A problem using customized icon [SOLVED]

[fh1805]

I have encountered a problem using a PTE sequence with a customized icon.

First some background: the sequence provides me with a "Project Workbench" environment for a reserach project I am doing into the alum industry of north-east Yorkshire (in the UK). It uses buttons to perform "Run Application or Open file" operations. I have set up a "Project Workbench" folder in which I have placed the Workbench.exe file and a series of shortcuts which are the items that are the targets of each button. I have placed a shortcut to the Workbench.exe file on my desktop. The sequence works exactly as I intended it to when launched from this desktop shortcut.

My design allows me to change the Workbench.exe contents and they are immediately available via the existing desktop shortcut. Any changes made through the Workbench, to existing file content within the project folder, are also immediately available through the workbench. I can now get into any part of my alum project with just two clicks of the mouse: one on the Workbench icon in the Windows Taskbar and one on the relevant button within the workbench. All the clicking to navigate up and down the folder tree structure has been eliminated. Over the course of this project I am going to save hundreds, if not thousands, of mouse clicks.

Now to the problem... I initially built the sequence without a customized icon for the EXE file. I have now added a customized icon via Project Options. (See PTE-Icon-2.JPG below). If I copy the Workbench.exe file to the desktop, the icon shows correctly on the desktop. If, however, I paste a shortcut instead of a copy of the file, the original PTE icon is used. (See PTE-Icon-1 below).

Is this a bug in PTE, in that it is offering the wrong icon information to Windows, or is it a limitation within Windows? I have tried right-clicking the "PTE icon" shortcut for the Workbench and have followed the usual route via Properties to Change Icon. It will not change away from the PTE standard icon for this shortcut. My operating system is Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit.

To preserve the correct function of the Workbench it must run from a shortcut on the desktop. I would much prefer to have the customized icon associated with that shortcut.

Any ideas for a solution, please?

regards,

Peter

[davegee]

Peter,

In Vista - if you right click on the desktop Icon and choose properties, you can assign an Icon for the Shortcut?

Haven't tried W7 yet.

DG

[Guest Yachtsman1]

Hi Peter

Some time ago I copied a PDF from somewhere on making an icon in PTE with a view to giving it a try, never did as it seemed to be a bit laborious. I'm going to try to attach it to this post but the last time I tried to attach a PDF it wouldn't so I thought Wn soft must have changed what you can or can't attach.

Regards Eric

Yachtsman1.

Looks like it worked.

Make-a-PTE-icon.pdf

[fh1805]

Dave,

In Vista - if you right click on the desktop Icon and choose properties, you can assign an Icon for the Shortcut?

I know that's how to go about changing the icon for an item on the Windows desktop.

I have tried right-clicking the "PTE icon" shortcut for the Workbench and have followed the usual route via Properties to Change Icon. It will not change away from the PTE standard icon for this shortcut.

But it ain't working for me on Windows 7!

regards,

Peter

[fh1805]

Some time ago I copied a PDF from somewhere on making an icon in PTE with a view to giving it a try, never did as it seemed to be a bit laborious.

Eric,

It isn't that I cannot make the icon. Nor is it that I cannot get the icon correctly assigned to the EXE file for the sequence. I have achieved that much successfully (See PTE-Icon-1.JPG attached to my original post). Where it breaks down is when I try and establish a shortcut on the Windows desktop to that EXE. The shortcut doesn't use my customized icon. It uses the default PTE icon (the blue and silver "Play" symbol - see PTE-Icon-1.JPG attached to my original post). I would prefer the shortcut to use my customized icon. That's the bit that I cannot get to happen. (See my original post and my reply to Dave above).

regards,

Peter

[davegee]

Sorry Peter,

It works for me in W7.

If you are saying that you want the shortcut to carry your chosen icon with it then I agree it does not happen.

But I am able to CHANGE the icon on the desktop in both Vista and W7.

It's a one off operation and doesn't seem to me to be too much of a chore?

Maybe someone has a better answer for you - Igor?

DG

[davegee]

Peter,

I just did it your way (I think) in W7:

I added an Icon via Project Options.

Created the EXE.

In Explorer created the shortcut.

Dragged the shortcut to the desktop complete with the icon assigned in Project Options.

DG

[Igor]

Peter,

Executable file has only one main icon. If you assign a custom icon file, the "default" icon is never included.

It can be a bug in Windows.

Windows use cache of icons and probably in case of similar file names it can return "old" icon from another file with same name.

Try to press F5 or restart Windows.

Also try to rename EXE file and create again the shortcut.

Click right mouse button on the shortcut > Properties > check Icon settings.

[Guest Yachtsman1]

Peter

Your customised icon doesn't look like a shortcut? no curved arrow.? Is the file embedded directly into the desktop section on your HD.? did you use the "send to desktop" function by right clicking onto the customised folder exe icon?

Regards Eric

Yachtsman1

[fh1805]

Dave/Igor,

Thanks for your thoughts and suggestions. I'll wait and see what happens tomorrow, after the system has been shutdown over night. If I still have a problem I will then work through your various suggestions and report back.

regards,

Peter

[fh1805]

Your customised icon doesn't look like a shortcut?

That's because it isn't a shortcut. It is a copy of the EXE file that has been placed on the desktop. It shows that the association of the customized icon within PTE has worked.

Is the file embedded directly into the desktop section on your HD.?

Yes!

...did you use the "send to desktop" function by right clicking onto the customised folder exe icon?

No!

I used Explorer to do a Copy, and then right-clicked on the desktop and did a Paste.

The icon to the left of the customized icon is the shortcut. You may have noticed that it has got the "curved arrow" which denotes that it is a shortcut.

Peter

[nobeefstu]

Peter,

As Igor has mentioned ... usually rebooting sovles most icon corruption issues.

Another resolve for solving severe icon issues or to rebuild the entire icon cache is to remove/delete the IconCache.db file.

This .db file contains the cache of all your icons old and new. By removing the IconCache.db file ... you are essentially clearing the current icon database. Once you reboot, Windows will rebuild a new IconCache.db file with only the current and new icon data (rebuilds itself silently). The new build wont contain any old or unused icon data from the past.

The file is within the Username\AppData\Local folder. Each username has its own IconCache.db file.

*Applies to XP, Vista, Win7

[fh1805]

Thanks Stu,

Another one to try tomorrow, if needed after the overnight reboot.

regards,

Peter

[fh1805]

Dragged the shortcut to the desktop complete with the icon assigned in Project Options.

Dave,

What you did was what I did except for this last part. When I drag the icon to the desktop the icon changes back to the blue-silver-play-button. Note that within the Explorer window the shortcut does carry the customized icon (See PTE-Icon-4.JPG below).

Now to the situation this morning after a power-up boot-up. The "faulty" icon has not changed.

I wondered whether I might be looking at a general problem affecting those icons that I had prepared myself. I therefore copied into the workbench folder an icon from my desktop which I use to go straight to the BBC website using Firefox. As you can see in PTE-Icon-4.JPG, this has its own icon rather than the standard Firefox icon. I then dragged the Workbench.exe file, the Workbench.exe shortcut and the W-BBC shortcut to the desktop with the result shown in PTE-Icon-5.JPG below. Whilst doing the drags I noted that the icon associated with "Workbench.exe-Shortcut" changed as soon as the drag began. The icons of "Workbench.exe" and "W-BBC" were both preserved throughout the drag operation. I feel that this is a significant clue to the root cause of this problem.

regards,

Peter

[fh1805]

Good morning, Stu,

As Igor has mentioned ... usually rebooting sovles most icon corruption issues.

It didn't!

Another resolve for solving severe icon issues or to rebuild the entire icon cache is to remove/delete the IconCache.db file.

I renamed the file to Z-IconCache.db and did a Shutdown/Power-up/Boot-up. I now have a new IconCache.db file - and I still have the problem.

regards,

Peter

[davegee]

Peter,

I think that you are on the right track.

I don't have any prepared icons so searched for .ico and used the WMP icon.

DG

[fh1805]

OK folks, I've sorted it - but I'm still confused.

The icon file (Crystal.ico), that I was using, had been created in my usual way but had not been stored in the usual folder for an icon. It had been stored in the same folder as the image files I used in the Workbench.pte file from which the Workbench.exe file was then created. Having realized that this morning, I have now copied Crystal.ico to my normal folder for icons, have assigned that copy as the customized icon for the project (which is now called Workbench2.pte) and have published a new exe (called Workbench2.exe). I have then created a shortcut within the Workbench folder and dragged this shortcut out to the desktop. The customized icon was preserved throughout this process.

The point of confusion that remains is this:

Why does use of this icon work when it is stored in J:/My Data/My Playpen/Icons and Avatars/ but not when it is stored in J:/My Data/My Projects/Project - Yorkshire Alum/Project Workbench/Images/ ?

Anyone any bright ideas?

regards,

Peter