Best image format for tray icon

Question

I created a Java application with tray icon. I am using a transparent png image. However, the rendered icon is very ugly on all platforms, including Windows 7 and Linux.

Are there any good practices for creating tray icons (e.g. format, size, etc.)?

Answer 1

In windows, you should use the .ico format. It may contain multiple icons with different sizes. In Linux I guess png is the standard. Just don't try to scale it. Pre-create multiple versions of the same image with different sizes.