I have a Windows application which will run in Windows XP and newer (i.e. Vista/7). According to the Vista UI Guidelines, the standard sizes are 16x16, 32x32, 48x48, 256x256 (XP standard sizes do not include the 256x256 icon). In addition to those sizes, I also have 96x96 and 128x128 (and could create more).
Which of these icon sizes should I include? Will the shell actually use the "non-standard" sizes, or will I simply bloat my application?
TL;DR. In Visual Studio 2019, when you add an Icon resource to a Win32 (desktop) application you get an auto-generated icon file that has the formats below. I assume that the #1 developer tool for Windows does this right. Thus, a Windows compatible should have the following formats:
| Resolution | Color depth | Format |
|:-----------|------------:|:------:|
| 256x256 | 32-bit | PNG |
| 64x64 | 32-bit | BMP |
| 48x48 | 32-bit | BMP |
| 32x32 | 32-bit | BMP |
| 16x16 | 32-bit | BMP |
| 48x48 | 8-bit | BMP |
| 32x32 | 8-bit | BMP |
| 16x16 | 8-bit | BMP |