Selection, preview and safety

Applying batch changes

Choose Explorer ‣ Batch Processing, the matching context-menu group or the Batch Processing toolbar menu to process one or more selected SVG files. All three menus use the same alphabetical order by displayed label. The current commands in English are:

• Add Badge Overlays

• Adjust Icon Colors

• Apply Auto Gradient

• Apply Palette

• Center and Fit

• Change Line Stroke

• Convert to currentColor

• Make Icon Versions

• Make PNG, ICO Bitmap Icons

• Optimize SVG Files

• Outline Strokes

• Replace Colors

• Resize Icons

• Rotate / Flip

Palette, resize, stroke and color-adjustment operations reuse the corresponding production Editor transformations. Replace Colors uses its exact-match rules described in Replacing an exact color. Bitmap icons, icon versions and overlay icons create separate output files; Center and Fit, Rotate / Flip, Outline Strokes and Apply Auto Gradient let you modify originals or create SVG copies. The remaining operations modify the selected SVG sources after review.

Change Line Stroke… changes width, cap, join and color on existing stroked shapes, including strokes inherited from a group or the SVG root. It does not add outlines to fill-only artwork or shapes with stroke="none". Select Use currentColor to write the SVG currentColor keyword instead of a fixed color; the concrete color button is disabled while that option is checked. Valid settings are remembered as described in Remembering batch options and returning from preview.

Batch color buttons use the Use Axialis Color Picker Dialog preference in F2: enabled opens the Axialis picker, disabled opens the standard picker. Cancelling the picker keeps the previous color. This also applies to the currentColor fallback button in Make PNG, ICO Bitmap Icons…; that fallback remains a concrete rendering color, independent of the current interface theme. The Preview color in Convert to currentColor… follows the same picker preference and changes only the preview display.

Opening a batch dialog captures a canonical selection snapshot, including selected SVG files hidden by the filter, and shows the total and hidden counts. The preflight plan reviews targets in deterministic file order and reports changed, unchanged, unsupported and failed results before confirmation. Cancellation or a global safety failure can prevent a complete review; do not assume an unreviewed file passed. Cancel does not modify source or output files.

Note

Source-preserving batch operations accept an ISO-8859-1 XML encoding declaration when the entire file contains only ASCII bytes. These files no longer require a manual declaration edit. Normal UTF-8 and US-ASCII support remains. This is not legacy-encoding conversion: files containing actual non-ASCII ISO-8859-1/Windows-1252 bytes must be converted to UTF-8, not just relabeled. Other unsupported SVG constructs are still checked. See Batch processing rejects an SVG encoding declaration for encoding errors and conflicting declarations.

During apply, the shared modal progress dialog follows the active light or dark application theme and keeps the current file/count, progress, and cancellation state readable. Closing or cancelling it retains the same guarded batch behavior; the themed presentation does not change the transformation service.

Apply rejects removed, changed, or otherwise stale targets. If the current Editor document is among the targets, the entire modifying batch is blocked; close that document or remove it from the Explorer selection first. Accepted output is staged and validated in full before originals are committed. A failure rolls back the set when possible and otherwise reports the recoverable state truthfully. Explorer then reconciles the watcher once and presents one structured result.

Reading batch results and warnings

IconVectors reviews independent files when a copy/export plan encounters a file-specific problem, so you can see more than the first failure. Each diagnostic identifies the affected path and processing phase. A global safety failure or cancellation can still stop review early. Resolve the reported problems and create a new plan before applying; planning does not create files or folders.

Create Copies and the copy/export-only commands reject the whole plan when any selected output cannot be produced safely. They do not silently export only the good inputs. Modify Originals keeps its existing reviewed workflow: unchanged, unsupported and failed files remain untouched, and only files shown as Changed can be applied. A global rejection still blocks the whole operation. Always read the per-file list, not just the selection count.

Preview counts describe proposed work, not files already written. A no-change original-file plan writes nothing and still lets you use Back. Creating a copy of an unchanged SVG is different: it still creates an output file. After applying, check the final result and any recovery details. Rejected, cancelled or completely rolled-back work is not successfully committed work. Keep any reported recovery files until you have inspected and resolved the failure.

If final cleanup detects that another process replaced or removed an output, the batch reports failure and does not count that target as a successful write. A failure report does not guarantee that a backup is still available: cleanup may already have removed it. Inspect the actual recovery paths and diagnostics before attempting to restore or repeat the operation.

See Reading batch diagnostics and committed-write counts for the corresponding structured MCP fields.

IconVectors avoids a second generic render error when a precise terminal finding already explains the same failed operation. It retains independent findings, warnings and service/preview/recovery failures. Stale-plan rejection identifies an affected input where this can be proved; otherwise a context error remains. Rebuild the preview after correcting the cause; diagnostics never make a rejected plan safe to apply.

Support for independent pending plans applies only to MCP requests with explicit file paths. Native batch previews and MCP requests using the Explorer selection keep their existing strict Explorer generation/revision checks. It does not make an old GUI preview valid after its context becomes stale. See Keeping independent batch plans usable.

Remembering batch options and returning from preview

Each of the 14 Batch Processing commands remembers its own options between uses and application instances. Batch Rename also remembers its base name and numbering options. Values are saved as soon as a valid edit is made, even if you later choose Cancel. You do not need to apply the batch or close IconVectors first. An incomplete or invalid entry does not replace the last valid saved value.

Remembered options include numbers, colors, modes, sizes, suffixes, output folders, replacement choices, palette selection, and the overlay list with each overlay’s suffix. Disabled fields retain their values too: for example, ICO sizes with ICO turned off, clearance with cutout turned off, or a custom rotation angle while a preset is selected. Defaults mentioned in the command reference pages apply on first use, before valid settings have been saved. If a saved palette, source color, folder or overlay is unavailable, correct the selection or path before processing; remembering it does not bypass validation.

Opening a new options dialog reads the latest saved values, including changes made in another running instance. A dialog already open keeps your current edits. If two instances change the same option, the last saved valid edit wins; changes to other options or operations are retained.

In a batch preview, Back sits immediately left of the execution button, followed by Cancel. Use it to return to the options with your choices and file selection preserved, including when the preview has no changes to apply. Choose Preview Changes again to build a fresh plan and review it. You can repeat this sequence. Batch Rename keeps its existing single dialog; it does not add a separate preview or Back step.

Back, Cancel, and Escape before execution leave source and output files untouched; valid option edits remain saved. Remembered replacement or output choices still require review and explicit execution. Source, overlay, destination, and open-Editor protections are checked again for each new plan.

Batch options dialogs

Each batch operation starts with an action illustration, a large Batch Process: <operation> title and a short explanation. The options align under the title in the right-hand column, leaving the illustration column clear. Set the options below this header, then continue to the existing preview or confirmation before any files are changed. Batch Rename uses the same header. The decoration adapts to Light and Dark Theme; the options and processing behavior are unchanged.

Automating the same batches with MCP

The MCP companion exposes matching plan/apply tools for all fourteen operations. Ask the assistant to review the plan, filenames, diagnostics and replacement counts before applying. MCP can target explicit file paths as well as the Explorer selection; it does not turn tool enumeration into a confirmation that the application bridge is reachable. Start with app_ping and see MCP Integration for setup and the batch tool reference.