Changing the color of mailbox icon

[Grim_Deeds]

A while back there was a thread listing the steps and tool needed to change the color of the mailbox icon in PocoMail. I believe it was lost when the forum was updated. Does anyone recall the thread and have the instructions available?

TIA,
Jeff

[zero]

 
The original thread is gone. The steps to replace the distractingly-ugly orange mailbox icons are as follows. Please note that some of the images shown below are thumbnails of larger images.

1. Close PocoMail.

2. Download Resource Hacker.

3. Make a backup copy of Poco.exe, which is located in your PocoMail installation directory. (This step is just a precaution.)

4. Open Poco.exe in Resource Hacker, and expand the Bitmap tree.



5. Under the Bitmap tree, find the 1033 entry under MBOXNORMAL.



6. Don't skip this step! Left click the 1033 item. The lovely orange mailbox should appear in the right pane of Resource Hacker.

-----------------------------------

7. At this point, you have two options:

* You can use the same blue mailbox icon I use: , which is provided below.

* You can edit and replace the mailbox icon yourself.

If you want to simply use the blue mailbox icon provided here:

I. Click here to save the new mailbox icon to a known location on your hard drive. (Don't use the preview image of the blue mailbox shown above; use this MBOXNORMAL.BMP only!)

II. Go to step 8 below.

If you want to edit and replace the mailbox icon yourself:

I. Right click the 1033 item, and select the Save [Bitmap : MBOXNORMAL : 1033] menu item.



II. Save the image to a known directory on your hard drive.

III. Open an image-editing application, and change the color of the bitmap file you saved in step 7 above. You're on your own here.

IV. Go to step 8 below.

-----------------------------------

8. Right click the 1033 item, and select the Replace Resource... menu item. The "Replace bitmap in - <path>Poco.exe" dialog appears.



9. Click the Open file with new bitmap... button on the top of the "Replace bitmap in - <path>Poco.exe" dialog. Navigate to the MBOXNORMAL.BMP file you saved in step 7 above, or to your own custom bitmap file, as appropriate. Then, click Open.

10. Click the Replace button, and then the Close button, on the "Replace bitmap in - <path>Poco.exe" dialog.

11. In the Resource Hacker window, click File, then Save. Resource Hacker will automatically create a backup copy of Poco.exe, and will then save your changes.

12. You're done. Run PocoMail and enjoy.

-----------------------------------

Thanks go to MyTempDir and ImageShack for the free hosting.
 

[zero]

Here is a green mailbox icon I just made, for anyone interested:



PocoMail 3 orange mailbox replacement resource (replace Bitmap - MBOXNORMAL - 1033) - GREEN

(Again, don't save the preview image shown here; download the BMP file from the link directly above instead!)

Please note that all of these links will expire 21 days after posting. Send me a PM--or reply in thread--if you would like them reposted.

I have reason to believe that the original poster has converted to Thunderbird*, so I really don't know if anyone at all is interested in this anymore...

* This isn't a dig at PocoMail; rather, the OP's ICQ profile says that he uses Thunderbird.

[zero]

I should also mention that after modifying Poco.exe with Resource Hacker, your personal firewall software might alert you that the file has changed. Some firewalls do, others don't. (For example, Jetico Personal Firewall and ZoneAlarm will, but Look 'n' Stop will not. This is because Look 'n' Stop ignores changes to executables that affect only the resource--and not the code--sections.)

Also, if there is any interest, I will package all of these instructions and resources (images, etc.) in a single archive, and then post that archive on my own site. That way, people can have everything they need more easily... Without hosting timeouts. I'll gauge interest by any PMs or replies I receive.

And if anyone wants, I'll create mailbox icons in other colors. Just ask.

[jaxgtr]

I personally like the Orange, but now I can change them up for different mailboxes.

Brian

[zero]

Really? I always though the orange was a really bizarre choice in colors. Who uses an orange theme? (Not that there's anything wrong with it; it's just a bit extreme.)

Any requests? Yellow? Black? Grey?

[zero]

OK, per request, I made the following colors available:

Black
Blue
Green
Grey
Red
Yellow

They're all contained in this ZIP file.

[tribble]

Nice write-up zero, thank you!

But be advised, this does NOT work with Barca as the image size is different.

[zero]

Nice write-up zero, thank you!

I was waiting for that... Thank you for saying it.

I'm a tech writer by trade, this was just a quickie.

[jaxgtr]

Nice write-up zero, thank you!

I was waiting for that... Thank you for saying it.

I'm a tech writer by trade, this was just a quickie.

Whoops, sorry, I forgot to do that as well.

Brian

[Pete]

Really? I always thought the orange was a really bizarre choice in colors. Who uses an orange theme? (Not that there's anything wrong with it; it's just a bit extreme.)

Actually, all mailboxes are bright orange in Canada. This is necessary so that the mailman can find the mailboxes in the snow banks.

Seriously, there are some minor things about the GUI that bother me a little, but the color of the mailboxes has never been one of them.

[zero]

I (and apparently, some other people) find it a bit of an obnoxious color. I think if I was making a program that was supposed to try to appeal to the masses, I'd go with something a bit more subdued, more neutral.

[Pete]

I also think that it depends on people's color schemes. For example, I use a medium-gray background color in all of my windows and use a large screen resolution (which makes the mailbox icons look quite small), so they are quite subdued on my computer at least. I understand your point in general, though, especially for a program that features skinning.