Creating animated GIFs

Animated GIFs are an alternative way to present animated sequences in the web. An animated GIF is just a GIF file that contains a sequence of images, rather like frames in a movie. Every frame is one frame in the final animation, just like a flip-book.

Opening an animation document

To create an animated GIF, you must first open an animation document. To do this choose "File" > "New" > "Animation". You will then have access to the Frame Gallery.

Creating the animation

To create an animated GIF:

Choose "Utilities" > "Galleries" > "Frame Gallery", or click the Frame Gallery icon on the Galleries toolbar.
Draw what you want to appear in this first frame.
In the Frame Gallery, click New to create the next frame.
Set the background and overlay flags as required.
Create the objects you want to appear in this frame.
Repeat steps 3 through 5 until you have built up the sequence of frames.

Exporting the animation

To save the animation, choose "File" > "Export Animation".