Icon Naming Specification
Version 0.8
August 1 2006
Rodney
Dawes
dobey@novell.com
Overview
The Icon Theme Specification has been in use now for a while, in several
desktops, including KDE and Gnome. However, there has never been any
centralized direction on how to name the icons that are available for use
by applications, when creating a theme. This has meant that artists have
historically had to duplicate many icons, in order for their themes to
work across desktop environments.
This specification aims to solve this problem, by laying out a standard
naming scheme for icon creation, as well as providing a minimal list of
must have icons, and a larger list with many more examples to help with
the creation of extended icons for third party applications, devices,
and new MIME types.
Context
The list of default Contexts for the icon theme are:
Standard Contexts
Name
Description
Directory
Actions
Icons which are generally used in menus and dialogs for
interacting with the user.
actions
Animations
Animated images used to represent loading web sites, or other
background processing which may be less suited to more verbose
progress reporting in the user itnerface.
animations
Applications
Icons that describe what an application is, for use in the
Programs menu, window decorations, and the task list. These may
or may not be generic depending on the application and its
purpose. Applications which are to be considered part of the base desktop,
such as the calculator or terminal, should use the generic icons specified in
this specification, while more advanced applications such as web browsers and
office applications should use branded icons which still give the user an idea
of what function the application provides.
apps
Categories
Icons that are used for categories in the Programs menu, or
the Control Center, for separating applications, preferences, and
settings for display to the user.
categories
Devices
Icons for hardware that is contained within or connected to the
computing device.
devices
Emblems
Icons for tags and properties of files, that are displayed in the
file manager. This context contains emblems for such things as
read-only
or photos
.
emblems
Emotes
Icons for emotions that are expressed through text chat
applications such as :-) or :-P in IRC or instant messengers.
emotes
International
Icons for international denominations such as flags.
intl
MimeTypes
Icons for different types of data, such as audio or image files.
mimetypes
Places
Icons used to represent locations, either on the local
filesystem, or through remote connections. Folders, trash, and
workgroups are some examples.
places
Status
Icons for presenting status to the user. This context contains
icons for warning and error dialogs, as well as for the current
weather, appointment alarms, and battery status.
status
Icon Naming Guidelines
Here we define some guidelines for when creating new icons that extend
the standardized list of icon names defined here, in order to provide
icons for more specific MIME types, devices, or international flags.
Icon names are in the en_US.US_ASCII locale. This means that the
allowable characters in the icon names, must fall withing the
US-ASCII character set. As a further restriction, all icon names
may only contain lowercase letters, numbers, underscore, dash, or
period characters. Spaces, colons, slashes, and backslashes are
not allowed. Also, icon names must be spelled as they are in the
en_US dictionary.
The dash -
character is used to separate levels of
specificity in icon names, for all contexts other than MimeTypes.
For instance, we use input-mouse
as the generic
item for all mouse devices, and we use input-mouse-usb
for a USB mouse device. However, if the more specific item does not exist
in the current theme, and does exist in a parent theme, the generic icon
from the current theme is preferred, in order to keep consistent style.
Icons for branded applications should be named the same as the binary
executable for the application.
Standard Icon Names
This section describes the standard icon names that should be used by
artists when creating themes, and by developers when writing applications
which will use the Icon Theme Specification.
Standard Action Icons
Name
Description
address-book-new
The icon used for the action to create a new address book.
application-exit
The icon used for exiting an application. Typically this is seen
in the application's menus as File->Quit.
appointment-new
The icon used for the action to create a new appointment
in a calendaring application.
contact-new
The icon used for the action to create a new contact
in an address book application.
dialog-cancel
The icon used for the Cancel
button that
might appear in dialog windows.
dialog-close
The icon used for the Close
button that
might appear in dialog windows.
dialog-ok
The icon used for the OK
button that
might appear in dialog windows.
document-new
The icon used for the action to create a new document.
document-open
The icon used for the action to open a document.
document-open-recent
The icon used for the action to open a document that
was recently opened.
document-page-setup
The icon for the page setup action of a document editor.
document-print
The icon for the print action of an application.
document-print-preview
The icon for the print preview action of an application.
document-properties
The icon for the action to view the properties of a
document in an application.
document-revert
The icon for the action of reverting to a previous
version of a document.
document-save
The icon for the save action.
document-save-as
The icon for the save as action.
edit-copy
The icon for the copy action.
edit-cut
The icon for the cut action.
edit-delete
The icon for the delete action.
edit-find
The icon for the find action.
edit-find-replace
The icon for the find and replace action.
edit-paste
The icon for the paste action.
edit-redo
The icon for the redo action.
edit-select-all
The icon for the select all action.
edit-undo
The icon for the undo action.
folder-new
The icon for creating a new folder.
format-indent-less
The icon for the decrease indent formatting action.
format-indent-more
The icon for the increase indent formatting action.
format-justify-center
The icon for the center justification formatting action.
format-justify-fill
The icon for the fill justification formatting action.
format-justify-left
The icon for the left justification formatting action.
format-justify-right
The icon for the right justification action.
format-text-direction-ltr
The icon for the left-to-right text formatting action.
format-text-direction-rtl
The icon for the right-to-left formatting action.
format-text-bold
The icon for the bold text formatting action.
format-text-italic
The icon for the italic text formatting action.
format-text-underline
The icon for the underlined text formatting action.
format-text-strikethrough
The icon for the strikethrough text formatting action.
go-bottom
The icon for the go to bottom of a list action.
go-down
The icon for the go down in a list action.
go-first
The icon for the go to the first item in a list action.
go-home
The icon for the go to home location action.
go-jump
The icon for the jump to action.
go-last
The icon for the go to the last item in a list action.
go-next
The icon for the go to the next item in a list action.
go-previous
The icon for the go to the previous item in a list action.
go-top
The icon for the go to the top of a list action.
go-up
The icon for the go up in a list action.
help-about
The icon for the About item in the Help menu.
help-contents
The icon for Contents item in the Help menu.
help-faq
The icon for the FAQ item in the Help menu.
insert-image
The icon for the insert image action of an application.
insert-link
The icon for the insert link action of an application.
insert-object
The icon for the insert object action of an application.
insert-text
The icon for the insert text action of an application.
list-add
The icon for the add to list action.
list-remove
The icon for the remove from list action.
mail-forward
The icon for the forward action of an electronic mail application.
mail-mark-important
The icon for the mark as important action of an electronic mail application.
mail-mark-junk
The icon for the mark as junk action of an electronic mail application.
mail-mark-notjunk
The icon for the mark as not junk action of an electronic mail application.
mail-mark-read
The icon for the mark as read action of an electronic mail application.
mail-mark-unread
The icon for the mark as unread action of an electronic mail application.
mail-message-new
The icon for the compose new mail action of an electronic mail application.
mail-reply-all
The icon for the reply to all action of an electronic mail application.
mail-reply-sender
The icon for the reply to sender action of an electronic mail application.
mail-send
The icon for the send action of an electronic mail application.
mail-send-receive
The icon for the send and receive action of an electronic mail application.
media-eject
The icon for the eject action of a media player or file manager.
media-playback-pause
The icon for the pause action of a media player.
media-playback-start
The icon for the start playback action of a media player.
media-playback-stop
The icon for the stop action of a media player.
media-record
The icon for the record action of a media application.
media-seek-backward
The icon for the seek backward action of a media player.
media-seek-forward
The icon for the seek forward action of a media player.
media-skip-backward
The icon for the skip backward action of a media player.
media-skip-forward
The icon for the skip forward action of a media player.
object-flip-horizontal
The icon for the action to flip an object horizontally.
object-flip-vertical
The icon for the action to flip an object vertically.
object-rotate-left
The icon for the rotate left action performed on an object.
object-rotate-right
The icon for the rotate rigt action performed on an object.
system-lock-screen
The icon used for the Lock Screen
item in the desktop's
panel application.
system-log-out
The icon used for the Log Out
item in
the desktop's panel application.
system-run
The icon used for the Run Application...
item in
the desktop's panel application.
system-search
The icon used for the Search
item in
the desktop's panel application.
tools-check-spelling
The icon used for the Check Spelling
item in the
application's Tools
menu.
view-fullscreen
The icon used for the Fullscreen
item in the
application's View
menu.
view-refresh
The icon used for the Refresh
item in the
application's View
menu.
view-sort-ascending
The icon used for the Sort Ascending
item in the
application's View
menu, or in a button for
changing the sort method for a list.
view-sort-descending
The icon used for the Sort Descending
item in the
application's View
menu, or in a button for
changing the sort method for a list.
window-close
The icon used for the Close Window
item in the
application's Windows
menu.
window-new
The icon used for the New Window
item in the
application's Windows
menu.
zoom-best-fit
The icon used for the Best Fit
item in the
application's View
menu.
zoom-in
The icon used for the Zoom in
item in the
application's View
menu.
zoom-original
The icon used for the Original Size
item in the
application's View
menu.
zoom-out
The icon used for the Zoom Out
item in the
application's View
menu.
Standard Animation Icons
Name
Description
process-working
This is the standard spinner animation for web browsers and
file managers to show that the location is loading. This image
should be a multi-frame PNG with the frames as the size that
the directory containing the image, is specified to be in. The
first frame of the animation should be used for the resting
state of the animation.
Standard Application Icons
Name
Description
accessories-calculator
The icon used for the desktop's calculator accessory program.
accessories-character-map
The icon used for the desktop's international and extended text
character accessory program.
accessories-dictionary
The icon used for the desktop's dictionary accessory program.
accessories-text-editor
The icon used for the desktop's text editing accessory program.
help-browser
The icon used for the desktop's help browsing application.
multimedia-volume-control
The icon used for the desktop's hardware volume control application.
preferences-desktop-accessibility
The icon used for the desktop's accessibility preferences.
preferences-desktop-font
The icon used for the desktop's font preferences.
preferences-desktop-keyboard
The icon used for the desktop's keyboard preferences.
preferences-desktop-locale
The icon used for the desktop's locale preferences.
preferences-desktop-multimedia
The icon used for the desktop's multimedia preferences.
preferences-desktop-screensaver
The icon used for the desktop's screen saving preferences.
preferences-desktop-theme
The icon used for the desktop's theme preferences.
preferences-desktop-wallpaper
The icon used for the desktop's wallpaper preferences.
system-file-manager
The icon used for the desktop's file management application.
system-software-update
The icon used for the desktop's software updating application.
utilities-terminal
The icon used for the desktop's terminal emulation application.
Standard Category Icons
Name
Description
applications-accessories
The icon for the Accessories
sub-menu of the Programs menu.
applications-development
The icon for the Programming
sub-menu of the Programs menu.
applications-engineering
The icon for the Engineering
sub-menu of the Programs menu.
applications-games
The icon for the Games
sub-menu of the Programs menu.
applications-graphics
The icon for the Graphics
sub-menu of the Programs menu.
applications-internet
The icon for the Internet
sub-menu of the Programs menu.
applications-multimedia
The icon for the Multimedia
sub-menu of the Programs menu.
applications-office
The icon for the Office
sub-menu of the Programs menu.
applications-other
The icon for the Other
sub-menu of the Programs menu.
applications-science
The icon for the Science
sub-menu of the Programs menu.
applications-system
The icon for the System Tools
sub-menu of the Programs menu.
applications-utilities
The icon for the Utilities
sub-menu of the Programs menu.
preferences-desktop
The icon for the Desktop Preferences
category.
preferences-desktop-peripherals
The icon for the Peripherals
sub-category of
the Desktop Preferences
category.
preferences-desktop-personal
The icon for the Personal
sub-category of
the Desktop Preferences
category.
preferences-other
The icon for the Other
preferences category.
preferences-system
The icon for the System Preferences
category.
preferences-system-network
The icon for the Network
sub-category of
the System Preferences
category.
system-help
The icon for the Help
system category.
Standard Device Icons
Name
Description
audio-card
The icon used for the audio rendering device.
audio-input-microphone
The icon used for the microphone audio input device.
battery
The icon used for the system battery device.
camera-photo
The icon used for a digital still camera devices.
camera-video
The icon used for a video or web camera.
computer
The icon used for the computing device as a whole.
drive-harddisk
The icon used for hard disk drives.
drive-optical
The icon used for optical media drives such as CD and DVD.
drive-removable-media
The icon used for removable media drives.
input-gaming
The icon used for the gaming input device.
input-keyboard
The icon used for the keyboard input device.
input-mouse
The icon used for the mousing input device.
media-flash
The icon used for generic physical CD and DVD media.
media-floppy
The icon used for physical floppy disk media.
media-optical
The icon used for physical optical media such as CD and DVD.
media-tape
The icon used for generic physical tape media.
modem
The icon used for modem devices.
multimedia-player
The icon used for generic multimedia playing devices.
network-wired
The icon used for wired network connections.
network-wireless
The icon used for wireless network connections.
printer
The icon used for a printer which is connected locally.
video-display
The icon used for the monitor that video gets displayed to.
Standard Emblem Icons
Name
Description
emblem-default
The icon used as an emblem to specify the default selection of a printer for
example.
emblem-documents
The icon used as an emblem for the directory where a user's documents are stored.
emblem-downloads
The icon used as an emblem for the directory where a user's
downloads from the internet are stored.
emblem-favorite
The icon used as an emblem for files and directories that the
user marks as favorites.
emblem-important
The icon used as an emblem for files and directories that are
marked as important by the user.
emblem-mail
The icon used as an emblem to specify the directory where the
user's electronic mail is stored.
emblem-photos
The icon used as an emblem to specify the directory where the
user stores photographs.
emblem-readonly
The icon used as an emblem for files and directories which can
not be written to by the user.
emblem-shared
The icon used as an emblem for files and directories that are
shared to other users.
emblem-symbolic-link
The icon used as an emblem for files and direcotires that are
links to other files or directories on the filesystem.
emblem-synchronized
The icon used as an emblem for files or directories that are
configured to be synchronized to another device.
emblem-system
The icon used as an emblem for directories that contain system
libraries, settings, and data.
emblem-unreadable
The icon used as an emblem for files and directories that are inaccessible.
Standard Emotion Icons
Name
Description
face-angel
The icon used for the 0:-) emote.
face-crying
The icon used for the :'( emote.
face-devil-grin
The icon used for the >:-) emote.
face-devil-sad
The icon used for the >:-( emote.
face-glasses
The icon used for the B-) emote.
face-kiss
The icon used for the :-* emote.
face-monkey
The icon used for the :-(|) emote.
face-plain
The icon used for the :-| emote.
face-sad
The icon used for the :-( emote.
face-smile
The icon used for the :-) emote.
face-smile-big
The icon used for the :-D emote.
face-smirk
The icon used for the :-! emote.
face-surprise
The icon used for the :-0 emote.
face-wink
The icon used for the ;-) emote.
Standard International Icons
Name
Description
flag-aa
The flag for the country with the ISO 3166 country code AA. All
flags should use ISO 3166 two-letter country codes, in lowercase
form, as the specifier for the country.
Standard MIME Type Icons
Name
Description
application-x-executable
The icon used for executable file types.
audio-x-generic
The icon used for generic audio file types.
font-x-generic
The icon used for generic font file types.
image-x-generic
The icon used for generic image file types.
package-x-generic
The icon used for generic package file types.
text-html
The icon used for HTML text file types.
text-x-generic
The icon used for generic text file types.
text-x-generic-template
The icon used for generic text templates.
text-x-script
The icon used for script file types, such as shell scripts.
video-x-generic
The icon used for generic video file types.
x-office-address-book
The icon used for generic address book file types.
x-office-calendar
The icon used for generic calendar file types.
x-office-document
The icon used for generic document and letter file types.
x-office-presentation
The icon used for generic presentation file types.
x-office-spreadsheet
The icon used for generic spreadsheet file types.
Standard Place Icons
Name
Description
folder
The standard folder icon used to represent directories on local
filesystems, mail folders, and other hierarchical groups.
folder-remote
The icon used for normal directories on a remote filesystem.
network-server
The icon used for individual host machines under the
Network Servers
place in the file manager.
network-workgroup
The icon for the Network Servers
place in the
desktop's file manager, and workgroups within the network.
start-here
The icon used by the desktop's main menu for accessing places,
applications, and other features.
user-desktop
The icon for the special Desktop
directory of the user.
user-home
The icon for the special Home
directory of the user.
user-trash
The icon for the user's Trash
place in the
desktop's file manager.
Standard Status Icons
Name
Description
appointment-missed
The icon used when an appointment was missed.
appointment-soon
The icon used when an appointment will occur soon.
audio-volume-high
The icon used to indicate high audio volume.
audio-volume-low
The icon used to indicate low audio volume.
audio-volume-medium
The icon used to indicate medium audio volume.
audio-volume-muted
The icon used to indicate the muted state for audio playback.
battery-caution
The icon used when the battery is below 40%.
battery-low
The icon used when the battery is below 20%.
dialog-error
The icon used when a dialog is opened to explain an error
condition to the user.
dialog-information
The icon used when a dialog is opened to give information
to the user that may be pertinent to the requested action.
dialog-password
The icon used when a dialog requesting the authentication
credentials for a user is opened.
dialog-question
The icon used when a dialog is opened to ask a simple
question of the user.
dialog-warning
The icon used when a dialog is opened to warn the user of
impending issues with the requested action.
folder-drag-accept
The icon used for a folder while an object is being
dragged onto it, that is of a type that the directory can contain.
folder-open
The icon used for folders, while their contents are being
displayed within the same window. This icon would normally be
shown in a tree or list view, next to the main view of a folder's contents.
folder-visiting
The icon used for folders, while their contents are being
displayed in another window. This icon would typically be used
when using multiple windows to navigate the hierarchy, such as
in Nautilus's spatial mode.
image-loading
The icon used when another image is being loaded, such as
thumnails for larger images in the file manager.
image-missing
The icon used when another image could not be loaded.
mail-attachment
The icon used for an electronic mail that contains attachments.
mail-unread
The icon used for an electronic mail that is unread.
mail-read
The icon used for an electronic mail that is read.
mail-replied
The icon used for an electronic mail that has been replied to.
mail-signed
The icon used for an electronic mail that contains a signature.
mail-signed-verified
The icon used for an electronic mail that contains a signature
which has also been verified by the security system.
media-playlist-repeat
The icon for the repeat mode of a media player.
media-playlist-shuffle
The icon for the shuffle mode of a media player.
network-error
The icon used when an error occurs trying to intialize the network connection
of the computing device. This icon should be two computers, one in the
background, with the screens of both computers, colored black, and with the
theme's style element for errors, overlayed on top of the icon.
network-idle
The icon used when no data is being transmitted or received, while the
computing device is connected to a network. This icon should be two computers,
one in the background, with the screens of both computers, colored black.
network-offline
The icon used when the computing device is disconnected from the network. This
icon should be a computer in the background, with a screen colored black, and
the theme's icon element to show that a device is not accessible, in the
foreground.
network-receive
The icon used when data is being received, while the computing device is
connected to a network. This icon should be two computers, one in the
background, with its screen colored green, and the screen of the computer in
the foreground, colored black.
network-transmit
The icon used when data is being transmitted, while the computing device is
connected to a network. This icon should be two computers, one in the
background, with its screen colored black, and the screen of the computer in
the foreground, colored green.
network-transmit-receive
The icon used data is being both transmitted and received simultaneously,
while the computing device is connected to a network. This icon should be two
computers, one in the background, with the screens of both computers, colored
green.
printer-error
The icon used when an error occurs while attempting to print. This icon should
be the theme's printer device icon, with the theme's style element for errors,
overlayed on top of the icon.
printer-printing
The icon used while a print job is successfully being spooled to a printing
device. This icon should be the theme's printer device icon, with a document
emerging from the printing device.
security-high
The icon used to indicate that the security level of a connection is known
to be secure, using strong encryption and a valid certificate.
security-medium
The icon used to indicate that the security level of a connection is presumed
to be secure, using strong encryption, and a certificate that could not be
automatically verified, but which the user has chosen to trust.
security-low
The icon used to indicate that the security level of a connection is presumed
to be insecure, either by using weak encryption, or by using a certificate that
the could not be automatically verified, and which the user has not chosent to
trust.
software-update-available
The icon used when an update is available for software installed
on the computing device, through the system software update program.
software-update-urgent
The icon used when an urgent update is available through the
system software update program.
sync-error
The icon used when an error occurs while attempting to
synchronize data from the computing device, to another device.
sync-synchronizing
The icon used while data is successfully synchronizing to another device.
task-due
The icon used when a task is due soon.
task-passed-due
The icon used when a task that was due, has been left incomplete.
user-away
The icon used when a user on a chat network is away from their
keyboard and the chat program.
user-idle
The icon used when a user on a chat network has not been an
active participant in any chats on the network, for an extended period of time.
user-offline
The icon used when a user on a chat network is not available.
user-online
The icon used when a user on a chat network is available to
initiate a conversation with.
user-trash-full
The icon for the user's Trash
in the desktop's
file manager, when there are items in the Trash
waiting for disposal or recovery.
weather-clear
The icon used while the weather for a region is clear skies
.
weather-clear-night
The icon used while the weather for a region is clear skies
during the night.
weather-few-clouds
The icon used while the weather for a region is partly cloudy
.
weather-few-clouds-night
The icon used while the weather for a region is partly cloudy
during the night.
weather-fog
The icon used while the weather for a region is foggy
.
weather-overcast
The icon used while the weather for a region is overcast
.
weather-severe-alert
The icon used while a sever weather alert is in effect for a region.
weather-showers
The icon used while rain showers are occurring in a region.
weather-showers-scattered
The icon used while scattered rain showers are occurring in a region.
weather-snow
The icon used while snow showers are occurring in a region.
weather-storm
The icon used while storms are occurring in a region.
Change History
Version 0.8, 1 August 2006, Rodney Dawes
Add "folder-new" and "mail-send"
Add "object-flip-horizontal" and "object-flip-vertical"
Add "object-rotate-left" and "object-rotate-right"
Add "applications-engineering" and "applications-science"
Remove duplicate "preferences-desktop-accessibility"
Rename "drive-cdrom" to "drive-optical"
Rename "media-cdrom" to "media-optical"
Add "media-flash", "media-tape", and "modem"
Add "security-high", "security-medium", and "security-low"
Version 0.7, 15 February 2006, Rodney Dawes
Remove the wallpaper-* icon names
Align text blocks to the left
Add "weather-few-clouds-night" and "weather-clear-night" to
the status context
Remove "network-online" from the status context
Add "network-idle", "network-receive", "network-transmit",
and "network-transmit-receive" to the status context
Update the printer status icon definitions
Version 0.6, 07 December 2005, Rodney Dawes
Add the "Animations" and "Places" contexts
Add "media-eject" to the actions context
Move "media-playlist-shuffle" to the status context
Add the "process-working" animation to the animations context
Add "battery", "camera-photo", "media-floppy", "multimedia-player",
"network-wired", and "network-wireless" to the devices context
Remove the printer-remote and video-card icons from devices
Rename "emblem-favorites" to "emblem-favorite"
Add "application-x-executable", "package-x-generic",
"text-x-generic-template", and "text-x-script" to the
mimetypes context
Rename "x-directory-normal" to "folder" and move it to the
places context
Rename "x-directory-remote" to "folder-remote" and move it to the
places context
Rename "x-directory-normal-remote-server" to "network-server"
and move it to the places context
Rename "x-directory-normal-remote-workgroup" to
"network-workgroup" and move it to the places context
Rename "x-directory-trash" to "user-trash"
and move it to the places context
Rename "x-directory-trash-full" to "user-trash-full" and move
it to the status context
Add "start-here", "user-desktop", and "user-home" to the places
context
Add "folder-drag-accept", "folder-open", "folder-visiting", and
"media-playlist-repeat" to the status context
Version 0.4, 10 October 2005, Rodney Dawes
Use "The icon" instead of "This icon" for "contact-new" and
"battery-low"
Add icons for "preferences-desktop-accessibility" and
"preferences-desktop-font" in the apps context
Fix typo in "drive-cdrom" name
Rename "x-font-generic" to "font-x-generic" to match other MIME
type icons such as for audio, images, and video
Add icons for "image-loading" and "image-missing" to status
Version 0.3, 28 June 2005, Rodney Dawes
Replace "printer-local" with "printer" to be more generic.
Import into freedesktop.org cvs alongside icon-theme-spec.xml
Add missing icon descriptions.
Version 0.2, 01 April 2005, Jakub Steiner
Fixed two small typographical errors.
Version 0.1, 29 March 2005, Rodney Dawes
Created initial draft.