ICONTAINER File – What is .icontainer file and how to open it?
ICONTAINER File Extension
CandyBar iContainer File – file format by Panic
ICONTAINER is a file extension for iContainer files used by Panic’s CandyBar application. These files contain groups of custom icons that can be applied to various elements within macOS, providing a way to personalize the user interface.
Definition and Purpose:
An ICONTAINER file is a container that stores custom icons used by the Mac OS X application CandyBar. CandyBar allows users to create and manage custom icon sets, which are typically applied to applications, folders, or files. The ICONTAINER file contains information about the icon set, including its name, version, and the individual icons within it. It acts as a central hub for managing and organizing custom icons.
Structure and Content:
ICONTAINER files are binary files that follow a specific format defined by Panic. They consist of a header section, which contains metadata about the icon set, and a data section, which stores the actual icon images. The header section includes information such as the name of the icon set, the number of icons contained within it, and the version of the file format. The data section contains the icon images themselves, which can be in various formats, including PNG, JPEG, and ICNS. CandyBar uses the ICONTAINER file to store and retrieve custom icons for use within its application.
What is an ICONTAINER File?
An ICONTAINER file is a compressed archive that stores a collection of icons. It is used by the CandyBar application, a popular icon management tool for macOS. ICONTAINER files are similar to ZIP files, but they use a proprietary compression algorithm that is optimized for storing icons. This makes them more efficient than ZIP files for this purpose.
How to Open an ICONTAINER File
ICONTAINER files can be opened using CandyBar. CandyBar is a free application that can be downloaded from the Mac App Store. Once CandyBar is installed, you can simply double-click on an ICONTAINER file to open it. CandyBar will then display the contents of the archive, and you can drag and drop the icons into your desired location.
ICONTAINER File Format
An ICONTAINER file is a proprietary Mac OS X file format used by CandyBar, a software application for customizing the icons displayed by applications, folders, and files on the user’s desktop and in Finder windows. ICONTAINER files contain one or more icons in a compressed format and are used to store custom icons for specific applications, folders, or files.
The ICONTAINER file format is not publicly documented and is only accessible through CandyBar, which can export and import icons in the ICONTAINER format. The format is optimized for storing a collection of icons in a single file, reducing the number of files needed to represent a custom icon set. ICONTAINER files are typically found in the “Library/Application Support/CandyBar/iContainers” directory on Mac OS X systems.