An
Animated GIF
is a sequence of
GIF images with
timing information
packed into a single
compact graphic file.
GIF...stands for Graphic
Information File - a convention developed by Compuserve
for
web graphics.
Flash
Animation is a better choice
for larger, longer,
more complex or
interactive needs.
Animated GIFs
Animated GIFs are one of the simplest forms of web
animation and effects, and can be very effective when
used within its limitations.
A series of GIF graphic images are displayed in sequence
to produce an animation effect (see more examples below).
Each image in the sequence occupies the same fixed
rectangular location.
Animated
GIFs may NOT be effective if the images are large or
if there are many images in the sequence.
The simple (though overly busy) Cosmos Planetarium example
(below) contains five animated GIFs within the overall
image. This is done by "slicing" up the original
image into multiple rectangular slices.
The animated GIFs are then used to replace the applicable
slice.
