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Icon Naming Specification

Author:
Rodney Dawes

Publication Date: October 10 2005, Version: Version 0.4

1 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.

2 Context

The list of default Contexts for the icon theme are:

Table 1: Standard Contexts
NameDescriptionDirectory
Actions Icons which are generally used in menus and dialogs for interacting with the user. actions
Apps 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. A web browser may have a generic globe icon, while a game will generally use the logo of the game title, as its icon. 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
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

3 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.

4 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.

Table 2: Standard Action Icons
NameDescription
address-book-new
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.
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-receive The icon for the send and receive action of an electronic mail application.
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-playlist-shuffle The icon for the shuffle 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.
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.
wallpaper-center The icon used for the Centered item in the wallpaper preferences Style drop-down menu.
wallpaper-fill The icon used for the Fill Screen item in the wallpaper preferences Style drop-down menu.
wallpaper-scale The icon used for the Scaled item in the wallpaper preferences Style drop-down menu.
wallpaper-tile The icon used for the Tiled item in the wallpaper preferences Style drop-down 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.
Table 3: Standard Application Icons
NameDescription
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.
Table 4: Standard Category Icons
NameDescription
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-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-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-accessibility The icon for the Accessibility sub-category of 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.
Table 5: Standard Device Icons
NameDescription
audio-card The icon used for the audio rendering device.
camera-video The icon used for a video or web camera.
computer The icon used for the computing device as a whole.
drive-cdrom The icon used for CD and DVD drives.
drive-harddisk The icon used for hard disk drives.
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.
printer The icon used for a printer which is connected locally.
printer-remote The icon used for a printer which is connected over the network.
video-card The icon used for the internal video rendering device.
video-display The icon used for the monitor that video gets displayed to.
Table 6: Standard Emblem Icons
NameDescription
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-favorites 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.
Table 7: Standard Emotion Icons
NameDescription
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.
Table 8: Standard International Icons
NameDescription
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.
Table 9: Standard MIME Type Icons
NameDescription
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.
text-x-generic The icon used for generic text file types.
video-x-generic The icon used for generic video file types.
x-directory-normal The icon used for normal directories on the filesystem.
x-directory-normal-hidden The icon used for normal directories on the filesystem, which are hidden.
x-directory-remote The icon used for normal directories on a remote filesystem.
x-directory-remote-hidden The icon used for normal directories on a remote filesystem, which are hidden.
x-directory-remote-server The icon used for hosts within an SMB workgroup.
x-directory-remote-workgroup The icon used for an SMB workgroup.
x-directory-trash The icon used for the Trash storage on a filesystem.
x-directory-trash-full The icon used for the Trash storage while it contains items.
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.
Table 10: Standard Status Icons
NameDescription
appointment-missed The icon used when an appointment was missed.
appointment-soon The icon used when an appointment will occur soon.
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.
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.
network-error The icon used when an error occurs trying to intialize the network connection of the computing device.
network-offline The icon used when the computing device is disconnected from the network.
network-online The icon used when the computing device is connected to the network.
printer-error The icon used when an error occurs while attempting to print.
printer-printing The icon used while a print job is successfully being spooled to a printer device.
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.
weather-clear The icon used while the weather for a region is clear skies.
weather-few-clouds The icon used while the weather for a region is partly cloudy.
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.

A Change History

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.