diff --git a/src/apps/icon-o-matic/Jamfile b/src/apps/icon-o-matic/Jamfile
index 5a68abecbb..2334f8a86e 100644
--- a/src/apps/icon-o-matic/Jamfile
+++ b/src/apps/icon-o-matic/Jamfile
@@ -319,6 +319,7 @@ DoCatalogs Icon-O-Matic :
 	SVGExporter.cpp
 	SVGImporter.cpp
 	Exporter.cpp
+	FlatIconExporter.cpp
 	AddPathsCommand.cpp
 	AddPointCommand.cpp
 	AddShapesCommand.cpp
diff --git a/src/apps/icon-o-matic/import_export/Exporter.cpp b/src/apps/icon-o-matic/import_export/Exporter.cpp
index a7a9f66a38..1db49de401 100644
--- a/src/apps/icon-o-matic/import_export/Exporter.cpp
+++ b/src/apps/icon-o-matic/import_export/Exporter.cpp
@@ -110,11 +110,11 @@ Exporter::_ExportThread()
 	if (ret < B_OK) {
 		// inform user of failure at this point
 		BString helper(B_TRANSLATE("Saving your document failed!"));
-		helper << "\n\n" << B_TRANSLATE("Error: ") << strerror(ret);
+		helper << "\n\n" << ErrorCodeToString(ret);
 		BAlert* alert = new BAlert(B_TRANSLATE_CONTEXT("Bad news", "Title of error alert"),
 			helper.String(),
 			B_TRANSLATE_COMMENT("Bleep!", "Exporter - Continue in error dialog"),
-			NULL, NULL);
+			NULL, NULL, B_WIDTH_AS_USUAL, B_STOP_ALERT);
 		// launch alert asynchronously
 		alert->SetFlags(alert->Flags() | B_CLOSE_ON_ESCAPE);
 		alert->Go(NULL);
diff --git a/src/apps/icon-o-matic/import_export/Exporter.h b/src/apps/icon-o-matic/import_export/Exporter.h
index 047a596660..0fa03269fe 100644
--- a/src/apps/icon-o-matic/import_export/Exporter.h
+++ b/src/apps/icon-o-matic/import_export/Exporter.h
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@
 #define EXPORTER_H
 
 
+#include <string.h>
+
 #include <Entry.h>
 #include <OS.h>
 
@@ -38,7 +40,9 @@ class Exporter {
 
 	virtual	status_t			Export(const Icon* icon,
 									   BPositionIO* stream) = 0;
-
+	/*! Turns the status_t error code returned by \c Export into a string. */
+	virtual const char*			ErrorCodeToString(status_t code)
+									{ return strerror(code); }
 	virtual	const char*			MIMEType() = 0;
 
 	/*! If \a selfDestroy is true, class deletes itself when export thread is
diff --git a/src/apps/icon-o-matic/import_export/flat_icon/FlatIconExporter.cpp b/src/apps/icon-o-matic/import_export/flat_icon/FlatIconExporter.cpp
index 5a4479573f..31d2e78068 100644
--- a/src/apps/icon-o-matic/import_export/flat_icon/FlatIconExporter.cpp
+++ b/src/apps/icon-o-matic/import_export/flat_icon/FlatIconExporter.cpp
@@ -13,7 +13,9 @@
 #include <stdio.h>
 
 #include <Archivable.h>
+#include <Catalog.h>
 #include <DataIO.h>
+#include <Locale.h>
 #include <Message.h>
 #include <Node.h>
 
@@ -33,6 +35,9 @@
 #include "Style.h"
 #include "VectorPath.h"
 
+#undef B_TRANSLATION_CONTEXT
+#define B_TRANSLATION_CONTEXT "Icon-O-Matic-FlatIconExporter"
+
 using std::nothrow;
 
 
@@ -92,6 +97,37 @@ FlatIconExporter::Export(const Icon* icon, BPositionIO* stream)
 }
 
 
+const char*
+FlatIconExporter::ErrorCodeToString(status_t code)
+{
+	switch (code) {
+		case E_TOO_MANY_PATHS:
+			return B_TRANSLATE("There are too many paths. "
+				"The HVIF format supports a maximum of 255.");
+		case E_PATH_TOO_MANY_POINTS:
+			return B_TRANSLATE("One or more of the paths have too many vertices. "
+				"The HVIF format supports a maximum of 255 vertices per path.");
+		case E_TOO_MANY_SHAPES:
+			return B_TRANSLATE("There are too many shapes. "
+				"The HVIF format supports a maximum of 255.");
+		case E_SHAPE_TOO_MANY_PATHS:
+			return B_TRANSLATE("One or more of the shapes has too many paths. "
+				"The HVIF format supports a maximum of 255 paths per shape.");
+		case E_SHAPE_TOO_MANY_TRANSFORMERS:
+			return B_TRANSLATE("One or more of the shapes have too many transformers. "
+				"The HVIF format supports a maximum of 255 transformers per shape.");
+		case E_TOO_MANY_STYLES:
+			return B_TRANSLATE("There are too many styles. "
+				"The HVIF format supports a maximum of 255.");
+		default:
+			return Exporter::ErrorCodeToString(code);
+	}
+}
+
+
+// #pragma mark -
+
+
 status_t
 FlatIconExporter::Export(const Icon* icon, BNode* node,
 						 const char* attrName)
@@ -206,7 +242,7 @@ status_t
 FlatIconExporter::_WriteStyles(LittleEndianBuffer& buffer, const Container<Style>* styles)
 {
 	if (styles->CountItems() > 255)
-		return B_RESULT_NOT_REPRESENTABLE;
+		return E_TOO_MANY_STYLES;
 	uint8 styleCount = min_c(255, styles->CountItems());
 	if (!buffer.Write(styleCount))
 		return B_NO_MEMORY;
@@ -362,7 +398,7 @@ status_t
 FlatIconExporter::_WritePaths(LittleEndianBuffer& buffer, const Container<VectorPath>* paths)
 {
 	if (paths->CountItems() > 255)
-		return B_RESULT_NOT_REPRESENTABLE;
+		return E_TOO_MANY_PATHS;
 	uint8 pathCount = min_c(255, paths->CountItems());
 	if (!buffer.Write(pathCount))
 		return B_NO_MEMORY;
@@ -374,7 +410,7 @@ FlatIconExporter::_WritePaths(LittleEndianBuffer& buffer, const Container<Vector
 			pathFlags |= PATH_FLAG_CLOSED;
 
 		if (path->CountPoints() > 255)
-			return B_RESULT_NOT_REPRESENTABLE;
+			return E_PATH_TOO_MANY_POINTS;
 		uint8 pointCount = min_c(255, path->CountPoints());
 
 		// see if writing segments with commands is more efficient
@@ -487,7 +523,7 @@ _WritePathSourceShape(LittleEndianBuffer& buffer, PathSourceShape* shape,
 		return false;
 
 	if (shape->Paths()->CountItems() > 255)
-		return B_RESULT_NOT_REPRESENTABLE;
+		return E_SHAPE_TOO_MANY_PATHS;
 	uint8 pathCount = min_c(255, shape->Paths()->CountItems());
 
 	// write shape type and style index
@@ -508,7 +544,7 @@ _WritePathSourceShape(LittleEndianBuffer& buffer, PathSourceShape* shape,
 	}
 
 	if (shape->Transformers()->CountItems() > 255)
-		return B_RESULT_NOT_REPRESENTABLE;
+		return E_SHAPE_TOO_MANY_TRANSFORMERS;
 	uint8 transformerCount = min_c(255, shape->Transformers()->CountItems());
 
 	// shape flags
@@ -582,7 +618,7 @@ FlatIconExporter::_WriteShapes(LittleEndianBuffer& buffer, const Container<Style
 
 	// Write number of exportable shapes
 	if (pathShapeCount > 255)
-		return B_RESULT_NOT_REPRESENTABLE;
+		return E_TOO_MANY_SHAPES;
 	if (!buffer.Write((uint8) pathShapeCount))
 		return B_NO_MEMORY;
 
diff --git a/src/apps/icon-o-matic/import_export/flat_icon/FlatIconExporter.h b/src/apps/icon-o-matic/import_export/flat_icon/FlatIconExporter.h
index 1feb148e5c..badcd5d22a 100644
--- a/src/apps/icon-o-matic/import_export/flat_icon/FlatIconExporter.h
+++ b/src/apps/icon-o-matic/import_export/flat_icon/FlatIconExporter.h
@@ -26,6 +26,15 @@ _BEGIN_ICON_NAMESPACE
 _END_ICON_NAMESPACE
 
 
+#define HVIF_EXPORTER_ERRORS_BASE		(B_ERRORS_END + 1)
+#define E_TOO_MANY_PATHS				(HVIF_EXPORTER_ERRORS_BASE + 0)
+#define E_PATH_TOO_MANY_POINTS			(HVIF_EXPORTER_ERRORS_BASE + 1)
+#define E_TOO_MANY_SHAPES				(HVIF_EXPORTER_ERRORS_BASE + 2)
+#define E_SHAPE_TOO_MANY_PATHS			(HVIF_EXPORTER_ERRORS_BASE + 3)
+#define E_SHAPE_TOO_MANY_TRANSFORMERS	(HVIF_EXPORTER_ERRORS_BASE + 4)
+#define E_TOO_MANY_STYLES				(HVIF_EXPORTER_ERRORS_BASE + 5)
+
+
 #define PRINT_STATISTICS 0
 
 #if PRINT_STATISTICS
@@ -56,9 +65,10 @@ class FlatIconExporter : public Exporter {
 	// Exporter interface
 	virtual	status_t			Export(const Icon* icon,
 									   BPositionIO* stream);
-
+	virtual const char*			ErrorCodeToString(status_t code);
 	virtual	const char*			MIMEType() { return NULL; }
 
+	// FlatIconExporter
 	/*! Export to file attribute */
 	status_t					Export(const Icon* icon, BNode* node,
 									   const char* attrName);