PngCon Plus Converter

Every file on your computer can be visually customized through a simple operation accessed from the Properties panel, namely to change the icon. Windows comes with an impressive library in this regard, but with the help of PngCon Plus Converter you can use almost any picture on your computer as a cool icon.

The application takes little time to get installed, so you can take it for a spin before you realize. It’s best to run it with administrator privileges if you plan to save your files in the default location, otherwise you might run into elevation errors.

On the visual side of things, the application is fitted with a slim interface which lets individuals of all levels of experience quickly get the hang of things. However, this is mostly because the two function buttons speak for themselves, namely to select an original image, and to convert, with additional details shown like process status and input path.

Just like the name might suggest, the only input file format is PNG, which puts a bit of a strain on practicality, since it’s not the most common picture format out there. Only one file can be converted at a time, and dropping it over the main window has no effect. You get to work with two dialogs, one to open the target picture, and one to specify the save location.

The resulting files are all under the ICO format so you can use them as icons. Although there’s no possibility to define quality or size, the application automatically creates a set of icons with size specifications to fit 32 x 32, 64 x 64, and 128 x 128.

In conclusion, PngCon Plus Converter looks and feels a little rough around the edges. It only works with a single file format for input, and there’s no option to select the output size. In spite of all this, it delivers a decent variety of size specifications, and comes in handy if you really want to use a specific picture as an icon.