The ICO file format stores icon images for programs, documents or folders on Microsoft Windows. These files contain small images at many sizes and color depths that can scale appropriately. Most newer...
The ICO file format stores icon images for programs, documents or folders on Microsoft Windows. These files contain small images at many sizes and color depths that can scale appropriately. Most newer icons in ICO files store images up to 256×256 to fit high DPI screens.
An ICO file includes an ICONDIR (“Icon directory”) structure with an ICONDIRENTRY for each image. All Windows executables displaying icons carry them in ICO format. Windows ICOs typically have images from 16×16 to 256×256 pixels. Older ICOs only had up to 48×48 since that was the earlier Windows recommendation.
ICO files associate a picture with a file or program so the computer recognizes it. The small computer icon directing to “My Computer” and document icons for programs like Word use ICO formats. These files have existed since early Windows versions. Most ICO files (85%) are Windows Icon binary files without text.
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