Icon Editor in Visual Studio 2008

Question

I am using Visual Studio Team System 2008 and see it has an Icon Editor and support for icons (including favicons) rolled into the product.

What I can't seem to find is a good review of the pros and cons of using this tool vs. other methods (both on-line and programs) for creating icons?

Also if one is going to use the tool in VSTS is it easier to create the original graphic in another program and then import it somehow into the Icon Editor?

Finally does VSTS have some way of creating the multiple sizes (what the icon editor calls "Image Types") such as 16x16, 32x32 & 128x128 bit from a single image or does each size need to be re-created from scratch?

Answer 1

Don't know about any reviews, but it's fairly easy to use, if pretty basic in terms of features.

It's easy to import a graphic from outside VS. I would do this if you have a more sophisticated graphics program available.

It will also create the various sizes for you, although they tend to look better with some manual tweaking.

Answer 2

I've always found the built in editor a bit clunky - especially for anything above 256 colors. I've been using Axialis IconWorkshop for years and found it very easy to use.

Answer 3

Just use the free IcoFX and don't even bother with the built in tool.
As for icon sizes, the best results are when creating each size manually, you can start with a large icon and scale it down. but nothing beats a well designed icon for an intent size.