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If you are having trouble seeing your new icon, it is probably because
you had an existing bookmark for that page already. IT IS HARD TO CHANGE
EXISTING BOOKMARKS. Rest assured, however, your new bookmark is visible
to the rest of the world and any new bookmarks will be seen with that
logo. If you want to see the new logo, we have 2 possible remedies (Thanks
Pete Harwood):
1. VISUAL CHECK (RECOMMENDED) - Enter the URL of your favicon (ie http://www.favicon.com/favicon.ico)
into your browser. Is your updated icon displayed or downloaded? 2. RENAME
FAVICON - When using the <link> tag method for specifying the location
your favicon, change the HREF (the URL) value specifying the location
of your favicon. This is usually done by renaming your favicon.ico (ie
newfavicon.ico)and updating the link tag. IE. <LINK REL="SHORTCUT
ICON" HREF="http://www.mydomain.com/newicon.ico">
Rebookmarking forces IE to download the new icon as it doesn't have the
newicon.ico file in cache. It is also good habit to check the link used
in the above tag (ie http://www.mydomain.com/newicon.ico). Always check
your favorites folder to see if the change is reflected correctly. Do
not judge by the address bar, since icons in the address bar are less
reliable. We are not sure why.
2. DELETE CACHE - Go to Tools Menu and select Internet Options. Then
make sure you select the General Tab. There you will click Settings under
Temporary Internet Files. You can then delete the offending file there.
When you reboot the machine now, the shortcuts will revert to IE's standard
icon. Simply clearing the cache doesn't delete icons, just as it doesn't
delete cookies. Adding the site to favorites again now will force IE to
download the new icon. Earlier we had recommended, deleting the existing
bookmark(s), clear all your cache, reset your computer, return to page
and bookmark, however, users said they got mixed results. Let us know
if you have any more information
On rare occassions, we have seen discount/free ISPs add their advertising
in such a way that disallows the use of Favicons. Read below if this is
the case. In addition, sometimes you have to SELECT THE BOOKMARK TO SEE
IT - rather than typing in the URL - in order to see the icon in the address
bar.
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What exactly is an
ico file?
What exactly is an ico file?
An ico file is actually a collection of bitmap like images in various pixel
and color formats combined in one file. On most systems two formats are
very important:The 32x32 pixel format (this format is used for the desktop
or the 'Large Icons' View in Windows Explorer or Macintosh, etc..) and the
16x16 pixel format (this format is used for your IE favorites, your taskbar,
'Small Icons' view in Windows Explorer, Macintosh, etc.). Each system will
display an icon that fits best in the needed format, i.e. if your system
can display 256-colored icons and you drop an icon on your desktop, your
system will load the 32x32x256 icon. When your system can't find the icon
format that is actually needed (i.e. Example #1 has no 16x16 pixel icon),
the system will scale the 32x32x256 icon to 16x16 pixel format. (If your
system can only display 16-colored icons, it will also reduce the color
depth.) This may produce unexpected results. This is why we recommend
you should make a 32x32, 256 color and a 16x16, 256 color version of your
icon. Nearly all systems can display 256-colored icons, so there is
no more need to make 16-colored icons.
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Saving
ico/gif files with Internet Explorer / Netscape
Tip:
Drag & Drop gif images with IE.
It's a new interesting
feature of the Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 called 'Favicon'. Associate
an icon with your homepage now. If somebody adds your page to his favorites,
IE will access the file favicon.ico in the root folder of your domain and
a small icon appears in his favorites list. The same icon is used, if you
drag and drop the URL to your desktop. Example: You have a Geocities
Page. Then you'll need a Windows Icon File, just name it favicon.ico and
place it in your Homepage directory. Then add a line like