1. A micro-optic system comprising: an in-plane image having a boundary and an image area within the boundary that visually lies substantially in the plane of a substrate on which the in-plane image is carried; one or more control patterns of icons contained within the boundary of the in-plane image; and an array of icon focusing elements positioned to form at least one synthetically magnified image of at least a portion of the one or more control patterns of icons, the synthetically magnified image providing a limited field of view for viewing of the in-plane image operating to modulate the appearance of the in-plane image.