Numbered Icon Generator Files

DESCRIPTION
Creates a set of icons with numbers or letters in the center when given a base icon. Useful for creating a set of icons that can be used in conjunction with the Google Maps "My Maps" feature. Scripts run under GIMP. Currently overlays letters and numbers only on png icons.

INSTALL
Included are two scripts that work in conjunction with GIMP (http://www.gimp.org/) to a set of icons. To install, GIMP must first be installed on your system. Once GIMP has been installed, you should find the .gimp-2.6 directory in your home directory. Simply put a copy of genNumIcons.scm and genCharIcons.scm in the scripts directory there.

Windows XP: copy genNumIcons.scm and genCharIcons.scm to C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\.gimp-2.6\scripts

Linux: copy genNumIcons.scm and genCharIcons.scm to ~/.gimp-2.6/scripts

USE
Choose File->Create->Numbered Icons

A small window with various parameters will appear:

- Base Icon: browse to the base icon image that you wish to use as the background for the icon set that will be generated with incremental numbers. Currently only png files are allowed. Look in markers.zip file for example base icons that match Google Maps icons in various colors. (ex: blue.png)

- X center numeral: this is the desired x pixel location of the *center* of the text field that will be overlayed on the base icon.

- Y center numeral: this is the desired x pixel location of the *center* of the text field that will be overlayed on the base icon.

- Font: The font to be used when generating the text overlay for the generated icon

- Font Size: The font size (in pixels) to be used when generating the text overlay for the generated icon

- Font Color: The color of the text when generating the text overlay for the generated icon

- Directory to save in: select the directory where the generated icons will be saved to

- Base Root Name: this is the text that forms the generated icon name, e.g. if the name 'blue' is entered here, then the generated icons will have names blue0.png blue1.png blue2.png ...

- Start Number: the number to start the icon set with. Builds a numbered set of icons from this number to the end number

- End Number: the number to end the icon set with. Builds a numbered set of icons from the start number to this number

Press 'OK'. After a few seconds, all the saved icons should be in the directory that you selected. Check to make sure they are centered correctly and adjust the x,y center numeral and re-generate if needed.

NOTES
Once you have generated the icons you need, an image hosting service (like photobucket) can be used to make the icons available to your website, blog, or Google's My Maps.

A good way to make a new base icon is to use Google's chart api http://code.google.com/apis/chart/docs/gallery/dynamic_icons.html. For example, I used http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?chst=d_map_pin_letter&chld=|00e13b|000000&chs=32x32 to create an icon that forms the base for all the red icons in the set. (Although a bit of editing on the base icon is needed to center it in the 32x32 area).