If you are looking for converting your Image to *.ico format ( icon file), you are probably in the right place. Normal image files comes with various formats like *.jpg, *.png, *.gif, *.bmp which are vector (composed of drawing paths) or bitmap (composed of pixels) pictures. Every type of format has its own different properties (animated, layered, vectors, compressed, etc) and can be used to contain image of various type, resolution and size.

As of icons, which you can identify with their *.ico file type, are slightly different from normal pictures with different properties. Icons usually have standard sizes like 32×32, 48×48, 64×64, etc. One Icon can possess multiple images each having different size and/or color. Icons can have transparency property like PNG pictures. That means you can view the background through its blank area.

Unlike normal images, icons are used to represent n executable program, file or a web page. It helps users to quickly identify a particular Program, Software or File and also helps companies or individuals to represent brand.

Whenever you need an image to be in icon format (*.ico), in most cases you end up getting no option to save you picture as icon in your favorite image editor. Then you have to look around for a particular software to convert an image to icon. So here you go. You actually don’t need extra piece of software to download to your PC to do so.

Using cloudconvert.org to Convert any Image Format to Icon Format

My most favorite online tool to convert pictures or documents is cloudconvert.org. I found it the most convenient of its kind.

1. Hit cloudconvert.org using your browser. Click “Select Files” (or from right drop-down arrow, you can choose files from remote URL, Google drive or Dropbox). Now choose the image file you want to convert to icon. CloudConvert supports wide range of files.

2. Now after you selected your image, hit “select format” under “Select Output Format” section. Then choose “ico” under “image” section.

3. After the conversion is finished, you should be presented a “Download” button. Hit the button to download the newly converted file directly to your system.

That’s it.

CloudConvert also has an iOS app which you can use on your iPhone or iPad. They also provide API for developers to convert files using their service. To see the list of formats CloudConvert supports, head to cloudconvert.org/formats.

Using icoconverter.com to Convert to Icons

What makes this online icon converter special is, it has following features:

1. Very lightweight online tool.
2. Option to choose multiple sizes of pixels.
3. Bit Depth option.

A screenshot of icoconverter.com:

Actually you can find tons of online image to ico converters but actually these two was what I have been using for a while. Using online tools than desktop software is more convenient you know. Let us know about your experience about converting any kind of picture to ico.

Author: Jaber Al Nahian

Jaber is a Programmer and Tech Enthusiast Geek from Dhaka, Bangladesh. He is the founder and Chief-Editor of TechGainer. While he is away from his keyboard, either he's fishing or messing with wildlife. In case, you can contact him at rijans[at]techgainer[dot]com.

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