Linux or Windoze freeware to create an animated GIF image

[James Gagney]

I need to document for a forum post the flashing lights moving from
solid, to runway, to railroad of a router I'm trying to repair.

The forum won't accept videos & youtube seems the wrong way to go due to
the long time between flashing (it would have to be multiple videos).

The right way would be to simply create an animated gif with all the
flashing sequences of import.

QUESTION:
What's a good set of GIF animation freeware nowadays?

Note: I have Irfanview on Windoze, and KolourPaint & TheGimp on Linux
(among others).

[ray]

Post by James Gagney
I need to document for a forum post the flashing lights moving from
solid, to runway, to railroad of a router I'm trying to repair.
The forum won't accept videos & youtube seems the wrong way to go due to
the long time between flashing (it would have to be multiple videos).
The right way would be to simply create an animated gif with all the
flashing sequences of import.
What's a good set of GIF animation freeware nowadays?
Note: I have Irfanview on Windoze, and KolourPaint & TheGimp on Linux
(among others).

web search: 'linux animated gif' - several options, one of which would be
imagemagick from the command line.

[James Gagney]

Post by ray
web search: 'linux animated gif' - several options, one of which would
be imagemagick from the command line.

Since ImageMagick is a well-known Linux standard, that's what I'll use:

From http://www.tjhsst.edu/~dhyatt/supercomp/n401a.html it seems the
syntax is simply to use the 'convert' command, e.g.:
$ convert -delay 20 -loop 0 pictures*.gif animated_pictures.gif

Q: What do we recommend as the best GIF animation freeware on Windows?

Here's what I've compiled from your hints & googling so far:

Number 1: (Con=save it now or you won't have it in the future)
Ulead GIF Animator
http://www.321download.com/LastFreeware/page24.html

Number 2? (Con=It's from Microsoft)
Microsoft GIF Animator
http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-gif-animator.htm
http://ms-gif-animator.en.softonic.com
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/msgifanimator.html

Number 3? (Con=May be overkill just to get GIF animation?)
PhotoScape
http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-gif-animator.htm
http://www.photoscape.org/ps/main/download.php

Number 4: (Con=Found by googling but nobody suggested it)
UnFREEz 2.1
http://www.whitsoftdev.com/unfreez

Others:
http://www.freeware-guide.com/dir/mmedia/animation.html

[Bruce]

Post by James Gagney
I need to document for a forum post the flashing lights moving from
solid, to runway, to railroad of a router I'm trying to repair.
The forum won't accept videos & youtube seems the wrong way to go due to
the long time between flashing (it would have to be multiple videos).
The right way would be to simply create an animated gif with all the
flashing sequences of import.
What's a good set of GIF animation freeware nowadays?
Note: I have Irfanview on Windoze, and KolourPaint & TheGimp on Linux
(among others).

Before you know it, someone will be along to tell you that the
absolute minimum you need to own is Photoshop CS6.

Don't listen to them. ;-)

[Erica Svenson]

Post by Bruce
Before you know it, someone will be along to tell you that the
absolute minimum you need to own is Photoshop CS6.
Don't listen to them. ;-)

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[James Gagney]

someone will be along to tell you that the absolute
minimum you need to own is Photoshop CS6.

I'm a firm believer that the freeware does almost everything we need, if,
at the price of having to install multiple freeware programs to get the
job done.

For example, on Windoze:
a) I view & crop pictures with Irfanview (fast & functional)
b) I autorotate, autoresize, & autorename with Irfanview (batch mode)
c) I snap screenshots with Irfanview (batch) or the PrtScr button
d) I edit those screenshots with Paint.Net (text & arrows)
e) I touchup those screenshots with VicManPhotoEditor (blemish, morphs)
etc.

Likewise, on Linux:
a) I view with the Gnome Image Viewer (fast)
b) I autorotate with Jhead (fast)
c) I autoresize with Imagemagik "convert -resize"
d) I autorename based in EXIF data with "exiv2"
e) I snap screenshots with the PrtScr button
f) I edit those screenshots with KolourPaint (text)
g) I haven't found a good arrow-drawing or touchup program on Linux yet

Notice, for example, that for text editing, all programs do it, but by
far the best-in-class is Paint.NET on Windoze and KolourPaint on Linux.

In fact, I teach my kids:
1) If you need to do something new on the computer ...
2) Instead of running out to buy software that does it for you ...
3) First, locate freeware that gets you close ...
4) Then install the best in class of that freeware & try it out ...
5) 95% of the time ... that's all you need ...
6) If the freeware fails (rarely), then, by the time you're ready to
plunk your money down, at least you KNOW exactly what 'features' you need
out of the payware!

The point is that the freeware ALWAYS should be attempted ... because
most of the time, it works - and - when it fails - at least you know what
questions to ask of the payware!

So, the question at hand is:
Q: What's the best freeware for creating animated GIFs on Winsoze & Linux?

[tony cooper]

On Fri, 7 Sep 2012 17:00:43 +0000 (UTC), James Gagney

Post by James Gagney

someone will be along to tell you that the absolute
minimum you need to own is Photoshop CS6.

I'm a firm believer that the freeware does almost everything we need, if,
at the price of having to install multiple freeware programs to get the
job done.
a) I view & crop pictures with Irfanview (fast & functional)

A plug here for my favorite freeware: FastStone. As a viewer, it
presents all of the images in the file as thumbnails, and the size of
the thumbnail is settable. This allows me to glance through all of
the shots as thumbnails by using the keyboard or mouse only when the
number of images exceeds the screen footprint. Any image can be
clicked and viewed full-screen, and multiple images can be compared in
a split-screen view.

The freebie also re-numbers or re-names, sorts by different factors,
moves or copies files to another file, converts files to different
formats, can display images in a slideshow, shows (limited) EXIF data,
has some editing functions. I don't edit in it, but right-click on
the image and edit in the program I've included in "Open as" dropdown,
usually CS4.

I have Irfanview, but prefer FastStone when viewing a group of images.

[James Gagney]

Post by tony cooper
I have Irfanview, but prefer FastStone when viewing a group of images.

While Irfanview is fast on individual pictures, I must agree that the
batch thumbnail takes FOREVER on directories with a large number of 7GB
files (over 500 for example).

In fact, if you don't know that Irfanview MUST painfully view each and
every thumbnail in thumbnail mode, when you run subsequent autorotate,
autorename, and autoresize batch commands, you will only get 1/4 or 1/2
or whatever number resolved painfully in the thumbnail view before you
moved on.

This is actually a bug in Irfanview, in my humble opinion, that it LETS
you move forward to batch mode before all the thumbnails have "resolved".

Since it could take ten minutes for all the thumbnails to resolve, you
naturally move on if you don't know this ... and you end up with batch
actions only on a portion of your files.

So, if Fastone (I pronounce it "Fast One") does better than Irfanview on
batch operation with large directories, then that's good.

Note: I already realize MANY of you have NEVER NOTICED this Irfanview
bug, and I expect you to say "it doesn't happen to me" ... but it's
there. Trust me on that. At least it was there last I was on Windoze as I
researched it thoroughly.

Here is how to test:
1. Create a directory with a large number of images (any number will work
for the test)

2. Go to the Irfanview thumbnail view but DO NOT WAIT for all the
thumbnail views to resolve (it could take a half hour at times, but
usually it's only a few minutes)

3. Select all (control + a) ... now you THINK you've selected all of your
thumbnails right? Nope. You've only selected the ones that have resolved.

4. Perform a batch operation. Guess what happens?

That batch operation will ONLY happen to the thumbnails that were
resolved. This makes a total mess out of your directory because you can't
UNDO that. So now you have a directory with sequential numbers, date
stamped, whatever you put in your %EXIF variable.

If FastOne doesn't have this problem ... then it might be a better
freeware program for batch manipulation of large numbers of digital
photos!

[tony cooper]

On Fri, 7 Sep 2012 18:33:43 +0000 (UTC), James Gagney

Post by James Gagney

Post by tony cooper
I have Irfanview, but prefer FastStone when viewing a group of images.

While Irfanview is fast on individual pictures, I must agree that the
batch thumbnail takes FOREVER on directories with a large number of 7GB
files (over 500 for example).
In fact, if you don't know that Irfanview MUST painfully view each and
every thumbnail in thumbnail mode, when you run subsequent autorotate,
autorename, and autoresize batch commands, you will only get 1/4 or 1/2
or whatever number resolved painfully in the thumbnail view before you
moved on.
This is actually a bug in Irfanview, in my humble opinion, that it LETS
you move forward to batch mode before all the thumbnails have "resolved".
Since it could take ten minutes for all the thumbnails to resolve, you
naturally move on if you don't know this ... and you end up with batch
actions only on a portion of your files.
So, if Fastone (I pronounce it "Fast One") does better than Irfanview on
batch operation with large directories, then that's good.
Note: I already realize MANY of you have NEVER NOTICED this Irfanview
bug, and I expect you to say "it doesn't happen to me" ... but it's
there. Trust me on that. At least it was there last I was on Windoze as I
researched it thoroughly.
1. Create a directory with a large number of images (any number will work
for the test)
2. Go to the Irfanview thumbnail view but DO NOT WAIT for all the
thumbnail views to resolve (it could take a half hour at times, but
usually it's only a few minutes)
3. Select all (control + a) ... now you THINK you've selected all of your
thumbnails right? Nope. You've only selected the ones that have resolved.
4. Perform a batch operation. Guess what happens?
That batch operation will ONLY happen to the thumbnails that were
resolved. This makes a total mess out of your directory because you can't
UNDO that. So now you have a directory with sequential numbers, date
stamped, whatever you put in your %EXIF variable.
If FastOne doesn't have this problem ... then it might be a better
freeware program for batch manipulation of large numbers of digital
photos!

It's FastStone, not FastOne.
http://www.faststone.org/FSViewerDownload.htm

I make no guarantees that it will work better for your needs. All I'm
saying is that I like it. It's free. You can try and delete it if
you don't like it.

As far as batch operations, hold down Shift and select a group of
thumbnails. Control A selects all thumbnails. If the thumbnails for
batching are scatttered within the file, tag the one you want to be
included in the batch and show only tagged files, Control A, and away
you go.

[James Gagney]

Post by tony cooper
It's FastStone, not FastOne.

But how is it properly pronounced?
Fast Stone or Fast One?

Post by tony cooper
As far as batch operations, hold down Shift and select a group of
thumbnails. Control A selects all thumbnails.

It would be an interesting test to see if FastStone has the same bug
where it lets you move to the batch before the thumbnails have resolved.

Remember, it's not the SELECTION that causes the problem (Irfanview
selects them all quickly); it's the fact that each thumbnail has to be
painstakingly resolved before the OPERATION will work on the selected set.

If FastSton's algorithm is slicker than Irfanview's ... that would be an
improvement (and an example of the fact that even the best freeware isn't
the best at everything so you need a bunch of freeware if you want the
best).

[tony cooper]

On Fri, 7 Sep 2012 22:27:58 +0000 (UTC), James Gagney

Post by James Gagney

Post by tony cooper
It's FastStone, not FastOne.

But how is it properly pronounced?
Fast Stone or Fast One?

I have only written the name and read the name. I would use "fast
stone", but I'm not an authority on this.

Post by James Gagney

Post by tony cooper
As far as batch operations, hold down Shift and select a group of
thumbnails. Control A selects all thumbnails.

It would be an interesting test to see if FastStone has the same bug
where it lets you move to the batch before the thumbnails have resolved.

I have never noticed, when opening FastStone, that the thumbnails are
not already resolved. That may be because my computer is slow and
gives FastStone a head start, or it may be because FastStone does not
have the bug.

You'll have to try it to know.

Post by James Gagney
Remember, it's not the SELECTION that causes the problem (Irfanview
selects them all quickly); it's the fact that each thumbnail has to be
painstakingly resolved before the OPERATION will work on the selected set.
If FastSton's algorithm is slicker than Irfanview's ... that would be an
improvement (and an example of the fact that even the best freeware isn't
the best at everything so you need a bunch of freeware if you want the
best).

[hjmler]

Post by James Gagney
I need to document for a forum post the flashing lights moving from
solid, to runway, to railroad of a router I'm trying to repair.
The forum won't accept videos & youtube seems the wrong way to go due to
the long time between flashing (it would have to be multiple videos).
The right way would be to simply create an animated gif with all the
flashing sequences of import.
What's a good set of GIF animation freeware nowadays?
Note: I have Irfanview on Windoze, and KolourPaint & TheGimp on Linux
(among others).

animate png...
https://encrypted.google.com/#hl=en&sclient=psy-ab&q=png+animation+creator&oq=png+animat&gs_l=hp.1.1.0l4.0.0.1.312.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0.les%3Bcpsugrpq1..0.0...1.Xj9Arnm6mj4&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&fp=16b2c32e8128e4b&biw=1152&bih=614

last free ulead gif animator - I've used this one a like it...
http://www.321download.com/LastFreeware/page24.html

[Me]

Post by hjmler

Post by James Gagney
I need to document for a forum post the flashing lights moving from
solid, to runway, to railroad of a router I'm trying to repair.
The forum won't accept videos & youtube seems the wrong way to go due to
the long time between flashing (it would have to be multiple videos).
The right way would be to simply create an animated gif with all the
flashing sequences of import.
What's a good set of GIF animation freeware nowadays?
Note: I have Irfanview on Windoze, and KolourPaint & TheGimp on Linux
(among others).

animate png...
https://encrypted.google.com/#hl=en&sclient=psy-ab&q=png+animation+creator&oq=png+animat&gs_l=hp.1.1.0l4.0.0.1.312.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0.les%3Bcpsugrpq1..0.0...1.Xj9Arnm6mj4&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&fp=16b2c32e8128e4b&biw=1152&bih=614

An animated PNG "displays as static image in some web browsers"
(Including default install of Chrome on W7)
This is a bit of a shame.

Post by hjmler
last free ulead gif animator - I've used this one a like it...
http://www.321download.com/LastFreeware/page24.html

[James Gagney]

Post by Me
An animated PNG "displays as static image in some web browsers"

But could we convert the animated png to an animated GIF easily?

Perhaps something like this in ImageMagik perhaps?
$ convert animated.png animated.gif

[James Gagney]

Post by hjmler
animate png...

I love the idea of an animated PNG since all the Linux printscreen
screenshots start out as a PNG file.

However, I think an animated GIF is more widely accepted.

However, I could probably convert as a last step, the animated PNG to an
animated GIF ... and that would make apng a viable program for this task.

[a***@inbox.com]

Post by James Gagney
I need to document for a forum post the flashing lights moving from
solid, to runway, to railroad of a router I'm trying to repair.
The forum won't accept videos & youtube seems the wrong way to go due to
the long time between flashing (it would have to be multiple videos).
The right way would be to simply create an animated gif with all the
flashing sequences of import.
What's a good set of GIF animation freeware nowadays?
Note: I have Irfanview on Windoze, and KolourPaint & TheGimp on Linux
(among others).

The minimum you need to create animated GIFs is Adobe Photoshop CS6.

[tony cooper]

Post by a***@inbox.com

Post by James Gagney
I need to document for a forum post the flashing lights moving from
solid, to runway, to railroad of a router I'm trying to repair.
The forum won't accept videos & youtube seems the wrong way to go due to
the long time between flashing (it would have to be multiple videos).
The right way would be to simply create an animated gif with all the
flashing sequences of import.
What's a good set of GIF animation freeware nowadays?
Note: I have Irfanview on Windoze, and KolourPaint & TheGimp on Linux
(among others).

The minimum you need to create animated GIFs is Adobe Photoshop CS6.

And Adobe Photoshop CS6 will only work on Macs.

[Alan Browne]

Post by tony cooper

Post by a***@inbox.com

Post by James Gagney
I need to document for a forum post the flashing lights moving from
solid, to runway, to railroad of a router I'm trying to repair.
The forum won't accept videos & youtube seems the wrong way to go due to
the long time between flashing (it would have to be multiple videos).
The right way would be to simply create an animated gif with all the
flashing sequences of import.
What's a good set of GIF animation freeware nowadays?
Note: I have Irfanview on Windoze, and KolourPaint & TheGimp on Linux
(among others).

The minimum you need to create animated GIFs is Adobe Photoshop CS6.

And Adobe Photoshop CS6 will only work on Macs.

Only Mac Pros with dual 6-core processors and 32 GB of RAM, actually,
and only if you have at least 2 30" Apple displays and Gigabit internet
connections.

[tony cooper]

On Fri, 07 Sep 2012 16:22:37 -0400, Alan Browne

Post by Alan Browne

Post by tony cooper

Post by a***@inbox.com

Post by James Gagney
I need to document for a forum post the flashing lights moving from
solid, to runway, to railroad of a router I'm trying to repair.
The forum won't accept videos & youtube seems the wrong way to go due to
the long time between flashing (it would have to be multiple videos).
The right way would be to simply create an animated gif with all the
flashing sequences of import.
What's a good set of GIF animation freeware nowadays?
Note: I have Irfanview on Windoze, and KolourPaint & TheGimp on Linux
(among others).

The minimum you need to create animated GIFs is Adobe Photoshop CS6.

And Adobe Photoshop CS6 will only work on Macs.

Only Mac Pros with dual 6-core processors and 32 GB of RAM, actually,
and only if you have at least 2 30" Apple displays and Gigabit internet
connections.

I think you also have to have a GIF dongle installed for each frame.
You chain the dongles.

[Alan Browne]

Post by tony cooper
On Fri, 07 Sep 2012 16:22:37 -0400, Alan Browne

Post by Alan Browne

Post by tony cooper

Post by a***@inbox.com

Post by James Gagney
I need to document for a forum post the flashing lights moving from
solid, to runway, to railroad of a router I'm trying to repair.
The forum won't accept videos & youtube seems the wrong way to go due to
the long time between flashing (it would have to be multiple videos).
The right way would be to simply create an animated gif with all the
flashing sequences of import.
What's a good set of GIF animation freeware nowadays?
Note: I have Irfanview on Windoze, and KolourPaint & TheGimp on Linux
(among others).

The minimum you need to create animated GIFs is Adobe Photoshop CS6.

And Adobe Photoshop CS6 will only work on Macs.

Only Mac Pros with dual 6-core processors and 32 GB of RAM, actually,
and only if you have at least 2 30" Apple displays and Gigabit internet
connections.

I think you also have to have a GIF dongle installed for each frame.
You chain the dongles.

Not with the latest version of OS X Mountain Lion Server and it's only
another $20.

[tony cooper]

On Fri, 07 Sep 2012 17:04:04 -0400, Alan Browne

Post by Alan Browne

Post by tony cooper
On Fri, 07 Sep 2012 16:22:37 -0400, Alan Browne

Post by Alan Browne

Post by tony cooper

Post by a***@inbox.com

Post by James Gagney
I need to document for a forum post the flashing lights moving from
solid, to runway, to railroad of a router I'm trying to repair.
The forum won't accept videos & youtube seems the wrong way to go due to
the long time between flashing (it would have to be multiple videos).
The right way would be to simply create an animated gif with all the
flashing sequences of import.
What's a good set of GIF animation freeware nowadays?
Note: I have Irfanview on Windoze, and KolourPaint & TheGimp on Linux
(among others).

The minimum you need to create animated GIFs is Adobe Photoshop CS6.

And Adobe Photoshop CS6 will only work on Macs.

Only Mac Pros with dual 6-core processors and 32 GB of RAM, actually,
and only if you have at least 2 30" Apple displays and Gigabit internet
connections.

I think you also have to have a GIF dongle installed for each frame.
You chain the dongles.

Not with the latest version of OS X Mountain Lion Server and it's only
another $20.

Are you saying that the OS X Mountain Lion Server contains some of the
same lines of code that the GIF dongle includes, and is therefore the
same?

[Alan Browne]

Post by tony cooper
On Fri, 07 Sep 2012 17:04:04 -0400, Alan Browne

Post by Alan Browne

Post by tony cooper
On Fri, 07 Sep 2012 16:22:37 -0400, Alan Browne

Post by Alan Browne

Post by tony cooper

Post by a***@inbox.com

Post by James Gagney
I need to document for a forum post the flashing lights moving from
solid, to runway, to railroad of a router I'm trying to repair.
The forum won't accept videos & youtube seems the wrong way to go due to
the long time between flashing (it would have to be multiple videos).
The right way would be to simply create an animated gif with all the
flashing sequences of import.
What's a good set of GIF animation freeware nowadays?
Note: I have Irfanview on Windoze, and KolourPaint & TheGimp on Linux
(among others).

The minimum you need to create animated GIFs is Adobe Photoshop CS6.

And Adobe Photoshop CS6 will only work on Macs.

Only Mac Pros with dual 6-core processors and 32 GB of RAM, actually,
and only if you have at least 2 30" Apple displays and Gigabit internet
connections.

I think you also have to have a GIF dongle installed for each frame.
You chain the dongles.

Not with the latest version of OS X Mountain Lion Server and it's only
another $20.

Are you saying that the OS X Mountain Lion Server contains some of the
same lines of code that the GIF dongle includes, and is therefore the
same?

To the extent that it is the same front end and back end with some parts
in the middle that sound the same but are completely different in a
framework of software that appears to do everything while really doing
very little original other than separating the client from more money.

[Savageduck]

On 2012-09-07 13:22:37 -0700, Alan Browne

Post by Alan Browne

Post by tony cooper

Post by a***@inbox.com

Post by James Gagney
I need to document for a forum post the flashing lights moving from
solid, to runway, to railroad of a router I'm trying to repair.
The forum won't accept videos & youtube seems the wrong way to go due to
the long time between flashing (it would have to be multiple videos).
The right way would be to simply create an animated gif with all the
flashing sequences of import.
What's a good set of GIF animation freeware nowadays?
Note: I have Irfanview on Windoze, and KolourPaint & TheGimp on Linux
(among others).

The minimum you need to create animated GIFs is Adobe Photoshop CS6.

And Adobe Photoshop CS6 will only work on Macs.

Only Mac Pros with dual 6-core processors and 32 GB of RAM, actually,
and only if you have at least 2 30" Apple displays and Gigabit internet
connections.

...and optimized to function within 5º of the Equator.

[Alan Browne]

Post by Savageduck
On 2012-09-07 13:22:37 -0700, Alan Browne

Post by Alan Browne

Post by tony cooper

Post by a***@inbox.com

Post by James Gagney
I need to document for a forum post the flashing lights moving from
solid, to runway, to railroad of a router I'm trying to repair.
The forum won't accept videos & youtube seems the wrong way to go due to
the long time between flashing (it would have to be multiple videos).
The right way would be to simply create an animated gif with all the
flashing sequences of import.
What's a good set of GIF animation freeware nowadays?
Note: I have Irfanview on Windoze, and KolourPaint & TheGimp on Linux
(among others).

The minimum you need to create animated GIFs is Adobe Photoshop CS6.

And Adobe Photoshop CS6 will only work on Macs.

Only Mac Pros with dual 6-core processors and 32 GB of RAM, actually,
and only if you have at least 2 30" Apple displays and Gigabit
internet connections.

...and optimized to function within 5º of the Equator.

Yes of course - how did I miss that? The high tangential velocity gives
a relativistic speed boost which is enhanced by the reality distortion
field.

It's so much better that it's worth business class airfare to get there
to do it. (And since there are more Macs in business class you'll have
people to talk to who get it).

[Bruce]

Post by a***@inbox.com

Post by James Gagney
I need to document for a forum post the flashing lights moving from
solid, to runway, to railroad of a router I'm trying to repair.
The forum won't accept videos & youtube seems the wrong way to go due to
the long time between flashing (it would have to be multiple videos).
The right way would be to simply create an animated gif with all the
flashing sequences of import.
What's a good set of GIF animation freeware nowadays?
Note: I have Irfanview on Windoze, and KolourPaint & TheGimp on Linux
(among others).

The minimum you need to create animated GIFs is Adobe Photoshop CS6.

You can do it with the GIMP. Cost $0.00.

[alan1browne]

Post by Bruce
You can do it with the GIMP. Cost $0.00.

Yep. download here:

Loading Image...

[James Gagney]

Post by alan1browne
https://www.dropbox.com/s/g4g1c9brhlnfojn/GIMP-GIF-Demo.gif

While The Gimp, like ImageMagick, will do almost anything ... my main
problem with The Gimp is the complexity of extremely common simple tasks.

Compare, for example, these daily tasks done on almost all screenshots:
I) Draw an outlined circle in The Gimp versus using, say, KolourPaint
II) Now text the inside of that circle in The Gimp versus, say, Paint.NET
III) Then try drawing curved arrows in The Gimp versus, say, Paint.NET

These simple tasks are trivial to accomplish in Kolourpaint (Linux) or in
Paint.NET (Windows) ... but, IMHO, they are way too complicated in The
Gimp.

So, The Gimp is my program of last resort ... if and only when nothing
else will do the trick.

[James Gagney]

Post by James Gagney
While The Gimp, like ImageMagick, will do almost anything ... my main
problem with The Gimp is the complexity of extremely common simple tasks.
I) Draw an outlined circle in The Gimp versus using, say, KolourPaint
II) Now text the inside of that circle in The Gimp versus, say,
Paint.NET III) Then try drawing curved arrows in The Gimp versus, say,
Paint.NET
These simple tasks are trivial to accomplish in Kolourpaint (Linux) or
in Paint.NET (Windows) ... but, IMHO, they are way too complicated in
The Gimp.
So, The Gimp is my program of last resort ... if and only when nothing
else will do the trick.

I realize I mixed operating systems so allow me to clarify:

Annotating Windows screenshots:
1. I draw outlined circles with Kolourpaint.
2. I text inside those empty circles with Kolourpaint.
3. There is no good curved-arrow drawing programs on Linux so I draw my
own curved arrows with Kolourpaint.

All of these can be done with The Gimp - but the process is horrendously
complicated for the empty circles and for the curved arrows and texting
can be done by all programs - yet The Gimp isn't anywhere nearly as easy
as Kolourpaint for texting.

Annotating Linux screenshots:
1. I draw outlined circles with Paint.NET.
2. I text inside those circles with Paint.NET.
3. The Paint.NET curved-arrow drawing is the finest in the world (IMHO).

Again, all of these can be done with Gimp but with a complexity that
rivals that of enriching uranium.

The "perfect" screenshot editing program would be:
a) As easy to draw outlined circles as Kolourpaint or Paint.NET,
b) As easy to text as Paint.NET (where you don't even have to define the
box!)
c) And as easy to draw complex curved arrows as Paint.NET

Maybe Adobe Photoshop CS6 can do these three things as easily? :)

[Floyd L. Davidson]

Post by James Gagney
1. I draw outlined circles with Paint.NET.
2. I text inside those circles with Paint.NET.
3. The Paint.NET curved-arrow drawing is the finest in the world (IMHO).
Again, all of these can be done with Gimp but with a complexity that
rivals that of enriching uranium.

Actually 1 and 2 are both relatively easy with GIMP.
But most of all the ability to make it look virtually
any way you want it to look is there, though of course
that functionality does add the expected complexity.

Drawing arrows isn't all that diffcult either. But GIMP
is not a paint program, so it being less easy with GIMP
is hardly astounding.

Loading Image...

[Floyd L. Davidson]

Post by James Gagney

Post by alan1browne
https://www.dropbox.com/s/g4g1c9brhlnfojn/GIMP-GIF-Demo.gif

While The Gimp, like ImageMagick, will do almost anything ... my main
problem with The Gimp is the complexity of extremely common simple tasks.
I) Draw an outlined circle in The Gimp versus using, say, KolourPaint
II) Now text the inside of that circle in The Gimp versus, say, Paint.NET
III) Then try drawing curved arrows in The Gimp versus, say, Paint.NET
These simple tasks are trivial to accomplish in Kolourpaint (Linux) or in
Paint.NET (Windows) ... but, IMHO, they are way too complicated in The
Gimp.

Gee whiz... you've discovered that GIMP is an image
editor and not a paint program (kolourpaint and
Paint.NET aren't worth a darn as image editors either).

Post by James Gagney
So, The Gimp is my program of last resort ... if and only when nothing
else will do the trick.

Except of course when you want an image editor, because
then an image editor is the first choice rather than the
last.

[James Gagney]

you've discovered that GIMP is an image editor and not a paint program
(kolourpaint and Paint.NET aren't worth a darn as image editors either).

Well, I'm not complaining about The Gimp. I'm just saying it generally
takes a simple tasks (such as drawing an arrow) and makes it complicated,
whereas other programs simply make drawing an arrow as simple as drawing
an arrow.

If the 'reason' for this complication is that The Gimp is an "image
editor" while the other programs are "paint programs", well, that's the
reason then.

GIMP is wonderfully powerful. I never said it wasn't. I just said this:
a) I'm looking for an animated GIF assembly tool
b) Some folks suggested, for example, Ulead's GIF animator
c) Others suggested The Gimp

In my personal experience, for what I need to edit (and now to animate)
screenshots, I've found The Gimp to be vastly more complicated a use
model than what you call the "paint programs".

That's not to say there is anything wrong with The Gimp; it just says
it's complicated to do what you call paint program style actions with it
so I wouldn't think it creates animated GIFs any easier. That's all.

I do not mean to start an argument as data is what I'm after.

[Floyd L. Davidson]

Post by James Gagney

you've discovered that GIMP is an image editor and not a paint program
(kolourpaint and Paint.NET aren't worth a darn as image editors either).

Well, I'm not complaining about The Gimp. I'm just saying it generally
takes a simple tasks (such as drawing an arrow) and makes it complicated,
whereas other programs simply make drawing an arrow as simple as drawing
an arrow.

But that's only because GIMP is a image editing program
that requires you to use a different thought process.
Still, the fact is that you can draw an arrow to
whatever complexity you wish, and then save it as a file
so that you never ever need draw another arrow like that
again. Every time you want an arrow like that, you pull
that file up as a layer and resize it as needed,
position it as needed, and there you are. It may not be
"easy" the first time, but it is a perfect arrow and using
from 1 to 1000 times is very easy.

Post by James Gagney
If the 'reason' for this complication is that The Gimp is an "image
editor" while the other programs are "paint programs", well, that's the
reason then.

And GIMP, being a powerful image editor, is rather
complex. You do have to know how to use it. That
doesn't happen overnight, or perhaps even after a couple
of years of using it only now and then.

Post by James Gagney
a) I'm looking for an animated GIF assembly tool

I'd use ImageMagick for that.

Post by James Gagney
b) Some folks suggested, for example, Ulead's GIF animator
c) Others suggested The Gimp

I've used it for 2 to 4 images, but never for more than
that.

Post by James Gagney
In my personal experience, for what I need to edit (and now to animate)
screenshots, I've found The Gimp to be vastly more complicated a use
model than what you call the "paint programs".

For quicky one time text on an image, a paint program is
far easier than an image editor... Unless you are doing
real production work, where the results have to be
consistent and accurate. In that case I'd stick with
the image editor.

Post by James Gagney
That's not to say there is anything wrong with The Gimp; it just says
it's complicated to do what you call paint program style actions with it
so I wouldn't think it creates animated GIFs any easier. That's all.
I do not mean to start an argument as data is what I'm after.

Someone explaining which tool works for which job is the
data you need.

[James Gagney]

For quicky one time text on an image, a paint program is far easier than
an image editor... Unless you are doing real production work,
In that case I'd stick with the image editor.

This is sound advice!

Most tools do all the basic tasks - but some make it easier than others.

FWIW, when I need to edit a screenshot on Linux, the "easiest" program
for that is Kolourpaint because it's easy to perform most typical
screenshot-editing actions (but not all).

Likewise, when I'm editing screenshots on Windows, the "easiest" program
(and by far the most powerful) is Paint.NET, but it too suffers in some
categories.

Here's what you need to do for most typical screenshots:
1. Draw colored empty ellipses & rectangles to highlight fields
2. Fit & modify colored text easily without having to guess at sizes
3. Point to various things using a variety of curved arrows
4. Cut and paste and refill and recolor cut areas to match
5. Crop and resize the results

If I had to grade the tools on those five key areas, I'd give them:
1. Circles==> Kolourpaint:great Paint.NET:great
2. Text==> Kolourpaint:good Paint.NET:best-in-class
3. Arrows==> Kolourpaint:barely adequate Paint.NET:best-in-class
4. Cleanup==> Kolourpaint:great Paint.NET:barely adequate
5. Crop/Resize==> Kolourpaint:lousy Paint.NET:ok (Irfanview is best in
class here)

As I said, using freeware, you have to use multiple programs to get done
what you need - and - if you go for payware, you at least know what
features you want before you buy.

[Eric Stevens]

On Sat, 8 Sep 2012 14:01:48 +0000 (UTC), James Gagney

Post by James Gagney

For quicky one time text on an image, a paint program is far easier than
an image editor... Unless you are doing real production work,
In that case I'd stick with the image editor.

This is sound advice!
Most tools do all the basic tasks - but some make it easier than others.
FWIW, when I need to edit a screenshot on Linux, the "easiest" program
for that is Kolourpaint because it's easy to perform most typical
screenshot-editing actions (but not all).
Likewise, when I'm editing screenshots on Windows, the "easiest" program
(and by far the most powerful) is Paint.NET, but it too suffers in some
categories.
1. Draw colored empty ellipses & rectangles to highlight fields
2. Fit & modify colored text easily without having to guess at sizes
3. Point to various things using a variety of curved arrows
4. Cut and paste and refill and recolor cut areas to match
5. Crop and resize the results
1. Circles==> Kolourpaint:great Paint.NET:great
2. Text==> Kolourpaint:good Paint.NET:best-in-class
3. Arrows==> Kolourpaint:barely adequate Paint.NET:best-in-class
4. Cleanup==> Kolourpaint:great Paint.NET:barely adequate
5. Crop/Resize==> Kolourpaint:lousy Paint.NET:ok (Irfanview is best in
class here)
As I said, using freeware, you have to use multiple programs to get done
what you need - and - if you go for payware, you at least know what
features you want before you buy.

What file format do you use when transferring images from one
application to another?

[tony cooper]

On Sun, 09 Sep 2012 11:22:14 +1200, Eric Stevens

Post by Eric Stevens
On Sat, 8 Sep 2012 14:01:48 +0000 (UTC), James Gagney

Post by James Gagney

For quicky one time text on an image, a paint program is far easier than
an image editor... Unless you are doing real production work,
In that case I'd stick with the image editor.

This is sound advice!
Most tools do all the basic tasks - but some make it easier than others.
FWIW, when I need to edit a screenshot on Linux, the "easiest" program
for that is Kolourpaint because it's easy to perform most typical
screenshot-editing actions (but not all).
Likewise, when I'm editing screenshots on Windows, the "easiest" program
(and by far the most powerful) is Paint.NET, but it too suffers in some
categories.
1. Draw colored empty ellipses & rectangles to highlight fields
2. Fit & modify colored text easily without having to guess at sizes
3. Point to various things using a variety of curved arrows
4. Cut and paste and refill and recolor cut areas to match
5. Crop and resize the results
1. Circles==> Kolourpaint:great Paint.NET:great
2. Text==> Kolourpaint:good Paint.NET:best-in-class
3. Arrows==> Kolourpaint:barely adequate Paint.NET:best-in-class
4. Cleanup==> Kolourpaint:great Paint.NET:barely adequate
5. Crop/Resize==> Kolourpaint:lousy Paint.NET:ok (Irfanview is best in
class here)
As I said, using freeware, you have to use multiple programs to get done
what you need - and - if you go for payware, you at least know what
features you want before you buy.

What file format do you use when transferring images from one
application to another?

I know you didn't ask me, but when is an image transferred from one
application to another? My assumption is that the image file is
*opened* in one application, something done in that application, and
then the file is saved. Then, the file could be opened in another
application.

I do this all the time. As long as the format is openable in the
other application, there's nothing to it. In some cases, the native
file is different, but the file can be exported in a common format.

[James Gagney]

Post by Eric Stevens
What file format do you use when transferring images from one
application to another?

That's a good question - and - for many things, it matters greatly
whether it's a lossy format and whether all the features (e.g., layers,
transparencies, etc.) carry forward.

In general, I snap screenshots - so a simple GIF would suffice. Nothing
fancy.

Normally, the Linux snapshot tool, snaps PNG, which converts easily (if
lossly) to GIF. Likewise with JPG to GIF for screenshots, which are all
as small in file size as can be made possible.

[Floyd L. Davidson]

Post by James Gagney
Normally, the Linux snapshot tool, snaps PNG, which converts easily (if
lossly) to GIF. Likewise with JPG to GIF for screenshots, which are all
as small in file size as can be made possible.

There are probably a dozen or so different programs for
Linux that will dump a screenshot.

I use the original X Window System screen dump, /xwd/.
It outputs a lossless format, XWD, that can be directly
converted with tools from ImageMagick:

# dump XWD format; the root window
xwd -root > root.xwd

# interatively select window with the mouse
xwd > wndw.xwd

# convert to TIFF
xwd | convert - wndw.tif

Some other useful options are:

-id 0x320001f Dump window id 0x320001f
-name "emacs:" Dump window named "emacs:"
-nobdrs Exclude window borders

The id number or name of an X Window System window can
be obtain using /xwininfo/. And of course /convert/ can
use any of its facilities to modify the screenshot:

sleep 5; xwd -id 0x300001f -nobdrs | \
convert - -bordercolor gray90 -border 20x20 \
-resize 640 scrndmp.jpg

The above is at Loading Image... but
the signficance is more easily explained in text.

The "sleep 5" gave me time to switch desktops back to
the one where I display, via the network, XEmacs reading
news on a different machine and then click on a menu
option to have a drop down menu appear. The drop down
menu takes control of the mouse though, so it is not
possible to both capture the menu and use the mouse to
select which window; hence, the -id option was used.
The rest of course is just fluff to show how /convert/
can be used.

[Eric Stevens]

On Sun, 9 Sep 2012 00:47:44 +0000 (UTC), James Gagney

Post by James Gagney

Post by Eric Stevens
What file format do you use when transferring images from one
application to another?

That's a good question - and - for many things, it matters greatly
whether it's a lossy format and whether all the features (e.g., layers,
transparencies, etc.) carry forward.
In general, I snap screenshots - so a simple GIF would suffice. Nothing
fancy.

First, screenshots (say 1200 x 800 or there abouts) can be no more
than a caricature of what may be the original image (say 4897 x 3265).

As you say, "it matters greatly whether it's a lossy format and
whether all the features (e.g., layers, transparencies, etc.) carry
forward." So if you end up snapping screenshots you will end up
throwing away the majority of the useful information of which the
original information was constructed. That might not matter except
that you are relying on this defective process to judge one software
package against another. Is your judgement reliable, except in this
world of simple screenshots?

Post by James Gagney
Normally, the Linux snapshot tool, snaps PNG, which converts easily (if
lossly) to GIF. Likewise with JPG to GIF for screenshots, which are all
as small in file size as can be made possible.

These conversions all throw away image information.

[James Gagney]

First, screenshots (say 1200 x 800 or there abouts) can be no more than
a caricature of what may be the original image (say 4897 x 3265).

In general, these are screenshots of user interfaces, e.g., a Nikon
camera program, or a GUI for organizing digital photos, etc.

So, the "original image" is whatever the resolution of the screen, e.g.,
1920x1080.

if you end up snapping screenshots you will end up throwing away the
majority of the useful information of which the original information was
constructed.

Hmmm... I'm not so sure screenshots will be throwing away all that much,
because there isn't that much there in the first place in a computer
interface GUI.

These conversions all throw away image information.

Agreed. That's why I wouldn't do it for a digital photograph of the kids
playing baseball - but for a screenshot showing buttons in a user
interface, it should work just fine.

[James Gagney]

Post by Bruce
You can do it with the GIMP. Cost $0.00.

Yes. But with the overlays, it's overly cumbersome to use The Gimp.

I think, on Linux, ImageMagick is "best" and on Windows, it looks like
the response so far has the best as Ulead GIF Animator.

[Leif Roar Moldskred]

Post by James Gagney
What's a good set of GIF animation freeware nowadays?
Note: I have Irfanview on Windoze, and KolourPaint & TheGimp on Linux
(among others).

If you already have it installed and are familiar with its use, just
use Gimp. There's a bit of a trick to making animated GIFs with it by
using layers with special names for the timings, but it work well
enough.

See http://www.gimp.org/tutorials/Simple_Animations/

[Albert EinsteinThe attempt to combine wisdom and power has only rarely been successful and then only for a short while.]

Bear,when did you stop lying to ACF?