[To be clear, I use the term "format" to mean the type of code
used to record the information. I use "file" to mean the
storage of the format.]

Invented by CompuServe, the Graphic Interface Format was
designed to show simple animation. There was once a patent
problem with the format. The patent has expired, and is no
longer an issue.

All web browsers can view a .gif file. The .gif animation can
be repeated forever or set to a specific number. Aside from
that, it is like a cartoon. Some web browsers allow the user to
not show animation.

(In Internet Explorer click on Tools>Internet Options>Advanced
and there is a check box for "Play animations in webpages.")

The .gif file is limited to 256 colors per frame. Just as in
cartoon animation, it takes several frames to make animation.

There are programs specifically made for creating .gif images
and .gif animation. Three examples for the PC are:

GIF Construction Set Professional
Xara3D
Ulead GIF Animator

Microsoft GIF Animator has been discontinued. You can still
find it as a free download at http://download.cnet.com/windows/
and it works on Windows Vista.

While most drawing programs and photo editors will save an
image as a .gif file, not all programs can make .gif animation.
Those that do make .gif animation include a program to put the
separate images together into a .gif file.

Two PC programs that include a .gif animation program are
PhotoShop and Paint Shop Pro.

There is a FREE photo editor for the PC that has a .gif
animator called Photobie. You can find it on download.com in
their Windows section.

Some of programs --such as Paint Shop Pro, which I use--
include transition effects. You make the first frame and the
end frame. Choose the effect. It does the rest.

Otherwise you make a .gif like a cartoon. You draw an image
(or use a photo). Make a copy to use for the second frame.
Make a slight change in the second frame. Do this for about
10 to 30 frames. The set of frames are imported to the animator
which will combine them into an animation file. You can usually
control how long each frame is shown. Typically the first
frame and the last frame are shown the longest with each frame
in between is shown for as little as 1/100th of a second. More
typically at 1/10th of a second.

The animated example with this article used three frames and
is about 30K in size. The sparkles on the lettering are done
with a specific brush setting in Paint Shop Pro.

Typically, .gif animation is used for advertising. On many web
pages you will see a banner ad that has animation. There is a
standard for this. The banners are 480 pixels across and 60
pixels vertical. The example with this article uses those
dimensions. There is a size standard also, but no one seems to
be following it. The more frames you have, the larger the size
of the file.

The .gif animation is useful for short clips of action. For
cartoons of longer time it would take too much memory to load
the entire file. A better alternative would be .avi format file
and make a short movie. Flash animation would also work. Flash
is an expensive process and is has a more complicated learning
process. The color palette of .gif is too small to support a
slide show of photographs.

The .gif file is often used for small graphics on web pages.
It makes for small files and loads quickly. This format is great
for clip art.

There are other animation formats. There is .mng which is like
a .gif file with more colors, but not fully supported by all
browsers and hosts. The Animated Cursor is .ani format.
(Remember the spinning hourglass?) The .avi format can support
an actual movie.