard-coded stuff since then.



Ah, I was afraid of that. Though I don't know about it having peaked! I mean you should see some of the stuff going on in the Linux world. Pretty rad. And I've also found some small pockets on reddit and stuff of great and active Windows stuff. It's def a lot harder these days though. 

Guess I'll just have to do it by hand! I'll share what I make on here when I'm done. I've got some simple applications for batch processing pngs into ico files so I'm not too worried. It's going to be annoying but it will be doable I think. 

 

Ashes of the Singularity II