Today I wanted to create the favicon.ico file for my blog. I had a PNG version of the graphic I wanted to use, and I figured I’d quickly use Paint Shop Pro to open it and save it to a .ico file. No dice, PSP does not save files in the .ico format.

So, my next step was to ask a co-worker who has Adobe Photoshop to do it for me. I figured that this would be a done deal and he’d email me back the .ico file I desired. However, he also walked up to me and told me Photoshop can’t do it.

What is so special about the .ico file format that these major programs can’t create them?

In any case, I did not want to install another program on my PC. A quick search on the web turned up this site:
http://converticon.com/

I can simply use their web form and upload my PNG and they produce an appropriate ICO file for me. Perfect! My favicon.ico file is now created and should be appearing proudly in your browser window as you read this.

After showing my co-worker my new found knowledge, he one-upped me and sent me to an even better site:
http://www.zamzar.com/

This Zamzar site performs a free online conversion of so many more file types! I’ll definitely have to give it a shot in the future. It can basically convert between the most popular document and image types.