A discontinued software program for creating animated GIF images with features like drawing tools, animation frames, and effects.
Microsoft GIF Animator was a basic GIF creation and editing software program released by Microsoft in the 1990s. It was targeted at casual users who wanted to make simple animated GIFs for the web or other purposes.
The interface included a timeline for adding and organizing animation frames. It also had drawing tools for creating images and text, as well as a library of clip art. Users could add visual effects like color cycling or apply basic movement and transformations to images.
While more advanced than Microsoft Paint, Microsoft GIF Animator did not have as many robust features as professional GIF and image editing suites. It struck a balance of being easy to use yet capable of producing basic GIF animations.
Since GIFs have had continued popularity on the web, newer and more full-featured GIF creation tools have largely replaced Microsoft GIF Animator. But it filled an important software niche in the early days of animated GIF adoption.
Here are some alternatives to Microsoft GIF Animator:
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