757301 - The application icon for native webapps doesn't use the provided 16x16 icon

Status: RESOLVED DUPLICATE of bug 742639

(Firefox Graveyard :: Web Apps, defect)

Description

[Jared Wein [:jaws] (please needinfo? me)]

In my webapp manifest I included a 16x16, 32x32, 64x64, and 128x128 icon for the webapp. After installing the webapp, I noticed that the 16x16 icon (which is set as the favicon on the webpage) isn't being used as the app icon in the XULRunner window frame.

If there is a 16x16 icon provided, I think we should be using that one for the application icon, but also the other icon sizes for shortcuts etc.

Comment 1

[Jason Smith [:jsmith]]

(In reply to Jared Wein [:jaws] from comment #0)
> In my webapp manifest I included a 16x16, 32x32, 64x64, and 128x128 icon for
> the webapp. After installing the webapp, I noticed that the 16x16 icon
> (which is set as the favicon on the webpage) isn't being used as the app
> icon in the XULRunner window frame.
> 
> If there is a 16x16 icon provided, I think we should be using that one for
> the application icon, but also the other icon sizes for shortcuts etc.

I think the default behavior right now is to use the largest icon size provided for the application. This icon is saved in the application data (so only one icon is saved). If I understand what you are saying correctly, the heuristic should be modified to pick the icon that best fits the situation, right (the icon that makes the most sense)? What are the tradeoffs with this? Tradeoffs to consider include:

- Having the download more icons on install
- Avoiding a resize of the icon per each specialized need

In terms of priority, this probably isn't needed for the 1st release of web apps, as what we have works as expected. Could you provide more insight into the tradeoffs from both perspectives (choosing to stay with what we have vs. going with a different heuristic)?

Comment 2

[:Felipe Gomes (needinfo for replies!)]

Hey Brian, does the icon encoder supports embedding more than one icon size to the .ico file?

Comment 3

[Jared Wein [:jaws] (please needinfo? me)]

(In reply to Jason Smith [:jsmith] from comment #1)
> Could you provide more insight into
> the tradeoffs from both perspectives (choosing to stay with what we have vs.
> going with a different heuristic)?

True native apps are allowed multiple icon sizes, and designers work hard to represent their brand well at the various dimensions. The OS should be able to choose which icon to show as long as the various icon sizes are embedded in the .ico file.

Comment 4

[Brian R. Bondy [:bbondy]]

> Hey Brian, does the icon encoder supports embedding more than one icon 
> size to the .ico file?

- The ICO encoder currently can only encode 1 image in an ICO file.  Either a BMP or PNG. The ICO format as you know can support encoding multiple images inside of it. I don't think there is a bug defined for this work yet.
- The ICO decoder currently only decodes a single ICO file with a preference for choosing PREFICONSIZE (16x16). There is currently no way to decode a different icon if more than one exists than the preferred one. See Bug 419588