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  1. eHow
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  3. Image & Document Files
  4. GIF Files

GIF Files

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  • Animated GIF Files Won't Work When I Open My Email

    Whether you like them or loathe them, animated GIFs are a mainstay for marketers looking to up the ante and grab your attention while browsing your email. If you've gotten an email that contains an animated GIF, but it doesn't open for you when you open the email, you're running in to a common problem that could have a number of possible causes.

  • How to Fix GIF Files on Tumblr

    Tumblr is a social-networking and blog website that allows users to create blogs and upload various types of posts such as text, video, audio, photo and quote posts. Uploading animated GIF images to Tumblr is common among users. However, attempting to upload a GIF image to any kind of post other than a text post will result in a gray box in place of the image. To prevent this, you will need to upload the image to a text post, and use the HTML code from that post to place the image in another type of blog post.

  • How to Overlay GIF

    GIF files are just like other image files in that you can edit them using basic image-editing applications. These applications are all you need if you want to make small edits such as overlaying text. Open the GIF file using Microsoft Paint if you want to add overlays, since Microsoft Paint has the necessary tools to complete the task.

  • How to Replace a Magento Watermark

    With the Magento online e-commerce service, you can add a watermark to product images to brand the photos and discourage other sites from using your images without authorization. Magento allows you to change the watermark product images so that you can reflect changes to your company logo or website address. To change your product image watermark on Magenta, upload a new PNG, JPG or GIF image file with the Product Image Watermark feature.

  • How to Insert a GIF File Into an Outlook Email

    Microsoft Outlook lets you insert GIF files, as well as document files and other file types, into your email messages as attachments. Inserting a GIF image file as an attachment to an Outlook email message can be done in two ways. You can use the “Attachment” button to navigate for your GIF file, then attach the file to the email -- or, if your GIF file is in an easy-to-access location such as the desktop, you can drag and drop the GIF to attach the file.

  • GIF Requirements in Tumblr

    Tumblr has specific rules for how you can post photos and animated GIF files on your blog, related to the size and dimensions of your image. When using a GIF image, the most important thing to remember is the file size -- it's unlikely that your animated GIF will exceed the dimension rules while falling under the size requirements.

  • What Is Dithering in GIF Images?

    One benefit of the GIF format is that it takes up little memory compared to other image formats. But the structure that makes this low memory footprint possible is also responsible for GIF's low color resolution. Dithering compensates for that problem. Understand what dithering is so when something looks wrong with a GIF image you're editing, you can eliminate or focus on dithering as the potential source of the problem.

  • How to Take an Image From Raster to Vector

    Scanned images load onto computers in the form of bitmaps, a type of raster image. A design created with a pen tool in Adobe Illustrator is known as a vector. While raster and vectors just appear to be images, each has its own color and file format. A raster graphic uses pixels, a grid of colors, whereas vectors use lines. Raster files work better for multiple colors and complex designs, but for printing purposes, vector images are more simple in color and design. Fortunately, you convert a raster into a vector easily with the right graphics software or conversion site.

  • How to Replace Faces in a Photo Using GIMP

    You can use the free graphic editing software GIMP to digitally merge pictures and even replace faces in a photo. GIMP enables you to maintain separate layers within one workbook, allowing you to isolate a head from one layer and position it as the foreground of a previously-unrelated background. Using the program's select, erase and move tools, you can produce polished results with little training.

  • How to Use Vector Files

    Vector files are a special type of graphics image file format. While most "raster" image files contain a representation of a canvas, a vector file simply stores point data and color information. They can be used to design logos, flowcharts and clipart. The most common type of vector file is the SVG -- Scalable Vector Graphics -- file format, used by Wikipedia and various open source projects. This file can be opened with any major vector graphics editing software, such as Inkscape or Adobe Illustrator.

  • How to Make Semi-Transparencies in GIMP

    The GNU Image Manipulation Program, or GIMP for short, is open source software, but few graphics programs can compete with this application. Creating transparency and semi-transparency in GIMP can be as easy as moving a slider. Beginning with version 2.6, GIMP makes doing this kind of graphic design work very simple, allowing for layers, alpha channel for complete or partial opacity and masking that will turn shades of gray into a semi-transparency as well.

  • How to Turn a GIF Into a JPEG

    Photos saved to a computer can be saved under a variety of different computer file extensions. Sometimes, certain file extensions won't be compatible with the program you are working with, or you will just be looking for a new photo format to send a picture through email. If you have a photo saved as a GIF file, you easily can convert it to a JPEG, which is just another common type of computer photo file.

  • How to Put a Face on a Different Head Using GIMP

    You can use GIMP, a free graphic design program, to merge and edit pictures. GIMP allows you to maintain separate layers within one file, enabling you to insert a cropped face, for example, and position it over a pre-existing head within another image. You can use GIMP to isolate, resize and recolor the face as well, producing professional, polished results.

  • Transparent Background When Creating a GIF With GIMP

    While JPG image files are widely used on websites, some Web designers prefer to create images in GIF format because they can have transparent backgrounds. You can create transparent GIFs with ease using GIMP, an image-editing program. When you create a new file in GIMP, you can select the type of background, create your image and then export the file as a GIF within an indexed color space.

  • How to Split an Image in Make the Cut!

    If you want to split images but find professional design programs confusing, try Make the Cut. It is a user-friendly program dedicated to splitting and cropping images. You do not have to worry about other features that clog up the toolbar. Split not only images, but fonts or anything you want. With a few clicks of your mouse, you can split an image in Make the Cut.

  • How to Make an Image With Opacity in GIMP

    Opacity is the opposite of transparency, meaning that when you increase the opacity of an image, it becomes more difficult to see through it. You can set the opacity of an image in "GIMP," an open-source, free image editing application, by using the "Opacity" slider. Decreasing the opacity of an image in GIMP allows you to see any images or background that are positioned behind the image. By playing with image opacity, you can create design effects such as drop shadows and image blending.

  • How to Make Transparent Layers in GIMP

    Using transparency when working with images allows your image to blend well with any type of background. This is especially helpful if you wish to place a logo onto a multicolored background. Many photo-editing programs allow you to create transparent images and backgrounds, and using GIMP is no exception. You can easily modify layer transparency in GIMP by experimenting with layer opacity.

  • Why Are the Colors in GIMP Light?

    GIMP, a free, open-source, graphics manipulation program, gives you a great deal of control over the appearance of an image. There are, in fact, so many different possible effects you can apply that it can be easy to overlook some settings and to get unexpected results. Some tool, layer and gradient settings, for instance, can make colors appear to be faded, washed-out or too light.

  • How to Save a Vector File in Illustrator in Order to Transfer It to a Windows Computer

    Each file containing a computer image follows one of many standard encodings in use today. In particular, a vector file contains specifications for each basic element in the image, such as straight lines and circles. The Adobe Illustrator image manipulation suite supports many such vector formats. To export an image file from Illustrator for computers that do not have Illustrator installed, you need to use a widely accepted standard vector encoding. That will maximize the chances of the receiving computer being able to open the file.

  • How to Lift Blackouts With Gimp

    A blackout, or a redaction, is when sensitive information is removed and replaced with a blackout. In photocopied documents, such as is often seen in Freedom of Information Requests, the blackouts are actually covering text. In computer files, however, the proper procedure is to remove the text and to use the blackouts to imply that there was text there, but that it has been removed. There have been, however, cases where the text was not removed, and the blackouts were removed, revealing the text underneath, such as a 2009 TSA manual in the PDF format.

  • How to Convert Pivot Movies to GIFs

    The Pivot Stick Figure Animator program lets you create animation cartoons involving stick figures. This program is often used by people to create stick figure cartoons that are available for viewing on sites like YouTube. It is possible to create GIF screenshots of particular scenes from a Pivot movie should you wish to do so.

  • How to Create Vector Images in a Snap With Vector Magic

    Some designers prefer vector graphics for creating their designs. Vector graphics can be resized without any loss in image quality. They can be manipulated using anchor points and handles, and vector graphic files are smaller than bitmap images. If you've received a bitmap, or "raster," image that you want to convert quickly to a vector image, you can use Vector Magic, a Web-based utility.

  • How to Make 2 Images With Opacity in GIMP

    When you are creating graphics, you may want to overlap two images above a third layer or image and have them be partly transparent via "Opacity." This effect is dramatic and lets you give the impression that the images are interrelated. You might expect to use a premium program such Photoshop or Paintshop Pro to create this effect, but you can easily do it in the freeware GIMP application.

  • How to Make My Photos Opacity Using GIMP

    The ability to control an image's opacity, or its visibility, empowers users with the ability to accomplish elegant blends. You can lower the opacity of two images and blend them together or your can soften the colors in your images. And if you use GIMP to tackle your photo editing tasks, you can take advantage of the program's opacity settings and increase the transparency of your images.

  • How to Create a Transparent PNG in Linux

    The best software available in Linux to work with transparent .PNGs is the GNU Image Manipulation Program. GIMP provides the ability to create professional graphics, even though it is open-source, free software. The process to add transparency to an image and then save it as a transparent .PNG is straightforward.

  • How to Convert to a Scalable Vector Image

    The Scaleable Vector Image (better known as SVG) format is a versatile format suited for generating images out of mathematical coordinates and curves rather than pixels. Images can be easily turned into SVG with the right software as well. Users familiar with opening and exporting files in Adobe Illustrator should find this task uncomplicated. Expect to take roughly 15 minutes creating your Scaleable Vector Image, which can be used on websites and presentations.

  • How to Convert .FLA Files

    FLA is the default file extension for Flash files, which are used to create animations for Web pages and offline publications. You can convert FLA files into other formats, such as SWF, GIF, JPEG, HTML and Windows/Macintosh Projector files, directly from the program and use them in other projects. The conversion is handled under Publish Settings, a feature that lets you export your file directly from Flash and customize it for its intended use.

  • How to Bend Vector Shapes in Adobe After Effects

    Vector shapes in Adobe After Effects allow users to re-size objects and use them without causing pixelization or poor quality. When these files are imported into After Effects, they are automatically rasterized and the original vector form is removed. Users can change these settings and keep the vector shapes at full quality while providing ways to bend and alter the shapes.

  • How to Erase Vector Line Fireworks

    Fireworks is a hybrid application that can edit both vector and raster images. It is often used with other Adobe products such as Dreamweaver or Flash. In some ways, Fireworks resembles a desktop publishing application, and it can take time for new users to master all the tools and functions. One example of this is the removal of vector lines. The vector lines in Fireworks define the shapes of the non-raster elements in a document. Removing those lines alters the shape of an element.

  • How to Make a Rasterized Image Into Vector Form

    Vectored images are images that use geometric shapes, such as lines, squares and circles, to create images. Unlike rasterized images, vectored images can be enlarged without sacrificing the image's quality. Vectoring a rasterized image can be difficult because you need to carefully outline your rasterized image with your image vectoring software's geometric tools.You can use image vectoring software, such as Adobe Illustrator, CorelDraw and Inkscape, to make a rasterized image into a vectored image by using your program's tracing tools.

  • How to Create a Vector Composite of a Photo

    Vector images have many advantages over traditional bitmap images. Vector images can be zoomed to an almost infinite level and still maintain their detail. This makes them ideal for printing on large formats. Creating a vector image of a photo also creates an interesting, unique look. Instead of spending hours in a photo editing program creating a vector image, you can use a free online tool to do most of the work for you.

  • GIMP and Fixing Colors

    The fidelity of a photograph's colors speaks volumes about the photographer and the camera. If the photographer underexposed the image or white-balanced the camera improperly, the resulting image will lack saturation or contain a color cast. If the camera does not process color well, the image will likewise be undersaturated. Fortunately, the GNU Image Manipulation Program, or GIMP, contains tools to help photographers fix these problems.

  • How to Insert Symbols to Your Text in GIMP

    Designers often use symbols, such as the copyright or registered trademark characters, within promotional art. The GNU Image Manipulation Program, or GIMP, facilitates this by allowing you to add symbols directly into the GIMP Text Editor instead of selecting them from a menu. To do this, you must enter the character's Unicode number. These numbers are cross-platform codes that describe every supported character, including foreign letters, geometric shapes and commonly used symbols.

  • How to Convert PPMs to Animated GIFs

    The Portable Pixmap Image format (.ppm) describes a 24-bit image format combatible with Photoshop, GIMP, Corel PaintShop Pro and text-editors. If you wish to turn several .ppm files into an animated .gif file, convert the images one at a time. After conversion, use a .gif animating program or website to combine and animate the .gif. Unlike other formats, .gif files can be a single picture or an animation consiting of several looping images. Typically, .gif animations are found as avatars on instant messagers and forums.

  • How to Do Transparent Images Using GIMP 2.6

    GIMP offers professional-quality graphic design tools in an open-source package, and has a set of tools all its own. Although these tools may not be located or stored where they are in other programs, GIMP includes most tools found in commercial software, including a transparency tool. In fact, transparency in GIMP is quite straightforward. You just have to know where to look for it.

  • How to Make a Graphic Transparent With Gimp for Unix

    When you are editing a picture with the free GIMP graphics application on your Unix computer, you may realize that you need to make an image transparent. For example, you might want to superimpose a photo of a location that your company wants to develop, with a graphic above that depicts proposed changes to buildings or the environment in that location. You can easily make a graphic transparent in GIMP.

  • How to Use the Trace in Vector Magic

    Vector Magic is a website that allows users to convert bitmap (pixel-based) images into vector images, which are stored as mathematical formulas. Vector images are useful as they allow you to enlarge an image without losing clarity. This Vector Magic conversion process can be done by downloading the "Vector Magic" desktop applications or using the online "Trace" software. The online "Trace" software can convert JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF and PSD bitmap images into EPS, SVG or PDF vector files.

  • How to Delete Objects With GIMP

    You can use the design software GIMP to delete objects within an image. GIMP has a variety of selection tools that simplify the process of isolating and eliminating undesired regions. You can select objects to delete using tools such as "Rectangle Select" and "Ellipse Select," or you can use the "Free Select" to drag your cursor over an irregular-shaped object. Then use the "Delete" function to remove your selected object.

  • How to Change a Button from GIF to HTML

    You can turn any GIF image into a button, even if it does not actually look like a button. Custom image buttons can look strange on mobile Web browsers and large image files can make a page slower to load, so some Web designers prefer to use the HTML "button" tag to create a button, which they can then style with CSS. Replace any GIF button image with plain HTML code without losing any functionality.

  • How to Erase to 0 Opacity in GIMP

    GIMP is an advanced graphic design program, and it offers a transparency feature. Whereas some simple editors will only allow you to erase color and reveal a white background, you can use GIMP to erase color to zero opacity, leaving complete transparency behind. Once you have added a transparent element to any layer, you can use the standard erase tool to edit your graphic as desired.

  • How to Delete a GIMP Background

    When you work on a picture with GIMP, the free image-editing program, you might set up a background layer and then realize that it doesn't suit your foreground elements, and you need to delete it. If a background no longer serves your purposes, you can easily remove it in GIMP.

  • How to Make Semi-Transparent Text in GIMP

    One of the most powerful and effective image editing tools is the layer. Layers allow graphic artists to stack objects on top of other objects in an image. Layers also enable you to produce a range of eye-catching special effects. For example, by adding text to a layer, you can give the text a ghostly, semi-transparent look. If you use the free GIMP image-editing program, you can create this effect by simply altering the text layer's opacity level.

  • How to Turn a Background Transparent Using Gimp

    When you work with an image that has multiple layers in GIMP, the free graphics application, you might want to make the background layer transparent. For example, instead of having a square background of a solid color and cut-out images of people's faces or isolated objects on a layer above it, you can make the background transparent, so when people look at your picture, they will only see the isolated faces or items on the upper layer. You can easily turn a background transparent in GIMP.

  • How to Make Images See-Through With GIMP

    GIMP is a powerful, free image-editing program that is similar in function to Adobe Photoshop. You can perform many advanced image editing functions, including creating or editing images with layers. Image layers can be stacked on top of one another and then manipulated with erasers and other drawing tools to display portions of each layer. You can also make images and layers transparent in GIMP, allowing you to see sections of covered layers that wouldn't otherwise be visible.

  • How to Smooth a Text Edge With Gimp

    Computer fonts can look unattractive at larger sizes; as the letters are expanded, the edges may appear jagged. This is called "aliasing." If you are using GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) to add a large caption to a photo, smooth the edges of the letters by using the "antialiasing" function. This function adds extra coloring to the corners of letters, making them appear smooth in large font sizes.

  • How to Make a Background Transparent in Gimp 2.6

    You can use the free graphic design program GIMP to create and edit digital images. Version 2.6 is a stable edition in the series, and the advanced editor supports transparency, meaning you can create a workbook with a transparent background, or you can retroactively insert a transparency channel and delete preexisting background colors. You can save your work using a file extension that also supports the preservation of transparency, such as .png.

  • How to Change Picture Resolution on Your Computer

    Depending on how you utilize and share your digital images on your computer, you may wish to change the resolution of your photos. Resolution reflects the number of pixels in a given space, such as pixels per inch. If you would like to make prints of your pictures, high-resolution images are appropriate for the task. However, increasing the resolution not only increases visual quality but also file size. If you wish to share your pictures in other ways, such as in emails to family and friends, lowering the resolution can make managing your photos more practical.

  • How to Insert a Link on a Flickr Description

    Flickr is an online photo-sharing platform that allows you to store, organize and share your photos with other Flickr users. Adding titles, descriptions and tags to your images not only provides additional information to users who browse them but also increases the likelihood of someone stumbling upon them through an organic search of the site. You can insert a URL in your Flickr description to provide a link that visitors can follow to view your website or blog.

  • How to Erase to Transparent With GIMP

    GIMP is an open source program similar to Adobe Photoshop. You can use GIMP to edit photos or create your own images. You can use the GIMP program to erase a portion of an image. By default, the erased portions will be filled with white or your chosen background color. You can change the default settings to make the erased portions transparent. When the image is layered on top of another image, the lower layer will show through the erased portion.

  • How to Replace Colors With Transparent in GIMP

    When you are designing images, you might like to make the background transparent if you are going to use it over the top of another image or as an icon. GIMP (Gnu Image Manipulation Program) is a software raster graphics editor, available for download for Windows, Mac OSX and Linux. You can use GIMP to edit photos and produce animated images and icons. You can replace colors with a transparent effect in GIMP with a couple of clicks.

  • How to Convert GIMP to Transparent

    Using GIMPgives you the ability to create customized, layered visual arts projects.. Advanced photo editing techniques can be achieved with the tools, filters and options made available by the comprehensive and free software. One of the most simple tasks that GIMP offers is making an image look transparent. By changing the opacity of an layer, you can create a ghost-like image or reflection.

  • How to Make Semi-Transparent Captions on GIMP

    Semi-transparent captions are useful for placing subtle text over an image while still allowing part of the image to show through. The GNU Image Manipulation Program, or GIMP, supports the creation of these captions through opacity controls and alpha channels. Alpha channels are layers on each pixel that contain the transparency information. TIFF and PNG file formats each support 256 levels of transparency, with 0 as completely opaque and 255 as completely transparent. GIF files only allow one color to be transparent and support fewer transparency levels.

  • How to Turn QuickTime Movies Into GIFs

    QuickTime, or MOV files combine both audio and video tracks into one file. Several separate images playing back to back make up an animated GIF (Graphic Interchange Format) file. Since GIF files are not technically supposed to be video, you'll notice when you convert your MOV file that the color is grainy and the file is larger than the video it was created from. A GIF file's main benefit is that any computer user can see the GIF file without additional plugins installed.

  • How to Convert QuickTime Movies Into Animated GIFs

    Apple created the MOV format in response to Microsoft's WMV and WMA formats. MOV files can only be played by media players capable of playing QuickTime files. Unlike other video formats, the MOV format features digital encoding, which means that you can copy random points of data in the file and convert it to another, non-video format, such as a GIF. GIF files are image files that can display either a single still image, or several cocurrent images.

  • How to Make Animation in Photoshop and ImageReady

    Versions of Adobe Photoshop prior to Photoshop CS3 used to ship with a companion program called ImageReady. This program could be used together with Photoshop to produce simple animation, such as animated GIFs for websites. This capability was later folded into Photoshop CS3, but ImageReady is still widely used by professional designers and home users who have the older software.

  • How Do I Change the Number of Pixels in a Picture?

    The resolution of a picture is the number of pixels, such as 800 by 600. Changing the resolution or size of a picture may be needed when inserting it onto a Word document or adding it to the body of an email message. Many image programs are available to change a picture's resolution. To do this, open the picture file in a photo-editing program such as Windows Live Photo Gallery.

  • How to Play GIF Files in the Windows Photo Player

    Images with sharp edges and few gradations of color, such as line art, are usually created in Graphical Interchange Format (GIF). The extension is recognizable as .gif. Windows Photo Player does not immediately recognize GIF files. You have to change the default properties of the file in order for Windows Photo Player to recognize the file.

  • How to Make Clothes Transparent in GIMP

    GIMP, which stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program, is powerful graphics software that can be downloaded for free. Not only can you edit photographs and build raster images from scratch, you can add filters and common effects like drop shadows and outer glow. Making clothes transparent in GIMP can be as simple as a few clicks of the mouse. All you have to do is add an alpha channel for transparency and then remove the clothes with any of several selection tools.

  • How to Convert QuickTime to GIF

    Apple developed MOV as a digital video format that works natively with its proprietary media player, QuickTime. Since MOV files are digitally encoded, it is possible to convert them into other forms of media besides video. With the aid of a file conversion application, an MOV file can be re-formatted as a GIF file. The GIF file format can either support still images or basic animation. SUPER and iWisoft Free Video Converter are 2 programs that offer users the choice to re-format MOV files as either an animated GIF or a series of GIF images. And Zamzar is a website…

  • How to Remove GIF Image Files

    Free up space on your computer by deleting image files you no longer need. You can find Graphic Interchange Format (GIF) files quickly by using an asterisk in the folder window. Asterisks help you list files with a specific extension instead of listing all files. You can preview your images without opening them directly. This ensures that you are deleting the correct images and is handy if you have duplicate images or several files.

  • How to Embed Flickr in a Webpage

    The photo publishing service Flickr is a free way to share photos with the world. You can share your own photos and embed them in your website using HTML. Do the same with other Flickr users' photos, as long as they have enabled sharing in their settings. To make this as easy as possible, Flickr provides the code on the website for you to cut and paste into your own website.

  • Differences Between SWF and Flash Files

    SWF is a Small Web Format file (originally called a ShockWave Flash file). It is used in multimedia projects, vector graphics, gaming and advertisement. An FLA is a workable Flash project file. The two formats carry the .swf and .fla extension, respectively. Once a product is completed in the FLA format, it is ready to be saved and output for publication under the SWF format.

  • How to Make a Picture Smaller in Pixels

    Pixels are the many dots that make up a digital image. If you were to magnify a picture you're viewing on your computer, you'd eventually start to see each individual pixel that makes up the picture. If you have a photo-editing program, you can reduce the file size of a picture by lowering the number of pixels per inch.

  • What Other File Types Are Related to GIF?

    Images are created in many file formats, depending on their graphical requirements and intended use. Graphics interchange format (GIF) images allow multiple frames that can be viewed in automated sequence. Images with motion, such as animated images found on websites are commonly GIF files. GIF does have limitations though, and it isn't the only image format capable of animation.

  • How to Link a Flickr Picture on a Webpage

    An image must reside in an Internet-accessible location in order for someone to see it when you link to or embed it in an email signature, blog post, webpage or other online content. If you don't have your own web hosting account, a free image file sharing service like Flickr is the next best thing for hosting your graphics online. You can display a Flickr image anywhere you can paste HTML code.

  • How to Save to GIF in Paint

    On a computer, Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) is a container used for compressing the size of an image file. When making a consideration on which format to use for saving your images, you need to look at the image itself. While images containing many different colors with no transparency are better off using the JPG format, images using simple colors, text and transparency are best used with GIF. If you have an image file you want to compress, you can use the Windows Paint program to save it as a GIF.

  • How to Add an Animated GIF to an Excel Spreadsheet

    Spreadsheets need not only contain numbers and calculations. You may add graphics to your sheets to help highlight some data or just give it some visual energy. One of the many supported image types in Microsoft Excel are animated GIF files, which are collections of related images that play in sequence to create visual liveliness. Importing a GIF or dragging one onto a spreadsheet will not allow you to see the animation. Instead, you will only see the first image in the sequence.

  • How to Stretch an Image Into Vector in Digital Image Processing

    Digital images come in two basic varieties, raster and vector. While raster images use individual pixels to make up an image, vector images are the result of mathematically defined shapes. This gives vector images a wider range of uses than raster images, since designers can resize, stretch and warp vector images without the subsequent loss of quality. Several varieties of digital image processing can create a vector image, from the simple Vector Magic online tool to complete image editing software such as Adobe Illustrator or the free InkScape.

  • How to Convert Photos Into Line Drawings for Free

    There are a variety of web and desktop application tools that allow you to edit, manipulate and create artwork from your digital photographs. Some of these programs perform simple functions such as touchups, air brushing and color conversion, while others offer more advanced options. One interesting way to use your digital photographs is to convert them into line drawings. Line drawings come in the form of vector files, which you can recolor and resize any way you want to create a completely new look and effect for your photos.

  • What Is the Difference Between an Animated GIF & a Flash File?

    The simple answer is that a GIF file is an image file with different frames to display an image; it cannot become more interactive. A flash SWF file supports not just animation, but audio and interactivity as well.

  • How to Create an Animated GIF File

    When designing a website, animated GIF files can enhance the content by adding humor or drawing attention to a link. Create your own animated GIF to break up large chunks of text on your page, making information easy for visitors to review. Animated GIFs are a series of images that form a short sequence animation. To create a GIF file, you will need a set of sequential images representing an object's motion. For example, if you want a ball to bounce as your GIF file, you will need to show the ball moving up and down frame by frame with…

  • How to Optimize FLA Files for GIF Animations

    An FLA file is a form of editable animation that is authored by the Adobe Flash Professional program. Users can use the graphics application to export GIF animations directly from FLA files. Although they are essentially images, GIF files are commonly animated to display basic Web graphics. Because of their relatively high compression and small file size, GIF animations can be quickly transmitted over a network connection or the Internet.

  • How to Read GIF Files

    A Graphical Interchange Format (GIF) file is typically used for graphics on the Web. You generally find GIFs in navigation buttons and graphics with words. When you want to view a GIF on your computer, you can use Windows Photo Viewer, which comes standard on Windows machines.

  • How to Merge GIF Files

    GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) files may contain a single image or multiple moving images in animated GIF files. GIF files are often used as avatars and in forum posts online. Sometimes, merging two or more GIF files results in a more dramatic or effective presentation. With the help of some free Web-based GIF utilities, you can fuse your GIF images or combine your GIF animation files.

  • How to Save a High Resolution GIF File

    A high-resolution Graphics Interchange Format file typically contains a graphic image that you find on the web or receive as an attachment in your email. A GIF file is one that does not involve a lot of color. When you come across a high-resolution GIF, you can save it to your system. Remember that you need to get permission from the creator to use the image or graphic.

  • How to Insert Animated GIF Files in Excel

    Animated graphics interchange format (GIF) image files are simple animated movie files that work by rotating through a single sequence of GIF images. Microsoft Excel allows you to display an animated GIF image that is contained on your hard drive in any Microsoft Excel worksheet. In order to embed an animated GIF file, you'll need to know the full location and name of your GIF file, and you'll need to insert a snippet of virtual basic code into your Excel spreadsheet.

  • How to Play GIF Files in Windows Photo Gallery

    Windows Photo Gallery is a program developed by Microsoft that functions as a photo management, editing and tagging program. Windows Vista is the major carrier of Windows Photo Gallery. Windows Photo Gallery doesn't currently have GIF support; however, a there is a workaround that allows the file to function within the program. Windows Photo was removed in Windows 7 for its Windows Live counterpart that is dubbed Windows Live Photo Gallery.

  • How to View Animated GIF Files

    Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) images can be animated and are a fun and interesting way to display information. An animated GIF file contains a series of images that are ordered in such a way to make it appear the subject is moving. Viewing GIF files is as simple as clicking your mouse a couple of times.

  • How to Play GIF Files

    Graphical Interchange Format, known at "GIF," is a file that contains a short video image. This video might be a three-second clip that was taken from a longer file, or several different pictures combined to make a looping "video" file. GIFs can be located on websites, in Internet forums or created using a variety of different software programs. There are several free software programs that are fully compatible with GIFs, and that allow you to preview and play these files.

  • How to Resize a GIF File

    A file formatted in the GIF format is an image file. To change the current size of a GIF image on your machine to one that more matches your needs, use MS Paint. MS Paint comes standard installed in all versions of Windows and is a basic photo editor. It may not allow you to work with as many features as something like Photoshop from Adobe, but it more than suffices for resizing these types of image files.

  • How to Upload Animated GIF Files

    Animated GIFs seem to be complicated little graphics. Unlike photos, they actually move, showing pointing arrows or tiny animated creatures. Some of them even seem to float above the screen. It's easy to think these programs need special treatment, but they are really just like any other graphic files, so the means to upload them are the same.

  • How to Reformat a Picture to a GIF File

    Sometimes it is advantageous to use the GIF format when displaying pictures on the Web. Developers and designers frequently reformat images into GIFs when the images contain large areas of uniform color (see reference 1, search for "homogeneous color"). Line drawings and logos are good candidates for GIF file conversion. GIF files are also useful for creating interesting transparency effects on Web pages (see reference 2). To reformat a picture into a GIF, use the Free Paint program that comes with Windows.

  • How do I Make a GIF File From an MPEG File?

    MPEG-1, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 are popular compression standards for digital videos. While MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 videos use the MPG file extension, MPEG-4 videos use the MP4 file extension. Since they are digitally encoded, it is possible to convert MPEG files into other media formats. Users can isolate the moving image track for MPEG files by re-formatting them as animated GIF files. Unlike many digital picture formats, animated GIF files do not contain a single static image. Rather, they consist of a series of frames that are displayed sequentially. iWisoft Free Video Converter, Aoao Video to GIF Converter and Media-Convert are…

  • How to Save a GIF File

    As you browse the Internet, the images you see on web pages are generally one of three formats: JPEG, PNG or GIF. GIF files are Graphics Interchange Format files, often used on the Internet because they compress readily into small file sizes for computer viewing without losing quality. You can also transform a GIF image into an animated image using an animation program. Save a GIF file using a graphics program to ensure you save it as a GIF image.

  • How to Change the Photo Length in Vegas Studio 8

    Sony's Vegas Studio software is a powerful video editing and production application for Windows based computers. Not only does Vegas provide a multitude of tools for editing and effecting audio and video files, but still images can be added to the editing timeline as well. This feature allows for the creation of video photo albums, and mixing still images in with regular video footage. The length of time the image appears during playback is controlled in the same way as the length of a video clip.

  • How to Make GIF Files With Maximum Photos

    One of the quickest, simplest and oldest ways of creating animated image files is to make a Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) file. GIF files were originally created to offer low-size image files for the web. GIF files were developed in 1987 when Internet connection speeds were much slower than they are today and so low-resolution alternatives had to be devised. You can convert images into animation GIFs using several methods.

  • How to Create an Animation of a Saved GIF File

    As you work with digital images, consider saving them in the Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) file format--one of the most commonly used types for displaying images on the Internet. In addition, with your GIF pictures, you have the option to combine these images into an animation so that the photos automatically appear, one right after the other. This way, you present an interesting slide show effect for your viewers. Using the online resource of your choice, create your own animation out of your saved GIF files.

  • How to Make GIF Files Smaller

    Graphic Interface Files (GIFs) may be made smaller by decreasing the image size in a graphics editing program or by utilizing a GIF tool to compress the image. Microsoft Paint, a graphics-editing accessory, is shipped with all Windows operating systems and can quickly resize a GIF image at no cost to the user. Additionally, GIFTools, a free website application, offers the ability to enter a URL to a GIF image on the web and make the original GIF smaller by compressing the image data. Once the image is compressed, the user is able to download and save the file.

  • How to Fix a GIF File

    GIF stands for graphics interchange format. It is frequently used on the Web for photos, logos, graphics and even animations. Due to various system errors, GIF files may become corrupt. You may get an error message when you try to open one with your image editing software. Or if it does open, you may get a distorted image. However, you can fix and recover a GIF file.

  • How to Compress GIF Files

    GIF, otherwise known as the Graphical Interchange Format, is a bitmap image format. This format was introduced in 1987 by CompuServe and is widely used to save image files and other graphics. GIF and JPEG are the most widely used image formats and are mainly used for viewing graphics in browsers and other devices connected to the web. To create faster loading times for websites, easily send graphics or save room on a hard drive, it's a good idea to make GIFs the smallest size possible while maintaining high quality.

  • How to Make a Movie Using GIF Files

    GIF files are miniature animations that are popular on the Internet. You can place GIFs on any Web page and they will play. However, you cannot upload them to video sites because the GIF files are not really movie files. Luckily, you can convert them into movie files and play them on any website that supports video playback. You can even combine multiple GIF files into a single movie. To get started, all you need to make a movie is Windows Movie Maker. This free program comes with Windows.

  • How to Change a GIF File to a Higher Resolution

    Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) is a graphics storage format for bitmap images. It is one of many formats--or extensions--used for graphic images and photographs. The resolution of any image is set when the image is created or captured. Once that resolution is set, it can be decreased without harm to the quality of the image. Increasing the size, however, will compromise the image's quality.

  • How to Make a GIF File on a Mac

    A Graphical Interchange Format (GIF) file may contain up to 256 colors. Photos do not lose quality when compressed in the .gif format. Graphics on the Internet are frequently .gif files because of their small size and clear legibility. The .jpeg format is more common for photos on the Internet, because it allows more colors. Mac users can create .gif files using the Preview picture viewing application included as a part of Mac OS X.

  • How to Change a Picture Into a GIF File

    If you have a picture in a format like JPEG, it may not work for uploading to certain dating websites, for example. To get a picture in a format like JPEG into a format a particular website or portable device requires, such as GIF, you must do a conversion. Online conversion websites are a free way to change your picture file into the GIF format.

  • How to Create a Static GIF File

    An animated .GIF file is an image file that mimics the movement of video, albeit only for a few seconds. A static .GIF file, however, is an image file that does not move and is just a normal image file in a very specific file format. If you want to create a static .GIF file on your computer, you can use a program that is already installed on your machine called MS Paint to get the job done.

  • How to Make a GIF File Transparent

    Transparent GIFs permit an image to blend seamlessly with any background, including solid colors and other images. Used widely on websites and in image manipulation, transparent GIFs may be used for professional or personal applications. With any number of image editors, you can transform your opaque GIF to a transparent image. Many image editors are free, although you may also opt to purchase software. Although Windows includes the Microsoft Paint program, it does not allow you to make a GIF file transparent, although you may use background transparency when pasting a pre-existing image into another.

  • How to Make a Movie Into a GIF File

    Animated GIF files are fun to watch and share. They can be as simple as stick figure animations or as complex as full-blown movie clips. Many software programs can convert movie clips into GIF files. Because animated GIF files can become quite large, it is a good idea to keep the duration of a GIF down to a few seconds. This is very important if you plan to display your GIF on a website. Using the Windows Movie Maker software that comes with Windows, you can trim your movies before converting them into GIF files.

  • How to Change the Resolution of a GIF File

    A file's resolution is the number of horizontal and vertical pixels contained within an image, expressed in a format such as 1024x768. To crop a GIF image, changing the resolution may be necessary, forcing it to fit within a specific area or expanding the image to allow you to add additional content. This can be done with the photo-manipulation tools of your operating system.

  • How to Convert an Animated GIF File

    Animated GIF files are a series of frames combined together into one image that looks like a short movie clip. Though the clip is fun to view, it's not appropriate for every application. You should convert the animated GIF file back to normal static images whenever you want to use a frame in a more professional setting, such as a business website. By breaking the elements of your GIF file apart first, you can convert the file into several separate images of various formats.

  • How to Change a PDF File to a GIF One

    PDF and GIF are two different types of file formats. PDF files are page layout files that can contain graphics, text, form input fields, bookmarks, security encryption and other data. GIF files are image files. While you can edit or add information to a PDF using a PDF editing program, GIFs act more like a photo snapshot---they show a fixed image of the page. "Google and other search engines now index PDF documents, which can be viewed in a Web browser using the free Adobe Reader plug-in," according to FileInfo.com, a website that compiles information about file formats.

  • How to Make GIF Files on a Mac

    You can make a GIF file from a JPEG, BMP, OpenEXR, PDF, Photoshop, PICT, PNG, SGI, TGA or TIFF file using Preview, a program included in the Mac OS X operating system. Preview is primarily an image and PDF-viewing program. However, it can also save files between different formats. The GIF format is useful for icons and other Internet graphics, because it offers compression without losing quality. Because GIF images can only contain 256 colors, people do not usually choose this format for photo images.

  • How to Make a Smaller KB and GIF Picture File

    When putting images online at a website or social networking site such as Facebook, you may find that the images are too big to upload or that they show up very slowly on the webpage because they are too large. The same problem can occur when you're trying to email pictures to someone, because you may not be able to send the images when they're too big. The size of a GIF image is reflected both in how much space it takes up on the computer screen--width by height dimensions--as well as how much space it takes up on a…

  • How to Make a GIF File Online

    The lightweight Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) is great for web distribution of still and animated image files. GIFs can be found all over the web in message boards, blogs and social networking sites. And with the help of and online GIF generator, you can create GIF from your image and video files. And the best thing about using an online GIF generator is, there's no need to install any software.

  • How to Convert an ASP File to GIF

    An .asp (Active Server Pages) file is a dynamic webpage, which means the web server automatically generates the page from multiple files and databases the second you request it. Dynamic webpages are more up-to-date and easier for website administrators to maintain. If you want to save an image of a particular .asp page for future reference, or perhaps to share an error message with tech support or a friend, it's easy to create a .gif version of the file.

  • How to Animate GIF Files on PowerPoint

    Microsoft PowerPoint is a tool to create multimedia presentations. Adding GIF files to PowerPoint slides creates interest and provides a focal point for your audience. When adding GIFs to a slide, you can choose either to make the GIF play automatically (meaning that it will start playing when the slide is shown) or manually (you'll have to click the GIF during the display to animate it). After you have added a GIF to a slide, you will only be able to see the animated GIF in Slide Show view; otherwise the GIF will be shown as a still image.

  • How to Improve the Quality of a GIF File

    There are many types and formats of graphics file. The particular type used depends on the nature of the project. For example, if you want to create a quality copy of an image to print on your home printer, a JPEG is a good choice. An image that will be printed on T-shirts must be saved in format such as PNG that preserves transparency. If you are creating a simple animation based on images, use a GIF format. To improve the quality of a GIF animation file, consider how you will use the file and adjust the settings accordingly.

  • How to Convert a GIF File from a Raster to a Vector

    One of the big advantages of having your art in a vector format is that it can be used and reused in many different media, thanks to the ability to resize it without quality degradation. There are a number of programs available, from free downloadble software like Vector Magic to high-end software like Adobe Illustrator. Each program offers features that allow even beginner artists to transform their .GIF artwork into a vector file, and each of them offers a different set of advantages.

  • How Do I Separate a GIF File?

    When you are creating a new website, you want to impress visitors. This is why you will often want to add animated GIFs. Some people make these GIFs themselves in programs such as Photoshop. Others will simply use a free GIF animation that they find online. If you created the GIF yourself and later want to use the image in printed documents, this is not a problem, since you will have the original image. But if you want to use a still from a GIF you downloaded, there are several things you will have to do.

  • How to Convert a GIF File to HTML

    Converting an image file, like a GIF, to a plain text file, like HTML, is a useful way to change a static image into a document that you can edit, copy and paste. Most scanned documents are actually first scanned as image files, and then OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software is used to identify the words on the document and convert them into an editable format. Multiple free OCR web services exist that can convert your GIF file into an HTML page.

  • How to Create an Animated gif File With Adobe Imageready

    Adobe ImageReady is bundled with Adobe Photoshop, and it includes a lot of Web-centric graphics options. One of them is creating animations, which can be exported to the GIF format. Animated GIFs were once the dominant form of animation on the Internet, and are still used for banner ads and site highlights. They also don't require a browser plug-in to display, making them theoretically accessible to a wider audience.

  • How to Edit an Animated GIF File

    You can't deny that animated Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) graphics catch the eye. Often, that's a bad thing. If you spend a great deal of time on the Internet, you'll see enough dreadful examples of animated GIFs to ward you off ever using them yourself. They are usually big, flashy and annoying. They behave like spoiled children, believing that any attention is better than none at all. That perception isn't enhanced by the fact that you often find animated GIFS on sites that make up the low-rent section of the Internet, the type that blast "Ask Me How I Made…

  • How to Alter a GIF File

    Graphics Interchange Files (GIFs) may be altered with any graphics editing application. High-end graphic editors include Adobe Photoshop and Fireworks. However, a simple graphics editing application is provided with Windows operating systems that will allow the user to make certain modifications to the GIF file. Microsoft Paint is a Windows Accessory and will allow sizing, cropping and converting GIF files to other file types. In addition, the user may add drawing and text to the GIF using Paint. Microsoft Paint is a versatile and useful graphics editor.

  • How to Convert a PCX File to a GIF File

    The PCX image format was the default file format used by an art program called PC Paintbrush, which is now obsolete. Because many of today's image-editing programs do not support the PCX format, it is likely that you will need to perform a conversion to view a PCX image that is sent to you or that you find online. You can convert a PCX image to the more common GIF format using the free program IrfanView.

  • How to Convert Visio Documents to GIF Files

    Microsoft Visio is a leading software application for creating, editing and displaying diagrams. Visio is used by engineers, scientists, office workers and computer professionals. Templates are available in Visio to assist in producing diagrams such as floor plans or network layouts. Advanced features in Visio allow multiple-layer diagrams to be produced showing different levels of detail or automatic diagramming of devices on a computer network. Another feature of the program is being able to convert Visio documents to GIF files.

  • How to Change Files From GIF to JPEG

    A JPEG file is a standard file format commonly used for images. A GIF file is a bitmap image commonly used for graphics up to 256 colors. In the course of creating and editing graphics, it is often necessary to change the file extensions of graphics from one to another, depending upon how you will be using the graphics. Change graphics files from GIF to JPEG extensions easily with the help of a freeware PC program called Irfanview.

  • What Are the Differences Between GIF & Swf Files?

    SWF and GIF are commonly used graphics on web browsers. While SWF is vector-based, supports more colors and allows for interaction, GIF is bitmapped-based and supported by HTML. Some situations favor the usage of one over the other.

  • How to Convert a GIF to an Icon File

    A GIF file is a type of picture. An icon file often has the extension ".ico," and such a file is used as the little picture you see on the label of files on your desktop. If you have a particular picture in the ".gif" format that you want to use as the picture for a file icon, you can make this happen by doing a conversion. One quick way to accomplish this is through an online conversion website.

  • How to Print GIF Files

    A GIF file is an image format that is widely used on the Internet. If you download content from the Web, you probably download a number of GIF images. Like its JPEG counterparts, GIF pictures can be used in a variety of different documents and can even be printed. Luckily, there are no special programs or software required to create a hard copy of the image.

  • How to Play Cartoon Animation GIF Files

    Animated GIF files are extremely popular on Internet forums and in emails. You may have seen an animated GIF that you liked enough to download, only to be dismayed by the fact that it opened in the Windows Photo Gallery when you double clicked it, which does not support animated GIF files. Open and play cartoon animated GIF files using Internet Explorer.

  • How to Move Anime GIF Files

    Most web users are familiar with animated GIF files. Users of online forums frequently choose this file format to add a bit of action to their personal avatars or to include in posts alongside their comments. Not only are animated GIFs easier to make than, for example, Flash animations, but you can often post them where more complex animations are prohibited. Although there are plenty of dedicated desktop applications for making animated GIFs, several websites offer free services for creating them as well.

  • How to Run a GIF File on Desktop

    Windows XP allows you to choose a custom image as a background. While most high quality wallpapers are typically JPEG or PNG images, you can use GIF images for your Windows background as well. The process for running a GIF file on the desktop is essentially the same as setting up a JPEG or another file type as your Windows background.

  • How to Make a GIF File

    GIF stands for graphics interchange format---one of the most commonly used file formats for images. Unlike JPEG, which is used for high-resolution images and photos, GIF is used for line art such as animation and cartoons. Because of this, GIF files are important to illustrators who use programs like Macromedia Freehand and Adobe Illustrator. Because most image-editing programs include GIF as a file-saving option, it is not difficult to make a GIF image.

  • How to Open GIF Files

    Graphics Interchange Format, or GIF file, is a series of different images combined together to make an animation file that loops. You may have found a GIF file that you've saved onto your computer, or you might have been sent a GIF file in an email. GIF files can be opened using numerous software programs, but the GIF will not play in all programs. Open Office and QuickTime Player are two programs you can use to open GIF files.

  • What Is a GIF File?

    The Graphics Interchange Format (or GIF for short) has long been one of the most popular image formats among computer users and programmers. It is a highly portable format because of its lightweight coding and was the first image able to be processed over the Internet in the early 1990s. Since then, the GIF has remained popular, but due to some coding issues, is being phased out in lieu of a successive format.

  • How to Modify a GIF File

    GIF (Graphic Interchange Format) is a popular image format that is used by graphic designers, webmasters, desktop publishers, as well as your everyday computer user. The GIF is a universal image format due to the fact that it is recognized by all Internet browsers. Although the GIF has its limitations of a 256-color palette, it still remains a format of choice. Modifying a GIF is not difficult at all.

  • How to Edit a GIF File

    In order to edit an animated GIF file without loosing any frames, use a program such as Image Ready, since Photoshop will flatten the image to open it. Edit an animated GIF file with the tips in this free video on digital imaging from an Internet design specialist.

  • What Is a GIF File Extension?

    A file extension indicates what type of document it is. This lets the computer know which program is needed to edit the file. If you delete a file extension, the computer will not be able to open the file. Also, without a visible file extension, if there is more than one file with the same name, you have no way of knowing which file is which.

  • How to Make GIF Files in Adobe Photoshop

    When working in Adobe Photoshop, you may have noticed that the default file-type for saving your images is JPEG. But it's actually very simple to create .GIF images in Photoshop.

  • How Does an Animated GIF File Work?

    A series of images are created, each slightly different from the one before, similar to the way animated cartoons are created. For example, in an animated GIF file of a cow lifting its head and mooing, the first image may have the cow's head down with its mouth closed, while the second image will have the cow's head up slightly from the ground and the mouth beginning to open slightly. Additional images are created showing the series of the intended movement.

  • How to Optimize a GIF File in Fireworks

    Macromedia's editing software Fireworks makes high-quality images. Fireworks normally saves files as PNG files unless you choose to optimize and save the image as a GIF or JPEG. When files are compressed to become GIFs, they lose some of their quality. To keep this from happening, Fireworks allows users to optimize GIFs to their specifications.

  • How to Download Animated GIF Files

    Since their introduction in 1989 by CompuServe, animated GIFs have been extremely common on the Internet, used by businesses and the public alike. The old format was widely accepted not only because GIFs were already popular, but also due to the ease of download by even the slowest modems. Even though animated GIFs are now a somewhat dying art, there are still plenty of sites dedicated to the first image format that supported animation, and equally plenty of ways to download free animated GIFs.

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