CoffeeCup GIF Animator 6
September 19, 2001
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While it appears that I have placed a pair of identical animated
GIFs below this paragraph, the fact is that only one is a GIF.
The other is done in Flash, but both were done by the same
program: CoffeeCup GIF Animator 6.
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Animated GIF:
Flash:
In fact, the animation was created only once, but saved in two
formats. One of the graphics began as a .BMP file and was
converted automatically by the program to the
.GIF format;
together they were converted to the Flash
.SWF format for the second banner.
And that is the beauty of Animator 6. It makes the creation of
such banners and animations as easy as possible. It can convert
.BMP and .JPG files
automatically, as well as import and export to .AVI files.
If you choose to save an animation as a Flash file, the program
creates the HTML coding that can simply be copied from the
program to the clipboard and then pasted into the HTML page.
When the program starts up, users are given the option of using
the size of the first graphic as the size for the animation or
choosing a custom size. The next step is placement, and the user
is given the choice of the top left corner of the animation or
centered, if the images are not the same size. However, the
program will also scale the images to fit in the same size.
It is at this point, too, that the program will offer to make the
animation transparent (provided you use transparent .GIFs). If
you use a combination of, say, a transparent .GIF and a .JPG, the
.GIF will remain transparent while the .JPG will have its own
background or a background color chosen from within Animator 6.
Next, the program allows users to choose to have the animation
repeat infinitely or a set number of times. The user can
select the time in hundredths of seconds for each graphic to
show.
Users can then choose the graphics they wish to use, either by
opening a file or by dragging and dropping the images into the
animation. The finished product can be viewed in action simply by
clicking on a button and seeing it within the program, without
having to wait for a browser to open.
While those are the methods used to make animations, the program
offers several other features to fine tune the finished product.
Among them:
- The ability to simultaneously view both the animation and
the frames that make it up. The individual images are shown in
thumbnail view with size and dimension listed.
- A frame inspector enables the user to alter the offset of an
image, the display settings (including interlacing and
transparency) and the disposal method of the graphic (either by
leaving it there, replacing it with the background, or by
replacing with the previous image).
- The program has a built-in optimization feature to help make
the animation load as quickly as possible.
In our tests, animations using Flash loaded quicker than those in
.GIF format, but the difference was fairly negligible.
Two other features worth mentioning are that the program allows
the creation of a favorites folder for quick recall and that
frames can be exported to single images.
Having seen several GIF animators to date, Animator 6 is perhaps
the most complete and user-friendly one that we've tested. And,
for $30, it is well worth the investment.
What is it called again? CoffeeCup
GIF Animator 6
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Where can I get it?
http://www.coffeecup.com
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How much does it cost? $30
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How big is the download? 3 MB
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Do I recommend it? Very much so.
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