User manual

Table of contents

1. About the program

HPL ink Picon Generator (Enigma2) v1.35 [14.07.2026] is a Windows tool that combines single-picon design and mass production for a whole channel list in one window:

• live picon design: background (colours, gradients, image file), up to three independent texts, border, decorations, logo and watermark,
• more than 130 text effects in 8 categories - shadows, 3D, neons and glows, outlines, gradients, patterns and special effects,
• 25 background / gradient types, including neon stages, Aurora, Bokeh, a retro-wave grid and carbon fibre,
• saving complete settings as presets with a thumbnail, plus export and import to a .json file,
• batch: load an Enigma2 channel list (.txt) and automatically generate a PNG picon for every channel - file names match the #SERVICE reference,
• uploading finished picons directly to the receiver over FTP,
• the Picon Sort tab - matching existing PNG files against a channel list, a missing-picon report and handing the missing entries over to the generator,
• a change history with an Undo button and the Ctrl+Z shortcut (up to 30 steps).

The interface uses a dark theme with an orange accent; results are generated as PNG files (the preview can also be saved as JPG).

Requirements

• Windows 10 or 11.
• When run from the .py file: Python 3 with the Pillow (PIL) library. The EXE build ships with all dependencies.
• The NumPy library is optional - when present, backgrounds and gradients render noticeably faster; without it the program automatically falls back to a slower compatibility mode.
• Local network access and the receiver's FTP account (port 21) if picons are to be uploaded to the box.
• Windows system fonts - the program builds its own catalogue of detected fonts (registry + font files).

2. Startup and access protection

First start

1. Run the program (the hpl_picon_generator.py file or the supplied executable).
2. The window opens centred, sized to fit the screen (up to 1860x760), with the Generator tab active.
3. The program immediately renders a first preview with the default settings (the caption "HPL" + "HD").

MAC address protection

The program can be bound to specific computers. The distribution may be configured with a list of at most 5 MAC addresses. On startup the program reads the computer's network adapter addresses using three independent methods (psutil, getmac and the system identifier), so detection also works in a compiled EXE.

3. Main window

The following drawing is a privacy-safe UI diagram. It contains no IP address, password or other user data.

• The header shows a coloured banner with the program name plus the version number and release date.
• The tabs switch between designing and generating (Generator) and organising existing files (Picon Sort).
• Columns 1-3 scroll vertically - the mouse wheel scrolls the column under the cursor; over list boxes (fonts, presets) the wheel scrolls the list itself.
• The status bar at the bottom shows the result of the last operation, batch progress and FTP messages.

4. Presets

The Presets section at the top of column 1 stores and restores the complete set of settings: size, background (including the background image path), texts 1-3 with effects, border, decoration, vignette, watermark and logo.

Working with presets

• Preset list - selecting a preset shows a generated thumbnail of it below the list. NEW in v1.35
• Load - restores the selected preset's settings (effect categories and parameter section visibility adjust automatically).
• Save preset - stores the current settings under the name from the Name field. Saving under an existing name overwrites that preset.
• Delete - removes the selected preset.
• Random style - randomises the background, gradient, colours and the Text 1 effect; a convenient starting point for quick prototyping.
• Export / Import - saves all presets to a chosen .json file and loads presets from a file (for duplicates the program asks before overwriting).

Built-in presets

5. Background and composition - column 1

Image size

There are 11 sizes to choose from: 100x60, 128x128, 220x132, 256x256, 320x180, 400x240 (default), 512x512, 600x360, 800x450, 1280x720 and 1920x1080 px.

Background and gradient

The background is built from up to three colours (Background colour #1 / #2 / #3) and a Gradient type - 25 variants:

• classic: solid background, horizontal, vertical and diagonal (\ and /) gradients, radial (centre / corner / ellipse), 3-colour multi-stop, diamond, conical, wave,
• textural: horizontal and vertical stripes, rays, checkerboard, marble, plasma, noise, spiral / vortex,
• scenic: Neon stage (3 colours), Neon studio - wet floor (3 colours) with fog, a horizon and reflections NEW in v1.35, Aurora (3 colours), Bokeh, Retro-wave grid, Carbon (carbon fibre).

Background from file

1. Tick Enable background from file and click Load image (PNG/JPG).
2. Adjust Background opacity (0-100%), Background zoom (0.1-5.0x) and Offset X / Y (±2000 px).
3. Gradient opacity on background controls how strongly the colour gradient covers the image.
4. The most convenient way to position the image is directly in the preview: dragging with the mouse moves the background, the mouse wheel changes the zoom.
5. Remove background detaches the image from the project.

Overlay, vignette and glow

• Overlay (darkening) - colour + opacity 0-100%; a uniform layer over the whole background, e.g. to dim a photo under the text.
• Darken corners - a vignette that works on every background, including an image file.
• Brighten centre - a subtle glow in the middle of the picon.

Decoration (shape)

A decorative shape drawn on the background: Diagonal bar, Horizontal bar (bottom), Vertical bar (left), Circle (corner), Arc (bottom), Accent line (corner), Triangle (corner) and the Neon bar (top) with a two-colour outline and glow NEW in v1.35. Each shape has a colour, opacity, size and a Behind text option.

6. Text 1 / 2 / 3 and effects - column 2

Three independent texts

The Copy to Text 2 button copies the Text 1 settings (without the caption, size and font colour) - the fastest way to give both texts a consistent style.

Caption and font

• Caption - a multi-line field; Enter starts another caption line.
• Family - a list of fonts detected in the system with a filter box (the program shows the number of detected fonts). Bold/Italic use real font variants and fall back to synthetic slanting and thickening when a variant is missing.
• Size 6-300 px, Bold, Italic, Text colour, Opacity 0-100%, Text rotation ±180°.

Text effect - two-level selection

Instead of a single list of over 130 entries, the effect is chosen in two steps: Category → Effect.

Contextual parameters

Below the effect list, only the parameter sections actually used by the selected effect are shown:

• Shadow - colour, distance 1-40 px, angle 0-359°, blur 0-30 px,
• Outline - colour and width 1-12 px,
• Glow / Neon - colour and radius 2-40 px,
• 3D - side colour and depth 1-20 px,
• Effect colours - Colour #1 / #2 / #3 for gradients and patterns,
• Gradient direction - 10 directions (vertical, horizontal, diagonals, radials, diamond, conical, wave, plasma) plus the Gradient shift slider 0-100%, which cyclically shifts the palette phase and creates new variants of every gradient.

The Zone offset section (X/Y, ±500 px) moves the text relative to its default position.

7. Preview, saving, border, watermark and logo - column 4

Preview

• Dragging with the left mouse button moves the background image; the wheel changes the background zoom.
• Dragging with the right mouse button moves the logo.

Buttons

• Undo - restores the state before the last change (details in chapter 12).
• Generate preview - forces an immediate redraw.
• Save PNG / Save JPG - saves the current preview to a file (JPG at quality 95). If no preview has been generated yet, the program asks for one first.

Border

After ticking Enable border, 8 styles are available: Full, Rounded, Double, Dashed, Corners only, Neon (glow), Bevelled 3D, Gradient. The shared parameters are colour, width 1-20 px and edge inset 0-30 px. Contextual parameters appear only for styles that use them: corner radius 0-40 px, and for the Gradient style additionally Colour #2 and the border gradient direction (horizontal, vertical, diagonal, perimeter).

Watermark

The "ink" mark (red italic) in a corner of the picon. It can be switched on and off, and the setting is stored in the preset NEW in v1.35. The watermark corner can be bottom-right or bottom-left.

Image (logo)

1. Tick Enable and click Load image (PNG/JPG with transparency).
2. Set the logo scale 5-100%, position X / Y, logo opacity and the Behind text option.
3. The logo can also be moved by dragging with the right mouse button in the preview.

8. Batch - mass generation - column 3

Channel list format

Batch accepts .txt files in the Enigma2 list format - pairs of #SERVICE and #DESCRIPTION lines. The parser handles:

• a channel name embedded in the #SERVICE line itself (ending ::name),
• #SERVICE lines without a name (a single trailing colon - typical Enigma2 bouquets; the name is taken from #DESCRIPTION),
• #DESCRIPTION lines appearing both after and before the #SERVICE line.

For each channel the program creates a PNG file whose name equals the #SERVICE reference with colons replaced by underscores, e.g. 1_0_1_3DEA_640_13E_820000_0_0_0.png.

Step by step

1. Load .txt list - the label next to the button shows the number of channels read.
2. Choose the preset to use from the drop-down list (saved + built-in presets).
3. Choose the output folder for the PNG files.
4. Optionally tick Skip existing files - useful when resuming an interrupted run.
5. Batch preview (first 12) - a window with a thumbnail grid of the first 12 channels rendered with the selected preset; lets you judge the style before the full run.
6. Generate batch - generation runs in the background; the progress bar shows the percentage, a file counter and the estimated time of completion (ETA) computed from the files actually generated.

9. Send to receiver (FTP)

The section at the bottom of column 3 uploads the generated picons directly to an Enigma2 receiver.

1. Enter the receiver's Host / IP, Login (default root) and Password (masked; VU+ receivers always require a password).
2. Choose or type the picon path on the receiver. The list suggests three typical locations: /usr/share/enigma2/picon, /media/hdd/picon, /media/usb/picon.
3. Test connection - logs in to FTP (port 21), enters the given folder and shows the number of PNG files it contains. A successful test saves the configuration.
4. Send to receiver - uploads all PNG files from the batch output folder. Progress ("Sending X / Y...") is shown next to the FTP section and the result also appears on the status bar.

10. Picon Sort tab

Picon Sort organises existing picon collections: it matches PNG files against a channel list and points out what is missing.

1. Choose the folder with PNG icons (e.g. an unpacked picon pack).
2. Choose the .txt list file (the same syntax as in batch - chapter 8).
3. Click Match and copy.

For every channel the program looks for a <ID_with_underscores>.png file and copies the found ones into the Znalezione ("Found") subfolder in the program directory. The results go to a table:

A summary is shown above the table: Found / Missing / Copied.

11. Missing-picon report and the Generator bridge

The Missing report (N) button opens a window on the right half of the screen listing the entries without a PNG file: position number, channel name, the underscore identifier and the expected file name.

• Copy identifier - copies the selected entry's ID to the clipboard (e.g. to search for a picon online manually).
• Generate missing picons - the report's key feature: it moves all missing entries straight into the Generator's batch list (with the CAPITALS + "HD" → Text 2 rules) and switches the program to the Generator tab. Just pick a preset and folder, then click Generate batch to produce only the missing picons.

12. Undo and live preview

• The history covers up to 30 steps and remembers the full settings state, including the loaded background and logo files.
• A state is recorded automatically after every successful preview render; a burst of rapid changes (e.g. dragging a slider) is merged into a single history step.
• Undo is available via the Undo button next to "Generate preview" or the Ctrl+Z shortcut.
• The Ctrl+Z shortcut is inactive while typing in text fields - it does not conflict with the system text undo.
• When the history is empty, the Undo button stays greyed out.

13. Example workflow

A typical scenario: a complete picon set for your own channel list in a single style.

The tidy-up variant: first Picon Sort matches an existing picon pack against the list, then the missing report's Generate missing picons button produces only the missing icons in the Generator - in the same style as the rest.

14. Interface sections and program files

Section cheat sheet

Program files

All files are created in the program directory (next to the .py / .exe file):

15. Troubleshooting

"This MAC address is not authorised"

The computer is not on the list of authorised MAC addresses. Contact the program supplier and provide the MAC address (command line: getmac).

The preview renders slowly

Install the NumPy library (pip install numpy) - backgrounds and gradients then render many times faster. Large sizes (1280x720, 1920x1080) and blur-based effects always take longer; use a smaller size for experiments and set the target size before the batch run.

The "Generate batch" button does not start

Check three conditions: a loaded channel list (the label shows the channel count), a preset selected in the drop-down and a chosen output folder. The program shows a message pointing at the missing element.

Batch reports errors for individual files

Open _batch_errors.txt in the output folder - each line contains the channel name, the identifier and the cause. The most common causes are an unavailable background/logo path stored in the preset or a font missing from the system.

FTP: "login/path error" or "connection error"

1. Check the receiver's IP and that the receiver is switched on (not in deep standby).
2. The login is usually root; a password is required - it is set in the receiver's menu (e.g. OpenWebif / network settings).
3. Verify that the picon path exists on the receiver; create the picon folder if needed.
4. The computer's firewall must not block outgoing connections on port 21.

Picon Sort finds nothing

The file names in the folder must be #SERVICE identifiers with underscores (e.g. 1_0_1_3DEA_640_13E_820000_0_0_0.png). If the picon pack uses channel names instead of identifiers, ID matching is not possible - generate the picons with batch instead.

Text 2 does not appear in batch

Text 2 is filled only when the channel name ends with the word "HD". Any other Text 2 content from the preset is overwritten during batch.

Invalid colour in a field

Colours use the #RRGGBB format. An invalid or empty value is replaced with white instead of raising an error.

Presets disappeared after a crash

Check whether a hpl_picon_presets.json.bak copy exists next to hpl_picon_presets.json - it holds the last version from before the corruption; just remove the .bak extension.