@NedalsApr 29.2003 — #You are probably talking about animated gifs, which are simply a number of image 'slides' combined into a single gif. You will need a graphics program that supports animated gifs to make one. I use 'Image Ready' that comes packaged with Photoshop. There are probably many other packages that will do the same thing.
@web-eagleApr 29.2003 — #Like any animation, the animated gif is a series of still pictures that display sequentially at a pre-selected speed. Many web-designers denounce their use, partly because of the size of the file (if your image has ten frames, the file will be nearly ten times the size of a single image. Some simply feel they are out-dated or “cheesey”.
I do use them, when appropriate, but not in quantity. Keep an eye on my “smiley” avatar at the left. In about ten seconds (or less) it will move. Don’t blink.
Gifs are a passable substitute for swf (Flash – which can also produce some fairly large files), and they work on any browser, without additional plug-ins (something I tend to look at in the way of “overhead”)
You will probably want to check out GIF Construction Set produced by Alchemy Mindworks. (http://www.mindworkshop.com/alchemy/alchemy.html) It’s arguably the most popular animated gif creator around. I think it’s also one of the simplest for a beginner to use. It’s shareware, but it will continue to work, even if you don’t pay for it (but you should pay for it if you use it much). There are other gif animators available if you do a search.
@DaveSWMay 02.2003 — #[i]Originally posted by web-eagle [/i]
[B]Gifs are a passable substitute for swf (Flash – which can also produce some fairly large files), [/B][/QUOTE]
Flash files are larger when they have jpegs or sound files in them. if it's entirely vector it can be a lot smaller than gifs. It's all in the way you use the software.