[Miller]

One of the biggest deterrence to having a large amount of icons on SL2 is the file size restriction which is roughly 256000 bytes or 250kb as well as BYOND's finnicky Dream Maker which bloats up file size significantly. Here I'll be describing various methods of how to reduce file size and the pros and cons of each.


A) Import PNG Method

1) Open up an instance of Dream Maker and insert your face icon states all into a singular DMI. 


2) Save it as a separate file. (File on the top left of Dream Maker, then click Save as.)



3) Open up your image editing software of choice or a website that allows you to compress images and compress your .DMI into a separate .PNG file

List of generally used websites for compression are.
https://tinypng.com/
https://compress-or-die.com/
List of generally used software for compression are.
GIMP (Freeware)
Paint.net (Limited in function, Freeware)
Photoshop (Certain versions are free to use for personal use)

TinyPNG may require you to change the selection to All Files before your .DMI pops up.




4) Open up an empty instance of Dream Maker and set your DMI File to be 96 x 96. Make sure 'Use size from File' is unchecked.




5) Right click the empty space where icon states would be and import your .PNG file; alternatively you can press CTRL+I and import the .png you compressed earlier.



6) Delete any extras generated by the import and name states to your liking and you're done.

PROS:
Requires no external software whatsoever if you use a website.
CONS:
Requires repeating this process entirely every time you need to update your DMI
Does not keep icon state names.

B) TweakPNG Method

1) Make your DMI or update a preexisting DMI in Dream Maker




2) Open up your image editing software of choice or a website that allows you to compress images and compress your .DMI into a separate .PNG file

List of generally used websites for compression are.
https://tinypng.com/
https://compress-or-die.com/
List of generally used software for compression are.
GIMP (Freeware)
Paint.net (Limited in function, Freeware)
Photoshop (Certain versions are free to use for personal use)

TinyPNG may require you to change the selection to All Files before your .DMI pops up.



3) Grab TweakPNG, a freeware program that allows you to look at the internal data of a PNG file.
http://entropymine.com/jason/tweakpng/





4) Open up TweakPNG and use it to open up the DMI you made earlier and right click the 'text (compressed)' line and copy it. (This will require you to set your selection to All Files for it to pop up in the file select.)




5) Open up the .PNG file you made earlier; right click and paste it, then save the file as is.



6) Your PNG file should function identically to a .DMI when you upload it to SL2. However to open this file in Dream Maker, you'll need to change the extension to a .DMI.


This is done by renaming your state to Face.png to Face.dmi, but you need to first enable File Name Extensions under view on Windows 10 to be able to do that.

PROS:
Keeps face icon states which saves a ton of time whenever you update a large DMI.
Quick although initially not that intuitive.
Lowest file size possible, direct conversion from .PNG to .DMI.
CONS:
Requires External Software (TweakPNG)